Jay shook the wet from his fur as they passed through the door back into Dog Services. He was happy that the two nobles had kept their promise to return him after lunch, but he was still feeling a bit salty about the ‘test’ they’d administered. Ruining perfectly good food with poison was just rude.
Barkley held the leash tight. It was standard procedure for the client to escort the dog back same as they left, but Jay still felt like the overbearing man was just waiting for Jay to run off with his tail between his legs.
What was Jay going to do, run off after a day’s work and not get paid? That wouldn't be helpful at all.
The surprise was Lord Fyre accompanying them. He wore a plain cloak and hid his braid in the hood the same as when he went to the pub, but a Lord still stood out among the crowd at the lower end of town.
"When you said you got him from Dog Services, I thought you meant the one at East Side," the nobleman whispered quietly to his guard as a loud laugh echoed through the client lounge. At least Harriet wasn’t permitted on this side. Jay couldn’t imagine her dealing with customers; her attitude with staff was bad enough. “I saw the paperwork but I didn’t quite believe it.”
"Everyone at East Side knows who I am and would question why I was getting a dog for the day. I didn't think you needed that kind of scrutiny," Barkley answered back. He kept his tone a little more normal; whispers in this place drew ears. The conversation wasn't that secret, really; just embarrassing. Jay doubted anyone here thought he was a dog from East Side. Those were pampered pets. Jay was just a scrappy lapdog with an odd looking face.
Still, checking him back in was a normal procedure. Jay stretched slowly and trotted off to the ritual room once the collar was taken off. When he finished one of the clerks would be waiting with his pay from the contract and that was worth looking forward to. If he was lucky they would only skim a copper or two from the top. Even if they took a bit more than usual the payout on this job was higher than his other jobs. He wouldn't complain about being cheated if he got the full silver he was owed. It would go far for him and his brother.
Jay entered the room and sat in the center of the circle with care to keep all his little body parts inside the inner ring. Then he barked once to show he was ready. The wizard didn't chant this time, and activated the spell with a touch to the engravings.
The magic washed over Jay like an energetic pulse, a heartbeat of static, and he suddenly regretted eating so much. This part was always so uncomfortable. There was a difference to using his own magic to change shape and letting a stranger force the change. Jay’s magic was a bit silly and a bit sly, and prickly like a cat when challenged.
And it saw other mages’ magic as a threat. The crackle of static and the slight singe of lightning was his magic snarling at the intrusion.
Jay soothed his magic back inside and let the other mage do his job.
His body changed one bit at a time; hands replaced paws, and feet shifted to a more comfortable bipedal position; his ears slid down his head and shrank, sounds getting stifled until it was almost like someone had buried his head under a pillow; his insides shifted too, expanding to fill the space in his chest. He kept his eyes closed so the explosion of new colors wouldn’t give him a headache.
Thankfully the transformation itself didn’t last long.
Jay shivered, kneeling on the floor as his skin tingled. It took several deep breaths for his stomach to decide it was better to keep food in than toss it out, and small sparks that crept across his skin - like afterimages of lightning - itched as they snapped.
He sat back on his heels and only then noticed that the normal wizard had left the ritual room to make way for Lord Fyre.
Nerves lit up his belly and set it rolling again. Jay wasn't a noble; he was barely above homeless. In his human form that much was obvious. He wore rags with more patches than was decent, and he hadn't gotten anything other than a tongue bath in weeks. What had he done to draw the attention of a lord? Notice a bad smell? That was hardly worth all the fuss. Jay had more reason to be mad about it than the lord had to be impressed.
The sconces on the wall lit themselves, brightening the room from the dull glow of the single torch that was usually burning. A small fire hovered in the air before Jay, and more circled him to put the ritual circle in clear light. The flames danced and almost played with each other, twisting around to mimic the shapes on the ground. For a moment he saw a puppy like the one at the parade, and a flickering blue flame teased the corner of his vision.
Jay squirmed in place and tried not to squeak like a squirrel. Only two types of people did that: avid fans and fearful criminals. He was neither. He'd seen Lord Fyre do magic like this before, but it was still unusual for a wizard to work magic so casually - and without a spell or a circle! Was it wrong of him to be impressed?
The heat of the flames was comforting. The stone floor was cool even on the warmest days, and the rain had made it colder. The rooms at Dog Services seemed to suck the warmth right out of him, but the flames were chasing that feeling away. And Jay could see now. He could see the circle clearly, and see the closed doors and blank walls.
Closed doors?
Lord Fyre circled the room, and Jay remembered hastily to drop his gaze to the floor. He shouldn't be looking a noble in the eyes. The noble seemed to be studying the pattern laid out on the floor, not Jay. Room 11 had a circle specifically for return to human form. And just like Room 3 the circle was carved into the stone so it didn't need to be redrawn over and over. It was much cheaper than amulets, and more efficient. Dogs worked for profit, after all.
“How much magic training have you had?” the lord finally asked.
“You’ve seen my file,” Jay said quietly, edging on rude. “You know the answer to that. Why ask?”
“Because only those with trained magic can shift, and you didn’t attend the academy.”
“Trained magic, sir,” Jay countered. “Not training in magic, I don’t know a single spell.”
Lord Fyre took a moment to evaluate the nuance before turning his attention back to the circle. "We're going to need an easier way than all this. Eventually," the lord muttered. "You won't be spending much time in your human shape so it's not a pressing concern. Maybe I'll have our next tour swing by the university and see what the mages there say."
Jay swallowed back his first immediate thought - I can't do this! - and shifted his weight so his legs wouldn't cramp. Was he supposed to be kneeling? He didn't know how to do that. He usually came out of dog form sitting on his heels; his feet dug uncomfortably into his butt, though, so he'd scooted around until he was directly on the stone. It was safer than tripping sideways when a leg went numb, or mimicking a proper stance and breaking an ankle. He tried not to think about why the noble wanted to visit a university, but as the silence dragged on it was harder to believe Jay wasn't expected to respond.
"Nothing to say?" the lord pressed.
It was hard to breathe. The flames didn't produce any smoke, seemingly brought about only by Lord Fyre's will, but something caught in his chest and made his tongue thick. The firelight danced and sparkled off the gold bangles that dangled from the lord’s ears. His red hair seemed the color of blood in the shadows, and bright as flame in the light. Blue eyes were focused on Jay and it was hard to describe the feelings that churned as a result.
He reminded himself that he and Ken were satisfied with their lot in life. That striving for more was an uphill battle with no guarantee of anything.
"If m'lord wishes it, then he could visit the university." That was safe, and true, and didn't bring up the I don't want to that threatened to scream itself from his throat. Yet he didn’t want to tell the man ‘no.’
The words probably sounded childish and confused and Jay hoped that was a good thing. Made him less desirable. Because whatever this lord wanted, Jay wanted no part of it.
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