Julio threw down his cards with disgust. "I can't believe this." he exclaimed. "I was warned about gambling with the kitsune, and I did it anyway." He frowned at the smiling kitsune, now in her natural form, sitting opposite from him. "Maybe you guys should take over the world."
Keiko laughed. "Too much work. Don't be so down. It's not the end of the world." she smiled. "They might not even need us."
"How are you going to do that, anyway?"
"Well" Keiko began. "First we make you small enough so they won't see you. Then we put you on my body, so that your aura gets covered over by mine."
Julio snorted. "Just the fact that we're physically close won't conceal my aura."
Keiko gave another of her maddening smiles. "It will if we share blood. The auras will blend, and I'll seem just like an unusual kitsune."
"'Share blood?' what are you talking about?"
Keiko's hands were already moving to work her kitsune magic. Julio felt himself shrinking. His arms turned to legs, and another pair grew from his abdomen. The arrangement of his mouth changed, losing his teeth and along with them the ability to swallow solid food. His very bones disappeared as his new, tiny body was held together by a hard carapace.
Keiko picked up the insect sitting on the table and held him up to the soft place behind her ear, where the blood ran close to the surface. She grimaced slightly.
Great, Julio thought, I'm a tick. Then he abandoned himself to the feeling of the warm blood nourishing him.
++++++
Alexandra slowly returned to consciousness to find herself in Erica's strong and supportive arms. "Hey, glad to see you back." whispered the angel.
"Tamthis." Alexandra muttered. "Tamthis did this to Karther? Tamthis killed him?"
"I don't know, but that's what it looks like."
"I know, as an angel, you try to save people rather than killing them. But at the end of this, will Tamthis's personality be as gone as Karther's? Will Tamthis be replaced by whoever she was, he was, before all this started?"
"I don't know, I think so." Erica answered.
"I hope so." Alexandra replied. "Or I'll kill her myself. I'm not an angel." Tears were running down Alexandra's face. They were the only tears that would ever be shed for Karther.
+++++++
Kyriel meditated in a corner of the palace, preparing herself for the battle of her young life, drawing on the memories of Tabra and Janice. The Shaykh looked over her.
"The King will see you now." the fox servant announced. Kyriel sprang up, and Abu Isa took a deep breath. Once the battle began, survival would have to be the first thing on his mind.