Page 23 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
“Sorry,” I mumbled during one of his rotations.
The cat stopped, fixed me with a look that almost screamed, “don’t talk to me, peasant,”and carried on with his announcements. “Your bags are already being transported to your rooms. I know you were told to leave them behind, and for many that is a cause for concern. Rest assured, your belongings are well cared for and are waiting for you.”
“The cats dragged them in, eh?” a man at the front of the group boomed.
“Hoo-hoo, that’s incentive not to be a dick to the staff, eh, Chapman?” someone else crowed. “You might find a hairball in your boxers.”
“Ugh,” a woman grunted. “I donotwant a cattouching my stuff. Do I have to pay extra for a human?”
“That’ll be another $2K,” a man chortled. “For the privilege of having your belongings be hair free.”
“I”—the tip of the cat’s tail gave us a haughty wave—“am merely yourguide.Rest assured, travelers, there is an abundance of human employees on this isle.It is not run by cats.”
“How amazing would that be if itwasrun by cats, though?” I whispered to Jackson. “If our rooms were in these big cat trees, and we slept in these giant, poofy cat beds. The food might not be so great. All seafood all the time, probably. But they’d have things like cat yoga and laser tag and?—”
“Babe, pump the brakes on that imagination train.” Jackson shuddered. “That’s anightmare.”
I laughed and snuggled more firmly against him.
“When you arrive at the lobby, each of you will be handed a brochure with information about the island,” the cat carried on, raising his voice above the whispers and giggles. “I’d advise that you take the time to look through it. You’ll find a map of the isle, as well as a list of all activities and tours.”
“He is sostinking cute,” Melany cooed.
The cat’s tail twitched again as his eyes rolled over us. “It is always a delight to see the joy and wonder my greeting leaves upon travelers,” he said, in a flat voice that sounded anythingbutdelighted.
“Do you think he’ll let me pet him?” Melany asked.
The cat’s ears flattened, as though he’d heard her query. And he turned, fixing her with a severe stare that said, very clearly, “pet at your own risk.”
“I think that’s ano.” Melany’s partner chuckled. “You’ll just have to wait ‘til we get home and give our fluffballs extra pets.”
“Now…” the cat spoke around a jaw-cracking yawn. “I’m certain you are all hungry and weary and longing for your rooms. But I would like to offer a word of caution before we proceed. Niverwick Isle is home to many beasts, and I will emphasize that word—home.This is their home. You are their guests, and we expect guests to behave accordingly. There will beno touchingof any of Niverwick’s beasts. There will be no disturbances to their lives, or disruptions of their feeding. You mayobserve, you may notinterfere. Is this in any way unclear?”
Melany blew out a disappointed breath.
I turned and flashed her a sympathetic smile.
“I do wish to assure you,” the cat continued, raising his voice over the babbling, “that none of these beasts will cause you harm. We all coexist peacefully with our guests.”
As long as our guests coexist peacefully with us.He didn’t say that last part, but it was so heavily implied in his haughty stare that I heard it clear as day in my head.
“The walk to the lobby is short enough and easy to traverse,” the cat carried on. “The walk to your lodging may be close, or may be far, but transportation will be available to you should you wish it.”
“Ooh, bicycles?” I whispered to Jackson. “Do you think?”
“I suppose,” he sighed.
“I’ll cart you around, don’t worry!”
Jackson couldn’t ride a bike. But Ilovedgoing for bike rides, especially in fair weather—although maybe not weather asstickyas what the island was becoming.
I hadn’t noticed the heat, at first, coming off the ship where the air had been so cold. The warmth had snuck up on me, but my jacket was starting to feel like a sauna.
As I wriggled out of Jackson’s arms, getting ready to shrug the jacket off, the cat pulled a coinkydink and mentioned the weather. “Due to the magic coursing through the Isle, the air is often quite humid,” he droned. “Unfortunately, there will be no central cooling systems in any of the buildings—we do apologize for that inconvenience—but we’ve been assured by previous guests that the heat is not intolerable.”
“Better the heat than the cold,” Jackson said.
I slipped my jacket all the way off, spot checking my blouse for any wayward puke stains. Thankfully, the blue-and-white checker material was in the clear—thankgoodness.I adored this blouse, with its billowy sleeves and poofy shoulder pads. Lots ofpeople said shoulder pads looked dated or silly. I had to agree to disagree with them. Because I flippinglovedwhat they did to my profile—making me look proud and tall. Taller than my five feet, three inch frame, at least.
