Outfoxed (The Fox Witch #1) - R.J. Blain Page 0,39

would give the survivors the strength to continue surviving. If anything, it gave their parents the slim glimmer of hope their children might live to see the questionable safety of winter.

“Meditate while I retrieve all you need. Jade, do your stretches. You will need them.”

I obeyed, stepping out of the ring of children. The stretches would do more than help prevent injury to my body; they grounded me, offered comfort in familiarity, and reminded me of the importance of the little things, the things we often hurried through for the sake of efficiency or due to impatience.

Efficiency served me at times. Impatience never did.

I stretched, and I breathed. It had taken months to get the hang of clearing my thoughts of anything but the moment, the feel of my muscles when I moved, and the ache when I pushed myself to my limits.

The children watched me with a quiet intensity, and I wondered what they learned through me.

Batbayar returned with his arms ladened with practice swords, and one of the few girls in the class, Marie, hopped to her feet to help. She tried to take more of a burden than she could handle, but in his gentle way, Batbayar gave her only what she could carry, and he smiled, one of his highest praises.

I could only pray Mother Nature had the decency to turn her hateful eye from little Marie.

With Marie’s help, he gave every child a sword, and he picked the weapon based on some criteria I couldn’t understand, saving me for last. When he offered me the hilt of a practice katana, I grasped it and bowed as I’d been taught.

“Your parents send you to me to teach you how to survive in the world, to better protect yourselves, and to better protect those you love. Today, I have another lesson in mind. I wish to show you beauty in life, something fragile and often not appreciated. When you look at Jade, what do you see?”

To my amusement, every hand in the room went up.

Batbayar turned to Marie first, a reward for her kindness and a lesson to the other students. “What do you see, Marie?”

“Her red hair is pretty.”

“Yes, her red hair is very pretty. Why do you notice that about her?”

“It’s different, just like her pretty ears and tail. It’s pretty because it’s different.”

If only everyone viewed the world through Marie’s eyes.

“Yes, she is quite different, isn’t she? Foxes aren’t uncommon, but most foxes are gray or silver, and she’s red. Red foxes are less common, but you can find them in any quadrant, which does make her special in that regard. Should she cross a quadrant line, she will remain just as she is now. That’s something many should prize but don’t.” Batbayar considered the other children, who kept their hands up and waited their turn. He gestured to one of the older boys. “And you, Georgio?”

“She’s stronger and faster than even my brother, but she looks tiny and weak. She isn’t. Her looks are a lie.”

I couldn’t tell if the brat was trying to praise me or insult me, and long training at keeping stoic even in the face of children spared me from laughing or scowling.

“No, her looks aren’t a lie. It’s your perceptions that are the lie. Jade, would you flex your arm for Georgio?”

I crouched in front of the brat and held out my arm, giving it a pat so he’d take hold. He gripped with surprising strength, and I flexed my muscle. Georgio’s eyes widened. “But you don’t look strong!”

“That is one of her most potent weapons, young Georgio. She works hard every day, and she lives in the outskirts where it is the most dangerous. She is living strength, and you would do well to remember that. Your eyes will often deceive you, tricking you into believing a lie you told yourself.”

One by one, Batbayar asked every child, and they all noticed something different about me, although my tail received an unfair share of the attention. Some thought it was perfect. Others wanted to know how I sat down without hurting myself. Another wondered if I had to cut a hole in my pants, to which I answered yes, as few people made holes for tails in clothes.

“Now you will learn something else about Jade.”

Without warning, Batbayar disarmed a child, took his sword, and went for my head like he were one of the bounty hunters hunting me. Had I not already held the practice katana, he would