Night of the Dragon, Page 3

  “I’m sorry,” I told her quietly. “Forgive me, Ayame. I wish it hadn’t come to this.”

  You really have become a monster, haven’t you?

  I bowed my head. My former clan sister was right; I was a demon, now. My very nature was to kill and destroy. There was no place for me in the empire, no place for me among the clans, my family and certainly not at the side of a beautiful, naive fox girl who seemed foolishly unafraid of the fact that I could tear her apart with no thought at all.

  A breeze stirred the branches of the trees, and I sighed, running a hand down my face. Why had Lady Hanshou sent only Ayame and one other to face me? Ayame was one of the clan’s best shadow warriors and answered directly to Master Ichiro, the head instructor of the Kage shinobi. Only the clan daimyo could order such a mission, but Hanshou knew, better than anyone, that a pair of shinobi stood no chance against a demon. And yet, Ayame had said her mission was complete...

  I straightened in alarm. Hanshou knew two shinobi wouldn’t be able to defeat me, that had never been the objective. Ayame’s mission wasn’t to kill; she had been a distraction. A ruse to lure me away from Yumeko and the others, leaving them alone in a shadowy cave...

  With a growl, I turned and sprinted back through the trees, cursing my idiocy and hoping I wasn’t too late.

  3

  Blades in the Dark

  Yumeko

  I was worried about Tatsumi.

  Not because he was a demon. Or a half-demon. Or had part of a demon soul sharing his mind with him. Actually, I still wasn’t sure what Tatsumi was, exactly. And I didn’t think he knew, either, if he was more oni than human, Hakaimono than Kage Tatsumi. But I wasn’t concerned about his demon side. I didn’t worry that he would suddenly turn on us in the middle of the night, though I knew his presence made Reika and the others very nervous. None of them, not even Okame, were comfortable having an oni in our midst. Reika would scold that I was being naive, that a demon could not be trusted, that they were evil and treacherous, and that I was foolish for letting down my guard. And maybe I was being naive, but I had seen Tatsumi’s true soul, the strength and brightness of it, and I knew he would do everything he could not to fall prey to Hakaimono’s savagery.

  No, I wasn’t worried that he would betray us. I worried that his guilt and the fear of what he’d become would prompt him to leave for our safety. That one night, Kage Tatsumi would slip quietly away into the shadows, and I would never see him again. Knowing Tatsumi, he would try to find and confront Genno on his own, and though the demonslayer was incredibly strong, I didn’t know if he could single-handedly destroy the Master of Demons and his army of monsters, blood mages and yokai.

  Oh, Tatsumi. I would help you, if you would let me. You don’t have to face Genno alone. You’ve been alone long enough.

  “Yumeko-chan?”

  I blinked and glanced up. Okame sat cross-legged in front of me, one hand on the facedown cup between us, an expectant look on his face. “It’s your turn to call,” he said.

  “Oh.” I looked down at the cup beneath his fingers, wondering what to do. I hadn’t really been listening when he gave the explanation. “Gomen...what were the rules again?”

  “It’s easy, Yumeko-chan.” The ronin smirked. “You call ‘cho’ if you think the dice will turn out even, ‘han’ if you think the numbers will be odd. That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” I cocked my head. “This seems like a very simple game, Okame-san.”

  “Trust me, it’s not so simple when there’s an empire’s worth of coin on the line.”

  “I don’t see any coin. Are we supposed to be using coins?”

  “Only if you want to—Ite!” Okame winced as Reika reached up and swatted the back of his head again. “Ow, what was that for?”

  “Yumeko is capable of turning leaves into money and creating gold from pebbles,” the shrine maiden stated calmly. “Do you really want to teach a kitsune about the vices of gambling?”

  I had no idea what they were talking about, but suddenly, the hairs on my ears and tail stood up, and a ripple of magic went through the air, cool and dark and familiar. A half second later, the flames in the firepit vanished, like someone had snuffled a candle, and the cave was plunged into darkness.

  I scrambled to my feet, hearing my companions leap upright as well, and raised my hand, sending a pulse of fox magic into the air. Instantly, a blue-white flame of kitsune-bi appeared in the palm of my hand, filling the chamber with a ghostly light...

  ...and revealing the dozen shinobi surrounding us, their dark figures seeming to melt out of the shadows of the cave, blades already raised to strike. For a moment, they froze, as if startled by the sudden flare of light when they had been expecting total darkness. I yelped, Okame shouted and Daisuke spun, his blade clearing its sheath in an instant, beheading the shinobi behind him with his knife raised to cut his throat.

  Chaos erupted in the tight confines of the cave. Voices shouted, blades flashed and dark shapes flickered erratically in the light of the kitsune-bi. I threw the ball of foxfire into the air, spun, and came face-to-face with a masked shinobi stabbing down at me with his knife. Jerking back, I collided with someone, hopefully a friend, and threw my hands out toward my attacker. Foxfire roared, and the shadow warrior flinched away, not realizing the ghostly flames couldn’t hurt him. Before he could recover, I reached into my obi, grabbed one of the leaves I had stuffed inside and threw it into the air as the shinobi looked up. There was a silent explosion of smoke, and another Yumeko appeared, stepping forward to face the shadow warrior.

  The shinobi hesitated a moment, clearly baffled, but then his eyes hardened and he slashed his blade down...at the other Yumeko, who let out a convincing cry of pain before she collapsed, vanishing into smoke as she struck the ground. The black-clad warrior frowned as the illusion writhed away into mist, then glared at me, confusion turning to fury. Raising his sword, he tensed to lunge.

  A blade, flaring with purple fire, erupted from his chest, lifted him off his feet and flung him away. I blinked and looked up as Kage Tatsumi, eyes and horns glowing an ominous red, lowered his sword and met my gaze.

  “Are you all right, Yumeko?”

  “Help the others,” I cried, and he sprang past me with a snarl, cutting another assailant in two, and Kamigoroshi’s baleful purple light joined the flickering kitsune-bi on the walls of the cave.

  A shout behind me made my stomach drop. I spun, hurling a sphere of foxfire at the nearest shinobi, who had Reika pinned against the wall and was raising his sword. The flames erupted against the side of his head, making him flinch and stagger back, and the shrine maiden thrust an ofuda in his direction with a shout, slamming him into the opposite wall. He bounced off the stones and looked up, just as a glowing blade ripped through his stomach and left him sliding wetly to the floor. Tatsumi continued on, into the midst of the chaos. I tried to follow him, but in the dancing lights, all I could see was frantic movement, the silhouettes of friend and foe darting across the floor, and the flash of metal in the darkness. But, one by one, the shinobi jerked and collapsed, blood spraying the air, as a vengeful demon moved through their ranks like a whirlwind of blades.

  The last of the shinobi fell, one sliced apart by Tatsumi, the other beheaded by Daisuke, in the center of the chamber. The two men whirled, still searching for opponents, and their blades met with a screech of metal and sparks. For a heartbeat, they stood there, demon and master swordsman, Tatsumi with his glowing eyes and sword and Daisuke with a blank, glassy expression on his face, both looking entirely dangerous. My heart pounded, wondering, for a split second, if they would continue their fight and cut each other down, if the lure of battle was too much for either of them to resist.

  “Uh, Daisuke-san? Kage-san?” Okame’s voice broke through the sudden silence. “The fight’s over. You can stop glaring at each other anytime.”

  Slowly, the
two lowered their blades and stepped back, though neither seemed eager to relinquish the fight. Daisuke flicked the blood from his sword and nodded to Tatsumi, his expression somber. “You are as fearsome in battle as ever, Kage-san,” he stated in a tone of sincere admiration. “Remember, you still owe me a duel when this is finished.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Tatsumi said quietly, the glow fading from his eyes. “Though are you sure you want to do battle with a demon? Hakaimono is not known for playing by the rules.”

  “There are no rules in battle, Kage-san,” Daisuke replied calmly. “Rules serve only to limit the potential of both swordsmen. When we do fight, please come at me with everything you have.”

  “Is everyone all right?” Reika demanded, stepping forward with Chu beside her. The dog’s hackles stood on end, and his eyes were hard as he glared at the scattered bodies on the cave floor. “We have more important things to discuss than these absurd duels of honor. Yumeko, there’s blood on your face. Are you hurt?”

  Tatsumi turned swiftly, his gaze meeting mine as I put a hand to my cheek, feeling a sticky wetness against my skin. “No,” I said, seeing him slump in relief. “It’s not mine. I’m all right. Is everyone else okay?”

  “I think we’re fine. Though something smacked me on the head pretty hard.” Okame stood up, rubbing the back of his skull. He took a step forward, winced and sank to his knees again. “Ite. Okay, maybe a bit harder than I thought. Why is the floor spinning?”

  Daisuke immediately came forward, concern flicking across his features, to kneel beside him. His long fingers brushed the side of the ronin’s face, gently turning his head to the side to reveal a mess of blood at the base of his skull. Okame grimaced, closing his eyes, and Daisuke’s concern turned to alarm.

  “Reika-san,” he said, and the shrine maiden immediately stepped forward and crouched down to peer at the back of the ronin’s head. My stomach curled as Reika prodded and examined the wound, making Okame hiss and growl curses under his breath, but after a few moments she straightened with a sigh.

  “Nothing life-threatening,” she said as I let out a breath of relief. “Lots of blood, but it looks like you took the blunt end of a weapon instead of the sharp one. Not sure how you managed that, but it should heal in a few days. You can be thankful that your head is harder than the palace walls.”

  “Yokatta,” Daisuke breathed, expressing his relief as well, and gave the ronin a faint smile. “You cannot die yet, Okame-san,” he said. “Especially not from such a dishonorable, cowardly attack from behind. How are we supposed to meet that glorious death together if you go and die on me before the final battle?”

  “Oh, don’t worry, peacock.” Okame pressed a cloth to the back of his head, grimacing. “It’ll take more than that to get rid of me. So far, I’ve survived a gaki swarm, being eaten by a giant centipede, an oni collapsing a tower on my head and yet another assassination attempt. I’m starting to think Tamafuku himself is watching out for me.” He winced, glaring at the still forms of the shinobi in the flickering foxfire. “That was a close one, though. Sneaky bastards. Did they come right through the walls?”

  “You were lucky.” This from Tatsumi, his face grim as he observed the bodies of his former clansmen. “An attack like this is meant to take the targets by surprise and be over in seconds.”

  “It would have been,” Reika said, “if not for Yumeko. Thank the kami that the Shadow Clan weren’t expecting a kitsune.”

  I shivered, observing the bodies on the ground. “I suppose Lord Iesada is still trying to get rid of us,” I said, feeling a flare of anger toward the Kage lord. The Shadow Clan noble had sent assassins after us before, when we were on our way to the Steel Feather temple. Reika’s mentor, Master Jiro, had been killed in the ambush, and I had not forgiven the arrogant Kage lord for that. If we ever met again, he would come to know the wrath of an angry kitsune.

  Tatsumi cocked his head, frowning. “Lord Iesada?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the bastard tried this trick earlier,” Okame snorted. “You’d think he’d learn, after we slaughtered that unit to a man.”

  But Tatsumi shook his head. “This wasn’t an attack by Lord Iesada,” he told us. “Lady Hanshou ordered this.”

  “Hanshou-sama?” I blinked at him. “But...why? She asked us to find you. She said she wanted us to save you from Hakaimono.”

  “And you did.” Tatsumi nodded. “Your mission was successful...mostly. In her eyes, your usefulness has ended. You know too much about the Shadow Clan now. You’ve become a liability to the Kage and to her own position.”

  “So she’ll just kill us?”

  “Rather than have that knowledge spread to anyone else, yes.” Tatsumi gave a grim nod. “Don’t let her promises fool you. Hanshou has always been ruthless, willing to do whatever it takes to keep her position secure. She knows you’re after the Dragon scroll. That is reason enough to kill you all.”

  “You don’t speak very highly of your daimyo, Kage-san,” Daisuke said, sounding as if he wasn’t sure if he should be affronted or not. “Such talk would be considered treason among the Taiyo.”

  One corner of Tatsumi’s mouth twisted. “Hanshou and I have a long history,” he said, though his eyes flickered like red candle flames, and I knew this was his demon side speaking. “I know things about her that she keeps from her own clan, secrets she hides from everyone. If the Shadow Clan knew all the atrocities she has committed, she would not have lived as long as she has.”

  I swallowed, deliberately not looking at the bodies strewn about the cave, the blood creeping slowly through the dirt. “So what do we do now?”

  “Keep moving.” Tatsumi sheathed Kamigoroshi, and the baleful purple light along the sword winked out. “Keep running. Try to stay one step ahead of them. And never let down your guard, especially at night. This won’t be the last attack. Hanshou knows where and when the Dragon will be summoned. She’ll know we’re on our way to Ushima Island right now.” His lips curled in a bleak smile, making my stomach churn. “With the night of the Wish so close, she’ll be desperate to get the scroll. I expect we’ll be dodging the Shadow Clan the entire way to the sacred island.”

  4

  Village of Curses

  TATSUMI

  I smelled death on the wind before we ever reached the coast.

  From the foothills of the Dragon Spine Mountains, it had taken us several days to reach Umi Sabishi Mura, a midsize fishing village at the edge of the Kaihaku Sea. There had been no more attacks from Shadow Clan shinobi, though because of my...appearance, we had to avoid the many villages and settlements we came across on our journey to the edge of the empire. Water Clan territory was lush and fertile, filled with lakes, streams, rivers and rolling hills, and the ruling Mizu family was known for their pacifism and peaceful nature. They were healers and caregivers, skilled in the art of diplomatic negotiation, and the emperor himself had been known to call on the Water Clan to soothe ruffled feathers or talk down an insulted Fire Clan general. But even the Mizu would not tolerate a demon walking freely through their territories, and though they were pacifists, they were also the second largest clan in the empire. If they discovered my presence, or if they thought Hakaimono had crossed their borders and was threatening their people, having the whole of the Mizu family after us would make our quest nearly impossible.

  So we traveled on foot and slept out in the open, or in caves or abandoned buildings where we could, though more often than not our campsite was a firepit beneath the boughs of trees in the forest, or a flat area beside a brook or stream. It was slow progress, avoiding the main towns and roads, and no one slept much, as suspicions of shinobi lurking in the trees and shadows made it difficult to relax. Once, the ronin suggested that we could perhaps “borrow” a few horses from any of the surrounding villages—it was for the good of the empire, after all—but neither the noble nor the shrine maiden would hear of us stealing w
hat we needed. Besides, animals now had a violent reaction to my presence, something we discovered when we tried to obtain a ride with a sake merchant on the road, and his oxen nearly trampled us fleeing when they caught my scent.

  So, riding to Umi Sabishi, either by horse or cart, was out of the question.

  Finally, after days of travel, the grassy plains ended at the edge of a rocky coastline, jagged cliffs plunging into an iron gray sea. Gulls and seabirds wheeled overhead, their distant cries echoing on the wind, waves crashed and foamed against the rocks, and the air smelled of salt and the ocean.

  “Sugoi,” whispered Yumeko, her voice full of wonder. Standing at the edge of the cliff, the wind tossing her long hair and sleeves, she gazed with shining eyes at the endless expanse of water stretching away before her. “This is the ocean? I never imagined it would be so big.” Her fox ears, swiveled all the way forward, fluttered in the wind as she glanced back. “How far does it go?”

  “Farther than you could ever envision, Yumeko-san,” the noble answered, smiling faintly. “There are stories about a land on the other side, but the journey takes many months, and most that set out don’t make it back.”

  “Another land?” Yumeko’s eyes sparkled. “What’s it like?”

  “No one really knows. Three hundred years ago, Emperor Taiyo no Yukimura forbade travel to that shore and closed off the empire to any outsiders. He feared that if foreign kingdoms discovered our lands, they would invade our shores, and the empire would be forced to defend itself. So we have remained hidden, isolated and unknown, from the rest of the world.”

  “I don’t understand.” Yumeko cocked her head, a slight frown crossing her features. “Why does the emperor fear outsiders so much?”

  “Because apparently, the far country is full of barbarians who growl at each other and wear the fur of beasts,” the ronin broke in, grinning at the shrine maiden, who wrinkled her nose. “Some of them even have hooves and tails because not only do they wear the fur of their beasts, they also—”