Foxfire (An Other Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

more of a woof, and it makes me flinch. All three of them bare their teeth in grins. When the man with the black-spotted tongue turns his head, the skin under his chin jiggles, loose like the folds on a wrinkly dog’s neck.
    I glance at the newspaper man, but he’s gone. Not a good sign.
    The tallest man advances on me. “Don’t you know who I am?”
    I shake my head, hard. I try not to stare at his face or the string of drool dripping from his mouth. His breath smells like rotten meat. Would he kill me slower if I suggested a dentist?
    “My name is Katashi. You’re on Kuro Inu land.”
    Kuro Inu, Black Dog. Clever. Must be the name of his gang.
    For some reason, when I get scared, I get extra sarcastic. “I’m sorry,” I say, “I got lost. I’m an American tourist, okay? That means I’m stupid. I wasn’t trying to trespass.”
    A growl rumbles from Katashi’s throat. “You’re a nogitsune.”
    I don’t know how he can tell, or why this matters. “So?”
    “You smell like her.” Katashi drives me against the wall. “Like Yukimi.”
    My bones bend under my skin, on the brink of changing into a fox’s skeleton. “Who’s Yukimi?”
    A corner of Katashi’s mouth twists. “An excellent reason to kill you.”
    Behind him, the bleached-blond guy ditches his clothes in favor of a pale yellow pelt. His face darkens into a black mask. The man with the black-spotted tongue looks like a hunchback. His spine pops as he falls to all fours, his body twisting into that of a gray mastiff.
    “Run, little fox, run,” Katashi singsongs.
    Katashi casually slings off his jacket, unbuttons his shirt, and peels off his tight jeans. His entire body is tattooed with an image of a dog feasting on a gutted rabbit. The rabbit’s blood spirals over his shoulders and arms, twisting into snakes down his legs.
    Katashi shuts his eyes, then shapeshifts into a huge black dog.
    I try to dredge up some kitsune magic, but I can only think of stupid illusions—a golden apple, a kite that flies itself—and each of those requires an object of some sort. But I can improvise. I spot a length of broken wood on the ground and grab it, willing it to look like a blade. It flashes along its length, and the sight of steel drives them back a step.
    Pain blooms in my chest, sharp and fierce.
    My heartbeat stutters. I gasp, my vision blacking, and the blade clatters on the ground, broken wood again. The pain throbs, fading, and I grimace, doubled over, one hand pressed above my ribs. It’s worse than I’ve felt in a long time.
    The yellow dog, the gray mastiff, and the black dog slink closer to me, their teeth bared, their fur spiking along their spines. My instincts are screaming at me to change into a fox and run, but my heart is going so fast it’s skipping beats—and I don’t want to find out what might happen if I push it. I back against the wall, my palms flat against the concrete, the world suddenly sharp with clarity.
    This is all too real. I could die.
    With a bellowing bark, the black dog—Katashi—lunges for me. I twist out of the way; his jaws click shut where my hand was a minute before. He growls, and barks again.
    He’s trying to scare me into running, so he can chase me down.
    Like hell I’m going to run. I—
    A hawk screams overhead. Everyone looks up.
    A stone-gray streak dives from the sky. The hawk’s wings snap open, slowing its plummet, and its talons slash ragged red grooves in Katashi’s head. Katashi yelps and leaps, trying to bite the hawk, but the bird of prey pumps its wings hard, gaining altitude. The yellow dog scrabbles after it, his teeth inches from its feathers.
    “Watch out!” I shout.
    The hawk flares its tail, feathers spreading like a fan, and lands on the pavement. Doesn’t it know that’s suicide? The yellow dog crouches, the muscles in its hindquarters bunching.
    The hawk’s body shimmers like a heat wave, then shifts. Feathers to hair, talons to hooves. A black horse spins to face the