Adam and Ian looked up at each other to confirm the other’s readiness for the next phase of the plan.
They only had a split second to realize that something was wrong.
They were not standing on either side of the bed, but directly in front of it. Their two targets were not lying in pools of their own blood. They were not even on the bed. In fact, there was no one on the bed.
Someone stood right in front of them. His shaggy blond hair hid light blue eyes reminiscent of ice chips. He glared at them, one hand touching each of their skulls.
“Sneaking into my bedroom and trying to kill my mate and her sister? Bad move,” he told them, and then he slammed their heads together. Hard.
As their consciousness slipped away, Adam and Ian realized what had happened. Them moving up to the bed and slitting the girls’ throats had all been an illusion. They had been tricked, though they had no idea of when they had been ensnared.
Mission failed.
CHAPTER 2
AN OLD FRIEND
Kevin looked down at the two figures he’d knocked unconscious.
Identical buzz cut black hair sat on identical heads. Their faces looked exactly the same. Twins. Both of them wore the black spandex suits that he recognized as belonging to the Sons and Daughters of Humanity, though added to their suits was what appeared to be armor. Shoulder pads and a Kevlar vest, knee pads and grieves. Attached to their waists were several weapons: throwing knives, guns, and grenades. The bandolier slung across their chests contained several cartridges of ammunition.
“So, these are the two people Kotohime’s barrier picked up earlier this evening?” Lilian frowned as she walked out of the closet she’d been hiding in. “It’s a good thing Iris sensed them coming, or we might not have been able to react in time.”
“Heh.” Iris wore a smug grin as she followed her sister out of the closet. “Do I get a kiss for being awesome?”
“No,” Kevin said at the same time as Lilian’s, “Maybe later.”
“You two spoke at the same time. How cute.”
Kevin rolled his eyes as he and Lilian got to work. The first thing they did was tie the two up. Because they didn’t have any rope, they were forced to improvise by using the bed sheets. Lilian also put them into an enchanted sleep, ensuring that they would remain inert until someone either disrupted their neural pathways or caused them a lot of pain. Tying them up was just an extra precaution.
While they were tying the two up, Kevin heard a faint sound coming from the two assassins’ ears.
“What is that?” Lilian asked, her fox ears twitching.
Kevin glanced at her ears, then took a deep breath and looked away. Now was not the time to get turned on by his mate’s ears.
“It sounds like someone’s talking—a communication device?”
Kevin pulled a small device from the left twin’s right ear. It looked very similar to a Bluetooth headset. A voice came from it, and he held it up so the three of them could hear what was being said.
“… copy. I repeat. Do you copy? Adam. Ian. Have the targets been eliminated? I order you to report in.”
“This voice…” Kevin muttered, his lips turning downwards as he squinted in concentration. “It sounds familiar. I feel like I should know it.”
“Do you think we should talk to them?” Iris asked.
“No,” Kevin determined, shaking his head. “It would be stupid to talk to them and let them know that their subordinates failed to kill us.”
“Ugh, you’re not being very genre savvy here, Stud,” the raven-haired girl complained. “You know how these things go. Whenever the hero gets the chance to speak with his enemy, he always takes it and says something witty. That’s how this stuff works.”
“Um, no, it isn’t,” Kevin retorted smartly.
Iris opened her mouth to reply, but Lilian cut her off. “Kevin’s right. That sort of conversation only happens when the hero is confronted with an enemy that he can’t defeat with his strength alone.”
“Nuh uh, I’ve seen it happen before in that one anime you guys made me watch.”
“Which one?” Kevin asked.
“Um, uh, I can’t remember,” Iris admitted sheepishly. “You two make me watch a lot of anime, but I remember it happening.”
“Whatever.”
“I think you’re forgetting something,” Lilian said.
“And what’s that?”
“That this isn’t an anime.”
“So you say, but I’m sure that I can convince the author to make it happen if I write a strongly worded letter.”
“The author is a very busy man.” Lilian immediately shot down Iris’s idea. “He doesn’t have time to read letters.”
“Psh!” Iris scoffed. “The author is a lazy hack who would rather watch anime than work.”
That is such a cruel thing to say!
“Only because it’s true,” Iris retorted.
“There will be no letters sent to anyone.” Kevin didn’t know who Iris was talking to, and he didn’t care right now. There was important work to be done. “And we’re not going to talk to whoever is on the other end of this line.”
“What should we do, then?” Lilian asked before Iris could put her foot in her mouth.
“We need to let Kotohime know about this.”
“There is no need.” Kotohime opened the door to their room and stepped inside. “I already know.”
The four-tailed kitsune was not only wide awake, but she was also dressed in a kimono. Dark blue with lighter accents, the kimono had concentric swirls imprinted on the fabric that reminded him of galaxies. She walked in with light steps. In her left hand was her katana. Her wakizashi was hidden in the light blue obi keeping her kimono from drifting apart.
Her eyes were sharper than the katana she wielded.
“Are the others awake?” Kevin asked.
Kotohime nodded. “I woke them up once I felt youki emissions coming from your room—nice illusion by the way, Lilian-sama,” the swordswoman took a moment to praise her charge before returning to the task at hand. “Kirihime is currently getting in contact with Kiara-san and Heather-san. They should be here soon.”
“That’s good.” Kevin sighed in relief.
Nodding again, Kotohime paused as she glanced at the two people that were sitting together back to back, with several sheets wrapped around them binding them together.
“Kevin-sama, may I ask, why do these two have ball gags in their mouths?”
“That was my idea.” Iris sounded quite proud of herself as she thrust out her magnificent chest. “I thought it would be funny. I’m just sad that I won’t be around to see their reaction when they wake up.”
“They will not be waking up,” Kotohime declared.
Kevin and Lilian went stock-still while Iris sobered up. They all understood what she meant.
“You know that I don’t like the idea of killing in cold blood.” Kevin raised a hand when Kotohime opened her mouth, forestalling her protest. “But,” he took a deep breath, “I understand that if we let them live, they will probably go on to kill more people, or maybe they will try to kill us again. They clearly have experience with assassinations already. I’m pretty sure the only reason Iris and Lilian are alive right now is because they’ve never tried to assassinate a kitsune before.”
As expert illusionists, kitsune were the most elusive type of yōkai a person could run across. They generally preferred avoiding battles instead of seeking them out, and their talent at weaving illusions helped ensure that they could do just that. Had these two been more experienced with kitsune, the first thing they would have done was check for illusions.
“I am glad you understand this.” Kotohime looked at him proudly before gesturing to the door. “Now, then, you three should head into the living room. With luck, Kiara-san and Heather-san will arrive soon. Then we can leave. This place is no longer safe.”
With nothing better to do, Kevin, Lilian, and Iris walked towards the door.
Kevin took one last glance at the two assassins, who he knew he would never see again, before following his mate and her sister.
***
Justin stopped trying to contact Adam and Ian through his communicator, and instead stared at the GPS screen, looking at the two green blips that represented the assassin twins.
They hadn’t moved from that spot for the past fifteen minutes. Assassinating two people, even two yōkai, shouldn’t take more than, at most, two. Assassinations were supposed to be quick and simple. In and out. That they hadn’t moved at all was cause for concern.
He was standing outside, near Kevin’s house, and keeping track of Adam and Ian through a small tablet. Ignoring the chilly night air, he continued staring at his screen.
“Damn it,” he swore, “if only I could see what was happening in there.”
Except he couldn’t see. They hadn’t been able to attach a live video feed because it would have messed with the other system monitoring Adam and Ian’s vital functions.
Vital functions that suddenly flatlined.
Justin swore.
Then he pressed a button on his tablet and shouted into a speaker. “Code red! Send in the Yōkai Killers now! All targets are officially kill-on-sight!”
***
Kevin sat with Lilian and the others.
Camellia stood by the couch, wearing a simple sheer nightgown. Kevin tried not to look at her. The woman didn’t believe in bras, and if he glanced her way, he knew that he would see her breasts. Kirihime stood beside the mother of two, dressed in her French maid outfit, which made him wonder if she ever took it off.
“Think the reason Kotohime’s taking so long is because she’s disposing of the bodies?” Iris asked from where she sat on the couch, resting her head on Lilian’s shoulder. The redhead didn’t seem to mind.
She’s been giving Iris more leeway lately…
Kirihime frowned. “I hope not. My sister doesn’t know how to properly skin a carcass.” The woman appeared most depressed with her slumped shoulders and her stooped posture. “I wish she would have let me dispose of those two. I could use the leather.”
Kevin wondered if his face looked as green as Lilian’s and Iris’s right now.
Just then, Kotohime wandered into the living room. Her body remained pristine, with not a hint of blood on her kimono, yet the scent of death clung to her like a layer of smog. Her eyes were hard and unyielding like diamonds.
“I am finished,” she announced.
Kirihime pouted. “You didn’t even properly skin the bodies, did you?”
While he and the two younger kitsune turned greener, Kotohime merely rolled her eyes. “We do not have the time for such a long endeavor. We must leave at once. Kevin-sama, do you have your car keys?”
“Yes.” Kevin jangled the keys in his left hand. The other was firmly clasping Lilian’s hand.
“Good. Then lead us to your car. We’re leaving.”
Everyone stood up and made their way to the door.
“What about Kiara and Heather?” Lilian asked. “They haven’t arrived yet.”
Kotohime was just about to answer, when a large explosion rocked the entire complex. Windows rattled and lights went out. Screams could be heard from their neighbors over the din of destruction. It felt as if the very earth itself was being shaken apart.
Kevin’s eyes widened as he rushed over to a window and looked out. One of the buildings was on fire. An entire portion of the wall had been blown out, having seemingly exploded inwards, though it was hard to judge from this distance.
“That’s Kiara’s building!” Kevin exclaimed.
Kotohime frowned. “Indeed, it is. It looks like Kiara-san and Heather-san have fallen under attack. A rather indiscriminate attack at that.”
“Why?” Kevin asked, his eyes locked on the scene before him. “I thought The Sons and Daughters of Humanity were trying to remain discreet.”
“Perhaps they have finally decided that discretion is no longer needed.” Kotohime shrugged. “We cannot know what goes on within the minds of such people.”
As Kevin continued to stare, several more explosions demolished even more of the building. He couldn’t see where the explosions were coming from, but he could see multiple vibrant red waves being launched out from the collapsed portion of the wall. Kiara. That had to be Kiara using her youki manipulation to manifest a physical attack in the form of crescent waves. Several explosions rocked the airspace above them—bombs that would have struck the building had Kiara not launched her youki at them.
“Beloved,” Lilian tugged on his arm, “we need to leave. We can’t stay here.”
Kevin looked at her, conflicted. He wanted to go over and help Kiara, but he also knew that Kiara didn’t really need his help. If anything, he’d become a liability.
“You’re right,” he sighed. “Let’s go.”
After exiting the condo, he and the group of kitsune rushed down the stairs and toward his car. More explosions rocked the complex. Screams could be heard all around them. Kevin saw that they were not the only ones rushing to their cars. Dozens of people were streaming out from their complexes, screaming and crying, a threnody of terrified voices mixing as people trampled each other in their effort to leave. His group appeared to be the only one not panicking.
“Hawa…” Camellia stopped in the middle of the road when another series of explosions lit up the sky. “So pretty…”
“Come on, Lady Camellia.” Kirihime grabbed the woman by the arm and tugged her along. “We must leave now.”
Kevin unlocked the vehicle and everyone piled in. Camellia, Kirihime, Iris, and Lilian were loaded into the back, while Kotohime took the passenger seat up front.
The car thrummed to life as he twisted his keys in the ignition. They were ready to go. There was just one problem.
The streets were congested. Blocked by pedestrians and vehicles alike. Everyone was packed together, a horde of humanity, all of whom were panicking, nearly stampeding over each other in their effort to escape from the flames and explosions. He couldn’t move, not unless he wanted to run over his fellow humans.
“Come on, people,” he muttered, looking out of his rear-view mirror. “Move. Move.”
“Kevin-sama.”
“What is it?”
“Something is coming our way.”
Kevin barely had a moment to glance at Kotohime before one of the cars to his left was crushed. The shriek of crunching metal grated on his ears. The kitsune with him all covered their own ears, flinching as the sound violently shook their bodies. Ignoring his discomfort, Kevin peered out of his window to look at the now ruined vehicle.
Something was on top of the car. It stood on two legs. Moonlight reflected off its gleaming, anthropomorphic body. A bullet-shaped head swiveled as a T-shaped red visor took in its surroundings. Clawed feet clacked against the crushed remains of the car, and equally nasty-looking hands sliced through the aluminum chassis of the vehicle it crouched on with ease.
“By Inari’s left nut sack!” Iris exclaimed. “What is that?”
“That,” Kotohime did not take her eyes off the metallic creature, whose red-visored face craned around to look at them, “is one of the machines that Kirihime and I fought when Heather-san was injured.”
Kotohime’s words forced everyone into silence. In a situation like this, none of them knew what to say.
“Hawa.”
Except for Camellia.
***
Kiara snarled as she sent another crescent wave of bright red yōkai at the missiles that tried to rain down on her condo. She didn’t know what was going on, had no clue who was attacking her, and couldn’t for the life of her figure out why they were attacking her. All she knew was her anger. All she felt was rage.
Her once pristine condo was in ruins. All of the expensive gadgets she had bought were gone, either burning wreckage or melted slag. The acrid scent of melted plastic and scorched metal made her nose wrinkle. Several of
her walls had been destroyed, completely annihilated. To top it off, her favorite poster of Hugh Jackman, which she proudly displayed in her office, had been destroyed.
Crouched down beside her, Heather looked up at the many missiles being detonated miles above. She held a pair of binoculars over her eyes and scanned the area for any sign of their enemy.
“Can you see them?” Kiara shouted over the roar of a dozen exploding missiles, which flashed in a brilliant array of reds and yellows. Her hair was whipped up into a frenzy and a wave of heat washed over her. Anyone else would have flinched. She ignored both of those things and kept her eyes out for more missiles.
“No,” Heather shouted back. “Not yet—wait! I see something!”
“What is it?”
“It looks like…” Heather adjusted the specs of her binoculars, zooming in on something that Kiara couldn’t see. “There! Twelve o’clock!”
Kiara didn’t hesitate.
Roaring like a wild beast, she unleashed her potent youki, channeling it into her only remaining hand, which she used to lash out at the sky, as if attempting to tear the veil of reality asunder. Red fire leapt from her hand, a billowing inferno of ethereal energy. It shot forth in the shape of a powerful crescent, traveling up, up, up, before exploding in a brilliant haze of red particles.
“You got it!” Heather cheered, though her exuberance didn’t last long. “Uh-oh.”
“Why do I not like the sound of that ‘uh-oh’?”
“Whatever you just hit is falling straight towards the condo.”
“Well, shit,” Kiara swore mere seconds before the roof collapsed on top of them.
***
Kotohime felt a familiar calmness settle over her. It was the peaceful serenity that all skilled warriors experienced when they were about to enter a battle, a blanking of the mind as all thoughts and worries fled. She embraced this feeling, understanding that she would need it in the next few seconds.
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