She was probably right—and I couldn’t help but argue. “By abducting me, stripping me, and forcing me into an oath,” I spat.
“Stripping you? I could have taken way more than just your jacket,” she purred. She took a step closer. The backs of my legs hit the bumper. Lil smiled up at me, all teeth. “Of course, you don’t know what I did or didn’t do while you were unconscious.” With slow seduction, she trailed a decorated nail lightly down the center of my chest. With nothing but a thin T-shirt between us, gooseflesh shivered immediately down my arms. I held my breath and she laughed. “Your ass hurt at all?”
“You’re not helping with the trust issues,” I gritted.
“You know I’m just having a little fun,” Lil said. She backed up a step, just enough to give me some breathing room. The cloying scent of her come-hither lessened somewhat. Above us, the mourning dove continued to cry. “The way you blush, I can’t resist it.”
“Also, not helping.”
“I’m plenty helpful,” she objected. She twirled a red strand around one finger, curling and uncurling the long lock of hair. “Your head feels better, doesn’t it?”
Bitterly, I snorted. “Mostly it feels like somebody whacked me across the back of it with a sock full of quarters.”
“They were ball bearings,” she corrected. “But that’s not what I meant, and you know it.” She moved close again and I tensed against the car, prepared for some new trap, but she just tilted her head to study my features. The storm-gray depths of her eyes glittered. “Whose spell was it, anyway?”
I almost didn’t answer, but she wasn’t going to let me get away with that. “His Name is Zuriel.” I shivered as I spoke the syllables. If they held any spark of recognition for her, Lil did a bang-up job at hiding it. This close, I could see her pores.
“He’s your look-alike asshole?”
I nodded.
“Well,” she said, shifting to stand next to me, still uncomfortably close. “He’s good.” She settled one hip against the edge of the trunk, most of her weight on the car. The wind plucked strands of her hair into a wild halo. The ends lashed my bare arm. “He disguised it as a tracking spell, but then I realized it was hooked deeper. He had it piggybacking a freshly severed link.”
“Marjory.” The name escaped as a whisper.
“Was that the body you went to see?” she pursued. A wave of emotion tightened my throat and I couldn’t answer. The morning air felt suddenly chilly, and I resisted the urge to hug myself. Lil read enough in my look. Her voice softened. “That spell was meant to isolate you, Zack, trick you into driving all your allies away—or killing them,” she added darkly. “This guy means business.”
“I didn’t see it,” I responded. “I know that’s a lame excuse, but, in the moment, every outburst felt completely justified.” Restlessly, I ran my hand through the tousled mess of my hair. “I could tell I was a little cranky, but I had all these reasons for everything I did—”
She cut me off with a flat look. “Pulling your blades on me in the middle of the street, no matter how secluded, is more than a little cranky, Zack.” In an unexpected gesture, Lil laid a hand on my shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. All her cat-and-mouse flirtation was tellingly absent. “Now can you see why I’m trying to help you?” she asked. “You’re being hunted by a member of your own tribe, and that guy has at his disposal every trick you’ve got—and then some. You need all the strength and clarity you can get.”
“And what do you get out of it?” I asked petulantly.
Pushing off the bumper, she laughed as the wind played in her hair. “I get to tease you, for starters,” she responded. “And my sister would never forgive me if you were dead by the time she came back.” She started walking. “Let’s go.”
Leaning back against the trunk of the Hellcat, I stared into a sky so blue it hurt my eyes. Nothing up there was going to help me, and I knew it. Against my better judgment, I followed.
A long, graveled walk led up to the farmhouse, little white pebbles crunching under our boots. The wraparound porch came complete with rocking chairs and an antique milk jug painted with Holsteins in tutus. That almost convinced me I was hallucinating the entire trip, and then I spied a discreet little sign by the door.
In elegant, black letters, it read, “Cat House.” Suddenly, the reason for the folksy camouflage became all too clear.
“Is this a brothel?” I squawked.
“It’s a cat house,” she said. “Stop being so dramatic.”
“You can’t just force-feed me on women, Lil,” I objected. “That’s not how I operate.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” she huffed. She pushed me front and center, then rang the bell.
I fell into awkward silence when a lean woman with nut-brown skin answered the door. She didn’t look like my idea of a madam—her bright, sweeping skirts cried “hippie” more than anything else—but it wasn’t like I was up to date on the fashion protocols. Long gray cornrows tipped with multicolored beads swung heavily forward as she nodded in greeting. To me, she was cautiously pleasant, but her whole face lit up when she caught sight of Lil.
“Lucy!” she cried. “Oh, it’s so good to see you. Shareen said you might be dropping in.”
Baffled, I turned and mouthed the name at Lil. I got an elbow in the ribs for my trouble. Stepping smoothly forward from the gesture, she took the madam’s hand warmly in both of her own.
“Ivy! You look great.” Then, to my utter astonishment, they hugged—and Lil looked like she meant it. Maybe the ballerinas on the milk jug really were a sign, and I’d slipped through the cracks to an alternate reality.
“Um, hi,” I managed, utterly at a loss for any cogent response.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ivy said, disentangling herself from Lil. “We’re being rude.” To me, she extended a hand. “I’m Ivy. Hello, and welcome.”
A little stiffly, I demurred. “I got a thing about handshakes.”
Ivy just smiled, not in the least offended. Lil stepped in, seizing me by the elbow. She gripped harder than was strictly necessary, as if she could somehow telegraph instructions through the nerves at my funny bone. I keenly missed the armor of my leather.
“He’s got a thing about a lot of things,” she explained. “Which is why I brought Captain Tight-Ass here to loosen up a bit.”
“Captain Tight-Ass?” I sputtered.
Ivy laughed, deep and rich, and all the beads in her hair clicked musically as she shook her head with her amusement. Moving out of the doorway, she gestured with warm enthusiasm for us to enter. “Well, your friend Lucy brought you to the right place if you need to relax,” she smiled. “It’s a little early, but I know a couple of girls who’ll be thrilled to curl up with you.”
Still digging into my arm, Lil steered me into the little foyer. What might have once been a parlor had been converted into a kind of receiving room decorated with framed bits of needlepoint, wind chimes, and rainbow-colored mobiles. A fat guestbook sat on a burled counter with a computer on a short desk beyond. A couple of over-stuffed couches in gaudy floral prints were arranged along both walls to provide seating for customers.
“Who’s available?” Lil asked.
Ivy scooted behind the counter, perching a pair of reading glasses on the end of her nose as she consulted the guestbook.
“Sunny and Kabuki just got their breakfast,” she said. “They’re in the Tea Room, and they’ll be ready to go in a few minutes. Does that work for you both?”
“Sure,” Lil said. “They’ll be just his speed.”
I tugged my arm from her grip. “I’m really not sure about this.”
Ivy shot me a wide, sympathetic smile. “This is your first time, isn’t it?” she asked. Rubbing Lil’s fingerprints from my arm, I refused to answer. Undaunted, Ivy continued, as effusive as I was reluctant. “It’s OK to feel awkward, but touch and companionship—they’re healthy, needful things,” she insisted. “You’ve got to give yourself permission to seek joy once in
a while.”
“I’m not sure my friend and I have the same definition of joy,” I muttered.
“He’ll be fine,” Lil said, reclaiming my arm. “He just doesn’t know it yet.” This time, there was no escape unless I wanted to straight-up clobber her. I flexed my hand as my fingers tingled. “Could you send Shareen around once she’s done feeding everyone?” Lil inquired, and she tilted her head toward a wallpapered hall beyond one of the ugly couches. “The Tea Room’s that way, right?”
Ivy nodded. Lil started moving us in that direction.
“I’ll be sure to tell Shareen you’re here,” Ivy said. “She’ll be so happy to see you.” She made a note in the massive log, putting her reading glasses away. Calling after us, she said, “Shareen will take good care of you, Captain. Try to have a little fun.”
“My name’s Zack,” I choked.
Purposefully, Lil marched us down the narrow hall. I started dragging my feet as we passed door after door, each of them bearing nameplates with unlikely titles like “Lola’s Lily Pad” and “The Jungle Room.” All were closed tight this early in the morning.
A peculiar wailing sound, like the cries of an infant, drifted from somewhere further down the hallway. I so didn’t want to know who was doing that, or why. Digging my heels into the carpet, I forced Lil to halt her relentless advance. She tipped her head up, glaring.
“Just so we’re clear,” I hissed, “I agreed to come along. That’s it. I made no promise of participation.”
“You seriously need to lighten up, Zack,” she chided. “This isn’t going to kill you.”
“You made your point outside,” I said. “Agreed, I need to take better care of myself, but this isn’t going to work for me. For fuck’s sake—Sunny and Kabuki? How am I even supposed to take them seriously?”
“They’re both really sweet,” Lil responded. We reached a bend in the hall and she grabbed for the door, never relinquishing my arm. “See for yourself. At least give it a try.”
“Stop leading me around like an ill-tempered toddler, and maybe I’ll consider it.”
At that she eased up, pulling open the door. Sunlight flooded from the room beyond. Lil urged me ahead with a shooing motion.
“Well?” she said. “Go on.”
Squirmingly uncertain about what I might find, I reluctantly stepped into the room.
20
Long, and somewhat narrow, the Tea Room was done up in an antique rose motif, from the print on the little loveseat to a border of decorative wallpaper that traced a circuit just below the ceiling. A huge bay window, draped with sheer gold curtains, opened onto the expansive yard.
In one corner sat a small, circular table set with a fancy silver tea service that looked like it had fallen through some time-space anomaly from the set of Jeeves & Wooster. Near it, a fluffy orange tabby cat blinked sleepily from where she had draped herself across the back of one chair. On seeing us, she loosed a querying tribble, then rose with an extravagant stretch that shivered from nose to tail-tip. The gesture jingled a heart-shaped tag that dangled from her collar. In looping, cursive letters, the tag read, “Sunny.”
Her companion, a petite calico with bright golden eyes and a distinctive mask-like pattern on her face, stared fixedly from her perch on the windowsill at the far end of the room. From this distance, I couldn’t make out the name on her collar, but from the face alone, she had to be Kabuki.
“They’re cats,” I said.
“This is the Cat House,” Lil replied. “Of course they’re cats.” Then, with belated comprehension, her eyes flew wide. “Mother’s Tears. You were serious about the brothel.” At my chagrined expression, she started laughing so hard she nearly choked. Tears stood out on her lashes. “Oh, Zack, you glorious idiot,” she gasped. “I thought you were just being a pain in my ass.”
“But… cats?”
“They’re therapy animals,” Lil explained, dabbing at her eyes. “Shareen and Ivy train them here, then place most of them in nursing homes or long-term care facilities for disabled children.” She sucked a rasping breath, still not quite recovered from her laughing fit. “A few—like Sunny and Kabuki—stay at the house for visitors who need help with stress-management. That would be you, by the way,” she added pointedly. Pulling out a chair, she stabbed a finger toward the seat. “So, sit down, get comfy, and pet a cat.”
“You’re joking.”
I lingered uncertainly near the door, still trying to convince myself I wasn’t hallucinating. While I dithered, Sunny sauntered over, sniffed delicately at Lil’s boots, then unceremoniously dropped onto them. Rolling over luxuriously, she put her broad white belly in the air, purring like an outboard motor. Smiling, Lil bent down, rubbing her knuckles along the underside of the cat’s chin. Sunny closed her eyes, gratuitously pleased with this arrangement.
“Companion animals are proven to combat depression, lower blood pressure, and even boost a person’s immune system,” Lil said with such ardency I felt I was caught in some surreal infomercial. “People with companion animals demonstrably live longer—and so do the animals. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
At her feet, Sunny rolled over to be sure Lil distributed her scritches evenly. With a possessive air, the cat curled a paw around Lil’s wrist, drawing her hand even closer. Lil cheerfully complied, her grin widening. Until this moment, I’d never seen the Lady of Beasts smile in a way that didn’t look predatory. Her unfeigned delight only heightened my detached feeling of unreality.
“And then there’s the dopamine response,” she added. “A cat’s purr isn’t merely soothing. Humans get an instant chemical reward for their actions.” She looked up from the full-body massage she was lavishing on the animal. “Shall I go on?”
“You’re a walking Wikipedia article. It’s kind of creepy.”
“Lady of Beasts,” she quipped. “It’s not just a fancy name.” Smoothly, she scooped Sunny up to her shoulders. The cat burrowed into the wild tangle of her hair, finally draping herself around Lil’s neck like a purring fur stole. Taking careful steps so the cat maintained her balance, Lil minced over to the other side of the tea table and eased into one of the high-backed chairs. Withdrawing her smartphone, she lofted its screen up so I could see its timer on countdown.
“Also, you’re oathed to stick around for another forty-two minutes, so you might as well enjoy yourself. Miss Kabuki looks lonely over there.”
Scrubbing grit from my eyes, I wavered by the door a moment longer before finally succumbing to the inevitable and plunking down heavily down into the chair across from Lil. Its ornate upholstery was way too pink for my tastes, but there was no denying it was comfortable. For the moment, however, all the comfort did was highlight my many aches.
I groaned. “I’m not sure I’m really awake at this point.”
Lil clucked her tongue speculatively. “Not surprising, since your version of awake is two steps away from sleepwalking these days.” Reaching toward a silver bowl in the middle of the tea setting, she lifted the lid. I expected the thing to hold sugar, and hoped that would foreshadow a breakfast of some sort—I should at least get something useful out of this—but instead it brimmed with cat treats. My expression fell, but Sunny perked up immediately, and even the aloof Kabuki jumped down from her warm patch to investigate. “When was the last time you slept, flyboy?” Lil asked. “Passed out doesn’t count.”
“I dozed a little waiting for Remy in Collinwood,” I said defensively.
“And before that?” She handed me a treat, and I took it automatically. Near my feet, Kabuki rose onto her haunches like a meerkat, peering quizzically toward the stained and rumpled landscape of my jeans. With a little trill, she announced her intent to claim my lap, then made the leap. Tribbling again, she butted her head into the heel of the hand holding the treat, reminding me whose mouth it was destined to enter.
Melting in spite of myself, I handed it over. The cat took it delicately, whiskers tickling my fingers. Reaching with a paw to
hold my arm in place much as her roommate had done with Lil, Kabuki licked what remained of the crumbs. When she was done, she headbutted my hand again, glancing pointedly toward the treat-bowl.
“Bossy little thing,” I chuckled.
“The tiny ones have to be,” Lil said. “If they’re on their own, they fight for every scrap.”
Relenting to the demands of my five-pound, furry dictator, I scooped up a few more morsels and began doling them out. They almost smelled like food. That protein bar hadn’t done much for my empty stomach. The calico took the treats from my fingers, fangs diligently crunching.
“Feel better?” Lil asked. I was tempted to say no, but the idiot smile on my face made denial impossible.
“Thought so,” she mused. Kabuki finished the last of the treats, then did a little half-turn in my lap, settling herself into a tight little ball. I could feel her purr vibrating all the way up to my molars. Lil replaced the lid on the bowl and Sunny took that as a sign that she, too, should settle in. Hunching on the Lady of Beasts’ shoulder, she curled her tail around Lil’s neck like a lavish feather boa. “Now we can talk about what you need to do if you’re going to survive the next few days.”
“I’ve been doing pretty well so far,” I objected. “Barring that spell.”
“Is that a fact?” Lil replied. “Because from where I’m sitting, all I see is someone who’s been avoiding his problems by taking long rides on his motorcycle and picking fights with cacodaimons.”
“I didn’t go looking for that fight,” I reminded her. “It found me.”
She continued as if I hadn’t even spoken. “And then you jump straight into an obvious trap, because you’re so sleep-deprived your brain checked out some time last week. Do you have a deathwish?”
“I didn’t blunder into that as blindly as you make it sound,” I protested. “Bobby thought it might be a trap. I didn’t disagree, but with what that guy did to Marjory, I had to do something.”
“So you went ahead and stuck your hand in it,” she snapped.
The Resurrection Game Page 12
