by Zoe Marriott
CHAPTER 10
RACHEL’S FATE
A door slammed at the back of the house. Feet stomped heavily towards us, sending Tyrannosaurus Rex vibrations through the floor.
“What time do you call this?” Rachel erupted into the hallway. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you call and let me know where you were and – and what the hell happened to you?”
She rushed forward, anger melting into shock and concern as she saw the ragged, dirty state of us. She knelt on the bottom step and cupped Jack’s face carefully between her hands. “You’ve got a black eye.”
“Get off, Rach!” Jack tried to brush her sister away and was firmly ignored.
“Start talking. Was there an accident? Did you get mugged?”
“Um…” Jack rolled her eyes desperately, and I noticed for the first time that there really was a dark, purplish shadow forming around her left eye socket. It must have happened when she hit the motorbikes. I supposed I’d been too busy to take stock before.
“Yes,” I said, quickly. “Or, rather, not really. There was, like, a street fight, and we walked into the middle of it. We got a bit beaten up. The police—”
“The police?” Rachel shrieked. The sound echoed off the high coving and made us all wince, including Shinobu, who was standing motionless at the door.
Rachel paused, cleared her throat and began again. “Let me dial that down a notch. OK. What about the police?”
“Jack called them, and they came and broke things up and then took us to the hospital to get checked out. We’re both fine. But Jack lost her phone – and it totally wasn’t her fault,” I added. Jack gave me a grateful look. I went on, “By the time I remembered to check mine we were practically home anyway so it didn’t make sense to call and freak you out. Sorry.”
“Oh God,” Rachel moaned.
“Don’t stress,” Jack said, her voice a bit muffled by Rachel’s grip on her cheeks. “I had x-rays and I’m in perfect condition, honest.”
“You don’t understand. I’m going to have to tell Mum, and Mr and Mrs Yamato.”
I began hastily: “I don’t think that’s a great—”
“Why couldn’t you both have glued yourselves to the couch and watched TV until you turned into drooling, emotionless drones, like the rest of your generation?” Rachel said, reproachfully.
“You don’t have to phone anyone,” Jack said quickly. “You heard Mimi. This wasn’t a big deal.”
Rachel finally let go of Jack and sat back with a sigh. “Nice try, kiddo, but getting mixed up with the police and being taken to the hospital is a big deal. Don’t worry – it’s my skin that’s going to get roasted, not yours. You’ll probably have to save up for a new phone yourself, though.”
“Curses,” Jack said, though I could tell she was secretly relieved that Rachel seemed to be on her side.
“Ach, I need caffeine before I start phoning people. Come on. I’ll make you both a cup of tea.”
She stood up and headed back towards the kitchen. Jack flicked a look at Shinobu, then raised her eyebrows at me. What do you think?
I shrugged. She wasn’t that distracted. I definitely don’t think she can see him.
Shinobu cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Rachel-san?”
Rachel kept walking without any sign that she had heard him. I sighed, not sure if I was relieved or disappointed. It was definitely easier not to have to explain why there was an armed warrior-boy trailing around after me, but at the same time, we had to do something with Shinobu, and it was going to be hard to work that out, long-term, if no one else could see him.
“Oi,” Rachel called. “Get in here! I want to keep my eyes on you two delinquents.”
“Coming!” Jack called, jumping up and hurrying forward. I followed more slowly.
“Let us smooth Rachel down a bit,” I whispered to Shinobu. “Then we’ll head upstairs where we can be private and talk.”
Shinobu nodded and slipped into the kitchen behind me, positioning himself against the wall by the door in his bodyguard pose. I perched nervously on one of the breakfast stools at the central island next to Jack, who was already back to her normal self.
“That’s like punishing me for being attacked,” she was arguing. “You can’t punish the victim, sis.”
“Tell Mum, not me,” Rachel was saying patiently, as she set cups out on the island in front of us. “I’m not the one who’ll have to shell out to replace it.”
The kettle was boiling in front of me with a homey, rumbling noise. I looked around – at the pale-green walls that I had helped Mum paint and the little pots of herbs on the windowsill that Dad was so proud of growing – with a sense of being in a dream. Even the faint smell of coffee and hand cream, so much a part of home that I normally barely noticed it, seemed unreal. The world was suddenly askew. I was out of place in my own house. My own skin.
We almost never saw this place again. We almost never got home today.
I sucked in a deep breath, distantly aware that Shinobu was standing alert by the kitchen door, looking around. Probably waiting for me to signal to him what to do next.
I don’t know, Shinobu. I just … don’t. Rubbing my hand over my face, I took another couple of deep breaths, trying to wriggle my skin back into its proper place.
Jack was still going on about her mobile phone. “If anything, I ought to get rewarded for being a good citizen and calling the police. Right, Mimi?” She appealed to me as Rachel moved behind us to open the fridge. “If Mum makes me pay for a new phone out of my own money, I’ll turn into a troublemaker for sure.”
“Like you aren’t already,” Rachel said, rummaging around for the milk.
I seized the distraction and reached into my pocket for my own phone. “Maybe it’s not lost for ever. If someone picked it up, you might be able to get it back.”
I forced myself to focus on the phone display, selected Jack’s number from my contacts and pressed “Dial”, then I lifted the phone to my ear.
“Yeah, right. You must be crazy if you think that – er – anyone who was around there would hand it in.”
“You never know. It’s ringing.”
The tinny sound of Jack’s ringtone – “Take My Breath Away”, from that cheesy Top Gun film – rang out. It took me a minute to realize that the noise was in the room. In the kitchen. With us.
Me and Jack stared at each other.
“What is the matter?” Shinobu asked, sensing my sudden fear. I couldn’t answer.
I swivelled round on the stool, following the sound to its source.
Rachel slowly straightened and eased the fridge door closed. She turned to face us, her right hand creeping into the pocket of her cardigan. She pulled out Jack’s phone. The plastic case was battered and grazed, as if something had tried to chew on it. “Oops.”
“Rachel?” Jack whispered.
“Sorry, Jacqueline. I needed it for the scent trail, you see. And the cats had to know who to chase and where to chase them to.”
“What are you talking about?” Jack’s voice had gone shrill. “How did you get that?”
“No time for questions now, kiddo. Big sister has some business to take care of.”
Rachel looked at me. Her grin stretched wider, wider, splitting her face in half. Rows of razor sharp teeth gleamed behind her lips. “Told you I’d be back,” she said. She dropped the phone, and her hand shot towards me, fingers elongating as black, obsidian claws burst out of the skin.
I spun on the stool, my outstretched arm scattering the mugs on the island as I seized the kettle. I threw it instinctively, with no time to aim. The pot hit Rachel squarely in the face. Boiling water and hot steam sprayed over her. She let out a high-pitched screech, falling back against the fridge. The ringtone cut off.
“What are you doing?” Jack yelled. “That’s my sister!”
“It’s the Nekomata,” Shinobu said, suddenly right behind me. He grabbed my hand and the back of Jack’s jacket, hauling us both off the stool
s and towards the door. “It fed from your sister and took her form to trap us. Come on!”
“No!” Jack tore free of Shinobu’s grip. Her eyes were fixed on Rachel, who was slumped on the floor, curled into a ball, arms over her face.
Shinobu shoved me forcefully behind him and ran back for her. I reeled sideways, hitting the wall next to the door. Shinobu caught Jack’s arm just as she reached the fridge. She fought him, her free hand stretching out towards her sister.
“Rachel! Look at me!”
Rachel’s human skin burst. Flesh-coloured shreds flew out in long streamers, turning black, thickening into tentacles. She surged up from the floor, her pretty face sprouting black-and-white fur, eyes flashing yellow.
One tentacle flicked and knocked Jack’s legs from under her, sending her crashing to the floor. Two others cracked out like whips and wrapped around Shinobu’s arms. He pivoted on one heel, kicking high. His foot smashed into the Nekomata’s face. It flinched and hissed viciously. “I’ve had enough of you.”
One of its free limbs flew up, sharpening into a wicked point.
I sucked in a deep breath that felt like it lasted for ever. Then I darted forward, breath roaring out of my throat. “Shinobu!”
The katana appeared in my hand. I wrenched the blade from the saya and spun it in a one-handed strike, slicing cleanly through one of the tentacles that was holding Shinobu. Thick, black blood spurted. He ripped free of the second tentacle as I whirled past.
“Get Jack!” I shrieked to him over the sound of the Nekomata’s catlike scream.
“I will eat you!” The monster’s voice no longer sounded anything like Rachel’s. “I will suck the marrow from your bones!”
Shinobu hoisted a stunned Jack up into his arms. He carried her to the kitchen door, but instead of running, he dumped her outside and turned back. His eyes scanned the kitchen, looking for a weapon. I backed warily away from the Nekomata into the sunroom, really, really hoping that he would find one.
It’s in my house. Oh God, this thing is In. My. House.
The monster shot four tentacles at me, the ends sharpening as they flew, like arrows. To my astonishment, I managed to dodge two of them and slice a long line into the side of the fourth before the injured tail whipped furiously and caught me a ringing blow to the side of my face.
Pain exploded across my cheekbone. I staggered but managed to keep on my feet, turning the movement into a dive that took me behind the dining table.
“You have got stronger already,” the Nekomata said, sounding surprised. “But not strong enough. Give me the katana! Give it to me!”
A forest of talons thudded into the table and chairs. The hardened oak exploded. I flung myself away, screaming as needle-sharp shards of wood sliced through the arm and shoulder of my coat. I hit the kitchen tiles hard, knocking over one of the island stools. Blood trickled down my wrist and pattered onto the wreckage of smashed cups and wood chunks as I scrambled up.
The Nekomata laughed, a wicked, gleeful gurgle. “Foolish little girl. You do not have the power to hurt me.”
“But I do,” said Shinobu.
As the Nekomata whirled to face him, Shinobu lifted the nozzle of our kitchen fire extinguisher and depressed the grip. White foam surged out of the mouth and hit the Nekomata full in the face.
The monster shrieked and scuttled back towards me, tails clawing at the bubbling foam. I could hear its skin sizzling.
“Aim for the heart!” Shinobu shouted at me.
I sucked in a deep breath and lifted the katana. Droplets of my own blood dripped onto my face as I stared at the thrashing knot of darkness on my kitchen floor. The heart? Aim for the heart? Where the heck is that? I don’t know how to do this!
“Jack,” Rachel’s voice cried from under the bubbling foam. “Jack, please don’t let them hurt me.”
“Mimi.” Jack was standing in the kitchen doorway, clutching the frame. Her eyes were huge, pleading. “That’s still Rachel. We have to save her.”
“That is not your sister, Jack-san,” Shinobu shouted. He looked like he was about to try and jump over the Nekomata and wrench the katana off me. “Mio – strike now!”
Tentacles uncoiled from the knot around the creature’s face and flew out, wrapping around my wrists and dragging me forward. I stumbled one step and dug my heels into the floor, resisting with everything I had. “Help!”
The Nekomata’s eyes were swollen almost shut, its face scalded by the foam, but the terrible mouth gaped impossibly wide, filled with snapping, bristling fangs. The monster’s hot breath blasted my nose with the stench of rotting flesh. My hands, and the sword, were within an inch of its mouth.
I heard a crash – the door into the garden flying open – then Shinobu’s voice, raised desperately, shouting in Japanese. I only understood one word: Kitsune.
The Nekomata’s crushing grip on my arms loosened for an instant. I twisted sideways and managed to rip one hand free, but the hand holding the katana was still firmly caught. I looked around frantically for another weapon – a knife, a chunk of wood, anything. Then I realized that the Nekomata was making no attempt to pull me closer any more. It had frozen, its puffy yellow eyes riveted on something behind me.
I peered over my shoulder to see Shinobu just outside the back door, in the scrubby little garden. His black figure was limned with fire, outlined against the red glow of the setting sun.
But it was hours until sunset and the sky was black with clouds.
The light was coming from the big, unruly myrtle bush next to the garage wall. Fiery rays shone through the leaves, turning them scarlet and bronze and gold, as if the centre of the bush was on fire. The foliage rustled with a soft, sibilant sound like a roomful of people whispering secrets.
A small fox, slightly mangy and greyish, like all city foxes seemed to be, emerged from under the bush and sat calmly, bathed in the glowing light. It stared at me though the glass wall of the extension with what I could have sworn was humour. One of its ears twitched.
The red glow intensified, and as I watched, the fox’s mangy, grey fur melted away to reveal a vivid, copper coat with a lustre like polished metal and a shining blaze of white on its chest. The fox stood up on its back legs, body lengthening, transforming, as it grew. A final burst of light made me blink.
When I looked again, the light was gone and in the fox’s place there stood a slender young man. Glorious, copper hair fell well past his waist, and he wore a formal white kimono. His face was heart-shaped, with a pointed chin and a smiling mouth. A glossy, white-tipped tail poked out of the bottom of the kimono.
“Shinobu of the old country,” the young man said. His light, tenor voice was formal, but there was a lilting note to it that made me feel he was on the verge of laughter. “You have called upon the Kitsune of this city for assistance, and, in accordance with the promise made to you by our king centuries ago, we will lend it. What is it that you wish of us?”
Shinobu let out a sigh, slumping with clear relief. “Thank you. I beg of you, Lord Fox, banish the Nekomata from the house, and make this place safe from the invasion of harmful supernatural creatures.”
The fox spirit tilted his head, a narrow, white grin spreading across his face. “Your request shall be granted. And just between us? Awesome wish, man.”
The tip of his tail began to crackle, fur turning incandescent like a long, white flame. The Nekomata’s tentacles released me, flinging my arm away so hard that I spun round and stumbled over the fallen kitchen stool.
“No,” it yowled. “This is not the business of the Kitsune.”
“Sorry, cat-breath. You made it our business when you messed with Tall, Dark and Handsome here.” The fox winked at Shinobu. Shinobu cleared his throat.
“I will take vengeance. My Mistress will take vengeance!” the Nekomata cried.
The fox laughed. “Yeah, good luck with that. If I were you, though, I’d stop whining and start running.”
The fox lashed his bushy tail once,
twice, then whipped it forward. A bolt of sizzling blue-white lightning shot from the white tip and hit the glass wall.
The electricity bubbled and spread on impact like glowing gel, multiplying, crackling along the joins of the windows, springing up on the skirting boards of the kitchen, surrounding the doorway, roaring out of the cupboards. It even dripped out of the taps.
I looked down to see it burning under my feet, licking along the tile grout. The blue-white flames didn’t consume anything. They didn’t even feel warm. But the Nekomata let out a squeal of utter terror and scuttled back towards the kitchen doorway, where Jack was still standing.
Jack’s eyes widened. She scooted through the entrance, missing the Nekomata’s tentacles by inches. The Nekomata didn’t even notice. Its rolling eyes were fixed on the fox fire that was engulfing the kitchen and swarming towards it. The drops of its blood on the kitchen tiles fizzled and disappeared with tiny puffs of black smoke under the flickering light.
“This is not the end,” the Nekomata snarled at me. “I still have your friend’s sister. If you do not surrender the sword by sunrise, I will devour her. Surrender by sunrise, or Rachel Luci dies!”
With a parting yowl, the Nekomata turned tail and ran.
CHAPTER 11
FAVOURS AND PROMISES
I heard the front door fly open, despite the fact that I’d locked it. I scrambled to my feet and peered down the hall in time to see the Nekomata’s tails disappearing out of the open doorway just ahead of a wall of blue-white flames. The flames shot up around the frame and lintel, then the door slammed shut with a thud and the deadbolt engaged again. The fox fire roared up for a second, then snuffed out completely, leaving no sign that it had ever been there.
The Kitsune sighed. “Shame. One more second and it would have been Stonesville for Kitty. Well, this was fun, guys. See you around.”
“Wait!” Jack ran past me and leapt out of the back door to confront the Kitsune. “Don’t go!”
Crap. I couldn’t remember most of the stories that Ojiichan had told me when I was a kid, but something that had stuck in my head, possibly due to subsequent years of anime-watching, was that while fox spirits could be friendly to humans, they could also be temperamental and tricksy. If Jack wasn’t careful she would end up getting turned into a rice ball.
