Marcus sighed has tossed his stuff into the passenger seat. Looking back towards the townhome, he noticed a pair of eyes cautiously watching him from between the curtains on the third floor. It seemed his friend was eager to make sure he left.
"Is this what selling your soul feels like?" he quipped aloud.
"Pretty much," a voice other than his own responded.
It took him a moment to realize that it wasn't his conscience with a sarcastic sense of humor, but rather a fox in the back seat. If he hadn't been so tired, Marcus would have likely been startled.
"I locked the car," he pleaded with the vulpine, still unsure of her methods.
"Well yeah," Fiona replied, "and I unlocked it."
"What is it this time?"
"Friend of yours?" the vixen asked as she rolled down the window and waved to the onlooker.
Instantly the eyes vanished, no doubt scared of being made by one of Ixis' cunning henchmen.
"Yeah… or was I guess."
"Not a fan of your new employer I take it?"
"Something like that."
"Get used to it. As convenient of a name as it is to wield when you want something, it's equally inconvenient in anything that's vaguely social."
Not wanting to lose focus on a more pressing subject, Marcus veered the conversation back to his immediate concern.
"Why are you following me? Did Naugus put you up to it? His instructions weren't that complicated."
"What makes you think I had to follow you to find you? You're just as predictable as everyone else."
"You couldn't have possibly known I was coming here unless he told you."
"Why not?"
"Because all you know is my name."
As good as the fox was at her job, his parents hadn't been able to track him down, he didn't see how she could. Or they haven't bothered looking…
"Fan of Greek mythology?"
"I suppose. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Your game handle. Was there really other 116 other Spartans before you? And why did you feel so determined to be that unoriginal?"
How in the hell could she know my online id?
"Or maybe my birthday is on January 17th," the kid suggested, offended at the notion he was unoriginal.
The fox started laughing, "You realize you're making my point for me, right? You think I know nothing about you, yet you just give the information away for anyone to see online. There's only a few hundred thousand people born on any given day of the year. Narrow that down to a single country, the person's sex, and a first name, and well, now you're probably looking at less than 10 people."
Marcus was trying to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. The vixen had taken what amounted to scraps of information and began unraveling his life.
"I mean you lied thru your teeth on the job application," Fiona chuckled, "Mister Marcus Smith. Now that's unoriginal."
My application! he finally remembered. Marcus had applied to work at the Breaker, a hotel and restaurant owned and operated by Ixis. It made sense that the sly fox would have access to it. But nothing on there is accurate... No one in this city knows my real name.
"Of course no one ever lies about their residence if they want a paycheck to show up. Your friend, Ed, he's pretty talkative when he thinks a girl is on the other end of the phone. Didn't bat an eye at giving away your gamer handle. And no offense kid, you're too new at this to change your first name. I get it, it's hard to unlearn something that personal. Everyone would rather keep things simple. Isn't that right, Marcus, born January 17thone year before me?"
The kid nodded into the mirror.
"Bet your parents are looking for you."
"Maybe," he replied deciding there was no point to lying anymore. "But if they are it's not because they care about me."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Stick to what you're good at," Marcus barked back at her as he started the car. "Maybe you figured out where I live, who I really am, but that doesn't mean you know a damn thing about me."
"I certainly know what someone with your last name is worth."
The kid grimaced as he pulled out into the afternoon traffic. He was hoping Fiona hadn't figured out who he really was, but her last quip had disillusioned him of that notion.
"So what are you going to do now, kidnap me? Hold me for ransom?"
"You're making the mistake of thinking I care."
"Then why go thru all this work?"
"Curiosity mostly. That and I'm good at what I do."
"Remind me what is that you do again?" Marcus laughed as weaved his way onto the main drag.
"Find people's secrets."
"Is it safe to assume you told Ixis?"
"Why would I do that? He cares even less about whoever you are, just that you do whatever he says."
What's wrong with these people…?
"Is it safe to assume that you're going to find a way to torture me on a daily basis?"
There was no response, just a cunning smirk and wag of the fox's tail.
"Two can play it that way, you know?" he threatened her playfully.
He was in short supply of friends, and at the very least this fox was going out of her way to spend time with him. It's something, he comforted himself.
The devilish grin that the vulpine returned let him know she had accepted his challenge.
"Where to?" he asked not having anything better to do for the next hour.
"Library."
"The library?" he wanted to laugh. "They let you in there?"
"No one has told me otherwise."
"I can't imagine why."
The building was approaching a century old. It's stone bones majestically rose against its steel and concrete brethren in a triumphant protest. Marcus had wondered past it several times without bothering to venture inside. The fire lane, as he had learned from previous days was as good of a parking spot as any.
"What are you doing?" Fiona asked after he turned off the car, "I only needed a ride, not a chaperone."
"You didn't need a ride, you just like making me do things," the kid replied as he opened his door. "I've got a few minutes to kill, may as well check this place out."
"Don't let all the words intimidate you," the fox mocked him before bounding up the steps.
"I get it," he shouted back at her, "you don't want me following you."
Afterall, who would want anyone following them, let alone a mysterious Mobian. But that was his life now. Pocketing the keys, he strode gently up steps until he found himself inside the grand vestibule. The air was somehow warmer, stale even, but he didn't let it deter him. There were some answers he still needed after all.
A receptionist smiled at him warmly, "may I help you find anything?"
"Uhh," he hesitated, "I need to look something up."
"Of course, you can use one of our terminals, or if you like I can direct you based on the subject."
"Trying to find information on a Huli Jing."
"Of course, the Chinese Mythology section is on the third floor near the northwest corner of the building," the middle-aged woman replied as she scribbled some notes down on a notepad.
"So, you just know that, off hand?"
The thick wire rim glasses rose on her face to match the posture of her smile, "That's what I get for spending my life here I suppose. Here take this," she added ripping the sheet from her pad.
"Thanks," he replied before accepting the note. "This will be really helpful."
The further he traveled from the lobby, the quieter it got. Gone were his concerns of a coarse haired fox. Instead he was perfectly content by the not so insignificant challenge of navigating the unending rows of books.
"This place is massive," he whispered to himself.
His school's library had been impressive, but if he didn't know better people could live in here and no one would be any wiser to their presence.
The note had a few choice books scrawled out on them, the bulk of which were easy to find. Leaning against the old wooden shelves he flipped thru the first on the list. It was bursting with color and wild ornate drawings depicting all manner of creatures, familiar and unknown.
"Here we go," he yipped with delight as he landed on the page he had been looking for.
There was no shortage folklore to go along with the Huli Jing, ancient spirts believed to inhabit the body of nine-tailed foxes. They were, however, also capable of transforming into humans where they could seduce unknowing people with their beauty. To make things more interesting their lovers would often fall under a spell of sorts, binding their soul to the fox for all eternity. The Huli Jing, it seemed, were often feared as much as much as they were revered. Masters of disguise and capable of great mischief. Their ability to persuade and control those under their spell was unparalleled.
"That does sound like Fiona," he admitted before returning the book to its spot on the shelf.