I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,64
herself onto one across from us. She places some aromatic wood on the fire and then begins to mix a green powder, creating the base for our tea.
We sit in silence as she works with measured movements. Her body flows with such grace and elegance that I'm mesmerized by her. I've never seen anyone move like her, and I wonder at it, realizing she is likely not human, given where we are. She sits the cups before us, but Elijah places his hand over my cup before I can drink.
"Pardon the interruption, Kana," Elijah says, "but will this be safe for my associate, who is thought to be mundane?"
He removes his hand, and I frown at the tea as I realize something is moving within the delicate porcelain cup. A tiny sea creature of sorts, long and slim like a worm but with green scales and tiny black eyes. I shiver as it splashes in the green liquid.
Kana sips her tea, swallowing deeply, then looks to me and with a wink says, "She may drink."
That seems to be enough for Elijah, and he takes a long drink from his cup. His eyes encourage me to do the same. I have so many questions, but it's clear this is expected before we can do business, so I say a silent prayer to any gods that may be listening, and I drink.
Whatever little creature was in my cup is now slithering down my throat, and I nearly gag and vomit it back up when Elijah's hand comes to rest gently on mine. The touch sends a cool breeze through me, calming my throat reflexes and allowing the tea—and mini sea creature—to stay put. For now, at least.
My face flushes and my skin begins to tingle, but this isn't a flash. It's something else entirely.
As I blink, the room changes. As if a new lens has been added to my sight. I see things that weren't there before. Furry creatures scurrying around books. Paintings that move and shift and change designs. A room that looks more like a den or cave, and pillows that are now furs. When my gaze lands on Kana, she is no longer a beautiful woman in a kimono. Or she is, but she is also a fox, beautiful and white, with several tails splayed behind her and large eyes that stare deeply into mine.
"Kana is a Kitsune," Elijah says, "a magical fox who often takes the shape of a beautiful woman. She only shows her true form to a rare few."
I nod my head to Kana. "Thank you for the honor," I say, my skin buzzing again, this time with a flash.
"And you as well," Kana says, with a nod towards me. "It is not everyday we have one such as yourself to visit here."
I glance at Elijah, wondering what she means. But he's already digging through his satchel to pull out the letters. "We were hoping you could help with these," he says, handing her the stack of letters. "We need to know everything you can decipher about them."
She closes her eyes and holds them in her hands/paws, then sighs and opens them. "I fear you will not like the answers. But I will provide them nonetheless. Do you have my payment?"
Elijah nods and reaches into his bag again, this time handing her a vial of blood.
My eyes widen. "Who's blood is that?" I ask.
"Mine," Elijah says. "It is the cost of doing business with Kana."
She slips the blood into a mysterious gap in her kimono, the image of her fox form still superimposed over her female form. I remind myself to ask about this later. What does she do with the blood? In the normal course of affairs, this would be odd enough? But in this realm? With magic and mystery the norm? Here, I'd be extra worried.
Kana takes the papers over to her desk, which with the second sight looks like a stone boulder with runes carved into it. She works quietly, studying the papers, turning them over, examining them from all sides and comparing them to each other. She frowns, then takes a pouch and pinches a bit of black granules that she blows onto the papers. A spark of light ignites in the air above them, then fizzles out into a dark cloud of dust.
The entire process takes quite a long time. Maybe hours. Elijah and I sit silently for so long my feet go numb. I try to discreetly wake them back