Page 19

“Nice hire, Benjamin. I highly approve of Jayesh,” I said to my absent boss while watching the van drive off.

The next time I talked to Ben, I’d have to remember to tell him in person.

“That baby tigercat willhave a good life with Bo. It solves the problem of what to do with him.”And I was also thinking that a baby tiger cat would be an irresistible gift for his potential mate.

Mulan glared at me. “I am Wu Shaman. If troll can train tiger cat—Ican train tiger cat. Trolls do not speak English. How do they train animals?”

It took a lot to stifle my urge to laugh and say something inappropriate about Mulan’s speech, but even I wasn’t that mean. Or at least, I wasn’t feeling that mean today. She’d made a sling from an old sweater she found in the trunk of my car and was carrying the sleeping kitten across her chest in it.

“Then ya have to put the kitten into a cage until it transforms. It’s not safe to carry it around on yer person. Once it becomes an adult ya can see how ya feel about it.”

“Are you tiger cat expert?” Mulan asked staring hard at me.

I rolled my eyes in response. She knew I wasn’t. But I knew what tiger cats could do and she didn’t. The danger was real.

Conn stood nearby laughing at us. I looked at him. “Tell her how dangerous tiger cats are,” I ordered.

“They’re very dangerous. But then, so am I, and Mulan tamed me.”

Mulan held out a hand in Conn’s direction. “See? I tame demon.”

I gave Conn’s smirk the look of disgust it deserved. Conn wasn’t tamed. He only pretended to be so Mulan wouldn’t stop sharing his bed.

I gave up. “Fine. Let’s go home. Tomorrow, we need to go back to the animal breeder’s lair whether or not he returns. Starving animals get mean and will work harder to escape their cages. I’ve found someone willing to take care of the adult tiger cats. The other two animals need to be examined by specialists and classified.”

Rasmus followed me without commenting. He’d been steering clear of the debate about the kitten but I could tell he was monitoring Mulan’s mothering of it.

My sigh was loud.

The demon wolves jumped into the backseat when I held the door open. One stopped and looked at me with pleading eyes. I raised one hand in the air. “I swear not to hurt it. That kitten is like the two of ya only it hasn’t gone through the change yet.”

Turning away, the demon wolf whined in protest.

I caught Rasmus grinning at me when he climbed into the passenger’s seat. “If ya got something to say, guardian, get it over with now or ya’ll be sleeping alone tonight.”

“You made arrangements to change a troll’s life and found a home for most of the animals Ben wants you to kill. Why are you fighting with Mulan over the kitten?”

I started the car, turned it around, and pulled onto the road before answering. “If it changes into its adult form while she’s packing it around, it will claw her to pieces.”

“You can’t be certain of that fate.”

I looked over at him. “I’m not a tiger cat expert but I have fought a few. Conn is usually the one that tracks them down because I react violently to vicious creatures trying to bite me. It always results in one of us dying and I decided long ago it would never be me.”

Rasmus grinned. “I don’t recall you getting violent with me when I bit you.”

I turned the grin on my face toward the windshield. “Ya’re the only exception I’ve ever made to that rule.Don’tmake me change my mind.”

I openedthe door to my bedroom. “There are two beds—one for each of ya. If ya want to share one bed, I’ll be okay with that as well. Just try not to shed on them. I’m not locking the door but don’t be roaming around the house whenever ya hear noises.And no howling. I don’t want the neighbors to come knocking on the door.”

The demon wolves sniffed around. One jumped onto Fiona’s bed. The other jumped onto mine.

“There—now everyone is cozy and tucked in for the night. I’ll see ya both in the morning.”

I closed the door but left it cracked. Snickering and giggling filtered through the door across the hall. I knew putting the demon wolves into my bedroom was the source of Conn and Mulan’s amusement. Since I didn’t want an audience for what Rasmus and I planned, what else was I supposed to do?

I banged on their door with my fist. “Don’t be laughing at me, ya tiger cat lovers. And ya better have put that thing into a cage, Mulan. This is a rental house. Ya’ll be the one replacing the walls if it grows into an adult and unleashes its claws in the middle of the night.”

“Go to bed, Aran. Everything is under control,” Conn said between choking laughter. Mulan was laughing and muttering about something in Chinese. Talking to them about that tiger cat was worse than talking to Fiona about being wary around magickal men.