A Fox's Family (54 page)

Lilian’s
tears poured down her face in earnest now.

“I
killed her. She kept coming at me, trying to strangle me and she kept
screaming and screaming and I killed her! I killed her, Kevin! I
tried to wash the blood off in the shower, but I kept seeing it on my
hands! I killed her! It was so easy! One minute she was trying to
kill me and the next I stabbed her in the chest! I killed her and I
don’t know what to do! I-I’ve never killed someone
before, but now I have and I’m afraid! I’m afraid of
myself because I can murder someone else so easily! And I’m
afraid that you’ll hate me because I’ve become a
murderer! I don’t know what to do! I-I―”

All
words fled when Kevin turned Lilian around and embraced her. He
didn’t say anything. What could he possibly say to help her?
He’d never killed someone before. Any words of wisdom or
comfort and understanding that he could have said would have rung
hollow. The only thing he could do was give her his support and love.
So that’s what he did. It was enough.

That
night, Lilian cried herself to sleep in her mate’s arms.

***

Halloween
arrived two days after Kevin had rescued Lilian. That night Kevin,
Lilian and Iris went to the Halloween party being hosted at their
school.

From
the moment they walked in, Iris became the center of attention with
her slutty maid outfit—girls, boys, teachers, it didn’t
matter. All drooled at the sight of her.

Kevin
couldn’t blame them. Iris looked like sin made flesh on the
best of days. That night her every pore seemed to ooze sex appeal.

He
and Lilian also received a number of looks, though not nearly
as many as Iris. Some of it was certainly due to Lilian, who looked
gorgeous in her white satin gown with a sleeveless purple overshirt,
golden shoulder pads, and a jeweled tiara with the Triforce symbol.
Her blond hair might have also been cause for some of those looks.
She’d dyed it that night. It went well with her pointy elven
ears.

Kevin’s
outfit might have been another reason. How many people wore a green
tunic and a sock-like cap of the same color, white linen pants,
leather boots, and had a sword and shield strapped across their back?
Not many.

The
Halloween party was taking place in the amphitheater, a gigantic room
located within the same building as the gym. The teachers had clearly
gone all out that year. Orange and black streamers hung from rafters
high overhead and were long enough that he could reach out and touch
them. Jack-o-lanterns sat on tables and in corners, and one huge,
grinning jack-o-lantern found itself situated in the center of the
room.

“Ho…
look at all these different costumes,” Iris said, glancing
around at all the people. “Mine’s still the sexiest.”
She sent off several winks. Sixteen boys and thirteen girls suddenly
passed out from blood loss.

“Would
you stop that already?” Kevin grunted in annoyance.

Iris’
smirk was devilish, hotter than a freaking stove and absolutely
sinful. “Jealous?”

“Hardly.”
Kevin looked at Lilian walking by his side. When she saw his gaze on
her, she tilted her head inquisitively. He smiled, and affectionately
squeezed her hand. “I already have my princess.”

Lilian’s
beaming smile contained the brilliance of a thousand suns. “Oh,
Kevin, you know just what to say to make my heart go
doki-doki
waku-waku
.”

“Doki-waku
what now?”

“Hmph!”
Iris crossed her arms under her chest. “Whatever. Anyway, I
think I saw Slowpoke somewhere in the crowd, so I’m gonna go
bum some money off him. See ya.”

Lilian
and Kevin watched the sexed-up kitsune wade into the crowd. Kevin
tried not to notice the alluring sway of her hips.

He
leaned over to whisper in Lilian’s ear. “I don’t
see anyone dressed as a Slowpoke in here.”

“I
think she’s talking about Justin,” Lilian whispered back.
Kevin suddenly felt annoyed, both because Iris would try bumming
money off his friend and that he hadn’t been able to yell at
her for attempting to do such a thing in the first place.

“Dang
vixen.”

“My
Lord!” a voice suddenly boomed over the din of music and
conversation.

“Stop
calling me that!”

Eric
Corrompere walked up to them. Kevin took one look at his friend’s
costume, and then wondered if Eric had been dropped on his head as a
child. There were way too many bandages and not enough actual fabric
for him to even consider that as clothing.

“Eric…
that costume is…”

“It’s
awesome, right?” Eric looked at himself and grinned.

“Not
the word I was going for,” Kevin mumbled.

“I
think horrendous is the word I would go for,” Lilian agreed,
her nose wrinkling in disgust.

“Of
course, it’s not as awesome as yours and Lilian’s.”
Eric looked at their costumes and began sniffling.

“Oh
gods, he’s crying again.”

“Maybe
we should have worn something less extravagant?”

“To
think.” Sniffle. “That My Lord is so great.”
Sniffle, sob. “That he can even convince his girlfriend to wear
couple’s cosplay with him.” He turned away, his shoulders
shaking.

“What
is Eric doing?” Alex asked his brother.

“Don’t
know. Hey, Eric, what are you doing?”

Eric’s
body shook some more.

“I’m
not even worthy of looking at him.” Another sob. Eric got down
on his knees and bowed before Kevin. “I’m just not
worthy!”

“Oh,
for Christ’s sake! Get up, Eric! Everyone’s starting to
stare at us!”

Eric
didn’t get up. He remained prostrated on the ground. While
Lilian giggled into her hand, Kevin decided to ignore the crying
idiot on the wood paneled floor. He turned to look at the two
newcomers.

Alex
and Andrew wore what Kevin could only assume were a samurai and a
ninja costume respectively. Alex had donned a black one-piece suit,
had a sash tied around his waist, wore tabi ninja sandals and the
distinctive ninja headgear, which Kevin thought looked more like a
ski mask than a ninja mask. His brother, on the other hand, was
wearing light blue hakama pants and a traditional dark blue men’s
kimono. Strapped to his side was a sheath with an obviously fake
katana. He also wore geta sandals.

“Are
those the costumes you two bought?” Kevin looked at his
friends’ outfits. “Not bad.”

“Yeah,
well, they’re not as good as yours, obviously.” Alex
glared at Kevin’s costume, as if his stare would make it
spontaneously combust. “Seriously, where the hell did you get
those?”

“We
ordered them online,” Lilian answered. “They were custom
made! Check it out!” She gave a spirited twirl, which caused
the hem of her dress to flare a bit. “Isn’t my costume
beautiful?”

“It’s
definitely the most amazing costume I’ve seen so far,”
Andrew nodded in agreement, “but I don’t think it’s
the costume that makes it look so pretty. Isn’t that right,
Kevin?”

Kevin
grunted as Andrew nudged him in the side with an elbow. “If
this is some unsubtle way of trying to tell me how lucky I am, then
you can stop it. I’m already aware of that.”

While
Lilian started drawing more attention to their group just by being
her normally vibrant self, Christine walked up to them.

“K-K-K-K-Kevin!”

“Hey,
Christine!”

Kevin
paused to get a look at Christine’s costume. Alex and Andrew
whistled.

For
Halloween, Christine had chosen to wear a downright jaw-dropping
yukata. It was light blue and shimmered when she moved. Starting from
the hem and moving up in a whirlpool pattern were thousands upon
thousands of white snowflakes. A dark blue obi held it together.

There
seems to be a lot of Japanese-themed costumes in our group.

“You
look amazing.” Kevin’s complimented with a bright grin.
Christine’s face appeared to undergo spontaneous combustion.

“Guh…”

A
struggle clearly took place within the girl. Her body shivered and
her face became mottled with blue. Steam poured from her ears and the
temperature took a sudden plummet. Kevin shivered, his breath misting
as he exhaled.

“W-what
is this? Why did it get so cold all of a sudden?” Alex asked.

“I
don’t know.” Andrew shivered. “Maybe the alignment
of the planets has created a hole in the fabric of the universe, and
the Frost Giants have come to this world in order to turn it into a
neverending winter.”

Alex
stared at his brother. “You’re an idiot.”

“Hey!
You shouldn’t call your brother an idiot! I’m not an
idiot!”

“I’m
not even gonna deign that with a response.”

“You
just did!”

“T-t-t-t-tha…
tha…”

Christine
emitted odd noises from her mouth, like the choked gurgling of a
dying animal. Her face scrunched up further, pale blue lips trying to
form words that refused to come out.

“What’s
up with Christine?”

“Don’t
know, but something is seriously wrong with this girl.”

Fortunately
for the young yuki-onna, Eric finally noticed her presence.

“Ah!
Gothic Hottie! How wonderful to see you here! And in such a beautiful
dress! Why don’t you come back to my place where we can take it
off and―Balthazar!”

Everyone
stared at the twitching, moaning pile of flesh formerly known as
Eric.

“The
heck did he just say?” Lilian asked.

“I
think it was a name,” Kevin answered.

“Bal-tha-zar?
Huh, what an odd name.”

The
fortuitous
tsukkomi
act
served to calm the snow-maiden down. She looked at Kevin and smiled,
though her cheeks still remained a little blue.

“Thank
you. You look… really nice… too…”

“Thanks!
I’m really glad we decided to go with these costumes.” He
looked down at his green tunic, white linen pants and brown boots. “I
think these actually kind of suit me.”

“Mm.”

“Is
Lindsay with you?” asked Lilian.

Christine
looked at her for a moment, then shook her head. “Last I saw,
she was with her friends on the soccer team.”

Kevin
tried not to let himself feel hurt. He really did. But, it was kind
of hard not to feel pain when one of his friends had decided that she
wasn’t sure if they could remain friends any longer.

“
It’s
not that I don’t want to be your friend, or even that I don’t
want to be Lilian’s friend. It’s just… my mom was
injured because she got caught up in Lilian’s problems. I’m
sorry. I don’t want to hurt you or Lilian. I really like you
both and want to continue being you guys’ friend, but I just…
I need some time to figure things out.”

Kevin
had promised to give her that time. He understood where she was
coming from. What happened to her mom only happened because the
person who’d attacked the car her mom had been driving was
after Lilian. Lindsay was finally beginning to realize that she, and
her family by extension, were in danger simply by being associated
with a kitsune. Kevin could do nothing less than give her the time
she needed to decide on whether or not she wished to continue being
their friend. It still hurt.

“Kevin…”

“I’m
fine.” Kevin tossed Lilian a smile, grateful for her presence
and the soothing warmth of her hand on his back.

“S-so,
Kevin,” Christine was back to blushing, “I was… I
wanted to… would you be willing to talk to me… in
p-p-p-private, I mean.”

Kevin
blinked. What an odd request. Still, he didn’t see why he
couldn’t oblige her.

“I’ll
go and find Iris,” Lilian said. She leaned up and gave Kevin a
swift kiss on the lips. “She’s probably turned your quiet
friend into a drooling sack of hormones by now.”

“Ugh,
now there’s an image I didn’t need to see.”

Lilian
waded into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Kevin and Christine
left the amphitheater and found themselves in a hallway. Kevin felt
amusement when he noticed that it was the same hallway that Christine
had saved him in two months ago.

Christine
stood before him. Her eyes would look at him, dart to the left, then
the right, before looking at him again. It was… well, it was
really quite cute, actually.

“Is
everything alright?” asked Kevin. “You seem kind of
nervous.”

“I-I-I-I…”
Christine paused, gulped, and then forced her blush down. “I’m
fine. T-thank you for your concern.”

Kevin
scratched the back of his head. “There’s no need to thank
me. You’re my friend. It’s only natural that I would be
concerned about you.”

Christine
frowned. “A friend?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s
nothing.”

Kevin
didn’t think it was nothing, but decided not to argue. “So,
what did you want to talk about, exactly?”

“I
just wanted… no, I have something that I need to tell you.”

Christine
placed a hand against her chest, clutching the fabric of her yukata.
Kevin grew worried when the snow-maiden’s face started to
become blue again.