by Cutter, Leah
Manuel had put the towel back in the trunk, but the car still reeked of Caleb’s blood. Kai cracked a window, then leaned against the door, letting the stream of air hit her face.
It hadn’t been a setup. It had just been two lucky punks.
Had Caleb’s hesitation been some kind of premonition? Should she have paid more attention? She could have warned him about their guns—but surely he smelled them, as she had.
Kai pressed her forehead hard against the cool glass of the window. She needed to find Gisa. She couldn’t worry about Caleb hating her, not yet.
When Manuel pulled up in front of the abandoned gas station, he turned and looked back at her. “Are you sure this is it?” he asked, obviously concerned.
“Yes, yes, I’ll walk from here,” Kai said, passing him her debit card. “I’ll be okay,” she assured him.
Manuel hesitated before passing the card back to her. “You ever need help reaching that goal line, you call, okay? Day or night. Manuel is your best wide receiver.”
“Thank you,” Kai said, suddenly choked up. She added an extravagant tip to the check.
Manuel chuckled when he saw it. “My abuela, grandma, had the third eye, no? Could see things no one else could. She always said my fate was more interesting than my brothers. Worried my mother all the time.”
Kai nodded and opened the door.
“God bless,” Manuel called after her, making the sign of the cross.
“Thank you,” Kai said, knowing he meant well.
She waited until he drove off before she walked across the cracked blacktop to the ivy-covered walls. The door clicked open before she could press the doorbell.
The miasma of rot rolled out and Kai nearly gagged. It was too close, too soon after the evil, drowned mall. The waters hadn’t come here, but she could almost see them, filthy gray water filled with debris. It wasn’t malignant, searching to destroy—it just lay there, oppressively drowning buildings, land, and people.
Kai shook herself, turned her head and took a big gulp of fresh air, then held her breath as she raced through the stinking hall.
Orlan waited for her at the other end, just on the other side of the door. “You okay?” he asked, hesitant, his arms half-open.
“No,” Kai admitted, flinging herself at him, climbing into his steady comfort and strength.
He was her rock, her solid structure, who couldn’t be washed away in the floods and rain.
Kai pulled Orlan down for a crushing kiss. She wanted to bury herself in him, or for him to bury himself in her, until she didn’t know where she started and he ended.
Orlan responded with equal passion, surprising Kai; he’d always been more gentle before. But he devoured her mouth, moving her head gently in his large hands to find the perfect angle. Then his hands strayed, cupping her breast and grabbing her ass, pulling her close against the hard length of him.
Kai wormed a hand between them, stroking his hardening cock through his cargo pants.
Orlan groaned into her mouth and suddenly lifted her by the thighs, pivoted, and dropped her onto the bed. “Yes,” he breathed, his pink lips swollen, his blue irises thinned by his dilated pupils. He started stripping off his shirt and pants.
Kai did the same, throwing her clothes onto the floor instead of piling them neatly or even pooling them artistically.
Then Orlan was on top of her, his weight and strength and warmth pinning her down, not drowning her but keeping her safe.
Orlan sucked hard on one of her nipples while his long fingers entered her, spreading and teasing as he sucked, all points connected and sparking.
Kai gasped and panted, arching up into his touch, her nails clawing at his back, tugging at his long dreads, wanting, needing, more.
Orlan repositioned himself, holding himself up so he could watch her face as he sank into her, filling her up.
“Yes,” Kai hissed, her legs going up and over his waist, pulling him in, closer.
Orlan kissed her as he thrust, smooth and rough and oh-so-perfect.
As much as Kai wanted this to last, she was too wound up, too on edge. She tried to warn Orlan of the impending explosion, as the heat built and everything outside them faded. Her stomach curled and so did her toes as the tension mounted.
But Orlan was already with her, scraping her neck with his teeth, holding himself up with one arm while he tweaked her nipple, hard.
Kai came with a surprised cry, her orgasm ripping through her, sending strong shockwaves from her core out to her fingers, up through the top of her head.
Orlan continued to thrust, carrying her into a second orgasm, smaller, tighter, and more intense. His cock grew harder and wider inside her, until he came as well with a soft grunt, his hips losing their smooth rhythm, growing staccato as his orgasm crested. Even afterward, he kept moving, slowing, gliding in and out easily, sending sparks behind her eyes and making her senses crackle, until he finally stopped.
When Orlan lifted himself up, Kai whispered, “No. Stay.”
Orlan lowered himself back on top of her, covering her completely, his weight a comfort, so she couldn’t be washed away.
* * *
Kai woke curled up next to Orlan, her head on his shoulder, one arm and leg across his body, holding him close and tight. He was already awake, playing with her long hair. The overhead lights had been dimmed in the large room. Electronics blinked orange, red, and baby blue lights at her. The air held only the faintest tinge of sex; Orlan’s air scrubbers were remarkably efficient.
“Hi,” Orlan said as Kai loosened her grip, kissing the top of her head.
“Hi,” Kai said, kissing the skin closest to her lips.
The silence stretched comfortably between them. Kai lay there and breathed, encouraging the peace and quiet of the room to sift into her bones.
“Want to tell me what that was about?” Orlan asked softly.
Kai shook her head and sighed. Damn it. She’d completely forgotten Caleb for a while. She should call his phone, leave him a message or something. But what more could she say? She knew better than to try to call Blue again—he wouldn’t tell her anything, would probably yell and curse her for trying to find out about Caleb.
“Hey, hey, it’s all right,” Orlan said.
Kai realized she’d tensed and was holding onto him more tightly again.
“Want some interesting news? That I, at least, hope is good?” Orlan asked.
“Yes, please,” Kai said. She lifted her head for a kiss, and Orlan obliged.
“You remember that abandoned mall?”
Kai couldn’t help her shudder.
Orlan continued, politely ignoring it, though there was no way he could have missed it, not with them lying together so closely. “I did some more digging. Turns out the same company that owns that shop on Tulane also owns that mall.”
“Really?” Kai asked, pushing herself up. Gisa had been at that mall, and some lingering scent of her had been at the shop, too.
So there was more than just a casual connection between them.
“Yeah. The ownership isn’t obvious. There were about half a dozen shell corporations between them. But the parent company for both is San Han.”
“Chinese?” Kai guessed.
“Yes.”
Orlan didn’t ask anymore—he knew Kai’s aversion to all things Chinese.
“Thank you,” Kai said, kissing Orlan’s cheek. Then she remembered the pictures on her phone.
She’d much rather owe Orlan a favor than the professor.
“Do you have translation programs on your computers?” she asked.
“Translation? What do you mean?”
“I have pictures on my phone of some characters. I think they’re Chinese,” Kai explained. “If I send them to you, could you get a translation for me?”
“Sure,” Orlan said with a huge grin. He pulled Kai down for a more intimate kiss.
“What was that for?” Kai asked, her body warming. She caressed his face with her fin
gertips, marveling at the different textures. Sex heightened all her senses.
“For trusting me,” he said simply.
Kai nodded. She wasn’t ready to fully trust Orlan, not yet, maybe not ever.
But she liked this, what they had, how she could rely on him, right now.
* * *
It was full dark before Kai got to the back alley behind the Chinese knick-knack shop on Tulane. She wished she had magic to hide her from the security camera mounted on the telephone pole at the entrance to the alley, but maybe it was okay if Orlan saw her there.
He wouldn’t be able to see if something concerning the xita happened.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about the alley. It was a short space, maybe long enough for a semi and a half, between two tall brick buildings. A wide metal garage door blocked off the far end, up about three feet, so goods could be easily loaded on and off trucks. A lone dumpster stood to her right, surprisingly free of graffiti, next to a door going into the building.
Only when Kai got close to the back wall, within touching distance, did anything change.
First, a wave of energy passed over Kai, like a cool, electronic curtain, making all the hair on her arms and the back of her neck raise up. Then mist covered the metal door, like a light fog. She could barely see through the gray.
The mist peeled back slowly, burning away in the center first, then spreading out, revealing a brick structure with three doors. The sweet smell of incense rolled out, scented with oranges. Even in the dark, Kai could see the vibrant red of the wall. A clay-tiled roof sloped down, with molded flower plugs on the ends. The three wooden doors looked identical: At least fifteen feet high, with ornate vines and broad leaves carved into them.
Kai paused. She didn’t know why, but her choice—which door she chose to go through—was important.
The middle door repelled her. That one wasn’t right for her, not at all.
While the door to her left tugged at her, the one to the right fully captured her attention.
Still, Kai hesitated. This was an Asian-looking place, like a temple. She’d denied that part of her heritage all her life.
But the city would drown if she didn’t find Gisa. She had no other leads. This place was tied to the mall and somehow the siren was connected to both. Kai had to go forward, follow her nose, see where it led her, as always.
The door dissolved as Kai approached, and the smell of wet palms and sun-warmed lemons swirled around her. After taking a deep breath, Kai stepped into the darkness.
Cool air enveloped Kai, then she found herself standing in a small courtyard. A tinkling fountain stood in the center, made of brown stone, with turtles piled on top of one another, all spitting water. Old-fashioned black-and-white tiles made up the floor.
“Can I help you?” asked a voice to Kai’s right.
Kai glanced that way. A large wooden desk stood tucked away in the corner, in front of a brilliantly painted red door. On the desk stood a large plaque with the word Reception carved in it. An elegant Asian woman sat behind the desk, her black hair piled up on her head, wearing a beautiful red and black blouse.
Kai knew she needed to answer the woman, but there were xita in the courtyard. She shivered. She didn’t normally go to xita places, not since Tommy.
Two Asian women, with fox ears sticking out of their long black hair, black noses, whiskers, and red fox tails giggled together. A squat toad man, his mouth taking up most of his face, stared hungrily at the fat fish circling the base of the fountain.
Two men, humans, talked quietly together in the far corner. What were they doing here? This was purely a xita place, and usually, humans and xita kept to their separate worlds.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked again.
Kai finally turned fully toward her, walking closer to the desk.
“Oh!” the woman exclaimed. “Just a minute. Wait right here.” She rose and hurried through the bright red door behind her.
Kai tamped down on her anxiety. She’d chosen to come here. Someone obviously was already waiting for her.
Maybe it was time to meet her twin, the person whom both the shopkeeper and the magician mistook her for.
Kai awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other, waiting. She turned her attention to the walls. A long, cream-colored scroll, covered in hurried black characters, hung against the wall closest to her.
A watercolor painting of a series of hills hung on the next wall. The first hill was open on top, with inviting green grass. The second one held a pristine pagoda, with white open lattice work and red tile roofs. Below the hills lay a walled fortress.
As Kai stared, more details of the picture came clear: the rock path that led from the first hill to the second; the grass that seemed so lifelike, she could almost see the wind blowing it.
When she glanced at the pagoda, it, too, became more clear, and she could see the wooden beams holding up the first roof and the little fairy lights, while the first hill became just an outline again.
Kai took a step back. Was the painting magic? She took a deep breath, but she didn’t smell anything different about the painting.
“Cousin,” she heard from behind her. Startled, Kai turned.
The two fox women stood behind her.
Up close, all Kai could sense was that they were xita, but their nature was tricksy—the sense she got of them was dark holes and false passages. Kai suspected that in that way, she was similar to these two: Always going around a problem, not through it.
Both of them wore expensive designer clothes. The taller one was in a white shirt that set off her dark coloring and skinny jeans that Kai would never be able to fit into. Red streaks had been added to her black, waist-length hair. The shorter one was just as attractive, in a pale blue silk shirt that fit her perfectly and a flared black skirt.
“Hello,” Kai said, unsure which one to address.
The taller one looked Kai up and down before she said, “You’re pretty enough, I guess.” Her accent was as broad and flat as a New Yorker’s.
The shorter one smirked and said, “I wouldn’t get my hopes up, cousin, even if you did make it through the warrior gate.”
“I have no idea what y’all are nattering about,” Kai drawled deliberately. “Warrior gate? I ain’t no fighter.” She was too small to ever pull her weight in a fight.
The taller one stared at her coldly. “You fight. Maybe not with your hands, no. But you’re no floating lily, content to go where the tide takes you.”
“You entered through the door on the right side,” the other added. “Reserved for men and fighters.”
“And the middle door?” Kai asked, curious, despite not wanting to feel obligated to these two even for a simple answer to a question.
“The middle is for the Emperor alone,” the short one said solemnly.
“While the left is for artisans and full members of the court,” the tall one replied. She snapped open a beautiful fan, made of red paper with a design of gold coins painted on it. “Something you’ll never achieve.”
“And thieves,” the shorter one groused. “Who ‘borrow’ your things, never to return them.”
“What, this old thing?” the tall one said, covering her face with the fan so that only her dark brown eyes peeked out over it. “I found it at the night market. Cheap.”
The shorter one sighed, then added, “So, cousin, beware.”
“You keep calling me cousin,” Kai said.
“Kith and kin,” the taller one stated.
Kai had no idea what that meant. “Kin?” she questioned. “I’m not like you.”
The two fox women looked at each other, then merrily giggled, holding their hands politely over their mouths.
“I’m not,” Kai fumed. She wasn’t some sort of creature, or xita. She was just special. Different. Extra.
“Whatever you say, cousin,” the taller one said with a pointed look over Kai’s shoulder, back toward the reception desk.
Kai
only turned around halfway. She didn’t want to show these two her unprotected back.
The receptionist stood next to the door with another, smaller, also Asian woman.
The other woman was shorter than Kai, but she had the same cheeks, same nose, same face that Kai saw in the mirror every day. But her lips were thin, pressed together in a forced smile. And her body was petite in ways Kai’s never had been.
Kai swallowed down her shock, chills cascading down her back. The air grew thin, hard to breathe.
“Thank you,” the woman said, bowing her head to the receptionist, then she started walking across the room to Kai. She wore a simple black dress but it suited her stunningly well, flattering her thin waist and long neck.
As the woman drew closer, Kai got a nose full of her scent, identical to Kai’s in many ways.
Kai couldn’t deny her own senses, as much as she might want to. By the time the woman stood in front of Kai, she knew who this other woman was.
“Hello,” the woman said with an almost true smile.
“Hello, Mama,” Kai replied.
* * *
Kai knelt next to Mama in a tiny alcove, waiting while Mama prepared the tea. Kai kept her arms pressed hard against the colorfully tiled table, the coolness reminding her that this was real.
This was Mama. Here.
Red wood, ancient and comforting, made up the carved doorway fashioned in a great circle. Fancy scrollwork filled in the corners. Past the round doorway and down two steps stood a room that reminded Kai of her own, filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and knickknacks on every surface, an orderly mess.
Behind Kai stood an open window that had a matching red wood, carved frame. A small garden was outside, filled with potted plants circling an equally small fountain in the center. She’d always wanted her own tiny garden like that as well, a bit of green, tame and all hers.
Mama poured them tea that smelled like sharp flowers, the color of liquid gold.
Kai picked up the ceramic cup carefully. Brown cracks artfully ran through the cream-colored glaze. The cup had both age and grace, more solemn than a preacher at a funeral.
