A Blaze in the Dark (A New Dawn #1)

Chapter 35 - Fox

Fox undid the coat and slithered into the long-sleeve shirt. Doe was leaving, but he was going to let her. Let her be his secret guide to Katla.

He got up from the chair and crouched down by the fire to retrieve his belt. He shoved the leather through the four loops and tightened it. With the mission he was planning, he didn't want to get distracted by his trousers slipping down his bottom.

The bell above the door clung against the frame, jangling, and thus Doe disappeared into the night. Two bites Fox took from the apple pie, then a third. He rested the fork against the remainder of the treat and put on his jacket.

"I need to pee." He stepped into his moist shoes, bare-footed, and tied a sloppy knot.

Phoe briefly glanced up from the tap, the amber liquid pouring down a still wet mug. "Do what you must do, but don't freeze to death. I have you, this place, and my private parts to protect."

"I know. I heard," Fox said casually while laughter came from all corners of The Antler.

Leaving those men in their hilarious moment,  he held his chin high as he walked past Falcon, careful not to meet the man's eyes. Phoe was a Foambrain who could be easily fooled, but he didn't wanna raise any suspicion from the Rat-Catcher.

Fox took the back door out, yet instead of walking the ten steps to the dark man-sized box that was Doe's outhouse he sank down to his hands and knees and crawled underneath the windows.

By the fence separating the tavern from the house next door, he rose to his feet again. It was a moonless night in Moondale and the wind had picked up, causing snow and ice to blow into his face. With his head hanging low he stepped into the fresh footprints in the snow and locked onto her trail.

Doe was walking alongside the castle walls, thick and menacing, like a cloud of the blackest smoke that stood ready to pounce him and swallow him whole. But he wasn't scared. He could defend himself if needed, and Doe too.

He ducked behind a lamppost. A bulky shadow had appeared at the castle gate and was now making its way to her. Quickly, Fox stretched out his hand, a bright green flame already blazing in his mind, when the contours of the creature sharpened and became a man, cloaked in a thick, furry coat, but familiar nonetheless. Leo.

They chatted, the blaring wind not allowing Fox to hear what they were saying, but with their sides turned in his direction, he didn't dare to sneak closer and risk getting exposed. So he waited while his toes froze in their ice cast, his face numb, and his fingers stuck in their position.

He clenched his teeth to stop their clattering. And failed.

And then finally they moved. First into the street of his and Katla's house, but the two rushed right past it. It was strange for Fox to see his home like this, no light shining behind the curtains, nor any smoke rising from the chimney. The memory of Katla running his blade across his shine, cutting his gooseberry jam beard, seemed so far away though it had only been a couple of hours.

Leo and Doe took him beyond the edges of the city, past the narrow bridge filled with the cat statues and into the darkness. Heavy clouds of breath escaped his lips, the cold weather pounding his underdressed body. He still had the chance to turn around and head back to the warmth and cosiness of The Anter, but he didn't.

He was no longer a scaredy cat. He was Fox.

Above the distant treetops spread a bright orange light. Trees began to crack and creak, then came a heavy thump that shook the ground and reverberated through him. Only briefly Leo and Doe halted before they trudged on, every step bringing them closer to the noise and smoky smell.