by Erin Johnson
"My parents ran this stall before I took over. A family business." He laughed again to himself, a little too hard, as he dipped a big ladle into a bowl of light beige liquid, then poured it out on the large griddle that spanned the entire length of the counter. He repeated the process, then used the back of the spoon and smoothed each puddle of batter into a smooth circle. Behind him, enchanted knives chopped the stalks of green onions into thin disks.
"Oh. It's like a pancake." I cocked my head to the side, fascinated as he reached for a huge bowl of shredded cabbage and piled an enormous mound onto each one.
He nodded, his head bobbing on his too-thin neck. "Exactly, exactly."
A big pile of bean sprouts came next, then sliced green onions, seaweed seasoning, grated kelp, and then strips of bacon.
I leaned closer to Hank and eyed the mountains of food sizzling away in front of us. "I know I said I was hungry, but I don't know if I can eat all that."
Iggy cackled. "Right. You tell yourself that."
I rolled my eyes at him, then took a deep breath through my nose and groaned. It was starting to smell heavenly. It did have bacon on it—what else did I need, really?
"I hear this is the best place to watch the migration from." I gestured to the crowded beach behind us. More and more people seemed to be pouring in.
Genji nodded as he zigzagged a drizzle of batter on top of the bacon. "Best night of the year, if you ask me. It's just stunning."
I noticed a long brass telescope set up against the wall and pointed at it. "Is that for watching the monsters?"
His eyes followed my finger and he jumped, lunged for the telescope, and turned it toward the water. "Uh, yes. Yes, exactly. For watching the manta… and stargazing."
Hank nodded. "Sounds like a great hobby."
Genji pulled two metal spatulas from his apron pockets, slid both under the first pancake, then grinned at us. "This is the most exciting part." I gasped as he lifted, then flipped the enormous pile of toppings in one fluid movement. Before I could speak, he'd done the same with the second one.
He moved to the boilers behind him and spooned out a big pile of thick soba noodles, then tossed them on the griddle beside the pancakes. He ladled some oil onto the noodles, shaped them into a circle, then repeated this to make a second pile. After a few moments, he flipped the noodles, their tops now golden brown.
My mouth dropped and I pointed. "The noodles are like pancakes, too."
"Wha—?" Iggy mimicked me. "What sorcery is this? Noodles mashed together into circles?"
I shot him a withering look.
My flame cackled and leaned out of the lantern toward Genji. He thumbed at me. "This one grew up in the human world."
The man lifted his brows in surprise, but didn't take his eyes off the griddle.
Hank rested his hand on my lower back. "It is pretty fascinating to watch."
"Thank you." I flashed my eyes at Iggy. See—someone else found it semimagical.
Genji used both metal spatulas to smash down the gigantic pile of toppings, scooped the whole thing up, and plopped it on top of the noodle pile. He repeated this for the second okonomiyaki, then grinned at us, a few spaces between his teeth. "Like a sandwich now."
Iggy clasped his hands and turned to me, his eyes wide. "A sandwich," he breathed.
I clicked my tongue at him, but couldn't stop the smile that twitched at the corner of my mouth.
Genji tidied up the piles, scooping the cabbage and onions that had fallen from the middle back into the sides. He snapped his fingers, and two eggs lifted from a carton behind him, floated to the griddle, and cracked themselves. Genji lifted his brows at Iggy, then tilted his head to the hovering eggshells.
Iggy frowned, then his eyes lit up as he understood. He nodded eagerly and the shells flew into his mouth. Iggy closed his eyes and crunched happily away on them. Huh. I'd never thought to feed him those before.
"You like eggshells?"
"You don't? They're the best part."
Hank and I exchanged looks, and I shrugged. "You learn something new every day."
Genji threw his head back and laughed. I knew I was funny—but it seemed a bit overkill to laugh that hard. Maybe he was just a cheerful guy.
"So, what brings you three to Umiru? Here to watch the migration, I'm sure?" He stared at me with his dark eyes.
I glanced at Hank, then rubbed the back of my neck. "Actually, we're here to help a friend with some business. But we'll be watching the magic monsters too."
Genji snapped his fingers and the towering piles of food lifted from the griddle and settled themselves perfectly on the frying eggs. In the blink of an eye the whole pile flipped again and settled with a burst of steam onto the grill, the egg now on top. I lifted my nose and took a big whiff of bacon, fried batter, and egg. My mouth watered and my stomach growled.
The bony man blinked. "Where are you staying?"
Hank cleared his throat. "At the Doragon Spa."
"Ah!" Genji clapped his long, thin hands. "With Miss Sara?"
I nodded. "Our friends know her well."
He held up a finger and turned his back to us. He dug around in a drawer, rattles and the tinkle of glass mixing with the sound of the crowd behind us and the sizzle of the grill. A squirt bottle of dark red sauce floated magically up and drizzled a zigzag over each fried egg, then an enchanted shaker of green seaweed flakes dusted the tops.
Genji whirled around, a glossy, wrinkled photograph in his hands. He snapped it, then rushed forward and pushed it toward me. "Do you recognize these two?”
30
Heart Problems
I leaned back—Genji had practically touched the photograph to my nose—and squinted at the faded image. A tall, thin young man stood smiling and squinting into the sun with his arm around a lovely young woman with freckles on her cheeks. She, unlike the man, was not smiling. They stood with the sandy beach curving behind them, the ocean dotted with fishing boats, their nets trailing behind. In the magically moving photograph, the woman shifted away from the man and the boats bobbed on the waves behind them.
Hank leaned over to get a look. His eyes darted from the picture to Genji. "That's you."
Genji bobbed his head. "And…." He tapped at the woman.
I swallowed. "Uh…" The freckles looked familiar. "Miss Sara?"
"Yes!" Genji practically squealed with delight.
Hank watched him, arms folded across his chest. "You must have been quite young when that picture was taken."
Genji nodded, his eyes glued to the photo. "Yes. In our twenties. This was before the monsters came."
My stomach tightened and I stole a glance at Hank. A muscle in his jaw jumped and I knew he had to be thinking the same thing I was. Before Hank's father sent the monsters.
Genji's eyes focused in on the picture. "She's still as beautiful today as she was then."
I lifted my brows at Hank, then turned to Genji. "Did you two… date?"
His smile drooped and his eyes grew tight. "We were engaged."
"Whoa." Iggy stopped munching on his eggshells.
I lifted a brow. Even back in their twenties they’d made a bit of an odd couple. Not that I knew either well, but Sara seemed so poised and elegant and reserved, while Genji seemed full of wiry, frenetic energy, and was openly sharing personal details with us—total strangers.
"What happened?" I shook my head. "If you don't mind my asking."
Genji's nostrils flared. "I broke the engagement off."
I blinked. Not what I'd been expecting.
"Right…." Iggy widened his eyes. "You're sure she didn't break up with you?"
I shot my flame a look. I mean, it was what I'd been thinking, but it was rude to say.
Genji shook his head and tucked the photo in the pocket of his apron. "Poor Sara. She was so hurt."
"Seriously?!"
I flashed my eyes at Iggy. His degree of disbelief was just getting insulting… and this was a man who was preparing our fo
od.
"My parents pressured me into breaking it off. The monster attack had left her penniless. Her father was a fisherman, one of the best, but he and the rest of her family were killed, and her home destroyed. My parents thought I'd be marrying down." Genji hung his head.
"That's terrible." Hank swiveled on his stool and glanced at the towering spa and hotel behind us, then turned back to Genji. "It's even more impressive how much she's accomplished, given that she had nothing when she started."
Genji grunted. He lifted his head. "My wife died last year."
I jerked. Quite a change of topic. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry."
Genji smiled. "Thank you. It's been a tough time. Her health seemed to have been improving. It made it all the more shocking when she came back from her day at Miss Sara's spa and suddenly died of a heart attack." He shrugged, his grin widening. "Lately, I've been thinking perhaps Miss Sara and I might reconnect. I've just begun to feel open to love again… and she's the one who got away."
I raised my brows. Or was he the one who got away… from being killed by the black widow? "Your wife died of a heart attack"—I flashed my eyes at Hank—"like that man who passed away yesterday?"
Hank folded his big hands in front of him and leaned forward. "If you don't mind my asking, did your wife have a history of illness?"
"Oh, yes." Genji gave us a tight-lipped smile. "She was ailing for many years. I thought perhaps a day at the spa would do her some good." He shook his head slightly.
I frowned. Well… maybe if his wife had been ill for some time, it was just an unfortunate coincidence that she'd died after a visit to Miss Sara's spa. Genji certainly didn't seem to be harboring any suspicion… but then again, he seemed infatuated.
The thin man with leathery skin let out a sigh as he gazed out over the crowded beach toward the Doragon, the last rays of light glinting off its green roof tiles.
A line creased the space between Hank's brows as he followed Genji's gaze, then looked at me with a question in his eyes. I shrugged—I wasn't sure what to make of it, either.
He cleared his throat. "Have you spoken to Sara? It's best to be direct."
I couldn't hold back the huge smile that spread across my face. "Oh, like you were?"
Hank glanced at me, then reddened. "Well—that was a different kind of— I was in disguise, we were competing…." He grinned. "You had a crush on a murderous medic."
I gasped. Oh, really? He wanted to go there? I narrowed my eyes at him, a grin still on my lips. "You were engaged to a princess."
Hank's mouth dropped, then he chuckled. "Touché."
Genji seemed oblivious to our exchange, still looking out across the crowded beach toward the Doragon Spa. He let out another heavy sigh. "I thought of speaking with her the other day, but then I saw her with another one of her beaus."
I raised my brows. "Another one? She has a lot of boyfriends?"
He seemed not to have heard, and let out yet another wistful sigh. "Poor Miss Sara… she's had so much success in business, but has been very unlucky in love. The man I saw her with was the man who died yesterday." He shook himself and smiled widely at the okonomiyaki sizzling away on the grill. "It's alright… she's so important and fancy now." His smile widened. "She probably wouldn't be interested in a lowly food stall guy like me."
"Yeah, probably not." Iggy leaned out his lantern and peered toward the griddle. "You got any more eggshells back there?"
"Iggy!" I shook my head at him.
But Genji didn't seem to have noticed. He snapped his fingers and the okonomiyaki lifted into two checkered-paper-lined baskets, trailing a dusting of cabbage, and then settled in front of us.
The skinny man bowed and wiped his hands on the towel hanging from his waist. "I hope you enjoy." He turned away from us and took to replenishing the baskets of noodles.
I swiveled and looked at Hank, then lowered my voice with a glance at Genji's back, uncertain if he was listening. "I'm worried about Yann." I grimaced. "You heard Genji. Sara was jilted when she was young. Maybe she never got over the heartbreak and takes it out on her beaus, which she apparently has a lot of."
I gulped and glanced again at Genji's back, then leaned even closer to Hank. "And Genji's wife dies after a day at the spa? Of a heart attack? Just like Nazo Suzuki, who was apparently Sara's boyfriend, died of a heart attack at the spa after an argument with her." I whimpered. "Tell me I'm just being paranoid?"
I sat back as Hank thought it over. A little crease formed between his brows and he got this distant look in his eyes that let me know the wheels were turning. I faced my okonomiyaki and took a deep inhale. My mouth watered, and though I had a moment of hesitation about how to eat this tower of food, I decided to dive in with my hands. I grabbed the wobbling stack like a sandwich and bit in.
"Uh. Did you just unhinge your jaw like a snake?" Iggy shrank back.
I munched away, shredded cabbage tumbling from my lips. "Dog mock me." I swallowed. "I'm so worried about Yann, I almost can't eat."
Iggy gave me a flat look. "Almost."
I took another bite of the delicious thing. It was like a magical mix between a sandwich and a pancake and a pizza. It shouldn't work, but it did.
Hank let out a heavy sigh, also glanced at Genji's back, then leaned over to me. "I don't like to jump to conclusions, but I believe you're right to be concerned for Yann. At least enough to urge him to be cautious."
I munched on another savory bite, full of textures and flavors. "Dig you see ga way he wooked ag her dough?" I chewed more and swallowed. "He's head over heels already. And they're probably on their date right now. The longer we wait, the more enchanted with her he's going to be."
Crash! I jumped and looked up. Genji shot us an apologetic smile and dipped to scoop up the metal spoons and spatulas he'd knocked to the floor.
Hank nodded. "Maybe we can catch him before he goes on this date. Just give him the facts of what we know and let him decide for himself."
I took one more huge bite and shoved off the stool. I grabbed Iggy's lantern. "Let's go."
Hank's eyes widened as he glanced at my nearly empty basket, then at his untouched food. "How did you—?" He gaped.
"Step right up, folks," Iggy mock tipped a hat, "and see the magical bottomless pit."
I rolled my eyes, but Hank dropped a few gold coins on the counter and bowed his head. "Thank you very much. I'll be taking this to go." Hank's food magically folded the paper wrapper around itself and floated into his twill pants pocket.
Genji frowned. "Off so soon?"
Hank bowed, then we turned and found the sun had set at our backs, the sky deepening into inky blues and blacks. A few lanterns glowed here and there on the beach, but other than that it was eerily dark. Even the spas along the beach and across the main street had dimmed their lights—I guessed to enhance the viewing of the glowing monsters.
I took Hank's hand and squeezed it. "Let's find Yann."
He squeezed back and nodded. We set off for the hotel.
31
Intervention
It turned out, we didn't even have to go all the way back to the hotel to catch up with Yann and Sara. Hank and I almost literally ran into them about halfway back on the boardwalk. In the darkness of all the dimmed lights, we nearly bumped into the happily strolling couple, who only had eyes for each other.
"Oof!" Yann startled, then grinned when he recognized us. "Imogen! Hank! Iggy!" The corners of his eyes crinkled and he scooped me and Hank into a tight bear hug. My cheek squished into my eye and I thought I might pass out. He released us and stepped back. I lifted Iggy in his lantern to get a better look.
My eyes widened. "Yann. You look great." He wore a button-up shirt and a green silk tie that really brought out the red of his hair. He'd trimmed his beard and shaved his neck and wore his hair oiled back. I'd never seen him look so dressed-up.
His face reddened, and Sara, with a tight-lipped smile, tucked her one gray strand of hair behind her ear. She looke
d up at her date, who towered above her. "You do look quite handsome tonight." Her dark eyes widened. "Oh, you have a little—" She reached a slender hand up and plucked a few sesame seeds from his wiry beard.
Yann's throat bobbed and his eyes shone. Someone was in a good mood… a great mood. I bit my lip. Which made this even harder. I reminded myself of the facts. We knew of two people who'd been killed after visiting Sara's spa, and had heard rumors of all her other lovers winding up dead. We didn't know for sure, but my friend might be in danger—and his safety had to come first.
We all shuffled to the side as a group of teenagers bounced past, fried food in their hands and a magical manta kite flapping its fins above them.
"The migration should be starting soon." Sara smiled at us. "Would you care to watch it with us? My employees staked out a special spot for us on the beach—the best spot."
I glanced at Hank, a lump in my throat, then looked up at Yann and bit my lip. "Actually, um… Yann, could I talk to you for a moment? Privately?" I tried not to look at Sara.
"Is everything alright?"
I glanced at the beautiful woman, whose brows pulled together in concern.
Hank squared his shoulders. "Yes, but a… situation has arisen. Something pressing… and we need Yann to return to the hotel with us."
Sara stepped forward. "Is everyone all right? Can I help? I'll come with you."
Yann's eyes widened and his chin quivered. He kept his eyes on Hank as he reached to the side and took Sara's hand. "Ees eet Wiley? I always knew someting bad would happen to heem."
I frowned. "What? No. It's…." Why would he think something bad would happen to Wiley, of all people? I mean yeah, he had a temper and in the past had gotten into fights and landed himself in jail a few times and…. Yeah, okay, I could see it. They were both staring at me. I had to think of something. "I mean… yeah." I shook my head and winced. "You called it."
