*This…s …gene, Oreg…n,* Daddy Dearest’s voice in her head sounded cracked and full of static, like a scratched record. *And … a Satyr, Fu…y Girl.*
She reeled in surprise, not expecting anyone, much less Him, to answer. All the blood pounded in her head, causing spots to appear. When they cleared this time, Jasmine was teetering on the brink with nothing but water below her.
Knowing what that much water would do to her magic, she panicked, backing up quickly. Her foot came down on a small pebble that turned under her foot. Her leg slipped out and she wind milled her arms in a vain attempt to stay upright and out of the water. With a splash, she landed face first in the reservoir. Magic washed up her limbs and she felt her body shrinking. Cursing and flailing, she struggled to the bank.
Sparks danced in the corner of her eyes; brighter against the shadow looming over her. Something closed around her middle and lifted. She squeaked in alarm and fought to see through the sparks, making them worse. “Whew,” a voice said over her head. “There’s nothing that smells worse than wet Fury except maybe wet Fury cat. What are you doing playing in the reservoir, Fury Girl?”
“Jefftik?”
“The one and only. What are you doing out here? And please don’t say swimming.”
“I’m practicing my cussing.”
“Now, Fury Girl. Pull your claws in. I thought you were going human for this assignment,” Jeff said as he set her back on the sidewalk.
“I was.”
“So, who’d you tick off this time?”
Jasmine didn’t want to answer. She shook her fur out and looked haughtily at Jeff when he made a rude remark about her looking like a porcupine. She turned her back on him and began to clean her fur.
“That’s gratitude for you,” Jeff mumbled. “You save a drowning cat and what happens? It turns into your boss. Did I run afoul of Murphy recently?”
“No, I did,” Jasmine mumbled into her fur. It occurred to her that she could be in worse trouble than she’d thought. If Murphy was involved, and it looked like he was, more than the assignment card could be messed up. Not the assignment itself, she assured herself. Murphy wouldn’t dare mess up one of Daddy Dearest’s jobs.
“You messed with Murphy? What were you thinking? Do you know what you’ve done?” Jeff stepped away from her, as if Murphy’s curse was contagious.
“I know,” Jasmine wailed. “I know. Anything that can go wrong will.” She meowed pitifully, before returning her attention to drying herself. An idea percolated through her mind. I wonder if Murphy’s curse can be diverted. “I am glad you’re here, Jeff,” she said between licks. She raised one leg over her head and began on the fur behind her knee.
Jeff was wary. Nothing that made this Fury happy could be good for him. “Why?”
Jasmine gave up on her fur. It was as dry as it was going to get. She sat back and looked up at the demon. “Maybe you can distract Murphy so I can get this assignment done?”
“No way, Fury Girl. It wouldn’t work anyway. Murphy is fixed on you. You’re the one that fell in the reservoir.”
She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, prepared to use her secret weapon. “Jefftik…”
“Oh, no, Fury Girl. Your Daddy Dearest gave me a new syllable and no one knows what it is yet,” he grinned maliciously. “Use my name all you want, it won’t work.”
“Fine,” Jasmine snapped. “I get it.” She paused. This won’t work. I’d better try something else.
“I think he messed up my contact, too.” It took every ounce of courage Jasmine had to admit that to the demon, but if she couldn’t complete this assignment, it wouldn’t be Murphy in hot water. She needed help and no self respecting demon asked for help.
“What? You’re effectively blind on this assignment?”
“Not entirely. I know that my target lives in Gene, Oregon and I have a name, Sandy. But I don’t know who the name belongs to. It could be my target or their victim. Heck, it could be the name of my contact here.”
“Eugene,” Jeff corrected. He’d seen a flash of something bright on the edge of the sidewalk, so he stepped over to it, only half listening to Jasmine. “You don’t look like a Sandy,” he replied absently. He crouched next to the glitter and scooped up what looked to be a citrine. A shock raced up his arm. That’s a soul gem. Where did...? He looked over at the cat. Could it be hers?
“I’m not Sandy, you idiot. Are you even listening to me?” She picked up her collar with her teeth and headed down the sidewalk toward the parking lot. A few steps away, she noticed the demon wasn’t following her. She looked over her shoulder and hissed at him. When he looked up, she called, “Are you coming?” Or tried to at any rate. It was unintelligible around the mouthful of collar.
Jeff hurried to catch up, keeping his mouth tightly shut. He knew better than to say anything when she was in this kind of mood. He tightened his fingers around the gem and slipped it into his pocket. It would keep.
Jasmine reached the end of the sidewalk. She sat on the edge and carefully laid her collar down next to her before turning to contemplate the cars parked in a semi-circle. Her magic pulsed inside her, telling her to wait. Something was going to happen. She watched, amused, as three cars backed out simultaneously and race for the exit. She grinned at the squealing tires and laughed at the smell of burnt rubber. A thread of disappointment twisted through her when all three managed to stop without even a dent, but the magic in her said it was a good thing.
The exit had finally cleared and Jasmine could feel the impatience dripping from her companion. She could almost read his mind. She was sure he was thinking something along the lines of 'hurry up and wait'. She grinned at him and then turned her attention back to the parking lot.
Abruptly, with no time between sitting and standing, Jasmine raced into the parking lot making for one of the now empty sites. She reached the nearest of the white lines just as a lumbering old caddy turned into the same spot. Jasmine jumped as high as she could. When she felt metal under her front paws, she flexed her legs and jumped again, aiming for the windshield.
Once more, the sound of screeching tires filled the air, but this time it concluded with the satisfying crunch of metal impacting metal.
Jasmine dashed off, heading back for the sidewalk where Jeff was gaping. She strolled up to the demon and leaned against the back of his legs. When he stumbled forward, she hissed at him. “Go help. Don’t let our ride get away.”
She watched Jeff hurry over to the car just as the door swung open. A little old lady, who looked like every other little old lady she’d ever seen, climbed out. She hurried over to the front of her car and gasped in outrage when she spied the dent where her front right headlight had been.
As she watched Jeff approach the car, Jasmine inched closer, trying to hear what was being said. She was mildly disappointed to learn that she needn’t have bothered. The old lady’s voice carried easily.
“Jefftik? What are you doing here? Does that car-wrecking beast belong to you?”
Jeff just stood there blinking. Who was this lady and how did she know his name?
The old lady came right at Jeff, forefinger leading the way, viciously cutting the air. When she was within reach, she shoved it at Jeff’s chest, causing him to back up. “Here I am, coming to pick up my charge because Hunny Bunny said he might have been responsible for a messed up assignment and how am I rewarded? A fender bender. I was just looking for my sister dear and a hellish streak wrecked my car. If I find out you had something to do with it, I’ll…I’ll…” By this time, she’d managed to back the retrieval demon up to the curb. She’d glanced down and behind Jeff, spying Jasmine grinning at her.
“Jasmine, Baby! You look marvelous.” The old lady costume melted away to be replaced with a living blow-up doll. She hustled over to the cat and picked Jasmine up, scooping up the collar with the cat and hugging both tightly. “I thought you were going human for this assignment? Oh well, it doesn’t really matter, I guess. Here let
me help you with that.”
Before Jasmine could figure out what Cassandra was going to help her with, she felt the collar snap around her neck and tighten. Choking slightly, she turned to Jeff with a silent appeal in her eyes, but Jeff was lost.
He ogled the new Fury; trying to stay out of the way so he could continue to stare. She had long, strawberry blond hair that just touched the swell of her hips and pouty, red full lips that looked very kissable. She had a cute little button nose and the brightest blue eyes he could remember.
“Could you turn the appeal down, Sis? I think we’ve lost Jeff,” Jasmine managed to choke the words passed the collar squeezing her throat.
“What?” She turned around to look at the demon and caught him looking at her butt. She smirked and walked up to him. She reached out and with a finger under his chin, lifted his head. “Jeff dear, my face is up here,” she said before she kissed him. She felt her magic pouring back into her. She released the demon and watched, bemused, as he woke up.
“What happened?” Jeff slurred.
Jasmine laughed. “Cassandra vamped you.”
Jeff rubbed his eyes and groaned. One Fury wasn’t bad enough. He turned to face Cassandra. “Why are you here?”
“Hunny Bunny was bragging about how he’d messed up a Fury. Since you’re the only one out on assignment, I assumed he meant you. I came to help. If one Fury fails at an assignment, we all get punished. I don’t want to face Daddy Dearest with a failure.” She handed Jasmine to Jeff, then turned and headed back to her car. “Let’s get going.”
Jeff nearly dropped the cat in surprise. He started to put her down when he noticed she was breathing shallowly. He loosened the collar before setting her on her feet.
Glad she was able to breathe again, Jasmine nodded at the demon. Racking her brain trying to remember what she had heard about this particular Fury, she stepped off the curb in Cassandra’s wake. There was that rumor going around a few years ago about a Fury dating a Lessor. Apparently, Cassandra was that Fury, but who was the demon? She didn’t want to just ask. As a Fury, she was supposed to already know.
Jeff had no such limitations. He was just a retrieval demon and not expected to know things. “Who is ‘Hunny Bunny’?”
“Murphy, of course,” Cassandra giggled. She reached her car and stroked the dent out of the front. Car restored, Cassandra hopped in the front seat and with a snap of her fingers, started the engine. Jasmine and Jeff scrambled in after her.
It wasn’t until Cassandra pulled the car into traffic that Jasmine remembered something else she’d heard about this Fury. Cassandra was bad luck. She was the one Fury no other Fury wanted on their team and now Jasmine was stuck with her. Murphy had struck again.