The Carnelian Fox Read online

  “Are you high?” She looked down her nose at me, backing away. “My father wouldn’t approve if you are.”

  “Only on life and combat and winning.” I waved a finger at her. “You should try them.”

  “I believe I’ll skip the combat, at least. I’m intending on trying the other two during my career.”

  “Sorry, I don’t know your drink,” Eli said from behind us.

  “Ohhh, that looks incredible.” My eyes stretched wide, and saliva invaded my mouth as I caught sight of the tower of hot chocolate in the cup holder. There was a mountain of cream with all kinds of little sprinkles and even a strawberry wedged onto the lip.

  “Raspberry or chocolate?” he asked, raising a bag in his other hand.

  “Half and half?” I batted my eyelashes desperately. “Don’t make me choose.”

  Back at the lodge, we all sat around a table in the canteen’s corner. A few of the other Primes from the competition were eating there too, some nodded at us, others glared my way. I know what they thought of me.

  The doughnuts satisfied my taste buds, but I was starving after the energy I’d burned today. I ordered a double burger to keep my strength up.

  “You can eat all that?” Eli asked in disbelief.

  “The fact you don’t think I can finish it is why you’re so scrawny. A baked potato does not count as a meal, young man,” I declared.

  “Hey, this is how most people from Ardite are built. Scrawny? That’s so racist.” He smirked at me and scooped out a pathetic piece of potato. Wouldn’t be so bad if he had an extra filling.

  “If you aren’t scrawny, then I’m plump. That’s sexist and sizeist.” I stuffed a handful of fries into my mouth. They could have done with more ketchup.

  “There’s literally nothing I can say now that won’t make this conversation go downhill.” Eli picked up a bottle of water with a gentle sigh and unscrewed the cap.

  “Another win, I’m on a roll today.” I held out my can of pop towards Lucy so she could knock her drink against it, forgetting she was a snob that would sneer at me like I’d offended her entire existence.

  “Put that down, Sam,” she said, delicately cutting up her lettuce leaf. Party pooper.

  “What are you guys up to next?” Eli asked, looking at me. Guess he figured the battle Prime would be in charge of the plans, oh how wrong he was.

  “I want to go on to Illusis,” Lucy said, oblivious to the eyebrow raise I shared with Eli. “I need to try another area, one with more of a connection to show Gems. I want to scout out potential team additions there, they have a wonderful, exclusive trader. And there are Challenge Halls for you too, Sam.”

  “I’m welling up, you thought about me?” I said around an onion ring.

  “When have I ever not thought about you? We’re companions, aren’t we?”

  “How about ‘Sam, go into this dark, bug-filled forest and catch me another candy Gem?’” I muttered, half to myself.

  “Oh please, you got the best side of the deal out of that.”

  “You haven’t even tried your chinchilla yet!” I protested. “It might be the greatest show Gem in history.”

  “After proper training, maybe.” Lucy’s gaze was distant, one hand stirred the leaves of the dry salad on her plate, the other played with the chain of the necklace holding her four pink capsules.

  “You know I’m okay going wherever, right?” Yeah, her stuck-up attitude was irritating, but I guess it was my fault for pushing her all the time. “Illusis will be fun. For you.”

  I fought the urge to grin at the smouldering glare she fired over the table at me.

  “I think it’s a great idea,” Eli said. That boy was brave drawing attention to himself right now. “Might be useful for your candy type too, Sam.”

  “It’s the glitteriest town in the world,” I groaned. “But I’ll suck it up. I might enjoy doing something different. Will you enter a show, Lucy?”

  “Well, that depends on how my challenge goes.” Suddenly she withdrew, all her previous sharp edges retracted.

  “You’ll be great,” I promised. “All your guys will.”

  The next morning the three of us congregated at the lodge lobby. These buildings were all cut and pasted. It wouldn’t surprise me if they faced the same compass direction and everything.

  I was mute and heavy hearted knowing it would be back to just me and Lucy. And not only because Eli had the most badass Gems I’d ever met to keep us safe. I liked the secret looks we shared when Lucy was being a plain old psycho, I liked that he got my jokes and humoured me. Plus, he’d bought me doughnuts and sometimes when I was deluding myself, I wondered if he was flirting with me a little… Oh, yeah and there was all the good stuff he was teaching me about strengthening my Gems and winning contests. That was the main thing. Very important.

  “Guess you’re heading off to some other contest?” I tried to keep my voice light and make eye contact. Totally normal.

  “I was wondering if you minded me tagging on for a while longer?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Why?” Lucy crossed her arms. “If you’re trying to use Sam again, we don’t have time for more detours.”

  “You make me feel so welcome, Lucy.” Eli played with strings of his hoodie. “I’m headed that direction anyway, to Sarsis, but I don’t have to be there for a few days. So, it’s a quick trip with Kira and a lot of waiting or I can make sure you two don’t almost kill yourselves again.”

  “We learned our lesson,” Lucy said, arms still firmly folded.

  “He’s joking, Luce.” I rubbed my forehead, this girl would be the death of my sanity, even if she didn’t get me eaten by a gargantuan first. “You should come along, Eli, you get used to her. At least I’m hoping you do at some point.”

  I was having a lot more fun now the only voice wasn’t Lucy’s clipped business-like tone. Which caused a mental crash. I missed Callum so much. I hadn’t joked around with anyone since I lost him, and I kept wondering if I was trying to replace him. That wasn’t fair. On his memory, or me, or Eli, or Charlotte. It had been a while since I’d thought of Charlotte as Callum’s, she was always my draco now. I treated her and trained her the same as the rest. Why didn’t Callum pop into my head anymore whenever I looked at her? Was I a crappy friend for forgetting him already?

  “Hey, what’s up?” Eli asked at my side as we walked down the dirt road.

  “Just thinking,” I murmured, sucking in a breath to ward off the prickles at the corner of my eyes.

  “Okay.” He didn’t push me for details.

  “Let’s stop here for a break,” Lucy said from a little way ahead of us. Apparently, she wasn’t keen on our conversation topics. Though if I was a show Prime, I don’t think I’d have put up with the hours of battle strategy breakdowns either.

  There was an ancient picnic area set away from the trail. Back in the day, this would have been a road that cars drove down. Now it was too far from the main strips that government-employed Primes patrolled, keeping dangerous Gems at bay. No one wanted to get caught out in a tin can on wheels with a fire-breathing eagle chasing them. So, top-level Primes guarded the reinforced buses that travelled the direct transport links between cities. Another job not on my list of aspirations.

  We gathered around a wooden, splintery table with benches that dipped under our weight. Lyle laid out behind Eli; I didn’t even notice the shadow type most of the time. He was a big cat, but he shifted into his cloaked mode for our journey. I didn’t doubt that he would have appeared in a second at the slightest hint of danger. Lucy and I summoned the rest of our Gems.

  “I miss when mine were small enough to hang out.” Eli smiled and tapped a finger on the strap of his capsule holster. “Would you believe that Neive used to coil around my neck when she was a cub?”

  “Just don’t let her try that now.” I picked up Sev as he balanced on his hind legs and scratched at my knee. The mink settled into a ball in my arms. “I honestly don’t know what th
is one will do when he’s full grown.”

  Lucy’s Gems all stood in order next to her bench. The Chinchilla was adapting to her new life well, but her twitching nose sought to explore the underneath of the table until Lucy asked her to sit still.

  I was more than happy for Finn and Dew to race around the clearing. Scuffling was friendly training, right? Charlotte stretched out in the high sun, looking like a basking red-gold monitor lizard with her wings pulled in against her scales.

  “Where did you find a draco around here?” Eli asked. “They’re rare Gems, and Finn was your first pick, wasn’t he?”

  “She was a gift from a friend.” I didn’t want to say more. Maybe never to anyone.

  “Good friend.”

  “Yep. So, what are you doing in Sarsis? Another upgrade?” I wanted to talk about anything else, even Eli leaving.

  “No, I need to go see a new litter when they’re born.”

  “Awwww, baby Gems!” I squeaked unashamedly, no way I could hold that reaction back.

  “Yeah, they’re Veil’s. He’s a highly sought-after stud.”

  “Yeah he is,” I said with a wink. “Super studly.”

  “Ha ha, all the lady Gems can’t keep their hoofs off him. He has a solid lineage, so you’re almost guaranteed to keep the corrosive and water types from even cub stage. He has the ‘iron antler’ trait too, which means there’s a high chance of it passing to his offspring. It’s a physical attack increase with any horn-based strike. A lot of Primes are after a mini version of V, and the breeder with the doe had a gorgeous match for him. It’s not something I do often. But I get the pick of the litter.”

  “I’m so jealous. Getting to see those little fawns, send me a picture, okay?”

  “Will do, can’t keep all that adorability to myself, can I?”

  “What are you doing with your cub?”

  “I might sell it, if I get one with a natural trait it’ll be worth a decent amount. It means I won’t have to worry about going for a contest with high prize money for a while, I can stick to ones with upgrades I’m after. I have a spare slot or two in storage though. If I train it up, I could make more on a fully evolved Gem.”

  “Oh man, I didn’t realise monetary worries still follow you at that level. I hoped that I’d be made before I got anywhere near as strong as you.” With a grubby nail, I picked at the table, prying out a sliver of wood.

  “You get I’m mid-tier, right? I’m nothing special, Sam. If you’re looking to go big time, like Alford or Capshaw level, your team needs to stomp mine. They don’t even have full upgrades yet. And those celebrity Primes spend a lot of money before they make it back. Most have multiple sets of teams, every Gem has three upgrade slots. Four for an elder which every one of them has. Sometimes a couple they switch between contests to keep the opponents guessing. If you aren’t winning upgrades, you’re buying them.”

  “Stop being so realistic and let me keep my fantasies.” I sighed and attacked the chipped table again. Sev noticed and scrabbled at the tiny trench I’d made with one of his claws. He was helping.

  “I’m not saying it’s a fantasy. Just that it takes patience or a deep wallet to get there. If that’s what you want, then go for it. But maybe this time you need a plan?”

  He was right. And yeah, it would be tough. But people did it, right? Reached the big time and became stars. I had to do it. I wasn’t even sure why back then, for the money? For my family? To help other people? Turns out I had a lot to go through before it sank in how selfish I was being. And trust me, I went through a lot.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I hear something.” It was the first thing Lucy said since we pulled out our packed lunches and set up our picnic. “Make sure it doesn’t attack us, please.”

  I didn’t know if she meant me or Eli, we both stood at the same time.

  “Lyle, look after Lucy,” he said to the indistinguishable shape blurring into the shadows behind him.

  “It was that way.” She pointed over to the treeline away from the road. That girl had good ears - I hadn’t noticed a thing.

  I bundled Sev over my shoulder and followed Eli, my other three Gems trailing us. Even straining I struggled to pick out a sound. Until we got closer. A high-pitched whistling shriek drifted on the wind blowing in our direction. Eli’s fingers hovered over his holsters.

  Finn bolted. Dashed into the trees.

  “Come back!” I yelled, trying to control the volume for fear of alerting whatever was inside. Finn glanced over with huge, pleading eyes. Then continued his hurtle forwards.

  “No, no, no! What’s wrong with him?” I muttered, racing after my Gem. It so wasn’t like him to disobey me like that.

  “Sam, wait up,” Eli said, but I ignored him the same way Finn had blanked me. I wasn’t letting my fox disappear without backup.

  Within a few seconds I caught up. Finn crouched, snarling at a group of about eight people.

  “Another one!” A burly man said, pointing at my Gem. “Get it!”

  “Hey!” I shouted as he ran our way, trying to stop him before he attempted to catch Finn. “He’s already mine.”

  “You assholes step back right now.” Eli’s voice dripped with malice. His fingers brushed his holsters, and the fury lighting his expression drove a blade of unease to the pit of my stomach. He was properly overreacting; this guy hadn’t realised that Finn had a Prime.

  A woman picked her way to the front of the group, she wore camo gear, all made of material as tough as her sneering face.

  “Primes. Great,” she said, both words dripping with sarcasm. “Get out of here, this does not concern you. You’re part of the problem.”

  “I’m warning you…” Eli took a step forward.

  “You’ll sick your monsters on us? What a surprise,” the woman said as two of her friends flanked her. “You know all you’re doing is proving a point, honey?”

  A gasp ripped from my mouth and my hands involuntarily covered my lips. As the people moved, I spotted a bloodied, crumpled mass against a rock they’d been surrounding. Matted fur slicked down over a skewed limb, yellow fluff mixed in with wet red. The shape moved. A forelimb twitched out to drag itself across the ground. The closest person stamped down with the heel of a combat boot, and the whistling shriek cut the air again.

  Unthinking, I ran in, dropping Sev. A man reached for me, but I somehow slipped his grasp and tackled the woman that had hurt the Gem. A shock reverberated through my bones as we fell in a heap. Eli shouted my name. I punched the evil little cow in the face. My fist crunched her nose, now there was blood on me too. Hands grabbed me as I drew back again. Either the girl’s friends or Eli trying to restrain me. I writhed and struggled to get free, desperate for another hit.

  “Yeah, doesn’t feel so good, does it?” I screamed at the crying woman from where three people pinned me to the grass.

  “Let her go,” Eli said, his typical, irritating, calm self.

  “I think Tracy deserves a bit of payback,” said the man that spoke first.

  “Let me go and she can try!” I twisted and pulled at the guys holding my arms, I didn’t care. I’d fight them all.

  Growls from Finn and Dew came from right next to me, they wouldn’t attack people without a command. I hoped they wouldn’t anyway, bad things happened to Gems that were a danger to humans.

  “Stay back, guys, I’ve got this,” I said. I so hadn’t. I would probably get a good smack in the mouth for this.

  “Last chance,” I heard Eli say. “Or I’ll make you back off.”

  “Go ahead,” the woman replied, “Use your baby-killing monsters. Try to stop us telling the world how dangerous these things are when even you Primes let them loose.”

  Sharp breaths went up from around me, I couldn’t see what Eli was doing.

  “Be extra gentle,” he said.

  An elbow lodged in my throat shifted, and the tight press of three people’s weight lifted. I choked for breath and scrambled up. Neive bound the freak
s through their arms and legs, caught up in the air in vines. She’d restrained them without injury.

  A deafening bang made me duck, slapping my hands over my ears. Neive roared, reared and dropped her bundle. The mass of people yelled and fought at the entangling vines, cried out in pain.

  Grey-green ichor spilled from halfway down Neive’s flank, a chunk of flesh between two of her plates had burst open. They’d shot her!

  Eli recalled her and pelted over to the still-tangled group. He ripped a handgun from the head woman’s grip and pressed the mouth against her temple.

  “I should kill you for that.” He kept the emotion from his voice but there was no colour to his face, and the hint of a tremor in his fingers. Damn it, if he accidently twitched that trigger, we would be in a world of crap. “And you wouldn’t even be able to blame a Gem.”

  “Eli, come on. Put it down.” I laid a hand on his arm, the side not holding the gun, so I didn’t make him flinch and blow her brains out.

  “What if she’d aimed at one of yours?” He wasn’t looking at me, but he must have known there was indecision there. Any of mine would be dead instantly.

  “Finn, melt this thing,” I said and turned my back on the group. I didn’t want to see the relief in these idiots’ eyes, they didn’t deserve it.

  Eli lowered the gun to the ground. His stare was tangible, either he was thanking me for stopping a horrendous mistake or furious I’d impeded his revenge. The heat of Finn’s lava spit warmed my leg and the metal weapon pooled out into the dirt as his attack hit.

  “Let’s go,” I whispered, my hand resting on Eli’s narrow back, directing him away from the group. I fluttered with adrenaline and restrained my urge to get in a few more punches, I couldn’t let him slip any further.