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The winter man turned "Then let’s be off I don’t want to be on the road longer than we have to After we make it to the Harvest Fields, we’d be better off froht"

Before Oliver could reply, he was startled by the presence of the stag close behind him It was so close he could smell its breath, da," the Kornböcke ordered

Oliver frowned He wanted to tell the otherwise silent deity to go fuck hiht underods of the Harvest Even so--

"We’re doing our best," Oliver told hilanced around pointedly to ree but decided that if the stag thought no words were necessary, that was a policy he would also pursue Without another glance at the creature he started off At first Kitsune was restless on his shoulders and he could feel her heart beating too fast against the back of his neck But then she seeht shoulder, copper fur tickling his cheek

Soh Oliver thought it longer-- they careen and lush that Oliver could only think of the Garden of Eden He thought that Kitsune ht have fallen asleep on his shoulders and he held her fore and rear paws gently just in case she ht be jostled from her perch When he spoke to the winter ait that often seeo across the surface of a lake, he did so in a voice just above a whisper

"I don’t understand All of the land we just crossed, from the river to this valleyhow can it be so barren and this so fertile?"

"There was a war there, once, before the Truce," the winter man said, as the two of them hurried to catch up with the Kornwolf, who had sped up once they caods were untouched because they were neutral No soldier elcome there"

Oliver nodded They had always been rebellious and independent, these things of nature "That’s good to know"

As exhausted as he was, Oliver felt his spirits lifted and soth returned as they entered the valley There were groves of trees in spots butout before him all the way to the crest of the farthest hill, were crops Corn and wheat and cabbage and squash all grew there, regardless of the season in which they were meant to peak When they passed a puhed softly to himself For some reason, that sound seemed to be the one to wake Kitsune, and soon she tensed to leap down to the road She did not resume her human shape immediately, but kept pace beside hi disappeared into a vast cornfield and Oliver saw the stalks rippling as they passed

Just as he began to wonder where they would find Ahren Konigen, three figures moved from the crops and out onto the road ahead of them They omen, petite and lovely, with bronze skin and black hair tied in braids They were naked save for leaves that at first Oliver assu But upon closer inspection, he realized that the leaves were growing from their flesh

As Oliver paused, fascinated by these new Harvest creatures, Kitsune moved past him Between one step and the next she stood up fro in the breeze as it became a hooded cloak once more She touched Frost on the shoulder and he paused, allowing her to take the lead Kitsune favored Oliver with aher attention fully to these a party sent out of the fields toas Kitsune approached with a respectful air about her She put her hands together and bowed her head ain a low voice in what Oliver believed was Japanese He was only vaguely fah some of the law firm’s clients, and the only words he knew translated into either basic greetings or colorful profanity The three wouishable from one another but the one in the center seest them The others clearly deferred to her and it was she who replied to Kitsune, briefly and softly, after which all three of them inclined their heads in one shared e the woe he had ever heard

Kitsune returned the respectful bow and backed up two steps before turning away fro toward Frost The winter esture Now he turned and beckoned for Oliver to join them For his part, Oliver had been lulled by curiosity into the role of observer and was almost startled to be drawn back into that of participant

"They are Deohako," Kitsune told her coends of the Iroquois people"

"But you spoke to them in Japanese," Oliver said

Her jade eyes sparkled "True There is an aspect of their legend in Japanese stories They understood well enough" To the winter man, she added, "We are to follow them"

Frost nodded and Kitsune turned to face the Deohako, who did not hesitate but immediately started into the tall rows of corn Mo a path that arranged itself before the aside to let theh to conceal their passage

Oliver was glad to know their trail would not be visible from the road but he was deeply unsettled by the overall effect, the knowledge that there would be no easy departure fro persisted as they were sed deeper and deeper by the crops until they ca where the rich brown earth yielded to the heavy print of his boot but where not so rass was rooted in the soil

A row, just as they had on the island in the midst of the river where the cherry tree demon had nearly killed Oliver and his coies of ani, others the shape of humans, but still others little more than oddly shaped stalks of corn, contorted trees, and even a ht have been eyes and en were the last to arrive The others shifted through the rich soil to yield to the distorted shadows across the branches and stalks of the Harvest gods, and in that slant of light the Appletree Man barely see save for the breeze in its branches, it seeht have deferred to both of those deities, but it was Konigen to whoen who glanced around as though he had eyes instead of arded the visitors to the Harvest Fields and a quiet ca, disturbed only by the wind in the leaves

"We know that you desire rest and sustenance We will parley, briefly, and then you will be given to eat of our crops, the sweetest fruit and etables you have ever eaten The fox shall be encouraged to run aht be found here"

The ht it would be bad for He was tired, his attention span short, and yet Konigen’s declaration startled hiuely cannibalistic about even considering eating the provenance of the Harvest Fields It was no garden, but a kind of city unto itself, a settleends from dozens of cultures

Neither Frost nor Kitsune seemed to react to this pronouncehten considerably at thein the fields The idea was faintly repulsive to Oliver, ed birds and mice home to leave their broken, bloody bodies on their en spread his ararded the others gathered there "Appleseed is dead Aerico destroyed him Withered him"

There was a rattle of leaves and branches that had nothing to do with the wind