A TAIL OF NINE

CHAPTER TEN: The Lady in White

The White Lady has a shawl made of inch-long mirrors in small golden frames. A belt of tiny bells encircles her waist. Her every move is a chorus of soft jingling and small glints of lights. Her white kimono fans out behind her, looking like puddles of melted wax. When she takes a step, I see the curve of her bare feet. Her skin is the bone-white of a dead man's.

Mirabelle's fan slices through the air as gracefully as a hawk's wing. "Ah, Kon of the Many Tails. I see you managed to earn another tail from what you did to me! And for how you betrayed me, Fate has cursed it silver!"

So Kon's silver tail has something to do with this kitsune?

Mirabelle starts in on Kon again, "Here you are, a mouse cowering before a viper."

"In the wilderness even the viper, if wise, has reason to fear the mouse," Kon says as her hands clamp around the worry stone so tight it just might crumble. "Small teeth can still draw blood."

"SILENCE! You will pay me the proper homage, or those with you shall be the bearers of your regret." After a nervous giggle, she adds, "So typical that I would find the lowly Kon among savages such as the Amarok. But more interesting is the little prince you have with you."

Mirabelle chews on each word like she's sucking all the juice out of a piece of fruit. She's been watching us, and she wants us to know it. I've seen what Kon can do with her kitsunebi. What can Mirabelle do with it?

Mirabelle fans herself, like she's trying to ward away some awful stench. "Such a fine and handsome prince. Jacob Jericho is your name, is it not?"

"Jack," I correct her. As soon as I open up my big mouth, Kon nudges me. It's her polite way of saying, Shut the hell up, Jack!!!

Clapping her hands together, the White Lady says, "Asu wa ame. Tomorrow will see rain."

"One should worry about the present when dancing among snakes," Kon says. She hasn't looked away from Mirabelle even once, but I know her. She's taking in everything, looking for a way for us to escape.

With each word from the White Lady, the air grows more and more still and stale, like I'm breathing in a goldfish bowl. "Within legends, I have been referred to as Yuki-oona—woman of the blizzard. But that name truly doesn't capture my dazzling beauty. Therefore, you have my permission to call me Queen Mirabelle, which means shining star among pure waters."

I bet she's about as pure as a septic tank.

Mirabelle pipes up with, "I am here to claim the lowly beast known as Kon as my slave."

"You wish for more than that," Kon replies.

"Since I have your kitsunebi, once you leave the magic of the Amarok's circle, you will be compelled to obey any request I make. AND I will be able to inflict whatever pain upon you that I wish," Mirabelle purrs.

Butting in, I say, "That's not gonna happen."

"I did not mean to neglect you, young prince!" Mirabelle says, turning her attention toward me. Leaning forward, she adds, "You are simply delectable, like a morsel of daifuku that's sweet and dripping with honey."

If I were Dylan Caid, I'd be saying fuku ...

Hearing the White Lady, though, I need a shower. Right now. I've never felt so scummy in all my life, and I've been in some pretty slimy places.

With eyes glinting, Mirabelle says, "In the oldest age of time, the word kon was known to be the sound that foxes make while creeping through the dark. It was a sound that humans feared. How ironic that you call my slave that with such love in your voice, my little prince."