Unsettling News

 

Kimiko’s steps lagged on her way to school the morning after the Star Festival. New Saga’s play had drawn large crowds and thunderous applause, and curiosity-seekers remained thick around the school’s booths even after they ran out of items to sell.

Following the launch of hundreds of starry lanterns, Suuzu had wanted a quieter view of the sky. So she’d invited him and Akira back to Kikusawa Shrine, which was on the city’s fringe. Without her family ever realizing, they scaled the shrine roof and put Keishi’s lights at their back. Long past curfew, she’d stared at the patterns made by winking stars without a thought in her head.

Only after Akira had dozed off, curled comfortably against his nestmate, did Suuzu remark on her quietness. But she had no words yet. Her betrothal to Eloquence was too new to believe, too strange to tell.

At her helpless gesture, he’d beckoned her close and drawn her down. Pillowed on Suuzu’s other shoulder, she’d taken comfort from his calm. The boys spent the night locked away in the archive, and they’d stopped to buy piping hot croquettes and steamed sweet potatoes on the way in to school.

“Uh-oh,” whispered Kimiko. Because Sentinel Skybellow was stationed at the gate, thick arms folded across his chest.

Akira ventured, “Are we in trouble?”

The burly, bluff head of security eyed them narrowly. “Were you in any trouble?”

“Not at all! But I guess we sorta slept off campus last night.”

“I know.”

Akira fidgeted. “Is there a rule against that?” 

Sentinel blandly asked, “Are you acquainted with the student handbook?”

“I am,” Suuzu said quietly. “The responsibility was mine.”

“I know,” repeated the dog clansman.

Kimiko didn’t know exactly how Sentinel was attached to the Starmark compound. Probably not born to the Keishi pack, given his shock of silver-tipped brown hair and pale gray eyes. Married in, then? Or would that be bonded in. Like she would be.

Kimiko offered a weak apology. “Akira and Suuzu walked me home and stayed over.”

“I gathered as much from your trail.”

So he had tracked them to the shrine. “Sorry for the bother,” she mumbled.

Sentinel brushed his shoulder. “You remained on good paths; you chose a safe den. All things considered, I have no complaints.”

Kimiko was glad enough to be forgiven, but she couldn’t decide why the dog sounded so … glum.
 

The whole mood inside the school was off, but Kimiko couldn’t put a label on the undercurrent running through the hallways. Except that the Amaranthine all seemed to know something the humans didn’t.

In their classroom, Ms. Reeves’ smile was fixed in place. Her measured tones betrayed very little, but Kimiko found signs of uneasiness in her posture. Yet her Amaranthine classmates betrayed nothing but respectful attentiveness.

She called the class to order. “This morning, we have some prestigious guests who’ve offered to visit our classes. A contingent of Elderboughs are currently in Keishi, along with several reavers who’ve trained with Kith companions.”

An excited murmur went through the room.

The Elderbough pack was one of the oldest and perhaps the most famous of the wolf packs, in large part because Adoona-soh Elderbough, spokesperson for the wolves, was one of the Five.

Ms. Reeves continued. “Teams will be visiting each classroom in turn. As a few of you have already mentioned an interest in working closely with Kith, I’ve requested that Reaver Armstrong be the one to address our class.”

Yoota and Ploom began signaling wildly to each other across the room, and the sway in Hanoo’s tail increased to a swing.

Akira asked, “What sort of Kith does he belong to?”

“Isn’t it the other way around?” asked Tenma.

Kimiko was glad that Isla’s answering laugh held no trace of mockery.

The girl hooked her arm through Tenma’s and, loud enough for everyone to hear, announced, “Our family is owned by a feline Kith. If Reaver Armstrong has a Kith companion, it’s because the Kith chose him, not the other way around.”

Only a few minutes passed before a light rap announced the arrival of a reaver and an Amaranthine at the door. The reaver was tall and blond, with an aww, shucks smile that made him look like the leading man in an American movie. His dark teal tunic designated him a battler, and the faint creases at the corners of his blue eyes suggested a genial sort of maturity. Kimiko guessed him to be about the same age as her father.

His Amaranthine companion—easily recognized as a wolf by the light brown tail flicking against the ragged cuffs of his jeans—strolled to the long row of windows and stood gazing out, as if he found the classroom claustrophobic. Leaning to one side, Kimiko managed a glimpse of the crest on his armband, and her heart gave a glad leap. Elderbough!

Kimiko studied his profile. While there was a certain resemblance, she knew this wasn’t Adoona-soh’s eldest son, the heir. But she wasn’t familiar with the younger sons. Actually, this denim-clad wolf could just as easily be a grandson. Except she could feel his power like a low vibration—intense, impatient, irritated.

Yellow eyes locked with hers, as if he’d felt her gaze.

She surreptitiously offered him welcome and peace.

Thick brows lifted. His response was offhanded, but he wearily begged pardon, signaling distraction and directing her attention back to his partner in the simplest of terms. Pay attention. This is important.

After a brief consultation, Ms. Reeves raised her voice. “We’re honored to have Christopher Armstrong with us today. Hanoo, if you’ll unlatch the double-door, his Kith partner will also be joining us.”

Hanoo, Yoota, and Ploom all leapt up, hurrying with the catches on the second classroom door, which usually remained shut. Their excitement made little sense until the Kith—an enormous black wolf—eased through the door.

Reaver Armstrong said something in English, then switched to Japanese with a broad American accent. “Cove is a wolf of the Nightspangle pack.”

Ms. Reeves directed her three tail-wagging students to close up the doors and return to their seats, then yielded the floor to Reaver Armstrong.

“I apologize for the clumsiness of my words and for not having time to introduce ourselves properly. My name is Christopher Armstrong, and you are welcome to call me Chris. My Kith partner is Cove. And my other friend is Boonmar-fen Elderbough. Please, don’t mind. He will move through the room while I am talking. Learning faces and scents. Okay?”

Kimiko glanced at Suuzu, whose expression had clouded considerably. Whatever it was, he knew. And it wasn’t good. Akira seemed to be picking up on his best friend’s mood. He’d moved his chair around and sat right beside Suuzu.

“I’m what the media usually calls a Kith handler,” continued Chris. “But that’s a misrepresentation. A misnomer.”

He had clearly learned Japanese but didn’t often use it, because he kept dropping English words into his sentences, then backing up to translate himself.

Isla raised her hand. “Would you like me to serve as translator?”

Chris shifted into a pleading posture. “That would be a big help, little lady.”

Now that he wasn’t working so hard to find the right words, the battler relaxed and included more nuances of posture, making it clear that he’d lived most of his life among wolves. Kimiko wondered if he belonged to the same enclave as Hanoo, Yoota, and Ploom.

“Cove has been my companion since I was twelve, and he was my grandmother’s companion before me. I have seven siblings—three full, two half, and two step. The family joke is that I was both the runt and the pick of the litter.”

Kimiko shook her head in wonderment. If this strapping blond man was the smallest in his family, his siblings must rival the Amaranthine in size.

“I’m enclave born and was raised to work in tandem with a Kith companion as a tracker. The role has been considered largely traditional for centuries, like many of the battler sub-classifications. But since the Emergence, both battlers and trackers are in high demand to work with law enforcement and criminal investigation. Or in the private sector as body guards, security guards, and even travel guides.”

He spoke at length about the jobs available to reavers who aimed for battler classification and opportunities for humans in those same fields. Meanwhile, Boonmar-fen glided unobtrusively through the room. Those who spared him a glance had their attention firmly directed back to the front. More than once, he signaled for the students to listen to Chris.

Kimiko was impressed by Isla’s poise. She and Chris quickly developed a pattern, taking turns speaking. Her polish not only put Reaver Armstrong at ease, it kept everyone in the classroom connected. Couldn’t Ms. Reeves have done the same? But a glance in their homeroom teacher’s direction made Kimiko sure that the idea hadn’t occurred to her. Her attention was turned inward, and her downcast face was pinched and pale.

A knock preceded Sentinel Skybellow into the room, and Ms. Reeves leapt to her feet. She thanked and excused Isla, and Boonmar-fen returned to the front of the room.

This was it.

Ms. Reeves thanked Chris and encouraged young reavers interested in Kith-based careers or any of the battler specializations to speak up. “And now Sentinel needs to make an announcement.”

Their head of security didn’t drag it out any further. “Last night, during the height of the Star Festival, one of our students—Minami Li from Class 2-A—failed to return to the dormitories. Further investigation by experienced trackers has led to the regrettable conclusion that she was taken.”

A murmur of dismay rippled through the room.

Sentinel grimly continued. “I will review the school’s security measures with you, along with new guidelines to ensure the safety of every student. And Boon will want a word with anyone who may have noticed Minami any time after eight o’clock yesterday evening.”

Rules were rehearsed. Restrictions added. Everyone could expect to see more Kith on campus. And Ms. Reeves went over simple statements they might use if questioned by friends and family … or if cornered by the press.

Throughout, Kimiko had a hard time sitting still. She wanted to get home, to make sure her sisters were safe. Because she had seen the silent command issued by Boonmar-fen, watched it leap from one student to the next, galvanizing the Amaranthine to a single purpose.

Guard your reavers.