Five days had passed since Jacob fought the Yeti. Allison had spent that time ruthlessly teaching Kate to control her new werejaguar nature, and to her surprise, Kate's anchor turned out to be Allison herself. Stiles was taking a gentler approach with Erica, and she was nearly in complete control.
Jacob woke up in Malia's room in the Serendell palace, his body wrapped in her koala-like embrace. He kissed her forehead, then turned his excited attention inward, where a system notification was waiting.
[Monthly Sign-In Available]
'Let's do the Daily Sign-In first,' Jacob thought, buzzing with anticipation. 'I want to see how lucky I am today.'
[Daily Sign-In successful. Rewards obtained:
- 7500 Coins
- Volga Reserve Osetra Caviar x20 kilos
- Lionel Hogwarts Express O-Gauge 2007]
'I seem very lucky today! First time I've gotten more than 1,000 coins since unlocking the shop. And 20 kilos of caviar must be worth over a hundred grand… but honestly, I'm more excited about the train, even if it's the least valuable.'
'Now, let's find out if I still have some luck left.' He took a deep, steadying breath. 'System. Monthly Sign-In.'
[Monthly Sign-In successful. Rewards obtained:
- Dragon Scroll (Kung Fu Panda): An ancient, legendary artifact reserved for the Dragon Warrior, created by Master Oogway. Said to contain the secret to limitless power.
- Spider-Sense (Spider-Man): A precognitive danger sense that alerts the user to incoming threats.
- A Summoning Scroll: A scroll that allows the user to summon a female character from a movie world.
Note: The character summoned is random and depends on your luck. The scroll acts as an unbreakable contract; the summoned cannot betray or harm you.]
Jacob's face fell as he read the first reward. 'Screw you, System! What legendary artifact? What limitless power? That scroll is just a mirror!'
His expression brightened at the second reward. 'Spider-Man's danger sense? Now that's a handy ability. At least I won't make stupid mistakes like touching that wizard or getting hit by the gorgon's stare again.'
Then he read the last reward and became very excited. 'System… I'm sorry I just scolded you. I love you to death!'
He retrieved the Summoning Scroll from his pocket dimension, holding it like a treasure. 'I wonder who I'm going to summon. Scarlet Witch? Spider-Gwen? Jean Grey from X-Men: Dark Phoenix? Ramsey from Fast & Furious—she's hot. Or Claire from Jurassic World… she's so hot. I'm so excited!'
He jumped out of bed, ready to use the scroll immediately, but stopped himself. 'Better call everyone first. That way the girls won't ask where the new woman came from.'
He put the scroll away and shook Malia gently. "Malia, get up. There's something I want to show you."
Malia cracked one eye open, looking thoroughly unimpressed. "If it's a sex thing, I'm tired. Go show Allison or Lydia. Let me sleep." She turned over and pulled the covers over her head.
Jacob yanked the covers off and gave her bare backside a light, playful smack. "Get up. I want to summon someone, and you have to be there." He scooped her up. "But first, let's take a shower." He teleported them to the bathroom.
While washing up with a grumbling Malia, he telepathically woke Allison and Lydia. He also took a moment to mentally command, 'System, merge the Spider-Sense ability into my body.'
[Are you sure, Host?]
'Yes.'
A warm pulse spread through his veins.
[Ability merged successfully.]
Soon, they all gathered in the palace gardens. After Jacob called for Cogman, he finally took the scroll back out.
Allison rubbed her eyes, still half-asleep. "What's that scroll that has you so excited?"
"It's a Summoning Scroll. Like the one I used to summon Cogman."
"Really?" Lydia asked, her interest piqued. "Who are you going to summon this time?"
Jacob, who hadn't stopped smiling since he got the scroll, said, "I have no idea. We'll find out when I use it."
Allison narrowed her eyes. "You're smiling like an idiot. I'm sure you know exactly who it is."
Lydia nodded in agreement. "Yeah. And I bet it's a woman, because you weren't this excited when you summoned Cogman."
"I really don't know!" Jacob insisted.
"You're lying," Allison said flatly. "Tell the truth."
"All I know," Jacob explained, holding up the scroll, "is that it's going to summon a female character from a movie world."
Lydia's expression turned thoughtful. "Wait. What if she doesn't want to stay in our world? What if she has a life in her original world that she doesn't want to give up?"
Jacob's smile vanished. "Oh. I didn't think of that." Then it returned, brighter than before. "But what if she wants to leave her world? Or what if summoning her saves her life?"
Allison crossed her arms. "You've already decided to summon her, haven't you?"
"Yes. Now, stand back."
He stepped forward, unrolled the scroll, and tossed it into the air. It ignited with a brilliant glow, and the space before them split open. A blinding flash of light forced them all to close their eyes and step back.
A lazy, slightly disoriented female voice, rich with a Mexican accent, drifted from the heart of the light. "What's happening? I'm feeling… dizzy."
Jacob's heart leaped. 'Oh! A Mexican accent! And from her voice, she's not my age—she's an older woman. I hope she's hot!'
The spatial crack sealed shut, and the light faded. Jacob and the others opened their eyes, scanning the garden for the woman who had just spoken.
There was no woman.
They looked down.
Standing on the grass was a black cat. In boots. A rapier-style sword rested in a belt at her waist.
Jacob stared. His excited grin froze, then slowly melted away into an expression of utter, stunned silence and profound disappointment.
Lydia and the girls walked closer. Lydia leaned down. "Did you… just speak?"
The cat placed a paw on her hip. "Of course I just spoke." She looked around, her whiskers twitching. "Now, tell me, Redhead, where am I?"
Hearing the cat speak again, the girls stared in surprise.
The cat jumped nimbly onto Lydia's shoulder. She snapped her fingers twice in front of Lydia's face. "Did the cat eat your tongue, girl? Speak. Where am I?" She then looked past Lydia at the immense, gleaming white palace, her eyes going wide. "And what's with the massive palace? Is there any treasure in it?"
Lydia snapped out of her shock. "The palace is our home. This place is called Serendell. It's an extradimensional island, and only we can access it." She smirked, looking at the cat perched on her shoulder. "As for treasure, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you, Kitty Softpaws. We don't have any."
Kitty jumped off Lydia's shoulder, landing gracefully on the grass. She asked. "Do you know who I am?"
Allison nodded. "Yes, we do. We just watched your movie a few days ago. Although you look a little different than you did in the movie, but I guess that's normal… if you can call any of this normal."
Kitty tilted her head. "Movie? What's a movie?"
"It's like a story," Allison explained. "I'll show it to you later."
"And what, exactly, is this story about?" Kitty asked, her tail swishing.
Lydia answered. "It's about you and Puss in Boots stealing magical beans from the infamous criminals Jack and Jill."
Kitty scoffed. "I know Jack and Jill. But I have no idea who this Puss in Boots is, and I definitely didn't steal any magical beans."
"Maybe Jacob summoned you before those events happened," Lydia mused.
Malia glanced at Jacob and said. "Girls, what's wrong with that idiot? He's been standing there with that stunned look for a while now."
Allison and Lydia looked over at Jacob, still frozen in place, and burst into laughter.
Malia tilted her head. "Why are you laughing?"
Lydia wiped a tear from her eye. "That pervert was expecting to summon a beautiful woman. Instead, he got a talking cat."
Malia smirked. "Oh, I see. He must be heartbroken."
Cogman cleared his throat. His shoulders shook slightly with suppressed laughter. "I shall prepare breakfast, my ladies." He turned and strode quickly toward the palace, a faint chuckle escaping him that soon evolved into full-blown laughter.
The sound of laughter finally broke through Jacob's stupor. He came back to his senses with a jolt, his disappointment turning to frustration. He lunged toward Kitty. "Come here!"
Kitty nimbly jumped away. "Hands off! You can't touch a lady like that!"
Jacob growled and raised a hand. His telekinesis flared. "I said, come here."
Kitty let out a yelp as she was lifted off the ground and floated helplessly toward him. "What is happening?!"
Jacob caught her by the scruff of her neck. "Go back to your world and give me back my summoning scroll!"
Allison rolled her eyes, walked over, and gently took Kitty from his grasp. "Can you even send her back?"
"No!" Jacob groaned, his shoulders slumping. "But I don't want a stupid cat! I wanted to summon a beautiful woman!" He flopped onto the grass, lying there utterly listless.
Lydia smirked down at him. "Well, Kitty is a beautiful woman, isn't she?"
"No," Jacob grumbled into the grass. "She is not a woman. She is a cat."
Allison, now holding a rather offended-looking Kitty, turned serious. "Tell me, you pervert. Can we trust this… thieving cat?"
Jacob sighed, not lifting his head. "Yes. The summoning scroll was also a contract between me and her. She can't betray me, and no one can read her mind."
"Good," Allison said. She looked down at the cat in her arms. "Let's go inside. I'll tell you everything you need to know." She paused, fixing Kitty with a stern look. "And give Lydia her earrings back."
Lydia's hands flew to her ears. They were bare. "When did she take my earrings?"
Malia shrugged. "When she was on your shoulder."
Lydia walked over to Allison and held out her hand. Kitty produced the earrings from… somewhere. "Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin. "It's a habit of mine."
With that, the girls headed inside the palace, leaving Jacob alone on the grass. He remained there, curled up, hugging his knees—depressed and mentally scolding the system over and over for its cruel trick. He was supposed to get a woman, not a cat.
---
Meanwhile, in Beacon Hills
It was 7 a.m. Stiles drove to an address his father had texted him that morning. When he arrived, he found four deputies standing outside a house.
"Morning, guys," Stiles greeted them. "Where's my dad?"
One of the deputies, Clark, nodded grimly. "Morning, Stiles. The Sheriff's inside, but… I don't recommend you go in there."
"I need to talk to my him," Stiles said, his curiosity piqued. "And I've seen dead people before."
"Not like this," deputy Clark warned, her face pale. "It's gruesome."
Stiles said. "Now I'm really curious."
Just then, Noah Stilinski called from an open window. "Clark, let him in."
The deputy lifted the yellow crime scene tape. "Go ahead."
Stiles entered the house. Noah met him in the hallway and led him to a bedroom.
An old man lay in bed, his face frozen in a mask of pure terror. In the center of his chest was a gaping, fist-sized wound. But there was no blood. The edges of the wound looked charred, as if burned, but the tissue was frozen solid. The man's entire body had a faint blue tinge, as if flash-frozen from the inside.
Noah's voice was low and tired. "Do you have any idea what could cause that? Because that doesn't look like it was done by a normal human."
Stiles studied the horrific scene. "No. I'll take a few pictures and send them to Cogman. He might know."
Noah nodded. "Alright. And tell him this is the second victim. We found a woman yesterday with the same wound. Nothing was stolen; her organs and blood were all there, but frozen, just like this. The two victims had one thing in common—they were both diagnosed with terminal cancer."
Stiles began carefully taking pictures with his phone, his mind racing. "Who would kill these poor people who were already dying?"
"I don't know, son," Noah sighed, rubbing his temples. "This town is getting crazier by the day. And I have a feeling this isn't the last victim. Ask Jacob for help. You can bring him here after school to see if he can track the killer's scent, or if his butler can find surveillance footage we couldn't—like last time."
"I will," Stiles promised, his voice grim.