by Kat Cotton
I nodded. “Yep, that was really nice of him, wasn’t it, Kisho?”
Kisho hissed at me. I figured he wanted me to shut up, but shutting up has never been something I’m good at. It wasn’t that I didn’t get the hint; I just wanted to toy with these big boys.
“See, he can’t have you staying here on his penny forever. He hired you to do a job, and he expects some expediency.”
“About that. It’s not a job that can be rushed. We have to use some finesse.”
The big one cracked his fingers. “Finesse. That’s not something we can afford. A fast job is a good job. That’s the way it works. I’m sorry if there’s been some kind of misunderstanding, you people thinking you can take your time, and Mr. Yamaguchi is a very patient man, but there are limits.”
He leaned on the counter of the little kitchenette. That put parts of his body way too close to mine, and he had a particularly fishy smell. The smile he shot me revealed a gold tooth.
“I hate to bring up something so crass,” he said, “but that money my boss gave you—we’ll have to ask for that back if the product isn’t delivered.”
I glanced over at Kisho. These guys might be tanks, but Kisho could take them.
“Oh, your vampire pal isn’t going to be much use against us. We’ve got means of disabling any advantages he has.”
The guy cracked his knuckles again to emphasis his words. That noise went right through me. Gross.
“Okay, then, what kind of timeline are we looking at?” I asked.
I wasn’t absolutely sure he could disable Kisho, but they were right: a fast job is a good job. I’d be happy to get away from Hana myself.
“Tomorrow would be good.”
“Yeah, that would actually be today,” the other one said, looking at his watch.
“Day after tomorrow or nothing,” I told them. Never agree to the first terms the lackeys offer.
“Day after tomorrow by close of business. We won’t be so friendly on our next visit.” He grinned at me.
“Nice doing business with you. Now, we’d like to get back to sleep, if you don’t mind.”
The big one straightened himself up. Good. They were leaving.
After the two of them left, I finished making my cup of tea and sat on the sofa.
“We have to pull out the big guns. None of this ‘be nice’ business. We’re never going to gain her trust, not in a million years. And, as you heard, we don’t have a million years. There’s no way those guys are getting my lovely money back. I need that money. I have to get my Mustang repaired and back on the road. I have business expenses. Oh, and I need new boots.”
Kisho sighed. “We can gain her trust. Maybe we should just ask her to give the potion back.”
“Are you an idiot?”
Kisho just shrugged.
“No, seriously, Kisho. I think this kitsune has used her trippy kitsune power on you. You can’t see her as she really is. Which is a prime bitch. She loves stealing, and she loves lying. She’s not what she seems.”
“You have to think of the repercussions.”
See, that was the bit I couldn’t tell him. I planned on having no repercussions, because once I had the information, I’d kill her. Not the girl, but the spirit inhabiting her body. Why should she be allowed to steal someone else’s body? Shit like that annoyed me so much.
Kisho obviously wasn’t as badly affected as some of her followers, but he still had these illusions about her being a nice person. I could see him wavering, so I pulled out the big guns.
“Think of Nic. Don’t you owe more to him than to Hana? I still haven’t worked out the freaky relationship between the two of you, but I get the sense that you owe him a lot. We can’t just leave him struggling with all his issues. He needs someone to make his coffee and get him cake and drive him around. And he needs me to talk sense into him.”
Kisho nodded. “You’re right. I have to think of Nic.”
Part of that dream flashed back into my head. I had to think less of Nic. He looked good naked; at least dream Nic did. And, hell, he was a virgin. That should not be nearly as sexy as it was. I know people say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, but it wasn’t my heart growing fonder of Nic.
I didn’t want any part of me being fond of Nic. It was just that he was in another country, so I didn’t have to put up with him criticizing me on a daily basis. Nic on the phone was much nicer than Nic in person. But Kisho was the one I liked, not Nic. Nic had no room in his heart for anyone but himself.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Kisho said.
“Huh?” Okay, my head had been so full of sex thoughts, I’d not realized that he was talking about hunting the kitsune.
“It’s against my better judgment, but let’s do what we need to do.”
With Kisho on board, this would be much easier. He might be a bit upset when I killed her, but really, it just involved cutting the kitsune tail from her. When that girl became unpossessed, he’d see I’d done the right thing.
Chapter 28 Nic: Tea Party
Lucio had been so full of shit when he warned me about Vlad. I’d rushed home to find him practicing his gymnastics routine, not a hair on his head disturbed.
“Has anyone been here?” I asked him. “Anyone at all?”
“No.”
I went outside to check around the house. The locks were all intact. I checked the front of the house. Not even a footprint in the garden near the windows. I did find a couple of cigarette butts that the guard had thrown away, though. I’d have words with him.
Then I went to the back of the house. Nothing at all around the bay window, which would be the obvious place to try to enter. No footprints anywhere else, either.
That meant Lucio had been bluffing. And, damn it, it’d worked. That was twice he’d fooled me. How could I be so stupid?
I went back to the basement. Vlad did a cartwheel across the floor.
“One day soon, we’ll have to get out of here.”
“Out?”
“Move.”
He grinned, but I wasn’t sure the concept had sunk in. I couldn’t keep him locked in the basement forever. I’d focused his training on basic vampire skills, but he needed social skills too, especially if we were going to travel. Sitting for hours on a plane, close to tasty humans, would challenge him.
“Tomorrow, we’ll do something special,” I told him. “With treats.”
I planned it all in my head.
To be honest, he didn’t look that excited, but he probably had no idea what a treat it was. I wasn’t sure if he was ready yet, but we had to take the next step: going from the basement to the rest of the house.
After I’d made the preparations the next day, I went to fetch him.
“Come on, Vlad.”
I flattened down his unruly hair, then walked up the stairs, expecting him to follow me. He stayed down below.
“Come on, Vlad.” I waved for him to join me. He still didn’t move.
Hellhound ran up the stairs instead, almost barreling into my heels. Finally, Vlad got the point. He walked up the stairs behind us.
He got to the living area and shielded his eyes. I’d forgotten he wasn’t used to even the dappled sunshine.
I handed him some sunglasses. He held them up in front of him, twisting them one way, then the other. The look of bewilderment on his face made me laugh. I took the glasses off him and showed him how to put them on.
I’d bought a special cake to celebrate the occasion. Red velvet. I thought Vlad would like that. I’d also set the table so we could have a proper afternoon tea. Other than blood, he’d not had much food. The occasional ham hock and some meat, but not treat food.
To make it extra special, I’d set up a little table near the bay window. That way, he’d be able to see the city and watch the world around him. I’d cover the table with a gorgeous lace tablecloth and a posy of violets.
If this went well, then eventually we could move on to bigger things. He couldn’t live his
whole life in the basement, doing gymnastics. Having a special treat like this would make life more fun.
“We’re going to have tea,” I told him. “What sort of tea do you like?”
“Tea?”
Okay, that didn’t mean anything to him. I had a selection of teas, and I let him smell some of them. He didn’t seem to have a preference, so I got a delicious English Breakfast and spooned it into the tea pot. Then I went into the kitchen to boil the kettle. I’d just put the kettle on when I heard something smash.
I rushed back to the living room.
Vlad stared at something in pieces on the floor.
“Bad bird,” he said.
One of the swan ornaments. I hated those damn things. Seemed Vlad did too. I’d have to pay to replace it, but at least I wouldn’t have to look at the ugly thing.
“Yes, bad bird.”
I cleaned up the pieces.
“Sit down at the table,” I told him.
I took him over to the table and pulled out a chair for him. Then I got the teapot and the cake from the kitchen.
“Yummy,” I told him. “Yummy cake.” I rubbed my belly.
“Tasty?”
“Not tasty, but delicious. Cake is the best. It’s a special treat.”
He put his head to the side as though he was trying to understand. Once he tasted it, he’d know. Cake was one of the true joys of life. I wondered if Vlad had ever had cake before.
I cut two generous slices.
He picked up his plate and sniffed the cake but didn’t attempt to eat it. Maybe he didn’t understand it was food.
I poured the tea and added milk and sugar to his.
He stared at me, clearly not sure of what it was. I picked up my cup and took a sip. Then I smiled at him. He copied me, taking a gulp of his. Then he spat it straight out.
“Not tasty! Hate.”
He’d sprayed tea all over the tablecloth, but that didn’t matter. I’d clean it later.
“If you don’t like the tea, you can try the cake.” I picked up my fork and took a small piece of cake. Then I hugged my stomach, moaning with delight. It wasn’t even an act. It was a super-delicious cake.
Vlad looked at the fork but grabbed the cake with his hand. His table manners definitely needed improvement. He squeezed the cake so crumbs pushed out through his fingers.
He crammed the lot into his mouth. He definitely needed manners training. I repressed my shudders. I couldn’t expect him to be perfect straight up.
Hellhound ran around the floor, sniffing for crumbs.
“No, Vlad. Not like that.”
I picked up the knife to cut him another slice, but it was too late. He’d reached over and mushed the cake, grabbing another handful.
“Vlad!”
I had to make allowances for him since he’d been living wild for so long, but the cake was ruined. He’d smashed it. My beautiful cake.
While I tried to clean up the mess, Vlad walked to the window. He looked out, then rattled the knob.
“No, not outside, Vlad.”
He slumped back on his chair, looking bored.
What could I do with the kid? I’d wanted him to enjoy the tea party, but it’d just bored the hell out of him. He couldn’t just spend his days doing gymnastics, feeding and sleeping.
Oscar thought I should train him to fight, but I didn’t want my unicorn baby to be involved in any of that stuff. I wanted him to have a nice home with lovely things and cute clothes. He’d never had those kinds of things. I was sure that once he got used to them, he’d enjoy them like I did.
Vlad jumped up again and bashed at the window. His fists made the glass shudder. If he didn’t stop, he’d knock the pane out completely.
“You can’t go outside,” I said. “It’s not safe.”
I grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him away. He shook my hand off.
“Outside!” he cried.
“Outside is dangerous.”
Bringing him out of the basement had been a huge mistake. Letting him see the world out there, reminding him that there was more than just his room, had triggered some kind of flight response in him. I could feel it, something I couldn’t recognize in myself: an urge for freedom. The wildness inside him bashed against my edges in a way it never had before. You couldn’t just slap a thin veneer over that kind of wildness.
I thought I’d taken major steps in taming him, but I had a long way to go. I’d moved too fast.
“Outside!”
I took the sunglasses off him. With no protection on his eyes, he had no choice but to turn back to the darkened room. He winced with the shock, but I’d had to be tough to protect him.
“We’ve got to go back to the basement now.”
I put my hands lightly on his shoulders.
He squirmed away and slapped at me. Only a light slap, but still, he’d raised his hand against me. The shock of it made me recoil.
I tried to hold his wrists, to settle him. He struggled and kicked out.
“NO!” I yelled. I never yelled.
I didn’t want to go up against him in show of physical strength. I’d lose. I knew the kid had super-strength, but I’d never thought he’d use it against me. We had the bond. We connected. I was pack leader. I could never, ever let him win against me, or the power balance between us would change forever. That knowledge hit me in the stomach like a sledgehammer.
Instead of focusing on him, I needed to calm myself. I slowed my breathing and thought of lovely things.
When my mind had settled, I took his hand in mine.
“Come on,” I said.
He went with me until we got to the basement door. Then he flinched.
“No!”
I’d lost the connection with him.
“NO!” he screamed.
His body tensed. He didn’t struggle, and he didn’t fight. He just resisted.
I inhaled and worked hard to get the connection back. It’d become more difficult. I focused until my head buzzed and my body quivered. Normally, the path between us ran smoothly, but there seemed to be a huge obstacle blocking the flow. He didn’t want me in his head. His thoughts pushed me away.
I calmed myself again. We couldn’t stay like this forever, locked in a silent power struggle.
Finally, the block budged. I got into his head. He calmed.
At the bottom of the stairs, though, he gave out a strangled scream. He’d adjust in a moment. But he picked up the pile of blankets and pillows from his nest and threw them around the room. A temper tantrum. I guessed that went with parent territory. There was nothing in the room he could hurt. Not with cushions.
I left him to it, rushing back upstairs and locking the door behind me. My limbs were still shaking, and an uneasiness had filled me. We had bagged blood in the fridge. I grabbed one out and gulped it down. I needed to restore my energy, and I needed to do it fast.
Chapter 29 Clem: Karaoke
We’d arranged to meet Hana. That kitsune should prepare to meet her doom. Today would be the day, one way or another. We’d get this thing sorted and be on the plane home.
“Karaoke,” I told Kisho to tell her.
He shook his head.
“Seriously. It’s the best place to go. We won’t have any distractions, and it’s a confined space.”
“I’ll suggest it, but I’m not going to enjoy it.”
I patted his arm. “That’s okay. It’s business, not pleasure, remember.”
My singing wasn’t that bad. He just wanted to make a fuss. Anyway, I’d put up with all his business-not-pleasure excuses.
We’d have her trapped in a small room, nowhere to escape. I just wondered where we could get a dog from on short notice. I had no ideas, but anything that shocked her would be enough. I downloaded a dog barking on my phone. Maybe playing that would be enough to get her to turn. It was the possibly the lamest plan ever, but I had no other ideas. We couldn’t really hire a dog to take with us. There were cat cafés aplenty in this city, but I had
n’t found a dog one.
“So, what’s my part in this secret plan?” Kisho asked.
“It’s not a secret plan. We just go to karaoke with her, hang out and act nice. That’s enough.”
He raised his eyebrows, obviously not believing me.
“Just be nice to her, okay? But not too nice.”
Hana waited for us outside the karaoke building, all smiles and happiness. I bit my lip. I hated plans like this. My favorite kind of plans were the simple kind: turn up, kick butt, then kill. No complications or sneaky stuff. But I couldn’t just kill Hana, not without finding out that locker number first.
I smiled back at her, but not too much. I didn’t want her getting suspicious. She wore her usual skimpy outfit, including a skirt that barely covered her business. At least I didn’t need to be bundled up in a zillion layers for once.
At the counter, she asked for a smoking room. That was a thing here? I didn’t bother complaining. She could enjoy her last cigarette.
We were at a different place from last time, but it looked almost exactly the same. Same crappy carpet trampled to a murky mess, same smell of stale smoke. Same loud music in the hallway.
The room we had was smaller than last time. Tiny. That suited me. There was a bench seat along one wall, with a massive fake marble coffee table taking up most of the space. The usual screen on one wall. A mirror ball was rotating on the ceiling, and a couple of lame disco lights flashed around the room.
The walls had some kind of weird outer space mural that glowed under the lights.
Kisho went in first. I waited, making sure Hana sat between Kisho and me. She’d be trapped.
Hana grabbed a microphone and the controller. She put on a song and started singing.
Kisho complained about my singing? She sounded like a strangled cat. Or maybe a strangled fox. It wasn’t even singing, more like a horrific shriek. You could really kill a person here and not even have anyone notice over that noise.
Kisho didn’t even say a thing about it. I’d told him to be nice, but he didn’t even meet my gaze so I could roll my eyes at her horrific singing. I wasn’t doing all these eyerolls just to exercise my eyeballs.