Twenty-seven

twenty-seven

Kris

I’d woken this fine Sunday morning to a text from Jasha that read thusly: Come see my cats !

Someone was a little excited over there.

But, hey, Zhen said if we could find cats that wouldn’t have heart attacks around the huodou , then I could absolutely have cats at the new house. I’d love to support Jasha, too, and rescue the cats from him. So, was I down for coming over to see his cats? You betcha.

I had a nice breakfast—Zhen was a damn good cook—and then we hopped in the car and rode over to Jasha’s art studio-slash-cat rescue. Honestly, I thought the idea of him having a cat rescue in an art studio was brave. Lots of things for kitties to knock over, after all. But it was also genius because people coming in to paint could interact with the cats and form attachments. I honestly thought this would work.

Zhen cleared his throat a little in the passenger seat before venturing, “Do you think our bond was so invested in keeping us close in the very beginning because it was new?”

Clearly Zhen was over there thinking something else.

But I did see the point of his question. “As reactive as it was? Probably. Once it settled in, it became less demanding.”

“I wonder if it’s still settling in?”

“We just crossed the one-month mark, so probably? Why, do you think we’ll be able to go farther once it settles in completely?”

“It’s a thought. I’d also love to see how long we can go apart. Now that we know acceptance is the key, I bet we can push the envelope.”

“You’re likely right—” I cut myself off as my phone started ringing. The Bluetooth automatically connected to my Volvo, and the screen showed Charlotte calling. Huh, it was really early in her time zone, barely eight in the morning. Dare I hope this was a good call? I hit Accept on my steering wheel. “Morning, sister mine.”

Charlotte sounded a cross between crying and rage. “ Kris. I am LIVID. ”

“Zhen’s also in the car with me,” I informed her, “but you can rage out. What’s going on?”

“ Turns out you were right all along. I’m so sorry for trying to dismiss what you told me. Mom kept playing it as you being overreactive, and I don’t know why I listened to her about that. You’ve never overreacted in your life. ”

“Apology accepted.” I’d never really thought I’d hear Charlotte say that to me. Something big must have gone down for her to see the light.

“ I learned that my fiancé is a cheating asshole who has not one, but three other girls on the line, two of them pregnant, and the other with an illegitimate child. I was already trying to overlook the fact he had the intelligence of a cornflake and the personality of a cardboard box —”

I had to clamp down on a laugh because ouch, that was brutal.

“— but now I find out this guy is having a buy one, get one free sale on red flags. Man’s a whole damn red flag factory. I am absolutely horrified. All I asked for was a man I could respect who wouldn’t cheat on me. I didn’t even demand that much !”

“That’s not even half of what you should have demanded,” Zhen inserted. “You should have asked for a man who would care about and cherish you, too.”

“ In retrospect, you’re right. I’m just appalled, truly appalled. I confronted Mom and Dad last night about this, and they just shrugged it off. Acted like I was overreacting. They said they’d found me a good match, I was set for life with money, why was I throwing a fit like a child ? I realized my only value for them was what I could do for them. I now completely understand why you left, and it SUCKS to feel this way. I’m so sorry, Sis. ”

She really had seen the light. I was relieved. It meant I had the chance to extract her from their grasp.

“Char,” I said softly, “they don’t even like themselves. There’s no way they know how to love someone else. Now that you’ve seen their true colors, you need to get out of there.”

She let out a sound that was half sob. “ Everything I have is tied up here with them. ”

“Not true. I’m out here, aren’t I? Get your ass here. Don’t say anything to them. Just grab your paperwork—birth certificate, social security card, all that—whatever sentimental things you can’t leave behind, and hop on a plane. You can live out here with me. Either in my apartment, or Zhen’s, or one of Boss’s apartments until you’ve got your feet back under you. You’ve got lots of options.”

Wait, should I have promised that? I glanced at Zhen, but he gave me a go-ahead nod. Phew, okay, he was good with this.

“ After all the mean things I’ve said to you, you’re still willing to help me ?”

“Char, I have been praying for years that you’d finally see how toxic they are and run. Of course I’ll help you. Get on a plane. Block their numbers, just cut them off entirely. Staying in contact with them only jeopardizes you.”

“ I…yeah. Yeah, you’re right. I’ll get on a plane no later than tonight. They’re out at some golf tournament, so if I leave before they come home, I won’t even have to face them .”

“Do it.”

“If you can transfer money into a personal account so you’ve got some cushion, do that, too,” Zhen encouraged her. “Or wire a bunch of money to me. I can hold it in my account until we can set you up at a local bank.”

“ That’s…genius. My parents have a stranglehold over my money. Damn, I’m glad I called you two. All right, I’ll get to packing. Zhen, text me your account details ?”

“Consider it done.”

“ All right. I’ll see you guys tonight. Thank you so much. Love you both .” Click.

I did a little seated booty dance. “Mùchén did me a solid here. I owe him all the peanut butter bones. Although, I have to wonder what he did to expose the man like that to Charlotte.”

“Truly. He did good work exposing him for the asshat he is. Let’s get the story from Mùchén later.”

Zhen’s fingers flew over his phone as he typed in a message. Likely to Charlotte so she had all the information.

I was in a wonderful mood right now. I’d finally get my sister—my parents could go suck the wet end of a rope—AND kitties. Nothing could put a damper on this mood I was in. I kept dancing even as I pulled into the very narrow parking lot behind Jasha’s shop.

He must have been keeping an eye on the cameras because he opened the back door with a wide smile. “Welcome, friends!”

“Jasha!” I bounced over to him and gave him a bear hug. My friend was big as life, as usual—a giant who gave great hugs. He looked like a Norseman, honestly, with his chiseled jawline and blond hair. “You won’t believe this. Charlotte has finally seen the light.”

He did a double take even as he hugged me back. “Seriously?”

“Yup. Mùchén did me a favor, showed her how bad her fiancé is. She had it out with our parents last night, and they basically told her to suck it up and marry him anyway. All of her illusions with them have shattered, and she’s now packing up and on her way here.”

A smile blossomed over Jasha’s face, and he hugged me so hard my feet lifted off the ground. “That’s great!”

I laughed and enjoyed the hug. Jasha’s hugs were the best.

He let me down, then extended a hand to Zhen. “Glad to see you walking, man.”

“Me too, brother, me too. I’m heartily sick of keeping off one foot.” Zhen shooed us inside. “Kitties.”

Jasha needed no further prompting. “Like I told you earlier, I just now got my license to do this, but the shelter was really quick on offloading all the cats they didn’t have space for. I now have about twenty in the shop.”

Excuse me while my eyes bugged out of my head. “TWENTY?!”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect that many all at once, to be honest, but it’s fine. Some of them are still shy while acclimating to the new place, but others are taking naps on the table and begging for pets from anyone who happens to be nearby. Aside from a few things being knocked off the shelves, it’s been great.”

I mean, they were cats. What else did anyone expect?

We went through his back door, and my only thought was cats in the front room, so it took me a second to realize Zhen had stopped dead at Jasha’s massive worktable.

“Uh, Jasha?” Zhen pointed at something sharp and deadly lying on the table. “What the hell is that?”

“Oh, that’s my ancestral sword,” Jasha explained, his whole body language proud and excited. “It came in while you guys were gone. Isn’t it cool?”

It did look really cool. The blade didn’t taper toward a point until the very, very tip, unlike most swords I’d seen. It was a long, straight blade, with the hilt carved with elaborate runes. The hilt itself was a very aged leather that had been clearly cared for, as it wasn’t splitting much. The runes continued down the blade as well, almost the full length, with only the very tip clear. It looked incredibly precious. No wonder the family treasured it.

“It’s cool,” Zhen acknowledged, but he stared at the sword uneasily. “It’s also cursed as hell.”

Eh?

Oh no, was he serious?

Jasha stared at the sword, then Zhen, then back at the sword. “When you say cursed…”

“The energy pouring off this sword is something I’d see on a cursed artifact that I’d either have to destroy or seal.”

Jasha made a noise of dismay so high-pitched only a dog could hear it. “No, don’t destroy it!”

“I’d really rather not, honestly, because it’s too cool to melt down. I’m also not sure what would happen if we tried to destroy it, but probably something gnarly. Uh. If it’s okay with you, I want to try sealing it for the moment.” Zhen looked all around, like he was tracing something with his eyes that we couldn’t see. He probably was. “The energy is starting to seep into the building, which really isn’t good. I think some of those accidents of things getting knocked off the shelves weren’t cats.”

“The sword’s doing it?” Okay, I was no longer a fan of the sword. “Zhen, you need any help with the sealing?”

“I need to borrow pen and paper from Jasha to make up some stuff. It’ll be fine.”

Jasha had art supplies to spare, so no issue there.

Zhen encouraged us both toward the front shop area. “Go play with kitties. I need, like, thirty minutes, no big.”

A little hangdog now, Jasha’s shoulders slumped in. “Sorry for the trouble, but thank you.”

Poor Jasha. This was quite the plot twist to throw at him out of nowhere. Even I was shocked. I couldn’t imagine how hard this was for him. The sword had been in his family for generations. Literally.

I put a hand to his back and escorted him through. “Don’t worry, Zhen’s got this. Once you get the curse removed, you can hang it proudly anywhere.”

“That’s true.” He brightened a little. “And Zhen’s family are experts at this kind of thing.”

“That they are.” I wasn’t just saying the words. I was fully confident they could solve this. “Now, show me some kitties.”

Jasha took me on a tour around the room, introducing me to the cats that seemed to be everywhere. He had multiple cat trees up in the big picture windows at the front of the store, and being sun seekers, many of them were there. Some were lying on top of the tables, others were curled up on the stools, and a few were on the topmost shelves lining the walls. There was a cat tunnel installed all around the very top of the walls, giving the cats a lofty view. It didn’t feel like twenty cats in here. Felt more like fifty.

I greeted kitties, giving the shy ones some space but saying hi from a distance. Some of them were super affectionate, which I loved, but I wanted to give the shy ones a chance. So many people overlooked them when, after a few days to decompress, they often became great housecats. Or so I’d been told by people in the know.

When I’d greeted everyone, I met Jasha’s eyes. “Okay. Litmus test time. Let’s see which ones can handle the huodou .”

“Just one,” Jasha cautioned me. “Maybe, like, the head at first if they can manage that.”

“I already coached Guo on this, no worries.” Hopefully it’d be fine. “Guo?”

He eased up in the shadow underneath a table, poking just his eyes out. The cats noticed him, but some just stared. Others shifted in closer with a what is that attitude. When no one hissed, Guo lifted up a little more, then stopped when his head was fully visible. Still, no immediate freak outs.

At least, not from the cats.

“Whoooooa,” Jasha breathed, eyes locked on Guo. “The hell? I couldn’t see you before.”

My head snapped around to stare up at my friend. “Wait, you can see him?”

“I can. He’s huge. I, uh, hi?”

My eyes nearly crossed with surprise. Why was my very ordinary friend able to suddenly see the supernatural? That made no fucking sense . “Jasha, something you want to share with the class?”

“I legit have no idea why I can suddenly see him.” Jasha shook his head continuously back and forth. “Like, no clue whatsoever. I didn’t do anything.”

“There is an air about you,” Guo said slowly. “A distinctness of magic and power. It wasn’t there before.”

Uhhhh, call me crazy, but… “Maybe because you have the sword?”

“Maybe? Do cursed swords give people power?”

“Not on purpose, surely.” This was becoming over my pay grade. “We’ll link you up with Zhen’s family. They’ll be able to explain this, I bet. You cool, bro?”

“I, uh, sure? I mean, it’s crazy but kinda cool? I can finally see what you’re seeing.” Jasha abruptly beamed. “Which I like.”

Yeah, okay, he’d be fine. Jasha was too even keeled to have a breakdown, anyway. Look at him—he was already seeing the brighter side to all of this.

I kept an eye on him, anyway, even as I went back to observing the cats. Who apparently didn’t care if Guo was sitting there or not.

“Huh.” Jasha watched this play out for a solid minute. “I expected catastrophe.”

“I saw what you did there.” I gave him a fist, which he bumped. “And so did I, but they clearly are okay. Just curious.”

“Well.” Jasha turned in place, looking all the cats over. “Kris, I’d say you get your pick.”

I’d had my eye on a black cat that looked a little older, with grey dotting his fur. He’d been shy but had purred at me when I’d said hi. I had a gut feeling that if he’d been more comfortable in his environment, I’d have been able to touch him. Right now, that same cat was nose to nose with Guo. And purring.

“Guo, can you communicate with him?” Color me insane, but that was what it looked like.

“I can,” he confirmed easily and gave a rumble back to the cat. “He’s an old cat, this one. He’s nervous about being here. He doesn’t understand why he was brought here. Do you like him?”

“I do. He seems very sweet.”

“He wants a home where he can curl up in sunbeams and not have to worry. His last place he lived in was too crowded. It’s how his ear was damaged—fights kept breaking out.”

Oh, I’d wondered about that. He had a cauliflower ear.

Well, if all he wanted was a stable home environment, I could sure as hell give him that. I eased down into a sitting position about three feet away from him. “Can you convince him to give me a chance?”

Guo gave me a look like I was being silly. “Already am. He’s still hesitant. Says there’s a young one here that he likes a lot and he doesn’t want to leave him.”

“Oh, there’s a friend here? Which one?”

“The black and white one.” Guo indicated with a jerk of his snout a tuxedo cat that sat nearby.

I had given the tuxedo one pets earlier, so I knew he was friendly.

I stretched out a hand toward the black senior cat. “Hi, honey. If you come with me, you’ll have that nice home you want. Plus treats, and soft places to take naps, and toys. How does that sound?”

He lifted his head, and I swear to you, it was like he understood what I’d said. Or maybe Guo had translated for me. Cats spoke in body language, after all, and I was a novice in that language. He seemed to believe me, as he came in closer, but very hesitantly.

I didn’t move, just kept my arm extended and let him get a good sniff.

Jasha stood a few feet away but filled me in as he watched. “That one is Sann. He’s thirteen. He did come out of a hoarder’s house, an involuntary surrender. His adoption has already been paid for, actually, by a very generous person who was worried about him being adopted. The tuxedo cat is ten, named Mr. Bond.”

I snorted at the name. “That’s cute.”

“Right? They came out of the same hoarder’s house. So, I’m not surprised they’re friends.”

“Health?”

“They’re actually both in good health. Sann had two front teeth extracted, but he’s really doing great, especially for his age.”

I gave Jasha a questioning look. “You memorized every cat’s profile so you could just rattle all that off, didn’t you?”

“I may have.” He grinned, pleased with himself.

Sann finally decided Guo was right, or something, because he pushed his wet nose into my fingers. I gave him a little scratch under the chin, and he purred at me—deep and throaty—the kind of ASMR purr you’d hear on TikTok or something.

Awwww. “I love you,” I informed him. “You are such a good kitty. Mr. Bond, I know you’re a good kitty, too. How about you both come home with me?”

Mr. Bond sauntered in closer, rubbing up against Sann in a full side swipe before pushing up against my hand too.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Jasha, I think I got my cats picked out.”

“Awesome.” He bounced on his toes a little, so excited that his whole body was alive with it. “I was the most worried about Sann, honestly, so you taking him is an absolute relief. I’ve got a few carriers and a starter kit for their adoption, so I can set you up tonight if you want to take them.”

“I sure do. Oh, and let me pay the adoption fee for both of them. I know Sann’s already paid for, but just apply the fee to whatever other cat might struggle to be adopted.”

“I can do that.”

Zhen came out of the back room. I turned my head in his direction to greet him, and winced over the fact he sported a little frown.

“Hey, how did it go?”

“Well, that was more of a struggle than I counted on, but it’s sealed for now. Jasha, if anything weird starts happening around the shop, tell me. Means the seal I put on might be working loose. That curse is crazy powerful.”

“I will.”

“It’s really a temporary measure until I can find the right answer for you, so just sit tight for now.” Zhen took in the two cats I was petting, Guo now fully out and lying nearby in a casual sprawl, and snorted. “So, this was clearly not the issue we thought it would be.”

“Clearly not,” I confirmed cheerfully. “I want to adopt these two.”

“Oh? Okay by me.” Zhen came in closer to kneel next to me and greet the cats. He moved slowly and carefully. Mr. Bond didn’t care. He demanded pets immediately. Sann was more cautious, but even he gave in after a minute and asked for pets, still purring away.

“Aww, you guys are sweet.” Zhen gave me a nod. “Good choices, lǎo pó . Jasha, did I hear you say we can take them today?”

“You sure can.”

Guo cleared his throat a little, which sounded like rumbling rocks down a volcanic mountain. “I should say, I smell a cat in the alley behind this shop.”

Eh? Really?

“I cannot lay eyes on it,” Guo continued with a frown. “But it smells large, and it’s been in this area for several days.”

“I’ll try and lay out a trap for it.” Jasha’s expression was part worry, part determination. “With such busy roads, it’s not safe for cats. Thanks, Guo, for the heads-up. For now, let me get that paperwork.”

My brain was already fixated on what all we’d need to spoil the cats rotten. “Zhen, let’s order some stuff to be delivered. Jasha’s starter kit will only tide us over for a day or two.”

“Sure, might as well. Not like we have a lot of spare time today, especially if Charlotte’s flying in tonight.”

“Exactly.” I got on my phone and went immediately for the shopping app.

Some people might think I was crazy for preparing to move in my sister and adopt two cats all in the same day. To those people, you are absolutely correct. But kitties. Kitties took priority.

It was fine. I had enough muscle to do the heavy lifting, and it wasn’t like I was moving absolutely everything over to the house. We’d get it done.