Calamity Rising (Deathwalker Book 1)

by Z. V. Hunter

  And when I looked behind me, where the Calamity should be, it was gone.

  "It's entirely in the human world? Shit."

  We were here, and that thing had been freed with Aki and Ken trapped in the tunnel. Sure, Aki could subdue it, but she couldn't see it.

  "Why the hell did you grab me?" I said to Kuro and grasped my shoulder as I tried to stand.

  He struggled to his feet and shrugged. "I didn't know what I was grabbing. I thought it was Taro, not you. Can we get back?"

  "The only way to go is forward," Lux said.

  The dimly glowing outlines that crowded the tunnel came into focus slowly. It's why we weren't completely in pitch blackness. It's not like the light on the human side would carry over here. Normal fire didn't work like that.

  Unlike the Longneck Woman, these ghosts gave off a glow of their own. It wasn't bright, more of a subdued purple tinged with red. Their eyes were angry and vengeful. A chill crept up my spine.

  Every breath I took was thick with the cold, and I noticed ice formed on Kuro's hair.

  Not good.

  "Can you see them?"

  Kuro blinked and looked around. He took a large handkerchief out of his pocket and wrapped it around my shoulder, pulling it tight.

  "I see the glow and the outlines of shadows. What is it?"

  "Them."

  The ones closest were clear. All around the same size: children. Girls. Some had short hair, some long. Some had dark hair, some light. Their features were lost in the haze, but I could make out each one if I looked hard enough. Their fear and grief pierced my heart.

  Behind them stood the others. They crowded the tunnel as far as I could see. Their shapes were more indistinct, their forms weaker and their eyes burned brighter. They'd all been trapped here for such a long time. Going back more than a hundred years.

  "Them?"

  I nodded. "The ghosts that Calamity absorbed. They're all here. But what am I supposed to do with them?"

  "It's not a Calamity, and you know what you have to do," Lux said. "And you better do it quickly. It's – draining me too. And if it gets my power, no one except a Kami will be able to stop it."

  He was right. The light of Lux's stone faded. The beating slowed. I ignored the fear that lodged in my chest and nodded. I knew what I had to do. And it was almost as bad as absorbing this thing's power and using it against Taro.

  Maybe worse.

  "We go forward. We must hurry. And don't let go," I said and grabbed Kuro's hand.

  "What about my brother?" He crouched next to Taro on the floor of the tunnel. The blood from Kuro's nose had dried and left a streak of red across his mouth.

  Taro stirred. A line of blood ran down his temple. He must've hit his head when we crossed to this side.

  I smiled thinly. "We leave him here. He deserves it. He was feeding that thing for months, Kuro."

  "I know," he said and bent to retrieve the silver knife. "I figured it out right before you got here, and I was trying to stop him. But you thought we were in it together. You actually believed I would do something like that?"

  "Now is really not the time. And, yeah. A little bit. You are a Conjurer."

  "And you're a Necromancer and a Dark Mage. That doesn't mean you're a bad person."

  I shrugged and yanked Taro to his feet with my good arm. "If you want him to come with us, you're responsible for his actions. I don't think he can use his power here. Neither of you can, right?"

  Kuro mentioned it when we were in the Spirit World. That he felt cut off from the Ame power he usually drew. Now that I thought of it, it made sense. If Ame could be used in the Spirit World, it'd cause all kinds of problems for the Calamities that inhabited it.

  Taro didn't say a word, but I felt his glare as we stalked down the tunnel. We couldn't go the way we entered originally in the human world because a huge pile of slick black boulders blocked it.

  Instead, we traveled deeper inside.

  I strode purposefully past the ghosts, and opened my power to them.

  At first, it felt like trying to get a rusted lid off a jar, even with all the energy in that place churning around me.

  "Did I mention you need to hurry?"

  "I'm trying," I hissed and opened myself to the power. Enough that I could leech some of it without taking too much.

  I didn't want to absorb the ghosts, not the way that thing had, but I needed to lead them. Walk them into Death. Hopefully, they'd be leery of the Calamity Weapon that Kuro held. Especially since I had nothing to defend us with if they chose to attack.

  They didn't.

  Their anger throbbed in my temples and gnawed at my insides. Begged me to uncork all the way and suck it in. The things I could do with it.

  The thing I could become.

  I shoved that thought aside and moved faster.

  The train tracks didn't run on this side of the veil. The ground was uneven rock, slick with water from some unknown source.

  "How long have we been walking?" Kuro finally asked.

  I shrugged. "Time doesn't move here like it does in the human world. That's why we can't linger."

  "And where are we going?" Taro asked.

  I gritted my teeth. "Somewhere I should leave you."

  He didn't sound as frightened as he should, but he couldn't see the things milling around us. And he hadn't even tried to struggle away. Not that I trusted he wouldn't. Hell no.

  I heard the water before I saw it. It gurgled someplace close by.

  We rounded one last corner, and I spotted it. I knew what it was, yet I was sure I'd never actually seen it before. This wasn't how I crossed into Yomi-no-kuni, or how I crawled back out again.

  It wasn't a river, yet not quite a lake either. It stretched and rushed before us, emanating from the very ground at our feet. The misty water was as indistinct as the ghosts themselves.

  "There's nothing here," Taro said and twitched in Kuro's hold.

  Kuro wrapped his hand around Taro's throat and pressed the dagger carefully against his skin.

  "It's one of the entrances to the underworld. But we need something to give them a ride across." I said.

  "Ridiculous. It's a wall slick with water. You knocked me down and dragged me deeper into the tunnel."

  "For a Conjurer, you're closed-minded about different kinds of magic, aren't you? Why do you think you can't use your power here?"

  Taro pinched his mouth shut and didn't say anything more.

  I sucked in a breath and whistled.

  Next to me, Kuro jumped.

  The Bodhisattva Jizō formed out of thin air and his boats did as well. His bare head radiated a golden glow, as did the stone he held in his palm. It drew the ghosts to it—to him—the one who guided the boats that took the dead to Yomi-no-kuni.

  Datsue-ba, the old woman who strips the dead to weigh their sins in life, hadn't shown up. Perhaps these ghosts had been waiting too long, and Jizō offered them his mercy.

  The air hummed with the ghosts combined power. Then they crowded forward, like they were getting on an early morning train and happened to be late for work, and stepped onto the countless boats. They surged together in groups.

  It seemed to take no time for the boats to fill, and one by one they sailed into the distance. The bells on the boats jingled, a soothing lullaby.

  The last group were six of the girls, the most recent—including the one I'd failed—and she looked just as solid as me or Kuro or Taro. Like I could pick her up and take her back, and yet, I knew the truth.

  She turned and blinked, wiping tears from her eyes. "Do I get to go home now?"

  I crouched down and touched her cheek. It was too cold, and my fingers couldn't get a solid grip. I knew she was dead, but the words clogged in my throat. Hell, I fought my way out of there, why not this girl?

  Because she didn't have the power to do it on her own. I couldn't bring souls back to the world of the living without paying a price. A heavy one. Especially since I had nowhere to keep it. And
that would do nothing but prolong her suffering.

  I had to let her go.

  Just like Mimi.

  "No. You're going to a different place. But I'll be sure to tell your parents you're safe," I said, and my eyes stung.

  She frowned and nodded, her bottom lip wavered but she didn't let out a cry. Then she turned and climbed onto the boat. The girl next to her, Miki, took her hand.

  It floated into the vast distance and disappeared into a wall of mist.

  We stood alone on the shore.

  28

  "WE NEED TO get back," I said and turned from the place the water had been. Now, it was just as Taro had said. Nothing but a black stone wall slick with wet.

  Kuro nodded, and Taro moved.

  He slipped out from under Kuro's hold and kicked.

  Kuro stumbled and his fingers slipped from mine. The knife clattered on the ground and Taro lunged for it.

  "Kuro" I cried and lunged for them.

  Taro stood, the dagger ready in his palm, and Kuro leapt in front of me.

  That idiot was trying to protect me.

  And he'd let go of my hand when I told him not to.

  For the second time in so many minutes, I did what I had to do. I grabbed Kuro by the hand and yanked him out of the way.

  Taro stumbled toward me, the knife dark with my blood and aimed right at my heart.

  I took a step to the left, and the world shifted again. I stumbled and fell against the rough stone wall. I expected another burst of nerve splitting pain before I slipped back into Yomi-no-kuni. Instead, my head throbbed, and my wounded shoulder ached, but I was alive.

  My heart beat, and Lux's presence pounded with it, however faintly.

  I opened my eyes, and looked at the hand gripped in my own.

  Kuro sat next to me. He panted and glanced back and forth frantically.

  "Where's Taro? What happened to him?"

  "For someone who tried to kill you twice in a row, you're pretty worried about him." I flinched as I stood.

  Kuro frowned. "He's my brother. And we always take care of our own problems. Are you okay?" His hands cupped my face.

  Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I licked my lips. It really wasn't the time for this.

  Aki.

  Ken.

  We'd fallen back into the human world, but they might not be alive. That thought choked me, and I knew why Kuro was so worried. I may have drained that monster's power, but it was still here somewhere. It needed to be sealed.

  In the distance, voices rang out.

  I climbed to my feet. "He's in the Spirit World. If he has Shades to protect him, he might stay alive for a while," I said and pulled away. I marched toward the sounds.

  Kuro followed.

  We weren't far from the place where the Calamity had been trapped. Only a few hundred yards down the tunnel or so. Together we burst out of the opening and into the middle of a losing battle.

  Aki stood, eyes sharp, and a glowing orb balanced on her palm. It lit up the whole tunnel. Her hair was tangled and her cheeks stained with dirt and grit. Ken stood next to her, a sword of ice in one hand while the other hung limp at his side.

  The Spirit Vessel sat on the ground between them, and the wavering form of the monster emerged from the shadows.

  "It's there. Near the rope!" I cried and widened my stance. With four of us, we could create a barrier of magic. Keep it from escaping until we sealed it. I didn't know how they'd managed this long, but it was no wonder they looked like they'd gone through a tsunami.

  Aki tossed the ball of light at the creature.

  There was no impact.

  No crash or howl of fury.

  The Calamity sucked in the power and grinned, its maw hollow and fathomless.

  "What the fuck?" I didn't take a trip into Yomi-no-kuni to lose this fight. When I sent those ghosts home, it should've drained the monster's power.

  "I tried to tell you. It's not a Calamity," Lux said, his voice strained.

  "What is it?" My stomach tied into knots.

  I didn't need him to answer. The thing absorbed Aki's Ame blast. It could only be one thing—and that meant there was only one way to defeat it.

  "You already know."

  "I don't know what it is, but we've got to seal it before—" Kuro said and his voice trailed off as that thing's stark white eyes, eyes with no pupils, turned toward us.

  "It's not a Calamity!" I cried and looked at Aki.

  Her eyes widened, and she shook her head.

  Ken's brow furrowed.

  Right.

  He knew I could see Calamities, but he didn't know the other part. Looks like I was about to show him.

  "Yuki, don't!" Aki said.

  The monster turned back toward her and took a step closer. Nothing but blackness and the scent of rotting meat, sweet and sour, tingled under my nose.

  Kuro snagged on my sleeve, but I yanked myself free.

  Opened myself up to all the power I could muster from the Spirit World.

  This creature was a beast of Yomi-no-kuni, and the only way to stop it was with the power of Makai.

  I'd avoided it for so long.

  The power surged into my toes and fingers, through my mouth and nose until I drowned in it. It wasn't the same as Ame—it didn't feel like sunshine on my skin. More like the coolness of shadows on a hot day in summer. A respite from the heat. As insubstantial as mist or spider's silk.

  I pinched my eyes shut to contain it.

  A new vision opened up to me. Pale gold illuminated the edges, and I saw the creature of Death inside it.

  It unhinged its jaw.

  Leaned toward Aki and—

  "Yuki, now!"

  I lunged forward and shoved the magic out of me. It rushed from my fingertips like a whip, and I whispered the incantations I'd learned so long ago—the ones for capture, imprisonment, and destruction. The words gave shape to the power, and it formed into a chain of gray mist that locked around the beast.

  Froze it in place.

  A great gust of wind blew across us. The monster struggled as the chains tightened. They squeezed until the darkness beneath it flaked away. Disappeared. The chains clattered and broke into pieces and faded in a puff of smoke.

  That was new.

  Then again, I'd never used Makai to fight Yomi before.

  On my back, the flesh burned and itched as a new mark singed my skin.

  I stumbled. Leaned into the rock and—

  "You," Aki cried and barreled into me. She gripped until I could hardly breathe, but I didn't care.

  I hugged her back and squeezed until I felt her ribs under my hands. Her heart beat against mine. A scratch graced her jaw, but her eyes were bright. My chest filled, close to bursting. She was okay. We were both okay.

  "What was that? You vanished. I assumed you went to the Spirit World but you took Taro with you."

  I nodded. "Yeah. That was an accident. It must've happened when we broke that Spirit seal. This wasn't a Calamity—it was a monster from Yomi-no-kuni. That's why you couldn't hurt it. Why I had to. . ."

  Aki sighed. Squeezed me again so hard I swore she was trying to smother me. "I'm just glad you're back. What happened?"

  I wasn't sure how to explain. My heart ached. The pained look on that girl's face tugged at me. I couldn't do anything but give her peace. How useless was I? "I'll tell you later."

  Aki nodded and squeezed my hands. Her eyes widened when she noticed the wound on my shoulder. "Oh no. Did he stab you?"

  "Yuki. You're okay," Ken said and approached.

  I waited for him to sneer. Or scoff. Or look at me like I was a freak.

  He didn't do any of that.

  His eyes pinched with worry, and they shone a pale blue behind his black framed glasses.

  "Hey, I'm fine."

  His jaw clenched, and he patted my good shoulder. "Come on. I'll take you to a medic."

  "Medic?"

  "I radioed for help before I came in. You don't hear the sirens
?"

  Now that he mentioned it, I did.

  When we got outside, scores of police and other magic users—mostly Conjurors from the Abe family—stood around arguing amongst each other.

  Kuro glanced at me, his frown heavy, and approached them.

  I gratefully walked with Ken toward a waiting ambulance. On the way, I cast a glance over my shoulder for Kuro.

  He was nowhere to be seen.

  29

  I WASN'T PARTICULARLY thrilled Ken got the police involved, but I couldn't blame him. Especially since he thought I was in danger. He must've done some fancy finagling to not let on that I'd been working the case on his orders. Or that he'd slipped me information. However, he kept it from the higher-ups and avoided losing his job over the whole fiasco.

  I had to give several statements which included a lot of outright lies on my part. Not that I minded doing so to keep Ken safe, but it twisted the story.

  Aki backed me up. She claimed that her Shrine had hired me for the job in order to investigate the cause of several Longneck Woman instances in Neo-Tokyo. The missing girls were connected to that.

  I didn't know what to say about Taro Abe. There was no physical evidence of what he'd done. No proof, beyond the fact that he was missing.

  I finally slinked home at some point mid-morning, took a long shower and settled in for much-needed sleep, when someone knocked at my door.

  Lux hadn't said anything since we returned, but I felt his presence building slowly in the stone. And I knew we had a lot to talk about. He'd better give me some answers this time. He'd kept too many secrets for too long.

  I stumbled to the door, listened, and waited for my wards to react. They didn't, so I swung it open.

  Kuro stood there, and my stomach did a dumb little flip. He smiled wearily and glanced over my shoulder. "You got stitched up? I hope it's not too bad. I—I'm sorry I couldn't stop him before you got there."

  I shook my head. It ached more deeply than the last time someone stabbed me, but I wasn't about to admit it. "Just a flesh wound. I'll live. Let me guess? Your family wants to drag me in for questioning now?"

  I was about to shut the door in his face, but he put his hand up and stopped it. "I don't blame you that he got left behind. After what he did. . ." Kuro shook his head. "I just—now I have to deal with my father and try to explain things and that's difficult. Please understand."