A Fox's Alliance (American Kitsune Book 10)

by Brandon Varnell

  “Why did you bring her with you?” Lilian asked, wrinkling her nose.

  “Because I’m not about to let someone die if I can save them,” Kevin answered. “Do you really expect me to be that heartless?”

  Lilian grimaced. “No, I don’t. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine. Let’s just focus on running.”

  “Hey, hurry it up!” Iris shouted. “You’re lagging behind.”

  Kevin heaved a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and pushed his legs as hard as he could. It had been a long time since he’d been in track—almost a year—but it wasn’t like he’d stopped getting faster. Training with Kiara and Heather nearly every day had kept his muscles from atrophying. If anything, Kevin would say that he’d grown stronger than before.

  He kept his breathing even, or as even as possible. His chest felt strained, but it didn’t hurt, which he took as a good sign. Their footsteps echoed loudly in his ears, pounding staccato rhythms that bounced back and forth. Behind them, loud crashing sounds told him that Justin had recovered and was now after them.

  “What are we gonna do?” Iris asked. “We can’t just keep running. They’re going to catch up, and I can only burn through maybe one or two more walls.”

  “Right.”

  Kevin breathed in through his mouth and out his nose to keep the oxygen circulating, while he tried to think up a plan. Iris could only use the Void two more times before the strain became too much. Kevin had one cartridge full of void bullets, but he’d rather not use those unless he had to.

  What we need to do is fight him in a battle of our own choosing. I’d prefer a larger space with more room to hide, but we’ll need to put some more distance between us.

  “I take it you’ve got a plan?” Lilian said as Kevin used his free hand to unhook a flash grenade from a spare bandolier. He always kept several, since they had a tendency to get destroyed.

  “Something like that,” he muttered, dropping the flashbang and continuing to run. It went off several seconds later, but Kevin didn’t hear a scream, which led him to believe Justin had seen it coming and closed his eyes—or he hadn’t been close enough for it to blind him.

  “Iris? How long can you keep those flames burning?”

  “Depends on how many flames you want me to make. If you want me to create a wall, then I’d say… less than thirty seconds.”

  “Never mind then.” Kevin quickly thought up another plan. “Lilian, collapse the ceiling above us.”

  “Right. Celestial Art: Giant Orb!”

  A grand ball of golden energy coalesced into existence and exploded against the ceiling. The tunnel rumbled as the ceiling caved in behind them. Kevin stumbled, almost tripping when the earth shook, but Lilian grabbed him with a tail to keep him from falling.

  “Thanks.”

  “Anytime.”

  “So, what now?” asked Iris.

  “Now, we keep moving until we find that garage.”

  While Kevin sounded confident, they soon discovered that finding the garage was harder than it looked. They ran into their first problem when, after nearly five minutes of running, they caught a group of people rushing through a tunnel. They were civilians, humans and yōkai who didn’t know how to fight. This forced them to turn back around and go the other way, taking a different route. They couldn’t let innocents get caught up in this.

  The tunnel was a lot like a maze, they soon realized. There were many paths that someone could take. Some led to dead ends, while others led to civilian shelters. Because of that, it took much longer than he would have liked, but they eventually found the parking garage, or what Kevin hoped was the parking garage.

  Steel cast iron barred their path. The door, gleaming silver in the flickering lights, stood like a silent sentinel guarding the entrance to the heavens.

  “So, um, how do we get in?” Iris asked.

  “Maybe we should use that device on the wall over there.” Lilian pointed to the device in question. It was a small diamond-shaped contraption no larger than Kevin’s thumb. A small square in the center glowed light blue.

  “A thumbprint scanner?” Kevin guessed. He went up and pressed his thumb against the device, which beeped several times, then beeped once more.

  “Access denied. You are not authorized to enter.”

  “So much for that,” Iris muttered.

  “Try Hina’s thumbprint,” Lilian suggested. “She was the one guiding us, so that must mean she has access to this place.”

  “Good idea.”

  Kevin grabbed Hina’s hand and pressed her thumb into the scanner. Several beeps told him that it was scanning the thumb. There was a two second pause, then it pinged.

  “Access granted. Welcome, Hina Kozuki.”

  “What a weird last name,” Iris said.

  “No weirder than Pnevma,” Kevin shot back.

  “The gate is opening,” Lilian interrupted their bickering.

  Indeed, she was right. Metal gears cranked behind cement walls, turning as the gate slowly opened, revealing a well-lit interior. They walked inside. Large support columns stood in rows that traversed the room like a tic-tac-toe board. Paint on the cement floor were white lines, and within those lines were vehicles. Numerous vehicles sat within the parking spaces. Most of them were simple sedans and cars, but a few were more esoteric. There was even a large fuel tanker sitting near the back.

  “There it is!” Lilian exclaimed, pointing at their car, which sat in a corner, seeming almost lonely.

  “I guess we’re home free,” Iris said, grinning. “Heh, we didn’t even have to fight Slowpoke.”

  “Not quite,” a voice said from above them.

  “Scatter!” Kevin shouted as cracks appeared along the ceiling.

  He, Lilian, and Iris bolted in opposite directions as the ceiling came down. Kevin hid behind a pillar as dust clogged up the area. He set Hina against the pillar and used the nearest car window to see what was happening. Two figures had fallen through the hole, their metallic forms easily recognizable. The Yōkai Killers stood still, but their visored heads swiveled around, searching for a target. Justin came down next, slowly descending on whatever repulsors he had built into his suit.

  “I have to admit, that was a pretty tricky move you pulled there,” Justin said, shaking his head. “I really should have expected you to do something crazy like that—guess I forgot who I’m dealing with.”

  “That’s what you get for underestimating us!” Lilian shouted, her voice echoing around the room, making it impossible to determine where she was.

  “Yes, I suppose you have a point there. I really should learn to stop underestimating you guys. It’s not very good for my health, or my eyesight,” Justin joked.

  “Justin,” Kevin shouted, “why don’t you forget about the Sons and Daughters of Humanity and join us instead?”

  “What are you saying, Kevin?!”

  “I’m with Lily on this one, Stud. Asking someone who’s trying to kill us to join us is stupid.”

  Kevin ignored them. “You were one of my friends once, Justin! And I know you don’t agree with the Sons and Daughters of Humanity! You don’t hate yōkai, so why follow them?”

  “This question again?” Justin scratched the back of his helmet. “Look, Kevin, you know why I can’t do that. I can’t deny my purpose. I was made for the sole purpose of eliminating yōkai. It’s the whole reason I exist. Denying or trying to fight against my purpose is like denying what I am.”

  “And what are you?”

  “A weapon, a tool that is meant to be wielded against yōkai. That is why I was created. I don’t have anything left if I deny this purpose.”

  Kevin couldn’t understand Justin’s reasoning. Perhaps it was because he’d never been born with such a specific purpose, but Kevin just didn’t comprehend it. Did his friend really believe the crap coming out of his mouth, or had he been so brainwashed that he couldn’t even conceive of finding a new purpose?

  “I think that’s a load of bull!”<
br />
  “Think what you want, but this conversation is over. YK units thirty and thirty-one, eliminate the targets Kevin Swift, Lilian Pnevma, and Iris Pnevma now,” Justin said. The YK units’ red visors glowed brightly as if acknowledging his order to exterminate them.

  ***

  Kuroneko was like a hellcat. She leapt through the air, ethereal tongues of blue energy pushing her forward. Her claws were covered in ether, pure life energy derived from the cosmos, and she used that energy to great effect, tearing through Yōkai Killers like they were sheets of paper. While nearly every machine she ripped to shreds regenerated, it took a while for that to happen, which meant her people had that much more time to evacuate.

  Using a Yōkai Killer as a platform, she leapt off before it could skewer her with its tendrils. Her tails writhed furiously to the beat of an unseen symphony. Blue energy gathered in her hands, tiny strands of ether pulled from the cosmos, turning into two tiny orbs, which she combined together.

  “Ether Beam.”

  It was like a giant laser shot from a sci-fi warship. The beam tore through everything. Yōkai Killers were sheared in half, their bodies falling away from each other. She aimed primarily at the Yōkai Killers in the sky, doing her best to avoid damaging the city.

  Several came at her from below, and Kuroneko dispelled her technique. Ethereal nail-like claws elongated on her hands and feet. Crouching on the building, she used her incredibly powerful thighs to shoot through the air.

  The first Yōkai Killer to feel her wrath was torn to shreds when she slammed into it, slicing it into several pieces. It would regenerate eventually. She used the second one as a platform, leaping into the air while using her clawed feet to shear its head off. While in midair, she spun around like a top, and thin blue strings appeared from her nails.

  “Ether Line.”

  She spun faster and faster, the glowing blue lines becoming rapid streaks that blurred through the atmosphere, until it looked like a cyclone. Several Yōkai Killers launched tendrils at the tornado that Kuroneko had become, but each tendril was sliced apart by the thin blue strands of ether youki. Kuroneko then stopped spinning and spread her arms and legs wide. The strands shot out, twenty in all, and extended for several dozen yards. Several Yōkai Killers tried to attack, and several more attempted to get in close, but Kuroneko pulled her arms and legs back seconds later.

  “Cat’s Cradle.”

  The blue strings converged around her, slicing through anything that was too close. Line after line wrapped around an invisible barrier created by Kuroneko’s energy. The strands created a ball, each line glowing blue, forming what, to an outside observer, would have looked like a giant ball of yarn.

  “Ether Yarn.”

  The ball of “yarn” fell to the ground, slicing apart several Yōkai Killers that had been underneath it. When it landed, it bounced, flying back into the air. Yōkai Killers converged around it, but at that instance, a voice inside spoke up.

  “Ether Explosion.”

  It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off in a confined space. The many strands of energy blew apart like a thousand tiny detonations going off at once. Everything within a twenty-yard radius was annihilated. The Yōkai Killers—even those whose elemental composition wasn’t the spirit element and therefore wasn’t ether youki’s elemental opposite—were completely destroyed.

  The Yōkai Killers that didn’t get caught in the blast were blown away by the immense force winds that pushed into them. Several crashed through buildings, plowing straight through one side and out the other. A couple of buildings collapsed because of that. Kuroneko felt a bit disappointed, but she knew that some collateral damage was to be expected when using her full power.

  Landing on the ground, Kuroneko noticed that no enemies were near her anymore. They must have been blown away. She could see several that were currently fighting her forces off in the distance, but they were far enough to have not gotten caught in the blast.

  “Kuroneko-hime!”

  A figure ran up to her, a young woman with fair skin, elven ears, and angelic wings—pinions of the purest white—jutting from her back. A tennyo, a heavenly messenger that worked for the gods. They were quite rare in the human world, as most tennyo lived in the heavens. Only a few chose to live on earth.

  “Have the civilians been evacuated?” Kuroneko asked calmly.

  “Yes, Kuroneko-hime,” Alison said, nervously shifting her feet. “However, there might be a bit of a problem.”

  Kuroneko did not like the sound of that. “What kind of problem are you talking about?”

  Alison opened her mouth to answer, but she never got the chance to say anything.

  Because in that moment, a massive explosion rocked the entire city. Gouts of smoke and wreckage ascended into the sky. Even from a distance, Kuroneko could tell where it had come from.

  “That… was from parking garage number four, was it not?” she asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. We have been receiving reports from several people about a trio of teenagers running that way. The descriptions we were given matched those of our guests. The reports also claimed that the boy was carrying a large woman with red skin over his shoulder.”

  “Oh, dear,” Kuroneko said. “If this is the kind of destruction they cause, then perhaps I should have sent them off with more than a single escort.”

  Alison felt sweat trail down the left side of her face.

  “Shall I arrange for someone to go and see what is happening over there?” she asked.

  “There is no need. Once we have driven these machines off, I shall see what is going on myself.”

  Kuroneko turned back to the battlefield. Several Yōkai Killers had regenerated after being destroyed and were coming back to attack her.

  “For now, let us focus on the battle in front of us,” she said, her fingers glowing once more.

  As she prepared to resume her battle, Kuroneko prayed that Hina and those children were okay.

  ***

  Kevin bolted from his cover and rushed across the parking garage, using each pillar as protection to keep from being skewered. Cement fragments rained down around him, pelting his skin. Some were large enough to leave bruises, but he ignored the pain and continued moving. He couldn’t afford to stay in one place for very long.

  He, Lilian, and Iris had all split up but remained close enough to watch each other’s backs. Using the pillars as cover, they crossed the parking lot. Every time one of them became a target, the others would attack the Yōkai Killers, forcing them to switch targets.

  “Celestial Art: Light Sphere!”

  Lilian launched a sphere of light that struck one of the Yōkai Killer’s in the back of the head. It turned to her, tracking her movements, then attempted to skewer her with a tendril—

  “Extension!”

  —when a long black tail smacked it across the garage. The Yōkai Killer crashed into one of the many large pillars, denting it and creating numerous cracks that caused pieces to break off. No damage was actually done to it, however, and the Yōkai Killer landed back on its feet and tried to locate the one who’d attacked it.

  Kevin raced out from behind another pillar. He spotted the two Yōkai Killers. One had engaged Lilian and the other was looking for Iris. He shot the one trying to skewer his mate with several fire bullets that flared against its body but did no visible damage.

  It’s not using a water reactor, then.

  Courtesy of Kuroneko, Kevin now had exactly one cartridge full of each type of youki. She’d given it to him before they left, claiming he would probably need them at some point. He didn’t disagree.

  Rushing behind a pillar as the Yōkai Killer shot several bullets from its fingertips, Kevin pressed his back against the cement, listening to the plink-plink-plink-plink of a dozen metal shells chipping away at his cover. He took several deep breaths and waited for the sounds to stop.

  We’ll try water next.

  “It seems your guns have been upgraded,” Justin said fr
om somewhere close by.

  Kevin didn’t bother being surprised. He just moved.

  Rolling along the ground, he avoided the beam of white energy that lanced through the place he’d been standing. Looking back revealed a small hole in the pillar, the area around it molten red and dripping.

  Justin smiled and held up his hand, which quickly shifted from a gun back into a glove. “You’re not the only one who’s received an upgrade. This suit has been charged with fire youki from a six-tailed fire kitsune. You don’t know how hard it was to capture that one. It took me nearly two weeks to find and defeat it even with twenty YK units.”

  Kevin didn’t talk. He didn’t want to waste his breath, not when every breath he took was precious. Using strength to talk when conversation wasn’t necessary would only ensure his defeat.

  “Not going to engage in a little pre-battle banter?” Justin continued to taunt. “That’s kinda disappointing, but I suppose there isn’t much need to converse. In that case, I’ll also keep—”

  “Extension!”

  Two red tails wrapped around Justin, who had but a moment to realize what that meant.

  “Well, shit. This isn’t good.”

  Justin was then slammed into a pillar hard enough to dent it. Then he was slammed against the ceiling, then the floor, and then he was tossed into one of the Yōkai Killers, knocking them both to the ground.

  “Are you okay, Kevin?” Lilian asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “Good! In that case, I want you to cover me!”

  “What?!”

  Kevin raced out from behind his pillar and saw Lilian darting across the garage. She moved in zigzags, presenting a difficult target for anyone aiming at her.

  One of the Yōkai Killers had seen her, and it quickly switched from trying to find Iris to attacking Lilian.

  Kevin wouldn’t let it. Before it had a chance to attack her, he unleashed a barrage of water youki bullets it at. They splashed against its surface, showing that it wasn’t using a fire reactor. However, the bullets served their purpose, making it switch from targeting Lilian to him. Kevin ducked behind his pillar, then raced to another pillar just as something sliced the pillar he’d been standing behind apart.