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I double checked the Dragoness' note and headed for the nearest train station with a line to the Heart. If she was right my targets often met at one of the Heart's casinos for a few rounds of poker. Hopefully they'd be there now, these bastards went and dragged me into their little political games and now I was fed up with it. Plus they lost me a pretty nice paycheck from the body guarding gig.

I spent the train ride checking over my various trinkets and charms. They were all tried and true but many of them were also pretty battered from use. I had everything from the magical equivalent of flash-bangs to bottled thunderstorms. All of them great for distractions or just blowing things up, though there's one or two more subtle ones in the mix. Like one of my old favorites, dead man's dice, a pair of enchanted dice that can be used for all manners of unpleasantness depending on what was etched into their sides. They can do anything from summoning demons to making someone drop dead, they're a bit quirky but they get the job done. Then there was that paw talisman I made recently, if it works the way I designed it too then it would be an invaluable tool. If not, well, then it'll probably blow up. As it is I've had more chunks taken out of me by failed talismans than any other mage. Though that might be because my chunks grow back.

Satisfied that everything was in its place I sat back and watched people pass me by as the train worked its way down the line. Finally it arrived at the Heart's downtown station. Anxious to get started I hurried to the streets, weaving my way through the dense crowds. Before long I was at the casino; a towering and gaudy building, it was practically covered in obnoxious neon lights and colorful plastic. The lights twisted into lewd figures doing questionable things while the plastic murals depicted scenes of riches that those inside could only dream of. It took all my strength to keep my muzzle from curling into a disapproving sneer at the sight of it all. It wasn't the gambling that bother me, it was the stench of tacky opulence that hung about the place that I couldn't stand.

A fair sized group of various kin were on their way in as I arrived so I slipped into their ranks. Striking up a casually conversation with a few of them I easily slipped passed the bouncers. I wasn't too welcome here, it had something to do with accidentally setting the top floor on fire a few years ago. Once we were far enough away from the lobby I said my good byes and peeled away from the group. They gave me a few odd looks but went on their way, after all stranger things happen by the minute here in the Heart. As I glanced around the place to get my bearings something told me this would be far more difficult than trying to fund June at the club. And not because the place was just so much bigger; a dense fog hung in the air and it reeked of various kinds of smoke and chemicals that made my head feel all fuzzy within minutes. Then there was the noise; line after line of slot machines stretched off into the depths of the building, each one playing one corny jingle or another. Over all that was the constant babble of the gamblers, each competing to be heard over the others.

I leaned against a pillar and closed my eyes, rubbing my temples to try and tune out the many distractions. Slowly the noise faded to a more manageable level but there wasn't much I could do about the contact high. Needless to say, casinos aren't that popular with wolfkin and the felines. Our senses are just far too sharp to deal with it all. The humans seemed to love it though. And as for the dragonkin, I think they manage to focus so much on the potential riches that they don't notice anything else. As it was, my own dragon blood frequently drew my eyes to the small piles of gold tokens as I walked down the rows of slots.

My targets wouldn't be down here though, they came here to socialize not sit at one armed bandits all day. With that in mind I headed towards the elevators, pausing only to check which floor the card tables were on. Then I took one look at the elevators and decided not to risk it. My magic interferes quite a bit with modern elevators, I really didn't want to know how badly it would mess with ones that looked as old as these. Five flights of stairs later I was in the right place. At least this floor was more tolerable then the first, the air was cleaner and each table was separated from the others by decorative privacy screens. It almost looked classy. I sauntered down the main isle, casually glancing into each room. Some of the dealers and attendants gave me odd looks but they quickly looked elsewhere once they recognized me. Seems my reputation proceeded me here, good, that would make things a bit easier if I had to start playing dirty.

I had to have walked close to a mile before I found them. Five of the six enforcers sat around a poker table, already well into a game. I gave them my best warm and friendly smile, pulled out the remaining chair, and slapped one of my more reliable trinkets down on the table. Judging from the looks I was getting my friendly smile needs work. However the trinket helped to sway things in my favor. The best thing about this particular kind of charm is that you don't even need magic to make them work.

"This a private game?" I asked as I sat.

One of the enforcers, Salazar, plucked the hundred dollar bill off the table and took a close look at it.

"And why join us rather than any of the others?" Hissed the dragonkin fire mage, her emerald eyes narrowing with suspicion.

I shrugged. "Guess I'd rather play with people I know." I gave her a lazy grin. "Maybe I have other reasons but we can always get to those in a bit."

Her expression didn't change but she dealt me a hand. No surprise really, Salazar wouldn't risk causing a scene if she thought she could avoid it.

Judging by the looks I got, the others weren't too happy with me being there either but they followed Salazar's lead and decided to play nice for now. Salazar herself watched me like a hawk the whole time. Not that I minded, it gave me an excuse to keep an eye on her. She's a gorgeous emerald green dragonkin and her fondness for exotic silk robes left little to the imagination. A skilled seductress and a powerful fire mage, she was easily the most dangerous one here.

The remaining enforcers consisted of two humans and two felines from one of the leopard tribes. The humans were known as Dave M. and James H. no full last names, just the initials. Makes things easier when working out in the field I suppose. Dave was a failed rock star that found he like beating people more than drums. James on the other hand was far more professional, he had a reputation as one of the best snipers in the Heart. The felines were known as Cain and Isaac, a pair of assassins that were fond of leaving scraps of religious texts on their victims.

The missing enforcer was known only as The Doctor, and personally I was happy it wasn't here. I had a feeling everyone else felt the same. The Doctor is a bat-shit insane plague mage that had fallen through a tear in Time quite a while ago. The Red Barron was quick to employ its services, though how he managed that no one is really sure. Hell, no one even knows what The Doctor looks like under its mask, and anyone that's heard it speak are well past dead. Creepy bastard, I ran into it once. Let's just say that things got messy and flesh eating diseases aren't fun, even for me.

An hour or so later the game was largely between Cain and Salazar. I was never much good at poker, never can keep a straight face, as for the others, maybe it was just an off day. Bored, I began to dig through my pockets until I found my set of dead man's dice. I muttered a spell under my breath and etched each of their names into the faces of the two die. The enforcers were too engrossed in their game to notice. Once the hand was over I leaned forward.

"Let's make things a bit more interesting. Winner of each round rolls the dice." I said, placing said dice on the table.

Their eyes widened, they were smart enough to recognize the bone dice for what they were. The thing is that the dice only work if I used their real names, which is why I etched them in the old wolfkin language. Don't want anyone calling my bluff too early now.

"And if we don't?" Cain asked, his voice was surprisingly smooth for a madman.

"Then I start rolling them now." I calmly met his gaze and picked the dice back up, bouncing them a few times in my hand.

The enforcers talked amongst themselves for a few moments.

"Cut the bullshit. You didn't come here just to start killing us off with a fucked up game of chance." growled Isaac. Compared to Cain his voice was rough, as if someone dragged a knife across his throat years ago. "Why are you here?"

"The kitty seems scared." I gave him a lazy grin. "There's seven of you in on this little game but I only see five. So who wants to talk first?"

I looked at each one in turn and they all grew tense. I saw James reached into his suit jacket for his gun so I tossed the dice. I had left one side of each die blank, no one got lucky this round. They bounced across the table a few times before tumbling to a halt. Dave M.'s name was facing the ceiling and he hit the table hard, stone dead. To be honest even I was a bit surprised by that, guess that was his real name. Then again he wasn't known for being the brightest of the bunch. Well, this worked out in my favor, mostly.

James recovered first and drew his gun. I took a shot to the head and fell back. As I went down I muttered a simple entropy curse and tossed the spell at his gun. There was a sharp metallic pop as something within the mechanism broke. I calmly got up and righted my chair.

"Shall I keep going? You lot are more useful to me alive then dead but then again, I have no problem with dead." I sat down, rested my paws on the table, and plucked a glass of brandy from a tray beside the table. As I went to take a sip the bullet popped out of my forehead and splashed into my drink. I frowned and fished it out. Ignoring the bit of blood that now clouded the brandy I drained the glass. "Good stuff." I licked my muzzle. "So once again, who wants to talk?"

Salazar leaned forward and gave me a steady look. "What makes you think we have anything to say?"

"Simple really, Reaver gets killed by a shapeshifter masquerading as his lieutenant and a few hours later the Baron turns up dead. Then his main men are found sitting around playing poker like nothing has happened. All seems a bit odd don't you think? Now come on, where is the Doctor and your sorcerer puppet master?" I gave her another lazy grin and slipped a small glass vial from my pocket. I casually tossed it up, catching it as it fell and tumbling it between my fingers. The enforcers flinched each time it sparkled in the light.

A bottled thunderstorm, of all the trinkets I carry these are some of the most dangerous, though their strength depends on the intensity of the captured storm. The ones I use tend to be the magic equivalent of hand grenades. I continued to tumble the vial between my fingers while in the background I heard the faint sound of the casino's security staff beginning to gather at the far end of one of the nearby halls. I guess the subtle and deadly magical pulse from the dice, or my far less subtle entropy curse, tripped one of their alarm spells. Or the gunshots got their attention, probably more likely to be fair. This place wasn't well known for their security. Seems the brutes weren't too interested in doing more than protecting their own hides.

"Better hurry." I grinned, wedging a nail under the seal of the vial.

"Kill us all and you get nothing." growled Cain, he tried to look smug but could hear the worry in his voice. I found that oddly satisfying, you know you're getting somewhere in life when you make the madmen nervous.

"Oh this little gem won't kill you all, and the survivors just need to be able to talk." I gave him a wicked grin that would make Alice proud. I didn't need to mention that I'd be fine, these five knew me well enough to know about the whole immortal thing. Hell, they've all found out the hard way.

"Give us a moment." Hissed Salazar. She motioned for the others to join her at the far end of the room.

I helped myself to another glass of bandy while they discussed things. From the sound of it the discussion was mostly between Salazar and the cats. James just stood off to the side and kept an eye on me. In the background I heard the security team drawing slowly closer. If either group took much longer I felt I would have to resort to doing card tricks to keep myself busy.

"Very well, the Doctor is gone but the sorcerer can be found here." Salazar told me, breaking away from the others and pushing a hastily scribbled note across the table.

"I'm guessing the Doc isn't in on this then?" I asked. Salazar nodded. "Not much of a surprise I suppose, the Baron is the only one that managed to figure that bastard out. So, why so helpful all of a sudden?"

I chuckled as she glared at me.

"We'd rather not be killed by a lunatic." growled Issac. I found that rather ironic coming from him.

"And we figured we'd have a better chance dealing with you then her." followed Salazar. Well... that's reassuring. When the immortal crazy wolf is less of a threat than a summoner, things could get interesting. And it's been a long time since a magical confrontation has been interesting for me. My day was starting to look up.

I rose and turned to leave. "We should do this again sometime, it's been fun." I laughed at the mixed of shocked and angry looks that I got as I left.

The security team finally worked up the courage to catch up with me as I was halfway to the stairs. They quickly formed a wall around me and tried to stare me down. A quick look told me that banter would get me nowhere so I pulled a small quartz crystal from my pocket and tossed it into the air with a muttered word. The team tensed but quickly relaxed when nothing happened. The poor fools, this fun little distraction was triggered on impact. The crystal hit the ground and a wave of psychedelic colors rippled outward as it shattered, the noise followed soon after. It was like being dropped straight into an intense acid trip.

The security folk all slumped to the ground, overwhelmed by the intense lights and sounds. Admittedly I might have over done it with this one, the spells even affected me a bit. My head spun and the world seemed to stop making sense, or at least what little semblance of sense that remained in the Heart. I stumbled through the hall trying, and failing, not to trip over the dazed officers. Somehow I made it to the stairs and even managed to make it down them without breaking anything.

By the time I reached the bottom my head had cleared. Just in time to start getting clouded up again by the drug smoke that hung in the air, wonderful. I made a mental note to tune down the strength of that enchantment next time I made more. Unfortunately that trinket is pretty cheap to put together so I still had about twenty more like it.

Still not my most embarrassing escape. There was one time about fifty years ago when one of my bottled thunderstorms broke while still in my pocket. Certainly provided a good distraction but it's hard to make a smooth escape when half of you is left behind. Though that's when I learned to run on my hands, makes for a great party trick these days.

On my way to the street I slipped into a nearby alley and waited for my head to clear. The last thing I wanted to do was go fight a skilled summoner while riding the tail end of a contact high. The enforcers were easy enough to bully, not much thinking required there. But summoners are known to be fond of underhanded tricks, it helps them get over the fact that they're not too flexible when it comes to other kinds of magic.

While I waited I watched the passing crowds. A group of cyborgs glared at me as my magic began to mess with their systems and an amateur arcane artificer looked startled as the energy radiating from my trinkets grated against his senses. I ignored them and eventually turned my gaze to the sky. The twin moons loomed over the city as always. A mix of bats and birds crisscrossed the narrow sliver of sky that I could see between buildings, flickering lightly past the stars and outlined briefly against the moon. There was something poetic somewhere in all this but I couldn't be asked to figure out what it was.

Once I was certain my head was clear enough that the dumpster wasn't about to start singing, I rose and began heading towards the home of the mystery summoner. Along the way I passed by the bounty hunters that had tried to catch me earlier. It seems they recovered well from our little run in, though they quickly turned away once they saw me coming. I gave them a cheery wave and giggled as their fur puffed up and they nearly jumped out of their skin.

I eventually reached the address on Salazar's note, then did a double take and checked the note again.

"You've got to be kidding me..." I muttered, trying not to laugh.

I was standing before a massive Gothic styled mansion in one of the Heart's more up and up residential areas. Not really the kind of place I would expect anyone that was plotting to overthrow the Heart's crime circles to be staying, unless they were a Saturday morning cartoon villain. Oh well, no point in standing here and chortling. The tacky wrought iron gate swung open easily at my touch (This surprised me, given the ambiance, I was expecting a blood-curdling screech from the gate) and I sauntered up the overly long walk as if I were slumming.

A pair of dark marble Minotaur statues flanked the ebony doors. I gave one a careful prod just to be sure they weren't some kind of illusion or shapeshifter. When it didn't stir I figured that they were just more gaudy decorations and turned to knock. It was then that I heard a low grinding sound as a stone hand clamped around my wrist. Another plucked me up by the scruff of my neck. From the corners of my eyes I saw that the hands belonged to the statues. Really should have expected golems to be fair, they're popular with summoners. Oh, well. Nothing to do about it now except go along for the ride. At least the golems would take my directly to the summoner. Save me the effort of looking I suppose.

The right hand one released my arm and heaved open the heavy doors. The other one carried me through the halls like a hound bringing their lost pup back to the den. Defiantly not my most graceful or dignified entrance then. We wound our way through a few overly long hallways and eventually ended up in a classy looking study. Towering bookshelves lined the walls while a large official looking desk occupied most of the far end of the room. I got a brief look at the woman behind the desk before I was dropped unceremoniously to the floor and a stony hoof was pressed against my back. Really not one of my more dignified entrances.

"This is the point where you make some crude and pompous remark, isn't it, Mr. Derleth?" came a smug voice from behind the desk.

"I would but I'm too busy admiring your carpet at the moment." To be fair it was a pretty high quality rug, Persian, probably. It was also all I could see aside from the front of the desk.

I heard a sigh and grinned. "If you were anyone else I would be surprised that you even managed to find your way here, but you do have a reputation for turning up uninvited."

"What can I say, it's a talent. And besides, if you didn't want me showing up you shouldn't have gotten me involved in the first place. I mean really, all you had to do was wait an hour or so and I would have been well out of the way." Talking really isn't that easy with a stone Minotaur hoof in the small of your back. Though the discomfort was exquisite.

"You really don't have much in the way of client loyalty do you?"

"Sure I do, but once the gig's over it's not my problem, especially when its someone like that little prick. What annoys me is that you had your pet frame me and nick a pretty nice paycheck. It's the principle of things, you know?" I wriggled about and the golem pressed down harder.

"You're an odd one Mr. Derleth. I assume you're presence here means that the enforcers are dead."

"Maybe, maybe not. What kind of deal did you have with them anyway?"

"Simple, they get my shifter close to the Baron and I give them a "promotion"." A cold chuckle gave me then feeling her idea of a promotion was pretty different from that of the enforcers'. I heard the summoner snap her fingers and the golem lifted its hoof.

I rolled away just as it came crashing back down. As much as I'd like to have some fun with this, getting crushed by a Minotaur golem is just embarrassing. The summoner shouted something in a language I didn't recognize and the one by the door joined in.

I crouched low in the center of the room and waited. If these golems were as stupid as real Minotaurs this should be an easy win for me. They closed in on me and the one in front of me raised its fist. I took a gamble and conjured a pair of shields, one in front and one behind. Instead of the usual dome of protective magic these two were shaped into chutes that curved up and around me. The golem in front of me's fist hurtled down at me and crashed into the shield, I felt an impact on the shield behind me and grinned, checkmate. The other thing about these shields is that I made them very slick. Driven by their own momentum the golems' fists slid up and around me, guided by the chutes. There was a pair of deafening crunches as the statues' heads exploded into dust and shards of rock. The floor shook as the now lifeless bodies toppled over.

I never understood why people still put the animation spells in the head, it's such an easy target. I prefer things like my chain golems which have the spells etched into a small steel ball attached to the chains. That way the golem can move the ball around within its body in order to keep it safe; it also allows for more flexibility in design and function. Though to be fair I had much more time to experiment with that kind of thing than most.

I cleared the air with a simple wind spell and took a good look at the summoner. She was human and would have been fairly cute if she didn't look so far up herself. She wore a cold grey business suit, it matched her eyes, and kept her black hair in a tight bun.

"Well, you don't look as crazy as I expected." I told her.

"For you I suppose that passes as a compliment." She didn't seem too happy that I destroyed her toys so easily. The lightning bolt that came hurtling at my head didn't help that impression either. Thinking quickly I grabbed the remains of one of the statutes with a telekinesis spell and hauled it in front of me. The bolt took a chunk out of its chest but it held strong. I fished the paw pendant from my pocket.

Muttering the activation spell I tossed it out into the room. It tumbled a few times then stopped and hung in the air as if it were around someone's neck. A perfect illusion of myself snapped into existence - I could feel it as if it were my own body. It felt a bit weird at first but it really wasn't all that different from the puppet spell I used to control my body when decapitated. As long as my spells worked into the pendent held, it would be able to interact with things and cast spells just like the real me. To test it I stepped from behind the statue and both mes cast a fireball at the summoner. To her credit she was quick. She shouted a spell that caused water to jump out of the glass on her desk and wrap around the first fireball, extinguishing it. Then she leapt out of the way of the second. She muttered a short incantation and a few small flame sprites popped into existence.

Thinking that it was the real me, the sprites darted at the illusion. Their fiery bodies burned its fur and seared its flesh. Thanks to some tricky spells I wove into the pewter pendant I felt all of it. My blood sang and shivers ran down my spine. By the time the illusion became too injured to remain standing I was breathing hard, and not from the exertion of maintaining the spell. The illusion collapsed and vanished as it hit the ground.

The summoner looked shocked and glanced wildly about, trying to find the real me. She didn't have to look for long. I was leaning against her desk, smiling giddily and trying not to start panting. She looked shocked, and perhaps a bit disgusted.

"Nothing like field testing a new toy, eh?" I laughed. "My turn."

I shouted a banishing spell and a pulse of energy rippled out from me. It hit the flame sprites and they simply vanished like candle flames that have been snuffed out. She tried to summon something else but I could tell from the kind of energies that were gathering that it wasn't the one I was waiting for. Another one of my spells halted her summons in its tracks. She had to have been fairly competent to have summoned and bound so many lesser entities in addition to the shifter but even still it's hard to stand up against someone that knows almost every counter-spell in the books, like me.

I half expected her to try another summon or panic. You can imagine my surprise when she grabbed what looked like a rodent's skull off the shelf and hurled it at me. The Skull hit the ground at my feet and shattered with a burst of magical energies. A foul smell burned my nose as a small swarm of rat like demons rushed from the newly opened portal. They began to crawl up my legs, biting whatever they could, it tickled. While I was distracted the summoner legged it. Over the sounds of the rat demons I heard her running down the hall. I tried to cast another banishing spell but one of the little bastards crawled into my mouth and began to gnaw at my tongue.

Getting annoyed, I shook myself off the best I could and bit down hard on the one in my mouth. If anything its blood tasted worse than the thing itself. Cursing under my breath I spat the chunks of demon back into the portal and plugged it with a paw. Almost immediately I felt the little shits trying to chew through my foot, while the ones I shook off were already rushing back. To the summoner's credit, these were pretty nasty critters. Low tier by all means, but there's power in numbers. I tried again with the banishing but was met with the same results, persistent fuckers weren't they?

With no other choice I yanked a piece of amethyst from my pocket and pricked my finger with its sharp edge. I smeared my blood over a rune that I had carved into the gem and hurled the null crystal into the portal. Almost instantly I felt a bit nauseous as the crystal released its spells. I don't like using null crystals, they're extremely potent and unpleasant. But it did what I wanted, the sickening energies sapped the magic that sustained the portal and allowed the demons to persist in this world. The portal snapped shut, cutting some of the emerging demons in half while the ones that were already out dissolved into ectoplasm. I brushed the clear and scentless goo from my suit and fur before heading after the summoner. I got lucky this time, the null crystal could just as easily defused many of my trinkets.

I found the hallways lined with golems. These ones took after old world human knights, stocky armored figures wielding various kinds of blades. I grinned, now this took me back. I conjured a blade and dove into their midst. I ducked and wove my way through the small army of statues, my phantasmal blade slicing easily through marble. I laughed giddily as I took the heads of two of them with a single swing. It was a lot like some of the old battles I took part in not long after I became immortal. I didn't care about my own well-being, razor sharp stone blades bit deep and I even lost my left arm at one point. Already aroused from the fire sprites and rat demons, my blood sang and everything began to slow down. I was fully aware of every last cut and bruise on my body and could feel every tiny change in the air as the golems moved. The look of my crimson blood on the white marble was absolutely beautiful.

Eventually I felt something grind against my magical senses. It felt similar to the spells that the summoner used when she called up the fire sprites, just stronger. Though it was lost as a golem's sword caught on my pocket and tore it open. The bottled thunderstorm glittered as it fell. I didn't have time to think, just react. I dove behind a golem and brought up a basic shield. The vial shattered just as the protective dome snapped into existence, all the furry of a raging storm was released at once. Lightning and the pressure waves from the thunder smashed the golems to powder. My shield protected me from the brunt of it but I underestimated the strength of this particular storm. The wasn't one of the hand grenades, it was a full on bomb.

"I hate it when I grab the wrong shit." Was the last thing I thought as my shield finally shattered. The force of the storm threw me through a wall and I collided with a sturdy bookshelf. The whole thing took just a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. My vision flickered but at least I wasn't temporarily dead. Slowly, taking my time to savor the pain, I untangled myself from the pile of books that had I had collapsed on to. Dazed, I staggered back to the hole and looked out into the hall. Sure enough it looked like a bomb had gone off in there. The golems were in ruins and the hall itself was utterly destroyed. Everything was also soaked from the brief but intense rain. That's when a ball of force struck me in the back and I stumbled head first into what was left of the opposite wall of the hallway. Part of it collapsed on top of me.

"That should do it, dig him out." Came the summoner's voice, heavily muffled by the rubble.

Something grunted and I heard the rubble begin to shift. Suddenly a massive hand burst through and wrapped around my neck. The summoner looked abit sick as she laid eye om me but she quickly got herself together. I caught a look at myself in a mirror, it was in the bathroom across the way, the wall had come down, and thought I looked pretty good. Well good for what I had been through at any rate. My arm hadn't yet started to regrow and one of my ears was missing. My fur and skin had been heavily burned from the lightning, where it hadn't been hacked up by the golems or eaten by the rats. Blood tricked steadily from my nose and one of my legs was at an odd angle, shards of bone clearly poking through the skin. It didn't help that I was being held up by something that looked like a giant version of the rat demons from earlier.

"You're a stubborn one Derleth, I'll give you that much. Most would have given up and died long before now."

God damn it, am I going to have to start handing out flyers that explain the whole immortal thing at this rate?

She smiled at me and began to recite a lengthy incantation. I stopped struggling against the rat and listened carefully. There's a pretty good change I already knew what she was trying to bring in. A few seconds passed after she finished her mantra and a subtle tension began to build in the air. A shimmering gate opened and a creature that I assumed was the shapeshifter stepped through. It took the form of a very average and androgynous figure. It would have been completely unremarkable if it wasn't completely masked in shadows. As we watched it shivered and took on Reaver's form.

"So you survived the incinerator I see." It stated, if anything it sounded amused.

I tried to reach up and tap my horn but my arm didn't move quite right. Pretty sure my shoulder was dislocated. "Dragon horn, fireproof."

"I suppose that should have been obvious."

"Slipped my mind at the time. I can see why you're eager to earn your freedom by the way." There was a loud pop and I gestured at the summoner. At same time I felt my leg beginning to heal, the bone shards being pulled back into the flesh.

The 'shifter nodded and cast an exasperated look at its master.

By now the summoner was looking rather annoyed. "Cut the small talk and kill him." She snapped. In her frustration I guess she still hasn't picked up on the whole immortal thing. By now I'm pretty sure that people were hearing the rumors but not believing them.

A truly evil grin split my muzzle. Before the echo of her voice faded I repeated the summons she had used just minutes ago. That's the thing with immature summoners. They don't realize that, unless certain steps are taken, the entity they summon is still up for grabs. There's certain Deals that must be made to keep someone else from coming along and taking their pet away. But most either don't know or aren't willing to make those kinds of deals. Plus by reciting the summons in front of me she practically gave me the 'shifter's name.

Svieri stopped dead in its tracks. The air around it crackled with energy as the summoner's will pitted against mine. She certainly had talent and willpower but it's hard to beat me when it comes to sheer stubbornness. Plus I had far more experience with this kind of thing. Slowly my will overpowered hers and the 'shifter was mine. Svieri glanced at me and nodded, then it rushed forward and snapped the demon's neck before anyone could blink.

My leg finished healing as I dropped and I landed in a crouch. Muscle and bone flowing from my shoulder, quickly taking on the shape of my arm. I flexed my skinless fingers and conjured a pair of blades. I turned towards the summoner with a nasty grin, "Checkmate."

That finally broke her. She turned and ran but it did her no good, Svieri was just far to fast. The shifter caught up with her after just a few steps and threw her towards me. I caught her in the crook of my arm and spun her around. I hooked a leg around hers and planted my elbow in the small of her back. A quick twist sent her to the ground. I held her down with one knee and crossed my blades below her neck.

"Now be a good girl and pray I don't slip." If she tried to wriggle free my full weight would end up on my knee and her neck would be forced into my blades. Luckily she was smart enough to stay stock still. While being dead isn't as much of an inconvenience in the Heart it would still make things a bit more difficult for me if she went and bit it.

In the background Svieri rummaged about in the remains of a display cabinet and came up with a set of thorn manacles. I had brought my own set but the release of the bottled storm wrecked them along with the rest of my trinkets. It tossed them to me and I carefully slipped off the summoner, picking up the manacles along the way and slapping them around her wrists.

"Keep an eye on her while I look around." I ordered Svieri. As I walked passed the shifter I clapped it on the shoulder, "Just make sure she can still talk." I whispered in its ear.

I actually felt a bit bad about letting Svieri off the leash but I might have been still be a bit bitter about the whole being framed thing. Also it really isn't wise to force a being as powerful as Svieri into servitude.

While Svieri dealt with the summoner I returned to her office and searched through her desk. I didn't really find much other than her real name, Victoria, and a few newspaper articles that focused on the Baron and Reaver. There were a few notes in the margins of the articles, done in neat and careful handwriting. I skimmed through them and it seemed she was the typical sort that would try this sort of thing. Wanted to turn the Heart's crime circles in to a proper corporation and make bank off it. I was rather disappointed to be fair. I was hoping for something a bit more interesting as far as motives go but it seems this one boil down to money and arrogance. Same old story. And after the enforcers had gotten my hopes up too.

Oh well, at least her idea of using a shapeshifter helped liven things up a bit. Plus, to her credit, she did make a better job of it than most. Hell, she would have probably succeed if she was a bit more patient with eliminating Mr. Koch and destabilizing Reaver's syndicate. Carefully folding the articles, I slipped them into my one remaining pocket and scooped my paw pendant up from where it still lay. At least that one survived, the damn thing was very difficult and expensive to make. It didn't look like there was much else to search through so I returned to the hall.

"That's enough." I told Svieri. To my surprise the 'shifter didn't do as much damage as I thought. I guess it had wanted to scare her more than anything. She still looked like hell though, it was a bit of an improvement over the clinical professional look she had going.

"We're going for a walk." I chuckled, opening a way straight to the Heart police station. Svieri took on a less conspicuous form than that of a dead crime lord and slung the battered summoner over its shoulder. Needless to say our arrival caused quite a commotion. All three of us quickly wound up in little concrete rooms with people that like to shout a lot. Eventually I was able to convince one of then to listen and before long Svieri and I were standing on the right side of a two way mirror watching the police grill Vic.

A few hours later a nervous looking rookie came over and sheepishly passed my sword and the paycheck from the bodyguard gig to Svieri. That's when I realized the shapeshifter was impersonating me again. I gave it a dirty look and it chuckled.

The rookie led us through the station and back to the lobby. Along the way I saw Sergeant Keeler. He did a double take and nearly fell out of his chair as he saw Svieri impersonating me. We both chuckled and waved at him as we left.

"You're a right asshole you know." I told Svieri once we hit the street.

The 'shifter gave a genuinely warm laugh and passed me my things. "Might as well have a bit of fun before I go."

I shrugged. "I suppose, you can go whenever you want by the way. Might call on you every now and then for a favor if you don't mind." Hardly a formal dismissal but it would pay to stay on the 'shifter's good side.

"Just don't make a habit of it. Well it's been a while since I've had free reign, might as well make the most of it." It laughed again and took on a fairly unassuming form as it slipped away into the crowd.

I watched it go and wondered what a powerful otherworldly being could find interesting in this world. Then I remembered where I was and thought nothing of it. I started making my way back to Alice's bar. Along the way I thought back on this whole ordeal; compared to some previous messes I've gotten into this one cleaned up rather well. Reaver's former council would decide his replacement while the enforcers would sort out the Baron's. Then it would be back to business as usual for both sides until the next shake up. Which hopefully won't involve me. The summoner behind it all was in custody and the shapeshifter was now a potential ally. A good couple of days all be told, now for the real payoff.

Things were pretty quiet in the bar by the time I got there. Amateur night was over and everyone had gone home to sleep off their hangovers. Ross was mopping up some suspicious looking stains on the floor while Alice was packing up the poles. She glanced up as I came in and smiled.

"That was fast. How many things you burn down this time?" She teased.

"Why do you always think I've lit something on fire?" I asked, trying to sound hurt.

She laughed. "Because you usually have."

"Just because the jobs you join me on go to shit doesn't mean they all do."

"Sure they don't. That's why you look like hell isn't it?" Her steel fangs glittered as she grinned.

I laughed and went to get cleaned up. With that done I fished out the set of clothes I had hidden here, I've had to resort to hiding them because Alice has a habit of "modifying" them, and went back up to use the bar phone. About half an hour later June showed up wearing a cute little sundress. She gave me a tight hug and playfully nuzzled my neck. She hadn't yet let go by the time Anya arrived. The elegant wolf-leopard wore an enticing little slip of a dress and settled down beside us. She tried to hide it but I heard a slight purr as she leaned against my arm.

"Evening ladie..." My voice cut off with a strangled yelp as a steel arm locked around my throat and bent me backwards over the bar.

"I hope you didn't forget to invite anyone." purred Alice, leaning over me. The light glinting off the rows of gold rings that ran up the edges of her ears.

"... Course not, all three... are here." I managed to croak, her arm still pressing hard against my throat.

She smiled but her grip didn't let up. "That's what I thought." She leaned down and kissed me, biting my tongue in the process. She finally let me go, slowly dragging her claws across my chest. We drank, chatted, and joked around for a while. Eventually Alice grew frisky, digging her claws into my back and biting my neck. The other two weren't far behind, June gave me a sloppy kiss as I felt Anya's tail wrapping around my leg. Alice traded a look with them and all three of them got up and began pushing me towards the door to Alice's apartment.

Everyone loves a happy ending.