Gunmetal Magic: A Novel in the World of Kate Daniels

was probably why Jim had assigned him to be my second for this venture.
    “Wait until we line up before you go in, Consort,” he murmured.
    “Kate.” We’d been on a first-name basis for a while now.
    “Not today, Consort.”
    The ten Jeeps turned in unison, parking next to each other in front of the building. The mercs at the entrance forgot to suck at their cigarettes and stared.
    The car doors opened. The shapeshifters stepped out, forming two lines with a military precision, their faces solemn. I glanced at Eduardo.
    “Not yet,” he said.
    The shapeshifters marched into the Sheraton, looking like they would chew through anybody dumb enough to stand in their way.
    “I’m going to get out and go ahead. Derek will open your door. When you exit, keep walking, like you own the place,” Eduardo said. “We’ve got your back.”
    “Watch it, bison,” Jezebel growled from the backseat. She was one of the two bouda advisors Aunt B, the alpha of the werehyenas, had attached to me. “You talk to her like she’s a child.”
    I held up my hand. “It’s okay. I got it.”
    “No worries,” Eduardo said. “You’ll do fine.”
    There were few things I hated more than being the center of attention. Especially if the crowd was large.
    Eduardo stepped outside. The passenger door behind me opened and Jezebel and Derek got out. Jezebel was six feet tall, moved like a predator, and had enough hard muscle on her to make me think twice about trying to take her on. Derek was leaner and younger, but his face and bearing made an instant impression.
    Derek opened the door. “My lady.”
    The arrogant, self-assured face of my aunt flashed before me. I would be Erra for today.
    Eduardo stomped toward the Sheraton like a mountain with a “make my day” face.
    I stepped out and marched on the Guild, imagining there was an army at my back.
    Eduardo cleared the iron gates, sucked in a lungful of air, and roared. “Make way for the Consort!”
    Oh boy.
    Eduardo stood to the side. I strode through the gates and the lobby. Eduardo fell in behind me.
    Before the Shift, the hotel was a many-star establishment, complete with an on-the-premises restaurant, a coffee shop, and a happy hour area raised on a three-foot platform. Mercs filled the main floor now. The twin lines of shapeshifters had sliced through the crowd, forming an empty corridor leading toward the platform. They stood like statues, hands behind their backs, feet together. A lone table waited for me. Mark sat on the left, his face pale. On the right Bob Carver and Ivera gawked at me with owl eyes.
    I walked to the platform with my head held high, my cloak flaring. The entirety of the Guild focused on me.
Super.
    At the platform Eduardo sped up, drawing even with me. He took a knee, locked his left fist on his right wrist, and offered me the makeshift step.
    Do not fall, do not fall, do not fall…
    Without breaking my stride, I stepped onto his arms and then onto the platform.
    We’d practiced it at least two dozen times before we had left for the Guild.
    The three shapeshifters—Derek, Eduardo, and Jezebel—turned, their backs to the platform, and glowered at the crowd. Derek carried a large wooden box. The two lines of shapeshifters stepped to the left as one, snapping into a wider stance.
    Someone gasped.
    Showtime.
    “I speak for the Pack,” I said, putting all my power into my voice. “We hold twenty percent of the Guild. The admin group holds forty. The veterans hold another forty.”
    You could hear a pin drop.
    “You’ve had months to choose a leader. You have failed and asked the Pack to break this deadlock. This is my proposal to the Guild. Listen well, because there won’t be another.”
    They were listening.
Thank you, Universe, for small favors.
    “Solomon Red envisioned this Guild as a place for independent men and women to earn their living in the way they see fit. We must continue the course he plotted for us.”
    It was bullshit. Solomon Red didn’t have that grand of a vision, but Curran had suggested it, so I plowed on ahead.
    “Point One. The Guild will appoint a chief administrative officer to oversee day-to-day operations and the financial security of the Guild. I nominate Mark for this post. Point Two. The Guild will appoint a chief personnel officer to protect the interests of its members, oversee the zoning of scores, and the assignment of gigs. I nominate Bob Carver for this post. Point Three, the Guild will create the post of