The Jade Jaguar
Blair Sandburg walked inside the club known as the Jade Jaguar. As the
preternatural consultant to the police department, as well as Cascade's
leading vampire hunter, Blair knew that the Jade Jaguar belonged to the pack
leader of the local were-jaguars. The were-jaguars were the second largest
pack in Cascade, WA, next to the were-wolf pack. Blair didn't know the pack
leader, only that his name was Michael Carrington.
Beside Blair was Officers Rafe and Brown, two of Preternatural Crimes
leading detectives. Officer Rafe was a psychic, and Banks had immediately
snapped the young man up when Rafe graduated from the Academy. Captain Simon
Banks was always looking for anyone with preternatural talents for his
squad. If it weren't for the laws against it, Banks would have hired a
were-beast, or even a vampire.
Smiling a bit at that, Blair led the two detectives into the club. They
walked over to the carved oak bar were a tall, blonde haired man was tending
bar. Blair sat down at the bar, and motioned for Rafe and Brown to do the
same. The bartender looked at them, and Blair felt the power over his body
that told him the man was a were=beast, and not a very powerful one. At
least in terms of power. Definitely a subordinate. Blair could tell the man
knew that Rafe and Brown were cops, and he wasn't impressed. However, Blair
could sense the were-jaguar's nervousness.
"What can I get you?" the blonde man asked.
"Information. We were hoping to talk to the owner about a murder that
happened last night here in the district." Rafe said coming straight to the
point.
"Boss ain't here today." Blonde man said, "But Angie will take care of you.
She's his partner."
"So can we take to Angie." Blair asked.
"Of course." A woman's voice purred behind them. The men turned to look at
the beautiful woman behind them. She was a tall dark skinned woman, with
warm brown eyes. She wore a black leather skirt, and red silk shirt opened
in the front to show considerable cleavage.
"Angie, I take it." Blair said.
"Yes. Angie Ferris. And you are?"
"Detective Brown, " Henri introduced them, "And this is my partner Detective
Rafe, and our preternatural expert, Dr. Blair Sandburg."
"Ah, yes. The local vampire hunter. I've heard that you have more kills than
anyone other than The Executioner."
Blair shrugged. He didn't like to boast.
"Come and join me at my table. The show is about to start."
The men followed Angie Ferris to a table near the stage. She sat down after
Blair pulled out the table for her. The three men sat down, and a waiter
wearing nothing put a black g-string, and a leather collar came over. Angie
ordered a margarita, and the three men ordered cokes.
"What is it you wish to discuss?" Angie asked after the waiter left to fill
their order.
Rafe pulled out a few pictures, "Do you know this man?"
Angie looked a the pictures of the man who had been savagely torn to pieces.
The head and face had remained intact. She did not seem disturbed by the
gore.
"I've seen him in the establishment quite a few times. He practically drools
on our dancers. He is human. I am afraid I don't know his name."
"His name was Mathew Densworth. He owned Densworth Construction." Brown
supplied.
Was he here last night?"
"I wasn't here last night. However, if he was then Jim would know."
"Jim?" Blair asked.
"Jim Ellison. One of our dancers. He worked last night, and if Densworth was
here he would have been in the front row. I am sure Jim would remember."
"Can we talk to this Jim." Brown asked.
"Yes, but after his set. Aaah, its time now." And with that she turned her
attention to the show.
On the stage, the lights went out until only one spotlight remained. A
figure stepped out onto the stage under the spotlight. The man was tall, at
least six foot four, and had short brown hair. In his left ear were two gold
rings, and around his strong neck was a black leather dog collar. The dancer
wore tight black leather pants, and a light blue silk shirt, and black
boots.
The music started, and the man began to dance. He danced sensuously, moving
like a cat, quick and powerful. He unbuttoned his shirt sexily, and threw it
off revealing a broad hairless chest, and a hard abdomen. He continued to
dance to the music, stripping out of his boots and pants to reveal the black
g-string. When the music came to a close, the were-jaguar removed the
g-string to reveal for a few seconds his large hard hard cock with the small
silver ring pierced on the head. Then the lights on the stage went out
completely.
When the waiter returned with their drinks, Angie whispered to the waiter.
The man nodded, and went backstage.
A few minutes later, the waiter came over followed by Jim wearing nothing
but the black leather pants, boots, and the dog collar.
"You wanted to see me." Jim asked Angie, his eyes down in a submissive
gesture.
"Yes." She waved a hand at him, and he went immediately to his knees beside
her chair.
Angie picked up one of the pictures. "Was this man here last night?"
Jim looked at the picture with his icy blue eyes, "Yes, mistress. He was
sitting at table #2. He left after my set."
"Good. Go in the back, Jim and get ready." Angie said. Jim rose and obeyed.
Blair watched the man go, his eyes lingering on the nice ass covered in
leather. *Man he is hot. But he feels strange. I know he's a were-jaguar,
but there's something else.*
"I hope you got the answers you wanted." Angie said.
"Yes, thank you. Is there any chance Jim can come to the station to give his
statement?" Blair asked knowing that he need to go through Angie and not
directly to Jim. After all, it was obvious JIm was low in the pack status,
and would have to have permission from Angie to do anything.
"Yes. He will come in tomorrow afternoon, if that is convenient."
"Yes, it is. Thank you."
Angie smiled, but it did not touch her eyes.
Rafe and Brown stood up and began walking out of the bar, but Blair lingered
behind, "If you don't mind, could you tell me what Jim is. I know he's a
were-jaguar, but he feels different."
"Jim is a 'mule'" The woman said a bit of distaste in her voice.
Blair nodded. He had never felt a 'mule' before, but knew he would recognize
it now.
As he walked out, Rafe asked him, "What's a 'mule'?"
"You heard?" Blair asked.
"Yeah."
"A mule is someone who had one parent that was a were-beast, and the other
parent was a real beast."
"Huh?" Brown asked wondering if he heard that wrong.
"In their beast form, a were-beast can mate with a regular animal. During
mating season however, pregnancy can occur. Ninety percent of the time the
fetus is aborted, and those who survive to term usually die within a few
days of birth. But a small percentage will survive to adulthood. Jim may
look like he's forty, but he's probably only lived a few years. Mules mature
quickly, both physically and mentally. They even have their animal
instincts, but in terms of power they are usually weak. And they are always
sterile, hence the name 'mule'."
"Damn, you mean he's a real jaguar." Rafe said.
"Only half, the other half is human."
"Oh man that is too weird, and really gross." Rafe said.
Blair shrugged. It wasn't Jim's fault that one of his parents had mated with
a real jaguar. And besides which, the man was obviously sapient as well as
sentient. He wasn't a wild beast that killed for pleasure.
Remembering the picture, Blair began to wonder if he wasn't thinking to
clearly about the stripper. He knew stories about 'mules' who had gone
rogue. As the thoughts swirled in his head, the rain began to fall. They
barely made it to Rafe's car before they were drenched.
Jim Ellison walked out of the dressing room of the club. He had changed
from the black leather pants to a pair of blue jeans, a gray
T-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes. The leather collar was tucked
away in the pocket of jeans. With his back pack over his shoulder,
Jim walked over to Chris, the waiter who had come and told him that
Angie had wanted to see him.
“You heading out.” Chris asked.
“Yeah, I’ve got a class.” Jim said.
Chris nodded and handed Jim a roll of bills. “Here’s your tips for
the night.”
Jim took the bills and stuffed them in his pocket. “Thanks.” Jim said,
then headed for the exit.
Outside Jim walked over to his truck, a black F-150 extended cab.
Unlocking the door, Jim seated himself inside, and started the
truck.
He drove over to Rainier University and parked his truck in one of
the student parking lots. Getting out he headed into the law
enforcement building, and to his Criminal Law class.
He seated himself in the back away from the other students. The teacher
came inside and began the class.
When class was done, Jim walked out of the building and headed back to
his truck.
“Jim Ellison.” A voice called and Jim turned to see the long haired man who
had been with Angie at the club.
“Hi.” Was all Jim said.
“Hi. Are you student here.”
“Yeah. Part time student.” The were-jaguar answered.
“That’s cool. I’m a professor here for preternatural studies.
What are you studying?”
“Criminal Justice.” Jim answered.
Blair was surprised. As a were-jaguar, Jim would never be allowed to be
a cop, and as a ‘mule’ he wouldn’t have the same life span as a
regular human.
Jim opened the door to his truck.
“Say would you like to eat dinner with me.” Blair asked.
Jim looked at him strangely. “I’ll come in tomorrow to give my
statement, you don’t have to bribe me.”
“Hey, its not a bribe. Its an offer for dinner.”
“Should you be asking me dinner. After all I am probably your
prime suspect.”
“Why would you think that?”
“The pictures. Its obvious the guy was torn apart by a were-jag. I
heard Angie tell you what I am. It doesn’t take a genius to figure
that I am a suspect.”
“Did you kill him?” Blair asked.
“No.” Jim answered.
Blair shrugged, “Well then, since I’m only a consultant, and not a cop,
then how about I take you to dinner.”
Jim sighed, “Alright.”
“Cool. Let’s go in my vehicle.” With that Jim shut and locked the door
to his truck and followed Blair across the parking lot to the reserved
spaces. In a parking space with a sign that said, “Dr. Blair
Sandburg”, was a Volkswagon Beetle, deep blue in color. Blair
unlocked the doors and they sat in the car.
Jim was silent as they drove to a restaurant that Blair said was really good
The restaurant, the Blue Lagoon, was a steak and
seafood restaurant. They were seated at a table near a
large window that overlooked a garden complete with
fish pond and a waterfall. Jim ordered a plate of
baked fish…the cheapest thing on the menu. He also
ordered a beer. Blair ordered a fried catfish dinner,
with hushpuppies. He ordered a an iced tea for his
drink.
At first conversation was light, Blair steered clear
of any personal questions even though he was dying to
know a bit more about a mule. He had only read of few
case studies about mules, enough to know the basics.
There were only a few actual mules that had ever been
studied. Three werewolves, a werejackal, and a
wereleopard. The werewolves had lived a space of
twenty two years, the werejackal lived to be twenty
seven, and the wereleopard lived to be seventeen. All
had died of old age and natural causes.
Blair looked at the handsome werejag and thought it
sad to know that he only had ten or maybe fifteen more
years to live.
“Ask.” Jim said suddenly.
“I’m sorry?” Blair said confused.
“I know you want to ask me some personal questions. I
can practically smell the excitement coming off of
you. Go ahead and ask, I don’t mind.”
“Are you sure?”
Jim nodded.
“How old are you?” Blair asked.
“Six.” Jim answered.
“How, I mean why, or who?” Blair didn’t know how to
ask his next question.
“My mother was an archeologist specializing in
Peruvian cultures. They were at a dig. She had kept
the fact that she was a werejag secret from the
others. The full moon came, and she was out prowling
the jungle. She was in heat, and in a male jaguar’s
territory. You can guess the rest. I was born in
jaguar form. Tore my mother up enough that she needed
surgery. I guess I was lucky that she kept me. I grew
up fast, though. I traveled with her to Peru several
times during the few years I was still a cub. When I
reached adulthood I moved here to Cascade. Got taken
in, sort of, by the local pard of werejaguars.”
“What do you mean, sort of?” Blair asked not sure he
really wanted to know.
“I’m low cat on the totem pole. Everyone is alpha to
me.” Jim answered then took a bite of his fish.
Blair nodded. He knew what that entailed.