“No!” Cassandra’s portable library was such a fascinating blend of cinema, history, and magic that I couldn’t imagine an alternative.
Our Seer nodded. “We needed another backup, so when Bergman offered RAFS and said she’d belong to you, it seemed like the perfect plan. Especially when he explained that one of her abilities was inspired by the Enkyklios to begin with.”
“Wait a minute. You’re basically handing me the chance to research any other I come across, plus enter the new events I experience, all on my own? Without one of you Sisters of the Second Sight looking over my shoulder?”
She nodded. “We’re making you an honorary member of the Guild.”
“But I’m not psychic.”
“Your Spirit Eye qualifies you in most of the Sisters’ minds. The rest are willing to welcome you as long as the title remains honorary. That means you won’t have any voting privileges.” Why was it nobody wanted to give me a say? The Greek werewolves who’d accepted me as a low-level pack member hadn’t forked over any power in their elections either. But to be fair, if I was anybody else, I wouldn’t let an assassin influence my policy either.
“Wow.” I glanced up at Vayl, wondering what he thought of this new development. Well, he definitely approves of my boobs. “Would you pay attention?”
“I am fully aware.” He leaned over to whisper, “I have never made love to a Sister of the Second Sight.
Find out if they have a catalog, would you? Perhaps you could order something in the way of a bustier and high heels?”
I stared into those bright green eyes and couldn’t find a shred of humor. Son of a bitch! He’s serious!
“Oh, for chrissake.” I didn’t know if I was pissed at him for totally veering off subject or at myself for the blush that burned my cheeks. I pinned my attention on Bergman, who would never mix business with pleasure. Or pleasure with pleasure, for that matter. “So, besides the information it’s toting, how is the cat like the Enkyklios ?”
Bergman leaned forward, rubbing his hands on his knees with excitement. “Remember the first time Cassandra showed us one of the stories from it? How all the glass balls kept rearranging themselves, changing shape as they searched for the information she wanted?” How could I forget? That story had played out the personal tragedy that still sometimes woke me up screaming. I cleared my throat. “I remember.”
“Considering the tight spaces you might need RAFS to slip into, I thought it would be helpful if she could change shapes the way the Enkyklios does. So I asked Cassandra to help me imbue her with some special qualities—”
I held up my hand. “Wait a second. You mean she’s a magical robot?” He winced. “It’s not like she’s going to pull out a wand and start zapping mice into oblivion. But, yeah, she can rearrange her anatomy in… Here, let me demonstrate. Call her.” I whistled. Jack wheeled around, put his front paws up on my legs, and shoved his face into mine.
“Dude, what have you been eating? No, don’t tell me.” I reached into my jacket pocket and found a Milk-Bone. “Here. Pretend you’re brushing your teeth.” As if I needed further evidence that he deserved lapdog privileges, he jumped into the seat beside me, curled into the smallest ball he could manage (mega-beach), and began chomping at his treat.
Bergman waited until Jack was settled before saying, “Obviously RAFS doesn’t respond to whistling.
She’s a cat. Try calling her name.”
“Come here, RAFS.”
“You could be sweeter.”
“She’s made of metal.”
“And other stuff!”
“Look, she came when I called,” I said, motioning to the robokitty, who’d climbed onto Vayl’s shoulder right next to me.
“Jaz!” Bergman wasn’t whining. Quite.
I rolled my eyes at Vayl. Seriously? I have to make nice with Bergman’s walking camera?
Since we’d been working together long enough to read every nuance of each other’s expressions, he got the message instantly. His response? Yes.
And I thought the neurotic in him wouldn’t piss me off until we’d at least gotten to the rental house.
Vayl’s lips rose a couple of millimeters. In anyone else it would’ve been a grin.
I said, “Fine, I’ll pretend she’s going to stalk off in a huff if I give her any sass.” I leaned back to get a better view, making sure I gave Jack a good petting as I did so he wouldn’t feel left out if he noticed me paying attention to another “animal.”
The sound her innards made tried to be a purr, though it reminded me more of computer fans than contented cat. Up close, her eyes seemed the most real, even when her pupils expanded and contracted to fine-tune her video feed. I reached out to touch her, poised to pull back in case she swiped at my hand, but she allowed me to run a finger down her front leg. It felt metallic but yielding, reminding me of the alien costumes on a bad Sci Fi Channel movie.
“RAFS doesn’t fit you,” I murmured. “It’s probably an acronym for some impossibly long and hard to pronounce gearhead title.”
“Hey!” objected Bergman, but weakly, because it was true.
Ignoring him, I went on. “You need a space-age name. One I wouldn’t be surprised to hear if Captain Kirk landed on your planet and found you rubbing up against his leg right before you disintegrated the henchmen he’d brought along just in case. Let’s see…”
“How about Pluto?” suggested Cassandra.
“You’re not naming my best-yet invention after a demoted planet!” Bergman objected.
“I had a great deal to do with the success of your invention!” Cassandra reminded him.
“I never said you didn’t!”
“Stop!” I yelled. “You two are giving me flashbacks to when I had to give you time-outs. Show me you’ve matured so I don’t have to call a nanny!” I turned to Vayl. “Tell your kids to behave.”
“Need I remind you that these are the good ones?” He reached up and pulled the cat down onto his lap.
“What if we call her Astral?”
“That I like. All in favor—I don’t care because she’s mine.” I leaned forward and patted Bergman on the knee. “Thanks, Miles. She’s amazing.”
“But you haven’t seen the best part.”
“Oh yeah, the shape-changing thing.” I was about to say, “Have at it.” But the beach ball beside me had been eyeing Astral and realized he might have a chance to give her a big welcome-to-the-family kiss now that Vayl held her quiet in one place.
Without warning he lobbed himself over my lap and landed on Vayl’s, reaching under his own forelegs to lick Astral’s smooth back. He yelped when his slobbers melted her, leaving a quarter-inch-thick blob to roll its eyes at Jack as he yanked his tail between his legs, jumped to the floor, and took refuge next to Cassandra.
“Bergman!” snapped Vayl.
At the same time I said, “What the hell?”
And Bergman held out both hands like he’d just introduced us to his favorite new girlfriend. “See?” The black blob in Vayl’s lap wiggled over his thigh onto the seat between us. She slithered up to the headrest before quietly re-forming. The only extra noises she made were a series of clicks when her claws emerged, evidently as part of a test cycle, because they pulled back into her paws shortly afterward.
“That’s freaking cool,” I breathed. Bergman smiled.
“How is she powered?” asked Vayl.
He shrugged, back to his old share-no-secrets self. “No need to worry about that for another five years anyway,” he assured us.
I watched her lick the dog spit off her back. “Where does the waste go that she collects along the way?” I asked.