Community Service by Vaughn R. Demont

Author:Vaughn R. Demont
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
Published: 2013-05-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Thornton

The reason that we’re better than the two-tails is that we don’t overthink things. They call us lazy, undisciplined, that we can’t do a single thing without the aid of Fate. But I promise you, the Kitsune will never pull another Emerald in the Snow for one simple reason.

Ra’keth are just as unpredictably predictable as Coyotes are.

The reason my clan doesn’t plan twenty moves ahead is because we’re not playing fucking chess here, we’re conning a sorcerer. For that, you’ve got to hit them hard and fast, and if you screw it up? You regroup and try again and, most importantly, you don’t overthink it.

As I slip Spencer’s phone—which I’ve painted pink and covered in My Little Pony stickers—back into my pocket, I know not to question why it was so easy to glean important information on where the Ra’keth is going to be in a few hours. It’s just a sign that Fate’s on my side for this, which is a relief considering those ladies have plenty of reason to take issue with me.

Instead, I stand in a public restroom and stare into a mirror while I apply my cloak. Clothes are easy, really, but faces, that’s a whole ’nother thing. Part of the problem is that James is shorter than me by a few inches, so I’ll have to be used to people talking to my throat instead of my face, but I’ve only got to keep it going for a few minutes.

Irish-red hair, check. Weird white streak, check. Hazel-green eyes, check. Nonexistent smile, check. Faux-hipster wardrobe, complete with skinny jeans with big belt buckle, threadbare Chucks, and a T-shirt for a band no one’s heard of? (I don’t know indie so I just toss out words. For today James will be a fan of Tantric Petting Zoo.) Check.

Easy part’s over. Next step is acting like a sorcerer. I have to appear as if I’m all-powerful, all-knowing, and carrying the weight of a lifetime’s worth of consequences. It will require all of my skill as a student of human nature, all of my talent as a Coyote, to truly mimic such a complex personality. Any deviation from the norm will be quickly pointed out, and the con will be blown.

I take a deep breath and hold my face in a determined scowl. “I am the Sorcerer King. I am an enigma. No one understands me!”

Perfect.

I exit the restroom and walk two blocks to the dragon’s diner and enter. The diner’s busy, the waitresses bustling about.

“Jimmy, you back?” I glance toward a woman with Sharon on her name tag, and I nod in reply. 32A, okay, certainly nowhere near exquisite. “I think the boss is looking for you.”

So far, so good. I move between the tables, toward the door. Maybe I can pull something fast on the dragon, but I’m interrupted by an attractive woman—Monica on her name tag, thin, wearing a ball cap for the Gryphons, 34B, no bra, not exquisite, but damn, what a great smile. “Hey, Jimmy, could you bus four?” I blink a few times.

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