Vulpine Summer

Fox very quickly found himself stumped. Getting to the Granite Tower had been pretty easy. Now he wasn’t needing to be so uptight about being seen, he followed the hundreds of signs pointing towards the massive Tower looming in the distance. He didn’t pay much attention to the growing size of the buildings, the grandeur they adopted or the obvious money poured into them. He could only think about Dupont slipping though his fingers and dying before he got to her. It made his heart tighten at the thought and his body cold, despite the heat. He couldn’t let her die. He wouldn’t. He’d snatch her from the Tower, by himself if he had to, and take her far, far away. Maybe back to Emprise du Soliel. She’d be safe there. Safe from this fatal mess.

But he was forced to pay attention to reality when he found himself close to the Tower and realised he had no idea how he was going to get in there. The Granite Tower itself was huge. It crawled up so high in the sky it darkened everything around it. The fort it grew out from and the gated section were intimidating. Armed guards stood before wrought iron gates, opening and closing it only for cars or pedestrians flashing a card to say they had access. The Wizards’ town was well guarded and he had a feeling it was because Dupont was in there. They weren’t going to risk her escape.

Fox paused to pop into a shop and snatched up a newspaper, glad Badger had given him some kind of coinage to use here as his own was useless. He sat on one of the many benches lining the street, the line broken only by the occasional tree or lamp, and opened the newspaper. He didn’t read it, he just watched, glancing up at the guards and the people coming and going from the Tower.

He formulated a plan pretty quickly. It was easy to realise he had to have one of those passes. The guards weren’t rotating regularly and only one at a time so he couldn’t take advantage of the distraction and slip by. He’d then be stumped by the locked gates and he doubted there was any other way to get in. The pass was clearly the only way to get by.

Fox watched carefully, waiting for the right victim to leave the compound. Most drove and those who were on foot tucked the pass into purses or bags, places difficult for him to steal from. He was rubbing his neck dry of sweat, not enjoying the summer sun at all, when he finally spotted a mark. An elderly man just hobbled out of the Tower and tucked the pass into his coat pocket. That was exactly what Fox was waiting for.

Just as the man hobbled by, Fox tucked the newspaper under his arm and set to work. He followed a few metres before the opportunity arose. Just the elderly man turned the corner, Fox dove in, lifted the pass and turned around. He didn’t glance about to see if anyone had spotted him, it would make him more suspicious, but no one called out ‘thief’, so he guessed he was safe.

He made his way slowly back towards the gates, keeping close to the huge stone wall, and glanced over the pass and very quickly realised this wasn’t going to work. The pass was laminated with the owner’s grey-scale photo printed onto to it, along-side his birthdate and full name. There was no way he could fool the guards into thinking he was a seventy-four year old man.

He stopped abruptly beneath a looming tree, it shade not cooling the air around it. Fox was stumped. His one idea didn’t work, at least, the one that would get him inside quickly. The next best thing was to disguise himself as a worker but, again, they would probably have visual identifications on them. He gritted his jaw. He wasn’t going to give up her. Dupont needed him.

Just as he stuffed the useless pass into his pocket, something laughed beside him. It wasn’t abnormal to hear Sprites in the cities, laughing randomly and out of sight, but Fox stopped all the same. It was a laugh he’d come to recognise.

‘Absolon?’ Fox hissed, glancing about for a sight of the stupid thing.

He jingled and popped into existence in front of him. Fox didn’t like how sad he looked, how dim his eyes were.

‘What are you doing out here?’ Fox asked. ‘Why aren’t you with Vic?’

Absolon whistled and held his belly, letting him see the whistles inside. Fox frowned.

‘She gave them to you?’

Absolon nodded in confirmation, making Fox swear heatedly. Why did she go and get rid of all her defences? She had no Absolon and no whistles to help her out. No wonder she was on the chopping block now! It irritated Fox, making him rub his face hard to keep himself focused and not think about how much he wanted to chew her out.

‘Absolon, I need to get into the Tower. I need to save Vic. Can you help me?’

Absolon perked up a little, sang then vanished again. Fox waited. He sat in the shade, hunkered down and fiddling with a small rock he’d found amongst the tree’s roots. He wasn’t quite sure what he was waiting for. It was unlikely Absolon could do much. He was a Sprite, simple minded and unable to talk, but Fox had to trust him. It was all he could think to do right now.

So he waited. And waited. And waited, growing increasingly ill-tempered with every minute. He kept thinking about what he should do if Absolon never turned up again, quietly cursing for trusting the buggered thing in the first place. And when he wasn’t thinking about either shouting at Absolon or punching Lithgow in his smarmy face, he would think about Dupont. She had to be locked up somewhere and he wasn’t sure she’d be comfortable either. She’d likely be scared and alone and trapped, facing her death with no one beside her. That made his irritation grow more irate. He’d crack his knuckles with impatience and ruffling his hair violently, trying to resist the urge to barrel for the gate and ultimately get himself arrested. He had to get her out. He couldn’t abandon her.

‘Fox?’

Fox glanced up and instantly froze. Absolon was there, floating about the had of Lithgow himself. He looked pale and exhausted.

‘What do you want?’ Fox hissed.

Lithgow sighed. ‘Come with me. Just keep quiet until we’re in my rooms.’

Fox’s instincts screamed that was a terrible idea. Being locked at the very top of that Tower with Dupont’s potential killer? But then Dupont came to mind and, for once, he ignored his gut and followed his emotions. Dupont needed him and Lithgow was the only person who could give him the information he needed.

So, Fox followed. He accepted Absolon into his arms, who sighed and fell asleep instantly, and trailed after Lithgow. They passed through security with ease, only gaining a couple of glares of suspicion from the guards, and swept straight through the Tower. Fox couldn’t help but gaze at everything he came across. The money behind everything, the rare paintings, the intricately carved banisters and stairs, the massive library he spied filled with priceless books. The level of wealth within the Tower alone was insane!

And everyone he saw reflected the wealth around him. Even the cleaners, receptionists and librarians probably earnt more than the middle-class. To work here as a non-magic user was an honour.

Lithgow took Fox straight to the top of the Tower and ushered him through a series of offices, up spiralling stairs and then pushed him into his apartments. The moment the door shut, Fox finally broke his vow of silence.

‘What the bloody hell do you think you’re playin’ at?’ Fox bellowed, his voice strained with rage. ‘You promised Dupont you’d get this mess sorted out and now she’s being shipped back to Lakeside to be shot?’

Lithgow scowled. ‘It did not go to plan, no.’

‘To plan? Dupont is going to die because she trusted you!’ Fox snarled as a stab of jealousy that she had trusted Lithgow more than Fox poured oil on the fire. ‘So, what happened? You sell her out? Hand her over? Didn’t believe her?’

‘No. I never sold her out. I believe her to the ends of the earth.’ Lithgow said tightly, clearly insulted. ‘But I’m afraid I’ve been made a bit powerless.’

‘Bullcrap.’ Fox snarled. ‘Dupont should never have trusted you or this goddamn Tower.’

‘Maybe not. She might’ve been safer to stay low with you.’ Lithgow said and sat heavily. ‘The Council has turned against me. Denver has dug her roots in deep.’

Fox wanted to blurt out more insults but he reined himself in. Dupont needed a thoughtful plan and he wasn’t going to get it by shutting Lithgow down.

‘How?’

‘Firstly, Denver had access to my apartments.’ He said tightly, reaching out to Absolon. He tapped his belly, letting the whistles shimmer inside. ‘Denver came here. She tried to take the whistles, I assume, so Esme sent Absolon away with them. It left her open.’ He sighed. ‘Her memories have been scrambled. Her new truth is that she killed her aunt.’

Fox felt his whole being turn cold. This was the one thing Esme feared. She’d told him time and time again that Denver planned to change her truth, it’s why she was turned into a fox, but Fox never really understood the scope of it. Not until recently, when he began to realise she was telling the truth.

‘So, because her truth had been changed and Denver has her claws in both my own Council and Cassandra’s, the trial was an absolute sham.. Any time I tried to evoke my political power, they shut me down, and Esme was setting herself up to be hung as she believes she deserved it. I couldn’t prove anything, no one would listen. They wouldn’t even test Esme’s truth with a Spirit! Nothing went right.’ Lithgow said tightly. ‘So, a girl who has about as much magic in her as a pebble, who’s Grimoire is filled with four very basic spells, is being hung for the murder of a murder which is blatantly impossible if anyone had the brain to pay attention to the evidence.’ He laughed grimly and looked up at Fox, his eyes enraged. ‘You know what reason Denver put in her head for Esme killing? Jealousy. That her aunt had more money than her, was more magically adept and more beautiful.’

Fox wasn’t sure why but hearing that just made him angrier. He felt outrage pouring through him, making him shake and balling his fists so tight they turned white. How dare they put such degrading thoughts in her head!

‘Bullcrap! She’s beautiful and smart and as bloody stubborn as a mule! I ain’t met anyone else like her!’ He bellowed incredulously. ‘She really believes this?’

‘Yes. She does. She’s a mess over it. She can’t eat or sleep. She hates herself.’

Hearing how much pain she was in just made Fox’s chest ache and his blood-boil. He had to find her. He needed to knock some sense into her. To hold her. Soothe away her pain.

‘I need to find her. I need to tell her it’s wrong. She’s not a killer!’

Lithgow glanced up, his eyes glittering with appreciation. ‘I know, which is why I want your help.’ He paused. ‘If you’ll trust me after this.’

Fox hesitated. Every bit of him was furious with Lithgow. Dupont was confused and her truth changed, all because Lithgow had failed her. She had foolishly trusted him and it led her being found guilty. He wasn’t sure following her footsteps was the best idea. But, so far, Fox hadn’t picked up any evil intent in Lithgow. Lithgow had been overwhelmed and outsmarted and his home had become a nest for vipers. But was that a ruse? Would trusting Lithgow save Dupont or kill her?

Fox glanced at Absolon. Dupont always put her trust in the thing and so far it had never gone wrong. ‘Sprite, what should I do? You know better than me.’

Absolon whistled and hummed before he sang softly and floated over to Lithgow, his eyes smiling as Lithgow caressed his belly. Fox scowled. He had to trust Lithgow then.

‘Fine. Just don’t make me regret this.’ He hissed. ‘And I’m doin’ this for Dupont, not because I trust you or anythin’. I ain’t lettin’ her die. Not with them thoughts in her head and not cause Denver needs a scapegoat.’

Lithgow smiled, his grey eyes wrinkling in relief. ‘Excellent. Now, my hands are tied but you are a thief, aren’t you?’

‘Yeah. It’s my job.’

‘And the Fingers are backing Esme?’

Fox eyes narrowed suspicious. ‘Yeah.’

Lithgow grinned with excitement. ‘Then I have a job for you and your colleagues, if you’re willing to take me to them.’

‘And what’s that?’

‘You are going to steal my niece from her prison within the Tower.’