Nikodemus
I was beginning to believe Hikaru was a physical impossibility. While I’d eaten half of one of the large pizzas and a couple of breadsticks, Hikaru had managed to put away everything else. I had no idea where it went. The kitsune didn’t even have a slight bulge in his belly. Beyond contented satisfaction, he didn’t even act like he’d eaten too much. The huge belch earlier wasn’t nearly enough release to account for the space needed to store so much food.
With a lazy grin, Hikaru patted his still trim stomach. “I need to add a couple more happy faces to Cilla’s menu. And do not even get me started on that tasty dessert treat. All that cinnamon…” Hikaru’s voice faded as his eyes took on a dreamy appearance.
“Food really is your love language.”
Hikaru shrugged. “It’s one of them.” His eyebrows salaciously waggled. “Would you like to learn the others?”
“Perhaps another time.” Hikaru’s eyes gleamed while I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. I had no idea why I said that. I shouldn’t give the kitsune any encouragement. Hikaru certainly didn’t need it.
“Oh, Niki. I?—”
“Forget it.” I needed to nip Hikaru’s wandering thoughts in the bud. “If that beast in your stomach is satisfied, then we should begin contacting customers.” I’m not sure when I became so certain that Hikaru would help. Or when I began depending on that assistance.
“I’m good. Let’s get dialing.” Hikaru smacked his hands together, rubbing them in a rather sinister way. “Good thing your phone is charged up.” Considering the store only had one line, and that Hikaru didn’t carry a cell phone, mine was the obvious choice.
Deciding I would take the names of the clients who’d purchased charms that I thought could be turned into something more dangerous, I handed Hikaru the remainder of the list. I thought he’d grumble and accuse me of not trusting him or something equally ridiculous. To my surprise, he didn’t. Hikaru simply took the offered pages, grabbed my phone, and began dialing.
Relief filled me. It was premature, but I couldn’t stop the emotion if I’d tried. Just seeing Hikaru there, knowing I wasn’t alone, did something to me. If Erasmus hadn’t been out of the country, I could have asked him and his new husband, Franklin, for their help.Could havebeing the operative words. I had no doubt Erasmus would have jumped at the chance to aid me. What I also had no doubt regarding was my willingness to reach out and ask for that help.
I was a father. My job was to protect my son. It didn’t matter how capable Erasmus was. He could have been the most powerful creature in the world, and I would have still tried to protect him. Maybe not all fathers felt that way. Other parents didn’t matter. All I knew was what was in my heart, and that pesky organ wouldn’t allow me to place my son in unnecessary jeopardy.
Hikaru’s congenial voice faded into the background as I glanced at the first name on my list. Melissa Stanford. She’d purchased a charm that eliminated body scarring. The charm worked by locating the damaged skin, deconstructing the damaged skin cells, and allowing new skin to fill in the area. The possible harm such a charm could do if tweaked in the slightest way was enough to give me heart palpitations.
I dialed the number provided. Melissa answered on the fourth ring.
Darkness settled around us.Streetlights painted interesting patterns across the inside of my empty store. Hikaru and I’d been on the phone for hours. A few customers had come to the door, annoyed or disappointed when they found it locked and the closed sign in place. Some had cupped their hands around their faces, peering into the store in some vain attempt to figure out why we were closed. Cilla had posted on social media that the store was indefinitely closed. Contact information was available to those who wanted to make a special order, but only for those who could pick it up directly. I’d grown paranoid and was concerned the Warlock Council would find a way to intercept sent packages.
“Ugh…who knew being on the phone for hours on end could be this exhausting,” Hikaru whined. I didn’t really blame him. I was tired also. And not just tired, but frustrated. We’d been at this for hours and hadn’t found either of the tainted charms. Everyone I’d spoken to who’d activated their charms seemed content with the results. As expected, there were a few who hadn’t activated them yet. Two of them were presents, the others were charms that hadn’t been needed yet. I asked for them tobe returned, offering a full refund if desired, or replacement charms if that was what the client wished. Without fail, all the clients had asked for a replacement. No one seemed to desire a refund. From what I’d gleaned from Hikaru’s conversations, it was much the same on his end.
Hikaru leaned back on his stool. My heart jolted to a stop when he fell backwards, headed for the cement floor below. Shock and horror filled me, as did inaction. I could have invoked a number of spells to ease his fall. I was close enough I could have even physically caught him. I did none of those things. What I did do was sit there, mouth hanging open with a silent cry hovering on my lips.
It was like watching a horror movie in slow motion. Hikaru tilted back and simply fell. His body sailed through the air, his tails barely twitching. And then, just before he hit the ground, his body dissipated to little more than green mist. When his body reformed, he was sitting on the desk, legs swinging back and forth and tails lazily slipping along the countertop as if he hadn’t come close to sending me into heart failure.
“Can we go home yet?” Hikaru leaned his elbows on his knees. “I’m getting hungry again and I’m tired. Can we?—”
“You can’t do that.” My heart pounded painfully, as if it wanted to leap from my chest, fall to the ground, and bleed out where I’d imagined Hikaru’s skull hitting the unforgiving ground.
“Do what?” Hikaru tilted his head, a confused look crinkling his eyes.
“That.” I pointed to the spot Hikaru had fallen towards.
Eyes tracing my frantic movements, Hikaru blew out what sounded like an annoyed breath. “It’s fine. I just leaned back a little too far and?—”
“And you fell! Do you know how hard the cement floor is? If you’d hit your head…” I didn’t want to contemplate the end ofthat statement. Would the fall have been fatal? Doubtful. But at the very least, it would have hurt like hell and the simple fact was that itcouldhave been fatal.
“Huh?” Hikaru’s gold-green eyes narrowed, suddenly widening with understanding. “You were worried about me.”
“Of course I was worried! What kind of asinine question is that?” Honestly, how could I not have been concerned?
“Oh, Niki.” Hikaru slid from the counter and soon my lap was full of kitsune. Tails trailing down and over my bent knees, Hikaru nuzzled into my neck. My arms immediately went around him, holding him close and anchoring him so he couldn’t fall again. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t even think…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought or not.” Pulling away, Hikaru cupped my face within his smaller hands. “You realize I’m practically immortal, right?”
“I…” I’d forgotten that. “Practically isn’t one hundred percent.”
“No, it isn’t.” I don’t think I’d ever seen such a sad smile on Hikaru’s face. “As long as I’ve got even one tail, I can’t die. And in case you haven’t noticed, I’ve got seven. Well, seven and a quarter. Maybe an eighth.” Said tails slid along my legs, wrapping around them.
I tried to move my head. I didn’t want to look at those wide, enticing eyes, but Hikaru was exceptionally strong for such a petite creature.
