The sun had been down for over an hour before he moved from the nest of old cloth grain sacks he had used as a bed. He wasn’t hungry, having fed deeply the night before on two bandits who had set an ambush for a young woman as she made her way between two villages.
He smiled as he remembered their fear when he appeared out of the darkness and took them. The fear making their hearts beat fast as he drained first one and then the other, adding a flavor to the blood that was like a well-aged sake as it passed over his palette.
He let the woman pass by unmolested, never knowing the danger she had been in from the two lifeless bandits he had thrown into a deep ravine.
Tonight I need to move on from this place, he mused as he walked along the gently flowing river with the sounds of the night birds and insects keeping him company.
He had been traveling for several hours, walking along lost in his thoughts. The dream was still on his mind and he was unaware of his surroundings until a voice spoke from behind him.
“What have we here, brothers?” a voice called softly from the darkness.
Miko’s head jerked up as he tried to focus on the sound. His eyes darted around, searching for the source.
“A lost Forsaken, it would appear, brother,” another voice called from the trees beside the road slightly ahead of him.
His senses extended until he finally recognized the source. Weres. How had he missed hearing them, even in his distracted frame of mind?
“What do you animals want?” he called. “Show yourselves, or suffer for it.”
“The Forsaken thinks he is in charge,” a third voice laughed from the trees a little to his rear.
“Too bad for him that he is mistaken,” a fourth called from behind.
Surrounded with Weres of some flavor—cats if his senses were correct—to the front, rear, and side and the river on the other, Miko snarled a challenge. His fangs extended, and his eyes glowed red.
Miko sensed more than saw the first Were when he leapt at him from a branch above his head. His hand blurred and he caught the tiger by its throat, digging nails that had formed into sharp claws into his furry flesh.
He flung the wounded cat aside as two more landed on him, forcing him to the ground under their weight. Pain exploded through Miko as claws ripped into his shoulders and back. One cat tried to sink its teeth into the back of his neck while the other continued to shred his flesh with its claws.
He pushed off the ground, forcefully shoving his body up as he twisted to the side. The cat’s teeth grazed the side of his head instead of getting a purchase on his vulnerable neck. He kicked out, a satisfying shock running up his leg as he connected with one of his attacker's bodies. A loud yowl and the sound of bone breaking were his rewards.
Miko caught the other cat around the neck, pulling its head toward him while he dodged the hind claws trying to eviscerate him. He held two fingers out and spread them wide as he drove them into the surprised eyes of the beast. Pushing them deep into the sockets and then curling them down, Miko grunted with effort as he ripped his fingers free, breaking the orbital bones and shattering the face of the tiger.
He assessed the situation. The first attacker was down in a pool of blood that was spreading out from where his throat had been torn open. The second was gasping for breath on the ground, his chest dented where Miko had kicked him. The third was flopping about in agony, blinded from the damage to his face.
The last was moving toward Miko cautiously after seeing how quickly he had dealt with the first three. Not giving up the hunt, but hesitating to get within reach of what they had assumed was a weak Forsaken.
Miko didn’t give him time to think before he blurred forward and kicked one of the injured tigers in the head, shattering his skull as he ran past, then smashed his fist into the shattered bones of the other’s face. He didn’t slow as he launched himself at the last one, who halted his slow approach, shocked by the speed and ferocity of the vampire.
The cat tried to turn and flee, but his body was unbalanced. Miko slammed into his side, catching him mid-turn. He took the cat to the ground, knocking the breath out of him in the process. When the cat regained his senses and his breath, Miko had him pinned with one hand around his throat.
Miko squeezed, slowly cutting off his oxygen supply as he smiled down at the thrashing tiger maliciously. “You chose poorly, cat. Why did you attack me? Surely you know that no mere Were is a match for a vampire.”
The tiger twisted and flopped, trying to free himself from the iron grip that imprisoned him.
Miko loosened his hold enough for the Were to take in one shuddering breath before he tightened it again. “I asked you a question. Why?” He lifted the cat’s head and emphasized each word by bouncing his skull against the hard ground. “Why. Did. You. Attack me?” He stopped when the cat’s eyes rolled back in his head.
Miko released the cat and stepped out of reach of his claws. When the cat showed signs of coming around, he growled. “Shift back now, or I will take you apart one piece at a time.”
One moment a large tiger lay gasping for air in the dirt. The next, a man who appeared to be in his late teens was there instead, blood coming out of his nose and ears.
He continued to gasp, trying to draw in enough oxygen to function. Miko watched him for a moment until he was sure he posed no threat and moved to ensure that the others were dead. When he returned seconds later, the young man was sitting up, his eyes round with fear as he looked at the vampire who had so easily defeated the four of them.
“You will answer my question if you want to live to see the next minute of your miserable existence,” Miko told him, his voice laced with menace and his eyes still glowing red with anger. “Why?”
“You have been hunting in Sacred Clan territory.” The young man coughed as he drew in more air. “Word of it reached our Master, and he sent us to find you,” he managed to croak out in a rush.
Miko sneered. “Sacred Clan? What is that?”
The young man bristled, his eyes glowing yellow.
Miko planted his foot on the Were’s chest, cracking his ribs as he forced him back into the dirt. “Respect your betters, beast. You live now only because I allow it.”
The fire died in the Were’s eyes as he stared into the face of death. “Word that a vampire was killing humans in this area reached our master.” His face twisted in a grimace as he wrapped his arms across his body, holding his sides when his healing ribs popped back into place. “You have been careless disposing of your kills, and some of the bodies were discovered. The bite marks on their necks and the lack of blood made it obvious that the deaths were not natural. Our Master sent us to find you before you caused panic and exposed all of us to the humans.”
“What do I care about what food thinks?” He sneered. “Are your Clan so weak they can’t handle a few humans?”
“You risk bringing the Bitch’s assassin here by disobeying the strictures,” the young man told him. “He kills without mercy and your carelessness is certain to get noticed. The Master will send others if you continue to bring attention to this area. Get out of Clan territory if you wish to live.”
Miko thought for a moment. He could feel his back knitting closed from the wounds, the burning pain was now something he could ignore. Though he could ignore it, he was still hurting and enraged that these Weres had attacked him. “You say this Master will send more of you?”
“Yes, we were only the first,” he bragged. “Our numbers are many. The Clan rises.”
Miko lunged and caught the battered Were around his neck, pulling him close in the blink of an eye and sinking his claws into the soft tissue of his throat. “I don’t know anything about your Clan or them rising, but I do know I don’t appreciate being attacked by inferior beings.”
He closed his fingers, puncturing the arteries that ran up the neck and twisting his hand as he snatched it away. The Were died in seconds as his blood gushed out of the ragged wound and onto the dusty road.
; So, this pompous Were master thinks he can force me to his will, Miko mused. He dropped the body into the dust and surveyed the area. He smiled as he thought of how best to let these cats know what he thought of their daring to threaten or demand anything of him.
He gathered the bodies and arranged them. When he was done, he nodded to himself and smiled. Lying in the middle of the road were four nude bodies. Two laid out head to toe, the heads pointing in the direction he was going. The others had been placed head to head at a forty-five-degree angle to the front body, creating an arrow that pointed the way for the next one who came looking for him.
He had left a message that would be easy even for a stupid Were to understand. He turned back the way he was originally headed, knowing he needed to feed soon to replace the energy that had been used to heal the injuries the cats had caused.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Aida, Japan
“Li, I’m not liking this,” Shao muttered beside him on the hill they were observing the town of Aida from. They had arrived the night before and decided that Wu and Jin would approach, rifles in hand while they watched for any sign of the missing team.
The townspeople were alert and met Wu and Jin before they had made it very far into the town. Li and Shao couldn’t hear what was being said, but it was obvious that strangers were not welcome.
“I hope Wu doesn’t do anything dumb. You know he has issues when humans challenge him,” Shao worried.
“I cautioned him to maintain his calm. It should be an easy in and out,” Li assured him.
The speaker for the village gestured sharply with his gun at the two Weres, the other four men backing him stood ready, two muzzles pointed at each of them. Wu motioned with his hands, obviously trying to calm the situation, but the speaker was adamant that they go. Shao sighed in relief when the two of them turned back the way they had come without attacking the townsmen.
“What happened?” Li asked as soon as Wu joined him in the camp they had set up outside of Aida.
Wu scowled. “They wouldn’t talk to us beyond ordering us to leave. When I asked why, all the headman would say was Chinese are not welcome there and to leave and not come back.”
“That’s odd. I know that some in Japan still have hard feelings toward China, but that was a bit extreme.”
“There’s something else I noticed,” Jin told him. “One of the men had a knife sticking in his belt. It looked like the blade was coated with silver.”
“Silver!” Li exclaimed. “Are you sure?”
Jin nodded. “I couldn’t get close to any of them, but it looked like there was a groove cut into the blade with silver worked into it. Like I said, I can’t be sure, but I wanted to mention it.”
“Yes, you did well to do so. If the humans are carrying silver-laced weapons, that could pose a problem for us.”
Shao had been listening to the report and spoke up. “We need to be cautious if they know to use silver. Those guns could have easily been loaded with it as well. Perhaps we should go to a larger town and see what we can learn. If the UnknownWorld has been revealed here and they already know how to fight us, it will not go well for our plans.”
Li nodded. “I agree, Shao. We need to be careful until we know what we’re dealing with. We will go to Kobe. It’s only about eighty-five kilometers away and has a long-established Chinese presence. We shouldn’t stand out there as much as we do in these backwater towns. Once we get there, we can decide how to approach the city and try to get more information. We stay away from humans as much as possible along the way.”
The others had broken camp and were ready to travel within five minutes of the order. They set off at a pace that was fast for a human, but not so fast as to attract unwanted attention if they were seen.
Kobe, Japan
“Everyone understands what to do?” Li looked each team member in the eye. Grunts and nods from each indicated understanding. “Remember, take no unnecessary risks, and return here by the end of the day. Good hunting.”
They had arrived on the outskirts of Kobe the night before, two days after the encounter with the townsfolk in Aida. Along the way, they’d faded into the brush when they saw humans on the road and had avoided towns along the way. It had been a tough two days spent in human form traveling over terrain that would have been a breeze for a tiger. Li had quashed that idea early on when Wu and Jin had started stripping, reminding them that they were much more likely to be shot as tigers.
Wu grumbled constantly but grudgingly obeyed.
They had found an abandoned garage outside of town. The dust on the small truck inside hadn’t been disturbed for years. There was a loft above for storage that provided enough space for all of them to lay out their bedrolls and be comfortable. Li decided to use it for their base while they tried to get more information. There were some people in the area but not enough that they couldn’t easily be avoided.
Li set out to find the section of town that he had once heard had a large Chinese presence. He had chosen this area based on it being one of three towns in Japan that had, at least before the world collapsed, a Chinatown area. He hoped that the information still held true and he and his men wouldn’t be an oddity.
As he walked along the busy streets, he was amazed at how normal it appeared. Since WWDE, China had lost much of its technology and infrastructure. It was odd to see all the homes and businesses that had electricity and the fact that there were buses and trucks on the roads. Not near as many as before the world went to hell, but more than he had seen in China in over twenty years.
His first stop was a cart selling meat cooked over a small wood-fired grill. The owner, a young Chinese woman, wasn’t busy, and he had heard her speaking to the customer in front of him. It was a Mandarin dialect he knew.
“Good morning, how much for a skewer?” he asked in Mandarin as an introduction.
She smiled at him. “Two Yen each, or three for five.”
He counted out five yen from the stash he carried. Master Kun had given it to him, along with some small gold coins before he left.
Li took a bite of the meat. “Mmmm, this is very good.”
The young woman blushed shyly and nodded to him.
He ate the three skewers in silence, watching the woman prepare another order for an elderly man. When she was done and they were alone, he asked, “How long have you been here? You speak with no accent.”
“I was born here in Kobe,” she replied. “My grandmother refuses to speak Japanese, so we only speak Mandarin in our home. There have been many newcomers here since trade has been restored with China. They like to hear it, and it is good for my business.”
Li chuckled. “Ahh, beauty and a shrewd business mind. There have been many new people, you say?”
“No, not many but a few new ones each month the past few years. I’ve never seen you before. Are you a recent arrival?”
Li nodded. “Yes, I came here searching for some family who left China a month ago. I went to the town they were headed to, but I encountered armed men who wouldn’t allow me to enter.”
She nodded. “I have heard others who have gone out into the countryside voice that same complaint. They say Chinese are not welcome in many places now.”
“Did they say why?” Li inquired.
She shrugged. “No, none of the people I talked to knew why they were met with hostility. The people just ran them off. All of them said that they were armed, though.”
Li offered her a smile. “Thank you for the information, I will leave you to your business.”
“I hope your family is okay. Have a good day,” she replied as he turned to leave.
"Li, should we get instruction from the Master with this?” Wu asked after they had met back at the garage. “If we can’t go into the towns, there’s no way to find out what happened to the others.”
The rest of his team had spent the day trying to gather any information, but Li was the only one to have any success.
“I spoke to him ear
lier when I got back,” Li answered. “We will go to Wajima next and see if we can find Sun and Ling. If we have no luck there, we are to go to Onuma.”
“In any event, we need to be alert as we travel through the countryside,” Shao told them. “If the people in the rural areas have a vendetta against people from China, it wouldn’t do to be caught unaware.”
All nodded in agreement as they prepared to sleep for the night. It was a long way to Wajima. Hopefully, they would learn more there.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The Palace, Tokyo, Japan
“Then she asked him how wolves were at herding sheep.” Horst held his side with one hand while he wiped tears from his eyes. “It was the funniest thing I have ever heard.”
The room erupted in peals of laughter all around. Asai, Koda, Yuko, and Eve were all gathered at the main snack bar, listening to Horst’s recounting of what happened in Australia. He had come to pick Koda up for a trip to the store shortly after they had closed for the day.
Koda snorted, trying to hold back the laughter as Horst continued his story.
“Poor Henry had this look on his face like he couldn’t believe what she was asking.” He let go with another huge belly laugh. “Then…then she,” he gasped, “looked at me confused and asked, ‘What the hell’s so damn funny?’” He burst into uncontrollable laughter.
As the laughter died down, Asai’s face paled. “That had to be a horrifying experience for the people there, to be taken from their homes and locked up, treated like things with no value.”
Horst sobered and looked at Koda, concerned he shouldn’t have told the story of what had happened where Asai could hear.
Yuko saw the look on his face and spoke. “It was something that should not have been allowed to happen, Asai. The problem with the world now, except for here and a few other places, is that the bad people with power intimidate the good into inaction.”
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