Page 1 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
one
Junior Partner
“There must be some mistake.” Tsumiko finished the solicitor’s letter of introduction and rechecked the name of the firm embossed on the heavy gray envelope—Watanabe, Wada, & West. “I’ve never evenheardof Eimi Hajime-Smythe.”
“She is …wasyour father’s grandmother’s half-sister.” The firm’s junior partner turned to his yawning briefcase. “If you’d like proof, I can produce the family registry.”
“Yes, please.” Tsumiko dropped the letter on the table between them and curled cold fingers inside the bunched sleeves of her school cardigan. “Mr. West, I don’t understand why I should inherit anything. There must be other, closer relations?”
“Quite true, but none of them met Mrs. Hajime-Smythe’s particular requirements.”
Tsumiko didn’t like empty answers. They tasted too much like lies. “Are you from the same place as the last people?”
Mr. West stopped sifting through file folders. “Can you be more specific?”
Tsumiko slid to the edge of her seat and pointed a toe so her loafer touched the marble floor. The parlor still smelled faintly of lemon oil, and pristine beveled windows scattered prisms on dark wood and white walls. In all her years at Saint Midori of the Heavenly Lights, Tsumiko had only ever entered these guest rooms in order to clean them. However, this was thesecondtime in six weeks that Sister Magdalene had summoned her from class because someone was looking for her.
“There were two women. One was grim and gray, and the other was … strange.” While the old woman had asked questions about Tsumiko’s hometown and extended family, the one with fiery red hair had merely stared at her over the top of steepled fingers. Tsumiko would never forget those hungry green eyes.
“Yes,” said Mr. West. “They were here at our request.”
“Why?”
“Research. We needed to make sure that you met Mrs. Hajime-Smythe’s particular requirements.”
Tsumiko was losing patience. With a tight little smile, she asked, “Can you be more specific?”
He had a pleasant laugh. “I promise I’ll explain everything, Miss Hajime, but it really should be done in an orderly manner.”
“Maybe I should call Sister Naomi.” Although the sisters of Saint Midori’s had granted Mr. West a measure of privacy for this meeting, they’d left a guardian outside the door.
The lawyer raised his hands in surrender. “Lady Nona was here under escort because she can sense what normal humans cannot.”
“You make her sound like a psychic.”
Mr. West laughed again. “No, no, nothing like that. She needed to check on the state of your soul.”
The antique pendulum clock on the far wall made the only sound for the better part of a minute.
Tsumiko fiddled with the tiny golden cross on her necklace. “I’m not sure I understand. They didn’t ask me about my faith or beliefs or morals.” In point of fact, the women had neither explained why they’d come, nor why they needed to leave so quickly.
Distant bells sounded, signaling the end of second period.
With a slow shake of his head, Mr. West said, “Perhaps we should back up. You have—of course—heard about the recent revelations regarding the inhuman races.”
Tsumiko took a moment to ponder the sentence he’d reeled off with such assurance. Saint Midori’s was a very closed-off community. Yes, she’d heard the staff whispering in the corridors, and her younger brother’s most recent letter had been full of fanciful stories about a boy who could turn into a bird. But the sisters took their duty to their students quite seriously, and that meant protecting them from outside influences.
“Do you mean …?” Tsumiko searched her memory for the right phrase. “Are you involved with the outbreak?”
Mr. West grew solemn, but his tone remained mild. “That’s the first time I’ve heard the Emergence calledthat. Aren’t you following the media coverage? It’s been headline news for months.”
“We don’t have television.”
“Phones? Tablets? Surely you have internet access.”
“Distractions from a life of simplicity and study are banned.”
Incredulity plain on his face, Mr. West said, “That could prove problematic. It’s too much to explain in the time we have, but I’ll pull together the information you’ll need and send it … unless … would they prevent the documents from reaching you?”
