"I don't like it," Charlie said, turning a slow circle in the center of the living room.
Alex shrugged. The safe house had seen its share of use. The once blue carpet had faded to the color of dirty lake water and a distinct path had been tread from the couch to the kitchen. A few stray paw prints decorated the furniture from the last time they had used the place. He flipped the light switch. Three of the four bulbs flickered to life. The marginally improved lighting didn't help the appearance of the living room. "It's only for one night."
Charlie's upper lip wrinkled until his teeth showed. The enamel gleamed against his dark skin.
"I could probably get you a kennel if you prefer." Alex wasn't sure which was worse—a wolf that still acted like a human or a kitsune in human form that still acted like a fox.
"I suppose this will have to suffice." Charlie pulled a white handkerchief from his jacket pocket and laid it on the couch cushion. He smoothed the material then perched on top of it. "You promised the young vixen would join us."
"Jamie,” Alex snapped. “Her name is Jamie." It was going to be one hell of a long night.
Charlie lifted an eyebrow, his eyes gleaming. "Of course."
They sat in silence, each unwilling to break the other's gaze. Alex could hear the wall clock in the kitchen tick by the seconds. One Mississippi...two Mississippi.... Somewhere around twenty, Charlie smiled and turned to stare out the large picture window overlooking the front lawn.
The bite wound on Alex's thumb throbbed as he relaxed.
"Have you ever faced a Hunt before?" Charlie asked.
"Once." The word balled up in Alex's throat, threatening to choke him.
Planes slept dormant on the tarmac in the early morning hours. Baggage carts sat abandoned, their canvas covers flapping gently in the night breeze. Light glowed from the windowed walls of the terminal, but no figures stood at the glass. Somewhere packages were being loaded on cargo planes bound for Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Paris, New York.... Somewhere third shift airline workers swapped the latest gossip over stale coffee.... Somewhere janitors waged battle against the invasion of refuse and germs left behind by the travelers that passed through the airport every day.... Somewhere people packed the last items into their suitcases.... But here things were quiet. Here the world waited.
"Do you still hear them?" Mike asked as they walked along a wide yellow line painted down the center of the asphalt.
"No." Alex had lost track of the hounds’ bark a few minutes prior. Apparently so had Mike. "Maybe they lost the scent."
"I doubt we'd be that lucky."
The sharp staccato of hooves on concrete made Alex jump. He spun around, gun in hand, trying to isolate the direction of the sound as it echoed off the buildings around them.
Mike grabbed his shoulder and pointed. "There."
The hounds had given up their cry because they'd found their quarry. A young faun, barely old enough to be separated from its family, cowered in the center of a circle of soot colored dogs the size of lions. The sound of hoof beats grew louder. Alex could see the glow of the Nightmares' fiery manes and tails in the distance. "What do we do now?"
Mike shook his head. "Nothing."
Something cold slithered down Alex's spine. Mike was always the first to run in and save the day, even with the odds stacked against him. "We can't do nothing."
"Too late. It's one thing to catch up with him before the Hunt, but now...they'd just as soon rip us apart as the faun. We can't.... They'll move on afterwards."
It took all of Alex's effort to turn away from the faun and head back to the truck. Halfway there a scream shattered the night. The barrel of Alex's gun jerked erratically in his shaking hands. Taking a deep breath, he holstered his weapon before an accident occurred. Mike doubled over next to him, hands covering his ears.
…cry ‘havoc’ and let slip the hounds of war…
"One time too many for most," Charlie said.
"Not you. You're playing with them."
Charlie continued to gaze out the window. "I needed a change of scenery."
"And now?"
"Now I am bored of the Hunt. The vixen—Jamie—," he drug the syllables of her name out like a melody, "approaches with that mangy mutt you call a partner."
***
Alex shifted in his lumpy armchair and tried to focus on the book in his hands. Charlie sat like a statue on his square of white silk, staring at the curtains. Alex didn’t know whether the kitsune was contemplating the drapes’ horrid retro pattern or trying to feel the world on the other side of the thick material. Either way the man’s stillness was disconcerting. He’d hardly moved all night
Mike let out a sharp yelp. His paws twitched violently in his sleep, claws digging at the carpet fibers.
"Easy, Mike,” Alex said.
"The Hunt is awake." Charlie’s words were matter of fact.
Alex knew what the numbers on his watch said before he looked. 1:01 AM. If it was possible to hate a moment of time…. "The protections the wizards laid down will hold."
"Perhaps. Perhaps not." Charlie's attention wavered from the window for a moment as Jamie cried out from the bedroom.
"They'll be angry that they can't pick up the scent. The whole city will sleep uneasy tonight.” Alex turned his attention back to the text in front of him, but the words refused to form themselves into coherent sentences. Alex let the book fall shut. Colostrum supplementation in orphaned unicorn foals wasn't gripping enough for the wee hours of the morning.
"What time is it?" Jamie asked, rubbing the grit from her eyes.
"Early,” Alex and Charlie echoed at the same time.
"The protections holding?" Jamie yawned, then sat down on the couch next to Charlie.
"So far it seems.” Alex glared at the gap between the sagging couch cushions, wishing it was measured in miles instead of mere inches.
"Where are you from originally, Charlie?" Jamie asked.
The kitsune focused all his attention on Jamie, whatever lay beyond the window forgotten. "A place far from here with a name long lost to memory."
Jamie smiled at him, her eyes still glazed with sleep, and inched forward on the sofa. "How did...?"
"Jamie? Can I talk to you for a moment?" Alex asked. He leveraged himself up, stiff and sore from sitting in one place most the night. How did Charlie do it? Alex stepped over Mike's sleeping form on his way to the kitchen.
"What?" Jamie asked as she joined him. There was a sharpness to her voice that Alex didn’t like.
"Don't get too attached. He's moving on in the morning."
"That doesn't mean we can't be civil. He’s not a prisoner."
"Not yet, but give him some time….”
Jamie's eyes narrowed. "Don’t be ridiculous. He’s the victim, not….”
A soft click came from the living room. “Did you hear that?" Alex asked.
"Hear what?"
"It sounded like the front door."
"It couldn't be."
Charlie still occupied the same position on the couch. Mike still slept in the same spot on the floor. The front door was closed. Alex went over and jiggled the handle. Still locked. "Thought I heard something." Alex turned back to the room, then stopped. Charlie's black slacks touched the stained couch cushion. "Where's your handkerchief?"
"What handkerchief?" Jamie asked.
"This one." Charlie pulled the white silk square from his jacket pocket with a flourish. He stood and laid it on the couch, sitting back down on top.
Alex glared at the kitsune. Something didn't seem right.
"You don't trust me?" Charlie didn’t seem surprised.
"Don't mind him. He doesn't trust anyone," Jamie answered, taking her place next to Charlie.
"You less than most," Alex clarified.
Charlie cocked his head to one side. "That's probably wise.”
Alex nudged Mike with his foot. "Hey, get up." Walking over to the narrow window next to the front door, he parted the curtains far enough to survey the street.
The houses around them were dark. A tabby cat sauntered across the road under the spotlight of a street lamp. A faint orange glow radiated from the east. Alex chewed his lower lip and checked his watch. Everything seemed quiet, but it was too early for dawn. Maybe it was the highway…. Mike padded over to the window, jumping up and putting his paws on the sill so that he could look at as well.
"What do you think?" Alex asked.
Mike whined, turning his head to look back into the living room.
Alex followed his gaze. Jamie and Charlie sat on the couch, their heads bent towards each other, nearly touching. Pink highlighted Jamie's cheeks. Alex thanked the Gods that he couldn’t hear what they were saying to one another. Turning his attention back to the sleepy street, Alex scratched one of Mike's ears. "Apparently it’s just the two of us." The orange glow had intensified and a low howl echoed through the night.
"Time to go," Alex said, stepping away from the window.
"What do you mean?" Jamie looked irritated that he had interrupted their conversation.
"We're leaving."
"We can't. It will break the protections," Jamie said.
"Too late."
The neighborhood dogs had started a chorus by the time they reached the truck. Lights flicked on in windows up and down the street. Alex grimaced—there would be more incident reports on his desk in the morning.
Alex jerked open the passenger door and Mike jumped in, little more than a grey blur. “Change back into a fox,” he said to Charlie.
“That’s a bit rude, don’t you think?” Jamie asked.
“I don’t have time for this. Get in. That’s an order.”
Jamie huffed, but climbed into the truck. Charlie followed her, tails bouncing behind him. Alex slammed the door.
They'd only driven a couple blocks before the Hunt found them. Two oversized dogs blocked the road and Alex slowed the truck to a crawl. Their black coats blended into the night so perfectly that he couldn't make out their exact shape or size, but the glowing red eyes left him little doubt that they were Hellhounds. The side mirror showed two more blocking the road behind them.
Mike whimpered, squirming in his seat. Charlie, on the other hand, seemed unconcerned...bored even. The kitsune yawned, circled several times, then lay down on Jamie's lap.
"Drive," Jamie said, her voice tight with fear.
"But...," Alex started to protest, then stopped himself. But what? He stomped on the gas pedal. The truck jerked and shook, its old frame protesting what he asked of it, but then accelerated down the road. The Hellhounds stood their ground. Alex clutched the steering wheel and closed his eyes. Even if they were demon dogs bent on tearing his soul to pieces, it didn't seem right to run them over with the animal welfare truck.
Something heavy slammed against the hood and Jamie screamed. Alex opened his eyes, hoping to see two flattened dog carcasses in his mirror, tire tracks across their broken bodies. Instead the pair of Hellhounds stood on top of the truck's hood.
Alex slammed on the brakes. The Hellhounds' nails dug into the metal as they clung to the vehicle. Both dogs tilted their heads to the sky and howled.
The Hellhounds jumped off the hood and trotted towards the back of the vehicle. In his mirror, Alex could see all four hounds silhouetted against the orange glow that had reached near radioactive levels. He thought he could hear hoof beats.... Alex pressed the accelerator as far down as it would go. The glow faded behind them.