Read Kitsune Tales: Two Short Stories for Free Online

of
taller, fatter mortals, but it didn't matter. Under the smell of peppermint and
human sweat, she finally caught a whiff of the siren's magic.
    She was about to
shove her way through the mass of fascinated people when Tullia slip out of the crowd. The siren looked far more at ease in the packed store
than Yuri felt. She smiled her shark-tooth smile. "I honestly didn't
expect you to come after me. Stubborn little fox, aren't you?"
    Yuri smiled back,
showing off her own sharp canines, but the siren didn't give her a chance to
respond.
    "Oh, and you
brought my ex with you. How kind. I do hope you're keeping well, Kaimana , darling."
    Magic sparked from
the mo'o in little, invisible daggers of energy that
made Yuri shiver. But its voice was as calm as ever when it said, "You
know you can't stay here, Tullia . Give me the pearl,
and I might be willing to help you accomplish your goals."
    Tullia smiled, her lips stretching thin over sharp teeth,
and shook her head. "It's too late for that, sweetie. I'm burning bridges,
you see--well, metaphorically--and I think I'll be keeping your magic. It's
awfully useful."
    "I really
don't want to fight you for it," Yuri said, and instantly regretted it
when the siren turned on her. She could tell that Tullia was remembering their little confrontation at the beach. The memory of her
awful failure in the scuffle made Yuri wince internally. She hoped the
embarrassment didn't show on her face. "Just hand it over and--"
    "You're
cute," the siren interrupted, a condescending smile on her lips. "But it's just not going to happen. If you'll excuse me, I've got my eye
on that sodajerk over there."
    Yuri grabbed at
the siren's wrist. "Don't."  
      Tullia jerked
away. "I'd like to see you stop me, little fox."
    "Don't let
her goad you, hoaloha ," Kaimana muttered. Little lizard toes dug into Yuri's shoulder like claws. "Keep
your head."
    No fistfights, Yuri reminded herself irritably. No fistfights, no big displays
of magic, and persuasion wasn't working. What else could she possibly do
in the cramped quarters of the mortal-filled candy shop? She glanced
desperately around the crowd, at the humans she was supposed to be protecting.
There had to be something she could do to keep the siren from killing them.
    Her eyes caught on
a table near the center of the room. A group of people were just standing up
from around it, leaving a checkers board, the pieces stacked neatly on either
side. If there was one thing Yuri considered herself extremely good at, it was games.
    "Hey, Tullia ," she said, trying to hide her grin as she
turned back to the siren. Her mind whirled, putting the vague outline of a plan
together even as her lips kept moving. "You play checkers?"
    Tullia blinked, surprise on her pretty face. "Excuse
me?"
    "You need the
pearl to stay on land, right?" Yuri pointed at the emptying table.
"I'll play you for it. You win, I back down and you can do whatever you
want. I win, Kaimana gets the pearl back and you go
home for good. Deal?"
    Kaimana squeaked indignantly on Yuri's shoulder. "My
magic isn't a gambling chip! What if she outsmarts you?"
    Yuri waved the
dragon's concerns off and watched happily as the siren squared her shoulders. A
haughty opponent was more likely to make mistakes--and way easier to bait into
the game. Plus, if the siren did somehow win, Piccolo and Webb would be there
soon enough to pick up the pieces. She would just have to stall long enough, if
she lost.
    "What if I
refuse?" Tullia asked, lifting her chin.
    "You
won't." Yuri fought a grin. "You're like me. You love the gamble,
don't you? And what's better than gambling with something huge on the line?
Makes it way more fun."
    Kaimana growled in her ear.
    The siren studied
her in silence for a long moment. She glanced at the door, then back to Yuri.
"And why should I trust you'll truly let me go if I win?"
    Yuri gasped in
mock-offense, one hand at her chest. "On my honor as a kitsune ,
you'll go free if you manage to beat