Little Fox in Big Trouble

Sixteen

There was a soft growl rumbling in my ears as I watched the woman smile and extend her hand. It wasn't until the growl ended in a wet snarl that I realized the sound was coming from me. I gave myself a gentle shake and reset my focus on the dead woman, then I trotted over to the tent and tucked myself behind the nearest tree to look for an opportunity. It didn’t take more than a few minutes before I was able to slip past the handful of police officers and get a look at the young woman’s face. The sight of it hit me like a sucker punch. She had only been missing for a few weeks, but she looked as if she had been wasting away for a hundred years. Her cheek bones were so sharp the skin stretched over them appeared to be bruised by the effort. Dark circles pooled under her closed eyes, her hair was dull and brittle, and her lips were nearly white. When I tore my gaze from her once beautiful features, I found the rest of her body in similar condition. Her collar bone was jutting out below her throat, her arms were small enough that I could have encircled her biceps with my human hands, and her skin was dull and gray. Some of this, of course, may have been because she had been deceased for several hours, but I got the feeling that it had more to do with how she died than when. It was clear Meredith Taylor had died by unusual and extremely unpleasant means.

I slunk back into the tree line with my nose barely off of the ground, my tail dragging, and a deep weight slowly settling into my chest. When I got back to where I entered the woods with my mother, I changed back into my human form and stepped out of the trees.

My mom turned to face me as soon as I stepped out into the clearing and the smile slipped from her face. She tapped Troy on the shoulder and the three of them walked over to meet me.

“Bris, are you okay?” Troy asked as soon as he reached my side.

I shook my head just as I felt the warmth of tears starting to slide down my cheeks. “It was Meredith Taylor,” I told him.

“Meredith Taylor,” he repeated. “She was the first one of the girls to make the news last month, wasn’t she?” He asked

“Yeah. I saw her in the cavern the last time I…” I trailed off and looked to the outsider. She was listening intently and I realized I couldn’t speak freely with her standing right there. I was really starting to hate this woman and I hadn’t even been introduced to her yet.

“Can I have a word with you, Kit?” My mother asked, tilting her head back towards the trees.

I nodded my head and followed her over.

“When you look at Katrina, Kit, what do you see?” She asked, stopping when we got about 10 feet away from the others.

“Katrina?” I asked. Even her name was annoying.

“Yes,” she smiled. “Her name is Katrina and I think you should give her a chance. Now, look at her and tell me what you see.”

I rolled my eyes, but directed my attention toward Troy and his new friend. She was giggling about something and touching his arm.

“I see a woman trying too hard to get a man’s attention. He’s not that funny and those stupid cat ear head bands are made for 10 year old's.” I snarled.

My mother laughed. “She may be trying so hard because he hasn’t even noticed a damn move she’s made. His attention is elsewhere and she hasn’t figured that out yet, but that is not what I was referring to. Push your jealousy to the side for a moment please, and focus. Katrina is not wearing a headband.”

“I’m not jealous, and yes she is. Look-“ I faltered as I looked again and noticed one of her little gray ears twitch. “Oh my gods, are those real?”

“Yes. She’s a kaibyo, Kit.” My mom answered.

“A what?” I asked, still gaping at the ears.

“A kaibyo,” she repeated. “A cat yokai. She already knows what we are. There is no reason to hide anything.”

I nodded again and turned to head back.

“Is everything okay?” Troy asked as we reached them.

“Everything is fine,” my mother assured him with a smile. “Now, continue what you were saying, Kit. You saw Meredith last time you…”

“Right," I said. "Last time I, um, visited Jess, when I saw Helena and the other girls in the cavern. Merideth was there. She looked weak and malnourished then, but nothing like that." I gestures toward the tented area where her body was still lying in the grass.

"Like what, Bris?" Troy moved to stand in front of me and threaded his fingers through mine. "What did you see, sweetheart?"

I described Meredith's appearance in as much detail as I could. "It looked like something just sucked the life right out of her." I added as I shook my head to clear the tears that were again beginning to build in my eyes.

"Maybe something did." Katrina said.

"You think these girls could have been taken by something that has that power?" My mom asked her.

"I don't know," she said, "but it's possible."

"That would mean, other than the three of us, there are at least two other kitsune running around Dahlia Lake causing trouble and whatever this creature is, draining the life out of young women." My mom replied.

"There are a handful of other yokai and deviants in the area. The question is what can do that?" Katrina said.

"Do you think there is anything else we can learn from here?" Troy asked, suddenly.

"I don't know," I answered. "I mean, I know who the body is now, and that it was definitely one of the girls that was taken and being held with Jess and Helena. I don't think I could learn anything else useful from seeing Meredith again."

"When you were in your fox shape, did you smell anything you recognized?" My mom asked me.

"Actually, I kept getting distracted by the smell of cat," I started.

"My bad," Katrina smirked.

"Not to mention, with the smell of Meredith's body and all of the cops and reporters scrambling all over the place I couldn't have identified a specific scent if that was something I knew how to do, and it really isn't." I finished.

"Okay, then. Well, why don't we get out of here and find somewhere that we can discuss this less publicly." Troy suggested,

"That's a pretty good idea, human." Katrina said with a smile and a wink in Troy's direction.

I grit my teeth, I was quickly developing a strong dislike for cats.

"Bris?" Troy looked to me.

"I guess we can go to my apartment, since that's where all of our notes and stuff are," I conceded.

"Great," Katrina piped up. "I'll ride with Troy."

"Uh, sure," Troy shrugged while I bit back a growl and headed for my car.