He held his hand just above the naginata. It shivered on her palm before it floated up and at the last moment, zipped into his hand, expanding out to its full size again. Narrowing her eyes, she studied the weapon with suspicion.
“Well, that is more than before. At least we can call this partially successful.” Letting out a sigh of resignation. She hoped Akari wasn’t mad that the ritual hadn’t really worked. This would be enough for her to return to her travelling. She still had two more weeks in Victoria before her plans had her moving onto another city in Canada.
He nodded, but his face was more thoughtful than triumphant. The naginata shrank back down, and he tucked it into his suit pocket.
“We will see how it goes. You can stay here while you are in the city. I wouldn’t want you camping out while you still have bruises and cuts. Besides, we need to make sure the tengu know I have the naginata now and to leave you alone.” She was glad he didn’t mention that they were technically married for the reason for her to stick around.
She turned over her arm. The wounds were sore as she had forgotten to take anything for them. Haku offered his hand. A shiver of something ran up her arm. She frowned but dismissed it as an after effect of the ritual, maybe it only needed time.
He turned her arm over and asked again, “May I?” He was very polite about her personal space. Though sometimes he forgot, but she never minded.
She nodded, though she wasn’t sure what he was asking permission for. He closed his eyes, and his brow furrowed from concentration. Her skin itched like small ants crawling under the surface. It didn’t last for long.
Haku dropped her hand and said, “Take a look now.”
Kiera peeled back the tape of the one on her shoulder. The bite marks were now light pink and with a judicious poke, she discovered that though they ached deep down, they weren’t nearly as sore as they had been before.
Excited by the prospect, she unwrapped the bandage around her arm and flicked away the remains of the covering. These were also pink, and she poked at them more vigorously. The ache was a reminder that they were not completely healed.
Haku said, “You can probably have Akari take off the gauze.”
“Why didn’t you fix me yesterday? I could have done with some instant healing.” She continued to study her scars.
“It isn’t the same. I can only speed up the natural process. The other day, you might have had an infection, and the speeding up of the wound would have just turned it putrid faster. Besides, I used up a lot of my power to hold back the pain.”
She waved her arm around, happy with the results. She hopped up and searched for Akari, who hadn’t gone far. Or more correctly had returned from her sulking as she was sitting in front of a laptop on the couch in the lounge. “Hey, look. Your brother sped it up. You think you can get the stitches out?”
Akari frowned before it cleared and with a sigh, she said, “Fine.”
Kiera followed her through to the bathroom and took a seat on the edge of the large bath and asked, “Why are you so mad at your brother?”
“It isn’t important. I just think some days people take him for granted. Some days, I think he even takes himself for granted. Our parents died when I was still young, and he has been looking after me for years. He didn’t have to, there were others who could take me in. But they weren’t family, and they would have probably treated me like crap. I was lucky my brother was willing to give up so much to look after me. So, I hate it when he has to give up something for someone else.”
Kiera had no idea why the conversation had turned in this direction, so she merely nodded her head and watched the woman wielding the scissors very close to her skin. She changed the subject to a sideways path and asked, “What were your parents like? Or don’t you remember them?”
“I remember them. They were awesome. Outsiders from the rest of the kitsune so we didn’t mingle much with the others even when they were alive. My parents came out here first. It was only later that others followed. We came when there were only humans over here. I ran through the forests while my parents built their first home on the island. We even stayed after everyone else were sent back home.”
“Wow. I suppose you miss them.” Kiera missed her own father though there were days she hated herself for missing him. His last days had been so awful, it had been a kindness when he passed. Akari gave her a sad smile. “It used to be every day but now just sometimes.”
Akari finished with the little butterfly stitches and the other dressings and patted her shoulder fondly, “Done.”
Chapter Six
Kiera wallowed in the clean sheets and a thick mattress. Her usual bed was a sleeping bag that didn’t allow her to stretch out her legs. Kiera enjoyed the feel of smooth sheets over her legs and rubbed her nose into the pillow. Refusing to open her eyes and allow the day to start. Just five more minutes.
Her fingers brushed against something hard. She investigated it. Thin and narrow shape had her eyes opening as she lifted the naginata up. The silver writing winked in the early morning light that squeezed past a gap in the curtain. It mocked her.
Growling with frustration, she rolled out of bed. Her feet hit the smooth wooden floors. She twisted her sleeping top around as it had wound around her as she slept. Gripping the pencil tighter, she went looking for Haku’s bedroom.
She shoved Haku’s bedroom door open. He groaned and sat up. His hands tugging his blanket up, covering him to his shirtless armpits. Revealing his warm toned skin of his shoulders. Kiera waved the naginata pencil in the air.
“It’s back. Did you send it to me?”
“No.” His confusion threatened to derail her anger, but she held on and pointed the naginata at him accusingly though most of the heat had left her.
“Then how did it come to me?” This scared her. If the naginata wouldn’t stay put, she would be trapped here. She struggled to breathe as the prospect of that future pressed down on her.
He rubbed his face and answered without looking up. “It must still see you as its owner.”
She wiggled the fingers of her other hand to indicate weird magic stuff as she said, “But you did that thing in the garden.”
“It didn’t work.”
Despair was sharp inside her. The shackles of her life threatened to consume the life she had created. She would be trapped again. Just like she had been with her father.
She propelled the naginata onto his bed, and he was forced to defend himself as it bounced up and almost hit him in the face.
“Fix this.”
She stormed out before panic got the better of her and she was reduced to a mass of emotions. Skidding on the slick floors she took a corner she dashed into the inner courtyard.
Looking up at the sky she took deep breaths, but it still felt like something was pressing on her chest. She knew she was being unreasonable to think Haku should be the one to fix what that woman at the museum had done. It wasn’t his fault she was in this situation. Tears pricked her eyes.
She liked Haku and his fastidious routine. Even Akari who was a little abrasive but still kind. So, it wasn’t the people causing her to have a minor meltdown. She had seen little of the city but what she had seen reminded her about the good things where she grew up. The ocean, nature and kind people. She liked the house; with the courtyard in the middle, it felt like the whole thing was open to the world. The people chasing her for the naginata. Her heart skipped as she remembered her fear of being killed by Sho on the walkway. Yeah, that was it. She didn’t want to die, and she didn’t want to hide shivering like a coward under Haku’s wing. Or would that be fiery tail?
The doorbell rang, but she ignored it. She could barely hear anything besides her heart beating, but they didn’t ring again, so she assumed someone had answered the door. Probably one of the two people who actually lived here.
Akari appeared in the doorway of the courtyard. Already dressed, a small white envelope hung from her hand.
Akari asked, “Are you al
right?”
Kiera shook herself and said, “I’m fine.” And half true as the panicked knot in her stomach eased away. Akari didn’t look convinced. To distract her from asking any other question that would be difficult to answer Kiera asked, “What’s that?” Pointing to the envelope in Akari’s hand. It was unlikely to be another upsetting letter from her school. But since Kiera had already established her nosiness, she didn’t hide that she was curious.
Akari frowned as she answered, “Ah, it’s a summons.”
A summons to what? It wasn’t likely to be a court summons. If the attack yesterday was the issue, it would be the police on the doorstep. Not some polite and formal envelope.
Kiera spun around when Haku stated, “You aren’t going.” Maybe it was a jury summons but again unlikely considering how adamant Haku was.
Haku had dressed in a hurry as he wasn’t completely all put together. His hair stuck out at angles, and his top was unbuttoned. Despite her worries about being trapped here, she couldn’t help but enjoy the little peek she got of his chest from his unbuttoned shirt.
“She has to,” Akari stated. They were talking about her; the summons was for her? Kiera brought her attention back to the envelope. There was no way this was some Canadian government thing. It must be about the naginata. She contemplated the government of mythical creatures as the siblings argued. Were they democratic? Considering what she had heard about elders and others, she didn’t think so.
“She isn’t a yokai, and she doesn’t have to obey their summons,” Haku insisted.
“It’s from the tengu.”
Haku’s face darkened.
Kiera hated being kept out of the conversation so she asked, “If I go, maybe I can convince them I didn’t steal the naginata. Maybe they will leave me alone then.” Because anything that stopped her from being trapped or killed was at the top of her priority list and even if that meant going to meet some shady secret magical government, she would do it.
Haku huffed with disdain for the idea and closed the distance between them. Afraid he would yell, she stiffened her spine. He caught her hand and placed the naginata in her palm.
“Keep it. At least you will have something to defend yourself with against the elders.” He spun on his heel and stomped away.
Looking to Akari, she asked, “I’m not sure he likes me.”
Akari snorted. “Oh, he does. He’s worried about you.”
“That isn’t worried, that’s angry.” Kiera wasn’t convinced. Akari shrugged but didn’t explain.
Chapter Seven
The car smelt like new. It was certainly clean enough to be new. There wasn’t even dust on the dashboard. Not that she had the guts to run a finger over it to make sure. Haku drove the car with distracted ease. His hands at the correct positions on the wheel. His eyes flickering to take in all the elements. But his emotions were betrayed by his fingers flexing on the fine leather under his hands. The silence in the car was tangible. Kiera ignored it by staring out the window. Though she would have preferred an argument over the silence.
They had travelled out of Victoria City and were heading to a nearby park. Once they left the highway and the suburbs, they were plunged into the darkness of nature without artificial light. The city fell away as the road reduced to an unmarked road, and Haku was forced to slow down on the tight turns.
Without the lights of the city, the view from her window was mostly a reflection of her own face. Her bruised cheek left a smudge of darkness in her reflection. It wasn’t tender when she pressed her fingers against the bone though. Last stages then.
She hadn’t even thought about makeup when she had left the house. Not one to worry about her looks, she hadn’t even dressed up for the meeting and instead, wore jeans and a t-shirt. The gravity of the situation had tempted her to dig out her sole dress, but her usual uniform felt more like armour, and she could do with any bolstering she could get. She rubbed her arms and wished for her jacket. Instead, she wore a borrowed hoodie from Akira. There weren’t nearly enough pockets. She needed to hit a store to replenish her wardrobe.
They stopped in a gravel car park deep inside the regional park. There were a few signs, but she couldn’t read them in the dark. The cars stood empty as dead soldiers lined up at a party. Once out of the car, she waited because the dark forest intimidated her more than the silent carpark.
She had to skip to keep up with Haku as he headed for the path into the forest without seeing if she needed anything. It made her wonder how long he had been a bachelor. Not that she wanted to be his girlfriend, but his awareness was narrow even for a typical example of the male species.
Once she had caught up, she asked, “What should I expect?” He glanced at her and stared ahead for a moment before he answered.
“There is a clearing up ahead that we use. Everyone has a leader of their clan that they send to represent their interests. This is unlikely to be a full council as you are human, and there are some of us that couldn’t care less what happens with humans.”
His casual mention of racism – specism? – something-ism anyway, made her feel small. She had been in that place a few times and mostly because of her gender rather than her race. But she had never liked being put in a box. She almost mentioned it, but she knew she had her own prejudices. Mostly as ingrained as her own culture just from the fact it was planted inside of her so long ago.
He slowed down when she kept falling behind. He frowned, and she almost apologised for not being some super-fit Amazon with long legs. But it felt defensive and redundant.
Once she slowed down, she took in the path they were taking. Well maintained, it was never intended to be travelled at night as there weren’t any lights. Haku’s sight must have been better than hers as she kept stumbling while he picked his way gracefully.
“We will explain your story,” he stated into the silence that had fallen while they walked. His tone suggested he didn’t think it would change the tengu’s minds. She waited for him to add that it would be alright after that. But his determined stride said he thought the outcome would be a different one altogether. Kiera hoped someone there would know some way to take the naginata back. Or at least understand that killing her wasn’t the kind neighbourly thing to do.
Lights ahead gave her hope that at least their destination was lit. Normally, she would have just used the torch on her phone, but Haku had insisted that any sign of her phone would make the yokai council nervous. Instead, it made her feel slightly naked without it.
At the end of the path stood a man in a robe of red and gold. His hands tucked inside the wide sleeves. His silver hair made him look like one of those wise men painted on the side of vases China liked to pretend were Japanese. She wondered if he was putting it on for her or actually wore things like this regularly. A glance at Haku didn’t give her any indication either way.
The man bowed his head to them and said, “Prompt as always. You were always dependable like that, brother.”
“We aren’t brothers.” Haku grumbled.
Unperturbed by Haku’s tone he smiled and continued, “Cousins then. We are both yokai.” This exchange made her wonder what kind of yokai he was. He didn’t look any different to humans, but she assumed everyone here wasn’t what they seemed.
“What can we expect, Kiyoshi?” Haku asked.
“And to the point. Well, the tengu have a grievance but since no one has died, I think it can be resolved merely with talk.”
“He almost killed me,” Kiera reminded him, her anger making her voice terse.
Kiyoshi brought his eyes to study her before he said, “You are the human.”
It was a statement rather than a question, but she answered, anyway. “Yes, and I find this all strange. So, I would like to give the naginata back to whoever is supposed to have it.” Though so far, they hadn’t been able to break the bond, she wasn’t even sure she would be able to give it back. Haku had implied that even the original owner couldn’t take it back while the bond was
in place.
“Ah, that is part of the issue. The naginata is a holy weapon and therefore should only be held by one of the gods.” At least a god should have enough power to take it from her.
“Wait, there are gods?” She knew Haku had mentioned Inari before, but she had thought it was more of the same yokai stuff rather than an actual god.
Kiyoshi’s face turned to elderly indulgence that scraped fingers down a chalkboard of her nerves. Haku interrupted and asked, “Whose side are you on?”
“Ah, well I like humans, but then I also know the tengu are one of our larger groups. This could be difficult.” She wondered if Haku realised he hadn’t answered the question. The vagueness bothered Kiera, but this was Haku’s world, and she would rely on him to know whether this was something to be concerned about.
She scanned the clearing and spotted the woman from the museum and pointed a finger. Kiyoshi gasped, and Kiera remembered that pointing wasn’t acceptable behaviour around Japanese, so she dropped her hand. “That is the one who sold me the naginata.”
Kiyoshi turned to study the goddess. “Inari. I’m not surprised. She has been problematic recently. This could be interesting.” Interesting? Is that all he thought? The woman had changed her life by selling her the pencil. She must have known what trouble she would cause. And if she had done it on purpose, the chances of her taking it back were slim.
Kiyoshi turned and said, “We should start.” He walked into the clearing.
Kiera wouldn’t wait for the proceedings where they would probably blame her for everything. Others still milled about so she had time and stormed across the clearing to the woman and said, “You almost got me killed.”
The woman gave her an enigmatic smile before she answered, “I was expecting something else. Not an accusation.”
Kiera snorted. “Then you shouldn’t have sold me that pencil. Some crazy guy tried to kill me for it. That is your fault.”
The woman tilted her head and reminded Kiera she wasn’t human even if she did look it. Her eyes turned white as she stared into a distance or a world Kiera wasn’t aware of. Inari’s eyes cleared. “I see. Sorry about that.”
Zero Foxes Given Page 6
