Part 16 (1/2)

Chapter 15.

Anica left Wicked Brew in a daze. The rain pelted her and she didn't even bother to put up her hood to protect herself. What a stupid fool she'd been to invoke that ancient curse when she'd known nothing about it. She'd spent her whole life avoiding impulsive behavior, and the one time she'd done something reckless she'd created a tangle that might never be undone.

By the time she walked back into the apartment her hair was soaked and water had dripped inside the collar of her coat. She was s.h.i.+vering with both cold and reaction to the news Dorcas had given her. They'd wanted to take her to lunch, buy her a stiff drink, or at least walk her home, but she'd politely refused. This was her problem, and she'd figure it out . . . somehow.

Lily took one look at her and dragged her back into the bathroom, shutting the door after them. ”You look like s.h.i.+t on a stick, girl.” She helped Anica off with her coat before grabbing a towel and making Anica sit on the closed toilet lid while Lily dried her hair as if she were four years old.

”Oh, Lil. It's a hundred times worse than we thought.”

Lily stopped drying. ”Hang on a sec.” She went out the door and closed it after her. Within a minute she was back. ”Jasper was right outside listening. I put him in the hall and closed the bedroom door, too. But just to be safe, let's turn on the shower and keep our voices down.”

Anica nodded, ashamed that Lily had to do all the thinking.

”Now, tell me.”

Anica hoped she could without bursting into tears. Clenching her hands in her lap, she gulped back a sob. ”The spell was created for rakes and scoundrels back in the 1700s. There is no counterspell, which is why I couldn't find one.”

Lily sat down on the edge of the tub, the towel forgotten in her hands as she stared in horror at her sister. ”So the spell is permanent?”

”No.”

Lily's shoulders sagged. ”So there is a way to lift it. Whatever it is, we'll do it. We'll dance naked in the moonlight on Michigan Avenue if we have to.” She brightened. ”Is nakedness involved? Because naked magic is becoming a lost art that should be revived, in my opinion. We could-”

”We don't have to do anything.” For once Anica was glad her sister was a fruitcake who loved the idea of dancing naked on Michigan Avenue in the moonlight. Lily was a great distraction.

She was also clearly disappointed her naked magic wouldn't be called for. ”What do you mean, we don't have to do anything?”

”Jasper has to do it all.”

”Jasper?”

”It makes perfect sense when you know why the spell was created.” Anica's love of history kicked in, which also helped calm her down. ”In order to revert from being a tomcat, the man has to perform acts of kindness. In that way, he buys back time, which is granted to him in chunks on each side of midnight.”

”Okay, so saving the mommy cat gave him an hour last night.”

”I think so. I'm not sure what he did to get the first ten minutes the night before, but I'll bet it had something to do with playing with Orion.”

Lily tossed the towel on the floor and stood. ”So it's tricky, but doable. Let's go tell him.” She started for the door.

Anica jumped up and grabbed Lily by the arm. ”You can't do that.”

”I didn't mean I would tell him. I think you should do the honors.”

”We can't tell him at all, or the reversal won't happen.”

”So how is he supposed to . . .” Her eyes widened. ”He has to figure it out for himself.”

”Yes.”

Lily groaned. ”Apollo's a.s.s. That could take freaking forever. What about your magic? Do you get it back in the same increments?”

”Unfortunately, no. My magic won't return to me until the spell lifts completely.”

”b.u.mmer.” Lily regarded her sister with pity. ”Can you, like, give him hints?”

”Nope.”

”How about setting up situations where he's likely to do the right thing?”

”Nope. Once he correctly identifies the method by which he can change, we can help him search out good deeds, but not until then.”

Lily groaned again. ”What a nightmare.”

”Dorcas has researched this problem. According to what she's found, if he guesses what's happening and asks me to confirm it, I can do that.”

”Whoopee. By the time that happens you'll be climbing the walls in frustration.” Lily paused and glanced over at Anica. Slowly she started to grin. ”Then again, maybe not.”

”Lily, this isn't the time to be thinking of s.e.x.”

”Why not? Seems to me he could do many acts of kindness in bed.”

Anica blushed. He already had, and she wondered if his gift of oral s.e.x would count toward his minutes, and if it did, what he'd choose to do with all his extra time. . . .

Jasper wasn't sure what he'd been expecting from Anica's trip to see the witch and wizard, but he'd thought something would change around here, preferably him. Maybe he'd hoped she'd bring them back to the apartment for some kind of super session of magic with lightning bolts and stuff. At the very least he'd expected her to come back with a bag of evil-smelling but highly effective potions.

But so far this important face time with the witch and wizard had yielded a big fat goose egg. Anica hadn't looked very happy when she'd come home, and then she and Lily had hidden in the bathroom for a long time. He'd hoped they'd come out with a plan, but if they had one, they weren't telling.

Matter of fact, they both left. It was as if they'd given up on the whole program and abandoned him to his fate. At least he'd figured out one small part of the puzzle. So far whatever minutes he had as a man had been equally distributed on either side of midnight. That would likely continue, but unfortunately he couldn't predict how much time that would be.

But worrying about his lousy situation didn't help, so he slept a little. The rain continued to fall, and he spent a fair bit of his day on the windowsill, watching the drops. .h.i.t and travel uphill. When he had no chance to be productive, he was amazed at the insignificant things that amused him.

Still, he had the urge to do something to improve his situation. Hopping onto the desk chair, he turned on the computer.

E-mail was out of the question. There was too much of it, and he couldn't be his usual glib self one paw at a time. Besides, if he responded to one thing, people would expect him to respond to the rest.

Better to keep to the cover story that he had a flu bug that was hideously debilitating plus contagious, and he didn't want to see or hear from anybody until he was himself again. Ha. If only his friends knew how unlike himself he was at the moment.

He could type a big-a.s.s message to Anica, though. He had plenty to say to her, and he didn't have to worry about hitting wrong keys or trying for that breezy tone his friends and work buddies were used to.

Once he'd typed the message, he cruised the Net and ended up going to sites involving animals. Inhabiting a cat's body had made him far more interested in the animal world than he had been before. He discovered a site where clicking a b.u.t.ton prompted a pet food company to donate a dollar to animal rescue. Back in his real life, friends were always suggesting he go on some site or other and do something like this.

He'd never taken the time, but today he didn't have much else to do, so he clicked the donation b.u.t.ton a few hundred times. Couldn't hurt, and it felt good to do it, sort of like he'd felt when he'd led Anica to the mother cat.

Then he noticed a second b.u.t.ton. This was for anyone who felt compelled to donate something themselves, in addition to what the pet food company was giving for the clicks. He thought about that for a while.