Dreams of Imahken

Whose world long left unsaid,

The quarreling lovers' voices echoed from atop the bridge, but they were hardly the interest anymore. Sator clutched his rifle, pushing Tyza behind him as the fox emerged from the dark crevice.

"What is that I see?" The fox gleefully pried, skulking towards them, "a weapon, I reckon?"

Sator pointed the weapon in question at the fox.

The fox stood on its hind legs and put a paw to his heart. "Good sir, I have but a trifle to say, before you kill and skin me, if I may?"

They stared in fearful confusion as the fox's smile grew wider.

"As you eavesdrop on them, I eavesdropped on you! Whose home do you think you wandered into? Alas, riches abound through this tunnel. Such adornments would suit you well. Or perhaps a jest you seek, to make those two speak?"

Sator stomped forward to intimidate the fox. "Damn fo-"

"Aye, hush!" The fox held a claw to his mouth. "To brush."

The fox darted beneath a bush as Tyza glanced up, noticing a curious glance over the edge from her brother. She yanked Sator back before he was spotted.

"Fine, fox," Tyza hissed from another bush. "How do you know of our wager?"

"I heard from a ledge, not to my fault, lovers sat upon an edge, too enthralled to halt." The fox returned to standing on two legs, holding out his paws to stay their embarrassment. "For water was I away to the bank, when through the winds you whispered a prank. He desires unity through lovers' strife, she wishes her kin free for his life. I desire interjection for but a projection, a specter to test, then to you the rest."

Sator and Tyza shared a glance, unsure of how to proceed.

"Think if needs be, then summon me." The fox darted back into its cave, its shining blue eyes fixed on them from the darkness.

Tyza angled away from the fox. "No, no, no, and positively no. I would not, could not, trust a hair on that fox. Never for now and all eternity."

Sator narrowed his eyes at the fox, then turned back to Tyza. "Who's to say the fox will let us go, or Illus and Anilee, with no quarrel? In that fox's eyes is a game, one we cannot win presently."

"I see no benefit in bargaining with this fox. He seeks to terrorize, not discern truth. We have no grasp of its abilities, Sator. It's a blasted talking fox!"

"Ty," Sator pulled her even closer, "do you think such a creature will take kindly to rejection? I see no reason for him to let us-"

The fox whistled at them lightly, emerging from the cave. "Time is now dire, I must inquire. What of the talk? Shall we all stalk?"

Sator strengthened his tone. "We agree to your bargain, and no more after."

"A specter to test, then to you the rest." Its eyes leaked blue haze for a blink, then above they heard Illus and Anilee remark at something.

Illus disappeared from where they could see him, so Sator followed the fox with his eyes, watching it leap up a tree and peer through the leaves at Illus and Anilee. Its gleefully wretched face slowly grimaced, a low growl before it leapt down to the forest floor. The fox paced in circles, muttering to himself.

"Enticed he is not by such an alluring specter, but what man does not wish to taste Enae's nectar?!" The fox bared its teeth at Sator and Tyza.

"What, did he not take to your mirage?" Sator's rifle was still trained on the fox.

The fox smirked. "No, such a sight will not do, yet I wonder if she will work on you." Shadowy blue smoke wafted from the fox's eyes again, and suddenly a woman stood before Sator. The masked woman from the mosaic. The mask, made of ivory and adorned with geometric golden and blue designs, stared stoically at him with glowing eyes. Her flowy blue dress gently waved like it was made of water. Sator's mind clouded for a moment, stepping closer to the woman, who beckoned him with a provocative finger wag.