Foxheart

Chapter Twenty-Two

The lounge was cool, partly from the fan whirring noisly in the corner and partly from the windows being wide open and letting in the cool night breeze. It was small and cramped, filled with books, clocks and, oddly, wooden birds. Fox picked up a small owl beside him and gazed at it, feeling the rough lines of the feathers and the pointed beak. Cuckoo had weird hobbies.

'Here.' Cuckoo said, holding out a bowl of warm stew.

Fox happily accepted the stew and quickly began to scoff it down. He hadn't eaten all day and he was exhausted from the heat and the bizarre man he'd bumped into. Avoiding him had been hard but his house idea did the trick. He only left a couple of hours ago and took a very long route home, trying to shake him. Fox hadn't seen him since.

Cuckoo sat opposite him, cushioned in his worn armchair, and flicked through his paper in silence. Fox didn't mind. Cuckoo never spoke much.

Cuckoo didn't read for long. Fox was too busy tending to his stomach that he hadn't noticed that Cuckoo wasn't reading at all and, in fact, was watching Fox. He sighed and folded him the paper onto his lap.

'Reynard.'

Fox raised his eyes. 'Fox.'

'Yes, Fox.' Cuckoo corrected himself as always. 'I have questions about the girl upstairs.'

'What about her?' Fox asked with narrowed eyes then stiffened. For a brief second he'd forgotten Esme was parading around as a man and, by the glint in Cuckoo's eyes, Fox had confirmed it. His throat tightened and he fell silent.

Cuckoo smiled. 'What are you doin' with her?'

'Nothin'.' Fox said stubbornly.

'Now, Fox, I know you better than that. That girl is in need of your help, I can see that. The way she's so anxious and jumps at the slightest sight of a White Wizard is clear.' Cuckoo said. 'What have you gotten yourself into?'

'Nothin'.' Fox repeated.

Cuckoo sighed. 'She's Esme Dupont, isn't she.'

Fox bit his tongue down and said nothing. How did Cuckoo figure it out?

He touched his glasses. 'I see her, Reynard. I check out magical items and tools, remember? I see through things that have been changed or hidden by magic.'

Fox winced. How could he forget that? Cuckoo had glasses that would see through most weak glamours and Elenore, while good at magic, wasn't powerful enough to slide things under Cuckoo's nose.

'You got Elenore to do the glamour, didn't you?'

Fox still held his tongue. Saying anything was just going to make it worse.

Cuckoo sighed and pushed his glasses up his long nose. 'I'm not goin' to hurt her. I can see you hold no love for her by the daggers in your eyes and how you talk to her but you're helpin' anyway. Something is makin' you.' Cuckoo said softly. 'But helpin' Dupont isn't a good idea Reynard. You're a good thief but makin' a wanted Wizard vanish is going to kill you. You can't do it.'

'I have to.' Fox said with a tight jaw. 'I have to make her vanish. I don't have a choice.'

Cuckoo watched him with his watery blue eyes. 'Why?'

Fox couldn't say that Dupont had his Eye, his prize. Cuckoo would report it back to Doe and then he'd be stripped of his chance of claiming the title Fox.

'Whatever is it, is it worth your life?'

'Yeah. It is.'

'I see.' Cuckoo pondered for a moment. 'I'll help you out. Figure out where to go and I'll give you a lift in my van. Cut down your time a little.'