Foxheart

Chapter Forty-Three

Esme woke instantly, her dreams of Cassandra and her parents quickly twisting into walking corpses; maggot riddled and rotten. Relief filled her when she saw realised she was in Catriona's guest room, safe with sunlight pouring through the window, turning Absolon invisible. The corpses weren't here. They were locked away, hidden within the school. Fear stirred and she twisted herself in her nest of Fox's legs, turning her snout to face him.

He slept deeply still. His lips were slightly parted, his head leant heavily against the wall and his broad chest rose softly with every breath. Esme watched him for a moment, taking in his sleeping face and enjoying how his rough hands were buried in her fur, twitching lightly now and then. He was relaxed. Last night he had been so horrified and twitchy that he blockaded the door. She didn't blame him. He'd never seen the darker things magic could accomplish.

Fox grunted in his sleep and his hand moved to rest on her head, just like he'd done when they were hiding in the make-shift morgue. She enjoyed the interaction and how his hand engulfed her, warm and powerful despite its size. An odd happiness burned in her chest, pushing away some of the terror she had witnessed last night.

The sickness here wasn't normal. It was magic. Esme had learnt about various magical plagues that could be created, one being death and reanimation, and it could spread fast. She knew there were going to be more, already there was at least one more victim than Catriona stated and that was just within the school. Three other buildings had been turned into makeshift hospitals and labs. As Esme stared at the open window, letting in the hot air and stink of the surrounding marsh, she grew increasingly concerned. A magical sickness like that would be easy to contract. For all she knew, both she and Fox were sick already with the symptoms not being active quite yet. They could be dead and re-animated into shamble corpses within days.

She heaved a sigh and twitched her furry ears. She couldn't think about that. As soon as Fox was awake, she'd push for them to leave immediately and take the Whistles with them. It was much too dangerous for them to stay and there was no way Catriona wasn't involved in this plague. She had her whistles taken and was awfully suspicious about why she wants them back. Then there was that odd butterfly in Glenna hut...

Esme was taken by a sudden sneeze, breaking her train of thought. As she snuffled her nose, pawing at her snout, she froze. Her eyes snapped sharply up to the window. Sunlight was bright out there and the pinks and oranges of dawn had long passed into a soft blue. Early morning was in fully swing.

So why was she still a fox?

Panic touched her mind and she stood sharply, looking at her swishy tail and black paws. Had the witches done this? Did they known about the curse so completed it? But her mind was still there. She was still Esme, not some mindless animal so the curse was still broken.

Suddenly her body tingled and she very quickly realised what was happening with both relief and dread. Her body was changing back but it was changing back when she was still tucked in Fox's legs. She scrabbled as quickly as she could, wriggled out of his hands and legs, but it was a little too late.

Smoothly her body changed shape; her limbs lengthened, her red fur melted away and her black her tumbled from her scalp. Within seconds, she was human again, awkwardly sprawled out on the floor and her right foot near Fox's face, having struck him when it grew rapidly into existence.

Her face burned red; making her blood roar in her ears. She couldn't move, despite the compromising position and nakedness she was in. Fox was awake, his face showing his clear irritation that he got kicked unexpectedly. But, despite his expression never changing, she noticed his eyes growing embarrassed and he quickly covered his eyes with his hand.