by C.L. Sidell

She stands by the river—silver hair gleaming in the moonlight, limbs pale as milk.

Haru drops the kettle, deaf to its clanging against the pebbled shore.

“Beautiful…”

The kimono-clad vixen turns. Smiling, eyes twinkling, she extends a porcelain-smooth palm.

Haru steps forward. Drawn by seductiveness. Blind to reason. Only as furred fingers encircle his wrist, does he notice the watery reflection:

Nine fluffy, silver tails part the strands of her silken mane.

Haru’s yearning swiftly yields to terror as the kitsune’s nose lengthens into a snout. Claws flash, slicing his torso from collarbone to pelvis…silencing his screams forever.

C.L. Sidell

A native Floridian, C. L. Sidell grew up playing with toads in the rain and indulging in speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in The Dread Machine, Factor Four Magazine, F&SF, Martian Magazine, Medusa Tales Magazine, and others.

Website: crystalsidell.wixsite.com/mysite/publications