Inquest

by Emily Thompson

“Your friends are very odd,” the kitsune said to Vane. They looked to him in confusion.

  “Yes, I know,” Vane said with a smile. “But I like them all right.”

  The kitsune looked at Vane fondly and leaned closer to him. “Which one is your favorite?”

  Vane glanced at each of them. Twist returned his gaze with a warning look. Vane turned to nearly whisper his answer to the kitsune. “That one,” he said, pointing at Jonas. Skye snickered.

  “Shut up, Skye,” Jonas grumbled, rolling his eyes. Twist stared at Vane, bewildered. Not only was the kitsune’s question confusing, but how could Vane count Jonas as his favorite anything, when he and Jonas were so frequently at odds?

  “And what do you think of this sweet little cub, then?” the kitsune asked Jonas.

  “If you like him, you can have him,” Jonas said with a mirthless smile.

  The kitsune frowned at his answer and looked to Vane when he gave a heavy, mournful sigh. “Oh, don’t worry, little one,” he said soothingly to Vane, patting at his back. “You’ll find the one for you when you’re old enough. We all do.”

  “Yes, I know…” Vane muttered.

  “What is he talking about?” Twist asked Jonas.

  “Why do you all think that I understand these people?” Jonas snapped in reply.

  “You know more about Vane than I do,” Twist retorted.

  “Do I?” Jonas asked back. “You’ve been spending a lot of time with him too, you know.”

  “He doesn’t try to sleep with me,” Twist pointed out. Skye snickered again.

  Ignoring her, Jonas looked at Twist in shock. “Who taught you to fight dirty?”

  “It was probably you, actually,” Twist said with a thoughtful frown.

  “Yeah,” Jonas sighed. “It probably was…” Myra shook her head with a resigned smile on her face, while Skye laughed quietly to herself.

  “Perhaps,” the kitsune said to Vane, “you would have better luck with some different friends.”

  “I have considered that,” Vane said earnestly. He looked around him at the lounging kitsunes enjoying the end of their meal, some of them chatting pleasantly now in the grass or tossing colorful paper balls back and forth. “I wish I could…” His words fell away when he met the rusty-haired kitsune’s gaze. “I mean,” he amended quickly, looking suddenly bashful for reasons Twist couldn’t begin to guess. “I’m sure I’ll find a nice human somewhere.”

  The kitsune smiled warmly at him. “Good luck, little one,” he said, ruffling Vane’s hair again before he rose to his feet and moved to fill the others’ teacups.

  Vane remained silent until he had gone and then gave a soft sigh, poking idly at the white lumps left in the bottom of his soup bowl.

  “Vane, stop being depressed,” Jonas snapped suddenly. “It’s annoying.”

  Vane pouted at him in response.

  “What’s the trouble, anyway?” Skye asked Vane. “I thought that fox-guy was being pretty nice to you.”

  “Other foxes understand,” Vane said flippantly. “I don’t have to explain anything to them. These ones are all older than me and know everything I don’t.” He sighed quietly, his tone growing darker. “They could teach me so much. And Inari could—” His voice cut off abruptly, and he shook his head mournfully. “But she’d never ask me to stay. I’m nobody.”

  Myra made a sympathetic sound and got to her feet. She knelt down before Vane and patted him on the head while he stared back at her in stilled surprise. “There, there,” she said soothingly.

  Twist could only marvel at the simplicity of her solution and her clear belief that it would help. Vane smiled back at her, apparently at a loss of how else to respond.

  Jonas shook his head. “Good old Myra,” he said to himself, not nearly loud enough for her to hear.

  Midday approached, and the air grew thin and cool as the island began to rise over the open ocean. After they had finished breakfast and collected their things, Twist and his companions were led to a simple-looking wooden dock that hung off of the front of the island, reaching out into open air. Twist craned his neck to see below, but the wooden pylons appeared purely ornamental, as they terminated a foot or so below the dock and stood on nothing at all. While Myra, Vane, Skye, and Jonas stepped out onto the dock easily, Twist lingered near the cliff-like shore.

  His vantage point was nevertheless unobscured as the island continued to climb slowly into the sky. To the north, Twist spied a dot of land, shrouded in the horizon mist and approaching fast. Soon, the shape of the seemingly tiny island in the sea grew clearer to him, while other hardly detectable points appeared in the glistening blue water below.

  “That’s O’ahu,” Jonas supplied to Myra, pointing to one of the smaller points. “I’ve got to take you and Twist to Honolulu someday,” he added wistfully. “And over there, that’s Maui,” he said, pointing deeper into the mist than Twist’s eyes could follow. “They’ve got wonderful surfing there.”

  “And loads of wild sea turtles, too, I heard,” Skye added brightly. Myra gave a delighted tone, clapping her hands.

  “Oh and look!” Jonas gasped, turning his powerful gaze on the largest of the islands. “Mauna Loa is erupting a little.” Vane held up a hand to shade his eyes and squinted into the wind, while Skye and Myra peered out as well.

  “Wait, what?” Twist called to him on the thin air, unable to see any signs of destruction himself. “What do you mean, erupting?”

  Jonas turned, clearly surprised to find Twist so far behind. He then seemed to sigh and stepped closer to Twist. “Well, it’s a volcano,” he answered with a shrug.

  “And it’s erupting?” Twist asked, his voice rising with his anxiety. “Is Inari going to leave us here with an erupting volcano!?”

  “It’s only erupting a little,” Jonas said softly, repaying Twist’s glare with a meek smile. “It doesn’t look very unstable to me. These mountains have little episodes all the time. It’s not going Pompeii or anything. There’s just a little lava flow and some gas. Besides, we’re going to Mauna Kea. That’s a completely different volcano.”

  “Well, it’s the same island,” Vane said with a frown. “And this whole island chain is really one big volcano, after all.” Twist’s heart began to beat faster.

  “Quiet, you,” Jonas hissed at him quickly. While Vane appeared perfectly innocent, Jonas put a hand on Twist’s shoulder, peering at his eyes through a moss-green gaze. “Really, it’s fine, Twist. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  Twist looked back at him for a moment and let the fog eat away at the edges of his fear. “I don’t think I like volcanoes,” he muttered. Jonas smiled, draping his arm around Twist’s shoulders.

  “You’re allowed,” Jonas said simply. “I don’t like vampires.”

  Twist laughed lightly and shook his head, while the fog in his Sight chilled his fears away to nearly nothing. Farther along the dock, Myra and Skye had sat down together, hanging their feet playfully over the edge. Twist marveled at their ease in such a precarious place.

  When he took in his next breath, he realized that it was getting steadily harder to breathe at all now. A huge, sloping mountain stood on the largest island, its top still towering over them and hidden by a veil of thin cloud, even as they continued to rise into the sky. Twist instantly thought of the mountains at the feet of the Himalayas, where he’d found Myra’s puppet. The air around those peaks had been as thin and crisp as any high-altitude airship ride, but the air he now breathed seemed thinner still. Perhaps it was their rapid ascent that made the feeling more apparent.

  The flying island glided up higher, advancing quickly on the cloud layer that ringed the mountain. Myra, Skye, and Vane gave happily startled cries as the clouds splashed down over them all. Twist was blinded for a moment as he shielded his face from the biting, cold mist before it fell away like a receding tide. Fingers of cloud clung to the edges of the flying island as it burst into the clear blue sky above. The sun beat down heavily on Twist’s back and warm
ed him against the chill of the air.

  “That was exciting!” Skye cheered happily to Myra. Twist noticed that she sounded slightly out of breath as well.

  “I really like this flying island,” Myra announced. “I wish we could stay here.”

  Vane made a soft tone, accidentally drawing Twist’s attention. Vane was wringing his hands again, looking back toward the village that hid in the jungle behind them.

  “Why don’t you ask to stay?” Twist asked him.

  Vane met his gaze with a hesitant tension in his dark eyes. “She wouldn’t have me…” he muttered, looking down sadly. “Inari loves every fox that she invites to stay with her. I couldn’t ask for that…”

  The buzz in Twist’s neck dimmed slightly with Jonas’s thoughtful pause. Twist would have said something supportive to the fox himself, but he was distracted by the sight of the summit that now lay before them. Soft, rolling hills topped the mountain, while a sea of white clouds lapped at the edges like waves on a shore. There were no plants or trees up here in the sharp sunlight, but banks of glistening snow nestled into the deeper ravines of the otherwise bare, terra-cotta-colored, stony ground.

  What the spot lacked in natural beauty, however, was made up for by the sprawling palace of shining crystal, colorful gems, and gleaming gold that sat on the snakelike ridge at the very top. A handful of domed buildings stood proudly inside high walls of clear crystal, connected by promenades of gold and sapphire. A fountain—of what looked very much like red-and-orange molten rock—splashed merrily in the center of a wide plaza, mysteriously contained by its round golden base. As they grew closer, Twist identified the huge, glittering, colorful shapes that wandered to and fro through the structure as winged dragons in full form.

  “I’m starting to notice a theme here,” Jonas mentioned. “These big lizards like shiny things.”

  “It’s so pretty…” Myra cooed, overcome with awe as she gazed at the palace.

  “Are we all ready to leave?” Inari’s voice asked from behind them. They turned to see her standing at the edge of the jungle near the dock, a pleasant smile on her pale face.

  Twist stooped to snatch up his and Myra’s travel bags from the sandy ground at his feet. “I believe so,” he said politely, glancing at the others for confirmation.

  Jonas took up his bag as well, and Skye simply nodded as she and Myra got back to their feet and came closer. Vane gave a quiet sigh, his gaze drifting down mournfully. Jonas’s face was clouded with thought, and Twist could feel hesitation now in the buzz at his neck. After an instant of silent contemplation, Jonas moved to speak.

  “Is there any chance that Vane could stay here with you and your people?” he asked Inari, while keeping his naked eyes clear of hers. Vane gasped, staring at him in shock.

  Inari’s fine red lips curved into a soft smile. “Why are you asking?” she asked Jonas.

  Jonas glanced toward Vane without catching his eyes. “He wants to stay and to try to grow up, apparently.”

  “Be honest now. Are you trying to be rid of him?” Inari asked slowly, stepping closer as her black eyes studied Jonas. “I realize that his immaturity is annoying to you.” Vane seemed to be holding his breath, staring at Jonas with amazingly wide eyes.

  “Well…” Jonas muttered. “I won’t tell you that I’ll miss him acting like an idiot all of the time. But there’s no point in trying to get away from him. I always run into him again, no matter what I do. I’m only asking you to take him because he won’t do it himself.” Twist glanced to Vane and found him gazing at Jonas with a clearly grateful and almost loving expression.

  “I see…” Inari said, smiling more warmly now. “Then, even after all of your threats and anger, you can admit that you care for his feelings?”

  “No,” Jonas snapped. “Well, I mean…” Vane’s tension was palpable as he seemed to hold his breath, hanging on Jonas’s words. “Look,” Jonas went on gruffly, “he could use some growing up, and he said that you can help with that. Can he stay with you or not?”

  Inari laughed lightly into her fine fingers. She looked to Vane, who seemed to be struggling to keep himself from reaching for Jonas now. “Well,” she said to Vane brightly, “I leave the decision up to you. Would you like to remain with this man, learn to understand his feelings, and so mature in the natural way? Or would you rather join my village for a time and let us teach you how to build deeper connections more easily?”

  Vane stared back at her, astonished. “You’re inviting me? You’re really inviting me?” She nodded, her smile growing. “Yes, yes, please!” he blurted. “Of course, I’d very much like to stay here with you!”

  Inari laughed and held out her arms to him. “Then you are welcome, little one.”

  Vane rushed into her embrace without a moment’s hesitation, and Inari smiled deeply as she held him like a mother. When they pulled away, Vane seemed about to burst with pride and overflowing joy. Then he looked to Jonas with a brilliant smile. Clearly unable to contain himself any longer, he launched himself at Jonas, wrapping him in his arms and hugging him tightly. Jonas froze, dropping his bag as his eyes snapped tightly shut.

  “Oh, thank you!” Vane gasped in rapture, nuzzling into Jonas’s neck. “Thank you for asking, for me! You’re wonderful!”

  “Stop it!” Jonas yelped, struggling to free himself. “Let me go, you bastard!”

  “But I love you, you wonderful darling!” Vane exclaimed, pulling back just enough to look at Jonas’s face.

  Before Jonas could manage to push him back any farther, Vane grabbed his neck and pressed a kiss to his lips. Jonas stilled in his complaints while a chill of shock rushed through the buzz in Twist’s neck, mirroring his own surprise. Vane pulled away and held Jonas’s shoulders as he smiled at him warmly. Jonas’s eyes stayed closed as he seemed to struggle with his own response. Skye and Myra stared between them with fully wide eyes.

  “Let go of me, Vane,” Jonas decided on finally, his voice soft but cold.

  “Oh, right,” Vane said, suddenly awkward as he snatched his hands away from Jonas and fear seeped into his expression. “Sorry. You don’t like kissing. I forgot. Please don’t hit me. You’ve just made me ever so happy!” he added with a hopeful smile.

  Jonas picked up his bag again and then turned to Inari. “Is there any chance that you could explain him?” he asked, his tone deceptively calm, before he wiped at his mouth with a hand.

  “There is only one way,” Inari began, “for a one-tailed fox to grow his next tail and progress in the journey of his life. He must taste love. He must build a sincere attachment to someone else and understand what it really means to love.” As she spoke, Vane looked to her, smiling proudly. “He’s getting there,” she added, which dimmed Vane’s smile slightly.

  “Thank God I’m getting out of reach,” Jonas grumbled stiffly.

  “Yet no matter how annoyed you might be, you spoke for him,” Inari said. “You made a selfless request for his benefit alone. Wouldn’t you agree that that sounds rather like a form of love?”

  Vane gasped, looking to Jonas in shock.

  “No, I wouldn’t agree at all with that,” Jonas snapped, his posture ready to defend himself if Vane decided to advance on him again. “And you keep your paws to yourself,” he added darkly to Vane.

  Vane gave a sigh. “I’m so confused…”

  “Don’t worry, little one,” Inari said, stepping closer to him and placing a pale hand on his sloping shoulders. “The elder ones and I can advise you. If you could learn to be more sensitive to his feelings, perhaps this man would like you even more than he already does.” Jonas gave a noisy sound of disapproval and looked away.

  “Do you think so?” Vane asked her, breathless, astonished, and hopeful.

  “Not really, no,” Jonas grumbled. He glanced at Twist. “Aren’t we supposed to be leaving?”

  “That’s what I was told,” Twist offered with a nod.

  “Yes, yes…” Inari said with a smile. “We’ve nearly lan
ded now. You’ll be away in moments.”

  “One more hug?” Vane asked Jonas quickly with a brilliant smile.

  Jonas put his goggles on over his eyes and stared coldly in Vane’s direction. “No.”

  Vane sighed but didn’t ask again. When the island touched down at the edge of the summit—the dock acting perfectly as a gangway—Twist bid Vane farewell from a distance, while Myra offered a curtsy and a smile. Skye patted Vane on the shoulder and encouraged him not to give up. Jonas glowered at her but said nothing. To his credit, Jonas neither ignored nor struck Vane as he was pulled into a swift hug at the last moment. Instead, Jonas told him flatly to grow up and then turned and walked away.

  Twist, Jonas, Myra, and Skye stood on the golden tiles of the crystal-walled plaza, warming themselves by the surprisingly gentle heat of the large fountain of glowing lava in the center. Inari had asked them to wait as she moved quickly away into the huge, golden, domed building at the center of the plaza. Twist glanced around at the handful of large, glimmering, colorful dragons that prowled about their own business.

  “Well,” Jonas said with a resigned note to his voice, as he watched the lava in the fountain streaming through its arabesques, “I suppose we really are jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire this time.”

  “I think I shall miss the fox people,” Myra said with a soft sigh. “They were darling creatures.”

  Jonas gave an unhappy tone and rubbed at his mouth yet again.

  Noticing this, Skye shook her head with a smile. The effect of the gesture was marred by a sudden, violent shiver. She rubbed at her arms and gave a tiny moan of discomfort. Twist was shocked at himself for not noticing that she only wore her trousers, riding boots, a thin cotton shirt, and a bright-red waistcoat to shield her from the freezing wind. He and Jonas still wore the borrowed fur coats that Zéphyrin had given them.

  “Are you cold?” Jonas asked, coming closer to her. “Here, love, take my coat—” he began, his tone alien on his voice for all its gentlemanly air.

  “I’m fine,” Skye snapped at him. She turned her back on him and stepped closer to the lava fountain. “I don’t need your damned chivalry.”