Page 62 of Outfoxed

“Great. Has it gotten worse? You mentioned something about it in the hospital, but not a whole lot. Why did you talk about it in front of the doctor and nurse?”

I found it irritating the nurses had done their best to keep as distanced from me as possible, and I couldn’t shake the feeling they’d gotten rid of me as soon as humanely possible. If they got me killed kicking me out of the hospital early, I’d haunt the entire lot of them. If ghosts didn’t exist, I’d do my damned best to be the first.

“There are a lot of racists in Asylum, and a lot of them don’t like foxes.”

“That’s nothing new. We’re scavengers, and we’re able to cross the boundary without getting scrambled. That’s enough to piss most people off. Add in how beautiful my ears and tail are, and they’re jealous they can’t be me. My hair’s not bad, either.”

“Your hair is a marvel, and I respect the amount of work you go through to keep it tamed. I learned firsthand, as I was the one who washed and brushed it after your operation. There was a great deal of blood from a cut on the back of your head.”

Bugger. “That was from a little altercation with Carlos. He threw a stick at my head, and he got me good. I smacked him in the face with my stick, and I think I broke his nose. We’re even on that. He needs to work out if he wants to keep up with me. I can say that it wasn’t Carlos who shot me, unless he was able to get ahead of me, climb on the roof, and change his body type. He’s the wrong size. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t you. Wrong build.”

“I’m so grateful you have eliminated me as a suspect,” he muttered in a wry tone.

I grinned. As I’d learned shrugging hurt like hell, I kept still. “You don’t seem like the hooded trench coat kind. You’re more of the look your victims in the face kind to me. This guy was definitely the skulk around on rooftops kind. I just can’t imagine you skulking anywhere.”

“On rare occasion, I will skulk.” Sandro shot a glare my way, sighed, and shook his head. “What do you know about Asylum?”

“Beyond it coming across as a modern marvel? I’m really not sure how he built it without the entirety of Tulsa falling in on him, to be honest.” I couldn’t gush much about the pillars, although we’d passed a few on the way from the hospital. “I really like the columns outside. They’re pieces of art.”

“They’re very important pieces of art. If those come down, the ceiling might, too. Inside the stone columns is a lot of steel to help support the whole thing. Benedict planned Asylum in several sections. The residential section we’re in is in the strongest part of the city. Even if our nearby pillars come down, chances are, the ceiling will stay intact. There’s a lot of support structure going into the walls to strengthen the whole mess. The hospital is in a naturally stable location, as Benedict left a large vein of bedrock intact nearby to keep the ceiling sound. After that, he places people by his perception of their value.”

“You’re rich and have useful magic, so you live in one of the most stable locations?” I guessed.

“Precisely. He doesn’t want to test his luck. He has a lot of sway here, but his position in the other quadrants isn’t nearly as established. He is moderately wealthy elsewhere, but that moderate wealth there makes him a king here. He understands if he doesn’t open more of Asylum up, he might have rioting on his hands as the storms grow to be more dangerous. His plan to bring in uncontested courtesans accomplishes several things.”

It did? I waited, wondering what point Sandro danced around.

“He’s paid a portion of the registration fees for any uncontested courtesans who move into Asylum, and he’s also paid a percentage of the auction fees. He is also one of those who think it is a good idea to introduce foxes to bloodlines for genetic diversity. Because his parents were a witch and a mage, he feels he’s developed access to both types of magic because of his genetic diversity. But others are, as you say, prejudiced against scavengers and jealous of your ability to cross the boundary without issue. I’m a little jealous of your ability to cross the boundaries without issue.”

“Without issue is a stretch.”

“How so?”

“It sometimes makes me want to throw up,” I confessed. “I rarely do, but I’m usually a little under the weather after crossing.”

If he found out the boundary was my playground despite the less-than-ideal queasiness I sometimes faced, he’d be more than jealous.

I liked the boundary even when it upset my stomach. The magic sometimes swirled in the air, creating curtaining bands of color and light in the darkness. On a good day, I could use any magic I wanted. On a bad day, magic behaved worse than an untrained puppy excited to be off its leash.

“Ah. Yes, I have similar problems crossing the boundary, plus I am often fatigued. I usually take the train so I can sleep through it when possible, although I can function as needed. I’m often exhausted for several days after crossing, too. My limit in the boundary is about a week.”

“What happens after a week?”

“Someone better be dragging me out, as I’m probably either incoherent or unconscious. Part of becoming a quadrant master involves testing all of the boundaries.”

While I counted as one, I’d never taken the official qualification tests for it, which put Sandro out of my league—until somebody found out I had the important trait, the ability to control my magic in all quadrants without difficulty.

Some struggled to control their magic in their home quadrant.

“I’ll keep that in mind. I’m not spoon feeding you if you get stuck in the boundary being an idiot, though. You could talk me into dragging you into the nearest quadrant and kicking you until you get up, though.”

“I will do my best to avoid needing to be spoon fed.”

“Thanks. I’ll try to do better at that, too.”

“You had a feeding tube, which did not look comfortable, and I am grateful you remained sedated through that. I’m more grateful you were released from the hospital, as it means I can start looking into getting you out of the Alley for better treatment. I’m thinking I’ll take you to the West. There are a lot of good doctors there, and I can find out if you were treated well here—and if you weren’t, they’ll be able to deal with it.”

“The East is better for infections and general medicine,” I replied.