Page 41 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
“Argent?” she whispered. He wasn’t simply larger than her room; he rivaled the whole house.
The colossal fox slunk away, hugging the clifftops while shadowing Sansa’s course on the beach below.
“Yeah, that’s him all right,” said Gingko. “But how’d Dad get so big?”
“He’s been living under heavy restrictions.Someonemust have removed one or two.” Michael winked at Tsumiko.
Gingko gaped at his father, who crouched so close to the cliff’s edge, he teetered. “Michael, I’ve seen those broadcasts where Amaranthine show off their true forms. Dad’s gotta be on par with the Five.”
“Of course he is. Argent has an impressive pedigree. He’s from the oldest of the winter fox clans,” said Michael. “Another Mettlebright was nearly named as the vulpine representative. Indeed, many would have preferred Lady Estrella to Lady Nona.”
“Dad’s a Mettlebright?”
“You didn’t know?” he asked, sounding surprised.
“He never told me,” muttered Gingko. “Why didn’t he say anything?”
“I’m sure he had his reasons.” Michael briskly changed the subject. “How many bans did you banish, young lady?”
“All the ones he asked me to. Argent wanted to be able to fight at full strength.”
“Brilliant.” Michael flashed a tight little smile. “In doing so, you’ve spared my wife a great deal of trouble. Thank you.”
“Can’t I help you somehow?” Tsumiko asked. “Like I do Argent?”
“I’m afraid not. Reavers can often sense one another, but we cannot access another reaver’s essence.” Michael reset his feet. “Not to worry. I don’t have to hold up much longer. They’re in position.”
“For what?” she asked.
“To turn the tables.”
And with a shimmeringpoplike the bursting of a bubble, the barrier that had been hiding their attacker vanished. A huge red fox with wavering tails hovered above churning water.
“Only one foe, but she towers,” Gingko muttered.
Michael coolly assessed their opponent. “Argent’s larger, and he has the high ground, but she has nine tails. That’snota point in our favor.”
Tsumiko tried to get a fix on Argent’s whipping tails, but only made it to five before the silver fox leapt. Instead of plunging to the beach below as Minx had done, his paws found purchase in thin air. Surging upward, Argent charged out over the sea before rounding on his opponent.
“He reallycanfly,” Tsumiko whispered.
Michael asked, “How manyotherrestrictions did you banish?”
How much should she say? Her exchange with Argent had been so personal, as private as prayer and just as sacred. Tsumiko countered, “How many do you know about?”
But every secondary thought vanished when the red fox attacked.
TWENTY FOUR
Found Out
The silver fox lunged at an unnatural speed, colliding with their intruder. Air whipped and parted with a thunder crack, and the sea beneath their feet chattered outward in choppy waves. Tsumiko caught the erratic sparks coming from Michael’s remaining buoys. Trampled underfoot, they lost anchor, spinning adrift, creating wider gaps in Michael’s defenses.
Jaws snapped, and the red fox’s shrilling bark sent chills along Tsumiko’s arms, setting all the fine hairs on end. This was like one of those outlandish television programs Akira had admired as a child, but vastly worse, for the giant beast poised on their doorstep held murder in her soul. And the team of heroic defenders hardly seemed up to the task.
In this battle of epic proportions, Tsumiko offered a fervent prayer thattheirgiant would prevail.
Leaping to one side, the vixen scanned the clifftops, and Tsumiko recoiled from the familiar greed in her gaze. Had that same lady fox actually tracked her down? Was she bent on acquiring the soul of a beacon?
