by C. J. Anaya
His palpable relief tugged at my guilty conscience. No matter his recent behavior, Katsu was a good and faithful companion. I shoved my guilt aside before it tempted me to reconsider my decision.
His previous words began to sink in, and I felt anxious once again.
“I had no idea kami could find a person with their ki,” I stated.
“Every living thing is connected to the veil in some way. The veil is all around us, brushing against our spirits. We don’t sense its presence unless we learn to focus on it as I’ve been trying to teach you. I failed to encounter yours. I’ve never experienced that kind of fear.”
I remembered Akane’s cryptic remarks about Musubi’s ability to hide people. Did she refer to hiding someone’s ki?
“Not only was I safe within the wards of the temple, but my ki remained damaged. Might that also have contributed to your failed search?”
Katsu gave me a brief nod as if my explanation made perfect sense, but his emotions conveyed his unease on the matter. My explanation was weak, and I knew it. As a living entity, my presence should have registered no matter how damaged my ki remained.
“Let’s return you to the palace. I don’t like how exposed we are to possible rebels.” He gave me a once-over as if he couldn’t quite come to terms with the idea that I was truly alive and well. He stopped short once he took in my apparel. “Mikomi, do you always study at the temple dressed in men’s attire?”
I gazed upon my clothing in chagrin, searching my mind for a viable explanation when Kenji spoke up.
“Have you ever worn a kimono, Katsu? They’re terribly uncomfortable.”
Katsu’s eyes narrowed at this. “Have you ever worn a kimono?”
I bit the inside of my cheeks to prevent a chuckle from escaping.
“How did you know to come back for me when you did?” I interceded before Kenji was able to form some inane response.
“I’ve been scanning for your ki ever since you went missing in the middle of the night. One moment I could sense you and the next moment you were gone. About thirty minutes ago I was able to sense your ki again. It led me here.””
About the time Musubi took his leave from Akane and myself. That had to be the answer.
“Thus supporting my story,” Kenji stated airily. “This is the price we pay for extensive veil study and internal reflection, Mikomi. No good deed goes unpunished.”” I might have felt guilty for the part I played in his arrest, but he looked so delighted by the entire ordeal, I wondered if I should feel guiltier for the endless monotony he suffered as a tutor day in and day out. Then again, it couldn’t have been too tedious. He did instruct Saigo, after all.
I was not happy with this newly discovered ability Katsu claimed to possess. So long as I lived and breathed, he would be capable of tracking me anywhere in the world. I wondered if it might be more prudent to tell him the truth now rather than later.
I opened my mouth, ready to confess, unburden myself and try to piece together the jumbled bits of this puzzle, when an arrow sailed through the air and hit Katsu’s mount within the fleshy part of its neck. The horse thrashed violently before tripping over the stony path and falling to the earth. Soldiers shouted a warning as they attempted to control their skittish horses. Another arrow sailed through the air, landing in the chest of one soldier and knocking him off his steed.
Force of habit prevented me from considering the possible danger I placed myself in as I lunged forward to aid the fallen soldier. Unfortunately, Katsu must have read the intent upon my face, interpreting my next course of action. He scooped me up in his arms and took off at a rapid pace, running faster than any living thing upon this Earth.
Kami were capable of much more physical exertion than humans, but I had no idea they could attain such outrageous speeds. Within moments we entered the palace gates; a journey of several miles traveled within seconds. I clung to him and breathed deeply before I could lift my head without fearing it might fall off. He gently set me on my feet and held me steady until he was certain I wouldn’t fall over. Once my surprise abated my concern turned to the wounded men we left behind.
“Katsu, I needed to help that soldier!” I yanked away and surprised myself by stamping my foot in outrage.
He shook his head in disbelief. A shadow of a smile lit his expression. “You are exasperating, Mikomi. You simply cannot help yourself, can you? Do you really think I’ll ever allow you to heal another person again? Your ki has finally regained full power, and I won’’t risk your ascension, especially for some nameless soldier who died an honorable death.”
Allow me?
So we were back to that again. Katsu baffled me with the extremes of his personality. Heartless one moment, then kind and caring the next. I could have screamed at him for his interference, but another more horrifying thought distracted me.
“And what of Kenji and the others? We’re just going to abandon them as well?”
“That tutor of yours is more resourceful than I think you or I have ever given him credit for, and my duty is to you. Always to you.”
I absently ran a hand through my disheveled hair. “I don’t understand what just happened. Who would be shooting arrows at us?”
“Your ignorance of your own peril, while quite endearing, is also utterly frustrating. Do you not understand that the rebels would love nothing more than to get their hands on you and use you against the emperor?”
Though his reasoning made perfect sense, I could hardly point out my involvement with the rebels in order to clear the group’s name. Who else might possess a motive for attacking us? Maybe a few disgruntled peasants or some of my father’s soldiers who had deserted his armies? How would they have known where to find me? A disquieting uneasiness settled over me. I did my best to shake off the sensation.
I glanced at Katsu. “Why on earth would you ever have use for a horse when you’re capable of running faster on your own?”
He let out a soft chuckle. “The situation necessitated that I bring guards with me in case we ran into any trouble, which we did, and running at those speeds takes up a large amount of energy. Most kami avoid this type of travel unless absolutely necessary.”
“Mikomi,” Saigo shouted. I turned around to see my brother running toward me from the direction of the kitchens.
“I see you were attending to your stomach while I toiled away the hours with tedious study and reflection,” I teased in an attempt to lighten my frustrated mood.
“It’s truly amazing how Kenji’s lessons can increase one’s appetite,”” he replied as he reached me and held me in a tight embrace. “Glad to have you back in one piece, big sister.”
I stepped back and gave him a conspiratorial wink while Katsu was distracted with guards reporting their findings to him.
“Honorable Katsu, we recovered the arrow meant for the princess,” one of the guards said. He lifted it in his hand as if he were loath to touch it, presenting it to Katsu while quaking with fear.
I puzzled at the black coloring of the arrow and its familiarity, plucking at a distant memory.
Katsu grabbed it, his eyes wide. “This is impossible. I didn’t sense another breach against the veil from the demon god.”
“What?” I looked from Katsu to the arrow, and then realization came crashing down. The arrow hadn’t been shot from some disgruntled soldier’’s bow. It came from the bow of a nekomata.
“We need to secure the princess within the palace where we can better protect her. We’re too exposed here in the courtyard.”
The moment Katsu finished his sentence, sounds of battle carried from without the gates. Katsu and Saigo grabbed hold of me on either side to pull me further into the palace, but a strange hissing noise zipped through the air. I was thrown to the floor as something smolderingly hot whizzed just above my head. The sound of an object hitting the palace walls and exploding reverberated throughout the courtyard. I lifted my head to glance back and saw the wall had been scorched black by a fireball, smolderi
ng a few inches from our position.
My eyes widened in disbelief as the flames and blackened marks against the wall disappeared moments later.
“We’ve got to get the princess inside, Saigo.” Katsu grabbed my arm and roughly pulled me to my feet. A violent commotion of screams and battle cries carried from the gates’’ entrance where more soldiers had gathered. Without warning I was knocked to the floor again as something large and black threw itself at Katsu.
I rolled away from him as he struggled with the nekomata. My training kicked in, and I moved forward, ready to launch an attack to distract the monster and give Katsu the upper hand.
“Go,” he shouted as he struggled with his assailant. “Saigo, get your sister out of here! Go!” Saigo shoved me forward while I voiced my protests.
“I cannot leave him behind.”
“You will only be a distraction, Mikomi.” Saigo shook my shoulders. “Do you desire to be the cause of his death?”
The truthfulness of his words pierced my harried thoughts.
“Run, Saigo.”
We dashed through the chaos into a side door and down a hall that would lead to my father’s private study. My goal was to open that damnable door that led to my father’s private torture chambers below the palace and hide there until Katsu came to retrieve us. With his ability to sense my ki, I knew he wouldn’t have any problems locating us once he had dispatched the demon god’s assassin. I only prayed there weren’t any more of them. I didn’’t know if Katsu had the power to take on several at one time.
After tedious minutes of negotiating the discombobulating maze of hallways and corridors within the palace, we reached my father’s study and rushed through. I stopped short as I saw a gigantic nekomata lounging on the desk at the end of the room, holding a black blade to my father’s throat. To his credit, my father looked entirely unruffled by this horrific turn of events. Almost as if he didn’t care.
He most definitely should have cared.
The threat of a weapon from the underworld was nothing to sniff at.
I wasn’t sure how the nekomata had known to come to that particular spot, but there wasn’t time to ponder on the unexplainable.
“The Healer,” it said in a guttural, unnatural voice. “I wondered when you might be stopping by.”
“What is it that you want?” I said flatly.
I had positioned myself in front of Saigo upon seeing the ugly beast, but Saigo had drawn his sword and maneuvered himself next to me, unwilling to stand down. I was fiercely proud of his bravery, but knew he was no match for this creature. I alternated between fear for my brother and a frustrated anger toward my father. Why wasn’t he putting up more of a fight? He was one of the most powerful kami in creation. Why wouldn’t he make a move?
“You, of course.”
“I’m here, am I not? Just kill me now and leave my family alone. I won’t put up a fight.”
The nekomata bared his teeth and let out a strange chuckling noise, almost a growl and a purr. For a moment his form shimmered and then dissipated, reappearing in the form of a familiar looking soldier, one who had given my blood to several of my father’s generals. The same man whom I’d caught in the gardens with Aiko. My father was working with nekomata? With the demon god? I shot him a look filled with pure hatred, but confusion set in as I sensed his terror and mortification. Had he not understood who he was working with?
“Brave words, young healer. There are many of us who would have you killed immediately. Those that do not wish to be imprisoned any longer in the world of the dead, but the rest of us follow the demon god and he has instructed that certain steps must be taken before you can be put down.”
My mind whirled with this information. “Certain steps? I don’t understand. Are you saying that not all of you follow the demon god?”
“Like any kingdom there are bound to be factions sprouting here and there when individuals become dissatisfied with the way things are run.”
“So those nekomata that tried to kill me previously, they weren’t sent by your god?”
The nekomata’s eyes darkened. “No, but they have paid the price for their disobedience through their own demise. Katsu is a formidable opponent, not easily destroyed. To kill four deserters of the underworld is no easy feat.”
“How did so many get through? I was under the impression that nekomata couldn’t leave the underworld without the powers of their demon god.”
“I believe we have you to thank for that. Penetrating the veil and taking the powers of life or death within your own hands.” His unnaturally slitted eyes glittered as he tsked in mock disapproval. “There are bound to be consequences, child. One cannot expect the powers that govern this world to be abused without severe repercussions.” He slid his inky black gaze to my father, and his mug turned up in a disturbing smile full of sharp teeth and jagged fangs. “Convincing your father to abuse your powers over the years was more than easy to accomplish.”
Was that why my father had me torture so many of his soldiers for over a decade? He had unknowingly been influenced by a nekomata?
“You will not get away with this,” my father hissed in outrage. “Do you have any idea who you are dealing with?”
The nekomata’s grip upon my father tightened. The dagger inched closer to the vulnerable flesh under his chin.
“Of course I know who I’m dealing with. As does my master Amatsu. Your greedy desires for power and dominion played right into my master’s plans. Did you really believe this kami army we built was for you and you alone? Did you honestly think that all of the blood we’ve taken from your daughter over the years went to your soldiers?”
Over the years? I sickened as I considered the implications of Aiko’s involvement in this.
“I find it hard to believe that you had no idea who this...thing was aligned with. At this very moment you have a weapon of the underworld in your possession. You threatened Katsu’s safety,” I growled. I wanted to believe that there was at least a smidgen of good within him or at least an ounce of common sense. How could he align himself with Amatsu?
My father choked back a cough as the nekomata’s dagger hovered precariously close.
“I am not in league with Amatsu. The weapons I obtained were collected from the nekomata who Katsu dispensed with in the garden,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “I have no interest in destroying the veil, or allowing that demon spawn to take over what is rightfully mine. I had no idea that the demon god had planted his minions within my walls. It shouldn’t be possible. They do not possess kami blood.”
“No, but your daughter’s blood holds interesting properties that have managed to sustain us for quite some time.”
“How long have you had access to my blood?” I asked in horror. I knew about the few generals my blood had been given to, but how long had this practice been going on?
“Your blood, young healer, has the power to overcome death, just as your ki has the power to overcome illness and injury. As dwellers of the world of the dead, we nekomata are not able to stay in the world of the living on a permanent basis, but your blood within our system over a period of time is able to reverse the effects of our fall, restoring us to our original glory. While we’’ve given plenty of blood to your father’s soldiers, we have managed to revert several nekomata back to kami throughout the years. And your father, intent upon building a kami army for himself in order to maintain his position as emperor, aided us in this endeavor.”
“You devil spawn. This plan will never succeed. With the few nekomata you’ve succeeded in restoring, your numbers are pitifully low.”
I shook my head at my father’s goading words. He had a dagger from the underworld held to his throat, yet he still assumed he held the upper hand in this situation.
“Why have you waited so long to attack? Why take me now when, according to you, you have had access to me all this time?”
“It has taken many years to cross over a sufficient number of nekomata in order to sta
nd against Katsu, or any other kami intent upon protecting you. We needed time, but we also had a deadline in place. Your ascension and subsequent joining with your soul mate can never be. It is time to return you to my master and end your part in the prophecy for good.””
“You’re taking me to Amatsu this very moment?”
His beady eyes gleamed. “He is quite anxious to meet you.”
The nekomata’s words raised more questions than answers, and all the while my father stood motionless without lifting a single finger to help me. I glared at him in anger.
“Fine. Wherever you need to take me, just do it now.”
“Your cooperation is greatly appreciated,” it sneered.
“You’ll take her over my dead body,” my brother warned, stepping in front of me and brandishing his sword. I had nearly forgotten he stood at my side due to the startling revelations this particular nekomata had shared.
“As you wish,” the frightening creature hissed.
The nekomata came sprinting toward him faster than I could follow. Saigo’s movements were quick and certain as he raised his sword and brought it to bear against the black dagger of the nekomata, smashing it from its clawed grip. Unfortunately, the assassin was much more skilled, kicking Saigo’s feet out from under him and wrenching my brother’s sword from his hand. He took the butt of the sword and smashed it against Saigo’s face, rendering him unconscious as blood spurted from his nose.
I picked up the blackened dagger from the floor and stepped in front of Saigo, trying to remember everything Musubi had taught me and knowing it wouldn’t be enough. The nekomata grinned wickedly and thrust my brother’s sword forward, slicing the fabric on my shoulder and leaving a superficial cut there. I gasped as the stinging spread, angered at the nekomata’s laughter. He was toying with me. He’d already stated he wouldn’t kill me. That didn’’t mean he wouldn’t hurt me. Still, I held my ground in front of my brother and easily moved into the different fighting stances that Musubi had taught me, jabbing and thrusting with the nekomata’s dagger, but my movements were slow and inaccurate, the nekomata easily deflected everything I attempted.