The Fox Spirit

“Amyas, step forward into the ring.”

My legs trembled as I obeyed, praying no one noticed. The grey brick walls of the chapel loomed around me, and the stained-glass window at the far end scattered a kaleidoscope of light across the floor. My heart pounded. My classmates stood to the left, watching me take my turn, each of them already bonded. Perched on their shoulders were parrots, cats, dogs, even rodents - every one of them with a glowing gem pressed to its forehead, mirrored by a matching gem on the student’s own brow.

They had all succeeded. Why, then, were my legs shaking?

The headmaster waited in the ring ahead, robed in white with crimson trim. His bald scalp caught the sunlight pouring through the ceiling’s narrow opening, perfectly aligned to bathe the circle in light. He studied me with sharp, dark eyes.

Somewhere behind me, my family was watching - my little sister perched in Mother’s arms. The pressure of all those eyes squeezed my chest tight as I stepped into the beam of light. The headmaster circled me briskly, checking for impurities. I forced myself to remain still. My mind spun through the path that had brought me here: pledging myself as a spirit handler, scraping into the college as the tenth and final student chosen out of two hundred. Barely enough to qualify. Barely enough to matter.

The headmaster snorted, as if he agreed with me. But ten spirits had to be assigned, and I was number ten. That would have to do.

He stopped before me, his voice deep and resonant.
“Amyas Laufie. You are our final spirit handler graduate. You will be bestowed with a spirit, and you will keep it in check for as long as you live. You will never abandon your spirit. You will never be separated from your spirit. Are we clear?”

I swallowed and nodded.

His voice cracked like a whip. “Are we clear?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. When the spirit appears, hold your left hand in a fist. An Obereg will manifest there - the talisman of bond. You will press it to your forehead, then to your spirit’s. Once joined, it will divide in two. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir!”

He regarded me with thinly veiled contempt, then stepped back out of the light. “Stand at the edge of the circle. The ritual begins.”

My heart rattled as I shuffled to the edge. The room hushed. My pulse thundered in my ears as the hourglass drained. Then the skylight darkened, and a stream of glowing particles drifted down - more than I’d ever seen before. They swirled into a column at the center of the ring, brightening until the light forced me to shield my eyes.

When it faded, I stared - and forgot how to breathe.

A girl stood in the circle.

Her eyes were closed, her long ginger hair flowing down her back. Two foxlike ears crowned her head, and a great plume of a tail swayed behind her. She wore a white dress trimmed in cyan, its loose fabric unable to hide her slender form. A cyan collar gleamed around her neck.

The chapel fell into stunned silence. Spirits taking human form were the stuff of legend.

Something pressed in my palm. I looked down and saw the cyan gem glistening in my fist. My Obereg.

The girl stirred. Her hands folded delicately before her dress. Slowly, her eyes opened - piercing cyan, the unmistakable mark of a spirit. The gaze locked onto mine, and my breath caught. Seconds stretched. A small smile curved her lips, unreadable.

The headmaster’s frantic look jolted me. Right - the ritual.

I raised the Obereg to my forehead. It sank into my skin without pain, becoming a part of me. My legs trembled as I shuffled forward. Her gaze softened as I neared, mischief glinting at the edges, yet calm, almost inviting.

She was nearly my height. With her ears, taller. I stopped, gulped, and leaned forward. Forehead first.

Her head tilted to meet mine. Time slowed. My breath caught.

Then - clatter.

The gem slipped from my forehead, tumbling down. It bounced against her chest and fell to the floor.

Gasps rippled through the room. I froze, panic surging. The headmaster’s face was a mask of disbelief.

And then-

A soft sound.

The girl raised a hand to her mouth and giggled. Her smile bloomed bright as she lowered it, her voice light and melodic, the kind of voice that melted through your chest.

“Sorry. I don’t know if I want to be bound yet.” She curtsied, her tail swishing. “But it’s nice to meet you, Amyas. My name’s Becki.”

Her smile widened, fangs flashing.

“Please take good care of me.”

I could only stare, speechless.