by R. L. Naquin
I hunkered down so I could get closer. “Now, don’t be like that. I’ll come visit when I can. I promise.”
The bushes across the clearing shook, and clicks and hisses came from within it.
Another basilisk stepped into the clearing, this one with a purple rooster wattle and green tips on its wings. It hesitated, then stepped forward. My creature met it in the center of the clearing, and they eyed each other, circling and ruffling their feathers.
The two snakes slithered toward each other, tongues flicking.
After a moment, the two roosters crowed, the snakes twisted together, and the two creatures settled in a patch of grass to doze.
My heart gave a little tug, but I left, satisfied that I’d done a good thing.
That satisfaction carried me all the way back to the atrium and up to the seventh floor.
“No exterminators today,” I whispered, as I hung the magic shoes back on their peg in the courier office.
~*~
The next day, I sat at my desk feeling particularly smug as I stamped unnecessary paperwork and directed people the long way to their appointments.
I’d totally gotten away with it. I’d broken several huge rules, stolen the shoes of a god, and robbed some exterminator out of a job. Not too shabby for a shy girl who’d never even driven over the speed limit in her previous life.
A lot more had changed than my skin color and a head full of snakes. I had a lot of catching up to do. I barely knew who I was yet. But I had plenty of time to find out.
“Next!” I bent my head and glared at the nervous man standing at my counter. “Can I help you?”
“I need a supernatural pool cleaner.” He glanced past me, then at my desk, at his hands, the ceiling—anywhere but my eyes. “Or something.”
I crooked an eyebrow, and the snake hanging over my left eye hissed at him. “What seems to be the problem?”
He bit his lip and looked at my headsnakes. “I have a hydra in my pool, and it won’t come out.”
My heart sped up in excitement. “Did you ask it nicely?”
“Yes, but then it tried to bite me. My son threatened it with a knife, you know, to scare it off. He accidentally cut off one of the serpent heads and two more grew back. I don’t know what else to do. Please. My mother-in-law is coming to visit next week. She doesn’t know anything about this stuff.”
I smiled and pushed a form toward him. “Don’t you worry, sir. I think I can help you.”
Relief spread across his face. “You can?”
“Sure. I think I might be able to get someone out there tonight.” I checked my watch. Two more hours till everybody went home.
Maybe my job wasn’t so bad after all.
Look for Undercover Gorgon: “Episode #1 — Witches War” coming in December 2015!
Transmonstrified
If you enjoyed “Undercover Gorgon,” be sure to check out this and other great stories in R.L. Naquin’s collection Transmonstrified.
R.L. Naquin, author of the Monster Haven series, shares an assortment of stories and poems from places just outside the world we know. These pages are filled with friendly monsters, dueling witches, floating ice fish, chupacabra taxidermy, and escalators leading to Heaven and Hell.
This collection includes two brand-new Monster Haven tales. Also, take a peek into the new world of the Mount Olympus Employment Agency.
Available now.
About R.L. Naquin
Rachel writes stories that drop average people into magical situations filled with heart and quirky humor.
She believes in pixie dust, the power of love, good cheese, lucky socks, and putting things off until the last minute. Her home is Disneyland, despite her current location in Kansas. Rachel has one husband, two grown kids, and a crazy-catlady starter kit.
Hang out with her online:
Web: www.rlnaquin.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rlnaquin
Twitter: www.twitter.com/rlnaquin
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Other Works by R.L. Naquin
Published by Bottle Cap Publishing:
Transmonstrified (short story collection)
The Mount Olympus Employment Agency Series
Unfinished Muse, Book 1
Unamused Muse, Book 2 (November 2015)
Uninspired Muse, Book 3 (2016)
Published by Carina Press:
The Monster Haven Series
Monster in My Closet, Book 1
Pooka in My Pantry, Book 2
Fairies in My Fireplace, Book 3
Golem in My Glovebox, Book 4
Demons in My Driveway, Book 5
Phoenix in My Fortune, Book 6