Page 115 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
“Mine.” Every eye turned to Kyoko, who shrank against her pillows. She refused to meet anyone’s gaze.
“If the rumors are true, the In-between is eager for hybrid specimens,” said Naroo-soh.
Argent took up a position at Tsumiko’s shoulder. “Are you not helping them?”
“This is personal. I helped this woman. I am willing to help her child.” Naroo-soh’s tail puffed, but his voice remained pleasant as he held out his hands. “May I meet your little cousin, Miss Tsumiko?”
She hesitated.
“I will return the child to you unharmed,” he pledged. “This is for the sake of my investigation.”
At a nod from Argent, Tsumiko relinquished the baby. To her amusement, Naroo-soh clucked and fussed as he untucked the newborn. He also growled and sniffed, scrutinized the pattern of scales, and distractedly addressed Argent. “His eyes?”
“Red.”
“That narrows the field.”
“Considerably,” agreed Argent.
Neatly securing the baby’s blankets, Naroo-soh cradled him against his chest. “Speak your mind, fox. Would you harbor a half-dragon?”
Blue eyes narrowed. “If that is my lady’s wish.”
Tsumiko stared at the floor for several moments. Could she accept such a responsibility, which would surely bring its share of complications? Not to mention danger. But the prospect didn’t frighten her. On the contrary, she caught a glimpse of the very thing she’d been craving. Purpose.
Argent sighed and spoke again. “I believe you will find us uniquely suited to the task. Provided all parties are in agreement.”
“Take it.”
At the sound of Kyoko’s voice, everyone turned.
The new mother leaned into her pillows, limp and pale. “Take it,” she repeated.
Tsumiko crossed to the bed. “Don’t you want to see your son?”
Kyoko’s gaze never strayed to the child still resting in Naroo-soh’s big hands. “I don’t want it, but I don’t want it used as I was.”
“Are you sure?” Tsumiko asked, glancing uncertainly at Stewart. Did he still think her a child? “You barely know me.”
Kyoko shrugged mulishly. “Whether it goes with you or goes with them, it’s going. Take him.”
Finding a measure of hope in Kyoko’s first use ofhim, Tsumiko smiled. “I promise he’ll be safe.”
Naroo-soh announced, “They are here.”
Tsumiko hurried to the window, where Argent already peered past the curtains. The lights of three separate vehicles jounced along the driveway, flashing between the trees. When white panel vans pulled to a stop in the circle out front, she shrank back. “What can we do?”
Argent calmly inquired, “What is your wish?”
Could it be that simple? Command him, and obedience would open some miraculous exit? Tsumiko shook her head. “But we can’t justgo. They’ll be looking for Kyoko’s baby.”
“Tsk.” Argent cast about, then snagged a fussy throw pillow from the sofa. Gutting it, he strode to the bed. Or more correctly, the discreet bundle resting at its foot. He knotted bloody clothes and afterbirth into the pillow casing, then offered the limp bundle to Stewart. “The illusion will fool them long enough for you to insist upon a proper burial.”
Naroo-soh grunted, and Tsumiko gasped. Because Argent held a second baby, a perfect replica of Kyoko’s child. But this one was limp and matted by mucus and blood. Stillborn.
Stewart gingerly took the doppelganger.
Argent continued, “Your wife needs tending and protection. Insist upon retaining Mare Fallowfield. They will think themselves possessed of an insider. And you will retain a means of communication with and information from the In-between.”
