Edwin was once again alone with the Cat King. They were in the latter’s private room, which by the looks of it was probably just a more secluded area of his warehouse. Still, its precise location remained a mystery to Edwin, since he had always been magically teleported directly into it and never had the chance to walk in with his own legs.
Everything was as he remembered it from his last (not to mention only) visit a few months ago. He took in the familiar round shape of the bed with the neon sign hung on the wall right behind it; a series of glass spheres wrapped in rope nets hung from several points of the ceiling, catching the golden light of candles scattered around the room. Edwin wondered if the Cat King ever played with those glass spheres just like a regular cat would do with a bunch of Christmas tree balls. He quickly pushed the trivial thought away, though, shaking his head and turning around to properly face the other man.
He no longer sported that 20s waved hairstyle, so heavily waxed his hair had almost looked black the last time they saw each other; his hair was now back to its previous volume, the color curiously still quite darker than the blondish tint Edwin had assumed was the other's natural color, despite the evident lack of brillantine this time. A shadow of stubble gave the other man a scruffy look that didn't get along with the expensive robe he was wearing over the black silk pijama pants and mocassini.
Edwin took a deep breath.
“What is it this time?” he asked with a sigh that let transpire all his annoyance at being pulled away from a very interesting case.
“Nice to see you, too,” said the other with a flashy smile.
Edwin ignored it. “You said it was urgent.”
“Indeed, it is.”
The Cat King strutted around the room with calculated nonchalance, only irritating Edwin further. His feline yellow eyes were raking him up and down while he moved, but his lips remained sealed as he refused to elaborate.
“Well then? I don’t have time to waste, I’m working on a case,” insisted Edwin, crossing his arms and tapping fastidiously his fingers on the crook of his elbow.
“So I’ve heard. Grave-robbery, am I correct? One can never truly be spared from the unpleasant experience of getting robbed apparently, even after death.” An amused smile crept on his face. “Well, in this case it’s probably more correct to refer to it as kidnapping, considering what was stolen were the remains of the person in and of itself…”
“It seems you know quite a lot about my case.”
“It wasn't me, if that’s what you were suggesting. I just like keeping informed about the things that interest me, that's all.” He said it with a glint in his eyes, which once again Edwin ignored.
“What do you want?”
“Straight to business, uh? You make me look like a terrible host. Please, take a seat. Make yourself comfortable.”
The Cat King opened his arms in a welcoming gesture.
Edwin just kept staring at him with a blank expression on his face, the only indication of his growing irritation being his pursed lips and the constant tapping of his fingers.
“Suit yourself.” The Cat King raised his hands in surrender and he himself took a seat on the soft mattress, crossing his legs. “I called you here because I require your services.”
That stirred Edwin’s interest, although he was unwilling to show it.
“One of my subjects is missing. I want you to find him and bring him back to me.”
Unlike with his curiosity, Edwin did nothing to hide the disappointment and partial indignation from hearing the other’s request, his shoulders dropping a significant inch as he spoke.
“You seriously brought me here just to tell me to go find one of your missing cats? Is this some kind of joke?”
“Unfortunately, it is not,” replied the other, leaning backwards and resting his weight on his elbows.
“I cannot believe I was so stupid to believe it would actually be something urgent. Teleport me back to the graveyard this instant. I have wasted enough time as it is.”
Given Edwin’s uncooperativeness, the Cat King abandoned his blatant display of calmness and straightened up on the bed. “I’m serious. It is a matter of extreme importance—”
“It’s just a cat!”
“Just a cat?!” the Cat King scoffed, standing up. “You know, the arrogance of your species really floors me at times, always thinking you're superior to any other living creature.”
Edwin narrowed his eyes, but said nothing, despite his obvious discontent at the description of his late kind.
The silence seemed to partially placate the Cat King, who reprised with an almost normal tone, “I wouldn't have brought you here unless I truly deemed it a matter of some importance. I know how much you value your time.”
At that, Edwin too let go of at least part of the irritation gnawing at him, assuming a more relaxed stance, signaling he was willing to listen.
“146 cats. You counted them yourself, remember? Don't mistake my carefree attitude for lack of concern. I care about every single one of them. They are more than my subjects. They are my people. It's no different than the bond you and your friends share.”
Edwin looked straight into the Cat King's eyes and saw no deceit in them. On the contrary, his features were set in an uncharacteristically honest expression, one Edwin had seen only once before, when months prior he had called him out on his feelings of loneliness.
Edwin's annoyance deflated completely and he lowered his head.
“147,” he said after a beat, then looking back up at the other. “There are 147 cats in Port Townsend. You always forget to count yourself.”
A flash of a smile crossed the other's face for a moment, his eyes softening.
“Right.”
Edwin sighed, letting all the negative energy flow out of his body.
“Alright. I accept your case.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Although I honestly don't understand why you would come to me and not go to animal control... But never mind. Tell me more about this cat.”
The Cat King grinned and squeezed Edwin's shoulder before taking his place once again on the bed.
“His name's Zuki—”
“He has a name?”
“Of course he does,” the Cat king scoffed.
“I read once that cats don’t have names because, unlike humans, they know who they are, hence they don’t need them.”
“That’s a bunch of bullsh*t. Cats know who they are and still have f*cking names. Now can I continue?”
Edwin gesture for him to go on.
“Good. He's a large Bombay cat with a white spot on the neck. Mid-length fur, fluffy tail. Very sharp green eyes,” he was counting each attribute with his fingers.
Edwin had retrieved his notebook from his pocket and started taking notes as the other spoke.
“Also, to answer your question,” continued the Cat King, “I'm afraid the matter falls out of the animal control's expertise and right into yours. You see, I have valid reasons to believe Zuki was taken by a ghost.”
That surprised Edwin. “Oh. I thought it was your policy to deal personally with ghosts that meddled with your cats.”
He remembered all too well being summoned by the Cat King just because he had used a temporary spell on one of said cats. Which had later cost Edwin's freedom for several weeks. Among a series of other depressing things he didn't quite want to dwell on too much.
“Usually it is, yes,” replied the Cat King, pulling Edwing from his spiraling thoughts. “But this ghost has proven to be particularly slippery. I haven't been able to track it or locate its hiding place.”
“I see.” Edwin scribbled some more on his notebook. “Do you have something belonging to Zuki that I can give Crystal to help track him down?”
The Cat King raised a hand and with a purple flame he materialized a dirty tennis ball.
“He always plays with this, when he's not chasing mice or lizards.”
He threw the ball at Edwin, who reflexively caught it mid-air, immediately regretting it after realizing the state the poor object was in. 'Dirty' would never even begin to cover it.
He searched his pockets for a handkerchief to wrap the ball in, but he couldn't find it.
The Cat King chuckled and stood from the bed, crossing the space that separated them with swift strides.
“Here.” He handed Edwin a squared piece of yellow cloth. It was incredibly smooth and soft, although certainly not brand new considering the ruined corners.
Edwin's eyes fell on a single letter embroidered with golden strings.
“What does the 'T' stand for?” he asked without even thinking.
“My name.”
Edwin's head snapped up, wide-eyed with surprise. “You have a name? Since when?”
The Cat King laughed.
“Since always. Why wouldn't I have one?”
Edwin opened his mouth, but not a sound came out of it, still too stunned to speak. He had never stopped to think about such a trivial matter, but it actually made sense. Why wouldn't the Cat King have a name of his own, given all his subjects apparently had one. It was just that Edwin had been so used thinking about him as 'Cat King' and addressing him that way that it had never occurred to him the other man might indeed have a real name.
As soon as Edwin regained his ability to properly speak, he asked, “What is it then?”
To that, the Cat King grinned and licked his lips before replying. “It's not my custom to share it with other people. Especially ghosts. You see, names hold power.”
“Nominatio rerum,” muttered Edwin almost to himself.
“Something like that.” The Cat King winked and took a few steps back. “So, we have a deal? You'll find Zuki and bring him back to me?”
Edwin nodded.
“Good. I'll send you back to the graveyard, then.”
He raised his hand, about to materialize the other away from his home.
“Wait!” interjected Edwin. “We still haven't discussed the price. If I'm taking this job, I expect to be paid.”
The Cat King reluctantly dropped his hand and raised his eyebrows. “Fair enough,” he conceded. “How much do you want?”
Edwin put the ball wrapped in the handkerchief into the left pocket of his trousers.
“We don't necessarily request money. Actually, Charles and I have grown quite fond of collecting valuable and curious items during the past years working as investigators.” He joined his hand behind his back as he spoke.
“Wonderful,” replied sarcastically the Cat King, clearly unimpressed. “So what do you want?”
Edwin waited a moment before answering.
“Your name.”
The Cat King burst out laughing. Edwin's expression didn't change a bit, the polite smile still adorning his features. The Cat King's laughter gradually faded.
“Wait, you're serious?”
Edwin nodded, smiling.
“I'm afraid that's not possible.”
“Then you'll have to find another detective to solve your missing cat case.”
The Cat King pursed his lips, narrowing his eyes at Edwin, who wasn't by the least discouraged by the other's change in demeanor.
“Is one of your cats' life worth the price of your name?”
The Cat King faced away, abruptly turning his back to Edwin. The latter could practically see the internal turmoil in the other's head, being forced to make a choice that was no choice at all, if Edwin had understood at least a minimum the kind of man he was dealing with.
“If it makes it any easier for you, I promise not to repeat it to anyone else.” He was feeling rather generous today.
He saw the Cat King drop his head between his shoulders and knew he had won.
“Alright,” said the other, turning around and regarding Edwin with an unreadable expression. “If you find Zuki, I'll tell you my name.”
“Splendid.” He checked the time on his watch. “Now I'd really appreciate it if you could send me back to the graveyard, so that I can resume my work.”
The Cat King gave him a long assessing look before raising his hand and making him vanish in a twirl of purple flames.
***
Being an absolute professional, Edwin prioritized the job they had already taken on over the case of Zuki. Not that he wasn't a fan of multitasking and efficiency, but he thought it would be best to close the previous case before investigating this new one. Luckily for them, it didn't take much longer to solve the case of the grave robbery and the ghost of the poor old lady could finally find some peace.
Being over and done with it, with the help of Crystal's powers and the tennis ball the Cat King had given him, Edwin was able to find a trail that could possibly lead him to the missing cat. He had insisted with Charles and Crystal that he would be fine working on this case by himself, stating that there was no need for all three of them to run around the city in search of a missing cat. They had reluctantly agreed, Edwin suspected also because they seemed keen to the idea of having more free time to spend together, going out as a couple.
It was a recent development, Charles and Crystal officially getting together, one that initially Edwin had found quite difficult to accept. The first few days he had felt incredibly jealous watching the other two walking around the city hand in hand. He wondered what that felt like, for both of them, given one was a ghost and the other still a living person.
As weeks had gone by though, the sight of them together had gradually stopped stirring that kind of reaction from him and he had eventually grown accustomed to it. He knew there was no chance for him and Charles to be together, so he had forced himself to let go of his teenage crush and move on with his life. Or afterlife, to be more precise. He did it not only for his own sake, but also for his friends'. He didn't want them to worry about him or how he would feel. He had cleared things with Charles, and that had brought him a level of serenity which was long due after 70 years spent in hell.
He could finally exhale now. And focus on their work.
As a matter of fact, the case of the missing cat turned out to be more complicated than he had initially thought. Thanks to Crystal he had been able to identify the ghost who had likely kidnapped Zuki and was keeping him prisoner, but that was only part of the problem. Turned out that the ghost in question was a young (on second thoughts maybe not so young) girl from a very wealthy family from the late 1800s, Emma. They had already helped her in another case, which had led them to meet Crystal, her actually being the reason Emma was asking for help.
Edwin scratched his head, thinking about the best route to track down the little ghost. In the end, he decided speaking with Crystal was probably the best option.
“Crystal, you wouldn't happen to have kept in touch with that little girl who had come to us about your case, mhm?”
“You mean Emma? No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen her since I was no longer possessed.”
“Do you have any clues on where I could possibly find her?”
“Can't you just summon her?”
Edwin rolled his eyes. No one except him seemed to be interested in learning how afterlife dinamics worked. “It's not the same as the ghost of someone who committed suicide. Also, I don't even know where she's buried, so...” He patted his palms on the desk, looking expectantly at her.
“I'm sorry, Ed. But I have no idea. She always found me, not the other way around,” she replied with an apologetic smile. “Is this about the case of the missing cat?”
Edwin exhaled and stood up. “Never mind. I'll find another way to locate her.”
He was about to leave when Crystal called him back.
“Wait. Now that I think about it, we often used to hang out by the abandoned zoo, the one near the port. She sometimes brought me there, even if we were originally in a different part of the city. I don't know if that can help, but—”
“Thank you very much, Crystal. As a matter of fact, it is very helpful.”
Edwin took his alchemist bag and immediately headed outside.
He searched the abandoned zoo up and down for hours and was about to give up when a strange noise coming from behind a wooden board in one of the empty cages caught his attention.
“Hello?” he inquired.
The noise became louder and louder as he approached. Once he was inside the cage, he moved the wooden board.
A pair of green eyes was staring at him from the floor.
“Zuki?”
“You know my name?” asked the black cat. “How?”
“Your king has sent me here to rescue you. Come on, let's go.”
“I'm afraid I can't follow you. She has put a spell on me.”
“What kind of spell?”
“A binding one, I think. She removes it only when she comes back.”
“Not to worry, I should be able to break it in no time.” Edwin opened his alchemist bag and started rummaging through it, taking out a couple of colored candles, a vial containing a dark grey dust, a piece of charcoal and a small pair of scissors.
“What are those for?” inquired the cat with an alarmed tone.
“I need a little piece of you.”
“What?! Hey!” the cat recoiled indignantly as Edwin cut off a few stands of hairs from his fur.
He then mixed them with the grey dust and spread it in a circle around the cat. He wrote down a few runes with the piece of charcoal and then used the two candles to light the powder up from opposite sides of the small circle. It started sizzling and the dust was quickly consumed in a green flame that left no trace behind.
“Done.”
“What do you think you’re doing with my pet?”
The strident voice came from behind them. Edwin stood and turned around.
“I suggest you get back to your king as quickly as possible,” he addressed the cat without looking at him.
Zuki didn’t need to be told twice and immediately darted through the wide gap between the bars of the cage, vanishing around the corner.
“It’s not very polite to kidnap animals, Emma,” he said in a calm tone as he fixed his gloves.
“You let him go away! Do you have any idea how long it took me to get my hands on that ball of fur?” she grunted and stomped her foot on the ground. “Damn it!”
“He’s not yours to keep.”
“We were having such a good time!”
“You mean you were having such a good time. Him? I don’t think so.”
Emma sighed and sat on an abandoned barrel by the cage.
Edwin watched her for a few more seconds, then knelt down to retrieve his things and pack his alchemist bag. “If you’re so lonely, why don’t you go visit Crystal from time to time?” he asked as he stood up once again. Knowing he was about to learn the Cat King’s name had put him in high spirits and he felt particularly magnanimous. “I’m sure she would very much enjoy that.”
“She’s busy,” complained the small girl, looking to the side. “She’s always been busy since you guys freed her from that demon. She probably forgot all about me.”
“That’s not true. She remembers you.”
“She does? Really?” Emma’s silhouette started glowing a bit brighter.
“Of course. And she could certainly make some time to hang out with you. We’re not always working, you know.”
The ghost of the little girl jumped down from the barrel, evidently higher in spirits from their brief chat.
“Then tomorrow I can swing by and say hello to her.”
“Sure. No problem.”
Emma giggled and hopped away, without properly saying goodbye and vanishing in the opposite direction the cat had fled to. No matter how much time passed, some ghosts would always retain a childish disposition, thought Edwin, even after centuries spent wandering the earth. As he swept away the dust from his clothes, he couldn’t help but notice the resemblance between Emma and a fictional character from one of the novels he was reading, such as the young vampire Claudia, from ‘Interview with the Vampire’. Charles had recommended him the book a few weeks before, but he had only started reading it a couple days ago and was incredibly intrigued by it. Especially the dynamic between the two male vampires, Lestat and Louis.
Edwin shook his head. After checking he had everything with him, he vanished through a nearby abandoned mirror and dropped back to the studio to leave his bag before collecting his very much anticipated reward.
***
When he arrived at the entrance of the warehouse, he took a deep breath before going in. As usual, the ambience was scarcely lit, pullulating with cats wherever he turned to look around. He didn’t waste time lingering by the door waiting to be welcomed in and walked straight to the wooden throne where a dark grey cat, almost black, was apparently taking a nap on a crumpled light-ocher blanket.
As Edwin cleared his voice, the cat opened his eyes, lazily stirring and outstretching his paws before morphing into a human in a blur of purple flames. The Cat King was wearing black jeans and a black sweater this time, very much in tune with his new tint of hair and the dark shadows around his yellow eyes. A silver necklace hung low around his neck, glinting in the dark.
“I have solved the case of Zuki. He should be safely back to you by now,” stated Edwin with a self-assured lilt in his voice.
“He is.” The Cat King dropped his hand to caress a black cat that had just appeared from behind his throne. Edwin recognized it as Zuki, the green eyes and white spot on his neck quite unmistakable, along with the small area of shorter fur on his back.
“I believe it’s time for payment then.” Edwin wasn’t particularly trying to conceal his amusem*nt, his hands clasped behind his back, chin raised.
The Cat King let out a breath that sounded very much like laughter. “I don’t think so.”
Edwin unclasped his hands and took a step forward, immediately changing his demeanor as he stifled a surge of exasperation at the other’s attempt to play games.
“We had an agreement,” he stated firmly.
“We did. And what did I say, exactly?” pressed the other.
“You said that if I found Zuki, you’d tell me your name.”
“Exactly. ‘If’, not ‘when’.”
The Cat King watched as realization dawned upon Edwin.
“This is ridiculous!” protested the young detective. “I solved the case. You have to pay me now.”
“I will pay you. Eventually. But I’m certainly not required to do it now. Or anytime soon.”
Edwin wanted to wipe that smug grin off the other man’s face with a sonorous punch, but he managed to restrain himself from doing so. It wouldn’t have helped his cause anyway. He simply scowled at the Cat King and spat through his teeth. “You coward. You tricked me.”
“Now, now, Edwin. There’s no need to get uncivil and start throwing insults at each other, is there? You have my gratitude for what you did.” He placed a hand on his chest. “And rest assured that I hold fast to my principles. I’ll tell you my name, one day. Until then, though, you’ll have to settle for Cat King, I’m afraid.” He winked at Edwin.
Edwin was fuming, but he didn’t move one inch. “Fine,” he said eventually.
“Glad to hear we agree. You can go now.”
“Sire…” Zuki was nudging the Cat King’s ankle with his small paw. “There’s also the matter of…”
“Right! I almost forgot!” He raised form his throne, walking over to Edwin. “Edwin, would you be a sweetheart and return Zuki his ball, please?”
Edwin sighed and pulled the ball out of his pocket, still wrapped in the yellow handkerchief. He handed it to the Cat King, who swiftly unwrapped the item and returned it to the black cat.
“Thank you, Sire!”
Zuki grabbed the ball with his mouth and ran away, eager to play with it along with his feline friends.
The Cat King smiled at Edwin, folding the handkerchief in his hands. He then took a step forward, almost closing the distance between them, which made Edwin shift uncomfortably on his feet.
“You can keep this.” The Cat King slid the folded square of silk into the pocket of Edwin’s jacket, his fingers lingering for a moment too long on the latter’s chest as he did so. Edwin was looking down at the handkerchief protruding from his pocket, blinking his eyes repeatedly. The Cat King then leaned even more into his space and placed a delicate kiss on Edwin’s cheek, mirroring the other’s gesture from months ago.
“I wasn’t lying,” he whispered in his ear. Edwin could feel the warmth of his words against his cheek. “I am grateful.”
Edwin had barely enough time to register the words before the Cat King vanished in a surge of purple flames, leaving Edwin staring at the now empty space in front of him.
Edwin swallowed, his mouth suddenly incredibly dry, then looked down at his feet as he felt a warm pressure against his leg. A dark gray cat rubbed his head twice against him, purring contently, then sprinted away into the labyrinth of crates scattered all over the warehouse, vanishing from his sight.
Edwin lingered for a few more seconds, his heart finally placating in his chest, then turned on his heels and left.
***
“Edwin? Eds? Edwin!”
Edwin jolted in his seat as his eyes focused on Charles’s figure standing opposite of him on the other side of his desk.
“I called you three times, mate,” complained his friend.
“Sorry. I wasn’t paying attention. You were saying?”
“What were you thinking about? You looked miles away…”
“Nothing much,” replied the other, who had in truth been going over and over his latest interaction with the Cat King as he stared blankly at the empty surface of his desk.
Charles didn’t look very convinced but decided to leave it be. “I was saying that since we don’t have any open cases at the moment, we could organize a day trip to the beach, if you like. I already talked about it with Crystal. We could invite Jenny, as well. What do you say?”
“Have you checked the weather forecast?”
“Uhm, no… but who cares? We don’t necessarily have to take a dip, we could simply hang at the beach, play some volleyball or just take a walk. So?”
Edwin wasn’t particularly fond of the sea, but his friend seemed quite enthusiastic at the idea.
“What about the studio?” he inquired. “Who is going to keep it open while we are away?”
“No one. We’ll be taking a day off. I don’t think Night Nurse will have any objections. We deserve a little vacation after all the good work we’ve put in these past few months, don’t you think?”
Edwin remained silent, seemingly considering the other’s offer.
“Is something the matter?” asked Charles, stepping closer and taking a seat on the desk. “You seem… distant. Ever since you solved that case for the Cat King a few weeks ago. Did something happen?”
“No, of course not,” Edwin was quick to deny. “I just have a lot on my mind. It’s these books you keep recommending me. I get too absorbed by the plot.” He quirked his lips in a reassuring smile.
“So… everything’s okay? You sure?” insisted Charles.
“Of course.” Edwin nodded once, smile still in place.
“Brills. Then what do you say about the trip?”
“Honestly, Charles, I don’t particularly enjoy the beach. I’d rather stay here and keep the studio open if that’s okay with you guys.” He immediately added, “I’m totally fine, really. I just want to enjoy my peace here, possibly reading a good book.”
“Improving your knowledge of the American literature of the 20th Century,” joked his friend with a knowing quirk of his eyebrows.
Edwin chuckled, glad his friend seemed to understand, at least in part. “Exactly.”
“Well then. You should totally read ‘Red Harvest’ while we’re away.”
“Already read it.”
“Then… you could check out ‘City of Night’. I really enjoyed that one.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
The two friends exchanged a fond smile before Charles left once again to go find Crystal and tell her about Edwin’s decision to stay behind.
Edwin sighed, the smile slowly fading from his lips.
***
The following Saturday, Charles, Crystal and Jenny left early to spend the day at the beach. Edwin on the other hand remained in their studio, busying himself reorganizing the volumes in his bookshelf as he waited for a potential client to show up.
It was almost midday when the ghost of a middle-aged fisherman walked into the studio, his clothes weathered and come unstitched in a few points.
“Hello. How can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Edwin Paine.” He spoke with an unmistakable American accent, Northwest coast, if Edwin had to take a guess.
“You have found him. I presume you’re here in need of my expertise as a detective—”
“Nah, I just have to deliver a message. A scrawny lady cat wants me to tell you that your presence is required at Port Townsend as soon as possible. ‘A matter of life or death’, she said.”
“What? A cat? From Port Townsend?” Edwin immediately put down the book he was holding, circling the desk.
“That’s right,” said the fisherman, scratching his ear, looking around the studio with a curious expression.
“What do you mean, ‘a matter of life or death’?” Edwin insisted, equally anxious and confused.
“I dunno. I’m just repeating her words. She said to meet her in front of the warehouse. That’s what she said. Well then, I’ll be off now.”
With that, the ghost left the room, leaving behind a quite troubled Edwin.
After a moment’s pause, Edwin grabbed his jacket from the coat hanger and his alchemist bag from the table, filling it with additional items he retrieved from the nearby cabinet. He checked his pockets for his notebook, then headed straight through the nearest mirror.
He climbed out of an abandoned mirror discarded on the pavement not so distant from the bay. He walked the remaining part of the way, reaching the warehouse in a matter of minutes.
The air was damp and cold. The ground was wet, a sign that it had probably been raining up until very recently. The gloomy atmosphere seemed to have infected also the cats’ mood all around him. They looked jittery, some even depressed. He fastened his pace to reach the door and was met halfway there by a white and brown munchkin with green eyes.
“You’re here, finally,” the cat greeted him in a feminine voice.
“Are you the one who called for me?”
“Yes.” The cat nodded. “Our King has fallen ill. We don’t know what’s wrong with him. We thought maybe you could help.”
“Ill? What do you mean ill?”
“Come. He’s resting in his rooms now.” The cat walked pass the entrance of the warehouse, signaling Edwin to follow her, which he did without hesitation.
“He doesn’t know we called for you. Come, this way.”
The cat guided him into the innermost part of the warehouse. She climbed a bunch of stacked crates and jumped on what appeared to be a raised floor within the warehouse. She then crept through a small passage in a wall of boxes and rope nets.
Seeing no other way inside, Edwin simply walked through it.
As he stepped forward, he immediately recognized the room from his previous visits. The only difference was that the Cat King was nowhere to be seen this time.
“Where...?” he started, but the lady cat anticipated his question.
“His Majesty is on the bed.”
Edwin stepped closer, scanning the mountain of crumpled sheets and blankets covering the round mattress. He spotted a small furry paw peeking out from under one of the blankets.
Edwin delicately pulled the fabric away, uncovering the dark grey cat sleeping underneath it. The Cat King was lying on his side, eyes closed. His tiny chest was raising and falling rapidly with shallow breaths. He didn't seem to notice someone else was in the room with him and he didn't even stir an inch as the mattress sank under Edwin's weight.
The young detective bent forward to take a better look at the cat's features, but apart from the erratic breathing and the obvious lethargy nothing else caught his attention, as he observed the sleeping feline.
He put a hand on the soft fur and felt it quite strange, hotter than what he would have expected and also with a somehow different texture.
“Well?” The lady cat was watching him with huge eyes, a few steps away from the bed.
Edwin removed his hand, observing the fine green dust that had attached to his palm and fingertips.
“I'm no magical cat expert,” he said, “but it looks like some sort of poisoning.”
“Poisoning?!”
“Are you familiar with saber-tooth spice?” he asked the lady cat.
She shook her head.
“It's a very rare powder obtained from the teeth of a prehistorical animal. It's used combined with other ingredients to brew an antidote against some fungi infection. It works well on ghosts, the only side effect being a green powdery perspiration lasting a few days.” He showed the cat his hand as he explained. “Unfortunately, I have no idea of the effects of such substance on other creatures. Especially... Feline ones.”
“So you're saying our King has been poisoned with this... teeth dust?”
“I'm in no position to speculate on the details of how your master came into contact with this substance, but I'm pretty sure that it is the root of the problem.”
“What can we do to help? Sire hasn't eaten or left this room in two days.”
Edwin narrowed his eyes, scanning his memory for a possible solution.
“I must go back to my studio. There's a book there that may have some useful information.”
He didn't want to further alarm the other cats, so he tried his best to keep a cool façade. In reality, he was indeed very worried about the Cat King's present condition, mostly because he had no idea what kind of long-term repercussions the poison could have on his body. He knew for a fact the Cat King could sort of resurrect from his remains, just like a phoenix would from its ashes after death. But he also knew that some curses and ailments could mark a soul for eternity, even though the individual had the ability to reincarnate. He didn't want to dwell on it right now though. He stood up and straightened his jacket.
“I'll be back in a short while,” he told the bicolored munchkin. “In the meantime, you keep an eye on him.”
The cat nodded.
“Also, I forgot to ask your name...”
“Kiki.”
Edwin nodded and turned around to cast one last glance at the bed and its occupant before departing. Then, he crossed once again the makeshift wall and hurried back to the mirror.
He had been gone nearly half an hour when he suddenly reappeared in the Cat King's room, startling the overzealous Kiki, who had never once removed her eyes from her master.
“I'm back.”
He was carrying a bag with a few clinking bottles in it. He delicately placed it on the floor by the bed.
“Is there anything I can do?” asked Kiki.
“I'm afraid not,” replied Edwin. “But I've found something that could prevent any lasting repercussions. You can go tell the other cats and reassure them.”
Kiki meowed in agreement. “If you need anything, we'll be in the main hall.” That said, she left through the small passage.
Edwin focused his attention back on the Cat King still sleeping on the bed. He was in the exact same position from when he had left.
Edwin sat on the soft mattress and reached for the glass vials he had placed on the floor. He uncapped the first one and brought it close to the feline's nose.
The Cat King's eyes fluttered open. They were glassy and uncharacteristically dim compared to their usual bright, amber color. The Cat King's gaze slowly shifted to the person standing right next to him, his eyes meeting Edwin's.
The latter wasn't sure how coherent the Cat King could be in this condition but tried anyway addressing him in a tentative tone.
“C-Cat King?”
There was no answer and the Cat King simply shut his eyes again.
“Uhm, I need you to drink this.” Edwin picked up the second vial from his bag. It contained a dark blue liquid, not dissimilar to water in density.
Edwin uncapped the vial and brought it to the other's mouth, tipping it so that the liquid slid straight to the back of his tongue.
After a few seconds the Cat King stirred, his eyes opening once again. This time he looked more aware of his surroundings, the potion already spreading through his system. He meowed once, the sound meek as if coming from a distant place. Now that Edwin thought about it, he had never heard the Cat King speak in his cat form, unlike all his subjects. It dawned on him just then that maybe, possessing a double form, feline and human, such ability remained strictly bound to the Cat King's human appearance.
As a matter of fact, the Cat King meowed again and shakily stood on his four legs, moving closer to Edwin to then lie back down right next to him, his left paw resting on the other's thigh.
Edwin dared outstretch his hand and scratch the back of the Cat King's head. He was immediately rewarded with a low purr that reverberated through his whole thigh. An unconscious smiled formed on Edwin's lips. He sat a little more comfortably on the bed, resting his back on the soft cushions behind him.
"The next potion needs to be taken in human form. I'll wait here until you transform." He spoke softly, not sure if the Cat King was even listening to him.
Edwin decided to rest his eyes for a little while. He closed them, taking in a deep breath. His mind started wandering over the most recent events, including what he had recently learned about the Cat King's vulnerabilities. When he opened his eyes again, more than a few minutes had passed. He made to bring his left wrist closer to his face so he could check the time, but realized his arm was no longer encircling a small, furred animal. Instead, it was stuck under a half-naked Cat King in human form.
Edwin immediately aborted his attempted movement, turning his head to properly look at the other.
The Cat King was still sleeping, lying on his side, partially curled up against Edwin. His left arm laid abandoned across the latter's torso. He was wearing a pair of black sweatpants, but nothing on the upper part of his body, apart from a silver chain around his neck.
Edwin's gaze travelled from the muscular torso up to the resting profile of the other man. A sheer layer of sweat covered the Cat King's forehead, making it glisten in the dim-lit room and dampening the roots of his hair. The always present dark skin around his eyes was crisscrossed by a series of small, black veins, another tangible sign of his current infirmity. There was movement behind his closed eyelids. He was probably dreaming, thought Edwin. His lips were slightly parted, paler that usual, still perfectly shaped. The scar departing from the left side of his upper lip was partially concealed by a short stubble.
He was indeed a very beautiful man and Edwin couldn't stop staring at him.
Without even realizing it, he moved his free hand towards the other's face, combing back a wild strand of hair that had fallen across his glistening forehead.
The Cat King sighed and cracked his eyes open. Edwin froze, his hand still hovering in mid-air. The other turned his head a little, his gaze resting on Edwin's face.
“Is this a dream?” mumbled the Cat King, confused.
“Uh...”
Before Edwin could wrap his head around how to answer that, the Cat King abruptly sat up on the bed, his hand clutching at his abdomen as he let out a pained growl.
Alarmed, Edwin immediately reached out to him, his palm squeezing the other's shoulder as he retrieved the last vial with his other hand.
“Here.” He quickly pressed it into the other's palm. “Drink this. It will make you feel better. Trust me.”
With shaky hands, the Cat King brought the vial to his lips and gulped the black, oily liquid in one go. He made a face and began coughing so insistently that Edwin feared he was about to suffocate. Luckily, that didn't happen. The coughing fit gradually subsided and the Cat King fell back onto the mattress, clearly exhausted. He passed a hand over his face.
“f*ck... I'm gonna be sick—” he turned to the side just in time and spat out a slimy, grey substance on the floor. It sizzled against the wooden floorboards. With a wave of his hand, the Cat King made it instantly disappear.
Ewin waited a few more seconds before asking, “Are you okay?”
The Cat King froze, as if only then registering Edwin's presence there. He slowly turned around and stared at the other with huge eyes.
“What are you doing here?”
“Your cats called me. They told me you were sick.”
“Of course they f*cking did...” muttered the Cat King under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he frowned.
“Are you feeling any better?” asked again Edwin.
The Cat King closed his eyes. “Yes. I believe so,” he eventually answered. “Thank you.”
Edwin nodded, then realized the other wouldn't be able to see him so he replied, “You're welcome.”
“sh*t, my stomach feels totally upside down. I could crawl out of my skin right now. Did I die?” He dropped his hand and turned to face Edwin.
“No. I specifically tried to avoid that outcome. It could have been a quicker solution, but I wasn't sure there wouldn't be any lasting damages if you didn't properly heal first. This seemed the better solution,” explained Edwin as he picked up the empty vials from the bed and placed them back into his bag.
“Oh,” was all the Cat King managed to say.
“My apologies for making you drink this without your consent, but I do believe you'll close an eye, given the circ*mstances.”
The Cat King tilted his head in tacit approval. He wasn't back to his normal self yet, but he certainly looked much better than just a few minutes before. He was studying Edwin in silence, his eyes following his every move.
Edwin cleared his voice. “I'd better go now.” He grabbed all his things and walked away from the bed. The Cat King's voice coming from behind his back halted him in his tracks.
“You—”
Edwin didn't turn around and just waited.
“Never mind.”
Edwin could almost hear him shaking his head.
“Thanks again for helping.”
“Mn.”
Edwin stepped forward and vanished through the wall.
Several hours later, when Charles, Crystal and Jenny returned from their trip, Charles came to greet him in the studio. Edwin had just finished reorganizing the books he had abandoned on the floor because of the fisherman’s arrival.
“Hey mate.”
“Charles. You’re back. Judging by the hour I deduce you had a good time at the beach.”
“It was totally brills. How was your reading session?”
“Rather than reading, I actually reorganized all of our books.”
“What?! I was just starting to memorize what was where!” His friend let out an exasperated sigh. “Never mind. Guess I’ll have to start all over again.”
The side of Edwin’s mouth curled up in a small smile.
“You enjoy torturing me this way, don’t you?” Charles’s accusatory tone was completely unserious, his lips, too, stretched in a smile.
“Possibly.”
Charles shook his head and made to leave the room. He stopped right at the doorframe.
“Oh, by the way. Did anyone show up at the studio today?”
The silence stretched for no longer than a couple of seconds before Edwin replied.
“No. Nobody at all.”
***
The days passed by in a monotonous succession of activities. The Dead Boy Detectives took on several cases, none of which really piqued Edwin’s interest. He was glad he could be of use to someone, but a more ambitiously inquisitive part of him longed for something decisively more stimulating than what their cases had to offer as of late.
The loop of monotony was finally broken a couple of weeks after the day trip at the beach. A ghost from Seattle had come to their studio to report an invasion of shedim in the night club he ran with his human partner. According to the ghost, the shedim had infested the nightclub, spoiling the business as well as attracting the attention of the local police, which didn’t sit well with the owner. The ghost insisted he was worried about the shedim possibly possessing the clientele, but Edwin and Charles were pretty sure he just wanted them out of his business. Whatever the reason, though, a group of demons assembling all in one place was never a desirable situation. Thus, the Dead Boy Detectives accepted the job and left for Seattle.
Edwin on his part was extremely curious to see a shedim, as he had never before got the chance to meet one face to face. He wondered if the rumor about them having taloned feet was true. In his experience in fact, the way creatures were described in ancient volumes and how they actually looked in person wasn’t always the same. He was eager to update his demonic encyclopedia if need be.
“Getting rid of them shouldn’t be much of a problem,” commented Charles as they exited the polished mirror behind the bar located on the ground floor of the night club. “If I remember correctly, these things hate water, right? Activating the sprinklers should be enough.”
“Yes. But we still have to seal the place so that they cannot come back again.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I found a runic seal in ‘Demonology Vol.4’ that should do the trick. We just need to make sure we got them all out before drawing it, otherwise we’ll obtain the opposite result of what we want.”
“Okay. So how do we proceed?”
“You activate the sprinklers, I’ll use the glasses to check if all the shedim are gone. Once I give you the okay, you draw this,” he handed Charles a piece of folded paper, “on the door of the club.”
“Alright.” Charles slid his bag off his shoulder, searching it for a few moments before taking out a pair of spectacles similar to the ones sometimes used by surgeons, only much more ancient looking. “Here you go.”
Edwin took the spectacles and put them on, adjusting the numerous lenses layered in front of his eyes.
“Perfect. Shall we?”
Charles nodded and left, heading towards the closest fire detector.
A minute later, a thin rain started falling from the sprinklers on the ceiling. Curiously enough, no alarm started ringing although the fire detectors had been activated. Edwin imagined this was only one of the reasons the owner didn’t want the police to look too closely into the state of his club. It was obviously non-compliant to the regulations.
Edwin sighed and started walking around the club, scanning the people that had deemed a little rain a not good enough reason to stop partying. They weren’t a lot, but significantly more than Edwin would expect.
The ground floor seemed empty of shedim. They had probably darted outside as soon as the water started pouring. He moved to the next floor. As he climbed the flight of stairs, a couple came running down the second floor, cursing as they tried to shield themselves from the rain with their respective jackets.
“f*cking hell!” screamed the woman as she bumped into Edwin. “Damn water!”
Thanks to his spectacles, Edwin had already recognized them as a couple of shedim. He immediately dropped his gaze to their feet. They indeed have talons, but not the bird-like kind he had seen in the pictures of his book. He took the notebook from his pocket and jotted down a quick description of the shedim’s limbs.
“Interesting,” he muttered to himself, putting the notebook back in his pocket.
He checked the first floor and found nothing apart from a few scattered people still dancing to the music.
As he arrived at the top floor he realized it must have been some kind of privé, possibly reserved to the richer clientele. Contrary to the other floors, this one was a little more crowded. Edwin supposed some of the less well-to-do clients must have sneaked upstairs, taking advantage of the confusion created by the sprinklers, so that they could experience the night-party as the richer would do.
The larger amount of people made his job more difficult. The room was more or less the size of a tennis court, lit only by the intermittent flashes of the neon lights on the ceiling; there were several love seats against the walls, interspersed with short, round tables. The people there seemed to be at varying degrees of intoxication, Edwin suspected not just from alcohol.
He spotted a shedim standing apart from the crowd, loitering where the water couldn’t quite reach him. He walked towards him and grabbed him by the wrist, yanking him under a spray of water. The creature that had the appearance of a young man hissed and darted out of the room and down the stairs.
“My, my.”
Edwin immediately recognized the voice coming from behind his back.
“You do like a little bit of rough play.”
Edwin turned around.
The Cat King flashed him a playful smile. He seemed to have fully recovered since they last saw each other. The black veins around his eyes had vanished from what Edwin could see in the intermittent light. He was wearing a pair of dark, wrap trousers, held to the side by a golden brooch, almost giving the impression he was wearing a skirt. His white shirt was soaking wet, serving no purpose at all and leaving very little to the imagination.
“What are you doing here?” asked Edwin in a flat tone, overcompensating for the unsettling feeling in his stomach.
“Just having a little fun,” answered the Cat King with a wink. “Care to join?”
“I’m working.”
“Figured. Boring.” He took a drag from a cigarette Edwin hadn’t even noticed the other was holding. “What’s the job?” he asked blowing smoke in Edwin’s direction.
Edwin walked past him and resumed his search around the room, the Cat King following him just a few steps behind, “Shedim,” he eventually answered. “The club is infested.”
“Oh, so you’re here to spoil the fun.”
“Fun?”
“Shedim can be exceptionally talented lovers, don’t you know?”
That made Edwin halt for a moment. He felt a knot in his throat but forced it down in a heroic demonstration of his impossible will. They had circled back near the entrance of the room. No more lingering Shedim, it appeared. Edwin pocketed his spectacles.
“Sorry for ruining your plans for the night,” he finally said in a cold voice.
He didn’t understand why the thought of the Cat King being intimate with others irked him to such an extent. He only knew there was no point in wasting time saying goodbye, so he headed straight for the stairs.
He had barely reached the first step when he felt himself being grabbed by the wrist and pulled back a little.
“Why don’t you stay?” the Cat King was sporting his usual seductive smile. He stepped closer to Edwin, still holding his wrist. “Not all fun has been spoiled yet.”
Edwin yanked his arm free. “No, thank you.” He could barely repress the anger in his voice now. “I’m not looking forward to joining you in your lecherous activities.”
The cat King laughed, but there was a flash of hurt in his yellow eyes. “Sorry. I forgot you probably have your boyfriend waiting for you downstairs,” he bit back with sarcasm.
“Charles is not my boyfriend.”
“Oh, but you wish he were.” The Cat King took another step forward, forcing Edwin to retreat against the wall to maintain a modicum of distance between them. The Cat King didn’t seem to care about personal space though, advancing until he was just a span from Edwin’s face.
“You wish it were him right now, don’t you? Doing this…” he leaned forwards and Edwin promptly turned his head to the side, closing his eyes. He felt the Cat King nuzzle his cheek. He could smell the pungent aroma of smoke on the other, mixed with something else he couldn’t quite pinpoint. He felt inebriated, even more so when the Cat King trailed his palms down his chest and slid them inside his jacket. Edwin’s hands closed into tight fists at his sides.
“Tell me I’m wrong.” The Cat King was whispering in his ear. “Tell me you don’t want this.”
When the Cat King diverted his attention to the sensitive skin of Edwin’s neck, the latter’s hand shot up and fisted the front of the Cat King’s wet shirt. His breathing was heavy through his open mouth, in tandem with the other’s. Edwin opened his eyes, and saw his own face reflected in two golden pools, each cut open by a black fissure. He tightened his grip on the shirt, feeling water spill out through his fingers.
“I’m not your toy to play with,” Edwin managed to say in a low voice.
“What makes you think I’m playing?”
The Cat King’s words worked their way through his ears, igniting a fire in his chest that travelled all the way down to his belly and then further down.
Edwin shook his head, trying to deny this feeling, with little to no success. “You always play,” he breathed out. “It’s in your nature.”
“Mmm, maybe. Or maybe not.”
“Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
“You.”
Edwin shut his eyes for moment, trying to find the strength to speak. “I don't think you want me. You're just lonely.”
“We both are.”
The Cat King’s lips were now moving dangerously close to Edwin’s as he spoke, the short stubble tickling his soft skin. “Do you remember what I told you in the forest?”
Edwin wasn’t so sure anymore of his theory that cat and human language couldn’t mix when it came to the Cat King, given the latter’s words started feeling very much like a purr against Edwin’s cheek.
“About second kisses,” specified the Cat King, his gaze dropping to Edwin’s lips.
Hearing the word and having within his reach the possibility to concretize it sent Edwin into a spiral of panic. Before he could even realize it, he shoved the Cat King in the chest, pushing him away.
The swirl of emotions flashing across the other’s face was impossible to decipher and Edwin didn’t even try to, dropping his gaze to the floor, embarrassed beyond measure.
“Edwin!”
Charles's voice came from the bottom of the stairs, washing over Edwin like a cold shower.
Hearing the other climbing up the stairs, the Cat King pursed his lips and vanished in a pop of purple flames that perfectly blended in with psychedelic lights.
“Edwin are you up here? Why are taking so long- Hey! Is everything okay?”
Charles rushed towards him, a hand immediately on his shoulder. “Did one of those things hurt you?”
It took several moments before Edwin was able to speak again. “Ah... no. No. Nothing of the sort.”
“Well then, what happened?” asked Charles with a worried expression. “You look like sh*t and...” he leaned closer and sniffed the air, “Have you been smoking?” his tone incredulous.
“No, of course not. It must be this place.” Edwin detached himself from the wall and buttoned his jacket. “I'm a little overwhelmed by the music and the atmosphere, that's all.”
“Is this your first time in a night club?”
Edwin nodded, licking his lips.
“Mate, you should've told me. Come on, let's get out of here. You didn't find other Shedim, did you?”
“Just one, here. A couple fleeing down the stairs. They should be all gone by now.”
“Perfect. Then let's finish the job and get back to the studio.”
He wrapped an arm around Edwin's shoulders and led him downstairs.
Once they were outside, Charles drew the runic seal on the entrance door. The markings glowed for a second then disappeared as though absorbed by the door itself.
“All done.” Charles rubbed his hands together. “Let's go find a mirror.”
As they walked down the street, hearing a sudden noise, Edwin’s gaze shot to the side and into the dark alley on his left. Two luminous yellow dots were regarding him from a distance, close to the ground level. They blinked once, then disappeared.
Edwin took a deep breath and sped up his pace, eager to leave Seattle behind.
***
The following day, Edwin was feeling unbelievably antsy. He kept jerking his leg under the table as he revised his description of the shedim’s feet in his notebook.
“Okay. I’ve had enough,” said Charles at one point. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Me?”
“Yes, you!” Charles sounded quite exasperated. “You’ve been acting strange since we came back from Seattle. Scratch that, you’ve been acting strange for weeks now. Something’s clearly gnawing at you. I didn’t push because I thought it was better to give you some space, but I’m really fed up with seeing you moping and jittering all the time. Come on, spit it out. What is it?”
“I can assure you I’m perfectly fine.”
“Bullsh*t. Look at you.”
Edwin shut his notebook and clasped his hands in front of himself, without uttering a word.
“Is this about Crystal and me? Does it make you uncomfortable that we—”
“No! Of course not!”
“Then what is it?”
Edwin sighed and stood from his chair. He turned away from Charles, leaning his weight against the window frame. He watched in silence the serpentine traffic of London, people going about in a frantic swarming.
“I… I admit I’ve not quite been feeling myself, lately.” He started fidgeting with the cuffs of his shirt. “I have this weird… feeling,” he juggled the word on his lips, “I can’t quite understand.”
“What do you mean? Are you sick? Is that even possible as a ghost?”
“No. And yes, there are some afflictions specific to ghosts. They’re not the same as the living’s, of course, and are caused by completely different agents. But yes. It is quite possible. Just like the guy with the migraine and exploding head.”
“Right…” Charles was staring at the other with a rather anxious look on his face. “Your head’s not gonna explode, is it?” he asked in an apprehensive and also slightly horrified tone.
“No. You can rest easy,” reassured him Edwin, still looking outside the window. “I don’t thing a ghost infection is the cause of my affliction.”
Charles sighed, relieved. “Then what is the cause?”
Edwin turned around, crossing his arms. “I’m afraid it’s not a ‘what’, rather a ‘who’.”
“Who…?” Charles looked positively confused. “Is someone bothering you?”
“Not exactly,” sighed the other.
“Then…Oh. sh*t.” Charles sat up straight in his chair. “Do you mean…? Are you maybe… in love?” Seeing the look on Edwin’s face he promptly clarified, “I don’t mean with me, I know you no longer feel that way about me… But- am I right?”
“I don’t know.”
“But who is…? Wait a minute. Is it...?”
Edwin refused to finish the sentence for him.
“…Whiskers?! I mean, the Cat King?!”
Edwin dropped his gaze to the floor, his mouth sealed.
“Blimey! Since when? What happened?” Charles bombarded him with questions, dropping the hand that was covering his mouth from the shock a second before.
“I don’t quite understand it myself,” replied Edwin taking a seat on the nearby chair. “Every time we meet, I get this feeling like…” he trailed off, frustrated. “And yesterday when he talked about the shedim—”
“What do you mean ‘yesterday’? Bloody hell, he was at the nightclub, wasn’t he? That’s why you were so flustered!” he pointed an accusatory finger towards Edwin.
“Yes, he was there. And we talked.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“What happened then?”
“He tried to kiss me and then you showed up and he vanished.”
“Oh. Sorry about that, mate." Charles felt a little guitly. "But hey, if he tried to kiss you that’s brills! It means he’s totally into you as well!”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m telling you, he is. You should go talk to him.”
Edwin shook his head imperceptibly. “I’m not sure he would be glad to see me.”
“What? Why on earth wouldn’t he be?”
Edwin bit his lower lip before answering. “I sort of… pushed him away. Before you even arrived.”
Charles opened his mouth, but Edwin preceded him. “I panicked. He was standing so close... and I don’t know how it happened but I just pushed him away.”
Charles closed his mouth, teeth clicking, pondering what his friend had just told him. His fingers were tapping on the armrest of the chair, eyes squinted as he thought.
“Honestly,” he said eventually, “I still think you should go talk to him. You should tell him how you feel. Even about what happened yesterday. Actually, especially about that part.” He studied Edwin’s troubled expression, then walked to his friend and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “He likes you. Don’t waste the chance just because you’re too afraid to act.”
Edwin finally found the courage to look into his friend’s eyes. He saw reassurance and affection in them, with still a fading trace of worry. He nodded.
“Wonderful!” Charles clapped him on the shoulder. “Now, move it, before it gets too late.”
“Right now?!”
“Yes, Edwin, right now.” Charles talked to him as an adult would to a small child. “And since you’re going to Port Townsend, would you be so kind to stop by Tragic Mick’s shop and buy some more pink sand, please? I need it to repair the Timeless Hourglass.”
“A-Alright.”
“Thank you. Now off you go.”
He pushed Edwin in the direction of the mirror. Edwin stood there a couple of seconds, fixing his clothes, then turned to look at Charles. His friend smiled at him, then nodded towards the mirror. Edwin swallowed, then took a step forward, disappearing beyond the metallic surface of the mirror with a silent ripple.
***
Edwin headed straight to Tragic Mick’s shop, not at all displeased at the necessary detour, which granted him some more time to think about what he would say to the Cat King.
“Do my eyes deceive me or has one of the Dead Boy Detectives just entered my shop?” greeted him Tragic Mick with a smile.”
“Hi, Mick.”
“What can I do for you boy?”
“I’m in need of some pink sand, please.”
“Is Charles still working on that hourglass?”
“It appears so, yes.”
Magic Mick nodded, content. “Coming right away.” He vanished to the back of the shop, searching for the requested item.
Edwin’s gaze roamed over the incredible set of items put on display on the counter. Tragic Mick had made several additions to his stock since Edwin’s last visit. There were several plants kept in transparent glass jars, as well as loads of boxes filled with all sorts of stones and gems. He recognized a pair of spectacles very similar to the ones he and Charles possessed; there was even what appeared to be a small green hamster in a cage hung on the wall behind the counter; his eyes scanned the shelves with curiosity, then landed back on the counter. A bunch of small packets caught his attention. When Tragic Mick came back, Edwin asked, pointing at them, “What are these?”
“Cigarettes.”
Edwin arched an eyebrow. “You’re selling cigarettes now?” he scoffed and took a pack in his hands, opening it. They were indeed cigarettes.
“Ayup. But these,” Tragic Mick retrieved the pack from Edwin’s hand, “are not the usual kind.”
“Why? What’s so special about them?”
“These” he shook the pack, “are catnip cigarettes.”
“Catnip cigarettes? As in… the plant catnip?”
“That’s right.”
Edwin furrowed his eyebrows. “I fail to see the appeal of it.”
“You and me both. But the right clientele sure appreciates it. Cats go crazy for this stuff. I think it has something to do with the smell, acting like a sort of drug. I heard it has the same effect as pheromones on them.”
“Cats smoke these things?” asked Edwin bewildered, trying to imagine the logistics of it and failing quite miserably.
“They don’t, cats just sniff the plant. But the Cat King sure does.”
Edwin’s eyes shot up. “The Cat King smokes this stuff?”
“Ayup. Always sends one of his cats to buy some, from time to time. One actually stopped by yesterday morning.”
Edwin thought about the previous night at the club, the cigarette the Cat King had been smoking when they met. A muscle in his jaw shifted at the memory.
“Anyway. Here’s your pink sand.” Tragic Mick handed him a small jar filled with fine, pink dust.
Edwin snapped back to reality. He looked at Tragic Mick for a moment, then grabbed a pack of cigarettes and put it on top of the jar.
“I’ll take this, too.”
Then minutes later, he was standing in front of the entrance to the warehouse on the pier. A few cats meowed at him and a couple of them ran inside, supposedly alerting their master of his arrival. He should have known better than to believe the Cat King actually cared about him. He had just been high on catnip and whatnot else. It was just a coincidence that Edwin had been on the receiving end of his attentions; hadn’t he come there, it would have certainly been someone else. Probably a shedim. He didn’t matter to the Cat King. Not more than any other of his playthings.
Edwin marched inside; the small pack of cigarettes hidden in his jacket felt heavier than the jar of sand he had just bought. He was halfway to the throne when the Cat King’s voice greeted him.
“I didn’t expect to see you so soon after last night. Or at all, to be honest.”
Edwin ignored the sharpness in the other’s tone. “Don’t worry. I won’t be staying long. I just came by to tell you to leave me alone.”
The Cat King didn’t seem surprised by the other’s words. “I believe you made that perfectly clear last night,” sarcasm pouring from his voice, “No need for reinforcement.”
“Good.”
“Good.”
Edwin didn’t move.
The Cat King tilted his head. “Is there anything else?” he asked defiantly.
“Yes,” spat Edwin. “You should at least have the decency to apologize. I’m done being treated like a toy.”
“But I see you’re not done acting like a child. Just say what’s on your mind, for f*ck’s sake.”
Edwin glanced to the crowd of cats surrounding them, most of which had assumed a hostile demeanour.
The Cat King rolled his eyes. With the flick of a hand, he teleported himself and Edwin in his private room. “Better?”
“That was totally unnecessary!”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” condescended the Cat King as he strolled past him with an infuriating air of superiority and made himself comfortable on the bed. “I figured you’d be more inclined to talk, not having to worry about a horde of cats scratching you to death. Well, not literally. Still, you’re welcome. Now talk.”
Edwin paused for a moment, then he started speaking and as soon as he did, the words just kept coming in a flood.
“You’re infuriating, you know that? You keep saying you’re fascinated by me, that I’m so handsome and such a tease and so on… But you don’t truly give a damn about me, do you? To you I’m just another one of your toys, disposable and due to be thrown away as soon as you’re done playing with me. And I can’t believe I let myself be dragged into this dysfunctional relationship with you. What was I even thinking? I wasn’t, probably. I stopped reasoning with my head and just followed—” he cut himself off, biting his lip.
The Cat King had been listening to the other’s tirade without so much as batting an eye. However, at that last truncated phrase, he sat up straight, clearly intrigued by what was left unsaid.
“Yes?” he pressed the other to continue. “Could it be you were about to say you were just following your heart?”
Edwin scoffed. “My animal instincts, if anything.”
That got a laugh out of the Cat King. “Edwin, please. Leave the animal instincts to me. I think we can both agree that’s my department.”
Edwin blinked repeatedly, a little taken aback by the other’s reaction. He recovered quickly though. “Speaking of which,” he pulled out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket, “explain this, please.” He threw it to the ground, just a few inches from the Cat King’s feet.
The Cat King looked at it for a moment, then raised his gaze back up at Edwin, not saying a single word, a calculating expression set on his face.
“Well?” insisted Edwin.
The Cat King made a smacking sound with his lips, tilting his head to the side and kicking the cigarettes out of the way, sending the pack to the opposite corner of the room. “I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”
“You were high!” accused him Edwin. “At the club, you did all that just because of the catnip—”
“If anything,” interrupted the Cat King, “I was being spontaneous. Do you even know how catnip works for us, Edwin?”
Edwin clenched his jaw and didn’t answer.
The Cat King smiled as he shook his head, amused by the whole discourse.
“Come here.” He patted the bed right next to where he was sitting.
Edwin took a step back.
“Don’t worry, I won’t try anything lewd. I just want to talk.” The Cat King patted the bed again, his smile calm and sincere, which Edwin found somehow reassuring.
Edwin moved cautiously towards the bed, leaving a considerable empty space between them as he took a seat on the soft mattress.
“Catnip can’t create something that doesn’t exist,” explained the Cat King. “It makes us uninhibited and yes, also a little euphoric. But it doesn’t create attraction where there is none to begin with. It just makes us more honest.” He spoke with a calm voice. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted you. And I’m not lying now when I say I care about you.”
“Then what were you doing in that club?” Edwin's tone was neutral, for a change.
The Cat King sighed. “Pining away, I guess.” He himself seemed annoyed by the ease with which he had just admitted it. “Not that it happens a lot, just to be clear. Although I don't think you'd be particularly worried about it.”
Edwin was staring at him with an unreadable expression. His eyes seemed to have softened a bit as the Cat King spoke.
"I truly don't understand you," he said eventually.
“Having a convolute, sophisticated and frustratingly unpredictable personality is sort of a given when you've lived a few centuries,” joked the Cat King, crossing his legs. “Don't worry. You'll get there, too.”
“I wouldn't know.”
The Cat King regarded him with a curious expression.
“I'm not exactly living, am I,” Edwin pointed out gloomily.
“Technically no, I suppose. But that doesn't mean you don't get to make new experiences and mature in your own way.”
“Like kissing and learning about the virtues of catnip?”
“More like the virtues lost because of catnip.” The Cat King chuckled, then added after a moment, “I’m joking, of course.”
Edwin let out a breath that sounded similar enough to laughter to the Cat King’s ears. He then asked more seriously, “Why do you smoke that?”
The Cat King swept away some invisible dust from the black knee-length skirt he was wearing. “Smells nice. Feels nice. Doesn’t have any particular side effects. Why not.”
“Right, I forgot. Your kingdom is all about want and pleasure.”
“A lot more about want than actual pleasure, as of lately.”
“Why?”
The Cat King gave him a pointed look, his eyes briefly going up and down Edwin’s figure.
“Oh.” Edwin dropped his gaze to his hands. “I thought you said shedim made for good companions.”
“I said they make for a good f*ck.” The Cat King enjoyed observing Edwin become a little flustered at the word. “Also, I was just trying to make you jealous.” He admitted with nonchalance.
“Well. Congratulations then.”
The smile gradually faded from the Cat King’s lips. He was now regarding Edwin with a mixture of yearning and wonderment, shifting just a tiny bit closer to where the other was sitting. “You’re not my plaything, Edwin. What do I have to do to make you believe me?” he asked in a soft murmur.
Edwin turned to look at him. He took in the dark, messy hair, the glowing magnetic eyes, the straight nose and pink lips, framed by the ever-present hint of a stubble.
There was no use in denying it. Edwin was attracted to the Cat King, had always been, on a more or less conscious level. But above all, he desperately wanted for the other’s words to be true.
Realizing he was still staring, he cleared his throat, eyelids fluttering as he broke free from his trance.
“You changed your hair,” was all he managed to say, immediately cursing himself for the stupidity of it.
The Cat King indulged him in his swift change of topic, always so respecting of his delicate sensibilities. “It happens all the time after I die. New life, new looks.”
Edwin nodded. “Did it hurt?”
“What? Being beaten to death by an evil witch with an iron stick? Yes, it f*cking hurt.”
“I’m sorry.” Edwin started fumbling with his gloves. “I’m only now realizing I've never really thanked you for helping Crystal and Niko back then.”
“Glad I could contribute to the bitch’s demise. I never liked her.”
“I can see the reason why,” agreed Edwin.
The Cat King smirked. After a short pause, he blew away a speckle of dust from his dark green sweater. Edwin wondered if it was a sort of tick or if the Cat King simply hated dust. The second option would be quite surprising, considering where he lived. But then again, he also seemed to enjoy water and hated trees, so his likings couldn’t be superficially identified as a cat’s stereotypical ones. The man was a walking paradox. Which was probably also one of the reasons for Edwin’s attraction.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Uh?”
“What do I have to do to make you believe me?”
Edwin considered the question. The answer was alarmingly simple, if he was honest with himself.
“I believe you.”
The Cat King’s eyebrows shot up with surprise.
“I do,” confirmed Edwin, “I don’t presume to know why you would act in certain ways sometimes, but I do believe your feelings to be genuine.”
The Cat King’s chest was rising and falling in a rhythmical, controlled motion. He parted his lips, on the verge of saying something. His eyes were unnaturally shiny in the low light of the room. Edwin’s eyes caught on a flash of tongue as the other licked his lips before finally speaking.
“I really want to kiss you right now,” he admitted in one breath, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Edwin was certain he was blushing at the moment. Or the equivalent of that for a ghost.
“Can I? Please?” The Cat King was fighting the urge to close the distance between them, fearful of triggering another dire conclusion as the one at the night club the day before.
Edwins eyes dropped once again to the Cat King’s lips. He leaned an infinitesimal inch closer, imperceptibly nodding his head in silent assent.
The Cat King shifted on the mattress, sitting with his thigh against Edwin’s. He leaned in, one hand braced for support on the bed, by Edwin’s side.
Edwin thought the other would kiss him right away. Instead, the Cat King took his time, brushing the tip of his nose against Edwin’s, their breath mingling. His other hand came up to cup Edwin’s cheek, stroking it with his thumb. The skin was smooth under his pad. He gently pressed their foreheads together, his hand now moving to Edwin’s nape, fingers combing through the short hair there. He breathed in Edwin’s scent, which had an earthy note to it, distinctive of all ghosts. Edwin shut his eyes a moment before it happened.
The Cat King finally closed the distance between them, pressing their lips together in a soft, sensual kiss.
It was totally different than what he had experienced with Monty. That time he hadn’t expected it, whereas this time not only was he expecting it, he was yearning for it.
Although he wasn’t able to feel the kiss with his body, he could certainly perceive it in his mind, as though the Cat King’s touch could bypass all the nervous pathways and directly reach the interested parts of Edwin’s brain that were more than receptive to this pleasure.
The Cat King tilted his head, his lips prying Edwin’s ones open.
Edwin thought he might be experiencing a short circuit in his brain. He felt raw, exposed, but at the same time eager for more. His hands were fisting the front of the Cat King’s sweater, moving on their own accord. When the Cat King drew back, Edwin automatically chased him, but the other placed a hand on his chest, pushing ever so slightly, not wanting things to get out of control so quickly.
“Easy there, tiger. We’re not all ghosts. Some of us actually need to breathe, you know.” His lips were glistening as he bared his teeth in a smirk.
Edwin was still coming down from the marvelous experience of being kissed by the Cat King.
“I wasn’t wrong, was I?” asked the Cat King.
Edwin swallowed and shook his head. Second kisses were definitely much better. Which had him wonder about thirds. He cleared his voice.
“So. What does this make of us?”
“Whatever you want. Although I do have my hopes this doesn’t remain just a casual occurrence.”
The corners of Edwin’s mouth pulled in a sheepish smile. “I… hope that, too.”
“Glad we’re on the same page, then.”
Edwin straightened the crumpled fabric of the Cat King’s sweater. “Sorry about that.”
“Don’t apologize. I like when you get a little feisty.”
Edwin studied the other for a moment, then took the invitation for what it was. He closed his gloved fist around the collar of the green sweater and pulled the other in for a second kiss.
This time, the Cat King let Edwin control the kiss. It was a bit clumsy, on the latter’s part, but insanely hot all the same. Edwin proceeded with the spontaneity that made the inexperienced difficult to anticipate, as he himself didn’t know his own likings or limits. The fist which was holding the Cat King in place came open, Edwin’s palm now pressing against the other’s chest and pushing him down on the bed as they continued kissing. He laid half on top of the Cat King, his hands supporting him at the latter’s sides. The Cat King reached out to frame Edwin’s face with his hands, his fingers soon curling through the soft, brown hair.
“Edwin…”
The young detective felt a vibration spread across the other’s chest, reverberating to his own. He pulled back a little, enough so that he could speak.
“Are you purring?”
“Mmm.” The Cat King’s eyes were closed, his breath roughened with increasing excitement.
Edwin moved his hand to the hem of the sweater, sliding it inside and feeling the other’s bare chest vibrate under his palm. The Cat King’s skin was hot to the touch. Edwin felt his heart reach a little crescendo as he moved his fingertips across the smooth skin.
The Cat King suddenly opened his eyes and sat up. He reached for the hem of his sweater and pulled it off over his head, discarding it to the side of the bed. His forehead was glistening a bit.
“That’s better,” he huffed with a grin.
Edwin stared at the naked planes of skin displayed in front of his eyes. He had already seen the Cat King without his clothes, at least some of them. But this time he wasn’t distracted by the worry for the other’s well-being and he could take his time cataloguing every detail.
Not to mention the Cat King seemed to enjoy quite a lot being the recipient of such looks of awe and wonderment.
“Like what you see?”
He leaned back down on the mattress, intertwining his fingers at the back of his head. The red and blue lights from the neon sign against the wall created a dreamy atmosphere, while the warm light from the candles casted a suggestive chiaroscuro effect all around them as well as on their own bodies.
Edwin admired the chiseled abdomen of the Cat King, transfixed. His defined six-pack was framed in a V line of muscles that disappeared under the red waistband of his underwear, which sported the writing ‘loverboy’ in striking white letters. Because of his distraction, Edwin wasn’t at all prepared when the other suddenly sprang up and pushed him down on the bed, switching their positions. His back hit the mattress knocking the wind out of him. He made to sit up, but the Cat King grabbed his hands, pinning them to the bed on either side of Edwin’s head.
“Never underestimate the agility of a cat.”
“Like being in control?”
“I think you’re projecting.”
The Cat King lowered his head, nuzzling the column of Edwin’s neck. “You smell so good. If you want me to stop, tell me now. I can’t promise I’ll be able to do it later on.” He murmured against Edwin’s skin.
“I don’t want you to stop.”
Edwin could see the goosebumps forming on the Cat King’s skin.
“In that case, you’re totally overdressed.”
Edwin’s jacket and shirt vanished in a purple flash. He was lying on the bed in just his trousers and socks. Apparently, his shoes too had vanished. And gloves.
“Better.”
“Where did you put them?”
“Somewhere safe. Don’t worry, you’ll get them back. Where were we now?”
The Cat King resumed his worship of Edwin’s ethereal body. He kissed his way down the other’s pale chest, setting Edwin’s mind aflame with each press of his lips. He let go of Edwin’s hands as his peregrination brought to the waistband of his trousers. His eyes shot up to intercept Edwin’s and seeing no objection in them, he unbuttoned the trousers, unzipping the fly. He pulled them down and then off completely, removing also Edwin’s socks along the way. He then got rid of his own skirt, throwing it over the side of the bed.
As the Cat King was busy doing so, Edwin took advantage of the moment to re-establish his supremacy, flipping once again their positions.
The Cat King laughed. “What were you saying about control?” his teasing eyes glowing in the dim light.
Edwin brushed his fingertips over the Cat King’s lips, tracing the silhouette of his scar.
“How did it happen?”
“Cat fight with another cat king in the early ‘800s. He got the short end of the stick.”
“Were you really purring before?”
“Yes. Happens when I’m really excited.”
“Can you speak in your cat form?”
“Are we playing 21 Questions or are we about to have sex?” said the Cat King in a tantalizing tone. “You can quit stalling, you know.”
Of course he had immediately seen through Edwin’s tactics. Edwin was sure if he were still alive, he would be red as a pepper right now.
“I… don’t know how…” he muttered, “I’ve never…”
The Cat King pressed his index on Edwin’s lips, this time not to leave a spell, instead shushing him with a fond smile. “Then let me show you how.”
His hands brushed Edwin’s skin, starting from the shoulders down to his abdomen. “Relax,” his warm whisper tickled Edwin’s cheek. With his right hand the Cat King started drawing imaginary lines across the other’s back; his left hand instead traveled deep down towards Edwin’s lower abdomen, disappearing then under the waistband of his briefs.
Edwin gasped, his hands squeezing the silken sheets. The Cat King took one of Edwin’s hands and guided it towards his own abdomen, sliding it way past the ‘loverboy’ writing.
“Just do what you want.”
Edwin took a moment before he started mirroring the Cat King’s movements with his hand.
The latter leaned in and they reprised kissing, Edwin’s free hand moving to clasp the Cat King’s dark hair as the latter kept stroking his back.
“Edwin…”
The Cat King had started purring again. They kept at it until Edwin thought he was about to lose his own mind. “Cat King…”
The Cat King shook his head. “Call me by my name,” he pleaded.
“You never told me your name…”
The Cat King opened his eyes, meeting Edwin’s half-lidded gaze. He then leaned in and whispered in Edwin’s ear.
“Thomas.”
Edwin felt something melt in his chest. “Thomas.” He repeated the name. “Thomas.” He said it as if it were a prayer, cherishing each syllable.
The Cat King whimpered, pulling Edwin close as he reached his own climax, Edwin following him just a few seconds apart. They held each other tight as they caught their breath.
The Cat King’s skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat. His hair was slightly damp at the roots. Though spent, he still radiated joy from every pore.
Edwin let himself fall partially the side, his flexed arm resting on the other’s chest, his head nestled under the Cat King’s chin. They remained silent for a while, both spent and content. Eventually, Edwin broke the silence, murmuring with a satisfied little smile.
“You kept your promise.”
“I told you I would.” He placed a kiss on top of Edwin’s head. “But you can’t call me that in front of others.”
“How should I call you then?” asked Edwin, puzzled. “Cat King?”
The Cat king grinned and replied, “What do you say about ‘Love’?”
Edwin turned his head to look at him. Then slowly his lips arched in a smile that quickly turned into laughter, soon joined by the other.
They still had a long way to go and all the time in the world to do it. Together.
***
