Magic Rises

note.”
    “I wouldn’t know,” the Clerk said. “We got one the other night that said if we didn’t come and get this guy, the kidnappers would feed him to a giant tortoise. Do you want me to do anything about this?”
    “I’ll take it,” I said.
    “Just so you know, you’re on record for that.”
    “That’s fine. Thank you for calling.”
    “Anytime.”
    I looked at Janice. “Did you get all that?”
    She passed me the paper. Under guard, seeing red. Interesting choice of words, atypical of Saiman. He spoke like a college intellectual. His philosophy was that if he couldn’t pack at least three syllables into a word, it wasn’t worth his attention.
    Saiman was a self-admitted sexual deviant and egomaniac. The last time he put me into a life-threatening situation, he’d jumped into his car and taken off so fast, the snow from his tires pelted my face. But if I saved him, he would owe me a favor. A very large million-dollar favor.
    “We’re not going to pay that ransom, are we?” Janice asked.
    “Hell no.” I looked at the paper again. “Is Jim still up?”
    “He’s in his spy rooms,” Janice said.
    Most shapeshifters were seminocturnal. Late to bed, late to rise. The Pack’s chief of security and my onetime Guild partner was no exception.
    “Oh good. If Curran comes through here, this whole thing never happened.”
    “Are you asking me to lie to the Beast Lord?” Janice’s eyes narrowed into slits. A subtle grin hid in the corners of her mouth.
    “No, I’m telling you not to volunteer information.” If Curran got involved, it would be all over. “What the Beast Lord doesn’t know can’t hurt him. Or me.”
    I went through the security checkpoint and down the wide staircase that ran the height of the Keep’s main tower. Luckily I didn’t have to go too far. Jim’s spy operation occupied rooms two floors below.
    I found Jim in the small kitchenette getting a cup of coffee. Tall, with muscle definition that made you wince, Jim prided himself on the ability to intimidate by simply being there. He was in his early thirties, with skin that matched the coffee in his cup and short hair, cut close to the scalp. Normally he didn’t stand, he loomed like a menacing shadow, but right now he was on his home turf, and the air of threat had dropped off to tolerable levels. He leaned against the wall with one arm, drinking coffee, looking relaxed, and when he saw me, he smiled without showing his teeth. Jim Shrapshire, a sweet and welcoming jaguar. Aha. Not buying it, buster.
    “Is there any coffee left?”
    Jim hefted the metal pot. “There is.”
    I grabbed a mug and watched him pour the nearly black liquid out. Back when we both worked for the Mercenary Guild, Jim preferred to take night jobs. The giant vat of coffee was made once, in the morning. By the end of the night, no sane soul would touch it. Jim drank it like water.
    Jim filled my mug. I sniffed it. So far, so good. I took a brave sip. The bitter scalding liquid slid a third of the way down my throat and got stuck. “Dear God.”
    He grinned.
    “Jim, if I turn the cup upside down, it will roll out slowly like molasses.”
    “That’s how you know it’s good. Drink it, it will put hair on your chest.”
    “My chest is fine as is, thanks. You’re in a good mood.”
    “I’m always in a good mood, Kate. What brings you to my lair?”
    “Saiman called.”
    Jim skewed his face. He hated Saiman the way cats hated water. “What does he want?”
    “He’s been kidnapped and he wants someone to bring his kidnappers a million dollars.”
    Jim blinked. For a second his face froze, slapped by surprise, and then the Pack chief of security leaned back and laughed.
    I sipped the horrible coffee. I’d known him for years and I could count on one hand the number of times I’d heard him laugh.
    Jim chortled.
    “Keep it coming.” I waved at him. “Get it out of your system.”
    I managed two more swallows of coffee by the time he finally got himself under control enough to talk.
    “Do you have a million dollars, Kate? You must’ve done a lot better at the Guild than I did.”
    Laugh it up, why don’t you. “Have you heard anything about Red Guard going rogue?”
    The Red Guard was a premier bodyguard outfit in the city. If you wanted private cops, there were none better. I’d worked with them a few times.
    “Why?”
    I passed him the paper with Saiman’s plea for help. Jim read it and raised his eyebrows. “Under heavy