The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 75: So Close

"Maila!"

Mistress Jek clenched her fist around a rock that she was passing to Floridiana for stamping. Its sharp edges bit into her skin, and blood seeped out between her fingers.

Ugh! Now she'd gone and hurt herself!

A voice was shouting above my head. No, right next to my head. It was too loud, too insistent. I whirled and glared.

Sir Gil hastily held me away from his face. "Emissary! Please! You're sure they're not in there! Absolutely sure?" Terrible hope and dread mingled in his eyes.

Floridiana huffed, frustrated that he hadn't just taken her word for it.

I met his eyes, gave a firm nod, and stated, Yes. I am absolutely, positively, categorically certain that they are not in there. There is nothing in his stomach but acid.

"What if he kept their souls inside himself?" Overhearing us, Captain Rock inserted himself into the discussion at the worst possible moment, with the worst possible idea.

Floridiana raked him with a sneer, happy to have a target. "Oh, yeah, sure, of course a demon can do that."

Mistress Jek dropped the rock, hitched up her skirts, and ran for the river.

"Oh, by the Jade Emperor!" gasped Yulus. "She's going to get herself killed!"

"Stars in Heaven, save me from these idiotic humans!" fumed Nagi. "What does she think she can do?"

Yulus writhed on his throne, his scales gouging scratches across the back. "We have to save her, we have to save her."

"No!" Nagi planted herself in front of him. "No, Your Majesty! It's almost over! We've managed to stay out of it this long – don't ruin it at the last minute."

Yulus struggled to focus, to remember why he and Nagi had agreed that it was so important for the water court to stay neutral in this fight against Lord Silurus. Something about hedging their bets, right? Because they hadn't believed that Densissimus Imber's coalition could win, and when it failed – as all previous attempts had failed – then they could swear to Lord Silurus that they had not been part of it, and there was absolutely no need for him to ravage the whole length of Black Sand Creek.

Except, against all odds, the coalition was winning. It was winning!

Nagi was speaking rapidly, as if she feared Yulus would deviate from their plan. "Per your treaty with Baron Claymouth, his vassals are allowed to use our river for fishing and recreation, and we are not responsible for any deaths, accidental or otherwise, that happen in our fief. That – " her tongue flicked out towards the vision, where the mother of the little girl with the flute was sprinting towards the ice – "is definitely happening in our fief. It is covered under the treaty."

Yulus hesitated. "Yes, but...."

"When Lord Silurus turns the tables on them, do you want him to retaliate against us? Do you want him to destroy this river again? You remember what he did last time, right?"

Nagi was trembling now, not from fear, but rage. The last time a mage had challenged Lord Silurus, Yulus had backed her. But the mage had lost, as every challenger before her had, and after the demon had shredded her, he had proceeded to swim up to the head of the river and spew out wave after wave of stomach acid. It had poisoned the whole river, killing off plants, mortal fish, shrimp, crabs, oysters, weaker spirits. It had even flowed out to sea and polluted the waters near the shore. (The ensuing meeting with the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea had not been – pleasant.)