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"Tell me," the dark jaguar asked, pulling on his black clothing, "Why you thought it was a good idea to attack Matthew and attempt to burn down the inn, Terrance?" Kazar's yellow eyes were narrowed at the doberman. His ropey tail whipped around behind him in displeasure.

Terrance snorted, his long dark muzzle pursed. The dog's ears were flat against his head as he snarled out his response. "It's our turn to rule the Council! The Azure Order had its time, and now we can prove that they are unfit to lead!"

"And you were not aware of this attack until I notified you, Kazar?" Rhisanth paced the length of Academy classroom between the wooden tables, his white robes dragging on the floor behind him.

"As I said before, I was not. I find it hard to believe that you would suspect me in an action so ill thought out. You wound me, Rhisanth."

"I told you, it was my idea," Terrance stated sullenly.

The elderly lion stopped pacing and looked directly at the dark jaguar. "Then I expect to find Terrance here when I return. I'll be working to convene the Council to decide his fate, and I shall return as soon as I am able." With that declaration, Rhisanth strode out the classroom doors.

While the wooden doors slammed shut, the doberman snuffled as he stared at his paws. He didn't dare look at Kazar's face, not when he could feel the leader of the Dark Order's fury hanging in the air.

"Rhisanth is gone. I'll repeat my earlier question. By Tewaz's night, what on Ameranth would possess you to so brazenly attack the Earthly and Valiant Orders?" His breath hissed loudly, the cat's breath hot on the doberman's neck.

"Like I said, we should be ruling. Not that dumb blue mutt, not that old lion, and most definitely not that fat, pompous boar." Terrance looked up into the impassive jaguar's narrowed eyes, gaining confidence as he spat each word. "We shouldn't share the seat of power, either. It's time we took our stand."

Shaking his head, Kazar pinched right above his nose pad with his paw. "Despite your skill with magic, you're a moron, Terrance. Truly, I expected better of you."

The doberman growled and moved to get up, but Kazar motioned for him to stay seated. Despite his efforts, Terrance found himself stuck to the chair, and his growl turned into a whine.

"Ruling over nothing isn't ruling at all. This is no bard's tale where the villain makes a grab for power and kills everyone in his way. Subtle politics and fear will get you far more power than you could ever achieve under your own devices. Control is the key, Terrance."

The dark jaguar had walked over to the slate chalkboard, eyeing a diagram where two stick figures were shown. One stick figure was laying horizontal, and the symbol of change - an upright isosceles triangle - was drawn above it. The other figure was shown standing, and a snake entwined around a staff drawn above this figure: the magical symbol for healing. Kazar placed a paw below the diagram and turned back to the doberman. "Convenient. I assume you've passed the basic courses around sympathetic magic, Terrance?"

The dark dog nodded, grimacing as he attempted to squirm out of the seat, but to no avail.

"Somehow I doubt you've retained very much from this course, or you'd see my point of view. Healing magic works because it's sympathetic, that is, it requires the recipient to believe that it will work. If they don't believe it will work, you can sit there and attempt to channel magical power all day and get nowhere. Because it's not really your magic that heals them, but their own, whether they are conscious of it or not."

The jaguar was in full lecture mode now, slowly moving back towards Terrance. When he stopped in front of the dog, he bent down so close that their noses were nearly touching.

"Do you understand where I'm going yet?" he whispered. Standing again, Kazar wheezed loudly, "Politics and the Council are very much like sympathetic magic. Whether they realize it or not, they will do our work for us if we make them believe that it all will work, that we can lead and that we know what we're doing."

"You're wrong."

"Excuse me?" Kazar's yellow eyes narrowed so tightly that Terrance thought he had closed them.

The doberman snarled. "Your methods haven't worked yet. We could have had them all in our paw pads by now, or at least out of our way, if you were bolder!"

"Enough!" The dark jaguar swung his arm viciously, and Terrance flew from his seat from the force of an invisible blow. The lanky doberman skidded to a stop on the stone floor in a fetal position, his head tucked between his limbs. "There is no room in the Council or my plans for your impatience or stupidity. If it were left to me, you would be dead right now, pup! At best, you can expect the Council to strip you of your position."

"What?" Terrance looked up, his ears still plastered to his head, his maw agape in shock. "What about the balance of power? Without me, you'd have one fewer vote!"

"Without you," Kazar hissed, his voice low as he loomed over the prone dog, "My plans would never have been jeopardized in the first place."

* * * * *

"Kazar?" Matt asked, his fur standing on its end. The husky nervously patted down his tail.

The dark jaguar placed his sunglasses into a pocket inside his suit jacket. "No, I'm afraid that answer is incorrect. Should I know who this Kazar is?" Keeping silent, Matt just stared at the suited fur as he stalked Matt, circling the room slowly. "Agent Zachary Knowles. See-sis, specializing in information extraction. This is the closest you'll see me to performing field work. I decided I needed to get out for a bit."

'CSIS?' Matt panicked again. His grip on his tail became so tight he almost yelped in pain. 'The national intelligence service? Holy crap, I'm in trouble!'

"Don't be alarmed, Matthew. I'm just here to ask a few questions. You answer them truthfully and quickly, and we can all go home for some sleep." Agent Knowles hadn't ceased his circling throughout his speech, forcing the husky to swivel his head to maintain eye contact. "And don't lie, please. Let's make this easy for both of us. We already know about you and your friend Kael's special...powers."

The husky's jaw dropped. He couldn't even begin to pretend he wasn't shocked. 'How could he already know about Kael's powers? That was barely an hour ago!'

"No need to be so surprised, Matthew. I know other countries don't think much of our intelligence services, but rest assured we are competent at our jobs." The agent stopped his stalking when he stood directly in front of the husky again. His lean form leaned in as he wheezed his next question, "So tell me, what do you know about that lion and that reptilian creature from the fight on the building the other day?"

'Something doesn't feel right, here.' Matt clamped his maw shut, his teeth audibly clacking in the barren room. "I was just as surprised as you to see it, to see both of them."

Zachary's tail lashed once before stilling once again. "Don't play games, Matthew Lancaster. Furs could end up hurt. Who was that lion?"

"Is that a threat, Agent Knowles?" Matt's hackles rose as he nearly growled the question.

"Answer the question."

"I don't know the answer."

Suddenly Zachary Knowles was in Matt's face. The husky could smell the fish that the agent must have had for a snack on his breath. "Don't fuck with me, Matthew. How do you and Kael have those special powers?"

'At least I can answer that question honestly,' Matt thought ironically. "I don't know the answer to that, either."

"This is a national security matter, pup! I can make your life a living hell if I need to, to get those answers. I know you know them. I can see it in your body language, your inflections, your scent. This is what I do for a living, you can't beat me at it." Zachary had pulled back and began to pace the room. His tail was now moving erratically, whipping through the air.

"Oh, I know exactly what CSIS is," Matt rumbled. "A couple years ago pamphlets were given to my high school, about our rights and what limits you have. You don't have enforcement powers, and you can't arrest me." The husky crossed his arms and pointed his icy eyes directly at Zachary's yellow ones without flinching. "If you want information, I want to deal with furs that can protect me, my friends, and other furs. Like the police."

The agent's claws were out now, and he pointed a long, sharp digit at the husky. "We have files on you and your friends. We know about your narcolepsy; Kael Walker's father and his death; Laura Moretti's profession that she'd clearly rather keep discreet; Jay Richardson's family; and your own parents. We've gathered plenty of data on you while you were in the hospital, Matthew Lancaster, don't think it's beyond me to just gather more."

"Then we're done here." Matt stood up from his seat, his arms still crossed. His lips were pulled back in a snarl as he spoke, baring his teeth. "You clearly don't need my word, and I won't negotiate to threats."

The dark jaguar snarled in return, then swung about and opened the door to leave the room. Agent Knowles didn't turn, but Matt heard his wheezing voice from over his shoulder, "If you don't give CSIS the information, Matthew, more furs could die to these attacks. We're just trying to do what's right."

Once Matt was alone again, he collapsed onto the small metal chair, shivering and panting. 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Did I do the right thing there? Did I just screw up everyone's lives?' The husky gripped his tail and smoothed it out ritualistically as he stared at the concrete walls, the litany of curses and questions repeating in his mind over and over again.

A few minutes later the door creaked open and the broad-shouldered german shepherd walked into the room. Officer Stephenson took a look at the cowering husky and frowned. "Hey, there. You okay?" he said softly as he padded over to where Matt was sitting. "What'd the spook ask you that's got you practically pissin' yourself in fear?"

Matt shuddered as he took a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, the husky brought his shaking under control. "Can we talk in private? I mean, not in here."

"Why's that?" Axel quirked an eyebrow.

"I figure the agent has the room bugged or something," Matt stated sheepishly, still gripping his tail.

The Officer smiled softly and held out a paw, which Matt grabbed and let himself get pulled up by the strong dog. "Sure thing. C'mon. Let's get outta this depressing room."

* * * * *

Chris mulled over the events of the evening. It had only been a couple hours since the madness began, but it felt like days to the big moose. He sat stoically in the german shepherd's office with Laura and Kael as they waited for Axel to bring Matt out from his questioning period. The jaguar that had stopped by to say he was done his interrogation gave Chris shivers, from his hooves to his antlers.

If he hadn't seen those small leathery creatures throw fire, or Kael blow them up with magical light, he'd never have believed the kangaroo's original insistence about the demon attack a couple days ago. Even with that irrefutable evidence, he was having difficulty coming to terms with it all.

'And where does Matt fit into all of this?' he thought to himself. 'Did all of this craziness start with him? And is it going to keep getting crazier? And now I'm in the middle of it.' The moose groaned slightly when he accidentally rubbed his bandaged arm, where a chunk of skin, fur and muscle had been seared off by Kael's - no, the kangaroo wasn't in control of his actions - Dias' abilities.

Axel walked in with Matt in tow. The moose's countenance brightened considerably when he saw the grey-blue husky enter the office. 'Who am I kidding? If I wasn't in the middle of it and I found out Matt was in danger, I'd probably get in the middle of it anyhow.'

"So," the german shepherd asked after shutting the door. He sat on his nearby desk after pushing some of the papers aside. "This is as private as it gets in the station. What happened in there?"

The husky's tail was drooping between his legs, causing Chris to frown. The moose's thick arm muscles bulged as he involuntarily flexed. Seeing Matt so scared made Chris want to punch something.

"Well," Matt started haltingly. Breathing deep, he continued, "Agent Knowles wanted to know more about what happened downtown a couple days ago."

"We were briefed on that. Got footage of you runnin' in, then more footage of you on the roof getting thrown about by that creature. Wasn't really clear. A lot of static, so I guess that's why the questions."

The husky nodded. "I didn't end up telling the CSIS agent anything."

"Good work, dude," Kael said sincerely. "Neither did I. Dude was an ass. Kept yelling about how he'd screw up all our lives if we didn't give him the information he wanted." The kangaroo thumped his thick tail against the wall of the office, nearly crushing Laura's fluffy white tail in the process. He grinned sheepishly when the white wolf shot him a warning glare.

As he walked around the room letting the blinds down, Matt's explanation went on. "Kael and Laura already know this, but Chris and you're in the dark right now, Officer."

"Can the titles, Matt. Call me Axel. It's easier." The shepherd wagged his tawny tail as he gave the husky a thumb's up.

"Sure, Axel. You've both seen these demons first hand now, so it's not like you can accuse me of being crazy." Matt gave Kael a pointed look with that statement, but the kangaroo just shrugged. "But here's the scoop. Our world, Earth, seems to be merging with this other world, Ameranth. The demons are apparently coming in through the cracks that are appearing as the two worlds get closer together. At least, that's the prevailing theory of the mages in Ameranth."

"Mages? Ameranth? I still don't believe it," Axel muttered.

Matt finished pulling down the last of the blinds and fished out a copper penny from his pocket. "Then don't believe it, but I can tell you magic is real, and it's here on Earth."

Holding the penny on top of his upturned paw pad, Matt scrunched his face in concentration. After a brief moment, a ball of flame appeared, floating above the penny.

"Holy shit!" The police officer's declaration was drawn out, the swear sounding more like 'sheet'.

Chris didn't even gasp, but his brow was furrowed in thought. 'I've seen Kael perform magic, but here Matt is doing it, too. This is...amazing.'

Closing his paw, the fire disappeared. Matt stepped forward and dropped the coin into Axel's grasp, and the police officer stared at it in wonder.

"I have access to magic, too," Kael said quietly. "I can't really conjure it on demand like Matt, but it's there."

"Yeah, and the CSIS agent knows that too."

Laura growled, her paw gripping Kael's leg tightly. "How could they have figured that out already?"

"They probably had the hospital room bugged. They knew a lot more about all of us than just the ability to use magic. Heck, perhaps they've already reviewed the security footage of the attack on the hospital."

Kael stood up and pushed Laura's paw off his leg. "Even if they did review the security tapes, magic screws up video recording. That's why the helicopter footage from downtown was so static-y. They couldn't have seen me use it."

"But maybe they could infer it from the working footage?" Laura interjected.

"In either case, we know they know, and they know that we know they know." Matt stopped for a moment and stared at the ceiling. "That made sense, right?"

"So if what you're telling me is true," Matt and Kael both glared at Axel angrily as the german shepherd began. "And I have no reason to doubt that!" he added quickly, pitching his paws out to placate the pair. "Then there could be more of these creatures poppin' up at pretty much any time, right?"

Laura, Matt and Kael nodded slowly.

"Is there any way we could get the jump on them? Get warned where they'll appear so we can be ready?"

"Next time I'm in Ameranth I could ask the mages there. They've dealt with demons before."

Chris tried to unsuccessfully stifle a yawn, but the moose's long jaw opened wide with a groan. Chuckling, Axel stood and waved them to the door. "You all should get some sleep. It's getting close to three in the morning."

As Kael, Laura and Chris moved for the door, Matt asked, "What about the trespassing charge?"

"Honestly? We were never plannin' to make that charge stick. But the spooks insisted we bring you in for questioning, and the chief didn't feel like it was worth pissin' them off," Axel said jovially with a wide grin on his face. "So you're free to go home and sleep! Oh, but first, here's my phone number." The officer handed Matt a piece of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. "It's my cell phone. My personal cell phone. I want you to keep me in the loop on this. I'll have to report this to the chief and all, but I doubt he'll believe it and won't follow up on it. I want to make sure that I'm around in case you need help. Call me anytime at all."

Matt smiled, his curled tail wagging vigorously. "Getting involved, eh?"

"Yeah, Officer Brown will never let me hear the end of it for sure. Let's just keep that between us for now." Winking, Axel shooed them out of his office. "We have a cab outside for you to get back to the dorms. Go home already! We'll talk again, count on it!"