Page 5 of Foxes of Legend

Elder Peter remained unconcerned, his pen swirling in a signature. “He’s not here. The Archfox doesn’t deal with the trifles of admissions, anyway. He has more important matters at hand.”

“Demons killed everyone I knew,” I growled, holding back the tears. “Everyone. And you expect me to do nothing?”

He let out a long exhale, his frown contorted with annoyance. “Service to the goddess is not nothing. What happened atHawthorn was a tragedy. I am saddened byallthe recent attacks on our temples.”

“The demons outnumber us, and they’re winning. I can help fight—”

“Without magic, you’re more human than kitsune. You may be able to see demons, but that doesn’t mean you are fit to fight them. One wrong step and your death is on the academy’s hands. Let the stronger foxes handle this fight, Dove.”

Elder Peter gave an exasperated swish of his hand, dismissing me. His finger hovered over a small black button that would call security, as though I would go that route again.

I left, striding toward the fresh air of the outdoors. A stone path led to the tents for applicants. The midday sun sat behind the massive castle of Foxfire Academy. Dark gray towers cast long shadows over the smaller buildings around the campus.

Students lounged on the benches under the yellowing autumn leaves, sprawled out on the green grass, dipping their toes into the bubbling fountain. With the new year starting tomorrow, they enjoyed their last hours of freedom.

Fated couples hugged and kissed openly. All kitsune technically had a Fated mate, their other half and soulmate. The blood tests found and confirmed compatible matches.

My fingernail chipped at the dried demon blood on my blade as I walked. The unnatural black blood warped and discolored the metal. I’d need another set before long. The dagger and knives weren’t my ideal weapons, but it was the best I could afford before the test.

Two Holy Foxes, monks with white belts, stood guard in front of the huge academy shrine. The weapons within the campus were far more numerous and famous than the ones I had grown up around. Inside, weapons crowded around the dusty statue of the goddess, disrespecting her magnificence.

Why did I care? It’s not like she ever helped me.

Adjacent to the shrine, a dozen temporary tents housed the applicants. Brynn, the woman in the cot next to me, should be starting her exam any minute now. We’d been practicing and studying together for the last couple days. I should have gone to watch, but I hesitantly scribbled down a goodbye with my phone number.

I pulled out my bag from underneath my cot. I grabbed a fresh set of black clothes and headed for the communal showers in the shrine, finding them mostly empty. I let the hot steam pour around me.

My hand brushed against the angry upraised scars on my back as I lathered the soap. They covered the right half of my back, hellfire burned deep into me. The mirror showed me the angry red scars, wrapping around me exactly as the hellfire had. The dark char lines connected the lengths of scar tissue like black lightning.

Humans had found me under the rubble, barely alive the morning after the massacre. The sole survivor. They called it a freak accident, a fire gone rogue. They called me lucky. A miracle.

It felt like a punishment.

They did the best they could in their hospital. I probably would have died without them. But they didn’t have what was needed to heal hellfire and sealed in the char, leaving me in debilitating pain. The human doctors said there was no damage shown on the x-ray. Now, a constant sting of pain remained, flaring up whenever irritated. I couldn’t tell if the pain had dulled, or if I’d just gotten used to it.

I was stuck in the human hospital until I could make my way to a Life kitsune—foxes with the magical ability to heal others. She tried. She said if only I’d gotten there sooner, that I should pray to the goddess, so she may bless my skin to be healed.

Instead, I trained for what really mattered. The war against the demons.

4

Dove

After dressing and wrapping my wounds from the imps during the exam, I returned to the military style tents. A girl with flaming red hair and pristine white robes rifled through my bag. Someone had called her Sana the day before. She wore the white belt of a monk, the rank between novices and Elders.

Sana leafed through one of my demonology books. I snatched it from her hands, clutching it tightly to my chest.

“I’m sorry. Elder Peter sent me to assist you with anything you needed, Dove.” Holy Foxes prided themselves on remembering the name of every visitor of their shrine.

“And to snoop through my things?” I scoffed, “You can inform him that I’m leaving now.”

Her eyes scanned over my dark outfit, black jeans, and a leather jacket.

I passed by her, stuffing the bloodstained clothes from that morning’s exam into the bag. I touched my small collection of daggers and blades hidden beneath my clothes. The ones from today were nearly unusable now because human metals dissolved under demon blood and hellfire.

“So you like demonology?” she asked.

“I like killing demons,” I answered.

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