Nine Tails Collection 1-3: Kitsune and Shaman novel

by J. L. Weil

  “Am I seeing this? Does he have…” I swallowed. “…wings?”

  “Yeah, and a nasty scratch,” he said tightly. “Don’t let his claws anywhere near your skin. Better yet, stay put.”

  “What is he?” I asked.

  He unbuckled his seatbelt with one hand. “A Karura.”

  He was more or less speaking Greek to me. I had no idea what a Karura was, but they had wings. Big. Black. Beautiful. Wings. His skin was smooth like polished stone, and he was surprisingly handsome. I half expected him to be something out of a Stephen King novel—scary and disfigured.

  Dmitri folded his wings behind his broad back. I don’t know how he managed to tuck them out of sight, but that was the least of my concerns. He let out a low growl that rattled my seat.

  Eyes yellow like a dragon’s, Dmitri’s pupils slanted toward me through the windshield. I sank deeper into the seat. Could he put his fist through the glass and grab me? The thought was frightening. Fury and Wrath hissed, appearing at Devyn’s back. The twin snakes were wrapped around the handles of the two blades, their forked tongues dancing and tasting the air.

  “Are you okay?” Devyn asked, his hand gripping the door handle as if he was going to leave me.

  “Devyn!” My hand shot out, stopping him. “What happens if he scratches you?” I didn’t want Devyn to get out of the car. Yes, the Shaman was a badass, but there was something about this particular creature that worried me. If anything happened to Devyn I would be alone, basically a sitting duck. I couldn’t save my mom without him, and the prospect of him jumping into danger sent me into a tizzy.

  “Someone has to get rid of this guy.” He bolted into action before I could protest, the car door flying open as he leapt out.

  My brain was slow to process what was happening, and I never got the chance to catch up. Devyn lunged at the Karura, knocking them both off the car and to the ground. I lifted up in my seat, straining to see what was going on, but at the same time afraid of what I might see. They had disappeared from my line of sight, and fear for Devyn hit me in the gut. Where is he? Has he been scratched?

  I still didn’t know what happen if that thing got his claws into Devyn.

  Rising off the ground Devyn had Wrath and Fury in both hands, the blades shimmering with power. I let out a long exhale of relief. The idiot was still alive. In my head, I knew Devyn was doing what he was born to do, but it was my heart that seemed opposed to him putting himself in the line of danger time and time again.

  The Karura had unfolded his wings, hovering off the ground. His golden lips twisted. “Karina.” All it said was my name, but it was enough to strike me motionless with fright.

  “Well, aren’t you a special little snowflake?” Devyn replied tightly, bringing Dmitri’s attention back to him.

  Only Devyn could be a smartass in life-threatening situations. He was going to get us both killed.

  Devyn swung a blade at Dmitri, but the Karura was quick. His wings flapped as he darted back into the air, the tip of Devyn’s sword narrowly missing his chest. “What are you doing here, Dmitri? It isn’t like Talin to let his personal guard leave his side.”

  “I’m here for the Kitsune. And I’m not leaving without her.”

  Devyn laughed, ice in his eyes.

  Is he losing his mind?

  “I hate to break it to you, but I’m not going to let that happen.” Devyn did that flipping sword trick he was so fond of, the one he did right before he went all ninja-like.

  And, so, the fight began. I don’t know how Devyn was able to go up against someone with wings, but he made it seem as if it was something he did on Sundays for fun. Punches flew. Blades whizzed through the air. Blood spattered. A gruesome sight. The air in my lungs stalled as Dmitri landed a kick on Devyn’s wrist, sending Wrath sailing through the air. It was the sight of the sword clattering in front of the car that spurred me into action.

  I had to do something. Help him.

  I fumbled my way out of the car, and the first thing I noticed was the world around me hadn’t stopped.

  How the hell was no one seeing this? I mean, for goodness’ sake, there was a man with wings flying about. A black feather floated from above my head, landing at my feet. Devyn. Why the rest of the world was oblivious to what was happening no longer mattered.

  “I thought I told you to stay in the car,” Devyn growled in between the arcs of his single blade. Fury let out a hiss with Devyn’s movements, eager to get a taste of the Karura’s soul.

  Scooping up the sword from the ground, Wrath twined around my arm, his cool, texture skin moving over mine. His tongue tasted my flesh, and for a moment I feared the snake might bite me, but he only blinked at me, as if to what are you waiting for. The blade was as light in my hand as I remembered, becoming a part of me. I spun around, Devyn to my left. “You looked like you could use a hand,” I replied.

  Devyn arched a brow. “Did I now, Kitten? Because, the way I see things, I have everything under control.”

  “Not really a silver-lining type of guy, are you?” I asked sarcastically.

  Devyn whirled, eyes glowing like green plasma. Dmitri charged forward, slamming into Devyn. The pair skidded over the ground at my feet and I staggered backward, my heart sinking. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know how. Other than shifting and snapping my jaws, I didn’t have real powers. I should have listened to Devyn and stayed in the car. Now I was only in the way and distracting him.

  Way to go.

  I scrambled back toward the car, giving Devyn space, but I made a mistake. I turned my back to them. Air stirred around me, sweeping pieces of hair off my face. Shit. I didn’t need to look up to know what the dark shadow that had appeared over me was.

  This was going to be exorbitantly bad.

  Wrath hissed, and I remembered I wasn’t defenseless. I arched back my arm, swinging the sword at Dmitri’s chest. The Karura darted out of the way and then swooped down, his wings slicing through the air without making a sound. A leering grin curved on his lips as he struck at me, using his powerful wing to smack me in the hand, breaking my connection with Wrath. I lost my hold on the sword.

  “Karina!” Devyn yelled.

  Crap. I did what I did best. I ran. But I didn’t get far before my feet were suddenly dangling off the ground.

  “Karina!” Devyn screamed my name again.

  “Hang tight, wily fox. This might be a bumpy ride.” Dmitri’s wings flapped as he moved through the air, taking me with him.

  I didn’t find any humor in his voice, regardless the bastard was laughing. My mind whirled with the awful possibilities of what was going to happen next. Was this winged creature going to kill me? Drop me from hundreds of feet in the air, letting my body go splat?

  “Devyn!” I cried.

  Oh, God. Now what? The ground was getting further and further away the longer I wrestled over my options.

  Did I shift and risk plummeting to my death? Kitsunes weren’t cats. There was no guarantee I’d land on my feet or survive a fall of this magnitude. Sure, I could have up to nine tails, but I somehow doubted it also extended to lives.

  “Shift!” Devyn ordered, never taking his eyes off me.

  Was he going to demand I shift every time I was faced with danger?

  I didn’t think about the consequences, I just shifted, knowing Devyn had a plan even if I didn’t know what. The familiar tingles radiated from within me, spreading to every point in my body as my limbs and muscles contorted, and then, poof, I was a fox.

  Dmitri managed to keep his arm around me even after I’d shifted. “Nice try, little fox.”

  I squirmed, refusing to give up. There had to be a way to get this man-beast to release me. I did the first thing that came to mind. I bit the bastard, and only proved to piss him off. Ugh. Had it been too much to hope he would drop me? I could taste his blood in my mouth, and it made me want to vomit.

  Something whizzed in the air, past my eyes, and embedded itself in one of Dmitri’s wings. It was
Wrath… or Fury. I wasn’t sure which, but Devyn had thrown one of them with scary precision. A few inches the wrong way and it would be me crying in pain. The Karura bellowed a roar of pure rage and agony, but he released his hold on me to pull out the blade.

  And, just like that, I was freefalling.

  Probably to my death.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, locking out the blur of colors spiraling all around me. Everything was happening so fast. As I fell, I had one those snippets where your life flashes before you, reliving every important moment in my life. The treehouse with Jesse. That time I let Hannah cut my hair. Dad’s reaction when he saw what Hannah had done to my hair. The girls’ nights with Mom. My first kiss with Devyn. As the last memory played in slow motion, I shifted back, the mix of sadness and terror forcing me to lose my hold.

  Any second now I would hit the ground, my brains were going to splatter like a pumpkin, and my blood was going to wash the streets. If there were men with wings, surely there was a miracle waiting for me.

  As it turned out, there was. My miracle was Devyn.

  I might never understand the abilities he had, but I owed him my life—multiple times over. He caught me before I hit the ground, securing me in his arms. The impact would have knocked any normal human flat on their ass. Not Devyn. He didn’t even stumble but held onto me, steady and sure.

  “Nice catch,” I whispered, securing my arms around Devyn’s neck. Falling had screwed with my equilibrium. The world was spinning.

  He slowly set me on my feet, keeping his hands secured around my waist as I tried to find my balance. “All in a day’s work.”

  “Is he gone?” I whispered, peeking up from under my hooded lashes.

  Devyn’s sharp eyes scanned the sky. “For the moment, but it would be wise if we didn’t hang around in the streets.”

  I nodded.

  He kept an arm around me as we moved back to the car, scooping up the sword I had dropped off the ground and replaced it behind his back with the it’s perfect match. My gaze roamed over the massive dent in the hood: two giant footprints. It was hard to convince myself the last ten minutes had been real. Heck, the last month had been real.

  I slipped into the seat, eager to get out of here. Hands shaking, I shoved them under my legs, telling myself to get under control. “Why didn’t anyone freak out?” Like me.

  Devyn cranked the engine, scowling at the front of his car. I couldn’t tell if there was any damage to the engine, but Devyn clearly wasn’t happy about the state of his most prized possession. “He used glamour,” he answered.

  “Is that what you use to make Wrath and Fury disappear?”

  He nodded. “Something like that. In this dimension we can hide our true form, allowing us to blend in.”

  “Why doesn’t it work for me?” When I shifted, anyone could see me. Did I have to acquire the ability? It was probably one of the stupid tails I couldn’t figure out how to get.

  “You’re half-human. Glamour won’t work.”

  Nothing like getting the short end of the stick. “That’s such shit.”

  Devyn’s tensed muscles relaxed as he drove the car. “You’re lucky. If he had been any higher, I might not have been able to hit him, and. Dmitri would have taken you to the Second Moon, to Thornland, where Talin resides.”

  Talin was one of my grandfather’s brothers, the ruler of the region dedicated to raising killers, and now it seemed he wanted me. For what? I shuddered to think. Probably so he could drive a sword through my heart himself, and take the one thing everyone in the otherworld seemed to want from me—my soul star. “Great. Now they want to kidnap me. I don’t know which is worse, trying to kill me or capture me.”

  “I underestimated your great-uncles. It won’t happen again.”

  “That wasn’t your fault.”

  “He never should have gotten his hands on you, but now I know he’s here, I’ll be ready for him next time.”

  Next time? I gulped. Goodie gum drops. There was going to be another meeting with the Karura. I couldn’t say I was looking forward to it. I wrapped my arms around myself and sank into the seat. I didn’t want to be responsible today. “Can you turn the car around?”

  Devyn studied me for a moment. “We’re only a block from school.”

  “I don’t want to go to school. I don’t want to go home. Can we just hang out at your place? Watch a movie?” It was hard to believe I was suggesting skipping school. Karina Lang never ditched a class, but Karina the Kitsune wasn’t opposed to taking a mental health day. I think I earned it, and the idea of sitting in a classroom when my brain was scattered, gave me anxiety. What would be the point?

  “Whatever you want, Kitten.”

  We were sitting on Devyn’s couch, with a bowl of popcorn between us, extra butter, the way I liked it. When Devyn handed me the bag of peanut butter M&Ms, I could have fallen in love with him right then and there. My favorite movie snacks. It wasn’t lost on me he had them on hand. Devyn was like a ridiculously attentive boyfriend, but without all the kissing benefits.

  This was the most normal thing I’d done in weeks. I needed it, and the fact Devyn knew it spoke volumes. We were onto our second vampire movie of the day, Underworld, and seeing Selene kick some werewolf bootang got my girl-power juices flowing.

  “I wouldn’t have pegged you for a vampire junkie.” Devyn grabbed a handful of popcorn.

  “I thought you knew everything about me.”

  “I guess you can still surprise me. So, why the change in movies? What happened to all the romantic comedies? Is it the blood and guts? Or the forbidden love?”

  I laughed. “After hanging around with you, you’d think I’d had enough of blood and guts.”

  His lips twitched. “We haven’t even gotten to the good stuff yet.”

  “My life feels like a movie lately, except I don’t have superior vampire fighting skills or a killer body suit.”

  “We could definitely get you a body suit. I bet you would rock it. Tight leather, over-the-knee boots. Oh, yeah. It could totally work.”

  Shooting him a look, I took a few pieces of popcorn and tossed them at his head. “Get your thick skull out of the gutter. I am not wearing some super-hero costume.”

  “If you ever change your mind…”

  I shook my head. “If you wear a pink tutu, I’ll think about the body suit.”

  He raised a brow, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.

  Oh, no. He couldn’t possibly be contemplating putting on a tutu. Did he even know what a tutu was? “Don’t tease me.”

  With a devilish grin on his lips he relaxed beside me, and it was as if I fed off his energy. My muscles loosened, and my worry dissipated. I wasn’t stressed out that any second something from the otherworld would come knocking on Devyn’s door.

  I kept stealing glances at the Shaman from under my lashes, unable to help wondering what his life had been like before me.

  “Why do you keep pretending you’re not staring at me?”

  I cleared my throat, telling my cheeks not to turn that awful shade of red they were known to do. “I was thinking this is the only place in the entire world I feel safe. I know it’s your duty to guard me but I feel selfish, because I want you to protect me. It isn’t fair. I know in your world it’s probably normal, but it isn’t here, and I can’t help feeling as if I’m keeping you from living a life you choose.”

  “Our worlds are very different, Kitten. You have no reason to feel guilty. This is what I was born to do, just as you were born to be a Kitsune. We can’t change who we are.” He lifted his hand, twisting a strand of my hair around his finger. The T-shirt rode up, revealing his firm abs and the thin line of hair that disappeared under his waistline. I drooled a little.

  We had gotten closer, our thighs touching. A heady mixture of emotions warred inside me. I wanted him to kiss me, and if I could will it so would he be powerless to refuse? I desired his lips on mine that badly. Would his kiss be as intoxicating as it was in
the dreams that left me hot and achy? My memory had to have been glamourized.

  I took my bottom lip between my teeth, curious if he was having the same impure thoughts I was. His eyes flew to my mouth and darkened. I expected him to give me one of his cocksure grins and move away. He had made it clear there should be no romantic involvement between us.

  He lowered his head and I held my breath, afraid to ruin the moment. “Screw it,” he whispered.

  Our lips met. Sensations slammed into me, heat shooting through my body, and a low moan of pleasure escaped my lips. Gah. What was it about Devyn that made me want to behave so badly? I didn’t want to be his friend. I wanted to devour him. Right here. Right now.

  He was like a magnet, pulling me to him.

  I bent to his will, the movie disappearing in the background.

  His teeth caught my lower lip as he pulled away, but he didn’t end the kiss, and came back for more. Everything changed in the second kiss; gone was the sweet exploration and in crashed a need that had my world exploding. He moved fast, slipping his tongue between my lips as I gasped in a kiss that drove me wild. My hands fisted into his hair, drawing him closer to savor the taste of him, but I wasn’t the only one with the same idea.

  Devyn’s hands slid under my butt and scooped me up, depositing me onto his lap so I was straddling him.

  Holy hot sauce!

  This was a thousand times spicier than I remembered or even fantasized about. “You smell amazing,” he murmured, kissing a trail down my jaw.

  Every nerve ending under my skin fired with electricity. I was consumed with it—consumed with Devyn. The feelings invading my body were downright frightening. I didn’t know what came over me. No one had ever made me feel like this.

  So much for just being friends.

  There was no way he could kiss me like this and not feel anything, because I felt everything, including how much he wanted this, as that part of him that was male pressed against me.

  I trembled in his arms, under his touch, and arched into his body. All I cared about was Devyn. His lips. And what he could do with his tongue.