“He’s a little young for this place,” says his friend, who’s missing his right hand. The rest of him looks like he must have lost it in a bar fight.
“Pretty too.” The first guy fingers my cloak. “What’s up with the dress?”
I pull the fabric back, close my eyes, and make what I hope is my last wish. “I wish I was outside, behind this building, not in the street, not underwater, hidden so I can’t be seen.”
An instant later, I’m in a garbage Dumpster. The cloak has a sick sense of humor, but no one will see me. I’m covered in French fries, and when I stand, a half-empty beer bottle falls, spilling its contents over me. I peer out.
I blink in the sunlight. No one there.
No one except a red fox who’s eating what looks like a plate of fish and chips. Disturbed by my movement, he peers up at me, two white-green eyes over a shiny black nose. Still holding a slab of fish between two black paws, he curls his lip and growls.
“Excuse me,” I say.
Nothing.
“Mr. Fox, I need to talk to you.”
The fox lifts the fish into his white-rimmed mouth and runs.
“Hey, wait! No! Mr. Fox!” I see his fluffy tail disappearing between some bushes, so I try to climb out of the Dumpster. But the sides are slippery with grease and beer and whatever else people throw in bar Dumpsters. What was the fox’s name?
“Todd!”
Nothing. The fox left his plate of fish. It looks warm and golden brown with tartar sauce on one side, ketchup on the other. Someone left it for the fox. He’ll be back. I settle into the Dumpster. It couldn’t smell any nastier than I do. While I wait, I decide to review what I’ve learned today.
When traveling by magic cloak, specificity is key. You tell it where you want to go and:
Not underwater
Not anyplace crowded
No place dangerous
Not the middle of the street
Not a biker bar with dudes who want to kill you or date you
I start to close my eyes. It’s been a rough day.
A voice jolts me awake. “Excuse me?”
“Huh?” I shift, causing three beer bottles to fall on me. Don’t these people recycle?
“Did you call for Todd?”
The fox. I stare. I’ve never been so close to a wild animal, a talking wild animal. Could he have rabies? No. No foam at the mouth. He’s cute, actually, with white fluff on his chest. “Are you him?” I adjust the earbuds, which are still in my ears.
“Depends who’s asking.”
“I’m Johnny. Cornelius sent me.” At his puzzled expression, I add, “The rat.”
And though it doesn’t seem possible, the fox grins slowly, showing sharp white teeth.
“Then I’m Todd.”
Chapter 17
I stay put to tell my story. It’s safer, particularly considering I’m sitting here, having a conversation with a woodland creature. I may never get used to that.
I show the fox the photo of the frog and tell him he was last seen on his way to the Underwater Hotel. “Have you seen him?”
The fox nods.
“You have?”
“And I know where he went too.”
I wait, expecting him to continue. But he only stares at me, his small intelligent eyes searching my face. When the silence has stretched to a minute, I say, “So are you going to tell me?”
The fox starts like he’s heard a thunderclap. But finally, he says, “I was just trying to decide.”
“Decide what?”
“Whether to tell you.”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
“The life of a used-to-be is hard. We were born human, but as animals, our existence is perilous. Anytime, we may be shot at by poachers, hit by cars, attacked by dogs, or hunted for sport. We have to decide who to trust.”
“Everyone trusts me.”
“Who’s everyone?”
I think. Meg trusts me, but that’s not a good example, because I lied to her. Mom trusts me, but she’s my mother.
Finally, I say, “Well, there’s the princess.”
“Princess?” The fox frowns as much as a fox can frown. “This is America, kid. I may be a fox, but I’m not stupid. I know there are no princesses here.”
“She’s not from America. She’s from Aloria, and she’s . . .” I stop, picturing Victoriana’s incredible hotness. She’s the answer to all my problems, I want to say, but instead, I say, “She’s in trouble. She needs someone to help her, and out of all the people she could have asked, she chose me. She thought I was . . .” Okay, this is embarrassing to say. “. . . a good boy.”
“And why would she think that?”
“Because I work really hard to help support my mom and me. We have a shoe repair shop.”
“Shoe repair?” The fox twitches his tail.
“Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but that’s what my family does, what I probably will do the rest of my life. See, my father walked out on us when I was a kid.”
“That’s tough.” The fox’s whiskers move up and down. “I’ve met many fatherless foxes. Usually, both parents care for the kits, but sometimes, the father is killed, and it’s hard for the kits to learn to hunt.”
I nod sympathetically. “Yeah, it’s been hard for me too. Not the hunting part, but other stuff. But the princess says if I can help her find the frog, she’ll marry me.”
The fox looks up at me. “Do you want to marry the princess, Johnny?”
“Sure. Who wouldn’t? I want money, money to go to school and start my own business and take care of Mom. If I have to marry the princess, I’ll marry the princess. Besides . . .”
“Besides, what?”
“She’s beautiful.”
The fox nods. “Yes, beauty always helps. I had a beautiful wife myself.” He’s silent a moment. I let him think. Finally, he says, “All right. I’ll give you a chance.”
“You’ll help me?”
“I said I’d give you a chance. But before I can help you, you must pass a test.”
“What kind of test?”
“You have to prove you’re worthy. The first thing you have to do is go to the inn behind this Dumpster and spend the night.”
I remember the bar with the scary-looking dudes who wanted to make me their woman. I don’t know if I’d be welcomed back, especially covered in garbage. But I don’t have a choice. “Sure.”
“But don’t think you can fool me. There are two hotels near here. One is a nice bed-and-breakfast, clean and comfortable. The other is the motel you’ve seen. You must spend the whole night in the less-welcoming motel to succeed.”
“Got it.”
“Then come back tomorrow, and I’ll give you the information you need.”
“Okay.” I wait for him to tell me something else. He just sits there. Finally, he says, “Go.”
“Oh.” I gather my cloak and leave.
I walk around the side of the building until I see the door. It’s ten and the sun is high in the sky, making the motel look even shabbier than it did earlier. There are motorcycles outside and a few junker cars, one of which has someone asleep in the passenger seat. Sleep. I wouldn’t mind some of that myself. Maybe I could check in early. My eyes are already blurry with the thought of it after my long night.