Why couldn’t she leave her alone? She’d already stolen Kaito from her, how much more did she want?
She wrung her hands together and looked anywhere but at Suzume. “It wasn’t easy for me to see him looking at you, the way he had looked at me— I mean Kazue in my past life. I thought we could start over, but there was someone else in his heart.”
The small flame of hope inside her leaped hearing that. But she wasn’t ready to believe it. Kazue could very well be lying to her.
“And who’s that?” Suzume asked.
“He told me there’s no one else in his heart but you.”
Suzume’s stomach flopped. Had he really said that? But if that were true, why had he left without explanation. She couldn’t let her guard down. If she let him back in, he would only hurt her once more. What was more suspicious was why Kazue telling her this? If she were in love with Kaito like she said, wouldn’t she be glad they were fighting?
“Why are you telling me this? You could have kept it a secret and let Kaito and I fall apart.”
“I realize this might sound strange, but your friendship is more important to me,” Kazue said.
Suzume turned again, raising a brow. She had to be joking. “You want to be my friend?” she drawled.
Did Kazue think she was a complete fool? She was willing to humor her before, but now she knew she had to be lying.
“Well, you see, I’ve never met someone like me. The priestesses I was raised with never understood me. They feared my power, and it made me an outsider. And from the moment I first saw you on the beach, I felt this connection to you, it was as if I were drawn to you by fate.” She reached out to touch Suzume’s hand.
Suzume pulled away and crossed her arms over her chest. Kazue might have saved her life on the beach when she fought the hybrids, but that didn’t mean she could trust her.
“I don’t need a friend, or to hear your sob story, if you’ll excuse me.” She took a few steps away from her.
“But you need me to defeat Hisato,” Kazue said. Her voice was less simpering and more direct.
Suzume turned back toward her and met her gaze. It wasn’t shy and innocent any longer. For a moment, her mask had slipped, and Suzume felt she was seeing the real Kazue beneath the innocent priestess.
“Which is why I haven’t burned you to a crisp, yet,” Suzume said.
“You wouldn’t dare, because it would hurt you too,” Kazue said.
A chill raced down her spine. What game was she playing here? Was she threatening her? Whatever her intentions, Suzume would need to keep an eye on her. Kaito might have let her go and trusted her, but there was something unsettling about Kazue, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.
The wind howled in Kaito’s ears like the mournful cry of the dying. Shin and he had kept to the relative safety of the thick forest. But as they got closer to the heart of the yuki onna camp, the colder it was and the harder the storm tried to push them back. The yuki onna had built their encampment between snowdrifts, creating small icy huts. They swarmed over their landscape, their sharp, deadly beauty drew the eye, even from a distance. It was part of the danger of a yuki onna, their allure brought in their targets.
A human who happened to stumble across their path would have been drawn in and drained of his spiritual energy before even realizing what happened. Their collective power concentrated on one area made them that much more powerful, and even on guard, he felt himself drifting closer and closer like a moth to a flame.
“There are too many of them, how are we going to get close enough to attack?” Shin asked. His wolf tail was twitching, and his gaze was fixated on the yuki onna. He was feeling it too.
If he sent his army in, they would be torn to shreds in moments, and they would smile while it happened.
“We move quickly, keep your head down, and don’t look at them,” Kaito ordered.
Shin’s lips were drawn in a thin line as he nodded.
Under the cover of a storm they crept closer to them. They hid behind a snowdrift, and Kaito peeked around the edge. A faint song drifted on the wind, he strained to hear the notes and make out the words, but it eluded him. A part of him wanted to follow that sound and the woman who was singing it.
Kaito shook himself. That was what the yuki onna wanted. To draw them out. Kaito ripped off an edge of his sleeve and shoved the fabric in his ears, before offering the same to Shin. If they could muffle the song, they would be safe from the yuki onna.
They darted out from behind the snowdrift, moving closer to the center of their camp. There was a structure made of ice. The energy was strongest there, it must be where their leader was. A pair of yuki onna stood outside, presumably guarding their leader.
Clouds of vapor escaped from Kaito’s lips each time he breathed. Frost was starting to collect on his sleeves. He wasn’t imagining it, it was getting colder. Ice was not a problem for him, but Shin’s teeth were chattering.
“Come on, the leader must be in there,” Kaito whispered.
Shin nodded and then bolted for the building. But as he did, the song he’d heard before got much stronger, it froze him in his tracks, and he turned, craning to find the source. Kaito clapped his hands over his ears and rushed toward the back of the building. A single icy window let light into the interior.
“It is done as you asked, my queen,” said a yuki onna from within.
“Good, send word to Ai, and let her know we almost have the tengu in our grasp.”
“Yes, my queen.”
Ai. She was behind the yuki onna. It had been a mistake to let her go free. She must have been the one stirring up problems in his kingdom, drawing his attention away with the kijo. Well, once he destroyed the yuki onna leader, he and the tengu would have their revenge.
“Ready?” Kaito turned to signal Shin, but he wasn’t beside him.
The song must have caught him. Kaito growled in frustration and backtracked his steps. Shin was wandering through the yuki onna encampment approaching a group of yuki onna who thankfully had their backs to them as they sang in the storm, which trapped the tengu in their compound.
Kaito grabbed Shin by the arm and yanked him backward.
“Let me go, I want to go to them,” Shin said, his eyes glazed over in a trance.
“Not today, lover boy.” Kaito hauled him over his shoulder just as a yuki onna turned and spotted them.
She hissed and alerted her sisters, and the whole pack of them rushed toward them. Kaito threw out his arm, sending up a wall of ice to slow their progress. He weaved through snowdrifts heading for the forest as the yuki onna were screeching behind his barrier. So much for a surprise attack. If anything, they’d be even more alert than before.
Once he was among the trees, far enough down the mountain that he was certain they hadn’t been followed, Kaito set Shin back on his own two feet.
Shin rubbed his head, and his gaze was still unfocused.
“How you feeling, lover boy?”
“Like I drank an entire barrel of sake. Those yuki onna send a powerful punch.”
“You’re not kidding, they almost had you there.” He clapped Shin on the shoulder. “Lucky for you, I rescued you in time.”
“What about the leader, did you find anything?”
“Just that the yuki onna have given themselves a queen whose allied with Ai.”
“Ai, the daughter of the Lord of the Sea? What does she have to do with this?”
“I don’t know, but I plan to find out. For now, we need to retreat and make plans. Sneaking in isn’t an option anymore, I’m afraid.”
They returned to their camp. Time was of the essence. It wouldn’t take long before the yuki onna came for them and sought revenge. They had to strike and quick, while they still had some element of surprise.
“The queen is their weak point, but she’s heavily guarded. I can try and go back in again,” Kaito said as he paced around his tent they’d set up in their camp.
“They’ll be prepare
d for another attempt. It won’t work,” Shin said.
“Besides, you might fall under their spell this time,” Akane commented. She had her chin cradled in her hand, and her brow was furrowed.
“We can’t wait around. We need to move quickly.”
“A woman could get past them, and a woman could sneak in and kill the yuki onna queen,” Akane said.
“No. Don’t even think about it,” Shin said, grasping her hands. “I won’t let you walk off into danger.”
He understood the sentiment, how many times had he seen that same look in Suzume’s eyes. But Akane was right, she wouldn’t be affected by their song as they were. But even as strong as she was, she couldn’t take down all the yuki onna alone.
“I appreciate your bravery, but this isn’t something you could do alone,” Kaito said to her.
Shin gave him a look of relief.
“Not me, Rin. I would need to get to the tengu palace and ask Rin first, of course. But you said they are weak to fire. Her fox fire could help us defeat the queen.”
“Akane, this is insanity.”
Kaito scratched his chin. It was risky, but it was the only hope they had.
“She’s right, my friend. It’s the best shot we have.”
Shin’s expression was conflicted as he looked into Akane’s eyes, and then he nodded his head in agreement.
26
Suzume’s arm trembled as she raised her chopsticks to her mouth, and her food fell back on her plate. In retrospect, pummeling the dummy until late at night might have been a bad idea. She pushed her plate away, it wasn’t as if she had a stomach to eat it anyway. With the dawn of a new day, it meant facing Souta and Kazue during practice. Staying in bed wasn’t an option, she was too restless to sit still. And like it or not, she had to learn how to resonate with Kazue if they were going to face Hisato together. With a heavy sigh, Suzume got up and dressed to go to practice.
Noaki was waiting outside her room to escort her as usual. With him at her shoulder, the yokai didn’t bother her. And it was a good thing too, she couldn’t guarantee she wouldn’t burn anyone who crossed her path today. Souta and Kazue were waiting for her in the practice yard. Souta threw his head back in uproarious laughter. She wasn’t sure she’d ever seen Souta laugh like that. It only made her bad mood worse. Why did everyone find Kazue so charming? Was no one suspicious of her but Suzume?
“Oh, you’re here?” Kazue said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder with a bright smile.
“Oh, you’re here?” Suzume mocked her under her breath.
“What was that?” Kazue asked.
“You’re joining us again for practice?” Suzume said, forcing a smile, though even pretending to be friendly with Kazue, made her want to gag.
Kazue was all sweetness in front of Souta. But how did she expose her? She wouldn’t reveal her true face easily, not now that she knew Suzume was onto her.
Souta cleared his throat. “Now that we are all here, why don’t we get practice started.”
“I hope we’re sparring, I volunteer to go first,” Suzume said, looking at Kazue. There was no way she could hold onto her innocent facade in the middle of a fight. Plus, there was the added benefit of knocking Kazue into the sand a few times.
“No, we need to work on our resonance. We’re not going to be able to defeat Hisato if we cannot sync all of our energy,” Souta said.
“Sounds wonderful!” Kazue clapped her hands together.
Suzume rolled her eyes. Just her luck. Resonance felt too intimate to do with someone like Kazue. She would have to open up and share her energy with someone she didn’t trust.
“Isn’t it a little soon to be resonating, we hardly know one another,” Suzume replied.
“There’s no time to waste, Hisato is gathering his armies as we speak. The longer we wait, the more people will get hurt,” Kazue said with a poignant look at Suzume.
In other words, Suzume looked selfish and cold-hearted if she didn’t try and resonate with them. She could make a stand and refuse, and likely come out looking like the bad guy. Or she could grit her teeth and get this over with. They did need to learn how to work together, and even if she didn’t like her or trust her, she still needed her.
“Fine. Let’s get to it then.”
Suzume took her place in the sparring ring and closed her eyes to gather her energy. She could do this; she’d done it many times with Souta and Hikaru. All she needed to do was let the energy flow and seek out the connection of Kazue’s soul between them all. The sun was warm on her skin, and it stoked the fires of her energy. Breathe in and out, in and out, let the sun’s heat sink in and breathe it out to share with her partners.
Reaching for Souta, she imagined her energy like an invisible hand outstretched to clasp hers. Making a connection with him was easy, she sensed the strong caress of a summer breeze that she related to him. His energy entwined with hers; it fanned the flames, making them burn hotter and higher. Together their strength and energy were more than the sum of their individual parts. The part of her that was Kazue vibrated with excitement, eager to be reconnected.
If Hikaru were here, she would have connected with him next, letting the stability of earth ground the chaotic energy of her fire. But he wasn’t here, and when her invisible hand reached out, it was shocked by the cold depths of the water element. She recoiled, retreating immediately. Unlike the other elements, which strengthened her, their connection suppressed her power, and she felt as if her power was being smothered.
“Hold the connection,” Souta instructed.
She didn’t want to reach out to Kazue again, but she reached her. Kazue’s energy poured into her and made Suzume’s chest tight. It overwhelmed her own power, destroying it as it threatened to conquer her from within. It felt as if the water was being forced down her throat, drowning her on land. Panic rose up in her, she wanted to pull apart, but Kazue only tightened her grip upon her. The energy between the three of them arched bouncing between them and sparking out of control.
Suzume pulled her connection closed and fell to her knees, grasping her throat, which moments before had felt like it was closing. The sudden closing of her spiritual barriers sent a burst of energy through the connection and to the other two through the remnants of the bond. It knocked them off their feet
“What happened?” Kazue asked, rubbing her head with bright red hands from the burns Suzume had inflicted on her.
“You almost drowned me, is what happened!” Suzume snapped.
Kazue pressed her hand to her chest. “I did? How, you’re dry?”
Suzume touched her dry clothes and hair. “It wasn’t with water; you sent too much of your energy into me. I’m fire, you could have smothered all of my spiritual energy.”
“Souta, was the energy I sent too strong?” Kazue asked him.
Souta had a red mark on his cheek where she had burned him as well. “Everything was fine for me until Suzume’s flame burst out of her.”
“Are you saying I’m lying?” Suzume asked, hands on hips.
“I’m just saying that this is our first time attempting resonance, there’re bound to be mistakes,” Souta said calmly.
But she could read between the lines. When they practiced, she was always the slowest to connect, the last to master her powers, and the most likely to lose control. Did Kazue know that and try to twist the facts against her?
“She did this on purpose, to make me look bad.” Suzume pointed at Kazue.
“I’m sorry for whatever it is you think I did.” Kazue sniffled and rubbed away her fake tears.
“Unfounded accusations aren’t necessary. I know we are all on edge lately, but we should try to get along,” Souta said.
“How can you trust her? For all we know, she is working with Hisato.”
“I swear, I am not. I know it looks bad because I took your staff, but he lied to me and told me that you stole it from him.” Kazue buried her head in her hands to disguise the fact that she wasn’t rea
lly crying.
“Suzume, I think you’re being too cruel. Why don’t you apologize to Kazue?” Souta said as he put an arm around Kazue’s shoulder.
Surely Souta should know better, a man who’d live as long as him, and he couldn’t see through a few fake tears and a story too convenient to be believed.
“You don’t really believe this, do you?” she asked him.
“There cannot be division between us four. Arguing is exactly what Hisato wants. I think that you are letting your personal feelings cloud your judgment,” Souta said, meeting her gaze.
“What are you saying, that I’m jealous?”
He didn’t respond, and she didn’t need him to. It was clear he had chosen his side in this argument. Normally Souta was neutral and impartial. But even he had turned against her. Was there no one in this place who hadn’t fallen under Kazue’s spell?
“If that’s how you feel, I’ll just go.” She strode away before she did something else she might regret.
It had been naive of her to think she could learn to work with Kazue. Even if she weren’t working for Hisato, she was too insufferable with her fake smiles and forced tears. Suzume returned to her room, where she tossed aside her staff and flopped down on her bed. Why was she torturing herself by staying here? How could she hope to defeat Hisato if she couldn’t resonate with the other soul pieces? And when Kaito came back and confirmed he had chosen Kazue over her, she’d just rather not be there. It would be safer to run away, at least their distrust couldn’t hurt her if she didn’t have to face it.
Suzume groaned and rolled over and then froze. A shadow was looming just outside the door that led onto her balcony. Very slowly, she reached for her staff. Whoever it was didn’t seem to notice her as she crept closer from behind, her staff clenched in her hand. She eased the door open all the way and brought the staff down on the head of the person outside.
Tsuki stepped out of the shadows and rubbed his head. “What was that for?”
The Fractured Soul Page 20