一刀両断
ittouryoudan
“One stroke, two halves.”
~Japanese proverb
Kit
I see my past.
My future.
I'm in the present.
I’m sitting at the table holding a freshly baked sugar cookie, and all I keep thinking is, “I gave him my bead. It’s all I have left.”
Foxes have beads, what Horus’s eye means to him, my bead means to me.
“What?” Hope nudges me. “Are you okay? You keep saying bead over and over again, and listen, I’m not upset about arts and crafts, but it’s getting freaky when you start rocking back and forth.” She takes a huge sip of wine. As she sets the glass down, her eyes widen. “Oh wait, is this like a code word for something else? I see how you look at Horus; hell, everyone looks at him that way with his giant muscles and—” Alex kicks her under the table. “Babe, yours are way bigger, swear.”
Alex grunts and stares me down, then her. “Why do you keep saying bead?”
"Bead?” I repeat. “Um, I think I lost it? I don’t know, but these memories keep hitting me, and it’s weird. What’s a bead to a fox? Truly? I mean, I know it’s important, like Horus’s eye is to him, like your wings are to you.” I point to Cassius. “But, if I sacrifice it, will it be enough?”
Cassius drops his fork, leaving half his peach pie, and stands. “So he did it.”
“What?” I jump to my feet. “Horus did what? What did he do?”
Cassius stares me down, then the rest of the table, and then back to me. “Do you taste it yet?”
I'm so confused. “The dessert?”
"The bead.”
Okay, these people are seriously crazy, even for immortals. “No, I don’t taste a bead, and what do beads even taste like? And why would I be tasting one?”
“Fox,” Alex says under his breath. “Nine-tailed fox from Japan. A Kitsune.” He nods and stands. “She won’t taste it until she sees him. They’re connected, so even if he did succeed, she’ll still be trapped.”
“Trapped where?” I ask. Trapped doesn’t sound good. It sounds terrifying.
Genesis sighs and looks at Ethan and Mason. “Should we figure out a way to go down and grab him? Would that help?”
"Help Horus?” I’m confused. If he did it, why isn’t he back? “Why does he need help? Is he okay?”
Cassius slams his hands against the table and crumples to the floor. “Nooooooo!”
"Cassius!” Stephanie’s at his side in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
"Father.” Cassius chokes. “Why? Why?”
Frost appears across the table where we’ve been eating.
And as a chilly wind presses through the room, we all look down and see on the table, etched through the frost: “I will sacrifice and save until I can no longer. Be well, my son.”
Cassius looks away, and just like it appeared, the icy frost is gone.
And we’re at the table with various sweets before us.
I’m traumatized.
Horus is gone.
And someone was just lost to Cassius. When will we get answers, and why does it feel like all is lost? It’s so unsettling that I want to run and hide myself away.
Cassius jumps to his feet and leaves the room like the fires of hell are after him.
“Leave him,” Stephanie whispers and grabs a bottle of wine. “Let’s just continue with our meeting; he’ll be back when he’s ready.”
Ready for what?
Is it always like this?
I grab my chair with shaky hands.
Minutes later, Cassius is back, and he looks oddly… happy. His eyes are shining blue, and even weirder, he grabs a glass of wine and then starts eating the leftover chicken still sitting mid-table.
Nobody seems to care.
I reach for my water, ready to ask him what just happened, when the sound of the front door opening goes off like a bomb in the house.
He puts his wine down and leans back in his chair, an amused expression on his face.
I don’t think anyone could have prepared for our visitors.