They switched hands, left palms together. Step. Glide. Back at the start. Right palms together. The snow danced around them, catching the firelight. Kit tucked her lower lip under her fangs, and she glanced down at her feet. An idea came to him. He smiled, sending Kit’s eyebrows into her bangs. Time for a little fun. She deserves a little something after the last few days. Funny. I wouldn’t have considered doing this to any lady before I met her.
He spun her one last time out and back in. He caught her and tilted her back until her knees bent. Her hood slipped a little, and her ears lifted the fabric. He leaned over her, supporting her weight in the crook of his arm. Now. He moved close until her green eyes filled his vision. His lips drew close to hers. The dance was not done this way, but all was fair in war. Her eyes widened. He hooked her left hand on his waist, freeing his hand to cup her cheek.
He felt her warm breath on his lips.
The music lilted to a stop.
Timothy held Kit close, sharing her breathing. She trembled. He wanted to press his lips to hers. The distance was short.
But that would spoil his spell.
He caressed her cheek and the side of her neck. He leaned closer still. A hair’s breadth. In a single motion he moved away, pulled her to her feet, and stepped back. The winter air chilled his face. He stepped to the side and held Kit’s hand aloft for the cheering men. Benches and tables thumped in applause. Several whistles cut across the din.
Kit panted. "And you call my weapons unfair."
Timothy smiled. That should pay her back for a little while.
Kit glanced at him and looked away only to glance back again. "Daeric would be less cruel. Any man would be less cruel."
"Good thing I am just a bookworm and a woolhead."
She squeezed his hand. "Don’t forget a muttonhead. You know that the sword is unsheathed now, right?"
He shrugged. "I knew I fought a losing war soon after I met you. But men will speak of the battles I have won."
Kit rolled her eyes. "I think we did our part of this foolish plan." She nestled against his arm. "You are more dangerous than I thought, my husband."
He led her back to their bench. Kit favored the cheering soldiers with a smile, and her cheeks glowed. Timothy heard the faint swish of her tail beneath her skirts. She leaned her head against his arm. Several soldiers rushed out to try to imitate the dance they’d just witnessed. Their friends shouted unfortunates and encouragement. The band played a faster version of the same song.
Tell sat straight-backed on the bench. Yuzu rested against his shoulder. The boy’s face looked like someone had dunked him in Kyle’s sauce.
"I didn’t know you could dance like that," Yuzu said.
Timothy slumped onto bench with Kit. He yawned. Kit continued to lean against his arm. She wore a thoughtful expression. I wonder what weapons she is planning to unleash on me next. She will insist on getting ahead again. Never mind she is already miles ahead.
"I didn’t either," Timothy said under his breath.
Kit moved away from Timothy and yawned behind her hand. "Somehow I am quite tired. Perhaps I will let Kyle and his friends handle Daeric."
"I am going to talk to Kyle. He may have found something by now." Timothy stood. Kit leaned back with her eyes closed. She smiled.
Timothy grinned and enjoyed a rare victory. It won’t be long before she evens the scales.
Yuzu settled against Tell. "Stay here with us, Tell. Why don’t you tell us about…"
Timothy smiled and crossed the field, dodging the dancers. Kyle was speaking with a soldier who rushed off as soon as Timothy neared. Kyle smacked Timothy’s back.
"You definitely got everyone’s attention."
"Have you seen or heard anything?"
Kyle shook his head. "It looks like the boys got drunk for no reason." He grinned. "You should have gone in for the full kiss. I could see how you held back. It will wind her up for later, but too wound, and she’ll spring on you like an overstrung bow."
Balwar approached. "I haven’t seen any signs of Captain Tredere."
"The boys haven’t seen anything suspicious," Kyle said.
Balwar looked at Timothy. "I haven’t see anything," Timothy said.
Balwar rubbed his crucifix between his forefinger and thumb. "It looks like we may have to do this my way after all."
Chapter 8
"It should have worked," Kyle said.
Timothy yawned. The sound of boots and rattling equipment disturbed the frozen morning. Kit huddled in her cloak beside Yuzu as they watched the soldiers march from the camp. Tell stood two paces from Yuzu. More than one man squinted at the light. Wagons lumbered among the files.
I wonder where Tell went.
"My plan would have worked." Kyle scratched his beard. "This Daeric must be a coward."
"Why did the Inquisitor order everyone to leave?" Yuzu asked.
Kyle shook his head. "I argued with him all night to try to change his mind." Kyle yawned. "But it is as set as it is sudden. It’ll be him who mucks that stall instead of me."
"Did you find Captain Tredere? Should you really be leaving without him?" Timothy asked.
"Not a sign. One of the boys admitted to seeing a figure leaving. Balwar thinks it may have been the captain. That was when Balwar made his decision." Kyle shrugged.
"But what are we going to do?" Yuzu asked.
"You can come with us."
Kit shook her head. "We can’t."
The last wagon passed. Timothy turned to Kyle. "You tried. You can’t help how you have to follow orders."
"I hate leaving you here like this." Kyle frowned. "It’s not right."
"You’ve already done too much for me, Master Kyle." Kit kissed his cheek.
Kyle touched the spot with a gloved hand. "Timothy, all I can say is good luck." He pulled Timothy into an embrace. "Don’t you worry. You will see me again sooner than you think. Much, much sooner. Sure you don’t want to come?"
"Kit is hard-headed about this."
Kit cuffed Timothy on the back of the head.
"Looks like it’s good that you have a hard head too. I learned where Belafonte is." Kyle held up his hand. "No need to think me. I asked around, and finally Balwar told me. It’s not too far from here. It’s only two days’ walk north through those trees. Kyle’s such a good friend. I know."
Kit smiled. "Kyle is a wonderful friend."
Kyle rubbed his cheek. "They are leaving without me. I’d better go." He winked. "Remember, I will see you soon. You will owe me a drink for the information." He trotted out of the gate.
The wind lifted snow from the roof of the empty barracks and cast it over the palisade. Yuzu looked after the soldiers. Kyle turned and waved.
"You can go with them, you know." Kit tugged her hood down.
"I go where you go now," Yuzu said.
"With some luck Daeric will think we left with them," Timothy said.
"And we are back at the beginning." Kit sighed.
"We could stay here. It’s warm." Yuzu crossed her arms and shivered.
"No. We finally know where my home is. We are going. Now."
"Let’s get our supplies first, Kit."
"You do that."
I hope she isn’t disappointed. Timothy trudged to the barracks and gathered the supplies Kyle had left them. Timothy already missed his friend. After months of wondering what had happened to him, Kyle’s appearance was a bright spot on a journey that had almost ended his life many times. More than a few times he worried he had made a mistake. This journey has changed me. The stories said to beware foxes. They were tricksters and shapeshifters that would take advantage of the unwary. But some stories claimed foxes were a blessing once they trusted you. Kit is certainly all of that. Her moods shift enough. But…but getting to know her was worth it. He shouldered his pack and one of the folded tents. He hefted the other packs and trudged outside.
"You can’t go to Belafonte." Tell’s voice reached Timothy.
; Kit stood with her arms crossed, her foot tapping in the snow. Yuzu mirrored her. Tell looked from to the other. "There are ghosts. You can’t go there. You won’t come back. Not even Jan goes there."
"We are going," Kit said.
Timothy tossed a pack at Kit and another at Yuzu. "You are wasting your time, Tell. Kit’s made up her mind, and Yuzu goes where she goes."
The young man shivered. "It’s a mistake."
"Whatever happened to Daeric last night?" Timothy asked.
"You don’t have to go, Telly." Yuzu shouldered her pack and strolled out of the gate. Kit spared a hurry-up glare at Timothy before following.
"I don’t know. I lost track of him." Tell slumped. "I will go if you are. I don’t have anywhere else to go now anyway."
Poor kid. Timothy clapped Tell on the back like Kyle used to do to him. "If not even Jan will go, wouldn’t you coming with us make you braver than Jan?"
Tell looked up. "I hadn’t thought of that."
"You don’t have supplies."
"I don’t need them." He touched a sling hooked on his belt and his knife. "These are all I need. They taught me how to hunt."
"The girls will leave us behind if we don’t go."
"You…aren’t like Daeric and the rest," Tell said.
Timothy kept a short distance behind the women. They whispered between themselves. Kit shot a look over her shoulder that told him he chose his distance well. "I would hope not."
"I am Jan’s son, you know."
Timothy tripped. "You are…what?"
Tell stopped. "He doesn’t claim me. I’m not Accepted. I—I think he also blames me for Mom’s death. They caught her when she tried to protect me."
"Accepted? They? You spoke about being Accepted before."
"Inquisitors. They burned Mom. Sometimes I dream of her. At least I think it is her. Jan….he still hurts over it. I see it every time he looks at me. But it will all change after I am Accepted." He wilted. "Although that won’t happen now. I betrayed them."
"Why did you help us?"
"You are different. You pay attention to me, and Yuzu…" Tell blushed.
"But you went against your father—"
"He’s not my father." Tell’s shout made both Kit and Yuzu turn. Timothy held up a hand.
"What is this Accepted?"
"Becoming part of the tribe. It’s a ritual that will change me, Gert said. I think is when they will cut…" Tell sighed. "It doesn’t matter. It won’t happen now."
They walked for a time. Tell suddenly stopped and pulled his sling free.
"What is it?" Timothy asked.
"I hear a rabbit." Tell pulled a smooth stone from a pouch and loaded the sling. He gazed into the skeletal undergrowth. Timothy couldn’t see anything. Tell spun the rock and let it fly. A soft thunk followed. Tell entered the undergrowth and returned with a hare. "Dinner."
"Much better than the hard biscuits we have."
Timothy let the conversation with Tell fall silent. The young man seemed to welcome the silence. Timothy concentrated on the trees around them. Only the women’s whispers and crunching snow broke the silence. They walked through the afternoon. Timothy watched the forest, but Tell had sharper senses. He killed another rabbit and pointed out a bear’s den. They trudged through the remainder of the day and well into nightfall before Kit called for them to stop. Tell and Timothy set up the camp while the girls argued over something, judging by their gestures. Tell skinned, skewered, and set the rabbits over the fire.
"You two could have helped," Timothy said.
"Oh, you had it well in hand. You are such masculine men, after all," Kit said. Yuzu laughed.
"At least you can keep better watch," Timothy muttered.
"I am paying attention." Kit whispered something to Yuzu, making her laugh harder.
"You are getting along too well. It makes me worried."
"You are a wise woolhead, Timothy." Kit’s smile wilted for a moment before it turned garish.
"Are girls always like that?" Tell asked.
"I wish we had more of that sauce." Yuzu stared at the rabbits as they cooked.
"Don’t try to understand them, Tell." Timothy watched Kit. Her theatrics may fool Tell and Yuzu, but I can tell she’s worried. She will come and sit beside me on my watch and complain about her tail. "I’ll take the first watch. We’ll let them sleep." Tell nodded. Timothy raised his voice. "They’re certain to get grouchy if they don’t sleep."
"Anyone would be grouchy if they had to put up with you lagging behind." Kit jabbed a finger at Timothy.
"And you watching my behind, Tell." Yuzu crossed her arms. "I’m not going to wear skirts just because you won’t stop looking."
Tell spluttered. "I—I wasn’t….I didn’t…"
Timothy laid a hand on the young man’s shoulder. The poor guy makes me look experienced, he thought. "If you let it get to you, it will encourage them."
"I don’t need encouragement, Timmy." Kit grinned.
Timothy chuckled. "Be glad Yuzu isn’t as bad as my wife."
Kit rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the cooking fire.
After the rabbits finished cooking, the women heckled Tell while they ate. Then Timothy found himself alone with the fire. Yuzu snored from her tent, and the heel of Tell’s boot peeked from the other. The night felt too much like the evening Timothy’s mother had tried to kill him. He rubbed his forehead, trying to sooth away the memories. He huddled in his coat. Bits of ice, lifted by the wind, glittered in the firelight. Daeric would have to be on top of them to see the small fire, but it did give off some welcome heat.
Kit stepped into the edge of the light with a blanket around her shoulders. She padded over, hooked one end of the blanket on his shoulder, and nestled beside him without a word. I should say something to her, shouldn’t I? Kit hugged her knees and watched the fire as she fanged her lower lip. No. I’ll just leave her to her thoughts. He yawned. Her warmth reminded his body of the day’s march. He watched the flames, remembering the feel of Kit as they had danced. Kyle might have planned everything just so we could do that. That would be just like him. Kyle could find a moment to laugh even if the moon was falling.
"I lost the comb for my tail," Kit said. "I don’t think I will ever get the snarls out of it."
"Better than having fleas, isn’t it?"
She nodded and rested her chin on her knees. Behind them, Yuzu tried to inhale her tent.
"Thinking about your home?"
"It’s all I ever think about. Is all of this worth seeing just a pile of stones? Everyone says it is abandoned. Forgotten."
"It can’t be forgotten if everyone talks about it."
Kit elbowed him.
"One day you are going to crack a rib."
"I would have already if I wanted to," Kit said. "You are still too bony." She fell silent for a time. "How many times have we done this now? I sit here moping about a home I never knew while you listen."
Timothy shrugged. "I’ve lost count."
She glared at him. "I am being serious."
"And so I am. I’ve lost count of how many times you moped." He smiled.
"So says the man who moped about his sheep, his books, his friends, his manliness, his—"
"I get the idea."
"I haven’t asked you. What do you think of me going home? After all this trouble."
"A little late to ask, isn’t it? We should see it tomorrow."
She looked away. "I know."
"‘The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’"
Kit frowned.
"What I’m saying is it is fine to want to have a home."
"But I don’t. That’s just it. No one is left."
"We don’t know that. Tell said it was haunted. Maybe the ghosts are other foxes."
"Maybe. I…I don’t want this journey to end. Yet the end is here, and I don’t know what will come after."
So that’s what
is bothering her. "I don’t think you will be rid of Yuzu, and Tell will probably follow her."
"And you?" She watched him from under her eyelashes.
"I need to tell Aunt Mae about Evelyn."
"Is it strange to say that I miss your Aunt Mae? Maybe I—may I go with you?"
"If Aunt Mae sees us together again, she’d marry us for sure."
"You sound as if that is a bad thing." She flashed her fangs. "I would get the short end of that arrangement."
Timothy swallowed. "We could build a cabin in the woods. Far enough away that you wouldn’t have to worry about your tail. I could copy manuscripts and raise sheep."
"I am not a sheep dog." Kit yawned and shivered. "A warm cabin sounds nice. You could keep my tail warm, and maybe the rest of me."
Timothy felt his face heat.
Kit giggled. "With how manly you’ve been talking to Tell, I began to worry about your blush disappearing." She faced the fire. "After I see home, we will go see Aunt Mae again." She yawned hard enough to make Timothy’s jaws ache. "I need to sleep. I don’t want to be grouchy tomorrow, after all. Just don’t stay up all night fretting over Daeric, all right?" She slipped from the blanket and climbed to her feet. "Or thinking about how you can get away from me. You are between my paws, shepherd."
"And we will be at Aunt Mae’s mercy if we return."
Kit turned away and glanced over her shoulder. She lifted a finger. "When. Not if. I never did figure out why you came with me."
"Well, you call me a woolhead, muttonhead, and every other kind of fool."
"And you are my kind of fool." She lifted her skirts enough to reveal her tail. The white tip swished at him. "Just a little thank you. You will see more of me soon enough." She laughed deep in her throat and sashayed out of the firelight.
Timothy huddled under the blanket. It smelled of Kit. Even I am starting to think about how people smell. I am well and truly trapped between her paws.
Kit trudged through the snow. Yuzu muttered about something, but Kit couldn’t muster any attention. That man’s scent addles my brains. Timothy and Tell cut through the piling snow. A branch cracked under the weight of the snow. The branch hit the ground, sending a plume of white into the air. She had to squint to be able to see him through the barrage. Telling him he could keep my tail warm. She sighed. Fool man has my tail in his fist and doesn’t know it.
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