Page 149 of Tamiko and the Two Janitors
Kip had every intention of thanking him properly, but in ablink, the fox was disconcertingly absent. He rubbed at the back of his neck,which was prickling. Had he been drawn into a fox dream? Kip checked the door,its wards, his wrist, and then the bed.
Jiro’s eyes were open.
Hurrying to his side, Kip eased the blanket over him andwhispered, “Hey.”
“He left?”
“Yeah. Just now.”
“The dream suddenly ended.” Jiro propped himself up onelbows. “He showed me a garden, talked to me there, told me things.”
Kip sat on the edge of the bed. “He never let on. You okay?”
“Sure.” His gaze was so calm, his scent both settled andserene. “What about you?”
Now that he was paying attention, Kip could feel the drag onhis senses. Hardly surprising, given his long night of complicated sigilcraft.Edges fraying, focus fading, he was dangerously close to collapse. “Tired,” headmitted. “You okay with me crashing here for a while?”
Jiro scooted over, making room.
Kip was only too glad to climb in next to him. Maybe it wasthe weariness. Maybe it was the sudden release of tension. Whatever the reason,Kip was embarrassed by how much he was shaking. He tried to hide it by grabbinghold of the only steady thing within reach—Jiro.
“Umm … you okay?”
“I take back everything I ever said about being scarystrong.Argentis scary strong.”
“I know what you mean.” Jiro’s voice was mild and mellow.“But he came a long way to help us.”
“Well, my squirrel quarter needs a moment.” Kip gave in tothe need to shudder.
“Argent likes you. I think he secretly enjoyed the challengeof finding us.”
Kip lifted his face. “He said that?”
“Not with words.” Jiro gave a little shrug. “I could feel itwhen he was showing me how to tend.”
Three kinds of envy cropped up, but Kip swatted them asidein favor of an honestly impressed, “Whoa. You tended Argent Mettlebright?”
“No. He kind of … showed me the door, but left it shut.”
Kip pulled the blanket over their heads, grumbling when itleft their feet out in the cold. Curling his tail around foot and paw alike, heburrowed his nose against Jiro’s neck. “Guess it worked out.”
“Guess so,” Jiro agreed.
There was a little fidgeting as Kip coaxed Jiro into a morecompatible position. And a lot of silence, which was surprisingly comfortable,given Kip’s fondness for chatter. The tremors eased and his mood lazedcontentedly. It felt good to hold Jiro, whose happiness was a subtle thing, butno less real. Kip found himself orienting toward it, pulling into it. How hadArgent described his bondmate—both beacon and ballast. That sounded aboutright.
“Is it working?” murmured Jiro.
“M’wha–?” Kip was so limp, he left it at that.
“Argent said I should try taming you. I think it’s actuallyworking.” There was an edge of amusement to his tone. “This is how I attractEphemera in the orchard.”
Kip turned his head enough for eye contact. Normally, itwould have been too unrelentingly dark for Jiro, buried under covers in themiddle of the night. But Kip’s sigilcraft was still fresh, so his bare skingleamed with a hundred patterns that spoke of possessiveness and protection.“Ephemera, huh?”
“Yep.”
“And what do you do once you get the little critters intoyour clutches?”
Jiro’s expression turned thoughtful. “It’s hard to explain.I guess … umm ….”
