Outfoxed

by J. R. Burnett

  "What time is it?" Jamie asked, rubbing the grit from her eyes.

  "Early,” Alex and Charlie echoed at the same time.

  "The protections holding?" Jamie yawned, then sat down on the couch next to Charlie.

  "So far it seems.” Alex glared at the gap between the sagging couch cushions, wishing it was measured in miles instead of mere inches.

  "Where are you from originally, Charlie?" Jamie asked.

  The kitsune focused all his attention on Jamie, whatever lay beyond the window forgotten. "A place far from here with a name long lost to memory."

  Jamie smiled at him, her eyes still glazed with sleep, and inched forward on the sofa. "How did...?"

  "Jamie? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Alex asked. He leveraged himself up, stiff and sore from sitting in one place most the night. How did Charlie do it? Alex stepped over Mike's sleeping form on his way to the kitchen.

  "What?" Jamie asked as she joined him. There was a sharpness to her voice that Alex didn’t like.

  "Don't get too attached. He's moving on in the morning."

  "That doesn't mean we can't be civil. He’s not a prisoner."

  "Not yet, but give him some time….”

  Jamie's eyes narrowed. "Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the victim, not….”

  A soft click came from the living room. “Did you hear that?" Alex asked.

  "Hear what?"

  "It sounded like the front door."

  "It couldn't be."

  Charlie still occupied the same position on the couch. Mike still slept in the same spot on the floor. The front door was closed. Alex went over and jiggled the handle. Still locked. "Thought I heard something." Alex turned back to the room, then stopped. Charlie's black slacks touched the stained couch cushion. "Where's your handkerchief?"

  "What handkerchief?" Jamie asked.

  "This one." Charlie pulled the white silk square from his jacket pocket with a flourish. He stood and laid it on the couch, sitting back down on top.

  Alex glared at the kitsune. Something didn't seem right.

  "You don't trust me?" Charlie didn’t seem surprised.

  "Don't mind him. He doesn't trust anyone," Jamie answered, taking her place next to Charlie.

  "You less than most," Alex clarified.

  Charlie cocked his head to one side. "That's probably wise.”

  Alex nudged Mike with his foot. "Hey, get up." Walking over to the narrow window next to the front door, he parted the curtains far enough to survey the street.

  The houses around them were dark. A tabby cat sauntered across the road under the spotlight of a street lamp. A faint orange glow radiated from the east. Alex chewed his lower lip and checked his watch. Everything seemed quiet, but it was too early for dawn. Maybe it was the highway…. Mike padded over to the window, jumping up and putting his paws on the sill so that he could look at as well.

  "What do you think?" Alex asked.

  Mike whined, turning his head to look back into the living room.

  Alex followed his gaze. Jamie and Charlie sat on the couch, their heads bent towards each other, nearly touching. Pink highlighted Jamie's cheeks. Alex thanked the Gods that he couldn’t hear what they were saying to one another. Turning his attention back to the sleepy street, Alex scratched one of Mike's ears. "Apparently it’s just the two of us." The orange glow had intensified and a low howl echoed through the night.

  "Time to go," Alex said, stepping away from the window.

  "What do you mean?" Jamie looked irritated that he had interrupted their conversation.

  "We're leaving."

  "We can't. It will break the protections," Jamie said.

  "Too late."

  The neighborhood dogs had started a chorus by the time they reached the truck. Lights flicked on in windows up and down the street. Alex grimaced—there would be more incident reports on his desk in the morning.

  Alex jerked open the passenger door and Mike jumped in, little more than a grey blur. “Change back into a fox,” he said to Charlie.

  “That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?” Jamie asked.

  “I don’t have time for this. Get in. That’s an order.”

  Jamie huffed, but climbed into the truck. Charlie followed her, tails bouncing behind him. Alex slammed the door.

  They'd only driven a couple blocks before the Hunt found them. Two oversized dogs blocked the road and Alex slowed the truck to a crawl. Their black coats blended into the night so perfectly that he couldn't make out their exact shape or size, but the glowing red eyes left him little doubt that they were Hellhounds. The side mirror showed two more blocking the road behind them.

  Mike whimpered, squirming in his seat. Charlie, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned...bored even. The kitsune yawned, circled several times, then lay down on Jamie's lap.

  "Drive," Jamie said, her voice tight with fear.

  "But...," Alex started to protest, then stopped himself. But what? He stomped on the gas pedal. The truck jerked and shook, its old frame protesting what he asked of it, but then accelerated down the road. The Hellhounds stood their ground. Alex clutched the steering wheel and closed his eyes. Even if they were demon dogs bent on tearing his soul to pieces, it didn't seem right to run them over with the animal welfare truck.

  Something heavy slammed against the hood and Jamie screamed. Alex opened his eyes, hoping to see two flattened dog carcasses in his mirror, tire tracks across their broken bodies. Instead the pair of Hellhounds stood on top of the truck's hood.

  Alex slammed on the brakes. The Hellhounds' nails dug into the metal as they clung to the vehicle. Both dogs tilted their heads to the sky and howled.

  The Hellhounds jumped off the hood and trotted towards the back of the vehicle. In his mirror, Alex could see all four hounds silhouetted against the orange glow that had reached near radioactive levels. He thought he could hear hoof beats.... Alex pressed the accelerator as far down as it would go. The glow faded behind them.

  Chapter 6

  "Thanks for letting us stay," Alex said. He searched the still dark horizon for the first signs of dawn.

  "Not like I was sleeping anyway," Don said.

  "Another bad night?"

  "Less so than yesterday, but yes. Coffee?"

  Alex took the mug that Don offered, breathing deeply of the earthy, bitter steam. Don hadn’t turned on the porch light and they sat in darkness listening to the crickets and bullfrogs sing. Probably for the best. Charlie refused to transform out of his four-legged form and Alex had no doubt that the kitsune was still sound asleep in Jamie’s lap. That was an image he didn’t particularly need to see.

  "What makes you think your protections will hold when ours didn't?" Jamie’s voice was still tight with frustration.

  "Nothing against the Agency, but there's no way anything they could conjure in an afternoon compares to the generations of protections worked into this place."

  "Did your family live here?" Jamie asked.

  "Not mine. This land was entrusted to Dustin's family a very, very long time ago. We're just the current caretakers."

  A sharp cry pierced the night and several more voices answered. Alex tensed, half way out of his chair before he realized he'd moved.

  "Coyotes," Don said, his voice calm and even. "There's a pack that lives on the other side of the pond."

  Scalding coffee sloshed onto his hand as Alex plopped back down into his chair. He cursed, wiping the hot liquid on his pants. Despite the shadows he could see that neither Mike nor Don's two dogs had moved from where they sprawled on the porch.

  "Don't you dare sue me because I didn’t warn you the coffee was hot."

  Alex could hear the smile in Don's voice and he relaxed slightly. The Hunt was far behind them in the city with no way of knowing exactly where they'd gone. Eventually the Hellhounds would sniff Charlie out, but by then the sun would be up and the demon dogs would return to whatever circle of Hell they called home during the daylight hours.

  "I'll
make some calls," Don said. "We’ll get your kitsune on its way to safety in the morning."

  "Sorry to get you so deeply involved," Alex said.

  "It is what it is.” Don’s words were matter of fact, as if he’d known all along that things would turn out this way.

  "I know Charlie appreciates your help," Jamie said.

  Alex was glad that she couldn't see him roll his eyes. That would put him in the dog house for sure. "Be nice if he switched forms and delivered a 'thank you' in person."

  "He's fine as a fox," Don said. "Less emotions for Dustin to sift through."

  "Animals have emotions too,” Jamie protested.

  "True. And some Empaths can read animals. But Dustin's talents run in...a bit of a different direction than most." There was hesitation in Don's voice. "Anyway, you don’t need an Empath to know what an animal is feeling. It's all right there in their body language once you know how to read it. I think that's what Dustin likes best about the horses—no secrets."

  The sun's first rays lightened the eastern horizon, tinting the edges of a group of low lying clouds a muddy pink. Birds twittered and chirped in the trees as they woke from their slumber. "Going to be a gorgeous sunrise," Alex said.

  Don cleared his throat. "Like a red morn that ever yet betokened, wreck to the seaman, tempest to the fields, sorrow to the shepherds, woe unto the birds, gusts and foul flaws to...."

  "I get the picture," Alex interrupted him. "It's too early for Shakespeare."

  ***

  "What are we doing back here?" Jamie asked as Alex parked the truck in front of the Agency's safe house.

  "Something didn't feel right last night and I want to check it out." He opened his door and Mike scrambled over him, placing a well-aimed paw in his crotch on the way out. Alex grunted in protest. Why couldn't Mike climb over Jamie for a change?

  Jamie's door slammed a bit harder than necessary. "You think Charlie had something to do with the Hunt tracking us down."

  Alex cringed...it wasn't a question. "All I'm saying is that it's a little odd. I want to cover all our bases."

  "You don't trust him." Still not a question.

  "I don't trust his species," Alex clarified. Granted he wasn’t impressed with Charlie as a person either, but he was pretty sure that was due to the kitsune’s fondness towards Jamie. "There's a difference."

  "That's a little discriminatory, don't you think?"

  Finally a question, but Alex suspected a trap. "Kitsunes are tricksters. I don’t trust coyote spirits any further than I could throw them either."

  "Maybe Charlie's different."

  "You like him, don't you?" Alex hoped his voice sounded more teasing than jealous.

  "That's none of your business." The sharpness of Jamie's voice answered the question even if her words didn’t. "This is a waste of time. We aren't going to find anything. I'll be back at the truck."

  Alex sighed, imagining the sexual harassment seminars he’d be required to attend if the Captain got word of any of this.

  "Come on, Mike," Alex mumbled to his four-legged partner. "Let's give the place a once over."

  Mike crisscrossed his way over the front lawn, nose inches from the grass. Alex went to the miniscule concrete pad that served as a front porch. Turning his back on the house, he glanced up and down the street. Pastel colored, cookie cutter ranch houses populated this picturesque neighborhood. The whole street could have come straight off the page of a 1970’s article on suburban planning. Even the safe house’s yard looked ready to compete for some coveted lawn of the year award.

  Alex squinted at the grass, a dull ache starting to throb at the base of his skull. The lawn rippled and the pain flared in a flash of blinding light. When his vision steadied, he could see Mike walking across a barren expanse of dirt. Alex blinked and the truth faded. Mike stood on a manicured, emerald lawn once more. At least the Agency wasn't running up the water bill. Alex shook his head, but the dull ache lingered.

  Something white caught Alex's attention out of the corner of his eye. He knelt down and fished out a square of silk from under the bushes next to the front door. "Hey, Mike. Look at this."

  A deep growl rumbled in Mike's throat as he approached the handkerchief. He looked over his shoulder at the animal control truck and whined.

  "No, she isn't going to like it," Alex agreed.

  ***

  "Don's not answering again." Alex glared at his phone as if it was to blame for Don's absence.

  "I’m sure he’s sleeping. We kept him up all night." Jamie's words had yet to thaw from their previous exchange.

  Alex eyed a pair of witches further up the hallway and hoped they hadn't registered Jamie's tone, let alone her words. He didn't need this hitting the rumor mill. The girls in the call center would never let him hear the end of it.

  The door he was interested in stood open. Alex knocked on the frame before he peeked his head inside. "Heidi, got a sec?"

  Heidi eyed him over the top of her computer screen, her lips in a tight frown. Alex couldn't blame her. He wasn't anyone's favorite person today. "Nice grass at the safe house. Very green and...itchy."

  Heidi's eyes narrowed. She reminded him of a cat sizing up a mouse. "What did you do to my protections?"

  "Nothing. I swear."

  "You must have done something,” Heidi insisted.

  "Alex thinks the kitsune sabotaged them,” Jamie offered.

  Heidi shook her head, laughing. "What would it do that for?"

  Alex took a deep breath, steadying himself. He wasn't sure who he was more frustrated at today—Charlie, Jamie, or Heidi. "I'm not sure, but...." He glanced at Jamie, hesitant to mention the handkerchief. No matter how much she irked him lately, he couldn't bring himself to hurt her with the news of Charlie's betrayal.

  "Where's your kitsune now?" Heidi asked. "Don't tell me you lost him to the Hunt."

  "He's with Don and Dustin," Jamie said.

  Heidi nodded, turning her attention back to her computer screen. "No worries then. Nothing could get through the protections on their place, not unless it was invited in."

  "That's why...." Alex stopped as Heidi's words registered. Invited in. "Shit." He dashed down the hall towards the front of the building and the parking lot beyond that.

  Chapter 7

  Alex sifted through the loose papers that littered the floor of Don’s office. The carefully contained chaos had exploded into a sea of flotsam and jetsam. Alex leaned over and picked up a book whose leather binding had been ripped in half. Pages drifted to the floor like autumn leaves.

  "I figured you'd be hot on the heels of that three-tailed bastard."

  Alex turned towards the door. Don leaned against the wall and Alex worried that its support was the only thing keeping him upright. "Not much use. I'm sure he's long gone by now."

  Don shrugged, then coughed and rubbed at his chest.

  "Need me to call a Healer?"

  "No. I'm just sore. Can't say as I expected your fox to be packing a Taser."

  "You’re lucky it wasn’t a gun.”

  "Nah,” Don said. “He needed us alive in case he couldn't find what he was looking for."

  Alex set the book in his hands on top of the desk. They'd need ages to catalog everything and discover what Charlie had taken. "Wonder what he was after."

  Don pushed himself off the wall, swaying a bit with the first couple steps, then picked his way across the room to the closet. He pulled out a large leather cylinder and handed it to Alex. "There's only one thing here worth risking such a farce."

  Alex ran his fingers along the runes tooled into the leather. Without even opening it, he knew the jewel of Don’s map collection no longer slept inside.

  "In retrospect, tying the map’s protections to those on the property might not have been such a good idea," Don said. The Seeker surveyed the room. "Leave it. I'll deal with the mess later. I may even let Dustin turn his OCD loose in here."

  "He'll have the place organized in no time." Alex foll
owed Don down the hall and out to the front porch.

  "On second thought...."

  Alex perched on the top step and looked out over the property. Mike lay in a patch of sun halfway down the drive along with Don’s two Catahoulas. Their heads were up, eyes and ears focused on the world beyond the farm.

  "Dustin okay?" Alex wondered if Don was as tired of answering that question as he was of asking it.

  "He's fine. I notice Jamie hasn’t joined us.”

  A winged shadow swept across the yard and Alex glanced up, squinting against the afternoon sun. A vulture circled high overhead.

  "Don't worry, she'll come around," Don said.

  Alex scoffed, shaking his head. "I may not be great with women, but I'm pretty sure pissing them off isn't exactly the way to win their affections."

  "You had her best interests at heart in your own way. Jamie's smart, she'll figure that out soon enough."

  The vulture drifted off, carried along by a distant wind.

  "I hate to mention it, but have you spoken to your father lately?”

  Alex closed his eyes and wished they'd go back to talking about Dustin. "No." The word came out more resigned than he'd hoped.

  "It might be time."

  Alex thought back to the stack of evidence boxes in the Captain's office. The Grimoire of Malthas...a map of the Center of the Universe.... Alex had a pretty good idea what came next.... "I don't think I can."

  "I don't think you're going to get a choice."

  "What do we do about the map?" Alex asked. He didn’t like the direction this conversation was headed.

  "It will find its way back home."

  "Before or after Charlie uses it for his own purpose?'

  Mike barked and Alex opened his eyes, hoping to see Jamie’s Prius. Instead a black, extended cab pickup drove down the lane. Mike and the dogs ran alongside as it approached the house.