11. Outfoxed
1494 Words
11
Outfoxed
Knock, knock, knock.
Jacob rolled over in bed and looked out the window. Moonlight poured in, but there was no Emilia outside.
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound came from behind him. From his bedroom door. Jacob glanced at the clock. 1:30 a.m. Everyone should be in bed by now.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was louder this time, more insistent. Jacob threw off his green comforter and went to the door.
Dexter leaned against the doorframe, looking perfectly well dressed, even in pajamas.
“Dexter?” Jacob asked, still feeling stupid from sleep.
“Sorry to wake you, Jacob, but I’m afraid this couldn’t wait.” Dexter shouldered past Jacob into the room. Jacob’s door closed without him touching it. “First off, I want to apologize. I haven’t been as welcoming to you as I should. Emilia means everything to me. She’s why I’m here. I want to be with her.”
“Right,” Jacob said, not really sure how to respond. I’m here because I want to be with her, too didn’t seem like the best choice.
“You’re important to her. She was a wreck when she left you. I even bought her that stupid cat the professor is so in love with to cheer her up. But nothing worked. She always missed you. Now you’re here, and she is the happiest I’ve ever seen her.”
Jacob nodded.
“We both care about her. So why should we fight when all we want is what’s best for Emilia?” Dexter held out a hand. “Welcome to the Mansion House.”
“Thanks.”
They shook, and Dexter smiled. “Good, down to business. We have a tradition here at the Mansion House. An initiation of sorts. Emilia doesn’t want you to do it. She’s too worried about you, thinks you can’t do it. But Connor, Claire, and I have all agreed you’re ready.” Dexter pulled a pink piece of paper from his pajama pocket. “Claire made this up for you. She was going to be the one to tell you about it. But since I wanted to apologize, I thought I should do it instead.”
“What is this initiation?” He took the piece of paper from Dexter. It was a typed list of spells.
“Simple. Go into the woods, catch a moon fox, and put it in this.” Dexter waved his hand, and a silver cage appeared at Jacob’s feet. “Bring it to breakfast tomorrow. The list of spells contains helpful suggestions, in case you need a few ideas.”
“Moon fox?” Jacob eyed the cage.
“They really are harmless. I would say you could talk to Emilia about it tomorrow. But tonight is the last night of the full moon, and that’s the only time the moon fox comes out.”
“Right.” Jacob had read about things that only came out during the full moon.
“It’s easy. Claire did it when she got here, and she was only seven. If you don’t think you’re up to it, that’s fine.” With another wave of Dexter’s hand the cage disappeared. “I just thought you might want to show off a bit after all your work.”
A war raged in Jacob’s mind as he studied Dexter’s calm face. Dexter was trying to be nice, so he should go. Dexter was never nice, so he shouldn’t trust him.
“Emilia will be happy you didn’t go,” Dexter said. “I’ll say goodnight.”
Dexter walked past Jacob and had his hand on the door before Jacob stopped him.
“So, how do I find this moon fox?”
Dexter smiled.
Twenty minutes later, Jacob was trudging through the woods, alone and slightly cold. “Inluesco.” He held the orb of light out in front of him, trying to pick his way carefully through the trees. He was off the path now, far beyond his little tree. When the house was no longer in sight, he extinguished the light in his hand and waited in the dark.
He stood still, peering into the night. The cold of the ground numbed his feet. He clenched his fists. If Dexter had sent him out here for nothing…
Then he saw it. A light hovering through the trees. Jacob stalked forward slowly, easing his feet onto the ground, careful to make no noise.
Floating not twelve feet in front of him was a silver fox. The animal glowed the soft white of the full moon and glided through the air like a ghost.
Jacob took another step forward. A twig snapped under his foot.
The fox spun around, growling.
Jacob fumbled for the pink paper, drawing his wand.
“Inluminaquio,” he read in the silver glow. Instantly, a light shone down on Jacob. A light so bright he could barely see the fox. But the growling moved toward him.
He shielded his eyes and tried to read the next spell. “Procellita.” The wind whipped around him. Leaves and dirt pelted his face, but through it all gleamed the shining white teeth of the moon fox coming closer.
Jacob cursed and took off, darting through the trees. The bright beam followed like a searchlight emanating from the sky itself. He ran like a fugitive, the wind and branches ripping his clothes. He tried to find a spell on the list that could stop all of this, but before he could read anything, the wind grabbed the pink paper and yanked it away. A growling close to his ear pushed him to run even faster.
His mind raced, fumbling for words. A spell, any spell. “Crevexo!” he shouted, aiming his wand behind him. The ground shook beneath his feet, but the growling came closer.
“Viperelos!” Something hard and damp coiled around his ankle. He fell face first into the dirt as a tree root snaked around his leg.
“Mesalvo!” he screamed, trying to free himself. But nothing happened. In front of him, the fox glowed brightly, only inches away, baring its teeth.
“Perago canticum!” a voice called from behind him.
The wind stopped, the light went out, and a red fox fell to the ground with a whimper and ran away.
“Jacob.” Emilia ran toward him. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Jacob gasped for air.
“What the hell are you doing out here?” She knelt by his trapped ankle. “Everto.”
The root snapped, and Jacob flexed his ankle, trying to get blood back into his foot. “You don’t know?”
“I was asleep until that crazy light woke me up. Why were you trying to capture moonlight?” She pulled Jacob to his feet.
“To catch a moon fox,” a voice answered from behind them. Dexter walked out through the trees, smiling.
Emilia cast a death glare at Dexter, and for the first time, Jacob was glad she wasn’t looking at him.
“Moon fox, Dex? There is no such thing as a moon fox,” she snarled.
“I know that. It was just a silly prank. We were bonding, right?” Dexter’s smile faltered.
“Bonding in the middle of the night? Were you watching the whole time? Did you see the spell he was trying to use? And you.” She rounded on Jacob, who suddenly missed the growling fox. “Why would you come out here looking for a moon fox? Were you going to try and find a leprechaun, too? I’ve heard Aunt Iz wants to keep them in the yard now. And don’t forget the dragon in the garage. Claire really loves her new pet! And where on earth did you get those spells? Do you have any idea how dangerous a maelstrom spell can be?”
“I got them off the paper―” Jacob glanced at Dexter, whose face paled in the moonlight. Claire had nothing to do with that paper.
“Em,” Dexter murmured.
“Just go,” Emilia said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Jacob waited for Dexter to argue, but he turned and walked away.
Emilia stayed silent until Dexter disappeared from view. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
“I’m fine,” Jacob said. “I’ll know better than to listen to him again.”
Emilia started walking down the path, leaving space for Jacob to walk beside her. “The thing is, after Fairfield, I sort of fell apart. He was there for me. He might not be the easiest to deal with all the time, but he loves me, Jacob.” She shook her head. Her hair floated down and covered her face.
Jacob wanted to push the hair away. To tell her he loved her. That he would be there for her always.
She stopped and looked into Jacob’s eyes. “And I love him. Even if he is a jerk sometimes. Even if I may have to murder him tomorrow. I’m sorry about all of this. I’ll make sure he stops. He won’t bother you again.”
Pain cracked in Jacob’s chest as though his heart had been ripped out. She loved him. She had just said it. Emilia loved Dexter.
“Emilia?” a voice whispered from the back door.
“Great,” Emilia murmured.
They jogged up to the veranda doors where Claire waited in her pink pajamas.
“What are you doing out here?” Claire asked, smirking as she glanced from Emilia to Jacob. “I woke up, and there was a weird light, so I went to your room and you were gone.”
“Did you wake anyone else up?” Emilia asked.
“No,” Claire answered defensively. “I came to see what the fun was.”
“Don’t worry about it, Claire,” Jacob said as he slipped inside. “I was just out hunting.”
- Writer
