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He stepped outside through the door off the kitchen and strolled through the rear garden. The stars were twinkling overhead in a clear sky. The night air had become crisp and cool now that they were deep into October. Leaves were now shades of bright yellow, orange, and red.

Following the winding stone path, Xiao Dan wandered over the small, curved bridge into the thicket of trees at the rear of the property. Just when he was about to turn toward the house, he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye.

A smile grew on his lips. This couldn’t be Leo. He’d heard the cat’s voice echoing down the hall as he played with Erik.

Another flash caught his eye to his left. This one definitely looked like the fluff of that multi-tailed fiend.

“Huli, what nonsense are you up to now?” Xiao Dan called out.

But the huli jing didn’t come bouncing up to him. There was a blur of color as he darted from one tree to another, circling Xiao Dan.

“If you’re not in the mood to help me pack…” Xiao Dan left the rest unsaid as he turned.

This time, the fox stepped out from behind the tree, coming between Xiao Dan and the house.

Xiao Dan’s smile tumbled from his lips and his heart sped up.

That was not Huli.

The fox facing him now was mostly white, with touches of orange on its chest and tails. Its eyes glowed a startling red, and its stance was both curious and aggressive.

How had the huli jing—no, jiuweihu—gotten onto their property without them knowing it? All the protective spells they’d put in place against intruders were still there.

“You’re not Huli,” Xiao Dan said sharply. “Who are you? What have you done to Huli?”

The fox blinked slowly at him, its nine tails spread out behind it like a peacock’s feathers raised in a great fan. Without a word, the creature shifted into a tall, slender woman dressed in a form-fitting white gown that shimmered in the moonlight. Her black hair cascaded down her back in an inky waterfall to her waist. She blinked again, and her red eyes became a sparkling violet. Everything about her held a flawless perfection that was captivating and unsettling. Nothing about her felt real.

“Who are you?” Xiao Dan repeated.

The fox spirit took a step closer.

“Where is Huli? What have you done to him?”

Xiao Dan’s heart hammered, and he balled his hands into tight fists. Where the hell was Huli? If this creature harmed even one of his tails, Xiao Dan would skin her and turn her pelt into slippers.

“There’s no need to worry about Huli any longer,” she answered in a low, warm voice. “He’s the one who promised me your soul.”

“What?”

“And now I’ve come to collect.”

Oh my God,Jocelynn Drake! You’re evil!

I am. I really am.