What’s up, guys! I’m almost finished with the next book in The Ghost in Roppongi Station series. Lucky you, I’ll let you read a few lines from my new book which will be available two weeks from now on Amazon.
Kitty-Sue’s tail popped erect and she turned her sharp pointed nose towards the window. A second later, I smelled ozone and the faint scent of Akiko’s perfume while feeling the “tug” on our psychic connection. Interesting that Kitty-Sue could sense Akiko even before me.
Akiko popped in on us, appearing at the other side of the table. She was wearing her “student” costume; a mini-skirt in a plaid pattern, a white blouse that was button-popping tight across her breasts, with a red ladies tie wrapped around her neck matching the ribbon that held her long hair back, topped off by a black blazer with an insignia on her breast. Today, her insignia said “Hogwarts.” Poor girl was starting to assimilate my sense of humor. Sometimes I thought that she changed her insignia just so I had a chance to stare at her breasts.
“Hello, Akiko-chan,” I said, “Welcome back. How was your visit with your family?”
It was still a sore point with her that she was prohibited from contacting her family. She could only watch over them and protect them from supernatural threats.
“They are well,” she replied, “I had to chase away a Mononoke that was pestering my parents. They aren’t dangerous, but very annoying.”
Kitty-Sue placed a fresh cup of coffee in front of me, ignoring Akiko. There was still some friction there. I duplicated the cup to the ghostly plane and offered it to Akiko. She sat at the remaining chair; only the ever-so-slight bobbing up and down motion indicated she wasn’t really sitting on the chair.
“You realize,” I said, “the more you hang around your family, the more strange things will happen, right?”
At her first sip of spectral coffee, Akiko’s form solidified, becoming more distinct. “Scott-Sensei, what means ‘hang around’?”
“It means to spend time with someone or something,” I replied. “The point is, you have become a locus for supernatural forces, which naturally leads to a strange attractor phenomenon. Wait, I can make a chart that explains…”
I was interrupted by Kitty-Sue, “You’re a magnet for weird things now. They come to you cause you’re weird, too.”
“I’m NOT weird,” said Akiko through gritted teeth. The Ghost Mage of Roppongi’s eyes blazed behind her glasses, as tendrils of magical energy rose from her form and her hair lifted like she was sitting on a Van de Graaff generator.
Looking at me, Kitty-Sue said, “That’s pretty weird, right?” followed by her devilish smile.
At my reproachful look and mental tug on her collar, Kitty-Sue temporized, “No, sorry! You’re not weird. It’s that ring that you have. It’s an Artifact of Power. Very rare, very powerful! No one can make those anymore. That’s why weird things are attracted to you.”
Akiko’s hair settled into place, her eyes cleared, and the magical tendrils dissipated as she regained her composure.
“No one can make…, But Scott-Sensei…” she started before she felt my thoughts through our psychic link. She knew I had made the ring years before our first meeting, when I gifted it to her.
“Yes,” said Kitty-Sue, “He gave a silly ghost girl one of the rarest magical Artifacts in the world.”
I don’t lie, but letting others make incorrect assumptions wasn’t the same. Let Kitty-Sue think that the art of creating perpetually spelled objects was lost.
“And he gave a trickster Kitsune one almost as potent,” responded Akiko, pointing at the diamond studded collar that Kitty-Sue wore.
“Well,” I said, “I really consider those as loans…” abruptly stopping as both females turned to glare at me. Oops, never try to take back something from a girl.