Rise of the Jaguar

by Elizabeth Kelly

  “You didn’t mention I’d have to go in completely unarmed,” she said.

  “I could give you a pencil,” he said.

  A small grin crossed her face before she pulled a thin steel rod about as thick as a pencil but half the length from her hair. The one end narrowed into a needle-sharp point. It joined the other weapons on his living room chair.

  Emerson stared at Sarina in a combination of surprise and awe. As Sarina adjusted her dress, Emerson leaned over to Clay and whispered, “I want to be her when I grow up.”

  He grinned and surprised himself by bending and pressing a kiss against her mouth. Public displays of affection weren’t his thing, but he suddenly didn’t care if Sarina knew how he felt about Emerson. “Baby, you’re just as tough as she is, trust me.”

  She grinned and purred softly. “Sweet of you to say, but completely untrue.”

  The buzz of the door made Emerson jump. “Are you expecting someone?”

  “No,” he said.

  “It’s my sister,” Sarina said.

  “Your sister?” He could hear the annoyance in his voice. “You told your sister where I fucking live?”

  “Relax,” Sarina said. “She’s not going to tell anyone.”

  “Why exactly is she here?” Clay said.

  “I need her help,” Sarina said as the door buzzed again. “Let her in, Clay.”

  He called the doorman at the front desk of the lobby. “Hi, Walter. Yes, let her up. Thanks.”

  “What do you need her help with?” He stuck his phone back into his pocket.

  Sarina did jazz hands. “Magic.”

  “Magic?” Emerson said.

  Clay shrugged. “I have no idea what she’s talking about.”

  He opened the door at the soft knock and grunted in surprise as the woman smiled at him. “Hey there!”

  Clay stared at the enormous crow sitting on the woman’s shoulder. “There’s a crow on your shoulder.”

  “Um, yes, I know,” the woman said politely. “I’m looking for my sister, Sarina. Can I come in?”

  “With the bird?”

  “We’re kind of a package deal.”

  He sighed and stepped back, letting the pretty brunette walk past him. “If that bird shits in my apartment, I’m sending you the cleaning bill, Sarina.”

  She ignored him, her arms already outstretched for her sister’s hug. “Hello, sweetness.”

  “Hi!” The woman flung her arms around Sarina. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  Sarina smiled at her, holding her out at arm’s length. “You look good, sweetie. Really good.”

  “You do too. That’s some dress. You’re a total hottie in it. If I’d known we were dressing up, I would have worn my jeans without the rips in the knees.”

  Sarina laughed. “You look gorgeous, sweetie. Just like you always do.” She touched the four unicorn barrettes that haphazardly held her sister’s hair back from her face. “Since when did you develop a love for unicorns?”

  “Oh, that’s from Liza across the hall. She’s only seven and obsessed with unicorns. Did I not tell you that she and her parents moved into Bren’s old apartment? Anyway, she wants to be a hairstylist, so she likes to come over and do my hair for me. It’s usually just a lot of unicorn barrettes.”

  Sarina’s sister was pretty in a soft and sweet kind of way, Clay decided. She and Sarina didn’t look much alike. Where Sarina had almost waist-length auburn hair, dark brown eyes, and a muscular, athletic body, her sister had shoulder-length light brown hair, blue eyes, and she was on the slender side.

  The crow made a low caw and stretched its head toward Sarina. She petted the bird’s head with a gentle hand. “Hello, Liliana.”

  The crow rubbed its beak along Sarina’s fingers before nibbling at them affectionately.

  “Did you tell Helen I was here?” Sarina said.

  “No, I kept it quiet like you asked. But why are you here? I thought you would be in Paris for at least another two months.”

  “I’m just here for tonight,” Sarina said. “I’m back in Paris tomorrow.”

  “When did your flight land? I could have picked you up from the airport,” her sister said.

  “I didn’t fly,” Sarina said with a look at Clay.

  Her sister’s eyes widened. “Oh my God, did you teleport?”

  “You told her I could teleport?” Clay said. “The fuck, Sarina?”

  “Watch your mouth around my sister,” Sarina said.

  Her sister rolled her eyes. “Sarina, I’m twenty-four. I’ve heard the F word before. Also,” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “I’m not even a virgin.”

  Emerson laughed, and Sarina’s sister turned to her with a grin and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Elora.”

  “Hi, Elora. I’m Emerson.” Emerson shook her hand and studied the bird on Elora’s shoulder.

  “This is Liliana,” Elora said.

  Emerson sniffed the air and gave Clay a quick look before saying, “Um, so Liliana isn’t just a crow. Did you know that, or…”

  “Oh, I know,” Elora said. “She’s a witch trapped in a crow’s body. I’m working on reversing the spell.” She rubbed her nose along the crow’s shiny black feathers. “Isn’t that right, honey?”

  The crow cawed softly before grooming Elora’s light brown hair with her beak. When Clay joined them, Elora held out her hand. “Hi, Clay, I’m Elora. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Apparently,” he said dryly before shaking her hand. He jerked back when the crow cawed and snapped her beak viciously at him.

  “Liliana,” Elora said, “enough. Sorry, Clay. She doesn’t really like men all that much.”

  “How long have you had her?” Emerson said.

  “Two years,” Elora said before turning back to Clay. “Don’t worry about me sharing your abilities with anyone. I’m excellent at keeping secrets.”

  “Well, that makes me feel much better,” Clay said.

  Elora laughed as he said to Sarina, “Why exactly did you decide to involve your sister in the plan without talking to us first?”

  “She’s not involved in the plan,” Sarina said as the crow took flight from Elora’s shoulder. She did a couple of circles around the room before landing on top of the bookshelf and staring down at them with her beady black eyes. “I need her to do a simple binding spell, and that’s it.”

  “A binding spell,” Emerson said. “You’re a witch?”

  “I am,” Elora said with a hint of pride in her voice.

  “By blood or apprenticeship?” Emerson said.

  Emerson grinned at her. “You know about witches? Are you a paranormal?”

  “Yes. A jaguar shifter.”

  “Cool, cool, cool. Although it’s been my experience that shifters still don’t know that much about us witches. Most of them aren’t all that interested in paranormals who aren’t shifters. No offense.”

  “None taken,” Emerson said.

  “Anyway, I’m a blood witch. It goes back on my mother’s side for generations. My grandmother, Helen, is a super powerful witch. My powers developed a little late, so I’m still learning control and how to cast more complicated spells. Which is why I’m struggling to free Liliana from her spell, but Helen thinks I’ll be more powerful than her someday.”

  “So, if your grandmother is so powerful, why not have her free Liliana?” Emerson eyed the crow still sitting on the bookshelf.

  “She won’t do it,” Elora said but didn’t elaborate.

  Clay studied Sarina. “Why are you a shapeshifter and not a witch?”

  “Maybe I’m both,” Sarina said.

  Elora grinned. “You wish. Sarina and I are half-sisters. We share the same father, not mother.”

  She glanced at Sarina. “So, the usual binding spell?”

  Sarina nodded, and Emerson said, “I hope this isn’t rude because I’m honestly fascinated by it, but can I ask why a binding spell and what it’s for?”

  “Of course,” Elora said. “I
love talking magic. So, there can be different binding spells, depending on what you need, but this one is a real simple one because I’m not trying to, like, bind someone to another person or shit like that. I’m just gonna bind Sarina’s clothes to her body so that if she has to shapeshift, she won’t be naked when she shifts back to her human form.”

  “Seriously?” Emerson’s eyes widened. “You can do that?”

  Elora nodded. “Yep. Normally, depending on what animal she shifts into, her clothes would either be torn apart or just collapse around her, right? Well, with the binding spell, they disappear when she shifts to an animal form and reappear when she returns to human.”

  “How?” Emerson said.

  “Magic,” Sarina said.

  Elora laughed. “It’s kind of hard to explain how the spell works. It just does.”

  “Would it work for shifters?”

  “I think so. I’ve never tried it on one. The only shifter I know that well is a dragon shifter, and after my grandmother accidentally dosed her with a love potion, I’ve never felt comfortable asking her to let me practice a spell on her.”

  Clay glanced at his watch. “We have about half an hour before we need to leave. Is this necessary? If you do your job correctly, the odds of you needing to shapeshift are extremely low.”

  “Better to have it and not need it, am I right?” Elora said.

  Sarina stared coolly at him. “I don’t tell you how to do your job, Clay. Don’t tell me how to do mine.”

  He rolled his eyes, but Emerson squeezed his hand and said, “Listen, if I had the chance to have some spell put on me where I didn’t end up naked every time I shifted back from my jaguar, I’d do it too.”

  Elora grinned at her. “I’ll give you my number. Anytime you want the spell performed, just let me know. This type of binding spell isn’t illegal, so the WWC won’t be breathing down our necks over it. But the spell only lasts for about twenty-four hours, so it’s not always that helpful unless you live the same type of life my sister does?”

  “Not normally,” Emerson said. “Usually, I’m in my pajamas by ten on a Saturday night, eating popcorn and watching Tiny House Nation.”

  Elora held out her fist, and Emerson bumped it. “You’re my people, Emerson. I’m giving you my number. Do you like Thai food?”

  “Sweetie, we’re on a time limit,” Sarina said. “I need you to stop making friends and start casting spells.”

  “Right, sorry.” Elora slapped her hands together and rubbed them back and forth rapidly. “Let’s make some magic.”

  Chapter 23

  “You okay?” Kat held Ronin’s arm as he leaned against the black van and clutched at his stomach.

  “I might barf all over my shoes, but yeah, I’m okay,” Ronin groaned as he rubbed his hands in the frigid air. “This teleporting shit is fucked up.” He glanced up at Emerson. “Why are you not even a little green?”

  She shrugged. “You kind of get used to it after a while.” She studied the street, inhaling deeply, smelling the scent of snow on the air but nothing else. They were only a block away from the gala, but the street was quiet and silent, with very few cars parked on it. “Why is this road so quiet?”

  “It’s a dead-end street,” Clay said. “So, no real traffic from the gala.”

  “How did you hear the hum?” Emerson said.

  “The hum?” Kat said as Sarina made an impatient sound in the back of her throat.

  “It’s how he teleports,” Emerson said.

  “By humming?” Ronin had straightened, and some of the colour had returned to his face. “You ever hum any Celine Dion to teleport? I bet that sweet sound would teleport you straight into Canada, am I right?”

  Clay ignored him. “My mom was big into art. When Owen and I were kids, we had a few family vacations in this city solely so she could go to the Creative Arts Center. My dad refused to pay the outrageous parking fees for the Center, so he used to park on this street, and we’d walk over to the Center.”

  He turned to Kat. “It takes about five minutes to walk over here. We probably have at most a fifteen-minute window before Wilson realizes his phone is missing. That won’t leave us much time for Saul to upload the program onto Granger’s phone. I should teleport to just outside the Center, and you can hand it off to me.”

  “Terrible idea,” Sarina said. “The place will be teeming with people, inside and out. There’s no way you can teleport without being seen.”

  “We don’t have much choice,” Clay said.

  Kat scoffed. “Maybe it takes you five minutes to get from the Center to here, but, trust me, it’s not going to take me that long. I’ll be here in two minutes, three at the most.

  Clay looked like he was going to protest, and Emerson squeezed his hand. “She’s faster than me, Clay.”

  “You sure you know what Wilson looks like?” Kat said to Sarina.

  “Yes, I’ve studied the pictures,” Sarina said. “I’ll head into the gala now. Wait a few minutes before you come in. When you see me rub the back of my neck, it means I have the phone. Head to the bathroom in the south hall. I’ll meet you there with the phone.”

  She disappeared into the darkness as Kat smoothed down her silver form-fitting dress. “How do I look?”

  “Like a fucking goddess,” Ronin said. “I never thought I’d be attracted to brown-eyed blondes, but,” he stared at the straight blonde wig and brown contact lenses Kat wore, “here we are.”

  He leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her mouth before humming a few bars of Brown Eyed Girl. “Be careful, Katarina.”

  Kat smiled and cupped his face. “I will. The security feeds for the Center are up on the computers in the van, so you’ll see every move I make. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Emerson embraced her sister. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  Katarina nodded. “Yes. If that serum gets out… it’s a danger to us, Emerson. We have to stop it.”

  “I know, but please be careful,” Emerson said.

  “I love you, Emmy.”

  “I love you too, Kat.”

  Moving quickly and gracefully, Katarina walked away. They waited until the darkness swallowed the shimmering silver of her dress before Ronin said, “All right. Into the murder van, boys and girls.”

  “Where did you get the van and the computers?” Emerson asked Clay as they climbed into the back of the van behind Ronin.

  “I know a guy.” Clay’s voice and body were tense. She didn’t think he’d taken a deep breath since they’d arrived on the quiet street.

  “Clay?” She took his hand and squeezed it. “Maybe there will be some information on his phone about where Owen is.”

  “Maybe,” he said.

  “We’ll find him,” Emerson said. “I promise.”

  “I know,” he said, but his voice lacked conviction.

  “Okay, let’s see what we have here,” Ronin said. He scanned the multiple screens before whistling under his breath. “Not fucking bad. We have access to every security camera in the joint.”

  “I’m excellent at what I do. It took me, like, eight minutes to hack into the Center’s security cameras.”

  The disembodied voice in the van made Emerson’s jaguar growl, and even Ronin made a low curse of surprise. The three of them studied the far monitor where a dark-haired man with bright blue eyes, a septum ring, and stretchers in his ears grinned at him. “Hey, how’s it going?”

  “Saul, this is Emerson and Ronin,” Clay said. “You set up to download the app on Granger’s phone?”

  Saul cracked his knuckles. “Yep. You got the phone yet?”

  “No. They just went in.”

  Saul looked away. He appeared to be studying a monitor not in their field of view. “Yeah, I can see them both. The shapeshifter is getting a drink at the bar, and the jaguar is already brushing off some guy who’s trying to hit on her. Damn, that dress… she’s a full-on smoke show. You know if she’s single?”

/>   “She’s most definitely not single,” Ronin said.

  Saul grinned at him. “You’re a lucky man, my friend. Guess I’ll try my luck with the shapeshifter.”

  Clay snorted, and Saul said, “What? I’ve got game, Clay. Serious game.”

  “You hit on Sarina, and you’ll be lucky if she doesn’t track you down, rip out one of your kidneys, and make you eat it.”

  “Noted.” Saul clicked away at a keyboard. “I’ve got the app ready to go.”

  “Question,” Ronin said. “How do we know this app will work? I had a client download a spy app thing on his kid’s phone, and it didn’t work worth shit.”

  Saul scoffed. “Because that shit they sell online is fucking amateur. This one is my design. It works, trust me.”

  “How do you know for sure?” Emerson said.

  “It does,” Saul said confidently. “And if that fucker Granger used an iPhone instead of an Android, we wouldn’t even need his phone. I could download the app from the motherfucking cloud.”

  Emerson glanced at Clay. “You know, I’m starting to think I should just toss my phone.”

  “At the very least, I’m gonna stop sexting with my lady,” Ronin said. “And watching porn on my phone. No one but Kat needs to know about my weird fetishes.”

  “I have to agree with you on that one,” Emerson said.

  Ronin grinned at her but beneath that grin lurked the tense face of someone who couldn’t quite disguise his worry. She knew exactly how he felt. Kat being so close to Granger, had both her and her jaguar on edge.

  As if he’d read her mind, Clay squeezed her hand and said into her ear, “She’ll be okay, Em.”

  She settled back against him, hoping like hell he was right.

  “This isn’t working.” Ronin turned from the screen to look at Emerson and Clay. “Sarina’s been talking to him since he finished his thank you speech, and it’s obvious he isn’t interested. You sure he’s into the ladies, Em?”

  Emerson nodded. “He dated a woman for almost six months when I first started working for him.”

  “Doesn’t mean he’s into them,” Ronin said. “He could be in the closet.”