Eric gave me his Jacket so I could use the hoodie to cover my fox ears. The jacket was big and long on me so it was enough to cover my six tails as well. We walked into a Starbucks and Eric bought me a hot chocolate with actual money and bought himself a cappuccino.
“So will you come with me” he asked me. “Come with you where” I asked solemnly. I don’t know why but I should have been happy I got to pay Nathan back for all those years. I only wish I could have beat him more to a pulp.
He took a sip of his coffee and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I own a tavern up in Vancouver, Canada; I took a trip here to visit my cousin at his tavern here in Washington Seattle”
“So now you’re going back to Vancouver?” I asked re-assuring what I already knew.
“Yes and I was hoping you would come with me” I looked down at my hot chocolate deep in thought. If I went he could protect me from Nathan.
“Are you sure?” I asked tentatively.
“Am I sure of what?”
“That you want me along, with Nathan on my tail, the demon hunter, I can’t stay in one place or I get chased down, so are you sure”
“What’s life without a little action, of course I want you along” I smiled joyfully and leaned over and hugged him.
“Thank you” I whispered. His warmth radiated to me as I hugged him and I realized I had been hugging him for a while. I jumped back surprised with myself blushing.
“I’m sorry” I apologized looking down at my lap. When I looked up to see Eric he was red and rubbing the back of his head which made me feel a little bit better. “It’s alright” he asked.
“I’m coming home” I answered happily. I was going to have a home! “wait but how are we going to deal with Charleston and Nathan?” I asked him
“Who’s Charleston?” he asked and Goosebumps over run my skin.
“Charleston, he’s a demon slayer, he’s hunted me down all over Washington state… he killed everyone I knew” I said with my voice filled with hate for the cruel human that started it all.
Eric looked up at me changing his view from his cappuccino “it can be fixed, you see this necklace” he pulled out a string necklace with an amber marble wrapped by it at the end.
“My friend was a Halfling and he was killed by a demon slayer, he gave me this because he knew my fate, he was a psychic” Eric told me. his facial expression looked solemn.
He showed me the necklace with the gem roped to the end.
“What’s so special about it” I asked curiously. “it hides your life energy, so no one can find your energy path.”
Life energy is like your soul. Everyone has it. And everywhere you go you leave traces of it behind. That’s called your energy path. Fox fire is the magic that runs in my veins , all Halflings have a fire in their veins, and it leaves behind a specific energy path so demon slayers can distinguish it and hunt you down and until now there was no possible way to hide it, I could summon my fire . The question was why did Eric need to hide his energy path?
“If your human why do you need to hide your energy path?” I asked wonderingly.
“I’m not human I’m immortal so I have fire in my veins. My powers awakened when my friend died and he knew, because he was a psychic that I was destined to be a Halfling”
“So your immortal, how long have you been alive”
“Only 300 years, a baby really” he said casually. My jaw dropped to the floor like an anchor in a sponge bob cartoon. “Wow” I said astounded. “well Here’s the plan, right now were in Everett and we need to get to Vancouver and the best way to do that is through Bellingham which is the city right next to the border of Canada” I nodded agreeing with him.
A man with a unruly beard passed by and Eric hushed me. I froze like a deer in headlights.
The man sat down in the table in front of ours in the chair facing me and gave me a cold glare tipping his cowboy hat at me and grinning. His facial expression reminded me of a snake about to eat his dinner.
“Just stay calm and don’t make eye contact” Eric whispered in a low serious voice. I stopped staring at the man and looked at Eric. All blood had drained from my face and my skin was clammy with cold sweat.
“Just ignore him and take a sip of your hot chocolate” he ordered naturally as if we were talking about a light topic like the weather. It surprised me but I followed his command and took a giant gulp of my hot chocolate.
“now listen closely, were going to get up and were going straight outside, you hear me, and were going to walk through the parking lot which if you look outside its full of people”
I looked outside and saw that he was right. However his light hearted tone kept scaring me.
“He’s going to follow but that’s not a problem because he’s not going to do anything in a large crowd, he’ll wait until were on a bus to Bellingham with only a few people and then he’ll attack”. I nodded understanding him.
“so are we ready for this?” he asked me “no” I answered “great then let’s get this show on the road”. He took my hand and I got up from my chair fingers interlocked with his. I don’t understand why he was holding my hand and I wasn’t about to stop and ask. I saw from the corner of my eye Charleston get up and follow us out of the Starbucks.
“are you sure about this” I whispered to Eric. “yeah I’m sure just follow my lead” he said so close our shoulders touched, our hands squished together in-between the sides of our thighs. He was warm and so I didn’t mind. I worried anxiously and wrung my hands with his.
He rubbed my knuckles with his thumb and whispered to me. “Everything’s going to be alright we’ll get through this” he said.
Sweat ran down the nape of my neck as I stared nervously at the ground for two reasons. One: Eric was holding my hand. Two: I was being followed by a demon hunter that wants me dead.
Either one was nerve wracking.
My heart pounded heard against my chest with anxiety. Would we make it?
We sat at the bench overlooking the street filled to the rim with roaring engines. I tasted the cold of the air that ruffled through my fur and seeped in through my clothes and made me shiver. I stretched out a hand and caught a snowflake on my palm but it melted right away. The sun displayed a soft yellow glow against the silvery gray sky. And I enjoyed the heat that passed between me and Eric’s hands.
It would be such a beautiful day if a demon hunter weren’t trying to kill me.
The bus screeched to a stop in front of us and me and Eric boarded on. In the line I placed my spare hand behind my back and concentrated on making a ten dollar bill illusion. It was a Five dollar cost to get from the middle of Everett to its outskirts per person.
I clutched the illusion in my sweaty palm and concentrated on keeping the detailed image of the ten dollar bill on check. We boarded the overcrowded bus step by step with Charleston trailing a few groups of people behind. We fled to the higher surfaced back of the bus and sat down in a corner. The bus was crowded and the air was stuffy, it was incredible we had found a seat.. The man that sat next to me was dark skinned, had frizzy short cut hair and a got tee and he reminded me of a character from family guy and he kept squishing against me. the girl on Eric’s side was a young teenager about our age, say 18 years old and she was casually chatting(flirting) with Eric , giggling and twirling her sleek back hair. A pang of jealousy ran through me and vanished as fast as it came.
Why was I jealous? Did I like Eric? I stared at him wonderingly.at his soft bleach blonde hair, his pale skin and the shocking blue pools for eyes His tenderness and his strength I admired and when he turned to face me I realized I did and my face turned red as I remembered he was holding my hand.
“what’s wrong your red?” he asked nonchalantly as embarrassment overcame me . I turned my face away and answered a simple “nothing” and stared out the window and he continued to flirt with the girl twirling her sleek black hair. Another short wave of jealousy toppled me and I clenched my fist feeling incompetent. A tear escaped me and I felt hopeless. Why was I being ignored? Did he maybe not like me. maybe he was flirting with that girl to let me know he wasn’t interested. I shut my eyes, clenched my fist closed and dozens of tears escaped me. “Taylor!” Eric shouted. I looked up with eyes filled with tears to the rim.
“What’s wrong?” he asked nervously. “is she alright?” the girl next to him asked screaming.
I looked down at my fist and they were on fire. I opened my hand and relaxed my hand muscles and it turned into a flickering flame. I seemed to be between a rock and a hard place.
I couldn’t extinguish the flame. And I saw Charleston get up.
“it’s a demon, get out if the bus!” Charleston screamed in a rough grimy voice. He un-holstered his gun and I heard him pull the trigger. I took a sharp intake of breath as I felt at my stomach and felt thick blood seep through my fingers. “he wont do anything in large crowds right” I said sarcastically.
“Taylor!” Eric screamed his voice being weaved into the screams on the bus. The people pouring out until the bus was vacant except for Charleston, Eric, and I. I saw Eric pull out a gun out of thin air and shoot at Charleston. Charleston dodged the blow. He aimed at Eric’s chest and Eric jumped back at me and picked me up. He rushed Charleston in a tackle and landed to the floor toppling over with both me and him. The flames in my hand caught onto Charleston’s shirt and soon he had bigger problems than us. Eric got up with me still in his arms and sidestepped Charleston rolling on the floor. He sprinted his fastest out of the bus and sneaked into an alleyway and rounded a corner into another alley passage. He didn’t stop running until night fell on us.
We ended up in a parking lot next to a golf course and we agreed on camping out there. He set me down on the floor and tiered open the chain link fest with his silver steel sword that glinted against the moonlight. He sheathed it in his pants and lifted me up and carried me into the golf course and under the shade of an overhanging umbrella like tree he set me down.
“We need to take the bullet out” he told me.
“With what its pretty deep in there, it penetrated my liver” I said painfully while crying. It hurt so bad and it burned like my insides were being set on fire and I was being burned to a crisp from the inside out.
“we’ll get through this I promise” he said clutching my hand.
“hey before I die again, will you tell me something?” I asked breathing raspy.
“what is it I’ll tell you the truth to anything you ask”
“Fine then here’s my question” there was a slight pause as I hacked blood out onto his blue nylon jacket I borrowed. “sorry about that” I apologized “don’t worry about it, so what’s the question you wanted to ask”
Here I go.
“why do you care so much, about me I mean. Why do you choose to save me?”
I asked curiously. His face turned pink as he answered.
“It’s because…I’ve been looking for you for a long time”
His face blurred and my vision went blank.

Its eyes were bright and they glittered against the pale moon, they were the shade of glacier green. So clear, pure, and soft. Its fur was as white as clouds and I could bet it was as soft as clouds as well. There were midnight black rosettes, pitch black that contrasted against the white of its fur. The rosettes were dozens of eyes that stared. It was wondrous with its elegant legs so full of power and grace as it moved and its fangs pure white. Its whiskers brushed gently against Eric’s pale skin. I knew its name, Navix. She whispered stories of fox spirits and dragons to the smaller toddler version of Eric. Her voice was clear and wise. And I knew that Nala had seen a lot and learned a lot in her lifetime. When my eyes opened there was a snow leopard cuddling up against me and I recognized her as the Nala in my dream.
“Navix?” I asked the leopard.
Hello Taylor, did you sleep well? The leopard talked to me through a telepathic link.
Why was there a giant snow leopard sleeping next to me. it wasn’t a shock that I could understand it or that it didn’t attack me but why was it over hear in Washington?
I am Eric’s servant. And I bring you a gift from the girls back at my home, say your home if you wish it to be.
The leopard held up a chain necklace with an amber stone attached to it lodged In her fangs and she set it on the ground. I pulled it up by a finger
“is this what I think it is?”
Yes. It is one of those few that hide your energy path. A witch back at the tavern made it for you; the psychic knew you were in a pinch.
“Wait there’s witches and psychics at the tavern.
Yes. Eric has been saving children off the streets most of them ended up being supernatural.
“Does that mean that’s the only reason he rescued me?” I asked on the verge of heartbreak, then had he been lying yesterday when I died.
No he has history with you, he’s been searching for you for three centuries ever since he met you in your past life.
“I had a past life?”
Kid I’m not a crystal ball filled with answers if you want answers then try asking him.
She nodded over to where Eric was sleeping on the dank ground. Oh that’s right he carried me here and I died. I looked back and I only had five tails now, five more lives left.
I recalled him saying ‘I’ve been looking for you for a long time’ to me then blackened out. I smiled from eye to eye and squealed my back facing him.
Behind me Eric woke up groggily.
He really does love you, you know, don’t doubt his feelings ever, he’s been searching for you for three centuries non-stop and now that he’s finally found you he’s not planning on letting you go.
“wait a second he loves me?” I asked Navix.
Pretend I never said anything
“Good morning” I said smiling brightly like the sun.
“Navix?” he noticed his Leopard. He let me go and moved over to Navix hugging her.
Please forgive him. Navix said disappointed he’s not the brightest of masters.
“Navix where did you come from” he asked her rubbing behind her ears. she just purred.
“She came to give me this” I held up the chain with the amber stone.
“Oh the path eraser” “that’s an interesting name” I answered.
“So Navix told me there are other girls and supernatural at the tavern”
“Navix told you?”
“I can communicate with all animals, it’s a fox spirit thing” I informed him. “oh, mind if I put it on?” he took the chain from my fingers and lifted my hair up as he rounded it around my neck and clicked it on.
“so do you think they’ll like me?” I asked. “do I think who will like you?” he asked . “The people at the tavern, do you think they’ll like me?” I asked. “well most of them are girl’s and there are only two other guys including me” he told me. “the only one you’ll have to watch out for is maybe Zane” he said Zane’s name with disdain.
In the last life he stole you away from him it’s a miracle my master still lets him work at his tavern Navix told me.
“Really?” I asked her.
Does it sound like something I would deceit about, such a delicate topic.
“no” I answered to her snarky remark.
“what did my servant say?” he asked. “Nothing” I answered quickly. “Come on tell me!” he begged. “no” I answered playfully laughing.
“Yes do tell Taylor, what exactly is so interesting?” said a deep velvet tone voice I recognized and sent a shiver down my spine like electricity and made me flinch.
The first thing I saw was his feet then his black pant legs and his open camisole with his coarse back wings. His deep dark brown eyes and his shocking mop of black hair. he was looking down on me I knew he was. After all to him I was just his runaway slave. Nathan was my former self-proclaimed master.
He lifted me up by an underarm and I gritted my teeth as his talons sunk into my skin. I extended my own talons and lifted a hand to claw at his face but he grabbed me by the wrist fracturing bone and I yelped. “Not this time” he said showing me the scratches on his right cheek I had given him a while back when he tried to rape me. “Let her go!” Eric yelled at him getting up from the ground, his gun already forming out of the air. He rushed him but Nathan flew up into the air and Eric wheeled past him.
He lifted me up and hauled me over his shoulder “Eric!” I yelled back at him as he flew with me over his shoulder. I flailed my legs and hit Nathans back with curled fists as I heard the sorrowful roars of Navix underneath on the golf course and Eric screaming my name. I didn’t know if I would see them again and that terrified me. If I attacked him now with my fox fire now we would plummet to our deaths. I would have to wait till we landed.
“Where are you taking me!” I yelled with rage at him. He kicked me hard in the shin and a scream escaped me as my leg throbbed with pain.
“Watch your tone with me Taylor, or a fate worse than death awaits you, were going to Bellingham” he answered. “Where in Bellingham” I asked suddenly very interested in our destination. Bellingham was only closer to where we wanted to be but if I didn’t take off the necklace he’d never find my energy path. I ripped of the chain and stuffed it in my pocket without Nathan noticing. I stayed quiet as I rode Air dark angel without a seatbelt, I felt Nathan descending and cupped my hands together creating a flame as he landed. When he touched ground I slammed the flame against the back of his head and he dropped to the floor, I carried my weight off the ground and sprinted towards the chain link fence and away from the abandoned warehouse where he planned on obliterating the rest of my five lives.
I scaled the fence and lifted myself up and over into a thick grove of oak trees. I glided through the night as swift as a shadow. Considering I was being chased by shadow hounds the irony was dysfunctional. Shadow hounds are dogs made out of pure negative energy that can consume humans or say fox spirits ina matter of seconds if in a group.
Sweat beaded my forehead as strands of her mopped against my sweaty head; I wiped them off and continued the tread. My feet pounded swiftly against the mossy floor like a heartbeat and my heartbeat pounded fast and enduring like drums of war sending me into action. I saw ahead with my sharp 20/20 vision and saw a chain link fence a few yards away, beyond it an empty parking lot and farther away a lit up mall. Lit up as in a domain that shadow hounds cannot enter. I sprinted and pounced from the floor over the gate in a flip. Landed on the floor in front of the chain link fence and kept on in a sprint. I ran through the vacant parking lot and listened to the barking and yapping of the shadow hounds right behind me. one more step if I could just make it one more step into the light. I bounded one more sprint and landed halfway in the light the other half of me got attacked. I managed to drag my bloody mauled legs into the light when I tried with all my might. I was free now if I could manage to hide myself somewhere in the mall, to hide somewhere in the chaos.

I felt hallow inside as I pulled my mauled bloody legs inside the mall and ignored the shocked stares of the pedestrians. I just kept on moving deeper and deeper into the overcrowded store. I didn’t forget about my hoodie I just felt that people shouldn’t care so much about my form anymore. I was tired hungry and alone and overall I didn’t give a danm.
Just keep moving.
I exited through the southern exit and kept on moving. I staked out an alley with a few cardboard boxes and snuggled inside one. This was as close as I was going to get to a home. I hoped Eric found me. The box was wet so when I leaned against its side it ripped with a thwip.
“Hey look at that fresh meat Johnny” “yeah what’s a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this” a second voice asked. I flipped my head to the side and saw a caramel skinned guy with dreads and red eyes. Wine red eyes. The man next to him I’m assuming is Johnny had the same colored eyes.
Vampires.
I ran off in the opposite direction and I saw the air blurred and the next thing I know they were standing right in front of me. I ran in the opposite direction and another vamp popped up out of nowhere, I recognized her. She was the girl from the bus that was flirting with Eric.
“Hello Taylor that is your name in this life right” she said in an arrogant voice.
“How did you know me?” “that’s easy , that’s because I was your death in the last life, the life before that you died in the Salam witch trials, by the way you were innocent of course but I sure wish I had a bag of popcorn to have watched your death” she said casually.
Well at least she’s not the first one who wanted me dead.
“Who are you?” I asked confidently. “My name is Maya and my responsibility is to make your life miserable until the day you die, but in the last life, well lets just say I got fed up and decided to off you myself”
“Why?” I asked stalling really I couldn’t care less. “Why she asks” she said laughing
“That’s because you stole my man baby cakes”
“Who, Eric?” I asked surprised. Eric was her man? “no you idiot, Nathan, you stole Nathan from me!” now she had my attention.
“You can have him, I don’t want that sick idiot”
“That bastard is my guy, and he’s so hooked on you I can’t knock sense into him!” she screamed at me.
“So what you come for here today?”
“Oh we were hunting and we heard a blood song that was so enticing and guess who it belonged to”
“Um…”
“You baby doll”
“What…” I answered . I was terrified and flattered at the same time.
Flattered my blood was so appealing terrified because it was.
“so what are you going to do?” I asked precariously.
”well drain you of every ounce of course” she answered. All blood drained from my face leaving me pale and clammy with sweat.
I turned and ran into the bare chest of the guy with the dreads.
Stay perfectly still this will only hurt a little said a tantalizing voice in my head I recognized as the voice of the dreads guy. I fell into a deep trance at the sound of his voice and my body went limp.
Don’t fall for it Taylor said someone’s voice I couldn’t quite recognize yet and then it hit me.
“Navix!” I yelled breaking out of the trance as the dread man’s fangs lowered down to my throat.
A boy with a spiky cap of short silver hair and aquamarine eyes fell down from the sky and bombarded the vamps with ninja stars.
“Navix?” I questioned confused. That wasn’t Navix , that was a human boy.
I can change form into a human when it suits me. I’ve forgotten if my original form was human or leopard so don’t ask. said a boys voice in my head.
“wait a second Navix you’re a boy?” I yelled as he brawled with a flint knife and threw some occasional steel ninja stars.
Yeah , my voice is distorted in leopard form and let’s face it Taylor you ask to many questions. He told me and stabbed Maya right in the heart.
Contrary to popular belief vamps can be killed by other weapons besides wood.
Maya turned to gray concrete like dust and was blown away. Now the only ones left were ugly 1 and 2.
He grabbed his flint knife by the hilt and swung down stabbing the dreaded guy. He disintegrated to ashes.
He turned and stabbed Johnny, the man who had blood matted in his hair and smeared over his face, in the gut. He fell to the floor wreathing in pain and the floor was now was scattered with sand like ash.
“I’m still shocked and I still can’t believe you’re a guy” I told him as he finished slaughtering the vamps.
“You know to most people that would be offending” he said with a smirk on his face.
“Oh, sorry, thank you” “you’re welcome” he said with a bright smile.
“Those vampires came out of nowhere huh” he said. “Yeah, but it’s not surprising, so many people already want me gone or for themselves this doesn’t even phase me, the only thing I don’t know is why”
“I think I know” he said with a grim look on his face.
“I’ve never met a fox spirit before, ever and I’ve been around for a long time since the dawn of the ages, shifters stop aging at the age of 21” he informed me.
“What are you trying to get to?” I asked.
“I think, just maybe you must be the last fox spirit in the world”
I’ve never thought that there were no others like me before, I suspected there must be some others around the world even though I’ve never seen one before , but to be the last one had never occurred to me.
“Do you think so”
“Tell me Taylor have you ever met another fox spirit before?”
“Well no but that doesn’t mean anything, I’ve never been out of Washington state before”
“True but I have, and I’ve never met one besides you” I pondered it for a while.
I was the last fox spirit on earth.
“We should get moving” he told me. “Before something else finds us”
“Ok” I answered simply. I was still down hearted I was the last one of my kind, the only one of my kind.
He walked ahead in the shadows and I followed his lead hesitantly still traumatized from the shadow hounds. “so Nala, how did me and Eric meet, in my last life I mean”
“Well” he said rounding a corner out of my view. I followed. “Well the first time, you rescued him from a village raid” “Really?” I asked astounded. “yeah , and the second time you met under Queen Elizabeth’s rule , you two eloped, that was the life that Zane stole you away from my master, you two fell in love with each other, before you were just friends but something just happened that flung you two together, we never did find out what it was” he told me.
“Oh, hey do you know what I looked like in the past life?”
“You ask too many questions” he answered annoyed. “come on tell me, please!” I begged.
“You’re not going to stop until I tell you are you?” he asked “nope” I answered happily.
I had won “fine, you were a beautiful young woman, you had gray eyes like silver snow, and hair that cascaded down your spine in thick curls” I was mesmerized by his voice. We stopped to sit down and he continued.
“Your skin was smooth and clear like porcelain, yet warm like a hearth, and you were kind and caring, and charming in an irritating way” he said with a smirk.
He finished and there was a calm silence that surrounded the air like we were in a bubble.
“Let’s go” he said sorrowfully, popping the bubble.
I got up and strolled behind him.
“Where are we going?”
“To my masters Tavern, I told him I’d find you and go directly to the Tavern, anything else you want to ask before the crystal ball emporium shuts down?”
“Sorry, I won’t ask anything else”
“Alright, so do you love him?” he asked bitterly.
“Do I love who?” I asked. “Eric, do you love him?”
“Um…” I blushed. I liked him. I Liked him a lot, but love that was a little heavy.
“Not yet?” he said with a grin.
“No, I’m sorry” I answered gloomily. He seemed a little happy though.
We kept on moving. “so how are we going to get to Vancouver?” I asked.
“Well by train of course”
“Train?”

It’s impossible to get some sleep on a train. I learned that the hard way.
Especially not when there’s only one bed and you have to sleep with another guy who kept wrapping his arms around your waist when he was asleep. I didn’t mind because I knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose but that didn’t mean I couldn’t stop myself from getting red from head to toe. I stayed perfectly still and listened to his breathing. My fox ears were right next to his chest so I listened to his rhythmic heartbeat.
I stared at his face sourly. Mentally cursing him helplessly. He had porcelain white skin and spiky silver hair. Behind his closed eyes I knew he had clear blue green eyes. I stared at his sleeping face sourly and didn’t notice his hand creeping up on my waist to my nose before he flicked my nose lightly and his eyes popped open smiling happily. “Good morning”
“good morning” I said red like a stop sign. He noticed his arms wrapped around me but didn’t take them off until the last irritating second. My stomach growled and I grabbed at my stomach embarrassed.
“I’ll order food” I answered to my stomachs call.
I reached into my pocket and placed the chain around my neck. Eric didn’t need to find me anymore. We would meet up at the tavern. I missed him, just a little.
I grabbed the phone and dialed room service. I ordered two plates of bacon and sunny side up egg and Navix got up behind me in his boxers and an open white camisole that showed his bare chest.
“navix I hope you like eggs and bacon because that’s what your getting” I said.
“and get dressed!” I scolded him throwing his jeans at him. it hit his face and wrapped around his head like a blindfold.
“jeez I’m going, I’m going don’t make such a fuss” I turned as he dressed my face red. There was absolutely no vlothing for me to change into so even if I took a shower it would be pointless to get inside filthy clothes again. I still took one.
I felt refreshed when I got out of the shower and felt repulsed as soon as I forced myself into my filthy clothes. There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“if you want you can use my long sleaved camisole as a dress, I’ll even show you how”
He barged in on me and thank heavens I was dressed.
“here” he said and stripped of his shirt. He wrapped the shirt around his body holding the sleeves. He buttoned the second to top button so it was on his chest and the neck hole was around his chest. He got the sleeves and made a knot in front of him turning it into a burette. And in front of me, I never thought I’d see it, was a guy wearing a dress.
I started laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“what are you laughing at?”
“your wearing a dress!” I managed to gasp out through my laughter.
“oh so you want to laugh do you?” he grabbed my doubled over body and began to tickle my stomach. I started laughing so hard I hurt and couldn’t breathe as I turned red and fell to the floor. He kept on tickling me and the most startling thing happened. He leaned up to me, I was still giggling my heart out and he pressed his lips against mines and a shock went through me. his lips were soft and they fit perfectly against my own and I even felt a little sad when he pulled away.
“I’m sorry, I had to at least once” I sat up and my heart skipped a beat as he pulled aaway.
So that’s how he has felt the entire time and he’s never been able to speak out loud because he’s Eric’s servant. He’s been holding back all this time. I blushed and had to look away. I knew what I was about to do was wrong but he deserved it at least a little. A little piece of me. I pushed him down by the neck and closed my eyes and kissed his lips and felt the same shock course through me.
I pulled away and looked into his eyes “that was the first and final time” I said and got up and left. I closed the door to the room as I got out and slid on Eric nylon blue hoodie. It smelled a lot like him and breathed in the smell remembering him. I fled to the bar and ordered tequila shot. In my hand I materialized myself an I.D illusion that said I was 21. I showed the bartender my I.D.
As I spiked my tequila I looked into the gray eyes on the I.D. card that were my own. That was the old Taylor; the new Taylor was a fighter no longer a victim.
Coming down the train cart with an unruly beard and a cowboy hat sat a couple of seats next to me, I held my breath and inched off of my seat and speed walked towards the room. I opened the door an inch slipped through and locked the door behind me.
“we have to go now” I said seriously.
“why” he asked mischievously, “train sick?” he asked laughing.
“Worse” I said, “demon slayer worse” there was a knock at the door and me and Navix ran for the closet. We managed to squeeze in together but we were so close my body oressed against his. The door of the room opened and we heard clattering and flapping of sheets. We stayed in the closet until the person left and cracked up laughing.
“We freaked out over nothing” “yeah it was probably just the maid” we said laughing. He leaned over to get out and I did at the same time and our lips brushed against each other. My face heated. “Sorry” we said in unison. And started laughing. I let him get out first and then I followed after.
“you know I used to hide in the closet as a kid”
“really, why?” I asked. Why would he possibly need to hide when he could shift into a leopard and tear someones throught out.
“it was my number one hiding place as a kid, I used to have am older sister who played with me”
“What happened to her” “she was assassinated by demon slayers” he answered bluntly as if it didn’t matter.
“my family and friends were all slaughtered by demon slayers as well” I answered sorrowfully. And a tear ecaped me as I began to weep thinking about them. I crumpled and sat on the bed. Navix sat next to me and comforted me as I wept. He held me tight as I cried softly into his shirt.
He passed his hand over my back and whispered comforting words.
“im sorry” or “its alright, every thing’s ok now, I’m here with you”
All I could think is that the tears that stain my cheek are another sign of my weakness.
I hated this. I hated that I had to be comforted with sweet song words.
I brushed him off and wiped the tears of my face and stood up. “Don’t force yourself” he said.
“im not going to sit here like a baby and cry like I need a mother, when I can take care of myself” I said and took his shirt and entered the bathroom, I put on his shirt like he told me. pretty soon I was wearing his shirt like a dress and It actually looked like one.
I pulled on Eric’s jacket over it and walked out of the bathroom to see Navix with his own flint knife against his throaght and Charleston behind him.
“hello there demon, don’t make any sudden moves and put your hands in the air or his blood spills” I stopped creating a fireball in the palm of my hand and raised my arms obliterating the flame.
“now listen vary carefully, you’re going to walk with me to the back of the train, and im going to kill you and throw you off this train” he said.
“and you’ll spare my friend, he’s human, he doesn’t know anything”
“What’s going on Taylor” he said playing along.
“Deal” Charleston answered. He opened the door to the room and pushed us up infront of him. We walked like on death toll slowly and reluctantly. He shoved me and I stumbled forward. I snarled at him showing my one fang bicuspid and he just sneered.
“Move demon” I did as he told because Navix was in danger. If not I would tear his throaught out. Anger boiled inside me and my pot was about to tip over.
I walked to the luggage cabin and Charleston kicked the door open tearing it off from its hinges.
We walked into the luggage cart and Charleston opened the door of the rear end of the cart.
We walked out onto the little platform outside in the frigid air. I regretted wearing Navix’s shirt as a dress because now I was freezing.
He cut off the rope that was binding the luggage with his bare hands without displacing the knife from Navix’s throat or taking his eyes off me. He knotted us up with the rope and sat us on the rail. He took the knife away from Navix’s thought and pointed it at me.
“any last words?” “yeah just a few, get the pinecone out of your butt dude” I said and flung myself at his throat, mouth open to tear him up. I bit his throat and pulled. The flint knife pierced through me and lodged itself in my gut. I screeched in pain and Navix stood up and since we were back to back he picked me up by bending over and jumped over the rail and we landed with a thump on the train tracks. My gut was on fire from my point of view.
It burned. I doubled over , stretching the rope and Navix did the same and together we popped the rope. I dug out the knife from my stomach.
Navix picked me up and hauled me onto his back so I rode piggy back. thick blood was seeping through my fingers and tainting the makeshift dress and Eric’s Jacket.
Well atleast I finally killed Charleston. May he rot in Hell. He would bleed to death on that platform and the last thing he would see was me getting away.
We walked through the pine-less pine trees, they’re branches covered with layers of thick snow.
I was heavy and I knew it I was weighing him down and because of me he might not make it.
“Navix put me down” “not a chance, we can make it Taylor, this is my turf”
his skin rippled and its shade changed from flesh to pale white with black rosettes. Bristly furs erupted from his skin retracting and erupting in a cycle where in each eruption the white hairs grew longer. I fell of his back as his spine crumpled down and bended until it was parallel to the floor. I’m sure that if I could see his face his nose would be elongating into a snout and his mouth widening and his jaw pushed upward. His teeth growing sharp and long into milky white fangs like the one I had on the right side of my cheek. The one tainted with Charleston blood.
Pretty soon he was one hundred and sixty five pounds of snow leopard. The snow leopard I met that morning with Eric at the golf course.
Climb on I’m strong enough to carry your weight, after all you are small. He told me through the telepathic link. His voice sounded like a woman again.
“Hey don’t make fun of me because I’m five foot nothing” I said writhing in pain.
I’m not I’m just telling you I have the power to carry you.
“Oh ok” I put a leg on either side of Navix and crossed them around his belly and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Don’t run too fast or I’ll fall off”
Don’t worry I’ll try not to run too fast . he said through the link while ginning as close to a grin as a snow leopard could manage.
As soon as he said that he began a sprint that had me trembling and shaking on his back. But after a while I got used to it and I was yelling with joy.
I was riding a snow leopard! I spotted the gray waters and the gray horizon of the white sky against the water.
“We’re going to make it!” I said hap[ily still wincing and applying pressure to the wound so the bleeding would stop. But it didn’t and I felt myself dying.
“im dying again” I told him.
Not while im here just hang on a little while longer.
As we reached the bay, he started reversing the change and in seconds back to being shirtless and in jeans and I wondered what happened to his clothes as he changed.
I was riding himlike a spider monkey holding onto his bare chest.
Blood matted his back in a sticky stream.
He lowered me to the ground and ripped the arm of of Eric’s jacket, zipped open the jacket tore open the dress and wrapped it around the wound tightening it securely then zipped the jacket up againand pulled the hoodie over my fox ears.
“im not letting you waist one single life if I can help it” He said
He pulled me up into his arms and carried me to the harbor.
“what now?” I asked.
“now we commit grand theft auto or stow away on a ship”
“well which do you suggest we do”
“personally im not fond of ships, you have to leave land behind, its not natural”
“so grand theft auto?” I asked. “Grand theft auto” he answered.
We watched the parking lot of the Bellingham bay bar waiting for a car without an alarm. Finally someone forgot to lock it and we ran at full speed. This for me at least wasn’t very fast. I was a quick thinker not a quick mover.
We opened the car door of the beige Monte Carlo Chevrolet and mounted inside.
I fumbled with the cables of the car for a little while and managed to jump start the car. After driving for a while without letting the speedometer pass down ninety, Navix slowed down.
“you know before during the great depression I was like sixteen I remember my adoption father was going to get me one of these cars”
“You were alive during the great depression”
“Shifters age slowly, and I’ve been alive since human’s came into existence”
“that’s a long time, so your immortal like Eric”
“nah” he said “if you shoot me I would die and I wouldn’t come back to life like you or Eric, I just age very slowly and we stop aging at twenty one”
“how old are you anyways?” “Twenty one” he said without taking his eyes off the road.
“and I’ve been twenty one for a while” he said like he was about to cry. I knew he wouldn’t he’s not the type to cy in front of people. But still I got the urge to comfort him, to stand by and tell him it would be alright, even though I didn’t know that, to curl up next to him.
And that’s exactly what I did. I scooted myself closer to him inch by inch until our hips and shoulder’s touched.
“you’re not alone I’m here with you, you’ll be ok” his eyes were glossy and I knew he was holding back tears.
“im eighteen, I wont grow past this age because I have so many lives when I lose all my lives , I will age to my actual age, which is twenty five, so technically im older than you” I said.
He snickered.
“if your twenty five then I’m 3 years old” “yeah” I said making him laugh. “I know how to drive so that makes me way older than you” “yeah but I know how to hotwire a car so that makes me about as old as you”
“that’s a done deal then, were both technically the same age” he said laughing his eyes no longer glossy as he rubbed his eyes. I smiled knowing I had achieved my goal.
“you know if you ever need anything, anything at all you can ask me” Navix told me.
“are you sure” I asked, “im sure” he answered.
“ok , then heres a doozy, why do you serve Eric?”
“oh come on give me something more challenging”
“no im serious I want to know” I insisted playfully.
“well if you insist, Eric saved me from a demon slayer when I was around five and I was defenseless” he told me.
“okh so you serve him out of gratitude”
“not exactly, there was more than one reason”
“what was the oter reason why you served him” I asked curiously.
“well if I stayed close to him I could be near to the girl I love” he said taking his attention off the road and looking into my eyes. He looked away, his focus back on the empty street.
For a moment there I thought he was talking about me.
“so who’s the lucky girl” I said with a hint of jealousy. He snickered.
“well she’s short, around five feet, she has long straight coco colored hair, deep gray eyes, and shes the most beautiful, clever, caring girl in the world”
It hit me suddenly like lightning falling out of the sky.
He was talking about me.
I stayed silent for the rest for the car ride. He pierced the silence with his deep yet clear voice.
“I have to say it at least once, I—“ “don’t” I ordered. Those words would not, should not, could not, escape his lips or I don’t know what I’d do”
“I love you”

I didn’t know what to do. I was sweating like crazy and my face was turning hot. The border patrol of the Canadian border was only a few miles away. We didn’t own papers so we would have to sneak in through the woods and pray that there weren’t any cameras. Or patrol guards. We hid the car in the brushes of the forest right next to the highway. We ran through the woods swiftly and silently and I struggled with the stab wound I had in my gut. I didn’t know what to tell Navix. I didn’t know what I felt for him, I was uncertain.
He was a bittersweet tide pulling me under. Although It was like the feelings I held for Eric these were different somehow.
I doubled over and puked on the snow covered ground hacking vile and blood. I rested my head against his moving back and he stopped rigid.
“There’s someone here Taylor”
I looked around weakly. I was dying and I knew it.
I looked all over and there was no one, just a shimmering wave of humidity next to me.
Wait a second, humidity at the border of Canada. I didn’t think so. I wacked at it and a girly voice exclaimed “ow!” as I grabbed the girls wrist she materialized. Eric was standing next to her.
The girl had long wavy honey blonde hair up to her thighs, deep emerald eyes, parcel white skin like Eric’s , and pointy elf ears. Her dress was the shade of sunlight passing through translucent leaves. Her belt was beige with intricate designs. And she was very, very, beautiful. She was like Erics fraternal twin because they were alike but not quite. Something in their eyes glinted the same way.
“Lilith?” Navix went over and hugged her. “how’s it going, cousin”
Cousin? Could have fooled me, they looked nothing alike.
“Hey Taylor” he came to my side and took my hand in his making me blush.
I smiled a him and he smiled back . “Taylor, this is my little sister” he extended a hand at her. She looked at me with a startled expression.
“Hi I’m Lilith” she shook hands with me. “I’m Taylor” “I know” she said and giggled.
“and you” she shifted her attention from me to Eric her attitude changing from friendly to menacing. “I am not your little sister, I was born three seconds earlier than you” she said and pressed a finger against his chest pointing at him. she pushed him with her finger lightly and he shook a little.
“listen Lilith do you think you can cast an invisibility spell on all of us” Navix asked hopefully.
“why did you think I came here, it certainly wasn’t to chit chat so let’s move”
She muttered something indistinguishable and soon Eric was fading along with Navix and Lilith”
“Follow my footsteps” Lilith said and grabbed my other hand. They sure were alike, Eric and her.
Lilith led me through the twists and turns of the forest as if she’s been here a thousand times. She led me through the twists and turns of the cold white forest. Soon we were at the forest line where from there on was just empty field. And a seven foot high chain link fence running smack dab through the middle.
And running along the fence read In big bold letters: HIGH VOLTAGE
“How are we going to get over that fence” I asked curiously.
I heard the sounds of kicking and scraping behind me and when I looked behind me.
Navix had opened a small wooden door on the ground. It was a door to a tunnel.
“well what are you all staring at, go on it doesn’t bite” Navix’s voice spoke. I was the first to walk up and actually jump in. When I reached the bottom I started hacking stomach fluids and blood into the sewage river. That’s what we were jumping into.
A sewer. That was our ticket into Canada. But hey I wasn’t complaining, it was just a sewer.
Lilith however, complained to Navix the entire trip through the dank and dark musty sewer and as for me I just hoped for the best.
We finally reached the tunnel exit and we walked out into sunlight. I breathed in the frigid fresh air and reminded myself I was one step closer to a home.
We walked through the elaborate path ways hand I hand so we knew where everyone was because we couldn’t see each other being invisible and all.
When we reached the tree line that overviewed the snow banked streets. Lilith finally spoke.
“Infectum” all I know is that she spoke in ancient Latin. But when I blinked and opened my eyes again we were all visible again. I hugged Eric joyfully.
“We made it” I said giggling.
“Yeah we made it” he said softly.
“you ready for the girls At home”
“more than ready”