“Oh, my. You’re rather like a work of art yourself. What big muscles you have, my dear.”
Konrad grinned, growled, and began to shift. His hair seemed to shrink inside his head and sprout elsewhere on his body. His nose and chin extended, and his back rounded. As he fell forward, his hands and arms became paws and legs.
A long, loud male scream resounded that could have been heard from the sidewalk outside. Konrad shifted back and dressed quickly.
Morgaine felt Reginald practically rip himself out of her and flee. She wavered a moment and braced her hands on the table. Konrad lowered himself to the chair opposite her as if nothing had happened.
Morgaine crossed her arms and glared at him. “Did you have to do that? I’ve never seen you change. It even freakedmeout!”
“Sorry, but I hate being patronized.”
“So do I, but you don’t see me flying around on a broomstick every time someone pisses me off.”
Konrad shrugged. “I figured it was important that he understand that not everyone fits in his narrow view of mankind. Some of us aren’t even human and have much longer life spans.”
“That’s it? That’s all you have to say for yourself? This was my first case, and you probably blew it for me.”
“I’m sorry. You’re right. Maybe if I apologize to Reginald—”
“I doubt he’ll ever speak to me again. And he certainly won’t speak to you.”
“I’m very sorry. Maybe I can think of something to salvage the situation.”
The door to the parlor flew open and the curator rushed in. “What happened? I thought I heard a scream.”
***
Morgaine and Konrad rode the subway back to their neighborhood in silence. It was just as well. Konrad couldn’t think of much to say in the way of apology. He really couldn’t blame Morgaine if she never spoke to him again.
As they strolled toward their building, Morgaine said, “I’m glad you thought fast and said you screamed because you thought you saw the ghost.”
“I have a feeling the curator didn’t believe me.”
“Probably because you don’t look like the type of guy to shriek in fear. Besides, Reginald’s voice doesn’t match the timbre of yours, even coming out of my mouth.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I don’t scream like a little girl.”
“Well, I almost did when I opened my eyes and saw you changing back.”
“You’ve never seen me change before?” He grabbed the brass door handle but refrained from opening the front door.
“How could I?”
“By looking out your window, although I usually come back before dawn and Sly lets me in. I don’t know if you’re up that early. Or you could catch me at night, but ever since Jason installed the motion detector, it’s bright as hell out there, so I have to find a Dumpster to hide behind, where I can stash my clothes and shift.”
“That must be nerve-wracking. What if Jason or Merry pulled into their parking spots just as you were shifting?”
“Yeah, believe me, I worry about that.”
“I can cast a spell to shield you from view whenever you shift, if you like.”
Konrad almost gasped. “You can?”
“I believe so. I haven’t actually tried to put a spell on a werewolf before. I might have to tweak it a bit.”
He glanced at the apartment to the right of the front door. “Listen, don’t say anything to Roz about me, okay?”
Morgaine placed her hands on her hips and frowned. “You’re going to tell her, though.”
