Ronnie was nervous about traveling alone, so he brought his sister Titania. She, just like their mother, loved history and literature, so she was more than happy to come with him to the Museum of Imperialism.

He bought them a hotel for two days, and when they arrived in the state of Cascadia, it was already evening. They checked in to the Hotel Mirage, a slightly upscale hotel in the heart of Las Estrellas. At the Hotel Mirage, while unpacking their things, a loud knock came from the door.

Ronnie opened the door, assuming it was the pizza he ordered but it was another visit from Ken.

The cat man was wearing a trench coat, a white shirt with suspenders, and fancy-dress pants. He looked like he was on his way to a 1930s costume party than an interrogation.

“Hello Ronnie,” Ken said.

“Bye.”

He slammed the door in his face and locked it shut, but Ken kept banging and wouldn’t relent.

“Nia don’t open the door,” he told his sister.

“Why would I? Who is that guy?”

“Okay, so uh...remember how I told you we were going on a trip? Funny thing is, he came to Ace’s house and broke in, and I kinda thought he wouldn’t follow me out here.”

“I want the watch Ronnie,” Ken shouted. “Give it to me!”

“Just give him the watch,” Nia pleaded. “You can always buy another.”

“I don’t have it. I swear, Nia.”

The banging stopped for a moment, but now both of them felt more anxious. It was odd he had suddenly given up and left, especially after he followed Ronnie to the other side of the continent.

“What is so special about this watch,” Nia asked.

“It’s magic or whatever!”

“This is serious Ronnie!”

“So am I! Look! This blanket and book are special!”

Ronnie took his black backpack and emptied it onto his bed. Out fell a pack of gum, the old book, two vapes, and a magical malicious blanket.

“Be nice to them,” Ronnie said. “They try to act tough, but I know it’s not real.”

“What are you talking about,” Nia laughed. “Did you hit your head?”

“I am always the toughest person in the room,” the Leech shouted. “It is what I was born to be!”

Nia screamed and shrieked because there was now a giant knight sitting on the bed that looked like Acheus.

“What the fuck,” she screamed.

“Please stop screaming,” the Leech said. “It’s quite rude.”

“This isn’t natural,” Nia shouted. “This is-“

“Danger is near,” the Leech said.

His cape turned black and so did his eyes. He got up from the bed and stood next to the door. Nia moved over to the sliding doors to the balcony, trying to get as far as possible away from him while staying in the room, but it didn’t do any good.

Ronnie took a lamp from one of the side tables and prepared for whatever would burst through the door. A few seconds nothing happened and he started to relax.

“Nothing is here,” Ronnie said. “I think the only danger here is your attitude.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A giant black cat hit the hotel door so hard it flung off its hinges and slammed right into the Leech. He didn’t flinch, and a small iridescent shield was put in front of him, spanning the width of the room.

“What the hell man,” Ronnie shouted.

“I told you,” the Leech said.

“Now is not the time!”

Ken didn’t believe that Ronnie knew anything about the watch, other than it might be somewhere in Ace’s house and that it was extremely dangerous. He was going to get it one way or another.

He squeezed his gargantuan head through the front door and Ronnie felt his skin crawl, seeing the cat’s maw open wide, smelling what Ken had breakfast. He licked his lips and Nia was sure she was going to be eaten.

“C…c…”

Ronnie threw the lamp at him in fear, and it smashed against Ken’s cheek. Some of the porcelain was stuck in his fur, but it didn’t do much damage. This only made the both of them more paranoid that Ken would eat them.

“C…c…compromise…”

“Yeah, sure, okay, whatever that doesn’t get me eaten tonight,” Ronnie said, rapidly nodding.

“N-never eat y-ou…taste…b-b-bad… “

Ken shrunk in size, slowly, and now was a normal-sized black cat. He ran away, down the hallway, past the hotel manager, and into the stairwell.

“Let’s get the heck out of here before he returns,” Ronnie said.

The hotel manager arrived to tell them that he was kicking them out, Ronnie was not getting his deposit, and he would have to pay for the broken door and lamp. They were given an hour to leave but were ready in thirty minutes, having no problem getting as far as possible from Ken.

When they were waiting outside the hotel for a taxi, Ken approached them, this time bipedal but still cat-like, tail and all. He smiled, apologized, and offered them his “compromise”.

“You can come with me, and I’ll help you with whatever you came here for, “Ken offered. “You wouldn’t leave that warded house unless it was important.”

“Don’t take the offer,” Nia said. “He’ll kill us when he gets the chance!”

“I want to see this through. We can go back and hide, but what if this gets worse,” Ronnie asked. “We don’t know what we’re doing.”

“That’s right. You don’t,” Ken replied.

“This is about more than a watch, isn’t it? What do you want in the end,” Ronnie asked. “Maybe we have the same goals.”

Nia shook her head no rapidly and disagreed that either would have anything in common. All Ken has done is threaten them. What could he do to prove he was an ally?

Ken scoffed at Ronnie and decided to tell him the truth. He wouldn’t remember anyway, by the time he was done with the two of them. His boss would ensure that.

“I work for a man who wants to collect all of them and find a place where no one can use them ever again.”

“All of them! There’s more of me,” The Leech shouted. "I thought it was just us who lived with Dad!"

They all flinched when he appeared out of thin air again and Ronnie had asked him for the hundredth time to stop, but he didn’t listen.

“Yes, many of you. Keys, glasses, watches, capes, crowns…even rocks,” Ken told them. “Each with their own specific requirements, abilities, and best of all, interesting personalities.”

“I would never help you lock people like me up,” The Leech said. “You’re horrible!”

“Am I,” Ken asked them. “Have you seen just a small taste of the things this one can do?”

“No, I don’t know what he can do,” Ronnie said. “When I found him he was locked away.”

Ken’s tail curved in curiosity because he had found the answer to what his boss had needed for years. They had hidden the objects in numerous locations for safety, but with all of them sealed it would be impossible for them to leave on their own. The few people left that knew where they were could die with the secret.

“How did you do it,” Ken asked.

“I didn’t do it. The person who did it isn’t alive anymore,” Ronnie replied.

“We could still copy his work! We could do so much! You don’t understand! We need to-“

“We. WE. Who is this we,” Nia asked.

Ken got closer and spoke low, paranoid that someone was listening. He was paranoid that maybe they were the ones trying to collect the objects for themselves and were feigning ignorance. He decided to pretend that he believed their ignorance and cared about only their safety.

“You don’t understand,” he said shakily. “These things don’t belong here. I want to make sure no one else has them. That’s all.”

Ronnie looked at The Leech, and it was one of the few times in his life that he was afraid. His cape was mix with blue and purple, and he looked smaller, more child-like.

Ronnie remembered that he was desperate to leave the attic, that he was alive, and that it would be cruel to put him back, but he couldn’t believe that there were other objects more than the one’s in Ace’s house.

Ken could be making it up.

Even if they were, they were alive, with thoughts and feelings. It felt inhumane.

And yet.

He considered if Ken was right.

“We’ll think about it if you do two things for us first,” Ronnie said.

“Anything,” Ken replied.

“I need a dictionary for ancient Ionadian.”

“Done.”

Nia raised her eyebrows in doubt.

“My boss has unlimited funds. Money is not a factor, simply time and information is,” Ken replied.

“Yeah…sure,”Nia replied in doubt.

“My other condition is to stay away from that house,” Ronnie said. “You wanna talk? Text. Phone. Meet my ass at Marbucks. Stay outta the damn house.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes.”

Ken pulled his business card out of his pocket and gave it to Ronnie. Ronnie politely told him to mail the dictionary so he couldn’t make an excuse to come to Ace’s house unannounced.

Nia impolitely informed Ronnie that she would never go within five miles of that house and she would rather “eat a bag of glass.”