Gunmetal Magic: A Novel in the World of Kate Daniels

bouda way.”
    “And Raphael?”
    I shrugged. “I haven’t decided. Anyway, Roman mentioned that the witches were all upset over a vision of the Witch Oracle. They heard howling and saw a spiral of clay. I’m thinking since Anubis is involved, maybe that was a jackal howling. Would Anubis have any sort of influence over werejackals?”
    “I don’t know.”
    I’d have to call Jim and warn him to pull any jackals he was using out of the team working on Anapa. No need to tempt fate.
    “Don’t change the subject.” Kate fixed me with her stare.
    “What subject is that?”
    “Raphael.”
    “Ah, that subject.” I popped a piece of gyro into my mouth. “I said I haven’t decided. It’s complicated.”
    Kate put her fork down, leaned her elbow on the table, and rested her cheek on her fist. “I’ve got time.”
    It wasn’t right to lie to your best friend. Even if it was lying by omission. I chronicled my wonderful romantic adventures.
    “I can’t believe you kissed the black volhv,” Kate said.
    “It was tepid.”
    “Tepid?”
    “You know, not hot, not cold, just kind of moderately warm. I feel guilty about it, actually. Roman is a good kisser. I should’ve enjoyed it more. Besides, locking lips with him was the least of my problems.” I counted things off on my fingers. “Going to an IM-1 zone, breaking and entering into Anapa’s office, killing Anapa’s demon, breaking and entering into a crime scene, stealing evidence from the crime scene, threatening a human civilian with being hung by his intestines…I’m afraid your friend is gone and she’s never coming back. You’ve got a crazy bouda instead.”
    “What are you talking about, you moron? My friend never left.”
    That was Kate in a nutshell. Once she became your friend,she remained your friend. Always. I bared my teeth at her. “Who are you calling a moron?”
    “You. Let me summarize: so you and Raphael had a fight and didn’t talk because you hurt each other’s feelings, then both of you got your feelings hurt again, because neither one of you apologized, then Raphael pretended to have a fiancée who didn’t do anything for him, and your feelings got further hurt, so you got him back by telling him that you were done, after which he went nuts and scratched MINE into your table, so you kissed a black volhv, who didn’t do anything for you, and now Raphael has moved his things into your apartment.”
    “Yes.” That about summed it up.
    Kate leaned toward me. “When I was little, Voron took me to Latin America. TV still ran regular programming back then, and they had this really dramatic love story on during the week. It was full of very pretty people…”
    I pointed my fork at her. “Are you implying that our relationship is like a Spanish soap opera?”
    “I’m not implying. I’m saying it.”
    “You’re crazy.”
    Kate grinned. “Have you traded any significant, tormented glances lately?”
    “Eat dirt, Kate.”
    “Perhaps he has a twin brother…”
    “Not another word.”
    She cackled over in her seat. I tried to smile back, but my smile must’ve been frightening, because Kate stopped laughing. “What is it?”
    “I’m all fucked up.” I didn’t mean to say it. It just came out. “I fought and fought against joining the Pack, and now I’m in. I’m not dumb. I’m smart. I knew it would come to this, and joining the shapeshifters is to my benefit. I don’t understand why I resisted it for so long. Now there is Raphael. He’s behaving like an irrational lunatic, yet I’m even more obsessed with him. It’s like an addiction, Kate. I could just give in and make up with him, but I can’t. What is wrong with me?”
    “You hate being forced,” Kate said.
    “You’re wrong. I have no problem with authority.”
    “You have no problem with authority when you voluntarily choose to accept it. You accepted the Order’s right to give youcommands. If someone had come and tried to force you into the Order, you would’ve fought them tooth and nail. Aunt B tried to force you to join the Pack, so you balked. But now you’ve joined on your terms, voluntarily accepted her authority, and you’re okay with it because it was your decision, not hers.”
    “And Raphael?”
    “Raphael is an asshole, no doubt about it. Spoiled, irrational, difficult. And you love him and feel pressure to fix things because the two of you had something great and you helped to screw it up and now you feel guilty. It’s kind of up