"Do you believe in omens, Jack?" Daerk asked. It had been a long while since Jack had seen anyone. The cold landscape had lingered with a dim twilight, leaving the helm shadowy and expectant.
Jack looked out the window next to Daerk. Half the sky was a hazy blue, broken by tall, thunderous clouds, but as it faded towards the north, it got progressively darker with stars scattered here and there.
"I'm not sure. It'd be hard to tell if anything here was an omen or not," Jack said.
From the dark part of the sky, a veil of greenish-gold light appeared and slowly rippled out into the light. It crackled with lightning as it hit the clouds and moments later a deep roll of thunder shook the windows.
"Yes, this seems like an omen to me," Daerk said. "Couldn't say what for, though. I guess we'll see."
Jack sat down on one of the elaborate red couches lining the corridor. "Maybe someone new is coming again," He volunteered.
Daerk thought about this. "No, I don't think so. Things are getting further apart again. Seems more likely something is about to change more dramatically. You aren't planning to leave are you?" He turned to look at Jack, his mouth pursed outward.
"I wasn't planning on it," Jack said.
"Ah, good." Daerk turned back to the window and watched the sky. It had started to rain off in the hills. A rainbow arched across in a painterly movement.
"Daerk, how do you suppose the fox got here?"
Daerk turned again. "If I remember correctly, Marelle came in with it," he said.
"Right, you made it look like a parlor trick, but the fox was already there?"
Daerk rubbed his chin, looking down at his feet. "That was a bit odd. I've seen that fox before, but—"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of running footsteps.
"Come back here you little beast!"
The fox rounded the corner further down, and close behind it was Marelle. She had a massive bejeweled sword in her hand. She didn't seem to notice them. She overtook the fox and grabbed it up under her arm. It started to struggle, but she knocked it on the head with the hilt of her sword and it fell still.
"What are you doing?" Daerk asked mildly.
She started to back away pointing the sword towards them. It looked like it was made entirely of gold. "Don't try to stop me!" she yelled, and ran off through one of the many doors.
Jack looked at Daerk, and he stroked his chin again. "Yes, something is going to happen."
Jack didn't wait any longer. He tore off after Marelle. The door he went though didn't seem to lead anywhere specific, but there was only one door on the other side of the room. When he went through there, he found himself in the library. He could hear footsteps.
"I said don't follow me!" Marelle screamed. "I'm going to leave this place if it kills me!"
Jack stopped. "Why were you chasing the fox?"
"That's none of your business!" she screamed again. A door slammed somewhere on the far side of the library.
Jack began to run. He didn't know which door she took, but he figured it didn't matter much. The next door led into the solarium. He listened carefully, but no footsteps. He shut the door and opened it again, finding himself in another long hallway. He ran down the hall and opened each door. In the third one he found Marelle in a dark closet, tying rope onto the back legs of the fox. It was twitching.
"Stop this, Marelle! Whatever you're doing, it's all wrong. Things just don't work like this."
"You don't know anything, Jack! You told me that yourself. I've figured it out, though. I know what to do. Just leave me alone! You won't see me again after today." She slashed the sword at him and he jumped out of the way, then she slammed the door behind her.
When Jack opened the door, ten more opened behind it, each turning slightly off center in an endless corkscrew. When he stepped through, the other doors twisted out of sight to the left, like a folding cube, and a new room appeared with a single door on the far wall. When he opened that door, ten more doors appeared again, but this time they were each slightly smaller than the last, and turned so as to make the ground slope upward and away to the right.
"No!" he said, clenching and unclenching his fist.
He slammed the door and opened it again, but it looked the same. When he stepped through, the other doors remained until he'd passed by three of them and became disoriented from the change in the ground. They compressed with a sound like shuffling cards and the room with the single door was back.
He took a deep breath and bit his lip, closing his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he tried walking halfway through the room and turning around. This proved difficult to do, as if he had to turn the entire helm around himself instead. A blurring and stretching made the walls difficult to focus on before the room was back to normal. This time, as he opened the door, an infinity of doors opened within the same frame. When he stepped through, a torrent of water poured over him and he slipped, hitting his head.
***
He woke up moments—hours—later. Almost his whole body was wrapped in rope. He was on his side, but he could see Marelle off in the corner of the room. The light was dim. She was struggling with something.
"Stupid creature, just shut up."
It was the fox. She had ropes tied around its back legs, and she was smacking it over the head repeatedly with the back of her sword.
"Marelle—" Jack couldn't speak above a whisper.
"You shut up too," She said, slashing the sword in his general direction. She took the fox and hung it up by the rope on its back legs. It gave a weak, warbling call and tried to bite her hand. She slapped its bottom jaw away carelessly.
Holding the sword between its legs, she started to cut down its belly. The fox writhed and screamed, jerking its head from side to side. Jack tried to yell, but he couldn't breath. All he could do was watch. She made two other incisions on its legs, working the tip of the golden sword deftly, then tossed it aside with a clatter.
Taking hold of the skin at the feet, she started to yank and rip, peeling it inside out over the fox's body. The fox curled up in agony, trying to bite her or kick its legs, but it was helpless against her brutal efficiency. Jack tried to struggle but the ropes were so tight.
When she got to the fox's neck, she couldn't rip any more off, so she unhooked the rope from the ceiling and dropped the fox on the floor with a wet slap. It kicked limply, it's fore-legs nothing but bone and sinews, and grabbed at its skin desperately. Marelle took hold of the outer flap and put one of her feet on the fox's snout. She began yanking at the skin. The fox closed its eyes tightly, as if it was trying to hold its face on. A thin trickle of blood came out of its mouth. Finally, with a last great tear, the face inverted and pulled free from the muscle beneath.
Marelle flipped the skin inside out and held it open. With a shake of her arms it began to expand. Blood and bits of detached muscle flew off of it, spattering the walls. With each shake it became bigger and thicker until, finally, she whirled it around her shoulders. It had become a fur coat. The sleeves were studded with three ebony claws each.
"How do I look?" she asked Jack, doing a twirl. The back, below the belt, had a long fluffy tail.
Without waiting for an answer, she took her sword and smashed out one of the windows. Then, after putting it in an elegant golden sheath, she pulled the hood up over her head. It had long pointed ears on it. She started to shrink and fell forward onto her hands. A moment later, she was a golden fox—curling red-black markings, like flames, burning across her flanks. With a great leap she cleared the broken window and was gone.
Jack looked over at the fox. It had no ears, only bloody holes were left. Its tail was little more than a thin line of muscle. Its body was pink gore and bones. Only its eyes still looked alive. They blinked at him, watery and black with a few lashes still left. He felt sick and passed out.
***
When he awoke, Michael was beside him, shaking him gently as he unwound the ropes. "Jack, what happened here," he asked. His voice was calm.
Jack sat up and looked over at the fox. "Is it still alive?" he asked.
"Yes." Michael said simply. "Poor little fox." He walked over to the fox and knelt down beside it. Taking off his red cloak, he wrapped it around the fox's battered body. As he pulled the fabric over its face, fur began to sprout. In a moment, the fox was completely covered. Michael pulled at the skin on the side of the fox's head and ears began to form, darkening in color. Then he took a small knife out of his pocket and made two slits on the front of the face, and a long one around the muzzle. The fox blinked and stood up. It gave itself a shake and took a few limping steps. It gurgled sadly.
"I know little fox. It'll never quite fit like your old skin, but maybe we can get that back some day."
"It was Marelle," Jack said, "Why would she do something like this?"
Michael stood up and looked out the window. Jack looked too. Far to the north, where the stars were glittering, there was a faintly flickering light moving up the mountainside.
"She wanted to have what we have, but she also wanted to leave the helm. I guess the only way she could figure to do both was to steal something from one of us."
"But why the fox?" Jack asked.
Michael looked down at the fox. It was walking funny, taking a few steps and giving itself a shake. Its skin looked loose and wrinkly, but black and white markings were starting to appear in the fur.
"The fox was the only one she could dominate. It was too trusting. Not anymore, though, I would guess."
The fox shook again, licking its flanks miserably.
In a sudden flash, a great pillar of flame rose up the mountain to the north, burning away the trees. Clouds gathered and swallowed the stars. It began to snow. Then, in a crackle of lightning, the whole thing disappeared. Replaced by an endless stormy sea.
"She sent us away," Michael said. "It looks like she finally found what she wanted. I don't think it will serve her how she imagines, though."
He sounded sorry for her.