by Julie Kagawa
I felt sick, like a millstone was pressing down on my insides. I’d met the cold, emotionless demonslayer when a horde of demons led by the terrible oni Yaburama had attacked my home, the Silent Winds temple, and I was forced to flee while they massacred everyone there. I’d convinced Tatsumi to accompany me to the capital to find Master Jiro, the only person who knew the location of the hidden Steel Feather temple, because the temple held one piece of the object everyone was looking for.
The Dragon scroll. The thing that could summon the Great Kami into the world to grant the bearer’s heart’s desire. The item everyone was desperately searching for, was willing to kill for. Including Tatsumi. His clan leader had sent him to retrieve the scroll, and he would have stopped at nothing to acquire it.
When we’d met, I’d told the demonslayer a tiny white lie: I said I didn’t have the scroll, but I could take him to where one piece of it had been sent—the Steel Feather temple. What Tatsumi didn’t know was that I had that piece of the scroll hidden in the furoshiki cloth tied around my shoulders. And maybe that had been terribly deceitful, but if Tatsumi had known I possessed a fragment of the scroll back then, he would have killed me and taken it to his daimyo. And I’d promised Master Isao I would protect that piece of the prayer at all costs. It was my greatest secret, well…aside from being half-kitsune.
But, Kage Tatsumi had his secrets, too. The greatest one being Hakaimono, the oni spirit that lived in his sword and was constantly fighting him for control. During the final battle with Yaburama, the demon in the sword had finally overwhelmed the demonslayer, and Kage Tatsumi was no longer the quiet, brooding warrior I’d come to know over our travels. Gone was the boy who was fearless and pragmatic, who had no sense of self because his life was dedicated to serving his clan. Who was cold and unfriendly and standoffish, until you learned that it was his duty as the bearer of Kamigoroshi that made him shy away from people. The knowledge that he had to remain in control at all times, or a demon would possess him.
And now, it had happened. Kage Tatsumi had been possessed by the terrifying and wholly evil Hakaimono, and I had no idea how we were going to bring him back.
“There must be another way,” I insisted. “A ritual, an exorcism. You’re a priest, right? Can’t you exorcise Hakaimono and get him to leave Tatsumi-san?”
Master Jiro shook his head. “I am sorry, Yumeko-chan,” he said. “Were it a normal demon, a yurei ghost, or even the spirit of a tanuki, it would be possible. But Hakaimono is not a normal demon. He is one of the four great generals of Jigoku, one of the strongest oni that has ever been spawned. If freeing the sword bearer could be done, the Kage would have found a way, and I am only one priest.” He made a small, hopeless gesture with one wrinkled hand. “In the past, it took entire armies of men to bring Hakaimono down, and he still left a trail of bodies and destruction behind him before his rampage was brought to an end.”
“We can’t worry about the demonslayer,” Reika said, her voice firm. “We have to deliver your piece of the scroll to the Steel Feather temple. Let Kage-san’s own people deal with what he has become.” At my horrified look, her eyes softened, though her voice remained hard. “I’m sorry, Yumeko-chan. I know you and Kage-san grew close as you traveled together, but we cannot waste time chasing down an oni lord. Protecting the scroll is more important.” She jabbed a finger at my furoshiki. “Everything we’re facing now—Hakaimono, Kamigoroshi, the demons, the blood witch, the possessed demonslayer—it’s all because of that cursed scrap of paper. Because humanity has proven that it cannot be trusted with an item of ultimate, world-changing power. We must deliver the scroll to the Steel Feather temple and make sure the Dragon cannot be summoned in this era. That is the only thing that matters.”
“Hang on.” Okame sat up, frowning. “I admit, the demonslayer is pretty scary sometimes, and he’s threatened to kill me on occasion, and he has the personality of a disdainful rock…” Reika glared at him, and he hurried on. “But that doesn’t mean we should abandon someone who fought with us against a blood witch and a demon army. How do we know he can’t be saved?”
“What is your solution, ronin?” Reika snapped. “Track Hakaimono across the empire? We don’t even know where he’s gone, and there are still things out there searching for the Dragon scroll. Even if we do find him, what then? Attempt an exorcism? No mortal has been strong enough to drive Hakaimono out once he takes control.”
“Oh, I see,” Okame shot back. “So, your solution is to ignore the insanely powerful oni lord and hope he becomes someone else’s problem.”
“No, Okame-san. Reika…Reika is right.” My voice came out choked, and my eyes blurred with tears. It felt like a mirror had shattered inside me, and the shards were cutting me apart from within. I swallowed hard and continued, even though I hated it. “Getting the scroll to the temple…is more important,” I whispered. “The Dragon’s prayer was entrusted to me, and everyone at my temple died to protect it. I have to finish what I started, what I promised Master Isao.
“But,” I added, as a somber silence fell, “that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning Tatsumi. When this is done, after we reach the Steel Feather temple and deliver the scroll, I’m going to find Hakaimono and force him back into the sword.”
“Nani?” The shrine maiden sounded incredulous. “Alone? You’re no match for Hakaimono, Yumeko-chan.”
“I know,” I said, shivering as I remembered the terrifying form of Hakaimono looming over me. Looking into his crimson eyes and seeing no hint of Tatsumi staring back. “But Tatsumi is strong,” I added, as the shrine maiden frowned. “He’s been fighting the demon for nearly his whole life. I’m not going to abandon him to Hakaimono. I have to try to save him.”
“Forgive me, Yumeko-san,” came Taiyo Daisuke’s voice. “But there is something I have yet to understand.” He shifted to a new position, and his sharp, intelligent gaze fixed on me. “You are kitsune,” he said, and though I heard no malice in his voice, it still drove a cold spear through my stomach. “Why do you care so much for the demonslayer?”
I swallowed. In the battle against Satomi’s demons, my true nature had been exposed, revealing my half-yokai blood to everyone. Reika had known, but it had come as a shock to Okame and Daisuke when I’d suddenly appeared with fox ears and a tail. Considering my full-blooded kin were notorious tricksters and troublemakers, and yokai were not looked upon favorably by most humans, they had taken the revelation surprisingly well. Still, I was kitsune; while they might accept that I wasn’t dangerous, I was still yokai, something they didn’t understand. I didn’t blame the noble for questioning my motives. I would just have to work extra hard to prove to them that I was still the Yumeko they had always known, foxtail and all.
“Tatsumi saved my life,” I told Daisuke. “We both made a promise. You don’t understand, you didn’t hear Hakaimono…” My voice caught, remembering the demon’s taunts, his sadistic amusement as he’d informed me Tatsumi could see and hear everything that was happening. “He’s suffering,” I whispered. “I can’t let Hakaimono win. After I take the scroll to the temple, I’m going after Tatsumi, and the First Oni. None of you have to come,” I added, gazing around the fire. “I know saving Tatsumi wasn’t ever in the plan. After we get to the temple and the scroll is safe, we can go our separate ways, if that’s what you wish.”
Across the fire, Okame let out a long sigh and raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, that’s not going to work,” he stated. “If you’re going to go chasing merrily after the demonslayer, Yumeko-chan, you should already know I’m coming along. I don’t necessarily like the guy, but he’s good at chopping things that want to eat us in half.” He shrugged and offered a wry grin. “Besides, if he isn’t around, who am I going to pester? Taiyo-san just doesn’t give the same ‘I’m going to kill you’ looks.”
I smiled, relief warming my insides like tea on a cold night. “Arigatou, Okame-san.”
Daisuke’s brow furrowed as he gazed at the sword in his lap. “I was unab
le to protect Kage-san while he was fighting Yaburama,” he said, touching the lacquered sword sheath. “I vowed to keep him alive so I could duel the bearer of Kamigoroshi when Yumeko-san finished her task. I failed, and if Kage Tatsumi is killed, our duel will be lost.” His eyes narrowed, and he looked up at me. “You have my blade, Yumeko-san. I will redeem my past failure, and when the demon has been driven back into the sword, Kage-san will be free to duel me as he promised.”
“Baka.” Reika snorted, and in her lap, the two canines raised their heads. “Every one of you. You’re all talking about saving the demonslayer as if facing down an oni lord is going to be easy. Remember Yaburama? Remember how he nearly killed you all? Hakaimono is far worse. But more important than that…” She glared at me, dark eyes flashing. “Even if you do manage to find Hakaimono without being ripped apart the second he notices you, how do you intend to save your demonslayer, kitsune? Are you a priestess? Can you perform an exorcism? Do you possess spiritual magic strong enough to not only cast Hakaimono out, but to bind him in place long enough to actually perform the exorcism? Because if you don’t, if you can’t control him, he’s going to slaughter you long before you can get close enough to do anything. Have you thought about any of this?” Her gaze narrowed darkly. “Do you even know what’s involved in exorcising a demon? Or do you think your kitsune tricks and illusions will work on an oni as ancient as Hakaimono?”
I flattened my ears at the verbal assault and the anger radiating from the miko. “Why are you yelling at me, Reika-san?” I asked. “I’m not going after Tatsumi until after I’ve delivered the scroll to the Steel Feather temple. That’s what you wanted, right?”
“Of course it is! It’s just…” Reika exhaled sharply. “You cannot simply chase after Hakaimono and hope for the best, kitsune,” she said. “Especially when you have no way to deal with him. All you’ll be doing is throwing your life away, which does not sit well with those of us who have been trying so hard to protect it!”
“Reika-san.” Master Jiro’s voice was soft, a gentle reprimand, and the shrine maiden sank back, though her eyes still flashed with dark fire as she glared at me. With a sigh, the old priest put down his pipe and turned his gaze to mine.
“Yumeko-chan,” he began in that same calm, unruffled voice. “You must know that what you are proposing is not only very dangerous, but it has never been done before. Driving out an oni, particularly one like Hakaimono, is not like exorcising a malicious tanuki or kitsune spirit. It is not the same as freeing a person from kitsune-tsuki. I am assuming you know of what I speak.”
I nodded. Kitsune-tsuki was fox possession, something that the most evil of my full-blooded relatives, the nogitsune, delighted in. Their spirits could slip into a person and take over their body, controlling them from the inside. What they made their hosts do depended on the nogitsune, but they were mostly depraved, twisted acts for the fox’s own pleasure and entertainment. During my training at the Silent Winds temple, I had spent a single evening learning about kitsune-tsuki from Denga, and had alternated between being terrified and quite sick the rest of the night.
Which, I suspected now, had been the intent.
Master Jiro tapped the end of his pipe against a rock, spilling ashes onto the surface. “Hakaimono is not a kitsune spirit, Yumeko-chan,” he stated. “He is not a ghost, or a tanuki, or something that can be exorcised with words or pain or the application of one’s will. He is an oni, possibly the strongest Jigoku has ever spawned. Whatever became of the demonslayer’s soul is locked deep within Hakaimono, and no priest or blood mage in the history of Iwagoto has been able to overcome the First Oni’s will with his own. If you decide to face Hakaimono, it is likely that you and everyone around you will die.”
I swallowed hard, as a stony weight settled in the pit of my stomach. “I understand, Master Jiro,” I told the priest. “And it’s all right. You and Reika don’t have to come.”
“That is not what I am saying, Yumeko-chan.” Master Jiro sighed and tucked his pipe back into his obi. “Driving a spirit from a possessed body is taxing and dangerous,” he said, “for both the ones performing the exorcism, and the victim himself. To have a chance against an oni of this power, we must be of the same mind. I am willing to accept the risk—”
“Master Jiro—” Reika began, sounding horrified, but the priest held up a hand, silencing her.
“I am willing,” the priest went on, “but to attempt an exorcism, we must first bind the demon so it cannot escape and slaughter those performing the ritual. There can be no doubt, no dissention between us.” He looked around the fire, at me, Reika, Daisuke and Okame, his expression solemn. “The First Oni is not to be underestimated. If we fail, make no mistake that Hakaimono will kill us all. So we must be in agreement. Is this truly the path we wish to take?”
All eyes were on me now, as if my answer would shape the decisions of everyone who followed. And for a moment, I hesitated, as the magnitude of the situation settled over me like a heavy winter quilt. Was I doing the right thing? All of my companions were willing to help me, but at what cost? According to Master Jiro, exorcising the demon might not be possible. If we went after Tatsumi, I would be putting the lives of everyone around me in danger. We could all die facing Hakaimono.
But I remembered the night I’d performed for the emperor of Iwagoto, how Tatsumi’s eyes had revealed worry and desperation, because he’d been afraid I would be outed as a charlatan and executed. I remembered the way he almost touched me, his hand a breath from my face, when before he had recoiled from any physical contact, as if expecting to be hurt. And I knew I couldn’t leave him trapped inside the monster he had become, especially when Hakaimono had gloated that Tatsumi could see and hear everything happening around him and was powerless to stop it.
“I’m sure,” I said firmly, ignoring the shrine maiden’s frustrated sigh. “Even if it’s impossible, even if Hakaimono kills me…I have to try. I’m sorry, Reika-san, I know it’s dangerous, but I can’t leave him to suffer. If there’s the smallest chance to save Tatsumi, I have to take it. But, I swear, I’ll get the scroll to the temple first. You don’t have to worry about that.”
She rubbed her forehead in a resigned, exasperated manner. “As if delivering the scroll is going to be a simple task, as well,” she sighed.
“Well, that settles it, then.” Okame stood and stretched his long, wiry arms, as if he had grown tired of the debate and had to move. “Tomorrow morning, we take the Dragon scroll to the Steel Feather temple and save the empire from a plague of evil and darkness. And after that, we hunt down Hakaimono to rescue the demonslayer and save the empire from a plague of evil and darkness.” He snorted and shook his head. “That’s a lot of evil and darkness we have to deal with. I bet life will seem quite boring afterward.”
“Unlikely,” Reika muttered. “We’ll probably all be dead.”
Okame ignored that. “I’ll take first watch,” he announced, leaping gracefully onto an overhanging branch. “Everyone can rest easy, and don’t worry—if I see any bandits, they’ll be dead before they know what hit them.”
“Do not be greedy, Okame-san,” Daisuke said, making the ronin pause with his hand on the next branch. “If you see any dishonorable curs attempting to sneak up on us, pray give me a signal so that I may greet them on my feet. And if you see Hakaimono himself, remember that I have a promise to duel Kage-san. I would ask that you not deny me that most glorious battle.”
“Oh, don’t worry, Taiyo-san. If I spot an oni lord trying to sneak up on us, the whole forest will hear me yell.”
He shot us a final grin and disappeared into the branches. As the noble leaned against the log and Reika tucked her hands into her billowy haori sleeves, I cast about for a good place to lie down. I didn’t have a blanket or pillow, and even though it was late summer, the night was chilly so close to the Sky Clan mountains. But my red-and-white onmyoji robe was heavy and the material was warm. I curled up in a patch of dry leaves, listened to the hoot of an owl
and the rustle of many small creatures around me, and tried not to think too much about Hakaimono. How strong he was. That I had no idea what the five of us could do to defeat an ancient oni lord, much less drive him out of Tatsumi. And how a rather large part of myself was completely, absolutely terrified to face him again.
“Hello, little dreamer.”
The unfamiliar voice was deep and lyrical, caressing my ears like a song. Blinking, I raised my head to find myself in a bamboo grove, green-and-yellow fireflies drifting through the stalks like floating stars. The dirt beneath my paws was cool and soft, and a tiny pond shimmered in the moonlight just a few feet away. When I peeked into the water, golden eyes in a furry face stared back, black-tipped ears standing tall against the night.
A low chuckle made the stalks around me vibrate. “I am not in the pond, small one.”
I turned, and a shiver raced from the base of my tail all the way up my spine, making the fur along my back stand straight up.
A magnificent fox sat where a pool of moonlight had collected between the bamboo, watching me with eyes like flickering candles. His fur was a brilliant white, thick and flowing, and seemed to glow in the darkness, casting a halo of light all around him. His bushy tail was a plume of silver-white that rippled and swayed as if it had a mind of its own.
“It is not polite to stare at your elders, little cub.”
I shook myself, and around me, the grove seemed to ripple, subtly shifting in appearance. Or perhaps it was just a trick of the moonlight. “Who are you?” I asked. “What is this place?”
“Who I am doesn’t matter.” The white fox rose, his elegant tail waving in the breeze. “I am kin, though a great deal older than you. As for where you are…can you not guess? You are kitsune, it should not be that difficult.”