The Kindreds, Volume 1

The Twelfth, Pt. 3

"Very important indeed," Tom said, and it was in that strange voice.

"Mr. Tom...pardon, but your voice sounds different."

The grin stretched wider, exposing molars. "Indeed. I have found that as my time spent among humans increases, so too does my full understanding of their kind. Not only does my ability to speak their language grow, so too does my ability to speak like them; to act like them. Say, Lady Sada, you appe ar to dress very similarly to those belonging to the race of man. Might this be because you and they are one in the same?" His stare was now not only unreadable, but exquisitely cold. He bit harshly into a muffin, still grinning, still chewing with that grimace that said he could not bear the taste but would go on eating anyway.

Sada tried to swallow her nerves, but they only lodged in her now-dry throat. Lady Blue shifted closer to her, every muscle tense beneath her lovely coat. Sada did not want to tell this fox the truth, did not want to tell him anything at all. The thought of lying crossed her mind, but she knew she would not have been able to formulate one of any believability. The caelicorn may have been able to, but she was either unable or unwilling to speak to Sada in this moment. Her only choice, then, was to tell the truth, and hope that no harm came to her because of it.

She forced a sweet smile. "You say true, Mr. Tom. I am of the mortal realm."

"Ah, I believed this to be the case. You might have passed for one of the Fae, but their clothes are not so concealing as those of you humans. I must say, I am growing to prefer the latter. You say you are off to see the king. I have heard only of two kings thus far; the king of the Fae, and the young king of this forest, and neither are near. If you wish to reach them, you will need knowledge of this place; protection from it." He tapped his claws together. Sada thought that the birds should not be singing now, but they were, and just as cheerily as ever. She wondered if they, too, wore tweed suits. "I can offer you this, but in return I would ask something of you. As you may have gathered, I am curious about your kind. Tell me what I wish to know of your people, and I will tell you of the world you now reside in."

Sada reached out with both her hand and her mind to Lady Blue, hoping for guidance on how she should proceed. Yet the filly was silent. She only stood beside Sada twitching her ears and tail. The fox seemed highly disinterested in her, and Sada wondered if that was a good thing. In any case, it seemed she would have to guide herself in this matter. If only Father were with her.

She thought it safest to go along with what the human-sounding fox wanted until she was able to escape. She didn't think he would harm her, but her arm was also being attacked with the frenzied pangs of her instincts, and she knew that she should not linger in his company any longer than she needed.

"Very well," she agreed. "What would you know?"

Mr. Tom waggled his orange paw in the air. "Ah, ah. I wish you to know that I am a man of my word. And so, a question of your own will be answered first. Let us begin with the one that went unanswered. You wished to know how we encountered your people."

He did not wait for Sada's agreement. She had been curious about such, but now she was too nervous for much curiosity to remain. Nevertheless, she sat politely as he explained. She thought Father would tell her to learn as much about him as she could. If he wanted to talk, she would let him. Usually she found that when the Duke went off on long lectures, it was not for her own ears, but for his to hear his own voice and to relish in it. The fox's eyes reminded her of her father's. She thought he might be similar to him in other ways as well.

"I had not yet met the rabbit, Guyle, in the Before," Tom said. "I believe I was hunting one of his kind when the surge happened. As I described to you, Elt shuddered—not physically, but energetically—and then the ground became so hot it was cold, or so cold it was hot. Either way, the feeling was unbearable. Fortunately, it was gone as suddenly as it had come. But it had left something behind in me, and a few others. I didn't feel the difference in myself immediately. I told you that it felt as though my eyes had been opened, but that feeling was slow to come. All I knew was that my prey had been scared off, and so I moved to find a new meal. As I was walking through the forest, the smells began to change. There was now not only the smell of living things, but of life. Of people.