Fans ofK-dramasmay want to pay special attention to this one.
She feeds every full moon eating the souls of men who have committed crimes and evaded justice.
Bringing something new to theever-expanding YA space, Cho has shared an exclusive preview of heranticipateddebut with EW.
Credit: Penguin Young Readers
Excerpt fromWicked Fox, by Kat Cho
Misty clouds hung heavy in the sky.
He didnt like the idea of going into the woods when even the light of the moon was absent.
A shiver ran down his spine and goosebumps rose on his skin.
Jihoon clicked on his phone light, squared his shoulders, and entered the woods.
Dubu, come on, girl, he yelled loud enough for his voice to echo back.
At night, the shadows became a menacing gray of shapes reaching for him.
Ghosts and monsters shifted in his peripheral vision.
It didnt matter that hed stopped believing in those things long ago.
Night and darkness made a believer of everyone.
It was a branch.
He laughed to release his jitters.
A shape darted past and his laugh became another yelp.
Jihoon took off after her.
He was going to wring that dogs neck.
Hed go to the pet store and buy an exact replica of Dubu.
His halmoni would never know the difference.
Jihoon tried not to twitch at every noise or rustle of leaves.
He kept his eyes straight ahead, refusing to glance into the shadows surrounding him.
He finally caught up with Dubu and scooped her into his arms.
She wriggled, clutching something in her teeth.
Jihoon hoped to the heavens it wasnt a rat.
She dropped it, and he jumped back in case it was still alive.
With a fair bit of embarrassment, Jihoon realized it wasnt a rodent but a shoe.
More specifically, a girls sneaker.
This is exactly what I needed.
Im so glad we went into a dark, terrifying forest to find this.
He couldnt even find a hiking path to give him some semblance of direction.
In his arms Dubus body vibrated with a low growl.
Nervously, Jihoon glanced around, expecting to see some wild beast approaching.
But there were only shadows and trees.
It seemed Dubu was reacting to nothing, or perhaps a wayward squirrel had scurried past.
The beast growled, an echo of Dubus.
Jihoon clamped his hand around the dogs muzzle to quiet her.
At first he thought the animal was warning them away, until he realized it faced the opposite direction.
As he stepped back, his ear adjusted to the sounds.
When the hunched figure turned, the light of the moon slanted over its face.
Its features were distinctly human, with ruddy, rounded cheeks and a hooked nose.
Still, Jihoon knew this was no ordinary man.
It stood, revealing a stocky build with biceps as wide as Jihoons thighs.
Jihoon couldnt stop his voice from shaking.
Wrong, it said.
The rumbling voice sounded like gravel scratching under metal.
Dubu launched herself out of Jihoons arms.
She tumbled against the dirt-packed ground, then surged forward.
The beast swatted the dog away like a fly.
With a yelp of pain, her small body slammed into a tree before crumpling into a limp pile.
Jihoon hurried toward Dubu but found his path blocked by the creature.
Stay calm, he thought.
Its what they always said to do when youre faced with a predatory animal.
And Jihoon had no doubt that this creature, despite its human features, was a wild thing.
Look, I dont want any trouble.
Jihoon kept his voice low.
Im just going to take my dog and leave and not talk about this to anyone.
In the blink of an eye the creature attacked, and a beefy arm hooked around Jihoons neck.
It smelled like overripe fruit and body odornot a good combination.
Bristling whiskers pressed into Jihoons forehead as the beast sniffed him.
Jihoon tried to strain away, but the grip around his neck was too strong.
The harder he struggled, the tighter the stranglehold became.
Jihoon imagined dying alone in the middle of the forest.
How his halmoni would worry.
How his body would be found days later, bloated and unidentifiable.
A voice shouted behind them.
The beast whirled so quickly, Jihoons head spun.
When the world settled, he blinked in surprise.
If she was real, she couldnt have been older than Jihoons eighteen years.
Her eyes were sharp and her lips peeled back from her teeth.
It made her look as wild as the creature choking him.
She was slim and tall, perhaps a head shorter than Jihoon.
Her feet moved into a fighters stance, pulling his gaze down her long legs.
She was missing a shoe.
Let him go, dokkaebi saekki-ya.
She spat in the dirt.
Puzzle pieces clicked into place, like finally remembering a word that had hung just out of reach.
The beast holding Jihoon looked like the stocky, hunched goblins in his halmonis stories.
Except dokkaebi didnt exist.
The dokkaebi let out a bellowing laugh.
Take him from me, yeowu.
The girls eyes flared.
She grabbed the dokkaebis thick thumb and with a quick jerk twisted it off.
The beast wailed in pain.
His arms loosened, dropping Jihoon.
Theres no blood, Jihoon thought, as he dry-heaved.Why is there no blood?
In fact, the thumb cracked off like a piece of porcelain snapped from a vase.
The creature hunched, cradling his injured fist.
She squeezed her fist closed until her knuckles cracked.
White powder flew from her palm.
The dust wove in and out of the moonlight as if the girl had cast a spell.
Then Jihoon realized the clouds covering the moon had parted.
It lit the scene with a silver pallor.
Everything that had once seemed ominous now softened to the haze of a dream.
A glow of shapes coalesced around the girl in a wide fan.
No, not a fan.
Tails, as bright and pale as the moon.
She looked like a warrior queen, fierce and unforgiving.
And as untouchable as the ghostly tails dancing behind her.
Memories flooded Jihoon of Halmeoni reading him fables from the yellowed pages of her books.
Stories where foxes lived forever.
Where they became beautiful women to entice unsuspecting men.
Where those men never survived.
Now he understood why the dokkaebi had called heryeowufox.
Gumiho, Jihoon whispered.
