by Leia Stone
Okay, definitely a kitsune thing.
As I neared Wild Hog Creek, the green mist grew thicker, viscous. I was practically wading in the stuff. Brock and Cass, who flanked me, appeared unaffected by it. Molly, and Sabine—in human form—brought up the rear, shotguns in hand.
But when we all crested a small hill, and looked down in the direction of the creek, I was the only one to see it.
‘Holy Mother of Mercy,’ I told Cass and Brock.
The gate wasn’t a physical entrance. It was magical.
A large bright green shape, a sacred geometrical symbol or maybe a mandala, floated in the air, hundreds of Japanese characters interspersed with it, helping create it. I knew enough to realize the characters were a mixture of the Hiragana and Katakana lettering systems, but what it said was beyond me. In an effort to learn more about my Japanese heritage, I’d taken a few Japanese history classes in school, but nothing I’d learned would help me decipher that.
Inching closer, I discovered that the left side of the symbol had been wrenched open, and green phosphorescent fluid seeped from the crack.
‘I see the gate. It’s cracked open a bit,’ I told Brock and Cass, who relayed to Molly and Sabine.
“Can you close it?” Molly asked. “Then our problems would be over.”
Wouldn’t that be nice? But no, it wouldn’t be that easy, I was sure of it.
I padded closer.
‘Be careful,’ Brock commanded, as if I couldn’t already tell this gate was bad news no matter how pretty it was.
I stopped six inches away from it, tipped my little fox head down, and tried to nudge the gate. The second my skull connected with the force of the gate, a zap of electricity zipped through my body, and forced me to leap backward, falling awkwardly onto my side. My yelp brought Brock down to his two front paws. He growled ferociously as he readied to pounce.
‘Are you okay?’ he screamed.
Ow. I felt as if I’d just shoved my paw into an electrical outlet, but I was okay. ‘Yeah,’ I told him before he attacked the gate to protect me. I stood and shook myself, peering again at the gate and its leak.
‘I’m going to peek inside,’ I informed, and moved forward again.
‘I don’t see anything. This is frustrating!’ he barked.
As I neared, the fur on my skin electrified, standing straight up, and I slowed to a crawl. Thick green stuff coated the fissure in the gate, but I was able to see inside, like looking through colored glass. What I saw made my knees go weak with fear.
The place where I stood on Brock’s land was the pinnacle of some type of rock formation, from where I was able to peer into another world. Below were thousands of beasts, of the most terrifying sort. Trolls, orcs, ogres, demons—every foul creature from my nightmares milled fifty feet below us. Worse, they were dressed for battle in steel armor, chanting foul words with thick, heavy swords held high in the air, their faces contorted in rage and determination.
They looked like they were preparing for war.
A war on Earth? Oh God.
‘Umm, guys…’ I said to Cass and Brock. ‘We have a problem.’ A fucking ginormous crap-in-your-pants problem.
Before they could question me about it, a twig snapped to Brock’s right and his head shot in its direction, Molly raised her shotgun.
Two Japanese warriors, straight out of a movie, with katanas and impeccable traditional dress, emerged from the woods. I blinked at them. What the…?
Instinctively, I started to shift back to human, afraid Molly would blow their heads off first, and ask questions later. Their katanas were sheathed and strung across their backs, and they held their hands out, palms up in a peaceful gesture.
The moment they laid eyes on me, half-fox, half-human, they dropped to one knee in unison, and bowed their heads. Both were young, tall males, with athletic builds. One wore his long black hair in a high ponytail; the other’s was cropped short on the sides and longer on top.
I completed my shift back to human form—grateful that I’d managed to swallow my usual whimpers of pain—and covered my breasts with one arm, and my hoohah with the other. I didn’t know these fools.
“Who are you?” I asked. Molly cocked the shotgun for added effect. Brock, on my left and still in wolf form, growled at the men, while Cass held his hoverboard at the ready, prepared to strike.
The one with the ponytail stood. “Greetings, Kitsune. We are your guardians, sworn to train you and protect you with our lives.”
Say what?
Time slowed as my brain struggled to catch up. They knew I was a kitsune?
“Who sent you?” I asked.
The other one stood as well, meeting my gaze. “Your father.”
The blood rushed from my face while dizziness swept over me.
My father was alive?
Holy shit.
Continue Evie and Cass’ adventures in book 2 of Supernatural Bounty Hunter, Magic Sight, releasing in early 2019.
Get it here:
http://smarturl.it/SupeBountyHunter2
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Acknowledgments from Leia
Wow what a fun Co-authoring experience. A big thank you to Lucia for being an amazing, creative, and easygoing individual. I can’t wait to write the rest of this series with you! Thank you to our editor Lee from Ocean’s Edge editing, and proofer Stephany Wallace for putting the finishing touches on this manuscript. Also a huge thanks to our ARC team for their excitement for this book and for helping find any last typos. Lastly, thank you to my family as always for supporting my dream. Love you guys.
Oh and I can’t forget, thank you Tate James for teaching me what a crotch goblin is.
Acknowledgments from Lucía
A huge thank you to Leia for having faith in our seed of an idea, which led to the adventures you just read. I didn’t realize it could be so much fun to share a fictional world with another writer! Of course, Leia is no ordinary author. In her, I found not only a fabulous writer, but also a wonderful friend. Leia, I’m ever so grateful to share this wild ride with you, girl.
I’m also deeply thankful to all the readers who make the endless hours working on our books worthwhile. Creating magical worlds is a great passion of mine, one which would be far less meaningful without your support. Thank you, dear readers, for all your enthusiasm and love for our characters! It means the world to me.
And finally, a great big goofy-smile thank you to my family. My three daughters, beloved, and mother are there for me through the ups and downs, and they love me through it all. I’m so grateful that you believe in me and the crazy ideas I come up with. I love you!