Nine Tails Collection 1-3: Kitsune and Shaman novel

by J. L. Weil

  I leaned back in my chair, relieved this night was coming to an end. “I’ll clean this up later.”

  Dad nodded, scooting his chair back and taking his plate to the sink.

  Mom pushed herself up from the table. “Devyn, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for taking care of my little girl.” She bent down and pressed a kiss to his cheek, tears misting her eyes.

  “You don’t need to worry about Karina,” Devyn assured solemnly. “Nothing will happen to her. Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Lang.”

  Mom gave a slight tilt of her head, satisfied Devyn would keep his word. Dad returned to her side, offering her a hand as he guided her to the stairs.

  “Wow. That was a dinner I’d never like to repeat again,” I said when the coast was clear, sinking back in my chair.

  “I’ve never had spaghetti before. It’s good,” Devyn replied, shoveling the last bite into his mouth.

  I don’t know how he was able to eat as much as he had with my dad down his throat. My lips twitched. “I told you it was good. Come on, let’s take a walk; I need some air.” I grabbed Devyn’s arm and tugged him down the hall before my dad decided to come back downstairs so he could drill him with another series of uncomfortable questions.

  Pressing down on the front door latch, we stepped outside. The evening air, both warm and cool, washed over my flushed face. I inhaled a huge gulp and released it. “Hey, I’m sorry about the third-degree in there. You handled it pretty well, considering.”

  “He only wants the best for you, and is wise to mistrust me. If I was in his position, I wouldn’t have let me through the front door.”

  I laughed. “Good to know. Why is it I trust you, then?”

  An impish grin teased the corners of his sculpted lips. “Because of my irresistible charm.”

  “Ha,” I snorted. We stepped off the porch and onto the driveway, and naturally my gaze drifted to Jesse’s house. Wow. That was weird. Hannah was there. Her shiny little red car was in the driveway, parked next to Jesse’s Jeep.

  I told myself I had no reason to be upset. It was good they were hanging out, and yet a frown played on my lips.

  “Looks like someone’s having a late-night study session,” Devyn murmured, his gaze following the line of mine.

  I shrugged, pretending I didn’t give a damn. “They’re allowed to hang out without me.” The words sounded stale in my mouth, neither of us buying it.

  “You’re not used to being left out of the trio. It’s okay to feel miffed.”

  I sighed. “It’s good they’re hanging out. They both knew you were coming for dinner; besides, maybe they’ll finally realize they have feelings for each other.”

  We turned down the side of the house, toward the field that lined my backyard and Jesse’s. “I very much doubt it,” Devyn intoned.

  I angled my head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

  The moon was almost full, just a sliver missing from the left side, and in the cloudless night the blue light cast shadows over Devyn’s striking face. He had shaved this morning, but I could already see the little dark hairs poking through on his chin. “It’s obvious the jock has a thing for you. Anyone can see it, even Hannah.”

  “That’s crazy.” Was it, though? If I was being honest with myself, I had thought for a long time Jesse and I might date, that maybe we were meant for each other. It all changed the second my gaze landed on Devyn, and I realized how wrong Jesse and I were for one another. Jesse was warm fuzzies. Devyn was bolts of white lightning in the veins.

  They enticed very different feelings within me.

  Devyn lifted a brow. “You might have moved on, but Jesse, he’s still stuck on the idea of you.”

  The grass crunched under our feet as we strolled in the moonlight. “But he has to know Hannah likes him. She has since we were in junior high.”

  Devyn shrugged. “Maybe he does, but she isn’t you.”

  I scowled. “It doesn’t matter now. Things are changing. They know it, and it isn’t just school is about to end and we’ll be going off to different colleges. They sense something’s up with me.”

  “You can’t change the past. They care about you. It’s normal they’re concerned, but you can’t tell them the truth.”

  I stopped walking and tilted my head back, staring up at the stars. The universe was full of otherworldly things I had yet to understand. If I didn’t find a way to catch up, I stood to lose those close to me. “I know.”

  A funny smile tipped his lips.

  “If we weren’t in this position, you wouldn’t have even given me the time of day,” I found myself muttering.

  Devyn lost his smile and stared at me. “You’re so wrong, Kitten.”

  “You didn’t know me before,” I replied, my voice flat.

  “But I did. You forget: I know everything about you.”

  “Speaking of that, how does it work? How is it you’re able to know things about me, when you lived in another world?”

  He pressed his back into the trunk of a maple tree, eyeing me with a gaze that made my pulse pick up tempo. “I don’t understand it myself. The link between us allows me to know things about you, what you like, when you’re in trouble, and it’s there in my mind when I need it. I don’t even know if that’s the right way to describe it. I have memories of you, of your childhood, as if they were my own and as if I lived them through a dream.”

  “Wow. That’s super-trippy.”

  He raked a hand through his hair. “Tell me about it. If you had grown up in the Second Moon we would have been raised together, gone to the same schools, and trained side-by-side. From the time we were born we were to form a bond, a strong, unbreakable friendship.”

  I had that, but just not with Devyn. In a way, it made me sad. I wouldn’t trade my childhood for another, but I couldn’t help wondering what would it have been like growing up in Katsura with Devyn. Would this attraction I had for him be as powerful? “Does us not being raised together change our connection?”

  He shrugged. “Possibly. But don’t worry, Kitten, us not growing up in the same world won’t hinder my ability to protect you.”

  I never doubted it would.

  Maybe us being thrown together as young adults explained why I felt more than friendship for Devyn. We’d never had the chance to be friends first. “Just so we’re clear, you can’t read my mind, right?”

  He chuckled. “I wish.”

  “Since you’re in such a sharing mood, what’s the big deal about us being more than friends?”

  Humor sparkled in his eyes. “In the Second Moon, you’re considered out of my league.”

  “Is that why you keep pushing me away?” There was so much I had yet to learn, and I loved peppering Devyn with questions. He was like a book I couldn’t put down, filled with vast knowledge about far-away places.

  “If you weren’t who you are, then it might not be such a controversy. Your title in the Second Moon makes it impossible for us to be together. I have no royal lineage.”

  “That’s bullshit. And talk about archaic. This isn’t the 1800s. I can choose whoever I want to be with.” And I chose Devyn.

  “Katsura and the other regions aren’t like Earth. Things there are different than here. Your world might have done away with some of the old traditions, but ours are still very much a thing of the present.”

  “How stupid.”

  He pushed off the tree and closed the space between us. “I never thought about it before.”

  “I’m not a princess or royalty, and I don’t care about the rules of another world. I’m simple. My life was modest before all this.”

  His head turned just a fraction, so his lips cruised up the side of my cheek. “You’re wrong. In moonlight, you’re anything but simple.”

  My face warmed. I had taken extra care with my makeup, and only tried on ten different outfits, looking for one that flattered my eyes. “Devyn,” I whispered as he leaned in.

  Color began to surge into my cheeks, our
lips a mere breath away when he abruptly stopped, his eyes going bright green in the night, glowing like a firefly. The change in his body was instant.

  “Get back into the house. Now!” Devyn ordered.

  I hesitated, confused by what was happening, by the time I did understand it was too late. I’d never make it back to the house before Dmitri was able to swoop me up. Devyn knew it, too. He shoved me behind him, whipping out the dual blades that had magically materialized at his back. Fury and Wrath hissed as they wound around Devyn’s wrists, eager for the battle they knew was coming.

  I, on the other hand, was a wreck. Fear clogged my throat as the black dot in the night sky grew closer, forming into a figure with large wings.

  Dmitri wasn’t alone. The Karura had brought reinforcements.

  “Shit,” I muttered.

  “Stay behind me. And stay close,” Devyn warned, twirling Wrath through the air once as he calculated our next move. “Whatever you do, don’t let Dmitri get his hands on you.”

  “I’m not letting that winged beast paw me,” I replied, completely outraged.

  Hovering over our heads the Karura spread his large black wings, gliding in the air. Shirtless, his exposed skin gleamed under the moonlight.

  Dmitri smiled as he looked down at Devyn. “You didn’t think you’d gotten rid of me so easily, did you, Sin Eater?”

  “No, not at all. I was hoping you’d show your ugly mug again, because this time I’m going to kill you. Screw sending your soul back. My pets are dying to get a taste of you.” Fury and Wrath let out one long joined hiss.

  Dmitri’s eyes fixed on me. “Give me a second, doll-face, while I take care of your bodyguard, then you and I can get better acquainted.”

  Devyn snarled, blocking me with his body. “Let’s get on with it, then.”

  The half-smirk on Dmitri’s lips spread as they came nose-to-nose. When Dmitri’s feet touched the ground he stood a few inches taller than Devyn and a bit broader, the veins in his arms bulging. “Killing you will give me immense pleasure.”

  “Ditto.”

  Dmitri took a swipe at Devyn with his claws, but he was able to jump back out of the way. I sucked in a gasp of air. Devyn leaned back, taking the small opening as Dmitri drew his hand back for a second round and planted his foot in the Karura’s midsection. He stumbled back a few steps, but not as far as I would have liked, and his recovery time was frightening.

  But not as horrifying as the sight of Devyn and Dmitri charging at each other. They collided with enough force to cause an earthquake.

  This couldn’t be happening. Not here.

  I glanced around. I was only yards from my house, from Jesse’s house. Everyone in the world I cared about was in the vicinity. Icy-cold fear froze the blood in my veins. This couldn’t happen. Not here. Not where they would see… or worse… get hurt—killed even. I had to do something. Fast.

  If they realized where my true concern lay, it would only give Dmitri the leverage he needed to use against me. I would have gladly gone with the Karura if I knew it would keep them safe, including Devyn, but I couldn’t tell the Shaman that. He would never stand for it.

  I had to shift.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Hey, jackass!” I yelled.

  Dmitri jumped back as one of Devyn’s blades sliced through the air directly in front of the Karura’s chest. “I’m kind of busy, doll-face.”

  “Kitten, what the hell are you doing?” Frustration pinched Devyn’s features.

  Fear knotted in my belly, but I forced my voice steady. What the hell was I doing he wanted to know. All I knew was I needed to move this party somewhere far from my house. “Let’s not make this difficult. If you want me, you’re going to have to catch me.”

  Dmitri laughed, advancing on Devyn. “I’m working on it. Just let me take care of your knight in shining armor.”

  I snorted. “Please. I don’t need him.”

  “I don’t know what grand scheme you have going, but it ends now,” Devyn snarled, his gaze slamming into mine, anger spitting from his eyes as they illuminated the darkness.

  “I’m shifting. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”

  “Yes! You can. I have this under control.” He ducked as Dmitri’s wing went over his head.

  Devyn was constantly barking at me to shift, to run, so that was exactly what I was going to do. The one time I wanted to run he was forbidding it. The Shaman was a conundrum, to say the least.

  “Is that why you’re bleeding?” I challenged.

  “Karina, this isn’t how it works between us,” he groaned.

  I needed less talking and more shifting, but as long as he kept arguing with me I couldn’t concentrate. “I’m doing this with or without your help, you arrogant, self-righteous, asshole.”

  Whoosh. Devyn tackled me to the ground. A moment later, Dmitri pounded into the spot where I had been standing, causing the earth to tremble.

  I blew the messy hair out of my face. That was a close call.

  “You were saying?” There was a mile-wide smirk on his face as he hovered over me.

  My gaze was directed over his head. “Devyn!” I screamed.

  Dmitri was diving straight at us like a missile on steroids. Horror poured through me. Devyn rolled to the right, taking me with him, arms secured around my waist. The danger was far from over. Devyn leaped to his feet, doing things with his blades that could have been construed as art.

  Kicking out, Devyn hit Dmitri in the right leg, and then spinning around jabbed one of his swords into a black wing. Dmitri bellowed, but he didn’t fall as I had hoped. The bastard was strong.

  Dmitri charged, flying straight at Devyn, who spun and delivered another kick, this one to the Karura’s gut, sending him sailing backwards like a pinwheel. Using his wings, Dmitri shifted his momentum and straightened up.

  Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, Dmitri pulled a fae, poof-be-gone act, disappearing out of thin air.

  I blinked. What the—? Where did he go?

  “I hate when they do that,” Devyn hissed, his jaw hardening.

  Maybe this was the opening we needed to run. Or maybe we had scared him, Devyn with this dual swords and me with my… okay, maybe Devyn scared him off.

  Not likely.

  I didn’t even get to finish the momentary freak-out in my head when Dmitri reappeared directly behind Devyn. I screamed.

  And Devyn pivoted. The Karura’s nails raked down the side of Devyn’s forearm, and fear rendered me immobile as I recalled Devyn mentioning something about never letting a Karura scratch you. The Shaman lifted his head, meeting my gaping shock.

  He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Dumbfounded, my body went clammy as Devyn planked to the ground, his arm twitching like a downed powerline.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I started to run to Devyn’s side but Dmitri popped up behind me, his voice in my ear. “Doll-face, you’re a means to an end. I’m not leaving here without you and your soul.” A pair of strong arms wrapped around me, and before I could let out a scream my feet were off the ground.

  “Devyn!” I reached out my hand, but it was useless. Dmitri was too strong. “What did you do to him?”

  He laughed, a deep, demented sound. “Just a little paralysis. Don’t worry. It isn’t permanent, sadly, which means there’s no time for chitchat.”

  The Karura had another think coming if he thought I was going to make kidnapping me easy. I took a deep breath, but there didn’t seem to be enough air getting to my lungs. Keep it together.

  If only it was that easy, to simply tell myself to chill the fuck out. Something was happening to me. I was either going to have the mother of all panic attacks or someone had set off a bundle of fireworks inside me.

  My skin felt as if there were tiny sparklers going off under the surface, flaring and flickering. A charge of electricity burned through my veins.

  What the crap is happening to me?

  As if I didn’
t have enough to worry about with Devyn out of commission, and me soaring higher in the air, imprisoned by a feathered madman. There was nothing I could do to stop the feeling inside me from bursting. The need to shift was overwhelming, to the point where it felt as if I might spontaneously combust if I didn’t give in to the fox. I didn’t want to take the risk. What I wanted was to shock Dmitri stupid.

  If I didn’t get away now, I would never have the chance.

  A low buzzing pricked in my ears, and I threw back my head as I shifted. Nothing prepared me for the charge of liquid electricity pouring through my veins.

  “You little—”

  Dmitri released me unexpectedly, like his hands had been burned. The air even smelled of charred flesh, but it didn’t last more than a few seconds because I was falling.

  I landed on all four paws, a whoosh of energy expelling over the ground. Okay. That was weird. I took off, the sound of wings flapping behind me, and at that moment I knew two things: I was screwed, and Devyn was hurt.

  But again.

  I was so screwed.

  How long was I going to run? Dmitri was gaining on me, and in less than a minute he would be on top of me. My mind kept going back to Devyn. How long would Dmitri’s poison last?

  “The longer you run, the more I’m going to hurt you.” Dmitri’s voice carried in the wind.

  For the love of nine tails. I was on a mission here, and the Karura was going to kill my mojo with all his taunting.

  My paws flew over the ground, tiny specks of yellow light glittering after each step.

  Well, that’s new.

  Sparing a glance over my shoulder, I watched as Dmitri tore through the sky like a man on a mission. That wasn’t all I saw. Staring at my white furry ass, my feet fumbled.

  Holy shitballs.

  I had another tail. I had two freaking tails.

  Woo-flipping-hoo.

  That explained all the weird sensations and glowy gold stuff. Each tail was supposed to give me a new ability.

  It was my turn to shine.

  Come and get me, dickhead.

  I might have gotten cocky a little too soon.

  Air exploded from my lungs as Dmitri crashed into me from behind, taking me to the ground. The impact was brain-jarring as I got a mouthful of dirt and grass. Some went up my nose, and for a few seconds I was suffocating.