Owl and the Japanese Circus

by Kristi Charish

  “Six hundred years ago I led an army of samurai, loyal to the last, even into death. They had the honor of proving it the day a neighboring warlord challenged us to battle.” The corner of his lip curled up. “He met us on the battlefield at dawn and within the first hour had decimated half my army. Too late I realized my mistake in underestimating him. Thinking he was honorable, I offered my allegiance in return for sparing my samurai.” Oricho’s mouth tightened, and his green eyes flared red. “He agreed, but as it turns out, we had different definitions of spared. Every last one of my samurai was executed while I watched on my knees. He said it was an honor to serve him in death.”

  “What was the warlord’s name?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Kurosawa. He needed another servant to guard his lair while he slept. I was the winning candidate,” Oricho said.

  I’d assumed he was a voluntary employee . . . not an indentured servant. “Why did Mr. Kurosawa make you bring me through here?” I said.

  Oricho inclined his head. “I believe he wishes you to see what happens to those who raise his ire.”

  “What are you?” I said.

  He turned his back on me and continued down the hallway.

  I was shaken. I followed in silence for another fifty feet. The walls of glass-encased pictures stopped, and the hallway forked into two narrower red hallways. We kept to the right until we reached another doorway. Black lacquer with another gold lotus embossed on it. Oricho opened it this time.

  Right back into the dragon’s private casino.

  I grabbed Nadya’s arm as she started to step past me. “It’s Mr. Kurosawa’s lair, the one I told you about,” I whispered. She nodded and fell in step behind me.

  I glanced over at Oricho. I was liking the look of this less with each step. “Don’t you guys have any better spaces for meetings? Like a boardroom or office?”

  “This is Mr. Kurosawa’s preference. I have given you my word you will not be harmed. I do not give my word or protection lightly,” Oricho said, without a trace of deception on his face.

  “Lead the way, and let’s get this over with so I can get back to work.”

  Oricho led the way through the rows of flashing slot machines. Whereas before they’d been silent, now they clinked and chimed all over the room in a warped imitation of an electric orchestra. Nadya squeezed my wrist.

  “Stay close and try not to look at the lights,” I said. “And whatever you do, don’t let Oricho out of your sight,” I said as Captain’s ears perked up and he began to creep towards one of the machines as it chimed jackpot and coins poured out. I picked him up and tucked him under my arm before he could reach any of the coins. “That goes double for you, mister.” Cold air brushed against my skin and sent a shiver up my spine. “I guess cats aren’t immune to dragon lairs either,” I said.

  Oricho cleared his throat from the end of the row. “Perhaps you should put your animal in a carrier.”

  “We’re good now. It won’t happen again.” It damn well wouldn’t with the grip I had on him. I slid the leash on for good measure. He mrowled in protest. “Well, if you’d stop running off, I wouldn’t need the leash, would I?”

  “It’s eerie how the slot machines keep running without any players. I don’t like it,” Nadya said, keeping her voice low. “It smells wrong, cold, like dark winter.” She tsked and shook her head. “It’s hard to describe, but there is something off in the entire room.”

  It hadn’t occurred to me until Nadya pointed it out, but with the running machines and cold air . . . “Nadya, not to alarm you, and just so you know, but red dragons collect ghosts.” I glanced over at Oricho for confirmation.

  He gave me a sad smile. “I told you Mr. Kurosawa and I had differing interpretations of sparing. What better spirits to guard his treasure room than that of a loyal samurai army?”

  I felt sick to my stomach. Nadya’s eyes went wide, and she cursed under her breath. Her grip on my wrist tightened. We both edged ourselves around a narrow corner of the crowded maze. I don’t think either one of us breathed until we spilled onto the poker floor.

  Mr. Kurosawa sat on the white leather couches by the mirrored coffee table, waiting for us, just like he had before. Lady Siyu stood behind him, a tray of drinks in her hands. Her lacquered red mouth drew in a severe line of displeasure at the sight of me.

  Mr. Kurosawa smiled, and I felt Nadya straighten beside me and draw a quick breath. He’d only made a passing effort this time to appear human. His skin was bright red, and wisps of smoke rose off it like rain on hot pavement. His eyes glowed red, consuming his black pupils, and black fangs like those of a tiger protruded over his lower lip.

  I think Mr. Kurosawa was more frightening like this than if he’d completed his shift into a thirty-foot-long dragon.

  He laughed, though it sounded more like a growl. He indicated the couch in front of him. “Please, Owl and companion. Be seated,” he said.

  Lady Siyu sidled around the couch and offered us both a drink. Nadya glanced over at me, eyebrows raised and hands clasped in her lap as Lady Siyu balanced the tray in front of her. “Take a drink, any drink,” I said between my teeth, and proceeded to take the martini. Nadya reached for a glass, then hesitated.

  “Trust me,” I said. “If they want to kill us, they don’t need poison.”

  That earned me a shocked expression from Lady Siyu and another guttural laugh from Mr. Kurosawa.

  “Well said. Now why don’t you explain why you are here and not searching for my artifact? Oricho claims you are getting close.”

  “OK, that’s fair,” I said, and placed my martini on the mirrored coffee table. Time to set myself apart from the run-of-the-mill human. I looked straight at Mr. Kurosawa. “Why the hell didn’t you bother telling me I was after some kind of supernatural weapon?”

  Lady Siyu hissed, and the pretense of a smile faded from Mr. Kurosawa’s face.

  Oricho stepped in. “Mr. Kurosawa, I apologize. Owl has run into a competitor searching for the same artifact.” He gave me a sideways glare. “She must have acquired that information from them—”

  I held up my hand. “Oricho, don’t bother. I’m sick of being left in the dark on this ‘artifact.’ You can’t possibly expect me to find it when I barely have an idea what I’m looking for, and this bullshit about not knowing, when all three of you obviously do—hell, even Marie knows more than I do, and she’s a crazy vampire, and I don’t mean their usual brand of crazy, I mean psychotic crazy. You’ve sent me in completely blind and expect me to perform some kind of miracle retrieval. Well, I have news for you. Either start helping me, or your time will be better spent blackmailing another archaeologist.”

  Oricho’s jaw was clenched. “It is not so simple as you ask—”

  I snorted. “If I had a dime for every time a supernatural monster used that line on me . . . what is it with you people?”

  “There is no need for that tone,” Lady Siyu said, stepping around the glass table towards me.

  “Yeah, there is. You think I’m a servant at your beck and call? I’ve got news for you—I’m not playing. And for the record, the ghosts, the secret entrance? I’m a professional, I don’t appreciate the scare tactics.”

  “You will show respect when addressing Mr. Kurosawa.” There was a threatening drop of the s in “Mr. Kurosawa,” and it came out like a hiss.

  I stood up and Nadya followed. “Fine, have it your way.” I gave a mock bow to Mr. Kurosawa, who was looking less than pleased with my display.

  “You dare go back on your agreement?” Lady Siyu said.

  Now that she was mad, I even got the glint of fang. Naga. No wonder she was so pissed about the Bali temple. Chances are I squashed a relative. Hopefully a close one.

  “You don’t need an archaeologist, you need a hired thug,” I said. I turned my back on her and headed for the door.

  Oricho blocked my way. “Much as I admire your bravery, I cannot help you if you persist with this course of action,”
he said quietly, a sympathetic expression on his face.

  “Oh, come on. I have no intention of going back on my word, but if you three are bent on keeping me in the dark, then you might as well let us get back to work and hope to hell Sabine doesn’t have a translation yet.” While my bravery was still fueled by my temper, I grabbed Nadya and Captain and stepped around Oricho.

  “What is it you need?” Mr. Kurosawa said.

  I stopped and slowly turned around.

  The smoke had stopped rising off his skin, and he’d switched back to the well-respected Japanese businessman in an expensive gray suit. I had no idea if that was a good or bad thing. “For one, I need help with this translation.”

  “What about Nuroshi? You’ve used him before, and he has been efficient,” Lady Siyu said, not bothering to hide her contempt.

  “Yeah, funny you’d mention him. He was working for Sabine before she put a spear in his back, so to answer your question, no, I won’t be using Nuroshi.”

  That surprised her. I guess Oricho hadn’t told her yet. Well, at least one monster was taking my advice seriously.

  “It’s coded,” I continued, “but nothing I recognize. I think it might be supernatural text.”

  Mr. Kurosawa snarled. “Unlikely. As a habit, we do not leave such things lying around for humans to stumble into.”

  “All the same, I’d like you to look. Saves me blowing myself up trying to read it.”

  Smoke spilled out of his nostrils, but he held out an expertly manicured hand. I passed him the file with all the copies of the language I’d found thus far, including the blood inscriptions.

  He took the file and passed it to Lady Siyu. “Anything else?”

  “As a matter of fact, yeah. Once I get you this weapon, what do you plan on doing with it?”

  “Mr. Kurosawa,” Lady Siyu said, her eyes narrowing as she fixed me with a vicious stare, “I understand the necessity of bringing in this human for business purposes, but it is beneath you to be performing a servant’s tasks by answering its questions.”

  I balled my hands up at my side and took a step towards her. “Why don’t you try calling me a servant when you don’t have a dragon, Oricho, and a room full of ghosts standing behind you?”

  “Enough,” Mr. Kurosawa said, his voice echoing around the room like a well-rehearsed parlor trick. Except it was no trick. Lady Siyu stepped back from me, and for once I kept my mouth shut.

  “You will have a translation, as best as can be accomplished, by tomorrow,” he said. “As for the weapon, my only wish is to remove it from circulation.”

  “Bullshit,” I said.

  Nadya gasped. Oricho placed a hand on my shoulder, a troubled look on his face. “Owl, I caution against this—”

  “Well, you’ll all forgive me if I have a hard time believing you want me to find a weapon for you not to use,” I said, not bothering to cover my sarcasm.

  Mr. Kurosawa smiled at me. It wasn’t friendly. “Regardless of what you wish to believe, that is the truth. All you need to know about the device is that there are those of us who are not as satisfied to live in coexistence with humans as I am—”

  I snorted. “If by ‘coexistence’ you mean ‘enslave at will,’ sure.”

  Mr. Kurosawa frowned, which added a dangerous cast to his face. His well-manicured fingers dug into the couch. “You will be doing your kind a favor retrieving it for me.”

  I bit my lower lip. Here was the thing: until I knew more about what the scroll/device did, I had no intention of putting my faith in a dragon’s good intentions. Especially after hearing about Oricho’s samurai. But it was a catch-22. Letting a supernatural weapon land in Marie’s hands had to be worse . . .

  One step at a time. I’d decide what to do with the scroll once I had it. If it was too dangerous to fork over to Mr. Kurosawa . . . well, I’d deal with that when I got there.

  “Just keep me in the loop from now on, otherwise you’ll be chasing Sabine for your damn scroll,” I said. I turned and started to head for the casino door.

  “One more thing we need to discuss,” Mr. Kurosawa said.

  I glanced over my shoulder in time to see his eyes flash red. Then I was airborne. I heard Nadya yell and Captain howl right before I slammed into the wall, pinned like an insect to a board. I tried to breathe but found the pressure on my chest didn’t make it possible.

  Shit, I’d made a mistake. I’d pushed Mr. Kurosawa too hard. This was going to be bad.

  “Now that I have your attention, Ms. Hiboux, I have a few things I wish to say. First and foremost, I take great offense at being referred to as a monster, however indirectly.”

  The pressure intensified and pushed the remaining air out of my lungs. Captain howled and darted across the room to where I was now pinned, but he couldn’t reach me. Nadya started to yell, but her voice was muffled. Out of the corner of my eye I caught Oricho covering her mouth and speaking to her. One point for Oricho, not letting my friend follow in my suicidal footsteps.

  Mr. Kurosawa continued, “Secondly, Lady Siyu and Oricho act as my hands. As there appears to be some confusion, let me clarify. An order from them is an order from me.”

  I nodded against the pain. Something snapped in my chest; I think it was a rib.

  “Lastly and most importantly, you are never to request an audience with me ever again. Otherwise, I will run you through my maze and let my ghosts chase you down like the dog of a thief you are.”

  The first icy blast hit me, followed by a second, third, and fourth. On the assault of ghosts went until my limbs were so cold I couldn’t feel them anymore. When I thought I’d just pass out, I heard Mr. Kurosawa’s voice cut through the ghosts as if he was standing beside me.

  “Have you learned your lesson yet, Ms. Hiboux?” The pressure decreased on my chest and I gasped in sweet air.

  Mr. Kurosawa stood below me, flashing his black tiger teeth and waiting for an answer.

  The smart answer was yes, but I think by now we’ve established my character flaws.

  “Fuck you,” I said.

  Mr. Kurosawa stared at me a moment, as if he didn’t quite believe I was that stupid. Then he snarled and let out a low growl. An icy hand gripped my throat, and I smelled sulfur as the cold choked off my air once again. I kicked out and tried to draw in a breath; I was suffocating, or freezing to death. I wasn’t sure which one was worse.

  Like hell I was going to give him the satisfaction of breaking me. A pang of guilt hit me as I realized Nadya and Captain were going to have to watch me die. I hoped Oricho kept up his end of the bargain and got them out. They hadn’t been dumb enough to piss off a dragon. Well, at least I’d have the satisfaction of watching Mr. Kurosawa kill his one and only chance of finding his artifact. I glared down at him.

  “Mr. Kurosawa,” Oricho said, and stepped forward, his head bowed.

  The dragon growled and ice shot down my throat, reaching for my heart. I screamed . . . I think. Captain howled below me.

  “I beg you, Mr. Kurosawa, though you are justified in your punishment of this mortal, we still need her to reach your goal.”

  The ice and pressure lessened. The jury was still out as to whether I’d black out.

  “I believe this one is prone to unwise outbursts and will regret her actions imminently.” I thought Oricho shot me a dirty look, but I couldn’t be sure. “I will take responsibility for her and her companions for the remainder of their service.”

  Three heartbeats later, air returned to my lungs. I slid to the floor and landed hard behind one of the poker tables. Nadya and Captain rushed to my side.

  “Alix?” Nadya said.

  I tried to focus my eyes and only half succeeded. I got one last whiff of cold sulfur. “I’m freezing,” I said.

  Oricho appeared around the poker table, and both he and Nadya helped me up, Captain making encouraging noises and pushing my legs . . . at least, that’s what it felt like.

  As soon as I was upright, I glanced around the room. Mr. Kuro
sawa and Lady Siyu had already left. Probably for the best.

  “Of all the stupid things to do, Owl,” Nadya said.

  “Can we save it until I’m not frozen? Please?”

  “Your companion is correct. That was not an advisable course of action,” Oricho said.

  I shook my head, trying to clear it, as Oricho and Nadya helped me into the hallway towards the elevator. “What the hell is wrong with you supernaturals?”

  “There are certain rules and protocols that must be followed when dealing with humans. One is that they are not to be told our secrets. You already have stumbled over many of our inner workings through your own means. Defiance, while excusable in a lesser human and admirable for bravery, does not work in your favor.”

  “I’ll try to remember that for next time,” I said.

  The four of us headed into the elevator. My fingers and feet were still numb, but I could move my legs. What I needed was a warm bath.

  When we reached our floor, Oricho inclined his head down the hall. “Your companion is in suite 12. Can she attend you until the morning?”

  “My name is Nadya. And she’ll be fine,” she said.

  Oricho transferred my weight over to Nadya and gave us a quick bow before turning back to the elevator.

  “Oricho. What does that mean, exactly, that you’re taking responsibility for us?”

  “Exactly that. Your trespasses against Mr. Kurosawa are now mine.” His eyes narrowed.

  I nodded. “Great, I screw up, you get punished. Is that how it works?”

  He didn’t correct me as he stepped into the elevator.

  “Why the hell do you work for him?” I said, and winced as feeling came back into my fingers. Why do thawing fingers always hurt like a son of a bitch? “He’s evil. As far as I can see, you aren’t.”

  “Because I gave my word,” he said before the elevator door shut.