Taking Rank

by Hana Steven

  “His mom started calling Gale a monster,” I continue. “I defended my sister but she only turned on me before tossing a Fireball at Gale. Gale blocked it and I caught her in the Parasite Snare,” I say, pointing to her.

  “After that,” Gale picks up, “Dad asked us to take Billy back to see the animals and Jenna asked us to watch Frost for a while longer. Billy asked to hold him, which is when we discovered Frost’s name and that they are familiars. Then Poseidon arrived asking us to come back up here.”

  “That mostly matches what I was told earlier,” Officer Gerald says. “But who is Frost?”

  “This is Frost,” Billy says, holding the little blue Kitsune up.

  “Why is that dog…” the officer begins, then looking closer continues, “that fox, blue? For that matter, why is there a fox here?”

  “He’s not a fox,” Gale explains. “He’s a Kitsune.”

  The enforcer just looks at her before clearing his throat. “Never mind that, it’s not important to this.”

  Walking over to Billy’s mom, he asks, “Mrs. Wallice, do you have anything to add to what they have just told me?”

  “Are you seriously going to side with those monsters over me?” she asks, clearly not believing that she is in the wrong.

  “The store owner and the girls’ father are willing to drop the charges,” Officer Gerald informs her. “But you will need to apologize to the girls.”

  “Like heck am I going to apologize for protecting my son from those monsters!”

  “They’re not monsters, Mommy,” Billy says. “They’re my friends.”

  Officer Gerald sighs, “I think I’ve seen enough. If you would release her, please,” he says with a wave at Dad.

  “Sure,” I respond, walking over to the troublesome woman.

  I conjure a Fireball in my hand and her eyes go wide in fear. Kneeling down beside her, I let the fire come into contact with her restraints, causing them to catch fire and, in an instant, burn away completely, leaving the woman unharmed.

  “That’s…quite the impressive approach,” the enforcer says hesitantly.

  “It’s easier than trying to unravel the spell from her mana,” I reply with a shrug.

  The officer just gives me an odd look as I move back over near Dad and Gale. As I turn my attention back to them, I see the officer putting handcuffs on Billy’s mom.

  “I’m going to take you down to the station for a psych evaluation,” he tells her. “I will personally make sure that your son is taken care of until you are finished with it.” Turning in our direction, he continues, “Leave the little fox with your friends and follow me please, young man.”

  “But Frost is my familiar,” Billy complains, hugging Frost close.

  “You girls said that before,” Jenna says. “What does it mean?”

  “A familiar is a creature or being that you have a special bond with,” Dad explains.

  “Gale and I are familiars,” I add.

  Jenna looks from Dad to us girls. “So the fox…Frost, is really important to Billy?”

  I nod.

  Jenna turns her attention to Billy and Frost for a moment before sighing. “Billy,” she begins, “would you like to help me out in the shop?”

  “Help you out?” he repeats, confused.

  “Yeah,” Jenna says. “Like helping me feed and take care of the animals.”

  Billy’s eyes are as big as saucers as I turn my attention back to him. He nods and says, “I’d love to!”

  “Officer?” Jenna prompts.

  “Yes?” he replies.

  “If it would be alright with you, I would like to look after Billy,” Jenna proposes. “I could use some help around the store and he would get to stay with Frost.”

  “That’s a generous offer,” Officer Gerald begins. “But I’m afraid it’s not really my decision.”

  “Please,” Billy begs. “I’ll look after the animals real good.”

  Gerald stares at Billy for a moment, then sighs. “I can’t promise anything, but I’ll let you watch him for now. An officer who works with these types of situations will be by later for a chat. I advise you to be here.”

  “You’re going to let that monster lover watch my son?!” Billy’s mom exclaims.

  “Quiet,” the officer says, turning toward the door.

  “Thank you,” Jenna calls out. “We will be here. If I need to run somewhere I’ll leave a note on the door.”

  The enforcer nods at her then escorts the woman out the door.

  “She’s going to be alright, right?” asks Billy.

  “Of course,” Jenna says. “She just needs some help. Until she’s better, you will stay with me or some other family that will take good care of you.”

  “I really want to stay with you,” Billy says, “‘cause you have Frost.”

  Dad chuckles, “It’s good to know what you want, Billy, but make sure you don’t trust people too easily. Not everyone is as friendly as us.”

  I nod, bad memories coming to the surface. I feel a hand on my shoulder. Looking over I see Gale watching me with concern in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, I banish the unpleasant thoughts and give her a smile.

  “Come on, girls,” Dad says. “I think we should be heading out; we need to find a place to eat. We can come by on our way out of town in the morning if you would like.”

  I nod with a grin then scurry over to Billy. “We’ll see you in the morning, okay?”

  “Okay,” he says, hugging me with one arm.

  “Take good care of Frost,” Gale says, giving him a hug as well.

  “I will,” Billy promised.

  As we head over to the door, we wave to Jenna who waves back. Soon we are back on the street, heading in the general direction of the inn.

  “If you kids see a restaurant you want to try, just let us know,” Poseidon tells us.

  We travel for a few minutes before I start to smell something familiar. Sniffing a few times I finally realize what it is. “Burgers!”

  “Where do you see a burger place?” Erik asks.

  “I don’t,” I reply, “but I can smell them.”

  “What’s a burger?” asks Gale.

  At our commotion, Dad and Poseidon turn to look at us.

  “You can smell burgers?” Poseidon asks, sniffing the air for herself.

  “I doubt you are going to smell it,” Dad says with a chuckle. “She’s still in her Kitsune form and probably has a far better sense of smell than us.”

  Poseidon looks to me. “Oh, right. Lead on then, Sylphy.”

  At her encouragement, I follow my nose until we come to a fairly large building; the sign mounted on the limestone wall reads “Kenny’s Dinner.” We make our way inside where we are greeted by a young woman.

  “Welcome to Kenny’s,” she greets. “My name is Mari and I will be your waitress. Please follow me.”

  Following Mari, we are quickly seated in a booth on the far wall. Once we are settled, she hands out a few menus.

  “The special today is cheeseburger soup,” She tells us. “If you know what you would like I can take your order, or I can come back in a few minutes to let you look over the menu.”

  “Give us a few minutes, please,” Dad tells her.

  Turning my attention to the menu Gale and I are sharing, I see a fairly large list of dishes, some I recognize, others are completely new; pictures beside each item show what it is even if you can’t read or don’t know what it is.

  After a few minutes Poseidon asks, “What are you guys getting?”

  “I think I’m going to get the special,” Dad answers.

  “Is cheeseburger soup good?” I ask, not knowing how a cheeseburger could be considered soup.

  “I think you will like it,” he replies. “I certainly do.”

  “I want a burger,” Gale states. “I’ve never had one.”

  “Are you ready to order?” Mari asks as she approaches again. “Or do you need some more time?”

  Poseidon places our o
rder; she and Gale get hamburgers while the rest of us try the special. Mari takes the menus before heading off toward the kitchen. She returns after a couple of minutes with our drinks.

  “Here you go,” she says, placing a glass in front of each of us. “I’ll bring your food out as soon as it’s ready.” With that said, she turns and heads back to the kitchen.

  “Huh,” Gale says with some confusion.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

  “I could have sworn she saw my fur,” Gale explains. “But she didn’t even mention it.”

  “She’s probably just being polite,” Poseidon explains. “Waiters and waitresses have to be nice or they won’t keep their jobs for long.”

  Gale nods, still looking confused.

  “If you really want to know,” Dad begins, “then ask her.”

  “Okay,” Gale replies with another nod.

  “In the meantime,” Dad goes on, looking across the table to Poseidon and Erik, “what do the two of you plan to do once we collect the bandit reward?”

  Poseidon shrugs, “I figured we would travel with you guys for a while, if you don’t mind. We don’t really have anywhere specific we are headed, after all.”

  “Fine by me,” Dad answers. “How about you, girls?”

  “Sure,” I say excited. “It’s been fun.”

  “Yeah,” Gale agrees, “especially the duels.”

  Erik rolls his eyes before retorting, “Next time will be different. I’ll be ready for your tricks.”

  “Sure,” Gale taunts.

  “That’s enough, you two,” Dad interrupts before things get out of hand. Turning to Gale and me he continues, “Why don’t you girls work on a spell primer tonight? We can leave it with your new friend and the little Kitsune when we leave.”

  “What’s a spell primer?” I ask.

  “It’s a book that explains how to use magic,” Poseidon explains. “If you make one for the boy, then he can learn your style of magic by reading it and following its instructions.”

  “Really?” Gale asks excitedly.

  “Yes, really,” Dad answers with a chuckle. “Just make sure you don’t skip anything. It will serve as a test to see how well you remember your lessons, as well as a tool for your new friends.”

  “But what if we screw it up?” I ask, not wanting to put Billy or Frost in danger.

  “I’ll look it over before we give it to them,” he assures me. “I know you two are competent, but I would rather be safe than sorry.”

  “Okay,” I say, looking forward to the task.

  Behind Dad I can see Mari approaching with a tray of bowls in her hands.

  “Okay,” she says, setting the tray on the edge of the table. “You two had the burgers, right?” she asks, looking to Poseidon and Gale.

  “Yes,” Poseidon answers.

  “Yeah,” echoes Gale, taking the burger form her.

  I watch our waitress’s face and see her eyes light up a bit when she sees Gale’s furred hands.

  “Why aren’t you commenting on my fur?” Gale asks her. “Everyone else seems to dislike me for it.”

  “I didn’t want to be rude,” she replies as she hands out our soups. “I think it’s really neat. I like cosplaying so it’s really cool to meet an actual animal girl.”

  “You know I’m not just dressing up?” Gale asks, surprised. “And what’s cosplaying?”

  “Cosplaying is dressing up like characters from books or comics,” she answers. “I make my own costumes, so I can tell that you aren’t wearing gloves—there aren’t any seams. Even the best sewn fur will show seams to a practiced eye.”

  “So,” Gale hesitates before continuing, “you aren’t scared or anything?”

  “No, silly,” Mari says with a giggle unbefitting her age. “I told you, I think it’s cool. Though I do have to ask, why does only one of you have fur on your hands?”

  I am confused for a moment before I remember, Oh yeah, I’m transformed.

  “Sylphy is a human who uses magic to take on a Kitsune form,” Gale explains. “I’m a real Kitsune. I’m not old enough to take on a human form by myself so I use magic. My fur is a holdover from my fox form.”

  “Cool!” Mari squeals. Looking to me she asks, “Can you teach me the spell?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Dad interrupts. “You would need to practice our style of magic.”

  “I can learn it,” Mari tells him confidently.

  Dad chuckles then says, “If you are serious about that then you should go see Jenna at her pet shop. We’ll be leaving a primer with her for a couple of the girls’ friends.”

  “I’ll do that,” Mari replies, pulling a notebook out from her pocket. Scribing on a page she says, “This is my address. I’d love to be pen pals with you girls.” Pausing for a moment, she looks to Dad, “If that’s okay with you.”

  “I don’t mind,” he replies with a chuckle. “But I doubt you will get a reply anytime soon. We are heading off away from home.”

  “That’s okay,” Mari says, finishing her writing and handing the notebook to Dad. “Maybe you can make it for the next con.”

  “What’s a con?” I question.

  “Its short for convention,” Poseidon answers. “It’s an event where people who have similar interests get together to buy or sell things related to their interests, or just to have fun.”

  “There used to be yearly conventions here in Kingston,” Mari adds. “But ever since the Shift they have become less frequent. The last one was nearly two years ago.”

  Finishing writing in the notebook, Dad hands it back. “This is my sister’s address; it’s probably the best way to get a hold of us. As for the con, let us know when they have one scheduled and I’ll see what we can do.”

  “Thanks!” Mari cheers.

  “Mari!” a man’s voice calls from the other end of the room.

  “Oh! I have to go,” Mari says with a jump. “I’ll bring your check back in a bit.”

  As she scurries off to answer the call, we all turn to our food.

  The soup is delicious; it doesn’t taste exactly like a cheeseburger, but it is quite close. Before I know it my bowl is empty. Looking around I see I’m not the only one who has finished their food; Gale and Poseidon both sit contentedly with empty plates.

  “Should we get dessert?” Poseidon asks, reaching for a menu. Looking through it she eventually adds, “They have ice cream. Sweet, I haven’t had ice cream in so long.”

  “What’s ice cream?” I ask.

  “Just the best dessert for a hot day like today,” she replies.

  Waving down Mari, Poseidon orders us each a bowl of ice cream, asking for an assortment. After several minutes, Mari returns with a tray full of bowls.

  “Here you go,” she says, moving the bowls to the table. “I brought two chocolate, two vanilla, and one of this week’s flavor, raspberry cream.”

  “Thank you,” Poseidon tells her. “They look delicious.”

  Examining this “ice cream,” I’m not very impressed on its looks. It resembles mashed potatoes except in several colors. Two bowls are an off-white color with dark flecks mixed in, while two more are a light brown. The last bowl is a lighter white color with red streaks running through it and visible chunks of raspberries.

  “Dibs on a chocolate!” Erik says, reaching for one of the bowls with the brown ice cream in it.

  The two white ones must be vanilla then, I muse as I reach for the other chocolate bowl. But there’s no way I’m passing up chocolate. I just hope it’s as good as the real thing.

  “Does one of you want the raspberry one?” Poseidon asks, looking from Dad to Gale.

  “Go ahead,” Dad says as Gale grabs a bowl of vanilla.

  Sharing a look with Gale, we both scoop up some ice cream with a spoon and give it a taste.

  The first thing I notice is it’s cold. Very cold. My mouth adjusts as it begins to melt on my tongue, the flavor finally reaching my shocked mind. It’s sweet and creamy, but definitely
has a chocolate flavor to it.

  “Mmm, good,” Gale says.

  As I nod in agreement, I see her stealing a scoop from my bowl saying, “Let me try the chocolate.”

  “Fine,” I answer, stealing a spoonful of hers. “But I get some of yours, too.”

  This time I am prepared for the cold and don’t get surprised by it. The vanilla is also creamy, but rather than chocolate, it has a different taste that I can’t really describe. Surprising even myself, I find that I prefer this over the chocolate.

  “This is even better,” Gale says. “Want to trade?”

  With a grin I push my bowl toward my new sister and snatch the creamy vanilla goodness for myself.

  Poseidon chuckles as we both quickly dig in. “Don’t eat too fast or you’ll give yourselves brain freeze.”

  “What’s that?” I ask, spooning more ice cream into my mouth. Suddenly the roof of my mouth all the way back to my throat starts to feel like I just put a spoonful of tacks in my mouth.

  “That,” Poseidon says, pushing my water toward me, “is brain freeze.”

  Chapter 11

  Love Conquers Fear

  Back in our room at the inn, Gale and I work on the spell primer for Billy and Frost. At first we struggle with how to start, but eventually I have to put effort into writing slow enough that my letters don’t get scrambled in my excitement.

  After a couple hours of planning and writing, we feel that we’ve covered everything up through first tier spells. We take a moment to look over it again before hopping off of the bed and handing it to Dad for approval.

  “We’re done!” I say excitedly.

  Setting down his book, Dad takes our primer and begins to thumb through it. “At a glance it looks good.” Looking up at us he adds, “If you girls want another bath you should probably get one tonight. I’ll look over this in the mean time.”

  I share an excited look with Gale before we both rush over to our bags and grab a change of clothes.

  “C’mon, c’mon,” Gale begs, tugging on my arm.

  I can’t help but giggle as I let her haul me off to the bathroom. After sitting in the water long enough for it to start to get cold again, we towel off and get dressed. Gathering up our old clothes, we make our way back into the main room.