"No. I did the trial by rotten shark." He chuckled and shuddered, waving his hands in front of him.
As soon as it touched my tongue, I pressed it against the roof of my mouth instead of chewing it with my teeth. The taste, while quite gross, wasn't half as bad as the smell. "That's not bad," I said and swallowed, sliding the tray over for Hiroki to try.
He grabbed a piece and tossed it into his mouth without experiencing the delectable cloud of fermented horrid nightmare and his eyes widened in surprise as he chewed. "Quite delicious!"
I could have told David I was leaving him for a woman, and he wouldn't have looked more disappointed than at that moment. They both did. They wanted me to gag, and possibly puke. The bastards.
"Want some?" I slid the tray over to them and they both turned slightly green. The waitress started laughing and clapped me on the back.
"Your drink is on me!"
"You're a monster," Remy said incredulously. "Even Rome ran to the bathroom and lost the contents of his stomach."
"Now that, I would have paid to see. But, in all fairness, there is a similar Japanese dish that my parents like. I've eaten it multiple times."
They groaned in disappointment.
I grabbed my mug and brought the mead to my lips. The liquid hit my tongue and evaporated into a cloud of happiness. Or, at least, that's what it felt like. I was so happy to have found a replacement beverage, the giddiness reached my smile as I rocked back and forth.
"Kaede?"
I looked up at Hiroki. "Já?"
"Your eyes are…glowing."
"Huh?" The giddiness evaporated into a cloud of worry.
Turning my head, I stared at David for confirmation. He nodded. "Yeah. They are. With blue fire? You okay?"
"Já?"
"You mean hai?" Roki's voice caught my attention. Maybe it was the worry in it.
"Huh? That's what I said?" I took another swallow of mead to curb my worry.
"Maybe it was the hákarl," Remy answered thoughtfully.
"Perhaps," Hiroki answered.
"Well, I feel fine."
"Drink in moderation. Let me know if you need to leave," he said, narrowing his eyes for emphasis.
"You worry too much, Hiroki."
"Perhaps."
I went to take another sip, but my mead was empty. Frowning, I picked up my glass of water, in desperate need to quench my thirst. Practically pouring it down my throat, my eyes widened as the familiar taste of honey and the burn of fire slid down my throat. I hadn't added rice as an offering, there was no way I should, or could, have turned it into sake or mead. It should have been water, but it wasn't. There was no way in hell I was telling them that, though. They were already worried about me.
"I brought another round," the waitress said as she stepped up to the booth, putting beers and mead down in the center. "Would you like any food?"
"We'll have the lamb," Remy told her.
"Leg?"
"Yes, please."
"We're eating lamb?"
He nodded. "Unless you wish to try the súrir hrútspungar."
"Let me guess. Pickled fish?"
He chuckled. "Close. Pickled ram's balls."
"What the fuck? Why would you eat that?" I almost puked just thinking about it. He should have done that instead of the hákarl. He would have gotten a better reaction. An explosive one.
"That's what I said." David nodded in agreement.
I was curled up in David's arm, slightly buzzing from the mead when the waitress brought the roasted leg of lamb and another round of drinks.
I grabbed the mug, practically draining it, and frowning. They needed bigger mugs.
"Easy, Kaede," Hiroki cautioned.
The waitress chuckled. "I'll bring you another, sweetie."
"Thank you!" I stuck my tongue out at Roki. "At least she likes me."
Remy slid a plate of sliced meat and a few potatoes in front of me. Practically growling, I tore into the food.
"There's silverware." David chuckled.
I raised my head. "I really need to pee. Be right back." I set the meat down and got up too quickly. The room spun a little and I blinked to clear my head.
"Are you all right, Kaede-sama?"
"Yeah. Glad we got some real food. Think that shark is still fermenting in my stomach." I turned and headed for the exit, hoping the bathroom was close by.
I found the marked hallway and turned the corner, slamming into Sabine. Blinking rapidly, I briefly wondered why I hadn't seen her in the Aesir Academy room, then I realized it was because she wasn't in the school uniform.
"Sorry," I said, sighed, wished to be anywhere but there, and headed for the bathroom. I never saw the blow, but the pain just before my vision exploded into a field of stars, I felt quite clearly.
Chapter 17
The rumble beneath my cheek woke me from a sound slumber, or maybe it was the cold wetness of the wooden deck of the boat slowly chugging through the water. I'd woken up in worse places, but I wasn't tied up like I was now. My wrists and my ankles were bound. Groaning, I rolled onto my back, ignoring the burning of the ropes.
One of Sabine's cronies was leaning against the side of the boat, staring at me intently. "Sabine, she's awake," she called out toward the front of the vessel.
It was at that moment I truly understood the phrase about being up Shit Creek without a paddle. It took on a whole new meaning. After punching her in the chest and setting her on fire, I'd finally pissed Sabine off enough to dispose of my body in the middle of the ocean.
My head winced with each footstep I heard drawing closer. I could barely see from the pain at the base of my skull. "Oh, hey. How are you, Sabine?"
"Still cracking jokes, I see."
"I try."
Her head appeared in my field of vision, looking down at me with intense hatred in her eyes. "I'd tell you to try harder, but it won't matter shortly."
"Oh, you gonna drop me off at the side of the pier?"
"No. In the middle of the sea. Don't worry, the anchor will make it pretty quick." She grinned, and upside down, it was creepier than usual.
"You're going to kill me? Because you don't like me?" I knew she was a bitch, but an insane bitch? That was a rare combination indeed. I'd secretly been hoping she was just trying to scare me. But when she lifted the anchor off the deck, dropped it over the side of the boat, and flashed an evil smile at me, my hopes were dashed upon the rocks of reality. The rope tied to the anchor quickly pulled on the rope binding my ankles. When there was no more slack, I slowly started to slide across the deck. Sabine walked back over and stepped over me with one leg, squatting down on my chest and stopping me from going overboard.
Thank fuck. And thank fuck she's wearing jeans and not a skirt. Ewww.
"Just wanted to memorize your face before you go. Since I'm the last person who will ever…ever…see it." She traced her fingertip down the front of my school shirt, tearing into the fabric with a claw. Her eyes never left mine, and there was no room for any doubt. Her lights were on, but nobody was home. She was certifiable.
"Stop this, Sabine. You don't want to kill me."
She started laughing and couldn't stop. "Yes, Kaede, I do. I really do. Maybe now David will come to his fucking senses. I'll be there to comfort him sooo hard when he realizes that you're gone forever."
"No, you won't. He'll fucking kill you once he realizes what you've done!"
"How's he going to know? Are you going to tell him?" She cackled maniacally.
"Sabine…" Her friend looked at her worriedly. "We can't kill her! We were just supposed to scare her."
Sabine grinned at me. "Doesn't she look afraid to you, Steph? She looks like she's about to shit her drawers to me." A light flared in Sabine's eyes and her face relaxed. She smiled at me almost apologetically. "You have my sincere apologies, Kaede. This is how it must be," she whispered and stood, taking the weight off my chest and letting me slide to the edge of the boat. I scrambled to stop myself and ma
naged to wedge my feet under the rail, the weight of the anchor causing the ropes to tear into the flesh of my ankles. I winced in pain, but wasn't going to drown.
"Start the boat," Sabine told her friend in that still calm voice. "Take us to shore."
She looked at her unsurely. "Sabine…"
"Do it, mortal," she said sadly.
Did she just call her mortal?
Sabine, or whomever had taken the helm, leaned back against the rail and stared at me intently. The engine rumbled and the boat surged forward, the anchor nearly ripping my feet from their perch. The faster the boat went, the heavier the weight became. I called my foxfire to my hands, not caring if I burned myself. Gripping the rope in my hands under my back, I let it surge, screaming as it licked my flesh as it burned the ropes.
"Can't have that now, can we?" Sabine stood and held out her hand. A metal rod flew from the other side of the boat and landed in her hand. Without a thought, she plunged it into my shoulder, the pain extinguishing my flames, and the grip of my feet. With a yank, my legs pulled up, slamming my ass and back against the side of the boat before I was dragged over. To add injury to insult, my head slammed against the rail as I twisted over it and plunged into the icy black water.
The temperature of the water brought me quickly back to reality and numbed the throbbing pain in my head. My eyes and lungs were already screaming from the frigid cold and lack of air, I hadn't taken a breath before completely submerging. The only sensory input I had was the sound of the boat moving further and further away, muffled as even my ears filled with water.
Water swirled and rushed past me as I sank quickly. Ignoring the pain, I opened my eyes but still saw nothing. The saltwater burned, but nothing compared to my lungs. I was going to die. I couldn't even pop as only blackness was visible whichever way I looked.
Do you wish to live? The voice resonated in my head.
Does a fox shit in the woods? Of course, I do!
Suddenly, light flooded around me, blue hued like my fox fire. I twisted in the water as the eye of a dragon blinked, plunging me into darkness.
Jormungandr… I froze in fear and not from the temperature of the water.
I can smell my brother on you.
A talon reached out and cut the rope between me and the anchor, stopping my descent into the crushing depths. Then the dragon exhaled, and I closed my eyes as I expected to be blasted with his searing breath. Instead, a bubble of air enveloped me and propelled me toward the surface.
Fare thee well, little one.
I looked down and saw him one last time. A giant head resting by his tail…
He's almost encircled the earth…
The bubble and I broke the surface in a spray of water. I coughed and choked as I fought to fill my lungs with air and cough out the seawater I had swallowed. Rolling on my back, I tried to maintain my calm as I floated in the rolling waters. If I wanted any chance of survival, I needed to get out of the ropes and out of the water, or I was going to end up a foxburg.
I let my fur envelop me. Its oils keeping some of the chill and water from my skin, but not enough. The ropes were another matter. All kitsune and nogitsune could call weapons into being. I, however, sucked at it. I had Hiroki, he might have taught me to use a sword, but even he got frustrated trying to teach me to call one into being. Floating on my back, arms bound behind me and ankles bound below me, I fervently wished I had practiced more.
"I'm going to die."
No, you're not, a familiar sleepy voice resounded in my mind. You are mine. Call your sword.
"I can't!"
You can.
I growled and did as Hiroki had told me so many times. At first, I felt it in my palm, but it slipped away, quickly plunging into the depths. Dispelling it, I tried again. And again. The third time I managed to get my hand around it and there I was, floating in the middle of the ocean, hands tied behind my back, and a katana in my grasp.
"Now what the fuck do I do?"
This time, the voice didn't answer.
Turning my hand, I pointed the blade toward my feet and made damn sure I didn't drop it again. Carefully, I maneuvered the blade between my legs, sharp side down and let it rest on the rope between them. Immediately I started sawing the rope with the sword, head dunking under water with every stroke. Just as I thought I would drown from inhaling too much water, the rope broke free and I started kicking my legs, forcing my head above the rolling waters. A shark fin popped above the surface, not ten feet from my face.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me. I will fucking ferment you, dry you, and eat you!" Taking a large breath, I ducked my head under the surface and let the blade slide through my hands until I felt the hilt between my feet. Grabbing it, I worked the blade between the ropes and kicked until it cut through.
Me and my hands broke through the surface. "Yes!"
I dispelled the blade and called it back to my hand without even thinking about it. Spinning around in the water, I searched for the shark fin in the dimly illuminated water.
"Now what?"
The shark must have lost interest. I didn't see it again as I treaded water for an hour, exhausted. Giving up, I let my tears mix with the seawater around me and started saying goodbyes in my head to everyone that mattered. I even forgave my parents for sending me to fucking Iceland, home of fermented shark and pickled ram's balls.
"I just want to go home…"
You can't. You have things to do, but not where you are. You are my herald, you have power. Walk.
"I'm drowning in the ocean. How?"
You are naught but a babe. Learn. Learn to walk again.
"That's not very helpful!" Think, Kaede. Think. How the hell am I supposed to walk…on water?
I wasn't going to do it in the water. I tried lifting myself up, bracing my hands against the surface. It far from worked and I probably looked like a moron.
Walk…
Before you can walk you need to learn to crawl…
I kicked and propelled myself forward a little, but instead of paddling with my arms, I used them to push myself forward, like the water was a firm surface. It worked a little, but not much.
My father was a celestial messenger to the gods. If he wanted to, he could float in the air and walk through walls. I always assumed it was my kitsune half that prevented me from doing it, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe I was just focusing on the wrong half of me. I touched the power inside of me that I always avoided, was always afraid of, and let it loosen a little. I tried it again, and my arms stayed on the surface, pulling my ass along in the water.
A little more power and I was on top, balancing like I was floating on a log and trying fervently not to fall back in. As long as I kept moving, I was fine. After a few minutes of doing it, I crawled on my knees, building speed and finally getting up to my feet and lightly running across the surface of the water.
Great. Now which way do I go?
Feel for your friends… You share a bond with your fox and my wolf.
Picturing both, I closed my eyes as I ran, letting my heart guide me. Just like that, I ran and ran. It seemed like forever, but when it felt like my heart and my magic couldn't possibly take any more, I saw the familiar glow of the village.
"Thank fuck." I got my tenth wind and ran as fast as I could, praying the last of my spirit energy wouldn't dwindle to nothing and drop me back into the frigid waters, drowning in sight of the shore.
"You can do it," I chanted with every step.
∞ ∞ ∞
Sunlight, filtering through curtains, finally woke me up. The first thing I noticed was that I had to pee. Horrendously. The second thing I noticed was that I wasn't alone. There were somebodies in my bed. Three of them to be exact. And we were all naked. And morning wood is a real thing.
I lifted my head from the pillow. I was lying on my back and being smothered under a comforter. Remy was on my right, David my left, and Hiroki on top of me with his head resting on my chest. I felt bad and wanted to stuff
a pillow under it for some cushion, but more than that, I wanted to run to the bathroom.
"Roki," I whispered his name.
He immediately opened his eyes, lifted his head, and gave me a look of complete and utter relief. "Kaede-sama…"
"Talk later. You're lying on my bladder and it's gonna pop."
"My apologies," he crawled off me, dragging the comforter with him and getting up on his knees. He was wide awake, and the rest of him was, too. I stared. Nowhere near his face. "Is that for me?"
"Do not joke at a time like this, Kaede-sama. Relieve yourself and then get back in bed. You are not moving today."
I chuckled and extricated my arms from under David and Remy. Remy woke first and pushed me back down on the bed with a massive hand. "You shouldn't be moving."
My arms instinctively covered my breasts. I couldn't help it. But after realizing they had already seen me naked, I gave up and sighed. "I really have to pee."
He got up and scooped me from the bed, carrying me to the bathroom door of the room we were in.
"I can pee by myself, you know."
"And I will let you, once I have determined that you successfully made it to said bathroom."
"What happened?"
"We found you on the beach. Tell us the tale of what happened when you are safely back in bed." He set me down on the toilet, putting me directly at eye level with Little Remy. I swear it twitched as I blushed.
"Okay. I made it." I made shooing gestures with my hands. I didn't normally suffer from stage fright, I'd peed in front of Hiroki enough, usually in a dimly lit alley, that it didn't really bother me. However, a very naked Remy penis in my face was not conducive to going with the flow.
He chuckled and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Trying to cover the sound, I figured that getting some answers to the billion questions I had seemed like a good plan.
"Where are we?" Always good to start with the basics.
"A hotel very close to the beach where we found you," he answered through the door.
"How did you find me?"
"I did not. Your fox and your wolf did."
So, Fenrir wasn't kidding. Somehow, saying the gods name in my head made it all a little too real. I needed to fess up that he wasn't sleeping. And that I had seen Jormungandr.
A Tail of Woah: A Reverse Harem Academy Tail (The Fox and the Hounds Book 1) Page 15