In the Teeth of It

by K A Miltimore

  “Let’s see what we can learn.” Hedy opened the cover and gazed across the Table of Contents. The entries were grouped by region. Hedy was well familiar with European legends, Russian legends, Mediterranean legends, and even some of those from the Americas. She needed to learn more about Africa and Asia.

  Hedy skimmed the pages for Asia, taking in briefly information about Jiangshi, vampires from China, and Dokkaebi, Korean goblins. It wasn’t that she didn’t find them interesting, but her mind was having a hard time settling down to the task of actually reading. She was tired but there would be no way she would be sleeping for a while. Her eyes flitted over the entry for Kitsune from Japan and she stopped.

  “What’s this? ‘A kitsune is a Japanese fox spirit, a being that can shapeshift into various human forms once it reaches one hundred years of age. Kitsune can be kind and benevolent but are most often mischievous and prone to trickery. In their fox form, kitsune have nine tails and can insert themselves into the dreams of humans.’”

  Hedy read the passage again, this time silently, and then stared off toward the light in the window. Foxes. First, the fox attacks on the local farms, then this morning’s nightmare with the fox. Now the entry about kitsune. Why so many references to foxes? It seemed a strange coincidence for sure, and she was never one for coincidences. Was it possible that Yami was a kitsune and she had infiltrated Hedy’s dreams? Why would she want to do that?

  “Here you are. I thought I heard something in here.” Maurice had found his way to the parlor, still looking sleepy. He hopped up to the arm of the chair and found a spot in the wool throw.

  “Yes, just doing a bit of reading. About Japanese fox spirits actually.” Hedy felt him give a shudder.

  “Foxes are worthless creatures. Alice told me about the attacks on the farms around here and I say good riddance to the whole skulk of foxes responsible.” Hedy knew very well that Maurice had a tragic history involving foxes; they had slaughtered his family.

  “Have you ever heard of a kitsune, Maurice? A fox spirit that can shapeshift into human form?” Maurice wasn’t prone to reading anything that wasn’t philosophical in nature, but in his early years, he had traveled with a necromancer who frequented the dark edges of polite society. Perhaps Maurice had encountered one.

  “Ugh, no, thank goodness. At least, not to my knowledge. But if they can shapeshift, how would you know? As awful as traveling with Dr. Zee was, and it was awful, he at least had the decency to keep me clear of any shapeshifters. No one can trust them.” As curious as Hedy was to know about Maurice’s time on the road, she never pried because she knew those days held sad memories for him.

  “Oh, not all shapeshifters, Maurice. I knew a very nice one in Louisiana; his name is Louis. Anyway, this entry caught my eye. Seems like foxes have been a topic of discussion lately so that is probably why. And perhaps don’t wish too hard for the local foxes to be harmed. Remember our friend, Ren? We wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.” She heard Maurice sniff loudly, signaling his disagreement, but he said nothing.

  “How about some breakfast? I could do with a bite.” Maurice jumped lightly from the chair and began padding his way toward the kitchen. Hedy closed the book and unwrapped from the throw. She wondered if she would see either of her guests anytime soon.

  “Right behind you, Maurice,” Hedy called after the chinchilla as she placed the book back on the roll-top desk. She had such a feeling of unease and she just couldn’t shake it. she hated to suspect her guest of being behind her dream but the thought bored itself into her brain and would not come out.

  ✽✽✽

  Maurice had eaten his kippers and gone off to do something taxing, like taking a nap, when Raluca appeared. Hedy was washing dishes and had her back to the doorway, but she could just feel someone was there. If there had been a rustling sound, she would have thought it was Adelaide. Hedy turned slowly to see the small woman standing there, watching.

  “Oh, good morning, I didn’t hear you come down the stairs. I hope you slept well.” Hedy tried to smile her very best welcome smile, but she feared it looked more like a grimace today.

  “I have a very light step. I would have been amazed if you had heard me.” Raluca was dressed in periwinkle blue today, another meticulous Chanel suit. The pearls around her neck could probably keep the bakery running for several years.

  “Can I make you some breakfast? Coffee, perhaps?” Raluca stayed where she was in the doorway and gave the kitchen a skeptical look, though it was spotless.

  “You Americans drink far too much coffee. No wonder you are so jittery all the time. A cup of tea would be fine and a piece of dry toast. I will take it in the cafe area.” With that, Raluca left the kitchen. There was not a sound on the creaky wooden floors.

  Toast and tea in hand, Hedy dreaded going into the shop, which was abnormal. She loved it there, with the scent of spices and warmth and treats waiting for someone to delight in them. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be heading into her shop and feel dread.

  “Here we are.” Hedy brought the breakfast to the table Raluca had chosen, which was as far from the window as she could get.

  “Where is your traveler? I have not met her yet. Yami Hayashi, is it not?” No surprise that Raluca knew the name of Hedy’s traveler. She likely knew the guests of every waystation on the west coast.

  “She is not an early riser. In fact, I did not see her last night after your arrival. She must have business she is attending to.” It was rare to have a traveler disappear; Enumclaw did not have a large number of sights that would keep someone away for that long.

  “I must speak with her before I can conclude my investigation. I have been attempting to reach Mr. Aldebrand, but he has not been responsive to my inquiries,” Raluca said flatly as she poured herself a cup of tea from the small pot before her. She gave it a sniff and found it adequate.

  “He was traveling to New York, but I would assume he is there by now. He has been gone two weeks.” Hedy felt the words die in her mouth as Raluca gave her a look that said she spoke the obvious.

  “Yes, I am aware of his plans. I have his waystation reports all the way from here to New York. Once he arrived though, he disappeared.” Raluca took a small nibble on her wheat toast and returned to her tea.

  “I wish I could be of help to you, but I don’t have a way to reach him. I do know the whereabouts of Anahita Sohrab, if you would like to speak to her.” Hedy again saw the look from Raluca that she was stating something obvious.

  “I know where she is. It has been arranged that she will meet me here tomorrow.”

  “Well, you have everything in hand, then. I can go about my business in the meantime, yes?” Hedy felt her patience slipping and she hoped it wasn’t clear to Raluca, though there wasn’t likely much that she missed.

  “Behave as normal, please. I wish to see you at your ease.” Raluca smiled and there was nothing warm or easy in that look. Hedy gave her a short nod and turned back to the counter to begin making her snail cinnamon rolls. Before Hedy could think of something to say to fill the silence, there was a pounding on the front door.

  Hedy hurried over and saw Mel through the glass, looking anxious. Hedy unlocked the door and ushered her inside.

  “Mel, what is happening? You look upset.” She brought Mel into the shop and saw the girl pause at the sight of Raluca. She had not been there for the Moroaica’s arrival. “Mel, this is my guest, Raluca Vaduva. Mel is a student in town that helps me in the shop.”

  Raluca gave Mel a slight nod before returning to her toast.

  “Hedy, something happened last night, at the tree farm. Something with my cousin, Dylan, and his friends.” Mel was speaking too quickly, and Hedy needed her to calm down.

  “Mel, sit and let me get you a cup of tea. Tell me slowly what happened.”

  Mel paused before continuing. “Dylan and his friends left the farm and went into the forest, into a cave. When they didn’t come back, we went looking for them. Luckily, the cave
wasn’t that far from the farm. We were calling to them and they must have heard our voices, because they were just coming out of the cave when we got there.” Mel took a sip of the tea that Hedy brought her.

  “Was anyone hurt?” Hedy watched Mel as she shook her head slightly.

  “That’s just it. No one is hurt physically. They didn’t even have a scratch on them. But there is something wrong. I could tell as soon as they followed us out of the woods.”

  “What do you mean?” Hedy sat down at Mel’s table to watch the girl’s face.

  “At first, I thought it was just shock, you know, from having a close call in the woods. Maybe they thought they were going to get into big trouble, and there was definitely a risk for that; my Uncle Jim was furious. But everyone was just glad to have them back safely. But walking back from the woods, I watched them, and they were communicating without speaking.” Mel looked at Hedy with a lost look, like she couldn’t explain what she had seen.

  “Okay, take it slowly. What did they do?”

  “One of the kids, I think his name was Harley, seemed like the ringleader. They had all been walking separately, near their parents, when all of a sudden and without a word, they all paused and grouped around Harley, walking together in a cluster. They walked like that for a few moments, as close as they could be without tripping over each other, and then again, without a word, the group broke up. Dylan and some girl paired off and walked near the edge of us. Again, none of them said anything. By then, we were back at the tree farm and people were coming up to see if they were alright. I watched them all look to Harley, who said nothing, but then they would answer the questions, using just a few words. It was the weirdest thing.” Mel took another sip of tea, clearly remembering the scene as she spoke.

  “The adults were all so relieved that they weren’t watching them that closely when we got back but I saw this kid, Randy, who is my cousin’s friend, kick his own dog to get it out of the way. And Dylan laughed when he saw it. That’s not Dylan’s way. He is the sweetest kid. He would never laugh at that.” Mel started to cry, wiping the tears furiously with her sleeve.

  “Okay, let’s be calm about this. The kids probably were scared to death and afraid of getting in trouble about it. No doubt that contributed to them acting tough and rough when they got back. I would say your family should just keep an eye on Dylan and I bet he returns to his old self in a day or two. Stuck in a dark cave, I might lash out, too.” Hedy gave Mel’s arm a pat and hoped she had reassured her. It was strange, certainly, but a good scare could make people act strangely.

  “I hope you are right. I probably won’t see him again until the Christmas market, but I’ll be watching him to see if he is still acting weird. Oh, and speaking of weird, the fox attacks seem to have gotten worse. Even with all the trapping.”

  Mel took another sip and Hedy waited for her to continue.

  “Last night, a fox took down several goats at some farm in Buckley, where they make soap and lotions. How could a fox take on something that big?” Mel and Hedy both saw Raluca turn toward them for the first time.

  “Fox attacks, you say? Quite unusual. Tell me about it.” The old woman’s face was pinched in what Hedy guessed was anticipation.

  Hedy spoke up. “We’ve had some fox attacks on poultry this week, small creatures mainly. The farmers have been setting traps aggressively, which we have been worried about as we have reason to think it may not be a local fox causing the damage. But now taking down goats? It really seems unlikely it is a fox,” Hedy said. She wasn’t quite prepared to tell Raluca about Ren and his request for assistance.

  “What makes everyone think it is a fox? Has the creature been seen?” Raluca spoke slowly, digesting the information as she went.

  “My uncle said it was the claw and bite marks, and some reddish fur on the bodies. No one has seen the actual fox or foxes at work.” Mel spoke quietly, clearly intimidated by the old woman.

  Raluca smiled with a toothy grin. “Don’t worry, child. I won’t bite like this phantom fox. You need not be afraid of me. But I may have some ideas about these attacks.” She said no more, returning to her tea. Mel and Hedy exchanged puzzled looks but Hedy tried to brush it off.

  “Let’s get the shop ready to open and later, you can call your uncle to check on Dylan. I’ll bet he is better already.” Hedy rose from the table and went back to her dough. It wasn’t even nine in the morning and already the day had taken a very strange turn.

  Chapter Eleven

  Mid-morning found Hedy upstairs in the library looking for Adelaide.

  “Adelaide, I am really shook up and I could use your help. You saved me from the dream. Can you tell me anything that would help understand who was after me?” She knew she was likely wasting her time - the ghost only chimed in when she felt like it - but Adelaide had come through when it really counted. Adelaide’s information had saved Anahita from Lyssa. Maybe she would do the same now.

  Hedy waited but there wasn’t a sound other than the slight hiss and flicker of the candle. Her mind tried to plan a way to reach Adelaide but the only idea she had was too dangerous. As scary as her nightmare had been, she wasn’t sure she could dare risk trying a spirit board to reach the hiding ghost. Who knew what malevolent being might tag along, finding an easy portal into the house. That was the last thing they needed.

  “I need someone who communes with spirits and who can make contact, keeping the dangerous spirits away. I need the coven.” Hedy didn’t realize she was speaking out loud but the sound of her voice bounced back against the library walls. If Adelaide had any thoughts to contribute, she didn’t pipe up.

  “I’ll call Helen.” Hedy brought the candle out of the room, blowing carefully to avoid splattering the wall with wax. She left the taper on the table near the library door and hurried downstairs, almost tripping on the berry bramble gate as she went.

  “What’s happening? What’s the rush?” Mel chimed in from the counter as Hedy steamed passed the open doorway in the kitchen.

  “I’m calling Helen with the coven. I need a connection to Adelaide.” Hedy flipped through her paper Rolodex until she located the new card with the ‘Sisters of the Crescent Moon Coven’ scrawled across the top. Helen was their leader. She had met the group a few months back when they had held a seance to meet Adelaide.

  Hedy didn’t wait for Mel to ask any more questions. She picked up the receiver to the land line and dialed the witch.

  “Hello?” The voice on the end of the line sounded tense, which Hedy found was typical for Helen. Apparently being a witch did not make someone mellow.

  “Hi, Helen. It’s Hedy Leckermaul at the bakery. I was hoping I could trouble you for a house call.” Hedy’s voice had its own edge of tension, though she was trying very hard to sound chipper.

  “House call? I’m not sure I understand…” Helen faltered.

  “A witch house call, if that makes sense. I need help reaching Adelaide. It’s rather urgent.” Hedy hoped Helen wouldn’t say no; otherwise she might be forced to try it on her own and that was a risky option. The high witch however did not disappoint.

  “I would be delighted to try to reach your spirit. Last time, we assembled the whole coven. What did you have in mind?”

  “I need some specific answers and Adelaide tends to speak in riddles. I thought perhaps using a spirit board…” Hedy paused and the line was quiet.

  “Hedy…I don’t know. Spirit boards are dangerous. Think of them like open windows. Any spirit can crawl in when you have them open. Are you sure?” To Helen’s credit, at least she didn’t say no outright.

  “I know the risk, but I thought perhaps if you did a grounding spell of some kind, we could minimize the risk. You’d know better than me, of course.” Hedy chewed on a ragged spot on her otherwise filed nails. She needed the witch’s help and telling her how to conduct her rituals likely wasn’t going to get it.

  “Well, alright. We could try. When do you want to do this?”

  “Ho
w about now?”

  ✽✽✽

  Forty-five minutes later, a rather disheveled witch walked through Hedy’s front door. “Helen, thank you for coming over. I really do appreciate it.”

  “Well, you did say it was urgent. You were kind enough to host the coven so it is the least I can do to return the favor. Where shall we set up?” Helen was remarkable in her unremarkableness and Hedy envied her. Hedy’s hair and style made her stand out wherever she went but Helen could have blended into wall paper. She had hair that might be called blonde, if someone was being charitable, and an average frame, average height, and average face. Nothing stood out about Helen. If she hadn’t been dressed in all black, with the silver pentacle hanging onto her average bosom, she could have been inserted into any scene in any movie where the cast called for Extra No 2.

  “If you will follow me, I think the library upstairs would be best. That is Adelaide’s favorite room.” Hedy led the way passed the Christmas tree, pushing aside the wooden bramble gate. She gazed over her shoulder to make sure Helen was still with her. The woman was paused, staring at the brown shingle in the box that hung on Hedy’s wall.

  “What is that, if I may ask? It gives off this aura that is so strong I can practically taste it. It must have belonged to a powerful witch once.” Helen held her fingers just above the glass that separated the ancient shingle from the roof of the Gingerbread Hag of legend.

  “My ancestor was the witch from Hansel and Gretel. I’ll gladly tell you the story sometime over a pot of tea. Perhaps after we are done.” Hedy hoped she hadn’t been too obvious in her desire to keep things moving toward the library. With a slight nod, Helen followed Hedy’s steps up the carpeted stairs.

  Hedy pulled the matches from her apron pocket and lit the pillar again. The wax had barely hardened. Pressing open the door, she used the pillar to light several smaller candles that rested on shelves throughout the library. The room had a soft glow of candlelight.