Mages in Manhattan Read online

  Youth restored, magic coming back, a beautiful girl next to me; all brought a smile to my lips, showing off my new teeth. For the first time in a long time, I had no worries.

  “Soooo, Scott-san,” said Kitty-Sue in a low voice full of reluctance, “I think it’s time you met my family...”

  Six

  How I Met Her Sister

  “Thanks,” I said, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and turning towards her, “but I think I’ll pass on meeting the matriarch of a clan of kitsune ninjas. I’m trying to keep a low profile here.”

  The crowd flowed around us like we were a rock in a stream; either through kitsune magic or conventional Japanese manners, we were effectively invisible.

  Kitty-Sue bit her lip. Where had I seen that look before? Oh yes, when she led me to Jorōgumo’s web. That’s the face she wore when she was forced by duty to do something she didn’t agree with.

  “I’m very sorry, Scott-san,” she said. “But you must meet my family.”

  Under my tightening grip, I felt Princess start to morph into her sword shape, accompanied by an almost sub-audible hum. Kitty-Sue reacted instantly, slightly repositioning her feet and shifting her balance. Damn, she was ready to fight me over this! Forcing down my anger, along with Princess Blade’s ire, I decided to try diplomacy.

  “Is this because of that ‘Til death do us part’ conversation?” I asked. “Is your family expecting a marriage proposal?”

  Her sudden laugh broke the tension. “No, Scott-san,” she said, fingering her collar. “They don’t want you to pair up with me.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “They want you to meet my older sister,” said Kitty-Sue.

  “Why should I meet your sister?” I asked with a puzzled frown. One kitsune in my life was pretty much all I could handle.

  “Ummm...” She hesitated. “They want you to pair up with her.”

  “Why would I want to pair up with a kitsune I don’t even know?” This conversation was going off in a strange direction.

  “She’s my older sister,” emphasized Kitty-Sue, as if that explained everything. We recommenced our walk towards the apartment.

  “So?” I said. “Just because she’s closer to my age, I should choose her?”

  “She’s almost twenty-five!” said Kitty-Sue.

  We were passing a Doutor coffee shop. I had the sudden urge to sit down with coffee and sweets. The break would also give me a few minutes to process Kitty-Sue’s strange request.

  “Let’s get a coffee and sit down,” I suggested.

  “OK,” she agreed.

  Once we had picked up our drinks, drip coffee for me and some herbal tea for Kitty-Sue, we sat at a secluded corner table to continue our discussion.

  As I added creamer and sugar to my coffee, I asked, “So twenty-five is bad?”

  “Did you ever hear the term ‘Christmas cake’?” asked Kitty-Sue.

  “Can’t say that I have,” I responded.

  “It means a woman that doesn’t have a mate. Like Christmas cake, once the twenty-fifth has passed, nobody wants it.”

  “Ahhh...” I said, finally getting the message. “But why is she interested in me?”

  “You’re a strong magician,” said Kitty-Sue as she ticked off points on her fingers. “You have money. You give away gifts of Artifacts.” She fingered her collar. “And,” she finished, “you’re a great sensei, which carries a lot of respect.”

  I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms. “You forgot devilishly handsome and very sexy.” I knew when I was being buttered up.

  “I wouldn’t say handsome,” said Kitty-Sue, reaching across the small table and stroking my arm, “but I’ll go with sexy. At least, now that your hair is styled right.”

  I leaned forward and took her hand. “What if I say I don’t want another kitsune in my life?”

  She bit her lip and pulled her hand away, picking up her tea and sipping without looking in my eyes. Yep, that’s the face she had when duty compelled her to do something she didn’t like.

  I sipped on my coffee in thought. Useless to ask why twenty-five was so important. Lifespans of those touched by magic were all over the place. Some shifters only lived as long as their animal counterparts, while some lived normal human lives. Magicians lived hundreds of years (if our profession didn’t kill us), dragons even longer. Non-corporeals like Akiko could hang around as long as they wanted.

  The fae claimed to be immortal. But with that time-warping ability they had, it was hard to tell. At the thought of fae, I glanced over at Princess Blade, who was propped up on the chair next to me. She hummed at my glance, drawing looks from the other patrons. I touched her hilt in reassurance. I thought of the asshole fae that had taunted me, calling humans “mayflies.” He was surprised when this mayfly ended his life a few minutes later.

  All we have, from the shortest lived to the longest, is now. The current moment is the only one that counts.

  At this present moment, I had no idea what I wanted to do. The temptation to flee was strong. I had a British passport under a different name (rejuvenating a queen can have its rewards), enough cash to last a bit, and a magic sword for companionship. It would be so easy to run.

  On the other hand, I had Akiko-san, my student and friend; Kitty-Sue, my girl, umm, friend; and the life I had built in Tokyo. Give it all up because an aging vixen wanted a magician to toy with?

  I made my decision. “OK, Kitty-Sue,” I said, “I’ll meet your sister. But I doubt I’ll like her.” I stood up to let her know we could go.

  “As if you’ll have any choice,” whispered Kitty-Sue.

  “What? Of course, I can choose,” I said.

  Picking up our tray and empty cups, Kitty-Sue headed to the counter where the patrons dropped them off. “She has two tails,” she said.

  We headed out the door and continued our walk.

  “Two tails, four tails; I don’t care. Call your family and set up the meeting,” I said as we entered the building.

  Pressing the elevator button, Kitty-Sue said, “We meet them tomorrow afternoon. 3:00 p.m. At the Cascade Cafe in the ANA Intercontinental Hotel.”

  Wait, she had already arranged the meeting? As if she had no doubt I would do what she said? I couldn’t break my promise to meet her family, but I could tease her.

  “So,” I said as we arrived at the apartment, “before I meet your sister, I have an important question.” I opened the door and stepped inside.

  “Yes, Scott-san?” asked Kitty-Sue from the hallway.

  “Does she have big tits?” I slammed the door closed immediately, but one of her knives still made it through the shrinking crack, taking a lock of my hair as it sped past my ear to embed itself in the wall. Damn, she was fast.

  I opened the door, wary of more flying blades, but it was clear. Kitty-Sue was by the elevator, angrily mashing the button. As I walked closer, she turned her head away quickly, but I saw tears in her eyes.

  “Hey,” I said, “it was just a joke. Come on home.”

  “I don’t have a home,” she sniffed.

  “Yes, you do,” I said, pulling her back towards the door. The elevator arrived at that moment, but she let herself be led inside the apartment, leaving the elevator to make the trip to the ground floor empty and alone. “This is your home.”

  “For now,” she whispered, turning away. Then she shook her entire body, from her head to the tip of her tail, turned, and faced me with a smile.

  Just inside the door was an iron coat stand. I hung my satchel from one of the hooks and placed Princess Blade, still in her umbrella form, on another.

  “You’re going to lose your deposit,” she said, pulling the knife from the wall. The blade disappeared as she talked.

  “Hell,” I said, “this place has holes in the walls, pentagrams engraved in the floor, and it’s fucking haunted. I’ll have to buy the damn building.”

  Kitty-Sue stepped closer, within my personal zone, and then jumped into
my arms. I held her, feeling the taut strength of her gymnast ninja body. Although she had bathed and shaved me, and even slept in my bed, this was the first time she had hugged me.

  Her head tucked into my shoulder, pointed ears tickling my nose, as her tail stroked my arm. She was so warm and inviting. I hugged harder and carried her to the living room, not wanting to trigger the bedroom spell that forced her into her fox form.

  We sat in my easy chair, her in my lap, cuddling. The late afternoon sun streamed through the sheer curtains, highlighting her alien beauty. Dust motes danced in the air, jostled by our passage.

  I ran my hands over her thighs, marveling at the hardness of her muscles, the smoothness of her skin. Her miniskirt had hiked up around her waist, exposing her silk panties. Fumbling with her skirt showed that there was an opening on the back, allowing her tail to exit. Her panties had a matching hole in the rear. I fought down the thought of where she purchased these items, stifling a giggle at the idea of Amazon-kitsune delivering.

  The skirt came off and was tossed away as she continued nuzzling my neck. I reached between us and put my hands on her breasts, firm and heavy in my grip, and felt the rising nipples against my palms.

  As her arousal grew, a pleasant scent rose from her body, a combination of her favorite perfume and natural scent. It was very different than the pheromone-laced scent she’d greeted me with on our first encounter.

  She leaned back, hands against my chest as she rode my hips, rubbing herself against my straining erection. Then she leaned in very close, almost nose to nose, and stared into my eyes.

  Her eyes were the tawny gold of a fox, with slit pupils that widened with her excitement. She put her hands on either side of my head, leaned in even closer, and whispered, “I don’t want to lose you.” Her breath was sweet and warm, smelling ever-so-slightly of the herbal tea she had recently drunk.

  “You’re not going to lose me, Kitty-Sue,” I said.

  “Damn right I’m not,” she said fiercely. She tilted her head and brought her forehead against mine and started rubbing while maintaining eye contact.

  “Remember!” she said. I leaned my head to go in for a kiss, closing my eyes to concentrate on the soft velvet feel of her lips. I felt the buildup of kitsune magic, more than I had ever felt before. Then the magic hit me like a tidal wave, sweeping consciousness away.

  Between one blink and the next, the light changed. The late afternoon sun was gone, transformed into dusk. Kitty-Sue had used some kitsune spell to knock me out. Why the hell would she do that?

  Chasing that thought away was the fact that Akiko was here, and she didn’t look happy. She was standing next to the chair. She stood with arms crossed, mouth pursed, and tiny lightning flashes randomly sprang up around her form.

  “Excuse me,” she said in the coldest tone I had ever heard from her. “Scott-Sensei, we still go for dinner?”

  I was lying in the leaned-back easy chair, Kitty-Sue’s partially unclothed body draped across my form, her tail curled up along my right arm. Kitty-Sue was sleeping as if exhausted. Usually, Kitty-Sue could sense the presence of ghosts like Akiko, and came alert when they neared, but she slumbered on.

  “Of course, Akiko-san,” I said, “just give me a minute to wake Kitty-Sue.”

  “Allow me,” said Akiko with a malicious grin. She raised one finger, and the separate motes of anger-powered lightning swept across her body and gathered at her fingertip. She eyed Kitty-Sue’s tail and brought her finger down, squinting one eye as if sighting a pistol.

  The thought of the damage these two could do to my apartment if they started a feud made me say quickly, “Akiko-san, I’ll wake her!” The small knife hole in the wall would be nothing compared to the damage two supernatural beings could do.

  Sighing with regret, Akiko raised her pointed finger to her lips and blew out the gathered lightning bolts. I sighed with relief.

  I shook Kitty-Sue’s sleeping form. She finally opened one eye and muttered, “M’up, I’m up,” followed by her dropping her head again. Akiko tapped her foot dangerously. She even went to the trouble to make her taps audible; normally ghosts are as quiet as the grave.

  “Kitty-Sue,” I said, “it’s time to eat!” That roused her. She looked up alertly, noticed Akiko’s stern expression, and jumped up quickly.

  “Just give me five minutes and I’ll be ready,” she said as she hurried towards the door.

  “Just a second,” said Akiko, bending down. As Kitty-Sue turned, she was hit in the face with her skirt. “Don’t forget to get dressed.”

  Did I detect the trace of a blush on Kitty-Sue’s cheeks? What did she have to be embarrassed about? Kitty-Sue’s spell had knocked us both out before anything happened.

  I grabbed Princess Blade from the coat rack. She hummed in excitement at the thought of going out. She stayed in her umbrella shape to avoid freaking out the mundanes.

  Within ten minutes, we were out the door and waving down a taxi, which took us to the Outback Steakhouse in Roppongi. There was a chill silence in the cab, between the unseen Akiko and Kitty-Sue. I avoided conversation to keep from confusing the driver.

  We got out at Roppongi Crossing, very close to the restaurant. As I slid out, I noted several Nigerian touts eying me. As I made ready to reject their offers of great bars with English speaking girls, Kitty-Sue slid out behind me. At her appearance, they made U-turns and headed away. They don’t waste time on men who already have a Japanese girl. Akiko ghosted through the door of the cab and joined us on the sidewalk.

  Roppongi is full of energy, both physical and mystical. The rushing crowds, the endless traffic, the murmur of hundreds of conversations tied in with the high-intensity flow of magic in the air. I took a moment to breathe it all in. I had missed so much living while recuperating. I took Kitty-Sue’s hand in my left, and Akiko drifted beside me on my right. I noted the puzzled expressions of the pedestrians that walked through her ghostly presence. I knew well that “Somebody just walked on your grave” shiver and instantly recognized it in others. One of the aforementioned touts, however, was different. Where his path would have intersected with the invisible Akiko, he jumped suddenly away and darted into the street. I made a note of his features, certain that he was more sensitive than most.

  We entered the building that housed the Outback Steakhouse and rode the elevator to the restaurant on the second floor. The hostess greeted us warmly and led us to a booth.

  I held back a moment, to allow the girls to settle seating arrangements among themselves. After a brief, unspoken communication, Akiko phased to the inner left bench, and Kitty-Sue sat on the same bench on the outside. I diplomatically sat on the right-side bench, equidistant between both women, propping Princess up in the corner of the booth, where she could see everything.

  Wanting to speak freely, I asked, “Ladies, could you set up some privacy please?”

  Once again, they looked at each other for only a moment before Akiko whispered a spell that dimmed out all sounds from the rest of the restaurant. Kitty-Sue made a gesture, her hands coated in kitsune magic. As she completed the gesture, the attention of the other patrons slid off of our little group.

  “Great work, ladies,” I said. “Thank you very much.”

  Reaching for the menu, I popped it open to the appetizer section. “Who else wants a Bloomin’ Onion?”

  By unspoken agreement, no discussion took place until our food was ordered and served. The waitress was surprised by the amount of food we ordered, as we kept adding to the list. She didn’t know she was dealing with a shapeshifter, an invisible guest, and a high-metabolism magician. Princess Blade, as befit her nature, could only sup on the blood of my enemies.

  The table was so loaded with food and drinks that the surface was not visible.

  What a joy it was to be able to bite and chew again! Each morsel tasted perfect, the sublime flavors of steak followed by tangy sauce-coated ribs, all washed down with a Cabernet red. You don’t know how much of the pleasure of eat
ing is enhanced by chewing until you lose your teeth.

  After two hours of constant eating and drinking, I was finally sated. Leaning back in my bench, eying the pile of well-gnawed bones, I rubbed my belly and quoted, “‘The condemned man ate a hearty meal.’”

  “Scott-Sensei,” said Akiko, “what you mean? Why condemned?”

  “Because Kitty-Sue wants me to meet her family tomorrow,” I said. “She seems to think it will be dangerous.” I took a sip of wine. “I’m looking forward to meeting the kitsune queen.”

  “It’s not my auntie you need to worry about,” said Kitty-Sue. “It’s my onee-san, my older sister.”

  “Why?” I asked. “Does she have something against magicians?”

  Kitty-Sue pursed her lips for a moment while stroking her collar. “No, she thinks that she should be higher than me. She has two tails...” She trailed off.

  I smirked. “So, does that mean she also has two...?”

  Akiko interrupted our verbal play. “Scott-Sensei, she is much stronger than Kitty-Sue. She jealous of collar you gave Kitty-Sue and expects better gift from you.”

  “Sorry,” I said, “I’m all out of incredibly rare magical Artifacts to give away as gifts.”

  “Well,” said Kitty-Sue, “there is another one.” She glanced at Princess Blade. At her look, Princess changed into her preferred form, a yard-long sword. We heard the sound of a blade being drawn. Although the “blade on metal” sound effect has been debunked, once she saw her first samurai movie, Princess started imitating those sounds. Princess used it like a rattlesnake would use her rattles, as a warning.

  Shaking my head, I said, “No one is giving Princess away! She’s bonded to me now.” I leaned back in the booth and placed a comforting hand on Princess’ pommel.

  “Scott-Sensei,” interrupted Akiko, “sorry, but I must understand. We speak Japanese now.” She turned to Kitty-Sue and started a rapid-fire stream of questions in Japanese. The reaction on her face told me she was unhappy with the answers. The few words I understood were giri, obligation or duty, and a lot of honorifics.