Magic Rises

at least they think they do.” Barabas took the paper I’d just signed and blew on the ink.
    “Take Barabas,” Jim said suddenly. “If you won’t take me, take Barabas. He’s devious, paranoid, and obsessive. He’ll be perfect.”
    Curran looked at me. I looked at Barabas. He bared even, sharp teeth. “Well, after that recommendation, how can I say no?”
    “Who do you want for support?” I asked.
    “George,” Barabas said.
    George’s real name was Georgetta and she threatened to murder people who dared to actually use it. She was Mahon’s daughter, and she served as the Pack’s clerk of court.
    “She knows the laws,” Barabas said. “And she’s the exact opposite of high-strung.”
    “If you take George, Mahon will want to go,” Jim said.
    “That’s not a bad thing,” Curran said. “Mahon is a hell of a fighter, and it will get him out of your hair. Besides, he’s a bear. The Carpathians will respect that.”
    “Since I’m going,” Barabas said. “Jezebel will also want to go.”
    “No.” Jezebel, my other bouda nanny, had a hell of a temper.
    “May I ask why?”
    “Did you have an argument with Ethan on Wednesday?”
    Barabas drew himself back. Ethan was his guy and their relationship had started out great but now was going off the rails fast. “It wasn’t an argument. It was a heated discussion.”
    “Do you know how I found out about it?”
    “I’m sure you will tell me.”
    “I saw Jezebel marching off with a determined look on her face, and I had to spend the next half an hour explaining to her that breaking Ethan’s legs would not help your relationship. She reacts with overwhelming force to any insult. We’re going to a place where we’ll be outnumbered, insulted, and constantly provoked. One wrong punch from her and we’re done.”
    “Point taken,” Barabas said. “I’ll break it to her gently.”
    “How about Keira?” Jim said.
    Curran raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”
    “Yes.”
    “Who’s Keira?” I asked.
    “My sister,” Jim said.
    “You have a sister?” I knew that Jim had a family. I’d just never met or seen any of them.
    “He has three,” Curran said.
    “How come I never met her?”
    “You have,” Jim said. “You just don’t remember because I didn’t tell you who she was.”
    “Oh, so your family is only on a need-to-know basis, huh?”
    He gave me a hard stare. “That’s right.”
    When a joke flies past a sulking werejaguar, does it make a sound? “Are you sure you want to send your sister off across the ocean with us? Since I don’t even rank high enough to meet her and all that.”
    “Keira is an Army vet,” Jim said. “She’s good and she won’t turn on you.”
    I tried to picture a female version of Jim and got Jim in a dress instead. The image was disturbing.
    “Did you at least ask her?” Curran asked.
    “I know she’ll go.”
    “Well, then she’s in unless she says no.”
    I’d signed six things and my stack wasn’t getting any smaller. It was like the paperwork was breeding while I worked.
    “Where are you going to get a ship?” Jim asked.
    “We can use a commercial freighter and catch a ride,” Curran said.
    “Won’t work,” Jim said. “Crossing the Atlantic is a bitch. You can get there in three weeks or so, but you may have to get out in a hurry, with ten drums of the panacea, and there is no guarantee the freighter will come back for another trip in time. You’ll need to hire a ship and crew, and they will have to sit in port for about a month waiting for you.”
    “Then let’s hire one,” Curran said. “Or buy one. I don’t care.”
    “I don’t know if we can. It’s not just a question of money. It’s getting an experienced captain and crew on short notice.” Jim drummed his fingers on the table and rose. “I need to get on that.”
    A young man walked up and stopped in the doorway. He moved with complete silence, like a ghost. Still lean, but on the way to filling out, he had short brown hair and the kind of face that made you stop in your tracks. Not that long ago, people stopped and stared because he was beautiful. Now they stopped because they weren’t sure what a man with a face like that would do next.
    Back when he was pretty, Jim had used him for covert work. People had discounted Derek Gaunt as a boy toy, but he missed nothing. He didn’t exactly have a happy childhood. It made him ruthless, hard, and disciplined, and he dedicated himself to the task