by T S Paul
Agent Nixon gave me a raised eyebrow look as the older lady got back into her car and left. “Weres don’t normally attack other Weres but there some history for it. Many of us are predators. We have the same issues natural predators have.” I smiled at him.
“So I should send a regular Agent to talk to the Omegas? What is an Omega?”
“Yes. Send another of the team tell them to be gentle. Omegas are subs. Think of them as the most dominated person in a group of Alpha personalities. They usually bow to the wishes of everyone in the Pack. In my Father’s Pack the Omega is the healer and the peacekeeper. I can’t imagine what would cause two of them to leave. Since we are busy at the moment I’ll leave that mystery for now.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” He turned back to his radio and sent a few commands to check out the computer shop.
The sound of a squeal of tires and a police siren made law enforcement personnel snap their heads up and look around. A green Chevy truck with ladders and tools hanging off of it came around the corner at a high rate of speed. Hot on it’s tail was one of the local police cars. We had tire-shredders deployed and the truck ran over three of them. In a swirl of smoke and burning rubber the green truck crashed into on the cars being used as a roadblock. Agents rushed forward heedless of danger and pulled open the door.
“On the ground! Get on the ground now!” Black acrid smoke began to pour from beneath the hood of the car. The man behind the wheel was coughing and hacking from the smoke. I could smell oil and gas as it leaked to the ground.
“Get him out of the truck it’s going to catch fire!” I yelled at the other Agents but they didn’t hear me. Orange and red flames began to lick out and consume the front on the vehicle. One brave Agent grabbed the driver and pulled him from the truck. Cries of “Get on the ground” began again.
Agents placed handcuffs on the man as he lay there. The truck was now fully engulfed the fire was spreading to the car it had impacted. Sirens in the distance heralded the fire department.
“Well that was easy. The Chief just reported they tried to ask him some questions and he attacked the office and ran for it. So much for being dangerous.” Agent Nixon had a big smile on his face. I wasn’t so sure about that.
“Are they using the Were proof cuffs on him.” I pointed.
“Should we be? I mean he’s subdued.”
There was a scream and a loud roar as the suspect got to his feet and broke out of the cuffs. Hair began to appear on his face and arms.
“Damn it! Make sure nobody shoots me.” I began stripping off my suit pants and jacket. The Wolf was now completely changed and was attacking the Agents. Gunshots could be heard as the panicking Agents fired wildly.
“Cat what are you doing! Now is not the time for… Oh my god!” He fell backward as my other form made her presence known with a very loud roar.
The Wolf’s head came up with a growl as he sensed a challenger. He bared his teeth and looked around the smoke filled area. Gunshots still sounded and he flinched as a bullet struck his flank. The Agents had disregarded my instructions and weren’t using the silver bullets the FBI issued. Good for him and good for me. My Cat screamed her challenge and leaped over the police car with easy.
My form was easily three times the size of his. I was what the Packs called a throwback. Every generation there was maybe one born worldwide. I was a Saber tooth tiger in my other form, the rarest of the rare.
The Wolf growled at me and looked for a way out. I began to pace in front of the cars and crouched for a leap. The Wolf lunged forward and tried to bite my flank. My front paw lashed out with four inch razor sharp claws that severed his front leg from his body. With a hiss and a growl my Cat closed in for the kill. When Weres change we become two consciousness’s in one body. Usually the most primal is the dominate one. With Alphas we have the option to control our other form and retain our intellect and thought. I reigned her in and pulled back from the Wolf.
The Wolf lay on the ground and slowly began to change back to human. The Agents were freaking out and pointing guns at the both of us. I shifted to my warrior form which freaked them out even more. I grabbed the severed limb and jammed it up against the shifting Wolf’s wound. His limb reattached itself as he shifted back to human. “Puut theee Weerre cufffs on himm.” I stood guard until someone did as I asked. I stepped around the car and scooped up my clothing. There was a wooded area that I could change in nearby.
Firefighters were putting out the vehicle fires adding steam to the black smoke. Stepping out of the the woods I found Agent Nixon waiting for me.
“That wasn’t in your file.” He looked me up and down perhaps seeing me for the first time.
“Were forms usually aren’t. How is the suspect?”
“Recovering. I was surprised the arm took. Is that normal?”
“It can be. He would have regrown it in a few weeks but I thought you would like him in one piece. Please tell me you used the proper cuffs this time?”
“We did. He’s in a reinforced cell that the locals have. Guards with silver ammo are watching him.” I spotted my shoes on the ground and picked them up.
“He smells like the one we want. Is he?”
“He is. We searched the place he was living and found a evidence he was in the homes. DNA will be the final nail in his coffin but we are pretty sure he’s our guy. Good work Agent Moore.” I thanked him as I slipped my shoes back on.
There wouldn’t be anymore pool time for me. They were all frightened of me now anyway.
“That was something of a surprise young lady. I guess size doesn’t matter for your folk?” Chief Lleras smiled at me when I entered his station to view the suspect.
“Not so much. May I see the suspect?”
“Sure thing. I spoke to Mrs Blacktail. She told me you were more than you seemed to be.”
“She seemed like one tough lady. Is she OK?”
“One of her kids works for me around the farm. He says she’s fine. Very good work miss. Very good. If the FBI doesn’t work out you come talk to me, you hear?”
“My Dad said the same thing but thanks. It’s nice to have options.” He led me through a few doors into a what looked like the older part of the building.
“This is the oldest jail in the state. We kept the original cells just in case we needed to lock up a Were. One of the first reservations was in our county. It’s gone now. Better to be prepared, don’t you think?”
This man was way more wily than Nixon gave him credit. “Yes, Sir.” The last cell contained the Wolf I fought. He was shackled to the wall.
“So do you wish to say anything? I assume you have been read your rights?” The Chief nodded to me. There were cameras in place so everything was recorded.
“I’ve got nothing to say to your kind, Cat! Your kind is worse than these inferior mundies!”
“OK. Your choice.” I followed the Chief out of the cell area.
“So did he say anything worthwhile?” Agent Nixon sat in the Chief’s office.
“No, Sir. What happens to him now?”
“Now? The State Attorney and the Federal Attorney get to fight it out on pay-per-view. That’s what happens now.” Agent Nixon shook his head at the local police chief.
“It’s in discussion. Don’t worry someone will try him for murder.” Nixon stood and shook Lleras’s hand. “Time for us to go. We have paperwork to fill out and work to do.”
As we exited the building I smiled. I caught the bad guy! Maybe I was ready to do this job after all. Time to learn whatever I can to make my future job easier.
Copyrights
This book is a work of fiction, All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright (c) 2016 T S Paul
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mecha
nical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.
Cover designed by Willsin Rowe
Editing by Diane Velasquez, Dorene Johnson
And ProWriter Aid.
All writing was done on Scrivener and Google Docs
Special thanks to Michael, Kat Lind, and everyone at SIL and to my wife Heather who keeps me grounded and to Merlin the Cat, we are his minions.
Surprise! My wife gets all the credit for this one. It was her idea to put this collection out before the release of The Federal Witch book 3 so everyone can get caught up. That book is still being written but will drop with luck by the end of January 2017. So real soon. I have more than 5 books planned for this series for the next year as well as my Sci - Fi books and others.
2016 was a year of trials and tribulations for me as an author. I started out with literally nothing and now have over 23 books in publication. I helped found the group 20bks to 50k and have remained one of its staunchest supporters and moderators. Authors helping other Authors is our primary task. We like to think of is as a BS free zone. At this writing we just crossed the 2000 member line and it’s still growing.
My other series will get new books this year as well. Look for at least 2 more Athena Lee’s and 2 Tisiphone books this year. I have plans to write a children’s series based upon Greek Mythology too. It will be very busy but fun as well. My wife wants me to start showing up at conventions and SF shows so look for me in your area soon.
Some friends of mine have new books out that I think my readers might like. All are new to the Fiction realm and are still getting their feet wet. Check them out and maybe given their books a read as well.
The wind was sharp and northeasterly coming over the quiet field surrounding the city walls. Looking towards the rising sun, a line of carts, wagons, and pedestrians making their way toward the city gates, stretching like a long segmented chain of humanity, filled the road. It was all orderly, quiet and in its own way, beautiful. The serene scene was restful for his eyes, and he drank it in. Continuing on the way along his assigned patrol he turned with the crenelated wall to his right.
The serenity of the outward view faded, as he stood overlooking the marketplace within the walls. Here was vitality, cheerful chaos, and a mixture of colors and motion. Today was market day in Tobrud, the capital city of the province of Zenon. Today, anything was possible.
Smells, smells, smells. The odors of fish warred with those of spices, clashing in the nostrils and clogging up the throat. Sailors from many ports roared and jostled for space with traders, nomads, and complacent farmers. This section of the market focused on foodstuffs. Vendors screamed their wares in a cacophony of sound. Humans, dwarves, halflings, and other races were jammed tightly in the aisles between booths. There just wasn’t any space available to move freely, except for one notable exception. Striding down the center of the walkway there was a large human. Around this being was open space, filled only by a massive four-legged companion. It was as if there was an invisible force that pushed others away. There was nothing said, no spell, no aggressive gesture. Just a determined and rapid movement. Occasionally, someone would look up at the face of the human and suddenly find a reason to be elsewhere. Some even cringed.
There were a few exemptions to this reaction. A blind beggar was seated on a raggedy rug on the corner of one of the buildings that bordered the market. As the human approached, he rattled his cup and called out, “Alms for a poor beggar?”
The walker paused and looked down. The beast took another step and proceeded to sniff the beggar all over his face and hands, as the human waited. The blind man made a startled exclamation and arched back away from the animal’s muzzle. “Good grief! What on earth are you?” Sitting back on its haunches, the animal’s head turned toward the two-legged companion. Seems ok, Sephera. And he smells like cats.
One scarred hand reached into the broad belt that spanned a surprisingly narrow waist and emerged with two coins. Dropping them into the beggar’s cup, a contralto voice said, “Here’s for you and your cats, old man. Sorry about the sniff test from my companion.”
Author Taki Drake can be found hanging out on Amazon as well as her Blog. ,
“Alphonse let me get this straight,” Booker clasped his hands together as Alphonse passed around drinks, “Your Royalty knows kung-fu?”
Alphonse sighed, seeing a long trail of explaining in front of him.
“What is ‘kung-fu?” Aura questioned Alphonse.
“You know, the ninja attack,” Booker answered.
Her eyes squinted at the phrase ‘ninja.’
“And said Princess doesn’t go outside,” Booker pressed.
Alphonse finally joined in the conversation between the two youth, “I don’t think now is the time…”
Booker interrupted, “No wait, I don’t go outside, and I’m ‘lazy’ and ‘not going to achieve anything.'” He pointed to the young woman, “She doesn’t go outside, and she’s ‘Her Royal High-.” A knife suddenly appeared on the table in front of Auralee and Booker cleared his throat, his eyes glancing down, “Her Royal Princess.” Nodding, he leaned his chair back to escape her annoyed gaze.
“Anyhow,” Alphonse tried once more, “Normally no, our royalty is similar to your common concepts, Princess Auralee…”
“Aura, Alphonse, please,” Auralee asked.
“Aura,” Alphonse continued, slowly growing tired of the interruptions, ”is the youngest of five, so her duties as a member of the family are simply marriage at best.”
“Alright, kinda sucks, but that doesn’t explain the ninja bit,” Booker responded.
“All in due time, but right now there are more in important matters to discuss.” Alphonse turned back around to Auralee, “Aura,meet your new driver and bodyguard.” His arm was presenting the youngling like Vanna White showing a Wheel of Fortune puzzle.
“Hold on what?” Booker’s front chair legs slammed onto the ground as he leaned forward looking between the two trying to put his sentence together, “Wait, what?” He pointed to the princess, “She can probably kick my ass eleven times out of ten, how am I going to be her bodyguard?”
Auralee seemed to nod in understanding, which only served to confuse Booker even more.
“You just tried to choke me,” He addressed to Auralee, “And I can hold my own in a fight, thank you very much.” Booker addressed Alphonse before he could ask.
“Tried seems to be an understatement, but what do I know, I only saw it.” Alphonse reminded the young man.
“Ha ha Alphonse, eat a dick.” Booker returned.
Alphonse cackled to himself as Booker stewed. Wiping a tear of humor from his eye, Alphonse asked, “Sterling, ever heard of a coup d’état?”
“Yeah, the place down on 5th street, Coup de Taco.” Booker nodded in agreement while Alphonse’s face slowly twisted in confusion.
Alphonse, his head shaking and eyes narrowed, replied, “What? No, coup d’état, the French term for overthrowing a sovereign state.”
Auralee turned questioningly toward Alphonse, her head pointing towards Booker.
Alphonse had to roll his eyes and spoke to her in Elvish. “I promise you Aura; he’s your father’s choice. He’s only acting like this to figure out who you are,” Alphonse answered the question that she hadn’t spoken. “Honestly I think he’s scared of you.”
“And what, Alphonse, makes you say that?” Auralee questioned.
“He has no current connections to anything going on in our realm, and Booker is not bad at driving, plus I doubt anyone in the government would try to get to you in a human city, he’s perfect.”
Author Joey Anderle can be found here on Amazon and on his Facebook page.
Cal slammed his left foot on the other pedal. His eyeballs were almost fired out of their sockets as the ship screeched to a stop in mid-air.
“Not yet!” Mech cried.
The ship began to fall. It wasn’t even the uncontrolled descent of the last dr
op this time, but a full-scale plunge towards the ground below.
“You told me to put my left foot on the other pedal!” Cal protested.
“I hadn’t finished the sentence!” Mech cried.
The ground spun in looping circles towards them, the landing pad now filling almost a third of the screen. Cal pumped the pedals as Mech frantically pressed any buttons his fingers weren’t too big for.
