"Very well" said Jasmine. "We just have to tear the place apart, brick by brick. If there's no city he can't go into it."
Kyriel blinked in horror at the thought of the destruction Jasmine's plan would cause. "But, but. . ." she discovered that her new childlike nature made it harder to stand up to the "adult" angels, Jasmine in particular.
"We can't just chase him in there. A kitsune in a web of kitsune magic could evade us for weeks."
"No." A flat monosyllable from Tommy.
All heads turned to the male kitsune. Tommy continued. "This is my responsibility. This is my city. No one is going to destroy it. Not Tamthis, not you. I'll chase him in there myself."
++++++++++++
It seemed that the city itself was addressing Keiko and Akane. "Go back to Japan, or feel my wrath, little kitsune!"
The Japanese kitsune exchanged worried glances. Then they both smiled. "Ooh, feel his wrath" Keiko chuckled.
"He doesn't really have much of the kitsune spirit." Akane replied as both of them were busy unweaving Tamthis's city.
Suddenly the two kitsune felt a surge of power coming through the city, heading at them like a bolt of lightning. Crude, just hurling power at people was hardly the way of the trickster.
Rather than standing up to the bolt of raw magical power, the two kitsune altered themselves to absorb it, then used the power to carry themselves into the web of power Karther had woven. They were now in the same environment as Tamthis himself.
It's a good thing the kitsune are immortal, because they have a very poor sense of self-preservation.
+++++++++++
Alexandra had less to worry about than she thought. She was safe from Tamthis's direct wrath as long as she carried Kathy, because the directive to protect Tamthis's consort was still operating in his mind.
But Tamthis was not fully aware of his actions, and Alexandra found herself dodging building shards and displaced pottery as she made her way to the open courtyard and gardens of the palace, which she hoped would be a place of safety.
Another problem was that Kathy seemed to be regaining consciousness, and Alexandra had a feeling she wasn't going to be overwhelmingly grateful to her rescuer.
++++++++
"You?" Jasmine was incredulous. "You just regained self-identity. You think you can take on that thing?"
Kyriel worked up the energy to reply, trying to silence the small voice within her that kept calling Jasmine "mommy."
"He can." the child angel piped up. "Remember, it was his awakening that caused Tamthis to flee. Tamthis fears him, fears being reabsorbed, more than he fears us."
Lisa and Erica said nothing, but they rallied to the side of their child-like leader. Jasmine felt outnumbered, as indeed she was.
"Time is getting to be a problem here." Jasmine replied. "The djinn are cut off from me, and the djinn. . . are the djinn. And given the most common reaction of human governments to the shock of the new, we can expect a bombing run from the Saudis, the Israelis or the Americans in a few hours. Can you take care of this quickly?"
"Yes." Tommy replied.
"You have twenty minutes."
"Very well." The new kitsune king began to prepare himself for the final confrontation with Tamthis.
"Go then, in the name of Allah." Jasmine pronounced.
"God bless you, Tommy." Kyriel added, and she didn't sound like a child.
"God protect you." added Lisa.
"God be with you." from Erica.