by J. L. Weil
Pulling out the last empty seat, I sat across from Devyn. His eyes watched my every move. “I’m taking my break,” I hollered, catching Tristan’s eye over the cappuccino machine. He nodded, worry lines crossing his forehead.
“Make any sudden movements, and you’ll lose a limb,” Devyn threatened. “Deliver what message you came to deliver and then leave. Nothing is going to happen to Karina, is that clear?”
There was a long pause before the twins nodded in sync. “We’ll do this your way, for now.”
Talk about a tense table.
Jaylen turned those deep topaz eyes to me. “We served your grandfather. We were part of his guard.”
“That might be true, but doesn’t mean you have any loyalty to Karina,” Devyn exclaimed. “Many believe she has no claim to the throne, regardless of who her grandfather was. How do I know you aren’t one of them?”
“Yes, there are many who believe she isn’t qualified. She has never stepped a foot into the Second Moon. Why would she fight to save it?”
Why indeed? If my mother wasn’t at risk because of the dying land, I might not give a lick about the otherworld. No reason I needed to voice that out loud though.
“I was never given the chance to feel anything about Katsura or any of the regions. Up until a few weeks ago I didn’t know any of you existed, which isn’t my fault. I think I deserve an opportunity to see the world with my own eyes, before I’m gunned down and stripped of my power.”
The twin with the shoulder-length hair frowned. “You have a difficult path laid out in front of you, Kitsune. We knew your mother. Banishing his only heir cost Ryo dearly, and was what ultimately led to his unforeseen death. We came here to see you and judge for ourselves if you pose a threat to Katsura.”
“Or if you’re its only salvation,” the other twin added.
Wow. They even finished each other’s sentences. I suppressed the shiver of creepiness that wanted to roll through me. There was something about Jayden and Jaylen that made the hairs on my arms stand up like a porcupine.
“You’re not at all what we expected.” From the flat expression on their faces, they were doubtful. “We don’t see how you could possibly save our world.”
Disappointment tinged with annoyance coursed through me. Hearing I wasn’t up to Kitsune standards was defeating. I needed to do this. It was the only way to save my mom.
“Time is slipping away, and your power is weak. Our world won’t be able to wait while your abilities develop. It could take years. We have months at most,” Jaylen informed, speeding up the clock on my hope.
“So, you came here to tell her to give up? That’s not happening,” Devyn cut in, a fierce scowl marring his face. “She shifted before her eighteenth birthday. That means something. She has strength and powerful determination. I’m not giving up on her, and it would be foolish for anyone else to underestimate Karina. You bring that message back to the Second Moon. You tell her great-uncles I am going to do everything in my power to keep her alive. It doesn’t matter how many assassins they send. I will kill them all.”
The twins and Devyn were locked in an epic stare-down. Tongue-tied, I stayed silent, my cheeks flushing from Devyn’s loyalty, as I could do nothing but feel an enormous amount of gratitude. Without him I couldn’t do this, and I would lose my mother. Having him believe in me gave me a boost of confidence, after the crushing beat-down from the twins. In a span of a few seconds, they had been able to make me feel inadequate and unqualified. It had only taken the same amount of time for Devyn to give me hope again.
What an emotionally-draining conversation.
But the fact remained I still had no idea if I could do what needed to be done.
I had to gain eight more tails, with not a clue how to do so.
And stay alive.
It was hard to not feel discouraged and disheartened.
“Your ego is still as large as Death’s Crater. It will be your downfall, Sin Eater.”
Devyn leaned forward over the table. “And you coming here will be yours,” he retorted, his lips thinning. “Now you can leave and return to Katsura, or we can take this outside. Option two would make my day.”
“This won’t be the last time you see us. Ryker is keeping a close eye on the Kitsune. For now.” Without ever touching their drinks, the twins got up and walked out the front door, and I couldn’t believe there had been no bloodshed.
“I’ll hang around until you get off work. Make sure they don’t get any funny ideas.” Devyn was watching me strangely, as if he thought I might fall apart.
I nodded and pushed to my feet, gathering the full cups of coffee. Exhaling the breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, I walked behind the counter, my hands shaking. Coffee spilled out of the little hole, toppling over my hand. “Crap,” I muttered. This was not my flipping day.
Chapter Four
“Hey, you okay?” Jesse asked as we walked down the hall to the lockers. Jesse Hart had been my neighbor and best friend, well, forever. There wasn’t a memory I didn’t have without him.
I tried to block out the scent of sweaty teenage boys, overly sweet perfumes, and the stench of teenage angst filling the air of Seaside Heights High School. My enhanced senses were in overdrive, suffocating in all the teenage drama. “Yeah, don’t I seem okay?”
A lock of sandy hair fell over his forehead. “Uh, not really. You keep looking over your shoulder as if you’re being followed or searching for someone.”
Was I? Crap. Being paranoid sucked. “Sorry. I guess I’ve been a bit jumpy since that night.” I didn’t
want to explain what night I was referring to. Jesse knew. It was the night I shifted, but as far as my friends were concerned they got a half-ass version of those evening’s events. They knew I’d been attacked, mugged as I had told them. Of course, they were concerned about me, afraid how I was processing what had happened.
I had started taking defense classes, aka learning how to be a Kitsune with Devyn. Lying to my two best friends in the world sucked, but the truth was, not only impossible to believe, but it was dangerous for them.
Jesse frowned. “It’s not just that. You seem different lately.”
“Different how?” I was sincerely interested. Had I changed? Could my friends see the difference in me? Was it that obvious?
Jesse shrugged, his stormy eyes pulling me in. “I don’t know. Just different. Sad, I guess.”
Am I sad? One of many emotions I felt, making it hard for me to decipher through them, but gloomy was in there. I’d been unhappy since my mom got sick. “Things are complicated.”
“K, you know you can talk to me. I’ll always be here for you no matter what’s going on. That won’t change.”
I brushed my shoulder up against his. “Thanks. You’ve always been there for me, for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“You’d probably have a lot more food in your house, and no knowledge of good movies.”
I playfully smacked him on the arm. “Hey! That’s not true. Without me, you never would have seen a single Leonardo movie.”
Jesse grinned, but it didn’t last long. “So, it has nothing to do with that guy?”
“What guy? Devyn?” I didn’t want to lie; it hurt to lie to Jesse, but if I admitted he was involved in what I was going through, Jesse would go ballistic. I didn’t need him interjecting himself into this shit storm that had become my life. The whole idea was to keep him and Hannah safe.
He made a face. “Yes, Devyn,” he replied, as if it was painful to say his name. “That guy gives me a bad feeling. I know you don’t want to hear it but I don’t like you hanging out with him, especially alone.”
“Is this about Saturday night at The Dome? Jesse, I’m really sorry we cut out on you and Hannah like that. I swear it wasn’t to hurt you. There were so many people there, and I started to feel sick. I had to get out of there. Devyn made sure I got home.”
“How gallant of him,” Jesse said, not bothering to hide
his distaste.
I turned, and fumbled with the combination on my locker. “I know it’s weird seeing me hang out with another guy, but he’s helping me.” I popped the latch and swung the metal door open, shoving my books inside. I angled my head and looked at him as he leaned against the locker beside mine. “I never want to feel like I did that night in the alley, defenseless and weak.
“I still wish you had called me. I want to beat the living crap out of the guys who did that to you.” His hands clenched into tight balls against the binder he was holding.
Oh, they had gotten what they deserved. Devyn had seen to it. “I appreciate that, I really do, but it’s over now, and I just want to move on.”
His lips tugged downward. “I didn’t mean to rehash it or drudge up old memories. I’m worried about you.”
“I know,” I said, stretching up onto my toes and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “And I appreciate it.”
Tim O’Brian, one of Jesse’s lacrosse teammates, whistled as he walked by. They shared some lame head nod.
I rolled my eyes. “See you later?”
Jesse gave me a lopsided smile. “Depends on what your dad is making for dinner.”
“Taco Tuesday,” I said, slamming my locker shut as I started to walk backwards. I was meeting Devyn in the parking lot after school today for one of our riveting sessions, and it would be best if Jesse and I parted ways here before he got a glimpse at the Shaman. “I’ll be sure to save you a plate.” We both knew he wasn’t going to turn down free food. Ever.
Jesse had practice every day after school… the joys of being a jock. “You’re the best, K.”
I waved, pretending a lump hadn’t suddenly formed in my gut. If he only knew. I was anything but a saint.
Pushing through the double doors leading out to the parking lot, I took a giant whiff of fresh air, gulping it up. So many scents at once. Gasoline. Pine. Fresh cut grass. A prickly feeling stole over me, and I knew I was being watched, so I gave the parking lot a sweeping glance with my superior eyes, letting out a bit of the fox inside me. It was a new trick I’d been working on, using the abilities without fully shifting. My eyes passed over Anthony Thompson, captain of the lacrosse team. He forked his fingers through his wavy brown hair before giving me a slow wink and his signature I-know-I’m-hot shit smile.
Felicity Turner shot me a dirty look, like she was going to shove one of her pom-poms down my throat. Felicity was a cheerleader and probably in the fantasies of more than half the guys in our school. More power to her. My goal in life wasn’t to be a sex object, but Felicity did a stellar job.
I hated her.
The feeling was mutual.
Hate might have been a strong word, but mostly we stayed out of each other’s way. The fact she felt threatened by me was hilarious. I had no desire whatsoever to catch Anthony Thompson’s attention.
Scrunching my nose, I moved past Seaside Heights High’s perfect couple and continued to scan the parking lot. Although I couldn’t see who was watching me, I was aware of their eyes on me. I tried to ignore the prickly feeling, stepping off the curb and into a row of cars, but it wasn’t easy. My Kitsune instincts were urging me to shift, unease slithering up my spine. It wasn’t until I caught sight of someone else the impulse to shift faded.
Devyn St. Cyr.
I couldn’t explain the excitement threading through me.
Okay, that was a lie. I didn’t want to admit what that excitement meant.
In black jeans and a black T-shirt, he leaned against his sleek car, watching me with a sinister smirk on his lips, and an equally menacing glint in his emerald eyes. “You look like you could use a drink. Rough day?”
“When isn’t it?” I mumbled, stopping in front of him.
His lips twitched. “Someone ate her bitch-flakes today.”
“Just get in and drive. Fast,” I said, opening the passenger door and slipping in.
“Fast is the only way I drive.”
My stomach did a series of senseless cartwheels I now associated with Devyn, and he put the car in gear. It was a gentle ride, so unlike my little Nissan Maxima as it glided toward the road leading out of the school, which made the jerking halt so unexpected.
I opened my mouth to ask what the hell his deal was, but I figured it out for myself. Two guys had stepped out into the road, and those prickles I’d been feeling earlier came back tenfold.
Nothing like a pair of Silvermyst to complete my day.
I braced myself in the seat, fingers gripping the edge as I anticipated Devyn doing something crazy, like mowing down the bastards with his car. His fingers flexed on the steering wheel a second before his foot hit the accelerator, but to my great surprise he swerved to the right at the last minute, riding on the shoulder and not killing the Silvermyst.
I spun on him, fast enough to give myself whiplash. “Why didn’t you hit them?” My voice was all panicky.
He kept his eyes on the road, only lifting a single brow. “Now you suddenly like violence? You want me to turn the car around and mow them down in the parking lot?”
“Aren’t they just going to come back and try to kill me?” I retorted
“Probably.”
“Are you insane?”
He swung the car into the flow of traffic, as he merged onto the main road. “Says the girl who’s asking me to kill for her.”
I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t it what you do?”
He met my gaze. “If it saves your life, I wouldn’t hesitate.”
My heart pattered when it had no reason for pattering. Stupid heart. “My point exactly.”
He gave a one-shoulder shrug, turning his eyes back to the road. “You were in no danger; besides, I think I want to have a one-on-one with these guys, pump them for a bit of information.”
“So, you plan to seek them out later?”
“That, or they’ll find you. Either way, I’ll be there to grill them.”
I didn’t doubt that.
Sinking in my seat, I studied the scenery as we sped toward the waterfront. Spring was in full bloom, with summer trying to break through. Vibrant colors were everywhere: bold reds, fifty shades of green, skies clear and blue as the sun’s beams glistened over the crystal waters. With summer on the horizon, it meant I only had a month left of school.
The beach was empty when we pulled up, just how I liked it: peaceful and secluded.
Devyn came around to the other side of the car as I shut my door. He had Wrath and Fury in his hands; the twin snakes were wound up his forearms, looking hungry. “You up for a round?”
“Am I ever,” I replied, so ready to release the overflow of emotions inside me, everything from rage to pity; it was all swimming within me.
“Good, you’ll need this.” Before I knew his intention, one of his swords was sailing in the air at me, with Fury, I think, wrapped around the hilt, connecting to Devyn’s forearm.
I reacted on stupidity and instinct, reaching out and grabbing a hold of the hilt. “What do you expect me to do with this?”
“They’re part of the Second Moon, a direct tie to my world, and their properties could help you,” he explained.
Wrinkle lines crowded my forehead as I stared down at the unusual object in my grasp. It was the most beautiful weapon I’d ever seen. Truth be told, this was the closest I’d been to anything this sharp and fatal. The blade hummed in my hand as I turned it from side to side, the sun glinting off the shiny steel. Fury’s tongue darted out, tasting the air between us. Her bright eyes caught the light, sparkling like a gem. “I’m confused. I thought they only responded to you,” as I said that Fury began to twine around my wrist, her skin cool and textured. I found it oddly comforting.
“You have a bond to me, therefore to what is mine. Fury and Wrath will fight to protect you just as I will, and that includes lending you their strength and abilities.”
I was speechless. It never crossed my mind. “And you think they might be able to help me get my powers?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s worth a shot. It can’t hurt. I have this inkling that the deeper your link is to your heritage, the more achievable your nine tails might be.”
It was a good theory, and a place to start. At this point, I’d try anything. If Devyn had told me to pretend I was a unicorn, sprinkle glitter in my hair, and poop rainbows, I would have done it. Yeah, I was desperate, but seriously, being a unicorn didn’t sound that bad.
“Wow, I think that is the first good idea you’ve had,” I said.
Mischief flashed in his expression. “Oh, I’m just getting started.”
And that’s what scared me. What would he suggest next?
Devyn came up behind me, slipping his hands under my arms, and covered my fingers, tightening my grip. “The blade will adjust its weight based on the user. How does it feel in your hand?”
Better now, but it wasn’t the sword giving me a mad case of warm fuzzies. I fought the urge to lean back into him. “Surprisingly light,” I said, impressed my voice didn’t quiver. The blade was like a natural extension of my arm, and I was betting the connection to Fury had something to do with it.
Devyn nodded. “It’s pretty freaking awesome, isn’t it?” he whispered, his warm breath tickling the side of my neck.
Strands of hair fluttered over my cheek as I turned my head to the side. I wanted him to kiss me. “You have no idea.”
We spent the next half hour going over the basics of wielding a sword, which Fury made almost effortless, while I tapped into my extra sense without shifting. It was an interesting experiment, and the longer I was connected with Fury the more intense my need to shift became. I understood Devyn was also testing my control.
And I was about to lose it. “I have to stop,” I told him, my eyes illuminating and the grain of my voice gravelly. The fox was at the surface, scratching to come out and play. How long had it been since my last shift?
“Why stop? Shift. There’s no one here but you and me,” Devyn persuaded, giving me a smooth and daring look. He took a step closer.
Heat crept over my cheeks. It was an invitation I found I was unable to refuse, and there was something in the glint of his eyes sucking me in, mesmerizing me. I’d shifted in front of Devyn multiple times, but usually in the face of danger. This time there was something exotic about shedding my human skin for the fox with Devyn watching. I swallowed and gave in to the fox, letting the animal inside me loose.
