The Fox's God Read Online Free

Akakiba’s back. The closeness wasn’t unwelcome, but it would have been more endearing if its ulterior motive wasn’t so obvious.
    “I won’t shift and sneak away in the night,” he said irritably. “You don’t have to hold me down.” He wasn’t a complete idiot. His shifting powers were waning, grown unreliable. He shouldn’t risk one more shift, because he might never be able to shift back to human afterwards. He knew all that. But he’d never gone so long without shifting and it gnawed at him like a terrible hunger.
    “That’s not it. I’m still cold. The water was frigid.”
    Oh. He hadn’t considered the fact a dip in water in cold weather could be dangerous. Just because it didn’t seem dangerously cold to him, didn’t mean a human would be fine. Tugging his blanket free, he flicked it over Yuki. Then he reached back to capture a human hand and pulled it between his to judge its temperature.
    “I said I was cold, not that I was dying,” Yuki said wryly. “Take back your blanket.”
    “I’m fine.” He didn’t release the captured hand, tucking it against his chest. “Go to sleep.”
    He waited longer than necessary, listening to Yuki’s breathing long after it had evened out into slumber. It was time to try the backup plan.
    Bracing himself, Akakiba pushed outward. He expected resistance or pain, but got neither. One moment he was inside his body, the next he was outside of it. Ah ha! His shapeshifting powers might be dying, but he could still use this trick. Most interestingly, the charm around his neck didn’t keep spirits in, only out. The charm would have to come off when he came back.
    He misted away hoping Yuki wouldn’t notice a thing.
    He didn’t feel anything that might be called a pull, but that was likely because he was vastly less experienced in non-flesh-ness than Sanae was. Lingering in this state might be a bad idea. What if it weakened him further? The thought was unpleasant, but not enough to turn him back.
    The little girl was easy to find, her house the only one standing apart from the village. The house’s large size would normally have been a sign of prosperity, but the entire structure leaned sideways and the roof sagged as if about to collapse.
    Inside this dubious shelter, the girl was awake and building up a fire. She also seemed to be talking to herself. “I’m not scared of the monk, but I don’t like him. What if he comes to attack us? You have to stay away from him, Mother. I mean it!”
    Was she talking to her dead mother? There was absolutely nobody else in the house.
    Something stirred.
    Akakiba learned several things in quick order. One: he was not the only spiritual being in the room. Two: he was not the bigger one. Three: being bitten non-physically hurt .
    Akakiba bit back, tasting…nothing. No blood, no flesh. But he was holding something in his “teeth” nonetheless. Odd.
    The bigger spirit shook him. For the first time in his life he knew what it was like to be a rabbit in a predator’s jaws. Ow. He couldn’t take this demon down, not in this form, but if he fled the child would be defenseless. Could he lure it away? Could he—
    The child in question squinted at him, looking alarmed. “What is that? Kill it, Mother!”

Chapter Two
    Sanae
    T oshishiro was always easy to find since he never left the temple’s grounds. On the spirit side, his soul spark shined so much brighter than the other monks’ that identifying him was as easy as finding the moon in a starry sky. Today, however, his spark was partially obscured by an equally strong one. A familiar one, too.
    Sanae popped in. What are you doing here, Domi? Is there trouble?
    “Nothing to concern you,” Domi said.
    Did Marin do something?
    Domi sighed into his teacup. That was clearly a “yes.”
    “The lady is causing some small mischief in town,” Toshishiro said. “She plays at gambling.”
    “She cheats,” Domi corrected glumly. “She’s so happy with her ill-gotten gains she