“No dadly advice, Dad,” Cat said. “Not right now, okay?” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “So, kid, what would you like for dinner? Spaghetti? We bought soy meatballs—” She shook her head. “Not hungry.”
“Not at all?”
“I’m getting to know the signals, Dad.”
“Then that’s the last time I’ll ask twice.”
She made herself smile so he wouldn’t worry. “I just want to go to my room and sleep.”
“You think—” He glanced out at the darkening sky. “Sure. Sounds like the best idea. Rest well.”
She nodded and, to her surprise, yawned. Maybe her room would be more than a place to hide. She kissed her father’s forehead and went back through the very large, very empty, very quiet house that no longer felt like home.
When she reached her room, she looked at the pictures of her birthday meals. In every one, she and Tarika hugged and grinned as if life couldn’t get better. Professor M had always asked for a photo of the birthday duo, but Tarika had always insisted on the same pose.
Think about it tomorrow. Cat pulled off her high-tops, fell into bed, dragged her purple blanket up over her shoulders, wondered if she would be able to sleep, and fell asleep immediately.
———
She woke with the sun warm on her face. She smelled potatoes frying. A mug of soy milk was by the clock on her bedside table with a note saying, “Happy Belated 14!”
She thought, Right. Just me and the dad now. Well, that’s okay. I mean, that’s good. As good as it can be, anyway. So it’s good.
She drank the soy milk, thinking, Got to learn to control the glamour. And to be a raven and a wolf. I’ll keep busy learning things. And making sure the peace doesn’t fail. So it’ll be lonely? Sometimes you just have to be lonely.
She wrapped the blanket around herself, stepped into her slippers, and went downstairs. The curtains were still closed for the night, but the gloom fit her mood. Then the smell of garlic and peppers joined the potatoes, and she thought, Starving now. The best kind.
In the kitchen, her father had his work chair cranked high so he could watch the skillet. He said, “Morning, sleepyhead. Since you didn’t seem to mind garlic yesterday—”
“Smells dee-double-icious, Dad.” She put her empty mug in the sink. “Do you need something else? If vegetable protein doesn’t cut it—”
“Really not about to go bitey, Dad.”
“Sorry. Sometimes I’m Captain Overprotective.”
“Only sometimes?” She kissed his forehead. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Could’ve gotten breakfast in bed every morning from the captain if I’d played that better.”
He added tofu to the skillet, then poured in salsa. “Tell you what. You get room service on one morning of your choice. Offer void in a year.” He turned off the burner and looked in the oven.
“Biscuits!” Cat said. “Best Dad Ever award!”
“Fourteen years, and still number one.” He took out a tray of perfect golden biscuits. “If you’re up for serious scientific experimentation, grab margarine, honey, maple syrup, apple butter, and all the jam and jelly.”
“It’s good to sacrifice for science.”
She devoured the tofu scramble and two biscuits, saying little more than, “That’s great” and “Ginger preserves win,” and “Wait, apple butter with cinnamon does,” and “I really haven’t been fair to the orange marmalade.”
When she pushed her plate away, her father said, “Only two biscuits?”
“Resting. Then ginger preserves and rose hip jelly enter the death match.”
“An impeccable plan.”
She broke open a third biscuit, looked up, and said, “I don’t want to be the Queen of Shadows.”
He frowned at her. “Kid, any idiot can be royalty.”
“Real comforting.”
“And you’re no idiot.”
“Better.”
“What’s the problem? Don’t they have to do what you say?”
“Yeah. It’d be like having slaves.”
“Oh.” He pursed his lips, then said, “Normally, I’d admire your democratic impulse, but in this case, I think being aware of that is what’ll make you a great queen.”
“Isn’t that like being a great slaveowner?”
“Kid, they’re nighters.”
“Dad, so am I.”
“Oh.” He tapped his fingers on his coffee cup, then pushed the ginger preserves and rose hip jelly closer to her plate. “You really don’t want to be queen?”
She nodded. “Except I have to. So I’ll do it.” He shook his head. “Abdicate.”
“And let Mama take over?”
“If Zora wanted to be queen, she would’ve made you a princess.”
“Then who? Wouldn’t anyone else be worse?”
He shook his head. “Free them all. Say it’s democracy time, but if anyone tries to restore the monarchy, they’ll answer to the same judges that try nighters for murder. Getting people to try something new is tough, but—” He blinked. “What?”
She realized she was staring at him. “The nighter prophecy. One born between the worlds will lead the folk to glory.”
“Huh.” Professor M picked up his coffee cup, then set it down without drinking. “Make this work, and it’ll be plenty glorious to me.”
She threw her arms around him, and after a moment, his arms closed around her. “Kid, this is a lot to bear, no matter how we do it.”
She nodded, then jerked back from him. “A B&B!”
“What?”
“We should start a Bed and Breakfast!”
“Huh. That’s better than Olujimi’s idea.”
“For what?”
“Professor Midnight’s Museum of Marvels.” She nodded. “Professor Midnight’s B&B of Marvels.”
“Well. We’ll think about it.”
“Dad?”
“Hmm?”
“Yesterday? The nighters showing up just in time to save me was kind of a coincidence.”
“Coincidences happen. That’s why they’re called coinci—”
“If you wanted to reach Mama, could you?” He inhaled deeply. “I’ve got Granny Lupe’s cell and e-mail.”
“So, yesterday, did you—”
He nodded. “After you said she freed you, I figured out why she bit you.”
Cat squinted at him.
“It wasn’t to control you. It was to make sure no one else could. So I took a chance and called her. She tried to sneak out, but Baldomero bound her and learned what was up. If anyone hears I told a nighter about a meeting of the clans—”
“Totally our secret. Dad?”
“Kid?”
“Great biscuits. Just saying.” She crammed the last bite into her mouth as the doorbell rang. Professor M hit his forehead. “I forgot to pay the paper guy! Kid, tell him I’ll be there as soon as I find the checkbook, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Cat ran to the front door and swung it wide. On the porch, jaw set as if for battle, stood— “Tee?” Cat said, then thought, Right. She would think it was cowardly not to tell me to my face that our friendship’s over.
Tarika said, “I came to say—” Cat nodded. “Our friendship’s over.”
“Because I freaked yesterday?” Tarika stared. “So not fair!”
“It’s not over?”
“I came to say I was sorry about the freaking.”
“But I nearly killed you twice, and then I ordered you—”
“But you couldn’t help that!”
“But you didn’t know that!” They stopped simultaneously. Cat said, “You, first.” Tarika said, “No, you.”
“I can’t make you do anything now that I freed you. That’s how it works.”
“What about talking in my head?”
“I don’t know.”
“Try.” Cat thought, Tee? Tarika grinned. The cool! We can talk in school in separate classrooms! So we’re good? We’re best. Cat smiled. You’re the best. Tarika sa
id aloud, “Why, yes, I am the best. And you know why?” Cat shook her head. “Look what I brought.” Ilya stepped out from behind a porch pillar. “Hi,” he said shyly.
“Hiding was Tee’s idea.”
“You’re not gone?” Cat said, then thought, What is it about him that makes me ask the stupidest questions?
He patted his chest and arms, then head, then smiled. “I think I am all here.”
Tarika said, “He’s not going!” Cat said, “I thought Ms. Arkan—” Ilya nodded. “She wanted to leave Tucson when the Cat Medianoche problem was solved. But it’s not solved, so we must stay.” He grinned at Cat. “I hope this problem lasts forever.”
Cat thought, Tee? Uh, you liked Ilya first. Would it be cool—
Tarika answered, For you to settle for him because I am so going to convince Trick Zapia he’s cool enough for a girl who’s taller than he is? Why not?
Cat heard her father rolling behind her and turned. He said, “So, what does the birthday girl want?”
She squeezed Tarika’s hand, then smiled at Ilya. “The birthday girl got it.”
“Huh,” Professor M said. “That was easy. I was sure we would have to—”
“Movie, miniature golf, Thai restaurant, and no talking about nighters or clans or the Ouroboros War all day?” Cat asked.
Her father nodded. And that was what they did.
Praise for Will Shetterly’s writing
About Dogland:
“A masterwork. A particularly American magic realism that touches the heart of race and childhood in our country; it’s 100 Years of Solitude for an entire generation of American Baby Boomers, and deserves the widest possible audience.” —Ellen Kushner, host of National Public Radio’s Sound & Spirit
“A deceptively simple story, rich with complex characters and timeless themes, this novel will charm enthusiasts of contemporary fantasy.” —Publishers Weekly
“Compelling, absorbing, hard-edged work, lit by glimpses of another, more fantastic reality… child-centered but tackling adult themes fearlessly and with great charm.” —Kirkus Reviews
About Elsewhere:
“…a gritty, vivid portrait of a half-familiar world…Elsewhere works almost perfectly.” —Newsday
“Shetterly has just enough distance from his hero to shape [his] troubled journey with skill and conviction, too little distance to patronize.” —The Village Voice Literary Supplement
“Elsewhere breaks ground that other writers will certainly try to cultivate.” —Minneapolis Star Tribune
“…sometimes violent and profane, yet beautifully written… Not for the weak of heart, but a book for the adventurous soul.” —The New Advocate
About Chimera:
“The ingredients—wisecracking gumshoe, gorgeous slinky heroine, blood-tingling action, ingenious plot twists—might be familiar, but Shetterly’s thoughtful, hard-edged remix is a winner.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Vivid characters and a tense, sexy story line enliven the excellent cyberthriller’s themes of choice, freedom, and responsibility.” — Booklist
About Cats Have No Lord:
“The first-rate world building, the unique cast of characters, and the author’s clever whimsey make it absorbing entertainment. Recommended.” — Booklist
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Midnight Girl Page 19