Roc

by Robert M Kerns

  “Oh. Well, in that case… if this lasts long enough that you’d rather spend one more night, the rooms are on me again.”

  The councilors turned to take their luggage back to their rooms. When the feline councilor turned, Melody lifted the room key she had just turned in and smiled as she said, “Here you are, ma’am. I haven’t completed the check-out paperwork yet, so it’s like you never left.”

  * * *

  The passage of about twenty minutes found me and the councilors in the town hall of the city’s administration building. As it had every other time I’d been in the room, the space’s resemblance to a courtroom seemed uncanny. On our way into the administration building, I stopped at the reception desk and asked the staffer to call Sheriff Clyde to let him know the councilors decided to stay and hear the hunter’s case. We spent no more than ten minutes in the town hall when the doors opened to admit Sheriff Clyde, Sloane, Sally, and the hunter in question—wearing blaze orange scrubs and handcuffs.

  The sheriff parked his detainee in a chair as Sloane and Sally sat across the room from him.

  “I still say you have no grounds to hold me,” Lewis grumbled. “I ought to stand up and just walk out of here.”

  Clyde chuckled, and it held no mirth. “Son, you do whatever you feel you need to do, but you should know that there’s more than one predator in the room and we all love a good chase. So, go right ahead. We’ll probably play with you a little bit before we catch you, just to break up the monotony of the day.”

  “Predator?” Lewis asked. “What do you mean? Like child predators? Sex predators?”

  The sheriff shook his head. “Not quite. Alpha Wyatt, would you mind educating him on the nature of his accusers? You’re the most spectacular predator we have.”

  I simply crossed my arms. “Not until you go out to the custodial closet and get one of those thick contractor-grade trash bags for his feet. The custodial staff doesn’t deserve to clean up after him if he voids himself again.”

  Clyde nodded and turned to his detainee. “Please, feel free to run while I’m gone.”

  Then, he trooped out to the hall and came back shortly with three contractor-grade trash bags and some thick twine. He had Lewis lift each foot in turn and fed the lifted foot into the trash bag, pulling it up as high as possible, then tied it off with a piece of twine. Then, repeated everything for Lewis’s other leg. Then, Clyde had Lewis to stand and rolled the third bag so that it was open with a rolled ridge around its diameter; he placed it in the seat and had Lewis sit on it.

  “Well, Alpha Wyatt,” he said, “I think we’re about as good as we can be.”

  I didn’t really want to shift and ruin my clothes, but I wasn’t about to strip down in front of Sally—as she was underage and all— or the councilors and the hunter. Ah, well… surely, Hank would have another shirt like this in the general store, right?

  I moved to stand in the large space between the conference table and the wall, then touched the part of my mind that was no longer human and willed the shift. Fabric exploded all around me, and by the time the threads settled, the hunter looked like he was catatonic. He stared at me with wide eyes, a gaping mouth, and absolutely zero movement beyond the basic, autonomic functions.

  An idea popped into my head, and it was something only my sister would consider, let alone do. But I couldn’t resist. I took one step toward the hunter and snapped my jaw like I was biting something, then licked my lips.

  Lewis Mitchell’s eyes rolled back in his head as he went limp and slithered to the floor… terrified into unconsciousness.

  8

  The councilors all performed some variation of looking back and forth between me and the unconscious hunter for several moments, before the feline councilor cleared her throat and tapped her knuckles on the table.

  “I call this hearing to order. We gather here today to deliberate the matter involving Lewis Mitchell, a human hunter illegally within Godwin County—which is a duly recognized shifter territory by the State of Washington. It is most commonly the case that the subject of the hearing is conscious and present to participate, but proving the nature of the situation to him seems to be more than his constitution can bear. No matter. We will proceed. Sheriff Clyde, we deputize you to present the case against Mister Mitchell in Alpha Wyatt’s stead. Alpha Wyatt, I trust this meets with your approval?”

  I stood and bobbed my large head in a nod, then promptly laid back down. I had to stack my paws, one on top of the other, to act as a chin rest that was tall enough to prevent my curved incisors from poking into the floor.

  “Let the record reflect that Alpha Wyatt nodded his assent,” the feline councilor continued. “Sheriff Clyde, please present the case and call any witnesses you deem appropriate.”

  Sheriff Clyde stood and cleared his throat as he approached the conference table.

  “Esteemed Councilors, earlier today, Sloane delivered this man to Main Street. He wore the garb of a hunter, including a blaze orange vest and ball cap, and he carried a scoped hunting rifle, chambered in .308 Winchester. Just as I arrived on the scene, I heard Sally Poole arrive at Alpha Wyatt’s side and report a hunter in the woods outside of town. At this time, I ask Sloane Martinez to tell us her experiences.”

  The feline councilor nodded, saying, “Ms. Martinez, please step forward.”

  Sloane stood and told the councilors everything she experienced from the moment she started to claim a deer for food up through delivering the hunter to Main Street in Precious. At no point did her heart rate, breathing, or any of the regular tell-tales indicate she lied.

  “Thank you, Ms. Martinez. Sally Poole, will you tell us what you experienced?”

  Just as Sally approached the table, our intrepid hunter rejoined the land of the conscious, starting to mumble even before opening his eyes, “Wha… didn’t think you could pass out inside a hallucination.”

  “Mister Mitchell,” the feline councilor said, “you are most certainly not inside a hallucination. Now, be silent. You will have your turn to speak in a moment. Miss Poole, if you please?”

  Sally described how she, her family, and few of the other local deer shifter families went out for a run and some grazing. Everyone kept to the ranges set aside for prey shifters, and everything was going well until she saw the hunter. When she realized he was actually going to shoot her, she did the only thing she could think of, which was throw her legs wide and fall to the ground. She finished her re-telling by describing her flight through the forest to alert Alpha Wyatt or at least get some kind of help and arriving in town after Sloane brought the hunter in.

  Like Sloane before her, none of her biometrics that shifters could sense indicated she told a lie.

  The feline councilor gave Sally an encouraging smile. “Thank you, Sally. Sheriff Clyde, is the accused able to speak?”

  By now, Lewis was back to staring at me. He remained in the same posture and position that he assumed when he passed out, as if he feared moving would spur me to attack him. Sheriff Clyde approached him and hauled him to his feet.

  “But… what about that… that thing? It’ll eat us all!” Lewis wailed.

  “Oh, shut up, you ninny. That’s Alpha Wyatt. You’ve already met him, and he won’t attack you unless you attack someone else.”

  I bared my teeth and nodded. Then, I took a long, deep sniff and licked my lips again… like there was a very savory meal just within reach. Lewis pissed himself like I’d turned a tap, darkening the crotch and upper thighs of his orange inmate scrubs, and the unmistakable bouquet of fresh urine filled the town hall.

  Clyde looked down, then looked up at the ceiling as he released a very put-upon sigh. “Dammit, Wyatt…”

  “Alpha Wyatt,” the feline councilor began, “while I understand your evaluation that this man deserves as much punishment as you see fit to deliver for attacking one of your citizens, I’m sure I can speak for all assembled councilors when I ask you not to terrorize Mister Mitchell until we’ve finished these proc
eedings. Chicago is a long way off, and we’d like to leave by the end of the week.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” the deer councilor opined. “I’m enjoying Alpha Wyatt terrorizing him.”

  The feline councilor shot her associate a frown. “You’re a deer shifter, too, so you’re biased. Matter of fact, you probably shouldn’t even be sitting this case.”

  “Too late. Let’s get on with this.” The deer councilor rolled his hand in a ‘hurry up’ gesture.

  The feline councilor turned back to Lewis. “Mister Mitchell, do you have anything to say on your behalf?”

  By now, the state of affairs seemed to be sinking into Lewis’s mind… at long last. He gaped at the deer councilor in a horrified stare before looking over his shoulder to give the same expression to Sally.

  “Deer shifter?” he asked, almost too quiet to hear. “You mean, they can turn into deer? Like a buck or a doe?”

  “I’m rather proud of my twenty-point rack,” the deer councilor said. “I’ve been growing it a while.”

  Any hint of a defensiveness or defiance vanished from Lewis’s posture. “Oh, my… I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. My buddy and I have never understood why there are so many prohibited-hunting zones across the country. Wait… are they all…?”

  “Shifter territory?” the feline councilor asked.

  Lewis replied with a weak, horrified nod.

  “If the prohibited-hunting zone is not inside a state or federal park, it’s almost guaranteed that those zones are shifter territory. Most shifter communities normally have predator shifters policing the borders, but it just so happened that most of the shifters in Godwin County—whether predator or prey—gathered in Precious for our impromptu visit. You see, my fellow councilors and I represent the government—for lack of a better term—of the shifters. And I’m afraid, Mister Mitchell, that we need your buddy’s name.”

  “Paul,” Lewis answered as he bowed his head. “Paul Burkett. What will happen to us?”

  “Well, I think it’s clear to everyone involved that you violated the no-hunting zone of Godwin County for the explicit purpose of hunting. The treaty between the Shifter Nation of North America and the United States gives us complete authority to do as we will. In a normal situation, you wouldn’t even be alive right now; one of the shifters guarding the county border would have killed you for taking that shot if you somehow managed to get past them in the first place. You attempted premeditated murder at the urging of your associate. Your lives are ours now to do with as we please.”

  Lewis nodded as he hung his head and his shoulders slumped.

  “Alpha Wyatt,” the feline councilor continued, and I stood and turned to face her, “you and Sheriff Clyde will contact the state’s Attorney General to report this incident and request a warrant for the apprehension of Paul Burkett under the terms of the shifter treaty. As has been established in precedent, both Mister Mitchell and Mister Burkett are yours to do with as you see fit.” She glanced among her associates. “Does anyone wish to comment or move for a vote toward a different outcome?”

  The other councilors remained silent, a few shaking their heads ‘no.’

  “Very well,” the feline councilor remarked and rapped her knuckles on the table once more. “We’re adjourned.”

  Clyde collected Lewis and helped him step out of the trash bags. He took the bags with him as he left with Lewis in tow. The councilors stood, and the feline councilor approached me. She held out her hand as if to pet me, and I nodded.

  The feline councilor stroked the fur along my head and spine as Sloane, Sally, and the other councilors filed out of the town hall. Once we were alone, she said, “You are such a strong and beautiful cat, Wyatt. I want to discuss the possibility of a courtship… once you can discuss things again. It’s such a shame that we have no way to communicate in our animal forms.”

  She gave me one last head-to-tail rub and patted my shoulder before we walked out of the town hall; she was kind enough to help me with the doors.

  Gabrielle looked up from whatever held her focus as I padded into the Alpha’s house through the back door. “Decide to go for a ramble after the councilors left?”

  I shook my head and headed for our bedroom. Halfway down the hallway, I shifted mid-stride and went to my closet. Gabrielle followed me and bathed me in appreciative ogling and suggestive sounds that shifted to pouting that may (or may not) have been fake as I dressed.

  “The councilors were leaving, but Sloane brought in a hunter who violated Godwin County. He took a shot at one of the deer shifters.”

  Deadly seriousness subsumed Gabrielle’s demeanor in an instant. “Who was it? Are they okay?”

  “The deer in question was Sally Poole, and yes, she’s fine… aside from having a good scare that’ll make a fun story for her grandchildren. She thought fast enough to kick her legs out wide and fall to the ground just as he took the shot, which gave Sloane the time to pluck him out of the meadow like other raptors catch fish. He—the hunter in question—is now very well aware of why the no-hunting zones exist around the country and is coming to grips with the idea that he is guilty of attempted murder. His buddy set him up to it on a dare, so we’re going to grab that guy, too, when we go to the Attorney General about this.”

  “Any idea what you’ll do with them? And why did you come back as your cat?”

  I gave Gabrielle a very predatory smile. “I was thinking on the way over how fitting it would be for this guy’s buddy to experience just what it means to be defenseless against a master hunter; I’ve decided we’ll pick him up in the dead of night, dose him with a sleeping agent, and bring him out here in the woods somewhere… probably some place deep in the predator ranges. Then, strip him naked and tell him if he can get out of the county without being caught, he’s a free man.”

  “Okay… so who’s hunting him?”

  “You.”

  Now, Gabrielle shared my smile. “Do I get to kill him?”

  I sighed. “It depends on the background check I’m going to have Sheriff Clyde do. If this guy’s a bad dude who’s left a trail of harm and ruined lives, you’re welcome to do with him as you will. But if he’s just a guy who had a bad idea and set his buddy off on this mess, I’d rather talk to him after you let him experience what it’s like for the regular deer every hunting season.”

  Gabrielle shook her head as she muttered. “You’re too damn good for us, Wyatt.”

  I pretended like I hadn’t heard and then remembered something. “Oh, hey… what do you know about the feline councilor that came out with the group?”

  “Not much, really. I know she’s a lioness, and she’s always seemed to be a decent person. Why?”

  I leaned against the wall and rubbed my face as I sighed. “She hung back while everyone else left the town hall, where we held the hearing for this hunter. She told me she wanted to discuss a courtship once I could talk again. What do you think?”

  As I pulled my hands away from my face, I caught Gabrielle in an unguarded moment. Her shoulders were tense, and her expression communicated worry to me. Aw, shit…

  “Hey, none of that.” I pulled her into a hug and held her tight. “None of that, now. Even if something happens with this councilor, I’m not trading up, and if she tries to run you off, she’ll face me.” After several moments of silence, I stepped back from the hug and kissed her cheek as my lips passed. “I don’t want you thinking you’re leaving this relationship any other way than by your choice… and hopefully after you’ve let me try to talk you out of leaving. Okay?”

  Gabrielle bobbed a nod. “Sorry… sorry. It’s just that most guys would drop a jaguar in a hot minute if he had a chance at a lioness or a tigress, especially if the guy wasn’t strong enough to have his own pride. They’re the elite of feline shifters… like marrying intelligent and super-attractive royalty.”

  I leaned back in and gave her a quick peck on the lips before pulling back to meet her eyes with mine. “If I could have only one cat in my life
, she would be you, and that’s not going to change.”

  “What’s this?” Karleen said as she walked into the bedroom. “Is something wrong, Gabby?”

  Gabrielle scoffed. “Only my insecurities. The lioness councilor made a pass at Wyatt. She told him she wants to discuss a courtship.”

  “The way you say that makes me think there’s something special to a courtship. What did I miss while I was out of touch building a cabin and chasing rabbits?” Karleen asked.

  “Courtships among shifters are most often used as a prelude to becoming an Alpha mate and establishing a pride,” Gabrielle explained.

  Karleen frowned and looked to me. “You mean you didn’t set her straight about us?”

  I chuckled and shook my head. “Nope. I couldn’t. I was a saber-tooth cat at the time she declared her interest. I just came back to shift, get dressed, and find you two.”

  “Well, you’ve shifted, and you’re dressed. Let’s go tell this lioness what the deal is.” Karleen turned and led us out of the Alpha’s house. As we stepped onto the sidewalk, she frowned. “Oh… do either of you know anything about Sloane bringing in a hunter? I saw a couple deer shift to human out in the park and overheard pieces of the conversation.”

  “Yeah, that’s a whole thing,” I replied. “I’ll explain on the way to the hotel.”

  9

  The closer we were to the hotel, the more I felt like I was marching to the gallows. I was not looking forward to this conversation, especially since I didn’t want to make an enemy of the feline councilor. It would be nice just to slink off and let Gabrielle and Karleen handle it, so I voiced that thought.

  “Nope,” Karleen replied as Gabrielle slipped an arm around mine and held it tight.

  “You have to establish our authority to have the conversation, at least,” Gabrielle added. “If we just show up without you, it could mean anything.”