Page 83 of Cursed By Fate

“You’re heading into the desert mountains, Maya. The only thing likely to wander through the portal is a scorpion or a lizard. I can handle either of those.”

I stepped through the portal and was immediately struck by the change in temperature. I’d forgotten how blistering hot Arizona could be. Evermore was hot and humid at times, but I couldn’t fry an egg on my windowsill.

It took a minute to get my bearings. It felt strange to be back here after so many years. Like visiting another life. At the time I fled, the southwest had been my designated zone for the Fates. The area was a literal hotbed of paranormal activity. I wasn’t sure what attracted so many of them, possibly the primordial climate.

My life may have changed in the past five years, but I had no doubt I’d find my old contact in the same area where I’d left her. Five years was nothing to her. It was a gamble coming to see her now, but the risk that Keith would do irreparable harm to the Neighbors was greater. Without knowing the origin of his ability, I couldn’t stop him. If I lost control of Evermore, then I was as good as dead anyway.

I trekked up the trail, scratching my bare ankle on thin, brittle branches. As expected, there was no one within shouting distance. The marker was in the same spot—the Japanese character for “bridge” was written in red paint on a heavy rock. The average person would write it off as graffiti.

I turned left at the stone and walked deeper into the sea of yellow desert flora. The sound of scattering dirt jumpstarted my pulse. I looked down as a rattlesnake slithered away. If he didn’t bother me, I had no interest in bothering him.

Up ahead, the bushes moved. I glimpsed a flash of white and red and picked up the pace. It had to be her.

I narrowed the gap between us. Eight white tails with red markings.

Only the rarest of kitsunes were white. Rarer still were those who’d accumulated eight tails. One more and she’ll have reached peak power and enlightenment.

“Reimu,” I shouted. “Wait!”

The kitsune grounded to a halt and turned to look at me. I gave my friendliest wave. If I’d had a white flag on me, I would’ve waved that instead. Reimu and I hadn’t parted on the best of terms. In fact, the last time I saw her⁠—

I didn’t want to think about the last time. I needed to focus on the here and now.

The kitsune morphed into her petite human form, although her shadow retained its foxlike outline. Her shadow was always true to her real form.

“I don’t believe it.” Reimu cocked her head, her black hair sliding like a silk sheet off the bed. “Aurelia? Is it truly you?”

I wasn’t about to reveal my chosen name. I needed her, but I didn’t fully trust her. The kitsune was an agent of the Fates. A messenger with a foot in both realms, tasked with delivering orders to furies like me.

“It is,” I said.

She approached me slowly. “Gods above and below, I thought you were dead.”

“Is that what they told you?”

“No.” The kitsune stopped a couple of inches from me and raised a hand to gently touch my face. “How?”

“I broke free.”

“Impossible.”

“Apparently not.”

“If you’re free, then why would you come here?” Reimu’s eyes flicked left to right. “Wait. The rocks have eyes and ears. Let’s talk in private. Follow me.”

She scampered across the desert landscape as though she knew the precise location of each and every pebble and cactus. She likely did.

I followed her to an unfamiliar cave. The entrance was the size of a basketball.

“You remember I can’t shift, right?”

“The size is an illusion to keep out unwanted visitors. You’ll fit.” She disappeared through the dark hole.

I stuck a foot across the threshold, then let the rest of my body follow. The inside wasn’t a cave at all. Like her previous hideout, this place straddled realms, allowing her to move between them with ease. A necessity for a messenger of her stature.

“Love the new digs,” I said. It was like stepping into the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles. I was surrounded by glass and gilded edges.

“Thanks. I got an upgrade with my last promotion. I’ve entered my Marie Antoinette phase. Everything is over the top, even the teaspoons.”