Ace bugs me relentlessly when I get back upstairs, but I promise him he didn’t miss anything interesting. A giant interdimensional cockroach isn’t what I’d callinterestinganyway. It’s terrifying and disgusting.
We eat a simple meal of rice and more sweet potato before rolling out our mats. I try to take the bigger room with Ace, but Nai Nai insists that I’m a woman now and I need my own space.
Whatever that means.
I lay back on my mat and pull my blanket up to my chin, then snuff the candle. Moonlight dances off a nearby tree and casts shadows on my wall that wiggle. I pull my black beanie over my eyes and roll to the side.
The floor is harder than back home, and it creaks every time I toss. The sweet potato must’ve had some kind of energy spell cast over it because I swear my brain is more awake now than it was before our late dinner. Usually stuffing my face makes me sleepy.
Little sounds and sensations drift up to me from the café. I stuff my earbuds in and crank up some thunder ambiance, but it doesn’t help. My astral body can feel all the rowdy activity going on downstairs, a brawl or something. People are definitely fighting.
Maybe that stupid ifrit is getting harassed by skreet.
I hope he is.
Guilt twists in my gut because I don’t hope that, and I know if he is, it’s partially my fault. I growl and flop onto my back. There’s no way I’m going to sleep like this, but I know what can help.
I push back the blanket and step off my mat. The floor is cold but clean under my bare feet. The air is chilled, not like the sauna it was down in the bar area. I take a cleansing inhale and come to a strong standing pose.
The air moves through me and prepares my body for sets. I drop into first stance, fists raised, elbows tucked, knees slightly bent. I snap my right fist forward, leaning into it. The momentum of my body twisting back helps me pivot on my front foot and send the back one curling around in a high spin kick.
I stomp down with my kicking foot and the floors creak loudly.
Shit.
I’ll have to step lighter.
The adjustment for making less noise somehow makes my sets more strenuous. I push myself until I’m sweating, and all I hear is my pounding heart and heavy breaths. But it’s notjust the extra strain that’s making my heart hammer. Something feels…blocked.
Like there’s not enough room in my chest to fill my lungs. Like my blood is sludge in my veins. It’s as if my power is hitting a dam that I didn’t put up myself.
Maybe I need to hydrate better.
I take off my shirt and use it to wipe my face and neck before getting back into bed. I’ll figure out the shower situation tomorrow. And the electricity situation. And the ifrit situation.
What a strange new twist in this weird life.
five
Assessing the Situation
Ispend the morning callingallthe companies. Water, electric, the real estate guy, and Ace’s new school. By noon, everything is squared away and we’re all fighting for the first shower. Nai Nai gets it, of course.
And I get a phone call from Boston.
Special Investigator Armhurtsscrawls across my screen and I tap to answer.
“Hello, Armhurts,” I say.
She huffs a sigh. “Are you settled in? We’d like to send someone to set up a security system, since you’ve been refusing a police watch.”
“For free?”
“Um, yes, as part of theprotectionwe’ve been trying to afford you. It could be months, even years before Shang goes on trial.”
Years…damn it. What have I gotten into? Ace will have to finish school here? He’ll be devastated.
“We’re invested in your and your family’s safety for the long haul, Jaw-hway.”
