Page 32 of A Midlife Vanishing Trick

“You might as well have sentenced me to death by bringing me here,” the Collector said. “And what was it you said to me when you pulled me into the pit?”

Stanley’s own words crossed his mind.If I’m dying, I’m not dying alone—you’re coming with me.

“You couldn’t kill me before,” Stanley told him. “I’m only going to warn you once: Let my wife go, and maybe I’ll let you walk away from here unscathed.”

Johan guffawed. “You think you could take me down in a fight?”

“You captured me on Frost Mountain because you caught me by surprise. And when you tried to kill me, you had your Collectors and master to protect you. I don’t see them around anywhere.”

It was a calculated statement intended to infuriate Johan. And it worked. The man’s face reddened, his grey eyes lighting up with murderous rage. For a moment, Stanley saw his grip on Allison relax a bit.

She noticed it, too. Before he could make a move toward them, she drove her elbow into Johan’s gut. Stanley doubted it hurt the man, but the blow took him completely by surprise. Johan staggered backward for only a moment, but that was all she needed to get away from him. She darted back inside the house just as Johan straightened and made a grab for her.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Stanley snarled, lunging for the man.

He caught Johan by the legs and tackled him. Johan kicked at him, struggling to get free. A second later, claws cut through the air before Stanley’s face. He gave a heave, straining with all his might to get the man away from the front door, and the next thing he knew, they were tumbling down the porch steps.

Stanley rolled and sprang to his feet, bracing for an attack. Johan had already gotten up. The man’s grey eyes bored into his.

“Maybe it’s a good thing that pit didn’t kill you,” he spat. “Now I can do it myself.”

He lunged, shifting as he did. His clothes ripped away, and a moment later, a large brown wolf collided with Stanley, knocking him to the ground. The wolf’s jaws widened and snapped shut, missing his face by mere inches.

Stanley’s inner snow leopard growled in response. Then, his own clothes ripped away as his body grew and changed shape. No sooner had his face elongated into a muzzle than Johan struck again. The snow leopard’s quick reflexes kicked in, and Stanley easily dodged the attack, feeling the displacement of air where his head had been a second ago.

Johan struck blindly with his claws and was rewarded with a yelp. With a heave, he shoved Johan off his body and sprang onto all fours. The wolf growled menacingly. He wasn’t bleeding as far as Stanley could see. All Stanley had done was make him angrier.

They circled each other, hackles raised, both poised to attack. Stanley studied his opponent intently. He was more agile,but Johan was larger. Those grey eyes gazed back at him, threatening demise. But Stanley wasn’t ready to die.

He wasn’tgoingto die. Not if he could help it.

It was he who struck next, feinting an attack on Johan’s left flank and suddenly striking his right. It wasn’t until he’d launched himself at the wolf that he realized he’d made a mistake. The sudden stab of pain in his shoulder confirmed that fact.

He hit the ground and rolled, getting up on all fours before Johan could deal him another blow. Stanley growled in pain. His left shoulder throbbed where the wolf’s claws had slashed him. There was no telling how deep the wound was, but it was most definitely going to leave a scar.

Ifhe survived this fight.

They continued to circle each other. Johan’s jaws parted slightly as if the wolf were grinning at him, taunting him.

The ground rumbled beneath his paws as Johan charged again, lunging at him, claws outstretched. Stanley darted to the side. Just before Johan hit the floor, Stanley extended his own claws. He felt them make contact with Johan’s body, and a howl of agony pierced the air. The ground shook again as the wolf landed, writhing in pain.

Stanley could see three bright red gashes on the wolf’s side. As he watched, Johan shifted back to human form, groaning and clutching his side. Blood trickled from under his fingers. Stanley doubted the wound was deep enough to kill him but just deep enough to disable him.

The snow leopard’s body gave way to his human form. Chest heaving, Stanley stood over Johan; the man glared up at him, his expression a mix of pain and resentment.

“You should kill me now,” the man said, “while you still have the chance.”

Stanley merely blinked at him.

“Do it!” Johan snarled. “Kill me.”

Stanley shook his head slowly. “No. I think you’re going to be around for a while. You’re going to love being on Earth.”

With that, he brought down his fist, knocking the man out cold.

***

“Glad you threw some clothes on him before the police showed up,” Allison said, folding her arms across her chest. “We’d have had to explain to the cops why there was a naked man bleeding on our front porch.”

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