The Carnelian Fox Read online

  “Keep your opinions to yourself, Sam. You saw him get the capsules, it’s obvious there’s more to this than walking.”

  I yawned and distracted myself by scanning her Gems, I hadn’t bothered before. Wow, all except the robin had respectable stats I’d welcome on my team. If only she wanted to fight, we’d make a good battle duo.

  Instead she had them line up, then directed them to walk over to Bart. They had this weird little traipse they did, they made all show Gems do it. A slow step, one foot in front of the other, held back and conservative and showed all the muscle movements. It was creepy but Lucy’s lot seemed to have it down.

  Bart considered each one, nodding his approval. Then he released his own four Gems. All plant types covered in flowers and leaves. They got alongside Lucy’s Gems, so close they were almost touching, and then bellowed, sang, danced, threw petals, and leapt around. It was laughable. I had three full-on battles and a show Prime just had to make sure their Gems didn’t get distracted? The robin looked twitchy though, bless him, the cat following him was four times his size and kept licking its lips. I did not want to see any more Gems eat each other.

  “Pepe, focus, please.” Lucy’s voice was sweeter than normal, her commands just another part of her performance.

  The robin faced forwards and continued his sickeningly adorable hop. Dewdrop reached Bart first and turned back, his antagonist, a chunky, moss-covered bear, sat in the way. The wolf stepped up to it and looked to Lucy for guidance.

  “Just go around him, Dewdrop, you’re fine to break step for an obstacle.”

  The wolf padded around, but the bear rolled over to block him again, draping wisps of feathery greenery over his face. Dewdrop did his best to find a way around the huge mound of the bear, looking to Lucy again with his head tilted. They bred all the instinct and initiative out of show Gems.

  Lucy was busy directing her lemur away from a stream of leaf attacks that her foe had thrown her way. Bart’s newt aimed at where she would be if she didn’t stop rather than at her. They were super slow too. This was not an interesting challenge to watch. I tickled Sev under the chin to occupy myself.

  I was ready to pull up one of the simple puzzle games on my eBand when I noticed something that no one else had. The look of pure malice in Dewdrop’s blue eyes. His hackles shot up and he snapped at the bear, tearing a chunk of foliage out of its fur. The bear roared and heaved itself to its hind legs, towering over the wolf cub.

  “Dewdrop!” Lucy stamped her foot. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Kicking off,” I whispered to my Gems. Sev gave a little whistle of approval.

  “Nora, down,” Bart said, returning the bear to her capsule. “This is over, sweetheart. Try again when your Gems have more discipline.”

  “Excuse me? Discipline? My Gems are perfectly well disciplined, I don’t see how yours are allowed to provoke mine and attack them during a show Prime test, and they can’t respond.” Lucy stomped over to Bart. “This is outrageous, are all challenges this unfair? Sam didn’t have to have her Gems go against any show techniques, so why were mine faced with battle tactics?”

  “Because I’m a Challenge Master, and I get to set the challenge,” Bart said pointing to the door. “Don’t think about coming back until you adjust your attitude. Get out of my challenge hall.”

  Lucy returned her Gems and bolted out, her boots clacking on the stones in a faster tempo than usual. I stood up and brushed myself off, Sev still flopped over one arm.

  “Thanks, Bart, glad I went first.” I gave him a salute and made my way to the door. “Sorry about the crazy girl.”

  “Eh, sick her on someone else next time.” He flashed me a wary half-smile and shooed me out too.

  “You know that was unfair, don’t you?” Lucy said when I caught her up.

  “I think it was tough for a first show challenge,” I lied, I genuinely could not be bothered with her attitude right now.

  “It should be about show technique or other qualities important for what I’m intending to do. This dodging attack nonsense isn’t worth me worrying about. They never expect battle Primes to do non-battle training, do they?”

  “They do not,” I answered, keeping that first climbing challenge to myself.

  “I don’t understand what got into Dewdrop, his behaviour is usually exemplary. He knows what’s expected of him. I mean, yes, he’s not the most expensive thoroughbred available, but he had all the Dorciti training, the correct parentage to make sure he’ll stay candy type if he evolves, and some famous ancestors. By all accounts, he should be perfect out the gate.”

  Lucy tapped Dewdrop’s capsule, and he appeared, as poised and elegant as ever.

  “Why did you embarrass me like that?” she asked, her voice strained. “It was supposed to be an easy one, our first challenge. Even if that bear attacked you, the brief was to stay focussed, do you understand?”

  Dewdrop tilted his head on one side, like he was listening hard. I doubt he took it in though, the big breeders didn’t work to produce smart Gems, they valued style over substance.

  “Hey, if he doesn’t get it, he might make a good battle Gem.” I laughed and whipped my eBand under Lucy’s nose to distract the negative attention from the poor guy. “Check out these stats! Bit slow but he’s got beastly attack and defence. And… oh wait, I didn’t notice this before. What’s his trait?”

  “What are you on about?” Lucy sighed and knocked my hand away.

  “His trait, he has the little star here that shows he has one, like Sev’s ‘producer’ that gives wool.” I pressed the star to bring up the trait list and my heart fell. “I’m so sorry, Lucy. You didn’t know about this?”

  “About what?” Her voice had faded down to a squeak, and the colour drained from her face. “Go on, Sam. Tell me what you’re on about.”

  “I don’t think you can run him on your team.” Did I dare tell her that her precious thoroughbred was a scam? “He has the ‘berserker’ trait. It means he responds to intimidation by losing control and receiving an attack bonus. He’ll always act like that in a pressure situation. Didn’t you check this when you were buying him?”

  “Obviously not!” She clenched her fists at her sides and her mouth twisted with rage. “I never checked the stats, Sam, why would I? I’m showing him, not battling him!”

  “In case he had a trait that effects his nature?” I ventured with a tiny grin.

  “Not amusing,” Lucy muttered, her breath catching in her throat. “I spent so much on him, he’s the cornerstone of my team, do you get that?”

  “Okay, I’m sorry, I promise I am. Don’t worry, you’ll figure something out.”

  “No,” she said. “You will.”

  “Err…”

  Lucy shoved the pink capsule into my hand then her finger flew over the holographic screen of her eBand.

  “Hey, come on,” I started as my band blinked with a message.

  Lucy Corcheck would like to transfer ownership of Dorciti’s Exemplary Wonder to you – do you accept Y/N

  “This isn’t a gift. We’ll go out into the wilds tomorrow and find a candy type that doesn’t have a detrimental trait for me. You will capsule it and transfer it to my account. Okay?”

  “Lucy, are you sure? This is an expensive Gem and aren’t you attached to him? Maybe you can use him to train your others?”

  “I don’t have space to waste with a Gem that won’t be able to be part of my team. You said he would be a good battle Gem, so make use of that.” She stared at me and tapped her foot as I considered the message on my screen. Could I just take her Gem like that? Her most prized possession – it would be like someone taking Finn from me. Except I wouldn’t have wanted to transfer him in the first place, no matter what trait he developed. This was Lucy’s choice for her career. And I could use a badass candy wolf.

  The next day I helped her get a new Gem. I wanted to hold up my side of the bargain, we might have picked a better place to go though. Like, anywhe
re else.

  Chapter Eight

  “Sam, there’s a twig in my hair.”

  “Well, get it out then. Or leave it and make a fashion statement,” I replied.

  “That isn’t quite how fashion works,” Lucy said, wincing as she pulled the piece of tree free. “Are you sure this is where the candy Gems are?”

  “Remember how you were standing right next to me when we asked the people at the lodge? And this is where they said we should try?” I ducked another branch and flinched as a nettle grazed the back of my hand. Bloody crappy terrain. No wonder there were plenty of wild Gems here, any normal human wouldn’t bother coming this way.

  “I want something good, Sam, not a gross frog or bug. A Gem I can show off.”

  “You’ll get what I find, unless it’s a damn candy T-Rex - then you can forget it. And frogs are actually super cute.” My voice had crept up by at least four or five octaves throughout the day as Lucy badgered and whined her way through the wilderness. No doubt about it, we were camping tonight, wild Gems just didn’t live close enough to town.

  I zoomed in on the map on my eBand, trying to locate the pin the guys back at the lodge had dropped for me. There was a river and a shallow incline on the route, but the undergrowth was the biggest challenge. Charlotte tried to cut a path for us when the brambles got too tangled to slip past, but I daren’t get her to use flames in a dry woodland.

  We spotted movement sometimes, a colour-coded flash that was a Gem but of the wrong typing, or the muted camouflage of a natural animal fleeing the disturbance. We never got a good enough visual to see what was there but if we’d caught sight of anything pink, that thing was going down.

  “The other three did a superb job, didn’t they?” Lucy murmured from behind me.

  “Huh?”

  “Pepe, Rolo, and Spritz. They all passed the challenge first time, and Dewdrop would have if he didn’t have his disability.”

  “His what? There’s nothing wrong with him, battle Primes gun after natural traits. Especially one that increases power without lowering a stat.” I crunched a tangle of thorns with my heel to make an easier way forward.

  “Obedience isn’t a stat you want?” Lucy made a disgusted noise as something squelched under her step.

  “As long as they can fight back well enough, I don’t mind improvisation. It stops your opponent hearing your strategy, anyway.”

  “Don’t pretend you have strategies.”

  I sighed and pushed on. She’d be in a better mood once she got a new Gem and got out of here. Plus, she had a point.

  We came out into a pitiful clearing, finally. I stretched my aching limbs and looked for a flattish bit of ground with some overhanging branches for shelter.

  “Let’s camp here. If we set up the start of a base, I’ll head out and search for a target while you cook dinner.”

  Lucy nodded and worked on tidying the camp without a complaint. I wanted to go off on my own because I figured I would stand more chance of finding something away from her constant moaning. And she might make it back unstrangled this way.

  When I left her, I released Finn, Sev, and Dew too. I shortened his name because Dewdrop was plain awful. Finn raced after Charlotte, pattering through the fallen branches with his foxy grace. Sev turned his big, pale eyes up and raised a stubby leg. He just wanted a cuddle, really. I scooped the mink up and draped him over my shoulder, where he kept watch on the surroundings in between pawing at my hood. The horrendous punctures from the raptor’s teeth didn’t affect him now, but those slight gaps in his fur and trailing scars on the skin beneath would be there forever.

  Dew kept pace with me, instinctively obedient, he knew my name was on his details instead of Lucy’s. And how would that make him feel? He screwed up a task and suddenly he’s gone. I’d never do that to my Gems. But what if it came to that? The fitness of one of my Gems to be on the team against how much I wanted to progress in the battle rankings. Could I trade one? Finn who fulfilled my dream, Charlotte who reminded me of Callum every day, Sev who almost died to help me. Where did Dew fit in? I guess he was an outcast like me, something awkward and wonky that had to measure up against perfection. I’d give him the go he deserved. Sure, he was a bit pink and glittery for my taste, but I always said I’d never turn my nose up at a good candy type.

  “Hey, Dew.” The wolf turned his snout towards me. “I won’t trade you. You’re part of the team now, okay? I know you’ve been training hard to be a show Gem and it will be a big change to learn how to battle, but I won’t hold that against you. I won’t care if you don’t get it right away, these guys will help you out. And we’re going to be amazing, go all the way and win in front of massive audiences. One day kids will buy toys of you, that’s how great we’ll be.”

  The wolf blinked, dipping his snout in reply. It gave me an idea.

  “How good is your sense of smell? Can you look for other candy Gems?”

  He tilted his head and took deep wafts of the air, trotting backwards and forwards across the vague suggestion of a trail I was following. Then his nose flew to a tree stump like a magnet drew it in. He circled, sniffing and searching. There.

  Dew dashed down a side track, checking to make sure we were behind. I hailed Charlotte and Finn, beckoning for them to catch up, then set off with Sev scanning the treetops from his perch.

  A bark and scuffle echoed through the trees. I scraped my forearms as I pushed past a teetering fallen chunk of wood to stumble into the middle of the battle. Dew chased a chinchilla until it finally grasped a trunk and shimmied up to the canopy.

  “Get it, Sev!” I shrugged to give him an extra boost in lift as he leapt from my shoulder onto a low branch and pursued the target. Finn and Charlotte watched from the ground, following the chase as Sev darted after the fleeing pink chinchilla.

  Lucy would love that. I gave it a quick scan, after stinging my palm on another nettle to stop myself from spilling over an exposed root, to make sure it was usable. It was boring and useless, perfect.

  Finn blasted a branch, sending the chinchilla tumbling to a lower one, Sev followed.

  “Whoa, Finn, don’t want to set the forest on fire!” I said as I stamped out the embers on the fallen wood. “Sev, bring it down here.”

  The mink dived, landing on the chinchilla and dropping it to the leaf litter. The two rodents scuffled, waves of pink light meeting frost beams as they fought for the upper hand. But I knew my boy had this, he let out his powerful mist to freeze the chinchilla’s limbs, then it dropped into capsule form.

  “Awesome work, team. Great finish, Sev. Do you all even realise how proud I am of you?” My Gems gathered around, starting to look like a real team. My eyes prickled at the edges and I sniffed back a roll of emotion. Yeah, I needed two more, and they all had to evolve twice before they got to final forms, but this was my team. My championship smashing team.

  “Guess what I got?” I sidled into camp with the smuggest expression I could conjure. Lucy looked up from heating our ration bags over the fire Charlotte started before I left. Her eyes went huge at the sight of the pink capsule between my fingers.

  “Ooh, what is it?” she whispered, tiptoeing over to take it from my hand.

  “Scan it and see,” I said, passing it over.

  “A chinchilla. Very acceptable, Sam. I appreciate the effort.” Lucy logged the capsule and slot it into her necklace. “I’ll let it recover tonight while we rest and begin its training tomorrow. Was it an easy find?”

  “Dew sniffed it out,” I said. I’d recalled all my Gems except Charlotte who was helping me get through the undergrowth before I got back. I wasn’t sure how being around her would affect Dew at the minute. Maybe he’d bite her, that could be a laugh…

  Not that I disliked Lucy per se. I reckoned it would be nice if she got knocked down a peg or two, learned how to treat others better – people and Gems. The fact she’d given me her pedigree Gem rather than just sell it must show she had a speck of good in her though, right?
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br />   I grabbed my too hot ration pack, sucked my burning fingers, and settled down to eat. Lucy took dainty bites as she sat beside me.

  “Dew is worth a lot, you know Sam?” she murmured.

  “What else do you want?” I licked my plastic knife and sighed.

  “You said Dew could track candy Gems, so can we get another while we’re here? I mean, we’d only have to come back later to complete my team. It would make sense to do it now.”

  “I’ll be honest, it wasn’t that hard to get,” I said. I hoped she’d be nicer if I put myself out there, or I could have been showing off – ‘look how easy this is for me,’ kind of thing. “You can come with us after dinner if you want? Let me know if you’re happy with what we find. Stay quiet to sneak up on it though, okay?”

  “I can do that.”

  With the promise of a fifth team member on the cards, Lucy managed to pull off my request. She didn’t say a thing as we ranged out from camp and I released my Gems, except, “Why do you need them all out?”

  “Training,” I whispered back. I’m not sure what training involved snuggling Sev, but I enjoyed having my Gems around me.

  Dew picked up another scent a short way in. He was too absorbed with his task to spend time focussed on Lucy, but I caught him looking her way a few times. Some people said Gems were just pieces of a game that got way too out of hand. Others said the creators of Maiyamon set out to mistreat animals and meddle with wildlife to give them unnatural abilities.

  I thought they were more than that. They understood us, felt emotion, put in effort. I didn’t know exactly what they were, but they were incredible.

  We lost layers of skin and drops of blood as we stumbled through the tangle of branches and brambles. Some foliage was the brighter green of Gem-created plant life. There had to be something close by.