by J. L. Weil
Dmitri dug his fingers into the scruff of my neck, pulling my head back. Anger contorted his features into something animalistic. “Bringing you to Thornland is off the menu now, Kitsune. I’ll take your soul instead.”
A low growl rumbled deep in my throat as I showed him my canines.
His fingers were still tangled in my fur and tightened, sending fire across my scalp. Using his other hand, he brought it around my throat, landing on the stone that was lighting up like a Christmas bulb. “This is all I really need anyway. Your life is meaningless, but your soul—priceless.”
That was it.
I waited for something epic to happen, new powers and all.
I waited.
And waited, until time had run out.
Reacting on instinct I growled, and snapped at his hand. We were both a little surprised when my canines sank into his flesh. Dmitri made a strangled sound in the back of his throat before twisting the strands of my fur around his thick fist.
Crap.
This was going to hurt.
He yanked, lifting me off the ground so my paws dangled. I made a whimpering noise equivalent to a cry and swiped my front paws at his face, connecting and lashing his cheek.
“Karina!” Devyn roared. He was getting damn good at bellowing my name, and I doubted that was a good thing.
“This would be easier if you didn’t fight me, doll-face.”
Bastard.
He was delusional if he thought I would let him kill me.
“Now, relax and let me do all the work,” he cajoled, unfurling his massive set of wings. Warning bells went off.
I went wild in his grasp, bucking, scratching, biting, doing everything I could think of, and yet all I managed to do was waste energy. Both hands had moved to encompass my neck, and he was choking the crap out of me.
Where the hell was Devyn?
If only I could figure out how to use this new ability, but I was on the verge of passing out. Black dots formed behind my eyes, my strength waning.
Dmitri was going to kill me. He was going to get the very thing nearly everyone from the Second Moon wanted—my soul star.
Tingles exploded from the center of my chest, and a crackle of electricity burned.
“Let her go, you sack of shit!” Devyn roared.
Dmitri was suddenly ripped off me, breaking his death grip around my neck. My brain was telling me to move, run away, but I couldn’t seem to get my feet to obey.
Devyn?
Was he—?
No, he couldn’t be.
Could he?
He was okay, and saving my ass as always. In the darkness, his green eyes were bright and filled with fury. But victory was short-lived, as I was coming to expect. Two fae dropped out of the sky on either side of Devyn. His eyes were luminous, hidden behind thick black lashes. A smile pulled at his lips, and when he spoke his voice was powerful. “You know I can’t let you kill her.”
Dmitri laughed. “Do you really think you can stop me?”
Devyn shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.” The two Silvermysts advanced, occupying the Shaman, and once again it was just Dmitri and me, exactly as he’d planned.
The large black wings were tucked behind Dmitri as he dusted off his pants, a leer on his face. My heart had never stopped pounding out of my chest, and that tickling burn radiating from my chest bloomed. This time, he wasn’t going to get his dirty paws on me.
Dmitri lifted a hand in the air, flexing his fingers. “I should have scratched you first. A mistake I won’t make a second time.”
I growled.
Not being able to spew all the hateful things running rampant in my head sucked.
His soulless eyes shifted left toward Jesse’s house, something catching his attention. “Maybe you’ll be more inclined to cooperate with a bit of incentive. You seem to have some kind of attachment to the boy next door. How cliché.”
Something snapped within me, radiating a magnetic charge that had the hairs on my body standing up, including the strands framing my face. A ring of current floated around me, encompassing my frame in a purplish light. I felt cracked out on speed, my adrenaline racing to new heights.
The air around me started to shimmer, thickening with a magnetic energy. Indeed, that was sort of how I felt, buzzed and full of pent-up energy, like a storm about to unleash an epic magnetic shower.
I didn’t think. Reacting on pure fury and the natural instinct to protect those I loved, I launched myself at him. No plan intact, I wasn’t sure what would happen. All or nothing.
One second I was running, and the next I was sailing through the air. Dmitri had slapped me, catching me on the side of the face. I landed in a curled-up heap on the ground, pain exploding in every point of my little furry body. Whimpering, I lay there, unsure I could make myself move.
“Karina! Get up,” Devyn ordered.
I lifted my head to see him tear through one of the Silvermyst. This had to end, and not with me in a body bag.
Red-hot anger flooded my senses, giving me renewed strength. A burn of pain shot down my hip as I stood on all fours, but I shoved it aside.
Dmitri gave me a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You won’t win, but I applaud your efforts.”
We’ll see about that.
Behind the Karura Devyn sliced both blades into the last Silvermyst, and I saw our opening. Alone, I might not be able to take down the winged man, but with Devyn, Wrath, and Fury my odds improved.
It only took a split-second to catch the Shaman’s eye, but the message had been conveyed. A surge of magnetic energy from the earth rushed to me in tumultuous waves, creating an electric current that made the skin on my fur heat up.
This time, I wasn’t going to be smacked around.
I jumped, lightning reflecting in my eyes as a charge of electricity ribboned throughout me, like a million tiny electrons pumping in my veins. My front paws landed on Dmitri’s shoulders, taking us both to the ground. For a moment I was in stunned city, but not as flabbergasted as Dmitri. The look on his pompous face was priceless—a Kodak moment. Too bad I didn’t have a camera. I wanted to remember this day—the moment I kicked ass.
Energy hummed and traveled inside me, bouncing around in the air as it gathered in a circle. I didn’t entirely understand what I was doing, not until I noticed the Karura couldn’t move. Rings of magnetic energy clamped his hands and feet, restraining him to the ground under my maelstrom.
His eyes widened.
Hmm. I guess that’s what the new tail does.
No matter what Dmitri did, he wasn’t able to move under the pressure of the magnetic storm I had created. A shadow fell over us; the hissing of two vipers in eager anticipation resounded over the eerie night. I stepped back, keeping the storm center over Dmitri.
“I’m going to enjoy this far more than you’ll ever know,” Devyn said with the promise of pain, and then he slammed his sword into the Karura’s heart.
A light burst, causing me to wince. The crack of lightning that came down from the sky was deafening, drowning out Dmitri’s bellow. Wrath and Fury, like two starved vipers, devoured Dmitri’s soul, eating the sins of the Shaman’s victim.
It was over.
For today.
My fight had barely begun; I had not only earned a tail tonight, but I had learned I was stronger than I thought.
Shifting out of the fox, I stepped into my human skin and stood over the scorched ground where Dmitri had been. “Holy shit,” I whispered. “I can’t believe we did that.”
“You’re okay.” Devyn’s fingers framed my face, his eyes seeking mine. “When I saw him strike you, I couldn’t sense our bond; I thought—”
“I’m okay. I’m better than okay,” I assured, grinning, feeling triumphant.
He shook his head, fingers pressing into my arms. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again, do you hear me?”
“Do you want me to lie to you?” When it came to the people I loved, there was no risk I wa
sn’t willing to take.
He shoved a hand into his hair. “For now, I’ll just take a kiss.”
The grin on my lips spread. “What are you waiting for?”
Devyn was wicked fast. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. “You did it. You gained a new power—storm.”
“Fabulous,” I said dryly, looping my arms around his neck. I should have been happy, but there was something about the gaining of more power that left a taste of foreboding in my mouth. “Two tails down. Seven to go.”
He brushed his cheek against mine. “No sweat. You’ve got this.”
Did I, though? The Second Moon was still perishing, and taking my mom with it. The sands of time were slipping away.
Chapter Thirteen
Devyn and I emerged from around the side of the house and onto my driveway just as Jesse was walking Hannah to her car. The four of us stared at each other awkwardly, and I shot Jesse a bland look. Everything had changed between us, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wasn’t even sure what it really meant.
The streetlight hit my face as I cast my eyes sideways at Devyn.
“What the—” Jesse strutted across the lawn in long, angry strides. “K, what happened to you?” He grabbed my chin, scrutinizing the cut on my cheek. Jesse’s eyes went dark, a violent stormy purple with gray clouds swirling. He swung that glare to Devyn. “You hit her, you bastard,” he hurled at the Shaman. “I’ll kill you.”
“If you don’t take your hand off her, I’ll cut it off,” Devyn replied in a low, intense voice.
“What the hell?” Hannah squeaked.
I quickly jumped in the middle before World War III broke out in my front yard. “Guys. Knock it off. Devyn did not hit me.”
It was as if Jesse hadn’t heard a word I said, his eyes fixed on Devyn.
“You want a piece of me? Fine. Take a shot, jock strap.” Devyn cracked his neck.
He was making the situation worse. I flattened my palms on Jesse’s chest and pushed. “Devyn would never hurt me.”
The muscles under Jesse’s shirt tightened and bunched. “Don’t protect this fool. You’re not that girl.”
“And you’re not an asshole, and yet you’re acting like one,” I said.
Jesse stared down at me, searching my face. A hard, grim line pulled at his lips. “Whatever.” He released my chin.
I didn’t want to leave things tense between us. “Look, we were walking in the field, it was dark, and I ran into a tree branch. That’s it.”
Lame, but it was the best I could do on the spur of the moment.
Hannah chewed on her lip, eyes volleying between Devyn and me. She was trying to figure out if I was telling the truth. “You always were a klutz,” she finally said.
My shoulders relaxed, and a hint of a smile curled on my lips. “Ain’t that the truth.” I glanced at Jesse, who still looked as if he wanted to do Devyn bodily harm.
“If that’s what you say happened, but if I find out you lied to me…” He let the unspoken threat dangle in the air between the four of us.
“When have I ever lied to you?” The words felt like acid in my mouth. I wanted to go to bed, turn back time, and restart this entire day. Lying to Hannah and Jesse tore at my guts.
“You’ve changed,” Jesse said, pain in his eyes, like twisting a knife in my back.
“Change isn’t always bad,” Devyn added, stepping closer to me and sending a message to Jesse.
“We’ll see,” Jesse said, folding his arms.
“Sit still,” Devyn ordered, dabbing a cotton ball of antiseptic onto the cut on my cheek. He sat next to me on my bed.
I tried to smile and winced. Any form of face movement was a no-go. “It isn’t fair. You heal in, like, minutes.”
“This may sting a bit,” he informed after the fact.
“You think?” I snapped dryly. “This is utterly pointless. I should have shifted.”
Devyn rolled his eyes. “That’s what I said, but you wouldn’t listen. It’s just a little cut, you said,” he mocked, raising his voice to unnatural octaves.
It was true that I had shut down his suggestion that I shift. Hannah and Jesse had seen the damage to my face. I couldn’t very well show up the next day looking good as new. They were already suspicious, and the last thing I needed was to give them a reason to mistrust me. My lips started to twitch again, and I caught my lower lip in my teeth to avoid another round of pain. “Don’t make me laugh.”
“I like the sound. You haven’t laughed enough since I came here.”
My eyes traveled over the black T-shirt he wore, and how it stretched over his broad shoulders. There was probably blood on the material. “Yeah, well, my life the last few months hasn’t exactly been cheery.”
His eyes snagged and held mine. “I used to hear your laugh in my dreams.”
Those words wrapped around me like a warm blanket. “Really? It’s so weird you know so much about me, and I know next to nothing about you.”
“What do you want to know? We’ll see how much we can cram in before you pass out on me from exhaustion.”
“Everything.”
His smile traveled up to his eyes. “Good thing we have the entire summer. Everything might take months.” The pad of his thumb softly brushed over my bruised cheek, skimming under the cut. “What are you going to tell your parents about this?”
I shrugged. “Same as I told Jesse and Hannah. I need to keep my story straight.”
“Your mom won’t buy it.”
“No, she won’t.” I pressed a kiss to his lips, unable to help myself. “Thanks for what you did back there. For risking your life for me. For taking more than one punch for me.”
He gently blew on my cut, drying the disinfectant. “Anytime, Kitten. There’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing than being here with you.”
Damn. He was good. Way too good with words. I rested my head on the pillow. “Will it never end? The constant threats on my life?”
“Not as long as you breathe.”
I sighed, a heavy weight settling in my chest. “I can’t stay here, Devyn. What happened today, made me realize I’ve been living in denial, thinking I could go on pretending everything is fine. This double life is only doing more harm than good. It isn’t safe for me to be here, and I’m only putting everyone I care about in danger. How long will we be able to fight them off?”
He rubbed his hands up and down my arms, leaving behind little tingles. “Whoa, slow down. I get you’re scared and worried. But tonight was a win.”
I snorted. “I still have no idea how I got the second tail.”
“You’re serious about this?”
I nodded. “I am. My parents think I’m going away to college. There’s no reason they shouldn’t continue to believe I am. And Jesse, Hannah, and I had been talking about taking a trip overseas, one last hoo-raw before college.” It had been something we’d planned since junior high. I was the crappiest friend on the planet because I was going to ditch them this summer, but I had to.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. You know it. I’m not backing out. I’m jumping in, full throttle. We’re doing this shit.”
“I know of a place we can go. We might be able to buy ourselves some time, putting distance between Seaside Heights and us. They know where you are now.”
“I was thinking the same thing.” And he was just the guy I trusted to be able to provide us an escape and make us disappear.
I felt like crying. It seemed to be the most prominent emotion these days. I was a mess. My life was a mess. And I was about to make it messier. The knot that had formed in my throat expanded.
By some small miracle, I had managed to achieve my second tail, but I was far from ready to save a world. The origin behind my tails still remained a mystery.
I graduated in a few weeks. Leaving home would be the hardest thing I’d ever done, especially with Mom so sick, but I didn’t have a choice. If embarking on this journey
to save Katsura would save Mom I had to try, regardless of how much it hurt to leave. An entire world was counting on me. Mom was counting on me. Devyn was counting on me.
Failure was not an option.
“You’re going to be okay,” Devyn whispered, sensing I needed to hear it, because I did. The Shaman would know that. He stretched out his arm, draping it around my shoulders, and pulled me to him.
Tears burned in my eyes. “I will be, because I have you,” I croaked out, pressing my face into his shirt, not caring I was probably smashing my face into caked bloodstains.
It was going to be a long, bumpy road ahead, but nothing was going to prevent me from getting there. Talin and Ryker wouldn’t stop coming for me. I had seven more tails to go, or all would be for nothing.
I was a Kitsune. I wasn’t the same Karina from a few months ago. Everything was different now. The world. Me.
But I wasn’t alone.
Ready for the next part of Karina & Devyn’s story?
Grab your next Devyn fix in FLAME SHIFT the third book in the Nine Tails Series!
Here’s a preview of the cover (you may need to turn to the next page for it to be visible):
Can’t wait to meet you back in Seaside Heights!
Thank you for reading.
xoxo
Jennifer
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