Ah, yes, Eric. My number one fan. Of course he was here. We were a thunderstorm and an industrial accident away from the best day ever. I wondered if I should have Ashley run over and give me a wedgie just to complete the experience.
Not to be swayed, Eric kept his eyes on me, his voice pitched for all to hear. “No, someone needs to stand up for the pack. Someone needs to stand up for your family. This”—he waved at the wolves that I’d raised—“is adding insults on top of what he has already done. If this doesn’t prove that he cares nothing for us, what does?”
Okay, now, I’d felt pretty bad over the last few days for screwing up, but this time … well, this time, with the help of my furry clue-sniffing undead lackeys, I was actually doing something helpful. So I got angry. I left Ramon’s side and marched over to Eric.“Look, buddy, I don’t know what your freaking problem is, but has it occurred to you that I’m trying to do my damn job?” I waved out at the crowd of creatures. “This is what I do. This is how I help.”
He got in my face and started jabbing a finger into my chest. “Then we don’t want your help, if this is what it looks like. First you bring a human among us, and now this? I don’t like your kind, and I’m not the only one. They can’t be trusted. You can’t be trusted.” He drew the last word out, practically hissing it.
That’s our Eric. What a charmer. Ladies, try not to swoon.
I stared down at his finger. He’d left it stuck to my chest, poking just a little too hard to be comfortable. I felt the rage blossom in my rib cage and spread out like a sea anemone. The tentacles reached for that offending finger. I like to think that I’m a pretty mellow person. I try really hard to understand where people are coming from. To show a little sympathy or empathy where I can. But even I have my limits, and I had been pushed a touch too far the last couple of days.
Very softly I said, “You need to remove your hand and back away.”
“Or what?” And he shoved me. A little push is all, the small ubiquitous shove that prompts so many schoolyard scuffles. But it was enough.
I felt the animals stop what they were doing and come up behind me. And I felt the things that couldn’t rise. The ghosts, the spirits, the energy, call it what you will, but it was all there, and it was for me. And I took it. I looked up at Eric, and I felt the burning in my eyes, the unveiled wrath and fury. “Or I will remind you why I am Council and you are not.” And I shoved him back. Not hard. Enough to put him off balance and get him out of my face, but not to hurt him. Yet.
I let my jacket fall. I didn’t need it now. My skin felt like it was burning up. And for the first time, I think I really understood what it meant to be Council, and that I was right to be there.
I advanced. “Do you know what that means, or do I need to break it down for you?” The wolves that I’d raised flanked me, growling softly. “It means that I work for the law, I work for justice, no matter what you want. You think I give a damn if I’m pissing you off or offending your fucking sensibilities? I don’t. This is what I do. This is what I am. I won’t apologize for it any more than you should for sprouting hair and drooling on occasion.” I jabbed him in his chest. He wanted to fight. I could feel it. Some of it was directed at me, but mostly it was just built-up aggression. But you know what? We’d all been having a shitty week. That didn’t mean we got to take it out on whomever we wanted.
The crowd around me felt like it was at a tipping point. If we got in a fight, an actual physical altercation, it might do more damage than Eric wanted. There were a lot of high emotions floating around. But I had a feeling that if I didn’t throw a little smack down on this assjack, it would be opening up the floor for all kinds of challenges. I couldn’t afford that. And even if I wanted to, it wasn’t like I could take Eric in such a way physically that would dissuade others from trying. Skinny necromancer versus full werewolf? No contest. Tokyo under the rampaging feet of Godzilla. But I didn’t need to hit him. I just needed to scare him.
The pack had gotten pretty comfortable with me. I’d been around for a while, and I’d never done anything really spooky in front of them, and it had made a few of the dumber ones like Eric careless. There’s a reason why Zeke is careful when he frisks me at the Tongue & Buckle, though. He’s always thorough, I don’t mean that. But when it comes to me, he makes sure his skin never touches mine. Smart people are careful around someone like me.
