Eight Legs Too Many

Chapter 19: Shiori contemplates letting orcas destroy the human race

Half an hour later they were back at the hotel. A D*ordash driver from the only sushi restaurant in a forty-mile radius was waiting for them in the lobby. The D*ordash driver did not seem particularly thrilled about delivering their food in the middle of an octopus blizzard, and offered a few sour complaints before squelching off into the night.

"Wow," said Yaelitha, bounding ahead of Shiori and Devland down the hallway. "I've never seen a real motel before. All the hotels that mum and I stayed in were much fancier than this!"

She tapped Shiori's key card against the motel room door and pushed it open. A second later, a squeal filled the air, so loud Shiori momentarily feared for the safety of her eardrums.

"IT'S A KITTY! Oh my God, it's even cuter than the Y*utube videos make them look!"

Yaelitha charged into the room, to a disgruntled yowl from Mr. Tibbles.

Shiori hesitated, torn between rescuing Mr. Tibbles and taking this opportunity to speak to Devland in private. In the end, she decided Mr. Tibbles would just have to fend for himself for a moment.

"How long are we going to babysit her?" she hissed.

"If we leave her on her own, she'll tell her mom our whereabouts. And then we'll probably have to deal with several competent assassins... instead of one very incompetent one."

Shiori knew Devland was right. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "We still have to get the... whatever-it's-called," she said. "The device."

"I already got it."

Shiori whirled on him. "What?"

"Sorry—there wasn't a good time to tell you earlier. When I fell down the mountain, I happened to land next to a tree that was giving off an ominous aura. I did a little investigating, and it turned out to be... well, see for yourself."

Devland dug into his pocket and pulled out a small object, which he offered to Shiori. She took it cautiously.

It looked like what you might get if you crossed a tape measure with a fishing rod and dipped it in a vat of DayGlo orange. There was a place for string to spool out, with a little clip at the end—presumably, this could be somehow fastened to a person's soul—and a tiny crank that seemed designed to reel the attached soul back in.

But what really stood out about the device was its size. It would not have looked out of place in a miniatures shop.

"This is the thing that's going to keep my soul and body tethered together when I travel to the underworld?" Shiori said skeptically. "It's awfully... small."

"It may have been designed by rats," said Devland.

"By rats—"

A gleeful force burst from Shiori's bedroom. If a tornado had accidentally swept through a fairground and stolen every available item from a cotton candy stall, it might have approximated the energy—and sheer pinkness—of the person in front of them. "I CAUGHT THE KITTY!" Yaelitha cried.

Mr. Tibbles whimpered.

"This is so exciting!" Yaelitha babbled. "In the underworld, all species are kept separate. I've never imagined touching a cat, much less cuddling one! He's so adorably fluffy! There's nothing like this in the sea!"

Mr. Tibbles gave a sad mew. It was the sound of a cat who has given up on life and is rapidly resigning himself to being squeezed to death by a maniac.

"Let's trade," said Shiori. She grabbed poor Mr. Tibbles out of Yaelitha's arms and thrust the sushi bag into Yaelitha's hand instead.