A Spirit's Kindred Read online

  “So that’s what’s going on out there. Can’t you just hire someone to deal with that garbage? I mean you own the place, that doesn’t mean you have to handhold everyone that whines about anything.” Eric’s voice followed him out of the living room.

  “You know perfectly well that I can’t just hire some random person to manage this place.” Kai said, slouching into a chair with a steaming mug in his hands. “You know why. Didn’t we just have this conversation?”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Eric grumbled. “It’s practically discrimination, the way you won’t rent to humans.”

  “You know it’s not like that,” Kai sighed. It was an old argument, an old resentment, and Kai understood it a little. Eric was a human— the son of Kai’s step-dad and his ex-wife. He’d grown up knowing that his brothers had abilities that he could never have, and when they were kids Eric had been deeply resentful.

  “Whatever.” Eric muttered.

  “There are plenty of humans that live here.” Kai pointed out. “They just happen to be related to a spirit. Like Cassie, who just moved in last week. She’s human, and she’s a great kid. We just want to make sure that at least at here at home nobody is at risk of having rocks thrown at them. You remember that? When Sebastian came home covered in blood and we had to switch schools?”

  It had been just before summer vacation. Sebastian was in kindergarten and his classmates had gotten used to his funny reactions to the fairy tales they read, but one day he’d been goaded into swearing that witches were real and he could do magic himself. Kai attended the same school, several grades above his brother, and had arrived on the playground in time to see Sebastian’s classmates throwing sticks and rocks and clods of dirt along with the cruel insults. Sebastian didn’t speak much for weeks afterward and still reacted badly to people insinuating that a character in a book or movie was inherently evil because they weren’t human.

  “Yeah, well, he shouldn’t have said anything,” Eric said. Eric had been attending a private school that his mother insisted on out of spite, just trying to drive a wedge between her son and his new siblings. It would have worked if Kai’s mom and stepdad hadn’t worked so hard to make sure that all three boys felt like they each had an important place in their family.

  “Eric, he was six years old,” Kai had a lot of sympathy for Sebastian. Growing up different was hard enough but growing up with a secret that could get you and your whole family killed was brutal. He had been very young for that lesson, and Kai still felt a bit guilty for not having protected his brother better somehow.

  “That Sarah seems nice enough.” Eric said after a few minutes. “Hot as hell, too. I’m not surprised that Seb is never home.”

  “What?” The change of subject was jarring and Kai was starting to feel the need to get out of the apartment again.

  “Well, she lives by herself, right? Nobody over there to interrupt a moment or anything. And they can be as loud as they want.” Eric leered and winked up at Kai as the victory screen lit up the TV.

  “Don’t be such a jackass,” Kai growled. He turned and stalked out the door and down the hallway. His office door was open a crack and he slowed his steps before opening it wide and looking around the room. Nothing seemed to be out of place, and there had been no disturbances, magically speaking. Weird. Wonder if Seb needed something and didn’t get the door closed. Kai shrugged and stepped back out of the room, making sure that the door was locked behind him.

  Not like anyone could get into the safe or anything— besides the regular locks there were about three different levels of warding on it against robbery— but there was no need to take extra risks. Kai stepped out into the fresh air and stretched again. The last of the nap-induced fog lifted in the beautiful afternoon, and he headed over to the pool to see how it was all coming along. He got there just as the pool care guy was packing up.

  “So, how’s it going?” Kai asked. The man glanced up and gave him a nod before he launched into a summary of what he’d done, and what he had left to do tomorrow.

  “And you know, I noticed that you’re scheduled to have the whole thing overhauled in a couple of months. I talked to my boss because we actually just had a contract cancel on us, so if you want us to move that up and just go ahead now, we can.” He stood and gazed over the empty pool, now thankfully free of glass shards. The man had probably stood and gazed over hundreds of pools in the same assessing sort of way. Kai joined him in considering.

  “It would be nice to not have to close access just when it’s starting to get really hot,” Kai conceded. “You could start right away?”

  “Two days, my boss said he could have the guys out here.”

  “Sure, let’s go ahead and get it done.” Kai nodded. The man grinned and clasped Kai’s hand in a firm, callused grip. Glad of the work, probably. I can understand that. The man seemed to be a mind reader.

  “Better to be busy than bored. I’ll tell my boss, and they’ll go ahead and get started on the prep first thing tomorrow.”

  “Thanks, man. Hey, do you know where my brother went? Last I saw him he was out here.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Sebastian. Looks kinda like me but less tan and more blonde.”

  “Oh, yeah. His girl showed up an hour or so back and they wandered off. I figured I’d stop by the office before I headed out, but here you are.”

  “Thanks. See you soon then, I guess.” Kai cast another glance around the pool, then walked off, deciding that it would be another long night of patrolling.

  12

  Kai walked out of the Apothecary with his bag slung over his shoulder and a to-go cup full of tea. It had been a pretty successful morning, even considering the fact that he basically hadn’t slept in three days. He’d gone over a few proposed designs for the clubhouse, emailed back and forth with the architects and settled on what he thought would be a good plan. He’d have to talk it over with Sebastian and the Village council, but he felt pretty pleased with it. Doc had liked it when she looked over his shoulder an hour ago.

  “Hey, Kai!” Cassie called. She jogged up the last few feet when he stopped and turned to look over his shoulder. She carried a few colorful cloth bags full of lumps. One had what looked like lettuce sticking out the top.

  “Hey. What’s up?” Kai waited for her to catch up, then they fell into step together.

  “I’m running errands for Dad while the stores are open. It gets kinda tough for him because, you know. He’s not really a day person and stuff.” She glanced around. “I like to help him out when I can, even though it bugs him sometimes. He gets all grumpy that he’s the dad and should be taking care of me. But everyone needs help sometimes, even dads. It’s not like picking up groceries is beyond my abilities.”

  “Yeah, I bet.” Kai grinned. “I’m just walking back to the Village.”

  “Me too,” she said. “I was hoping that was where you were going. Mind if I walk with you? It’s not really safe out alone right now, you know?”

  “Sure.” Kai nodded again and took a couple of the heavier looking bags from her hand. They walked a few blocks in silence. What the hell was wrong with the world when someone couldn’t even go pick up groceries without a bodyguard? Okay, so she was only eleven, but still. It wasn’t like the market she’d been to was that far away, and it was broad daylight in a fairly safe neighborhood. And Kai knew that a number of the Villagers had started to take long walks around the surrounding streets just to make sure that things stayed safe.

  But then he thought of the gossip he’d overheard again at the Apothecary. Apparently, that lunatic in the Halloween costume had harassed another woman. That woman has gotten away but was seriously shaken up. The police were publicly on the lookout for the Los Gatos Werewolf, as he was apparently being called in the local newspaper.

  That was something else they needed like they needed a hole in their head. Increased scrutiny near the apartment complex full of spirits trying to mind their own business and not be outed to the genera
l public. He’d have to send word around to make sure that everyone knew not to go out in their spirit forms or do anything stupid like fly around without heavy cloud cover.

  God, what a pain. Kai felt the growl starting to rumble deep in his chest, the frustration of having to be responsible for all these problems was starting to feel like a physical weight.

  “You okay?” Kai glanced at her and found her peering up at him. She looked worried.

  “Sorry,” he said. He tried to get a grip on his irritation. “It’s just been a lot of garbage to deal with this last week, and it pisses me off that you can’t even walk to the market without worrying about safety.”

  “Well, it’s the way life is in a city, you know?” Cassie shrugged. “And Mom always told me that I’d have to be extra careful cause I’m a girl. Which is stupid, but I can’t change it.” Kai did growl now.

  “It is stupid,” Kai said. “And then there’s this idiot in the wolf mask which is going to be more trouble for us especially.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Cassie nodded. “People are going to be going nuts over any supernatural stuff now, huh? I should make sure Dad knows.”

  Kai stopped and looked at her for a long moment while she slowed down and turned to look back at him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Here.” Kai put the bags down for a moment and pulled the leather thong from around his neck. The sharp tooth slid into the sunshine and gleamed just a little more than it should have for a simple reflection of sunlight. He reached out and dropped the loop over her head.

  “It’s from my father. He’s…” Kai frowned. It was always difficult talking about his father. Always tough to know what people’s reaction would be. “He’s pretty powerful, and a talisman from a powerful spirit can help ward off some dangers. It might help keep you safer if you hang on to it.”

  “Wow.” Cassie held the tooth in front of her and peered at it. “Really? I mean, it’s from your dad…”

  “It would make me feel better to know you had it, I think. I mean, you could still get hit by a car or something, but your average aggressive jerk should steer clear.” Kai shrugged. He wasn’t sure why but he had a feeling that the girl needed all the protection she could get. He picked up the bags and they kept walking. Cassie tucked the tooth under her shirt like he’d worn it and followed behind.

  “When we get back I’m going to warn people to keep themselves extra private for a while.”

  “If your dad is really powerful, maybe he could help too,” Cassie tipped her head up at Kai. “It can’t hurt to ask him, right?”

  “Well,” Kai took a deep breath. “My father is… Well, he’s pretty old, actually. And on top of that he’s got an odd sense of appropriate.” Kai smiled at the understatement.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s kind of a joker. He’s been around long enough that he’s learned from his mistakes— and there are a lot of them. He doesn’t like to interfere directly with things anymore if he can avoid it. He has a bad habit of getting himself into more trouble than he needs. He’s more willing to jump into it for me because I’m his son, but mostly he tries to stay on the sidelines and coach the rest of us. He’s taking a semi-retirement,” Kai said as they turned up the path to the pedestrian entrance. He unlocked it and held it open for her as she passed through the wrought iron gate set in the brick wall.

  “Excuse me! Could you hold that?”

  Kai turned back to the sidewalk, putting himself between Cassie and the new voice. A woman came running up, waving a hand in the air to make sure she had his attention, an expensive camera bumped against her hip.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is private property. Residents and their guests only.”

  “My name is Nicole Jones and I’m a reporter for the Mercury News.” She held her hand out to shake his and he glanced at it, then held up the bags he carried, suddenly very glad that his hands were full.

  “I’m afraid there is no special media access loophole,” he said.

  “I was hoping I could get some interviews about all the rumors of monster sightings around here,” she said. “There was a rash of them called in to us about a month ago, but nothing that was a real lead. But I looked at the reported sightings and they seem to be all in this area right around the Village at Rancho San Califia apartment complex, and they go way back. Was the original ranch some sort of cult? Was it built on a sacred site or something? I know, it’s basically a fluff piece, but with the Los Gatos Werewolf attacks my editor was hoping to get a couple of inches and some photos out of it. Maybe you and your daughter would like to give an interview?”

  She smiled at him and tucked some California blonde hair behind her ear. Kai idly wondered how many rent-a-cops guards she’d charmed with that trick. He was also glad to note that Cassie had moved behind the wall the gate was set into, well out of sight of Ms. Jones and her camera.

  “Neither of us is interested,” Kai said. “If you want to talk to any residents you will need to set up an interview with them personally. You may not come in and just wander around. If you will excuse me.”

  “Well, could you show me to the leasing office? Maybe I can get an interview with the manager!” She stepped closer to him.

  “I am the manager,” He said, grinning slightly at her surprise. “And I don’t give interviews. Have a nice day.” Kai stepped back and let the gate swing shut between them. Then with a small nod in her direction, he stepped out of her view to join Cassie, and they walked around the edge of the wall, keeping out of sight of the reporter until they were shielded from the gate by the edge of a building and the gardens that Kai’s grandmother had the foresight to plant around the entrances.

  “Well shit.” Kai said, scowling.

  “Yeah. Reporters on top of everything can’t be a good sign, huh?” Cassie glanced back the way they’d come. Kai didn’t need to look to know she was worried again.

  13

  They tried to have the community potluck as usual, but it felt very odd without the pool. Instead they had set up a small pavilion tent from a party rental place to provide shade and had scrounged up a sprinkler for the kids to run through on the grass. They were lucky that they had such a huge, open courtyard area, but then when Keiko had first built this place she’d known perfectly well that they would need plenty of open space. They usually referred to it as the Village Green and it was almost always full of people chatting with neighbors and kids running around. One side of the green had been sectioned out as a small playground.

  Today, however, there were few kids out playing on the grass. Not many people brought food to share at the potluck, most wanting to trade information more than anything else. Kai had ended up effectively holding a Village meeting about the ongoing problems, and it was all compounded by the new knowledge of reporters snooping around. Kai thought back to the worst of it and shivered.

  “How can we feel safe if we’re risking exposure every time we leave our apartments? How does that make this place any different from anywhere else?” one woman had asked. Kai sighed and started to answer when Doc spoke up.

  “We’re safer here because of what’s going on right here, right this second.” she said. “We’re together. We’re looking out for each other. In this day and age, we know better than to do anything stupid outdoors anyway. God knows when there’s a drone overhead, or a helicopter, or even a damn satellite taking pictures. I mean, when is the last time you remembered that Google Earth images come from something flying over your head and taking photos?”

  “You would side with him, you’re practically in their pockets,” someone else grumbled.

  “Don’t be ridiculous, this affects all of us.” Jennifer raised her voice. “But Doc’s right, and nobody is allowed into the Village property without proper authorization. Not even the police. So as long as we don’t invite the reporters in, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  “So, they’re like vampires then?” Someone called out from th
e back.

  “We should ask Marcus! Maybe reporters are a variety of vampire!” Someone else answered and there was a low rumble of laughs.

  “But they don’t always follow the law when they’re chasing a story. They’re worse than any vampire I’ve ever heard of, the privacy invading jerks!” Ellie pointed out. She stood near the front, twirling her pale green hair.

  “That’s right!” The first woman nodded. “And what happens when we have to leave the Village? They’ll hound us at the gate! And our kids are at risk!”

  “If anyone harasses you at the gate, call the police and report them. And call me to let me know.” Kai said. He started to continue, but Eric interrupted this time, an odd look on his face.

  “What about the wolf man kidnapper?” he asked. “The reporters aren’t the only problem.”

  There was another rumble from the group. Kai tried not to sigh again, but keeping his calm, responsible facade up was getting harder and harder. He suppressed a shiver and answered the questioning chatter.

  “We have patrols out to watch over the kids from the end of school till late at night, then again in the morning. On top of that, several of the older, more responsible kids are walking the younger ones to and from school every day. We are absolutely not going to allow anything to happen to the kids.” He said.

  “Judah and I are there every day,” Asher piped up. “Don’t worry about the kids.”

  “And I know that the Sanderling kids are there as well, except when Jenny has soccer.” Jennifer nodded at a woman standing at the edge of the group who smiled widely in return. “I feel confident that everyone’s safe going to and from school.”

  “So, kids are guarding kids?” Eric asked. He frowned slightly and shifted his weight.