Eleven

Kuro

As distracted as he was, Kuro still closed his arms under Joe's rump to support him even while his partner got in his face. Irritated, Kuro stared into Joe's eyes as the gumiho stared into his.

In the moment of stillness between them, a red haze at the edges of Kuro's vision faded. Realization spread through his body like chills, originating from his chest and radiating outward. He'd been hunting and he hadn't been aware of it.

That was bad.

Like Joe, Kuro preferred to feed from the kind of people who did terrible things to their fellow human beings. In contrast to Joe, Kuro's mode of hunting was different. He didn't have a yeowoo guseul, a fox bead, to place inside his prey and absorb their life essence. Instead, he drew sustenance through touch, a specific type of touch.

It meant he had to be careful and in control when he was attracted to someone. And he was very attracted to Marie.

"I'm good," he murmured to Joe.

The gumiho sneezed in his face. Obviously, his partner had opinions about the truth of that statement. Regardless, Kuro was aware now and he wasn't going to inadvertently do something they'd all regret.

Marie was stealing quick glances at them as she bustled over the stove. She was aware something was going on, obviously, but she was willing to give them space to handle it. Or she was still wary of them.

Kuro didn't want her to feel unsafe. This was her den, her home. As he considered what he could say or do to ease the tension in the room, Joe hopped out of his arms. His partner trotted over to Marie and wound himself around her ankles the way a cat would.

"If I drop hot broth on you, it'll be your own fault," she warned. But her voice was steady and there was a touch of humor in it. "Do both of you like leafy greens and tofu? I've got some soy eggs already made, and some mushrooms, too."

Joe sat and tilted his head to meet her gaze, barking once to signal his affirmative. She gave him a small smile and looked to Kuro.

Kuro had remained in the living area. Keeping some distance between him and her was probably more prudent. At least, until he'd had a chance to go on a proper hunt. As it was, he could enjoy the look she had on her face as her gaze took him in from head to toe and back up again. It was dark in this part of the room, and he guessed she saw a lean shadow silhouetted against the plants lining her windows and the bright cityscape beyond.

If Joe was picture-perfect, Kuro knew he could come across with the kind of bad-boy vibes some people were drawn to. He and Joe had learned to play to their strengths over the years. But neither of them was trying to manipulate Marie.

"Yes, we'd both enjoy that," Kuro said after giving her a little more time to appreciate him.

Joe sneezed again and began grooming his tails.

Marie turned back to the counter, assembling their ramen in separate bowls. "Great. Hopefully Ashke will be back by the time we're finished eating. You two weren't far from my place."

She carried two bowls over to Kuro, placing them both on the small table next to her couch. It smelled delicious, actually. Instant ramen was always a solid choice. He and Joe ate it all the time, in between real feedings. Human food was enjoyable, even if it wasn't real sustenance for either of them. But Marie had leveled up the ramen with an appetizing arrangement of all the add-ons she'd mentioned. The soy eggs were even the soft-boiled kind, split in half to reveal the jammy yolks.

"After we talk to Ashke," Marie was saying, placing a pair of chopsticks next to both bowls, even though Joe probably wouldn't use them. She was treating them both as guests, regardless of form. "I think we should do our best to get some sleep. Everything else is going to have to wait a few hours."

"You make it sound like ‘everything' is a lot." Kuro took a seat, giving Joe enough room to hop up next to the nearest bowl.

Marie returned from the counter, having retrieved a third bowl for herself and was already neatly slurping noodles. "Mmm. Well, yes. First, there's both of you. We've no idea if or when this situation will resolve. Then there's the dead man we encountered yesterday. In addition to him, there are more things I need to investigate inside Socrates Industries, and I've got designs to complete for the job I'm contracted to do for the company."

"Well, when you put it that way." Kuro lifted his own bowl and started in on the ramen. It wouldn't make her any safer from him, but he still wanted to taste the food she'd prepared for them.

Joe was sitting next to him, eating straight from the bowl.

"Were you expected to go back today?" Kuro asked. She was a good cook, he decided. The added vegetables and egg served to enhance the salty goodness of the ramen, adding texture and contrast in flavor. The jammy soy eggs added a richness that was luxurious on the palate.

"No. Not right away," Marie answered. Then she tipped the edge of the bowl to her lips and sipped the broth.

Kuro smiled. She'd given them spoons, but he thought her choice was expedient since she was standing and holding her bowl in one hand, chopsticks in the other. Why juggle chopsticks and a spoon when she could sip from her bowl directly? It was a casual, comfortable sort of thing. It gave him, and probably Joe too, a feeling that she wasn't treating them with any kind of formality. This made the shared meal feel…close.

"I always take a couple of days to come up with proposed garden designs," Marie was saying. "But I want to get back there as soon as possible, to find out more about—"

"Our dead man," Kuro finished for her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you think you've got more important things to be worrying about?"

Kuro considered her for a moment. She didn't need him or Joe. In fact, she was helping them. She was competent, intelligent, and had the resources to back her up if she encountered anything beyond what she could handle individually. Anyone proposing to be with her in any capacity would need to convince her they had value to add.

"I think it would benefit all of us to work together," Kuro replied. "You don't need us, but we bring skills to the table that will get you answers faster. Your consortium is spread thin, otherwise your other colleague would be here too, not just the fae. Besides, I hear werewolves are overbearing."

He needed to sell her on the benefits they could offer her.

"You need my help, don't you?" she asked softly.

Kuro frowned. Joe growled. When she put it that way, it really rankled.

"We don't accept pity," Kuro ground out. He kept his attention fixed on Joe, not wanting to see the emotion in her eyes.

She didn't deny it had occurred to her. At least she wasn't a liar. "You need a witch to counter a witch. If not me, you'd have to go find someone else."

The practicality in her tone eased his tight chest.

"The pain witch who confronted me said this was a warning, an added challenge while we're carrying out our task." Kuro couldn't keep his mouth from twisting into a sneer.

"A warning from who? Is there a witch coven involved with Socrates Industries?" Marie asked.

Kuro lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "We freelance, and our primary contracts come from Babel. Since the last contract we were involved in didn't go well…"

"Ahh." Marie gathered up the empty bowls, placing them in her sink. "So this is a punishment?"

"More like an added roadblock as we work on the current contract," Kuro clarified, struggling to express his theory. "Babel believes in chaos. I don't think whatever spell was cast is an attempt to permanently harm either of us."

"It's like making you play the game in hard mode." Marie sounded incredulous.

Kuro nodded. He wasn't sure how to put it, but that sounded about right.

Marie's head shot up and she looked out the window. A second later, the window opened on its own, and Ashke flew back inside. Kuro wondered whether it had been Marie's magic or the fae that had opened it. He didn't know enough about Marie's magic to know what she was capable of.

"Well, your boys are well and truly hexed," Ashke said, flying straight to Marie.

Joe flicked all nine tails, sitting up straight with his ears pinned back. The gumiho's posture indicated he was a mix of indignant and irritated. Kuro figured that was a match for what he was feeling. It's not like they couldn't have figured out they'd been hexed.

"I hope you've got more information to share than that," Kuro said. He kept his tone flat and deliberately refrained from any insults. A fae was still a fae, after all.

Ashke did a flip in the air, grinning at Kuro. "In fact, I do. Ask me if I'll share, fox boy."

Kuro swallowed multiple retorts, remembering the fae's earlier interactions with Marie. This one liked to bait people.

"Ashke." Marie sounded tired. Surely even the fae could hear it. "Please."

Ashke did seem to settle some. "There was residual magic on the rooftop for sure. And more on the street near Haven House, as you thought there might be. I can't tell you exactly what was cast but I can tell you blood sacrifice was a part of the casting. The sacrifice and spell were done someplace else and the hex was carried into downtown to be cast onto the targets."

"Designed specifically for them?" Marie asked.

"Probably," Ashke replied. "The magic did have a feel to it, not the same, but like different components of the same cologne. I can sense the full spell here with the two of them, but when I went out to investigate, only parts of the spell were present in each of the locations."

"So any reversal has to be for both of them, not one then the other." Marie said the words out loud, but her eyes had taken on an unfocused look, like she wasn't speaking to Ashke anymore.

Ashke flew closer to Kuro. "There she goes. Problem-solving mode."

Kuro shot a sideways glance at the fae, then looked back at Marie. She was looking pale, and there were shadows under her eyes.

"You mentioned wanting to sleep on the info this guy would have." Kuro jerked his head sideways to indicate Ashke.

"Do you have anything else you can share, Ashke?" Marie asked.

Ashke laughed again, the sound of it musical and mellow. "Now, if you had asked if I had anything else I could share or might share, I could have had more fun leaving some surprises for later. What I can share is slightly more specific. You're so good at that."

Kuro wouldn't have thought about carefully wording a question that way. But then, he and Joe mostly avoided dealing with fae whenever possible. It was tricky in the best of times. He got the impression the only reason the careful wording was being received so well was because the fae liked the witch, to whatever extent fae could like mortals.

Marie only politely waited, a pleasant and even sweet expression on her face.

"Careful, fox boys," Ashke whispered loudly. "This is one of her most dangerous expressions."

Kuro decided not to add to the commentary. He thought the fae was telling the truth, and he wanted Marie's potential ire to be directed at the winged man floating next to him.

Finally, Ashke flew in a circle above all their heads. "Night and day, day and night. We've already witnessed the effects of the hex. Makes it very hard to work together, if it's just the two of them, doesn't it?"

The fae zipped back out the window without another word, just the sound of his laughter echoing in the room.

Marie sighed. "He just had to be dramatic about it. I told him I didn't need drama."