Vixen Hunted (21 page)
"Why, I say, I
don't think I have seen a dance quite like that one," Melanie said. She
smiled. Cat slurped from another wineglass. "It almost makes me want to
find a husband."
Trent slammed back half
a glass of wine, and red stained his cheeks. "If you ever want a partner
for your stones, you can find me at my shop at Gemin Street." He staggered
off.
"I can't say I
have ever seen the great Tramp Trent so put off by a woman. Other than myself,
of course." Melanie passed Cat's leash back to Kit. Behind them the
musicians kicked up a slightly more refined version of the bawdy tune they
played in the market square. The finely dressed people swung each other around
with only a little more dignity than the street dancers. Timothy glanced over
his shoulder but couldn't see Sister Tera anywhere.
"Baaalurp!"
Cat said.
"We had best
go." Kit pressed against Timothy's side. "Please tell Shefar we are
grateful for his invitation."
Timothy felt the knot
between his shoulder blades ease once they were outside. Cat staggered next to
Kit, her ears drooping. Kit held Timothy's hand against her waist.
"I have to admit
that was more fun than I expected it would be. That is your fourth time,
shepherd."
Timothy pointedly held
his gaze on her low neckline until she pulled back his fingers resting on her
waist. "Keep doing that and I might have to let you look in earnest. Why,
I daresay I don't see a hint of blushing."
"I look forward to
seeing your tail tonight."
Kit's face heated
beneath her curls. She wrenched his fingers off her waist and stepped away from
him. "And your perverted side comes through."
Timothy rubbed his
fingers. "It is a magnificent tail. We should buy you a better comb for
it."
"And who is the
spendthrift now?"
"Baa!"
"You have a nice
tail too." Timothy told the lamb. "What will you do when we reach
Belafonte? At least we know it is in a forest east of here. Maybe Shefar and
Trent will tell us more."
Kit twirled a curl.
"I hadn't thought about it. I'm sure you will want to get back to
shepherding."
"I am done with
that. I only took up shepherding because it let me have time alone to read.
Maybe I will write a book.
The Sultry Fox
!"
Kit's lips compressed.
"I don't think I
could escape your paws, anyway. I…I don't think I want to," Timothy said.
"Why, I'd say you
are fond of me, Timmy." She thumped his chest with a fist. "Do not
speak of my tail that way again. You are becoming too forward."
A heavy boot scraped.
The trio froze. Cat's
ears fell flat on her head and she crouched down. Timothy strained his eyes
against the dull moonlight.
"Over there."
Timothy pointed.
The weathered, scarred
face slipped from the night's shadows. The bolt of his raised crossbow caught
the moonlight. Tahd's face and hands seemed to float against the shadows.
"The moment I love
and hate. The hunt ends." Tahd pressed the crossbow against his shoulder.
Kit growled low in her
throat. The hair on the back of Timothy's neck stood on end.
"For you it ends.
I am no one's prey. Not anymore!" Kit crouched and lunged. A knife flashed
in her hand. Where did she hide that?
"Cat!"
Timothy pulled at the satin ribbon. The strange lamb charged with Kit, and the
ribbon slipped from his sweating palm. Too fast. Timothy's mind and heart
raced, but his body refused to move.
Tahd cursed and jerked
the crossbow away from Kit.
Chink!
The bolt lashed toward
the frozen shepherd. Timothy's chest tightened.
No time to move.
He closed his eyes. The
air whistled.
He breathed out.
A sickly, wet sound.
Timothy breathed in.
Cat lay in a heap, the
dark quarrel thrust into her chest. Crimson stained her white wool and pooled
on the street.
Kit grappled with Tahd
a few feet away. Her curled hair stuck out in all directions, and her face
contorted. Her knife slashed at the hunter. The crossbow lay forgotten on the
street. He grabbed at Kit's knife as its point grazed his throat.
Do something!
Timothy's
body shook.
Tahd heaved Kit away.
The knife clattered out of her reach.
"You will be
excellent. A hunter like me combined with prey like you will create a legendary
line. I might just hunt our offspring myself. At least a few of them."
Tahd smiled.
Kit spat blood and
crouched. "I will tear your throat out with my fangs. I will drink your
blood, hunter."
Crack!
From someplace behind
Timothy, red fire slashed. Tahd grunted. His shoulder blossomed crimson.
"Tonight you will
answer for your crimes, heretic." A young Jesuit dressed in black extended
a smoking flintlock pistol.
"As will you,
demon!" Sister Tera stood beside the young Jesuit.
Tahd pulled a knife
from his belt with his good hand and lunged for Kit. "Either way, this
hunt ends!"
Another gunshot slashed
into him. An old, bald Jesuit stood a short distance from Kit, his dark robes
merging with the black alley behind him. His silver crucifix gleamed.
"This hunt
ends," the young Jesuit said. "Guillermo, take him."
Tahd snarled, his arms
hanging useless. The man's crucifix was smeared red, and blood stained his
shoulders. He charged the old Jesuit as if to tear the man's throat with his
teeth. The old man crushed the hunter's jaw with an oak fist.
The hunter collapsed in
an unconscious heap.
Sister Tera stepped past
Timothy. She arrowed a finger at Kit.
"And now you,
demon!"
Kit knelt on the
cobblestones, holding the lamb, its blood streaming on her green dress. Kit
looked up, tears flowing down her cheeks. Timothy fell to his knees, the spell
that held him gone.
This can't be
happening.
"Enough,
sister." The young Jesuit laid a hand on Sister Tera's shoulder. "We
have Valador."
"She is a demon! I
can show you!"
The old Jesuit stepped
in front of the nun. The hunter lay limp over the massive man's shoulder.
"That is enough, little sister."
"She is a fox
demon! Why won't you believe me?"
"The time of
demons is past. Men"—Guillermo shifted the hunter—"are more demonic
than demons."
"A lamb
that…" The young Jesuit drew a cross into the air. "God watches out
for these."
Blood. Butchered lambs
didn't bleed this much. Timothy crawled through it.
Cat's satin bow and
leash blended with her life.
"A lamb doing that
is a sign from God, sister. We cannot ignore it."
"It is a trick.
Let me go!" Tera said.
Timothy paid little
attention to the nun and Jesuits.
Cat!
"Our mission is
done. If you want to serve, serve. Personal vendettas have no place in the
Church," Guillermo said. "Come now. We need to bring this heretic to
trial."
Timothy laid a hand on
Cat's ruined body. The lamb's dull eyes held him. She bleated her pain, quiet.
Kit cried openly.
"You saved us
both, my friend." He stroked the lamb's head.
The lamb closed her
eyes, heaven in her sight.
She breathed in.
She breathed out.
Timothy hugged Kit's
quivering shoulders and let the tears fall.
Evelyn watched her
little boy hug the filthy girl.
"Dirty city.
Filthy people," she muttered. "I will save you, dirty boy. I will
keep this one promise. I will save you and hold you. I will cleanse you so you
can enter heaven with me. We can all be together forever. He will keep his
promise then. Forever."
Christopher
Kincaid
spends his time wandering worlds of paper and ink. He sports a
negative tan after too many hours in front of computer screens. In addition to
having a weakness for good tea and books, he is often found indulging his love
for antique video games.
Other Books by Christopher Kincaid
Hunted
Trilogy
Vixen Hunted
Shepherd Hunted (Coming Soon)
Memory Hunted (Coming Soon)
You can find more information
at
www.ChristopherKincaidBooks.com
And visit Chris’s blog about
Japanese culture:
Copyright © 2015 Christopher Kincaid
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may
not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written
permission of the publisher except for the use of brief
quotations in a book review.