by Jasmine Walt
“You just don’t get it, do you, ” Kai said. “You literally cannot defeat me. I am immortal.”
“I may not be able to kill you, but that doesn’t mean I can’t beat you!” Raiden snarled, launching himself at Kai.
“Raiden, stop!” Shota called, but Raiden was too far gone to hear. This time, Kai didn’t even bother to counter Raiden’s attack. He just stood there, taking blow after blow, as Raiden unleashed the full force of his fury against him. Lightning bolts, sword strikes, punches, kicks—Raiden let him have it all. But none of it seemed to affect Kai, and my heart sank as I watched the darkness repair him over and over again.
Worse, Raiden was getting slower with each blow. Sweat poured from his face and his clothing stuck to his body. I had no idea how much power he had left, but I knew it wouldn’t be enough.
“What do you want me to do?” Shota asked, looking at me. “I can help, but…”
“It won’t matter,” I said, swallowing hard as I realized the truth. We couldn’t beat him. At least not while the darkness was healing him, anyway. Worse, if it kept up, Raiden would get himself killed. After all, Kai just had to get him once.
“Yeah.” Shota tightened his grip on his weapon, and I could tell he was going to try anyway. Whether it was to stop Kai, help Raiden, or something else entirely, I couldn’t tell, but either way, he was going to attack. That wouldn’t help things.
“Stop!” I rushed forward, putting myself between Kai and Shota. “Both of you, please. I’m begging you.”
“No,” Kai said, and there was such finality in the word it stole my breath away. He met my gaze, the cold, dead look in his eyes turning my stomach to lead. “Haruki must die if we are to move forward.”
“My name is not Haruki!” Raiden cried as he drove the crackling lightning blade in his hands straight into Kai’s stomach. I screamed as the blade burst through Kai’s back in a spray of black ichor that hit the ground before bursting into clouds of sulfur-smelling smoke.
“I did it,” Raiden wheezed, his chest heaving.
But Kai only shook his head, casting a scornful glance at him. He didn’t seem the least bit fazed. “No, Haruki. You only did what I let you.” He lifted his black katana, and cold horror spilled through me as I realized Kai was about to deliver the killing blow. And with Raiden’s sword stuck in Kai’s guts, there wasn’t a thing he could do to defend himself.
“Shit.” Raiden’s face paled, and he stumbled back, releasing his hold on the mythical blade. Kai laughed, following Raiden, completely unconcerned about the katana sticking out of his belly.
“Enjoy the afterlife, Haruki,” he said, and brought the blade down.
“No!” I yelled, launching myself forward without thinking. I slammed my shoulder into Raiden, pushing him past the blade’s arc and to safety moments before Kai’s blade connected with my back.
“Fumiko!” Kai screamed as the blade ripped my flesh open. My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the ground, blood gushing all over me. “What have you done!”
“Aika!” Shota yelled. His footsteps pounded against the floor as he ran to my side, and his face was twisted in grief and anger as he dropped to his knees next to me. “Aika, no!” His voice was choked with tears as he pulled me into his arms.
Gasping in agony, I touched the furi charm on my bracelet. The yokai’s power pulsed inside me, filling me up with its warmth and leeching the pain of the wound away. I held my breath, hoping with all my might that the furi wouldn’t die by taking the wound in my stead. I couldn’t die, not like this, but I also didn’t want the yokai my father had given me to die either.
As Shota cradled me against his chest, the pulses of power gradually grew stronger inside me, until they finally built to a crescendo. I felt a flash within my chest, and then very slowly, the furi retreated back into the charm. After a moment, I let out a breath of relief. He was alive, but barely.
“You…” Kai lowered his sword, astonished. Blood spattered his clothes and skin from where he’d sliced into me with his sword, and tears shone in his dark eyes. “You’re not hurt?”
“No,” I said, pressing a hand against the freshly healed wound. Shota’s hand covered my own, and I looked up to see him staring at me with the same astonished look as Kai.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” he said. “You should be dead.”
I gave him a lopsided smile. “I guess this yokai shaman gig isn’t so bad after all.”
“It was still foolish,” Kai snapped, his gaze growing stormy.
“The only one being foolish here is you,” I scolded, getting to my feet. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t have a repeat of history. You can’t kill Raiden, Kai. You can’t kill Shota either, for that matter. That isn’t going to solve anything.”
“So you’re choosing them over me,” Kai said bitterly, looking away. “You would truly damn me to this hell?”
“Kai…” I lifted my hands to his face, finally giving in to the ache to touch him. “I want to help you,” I said, stroking his cheek. My fingers smeared my blood across his skin, and somehow the gesture seemed like an oath. “But marrying me isn’t going to do it, not on its own. You wronged Haruki, Kaga, and Fumiko with your actions. If you want to be free of Amaterasu’s curse, you have to atone for all of those sins.”
Kai sucked in a shuddering breath, closing his eyes. His dark lashes fanned against his cheeks, and I ached at the tortured expression on his face. He looked both euphoric and devastated, and as I reached for the ofuda in my pocket, I suddenly found myself struck by misgivings.
Was sealing Kai away really the right thing to do?
“I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for you to look at me like this again,” he whispered, cupping the side of my face. “But I don’t know if I have it in me to forgive Haruki for what he did. I know I need to atone for what I did to you,” he said, briefly looking at Shota, “but Haruki…he took you from me, Fumiko.” His voice trembled as he spoke the words. “And I was left to suffer in this tomb for two thousand years, simply for daring to love you.”
A tear slipped down my cheek at the anguish in his voice, and I suddenly knew that even though I might not be the woman Kai had loved, I did care about him. I couldn’t let him suffer like this. He’d done terrible things, but he didn’t deserve for his soul to be tortured for all of eternity, held fast in Amatsu’s dark clutches.
“If you really love me like you say you do,” I said as Raiden struggled to his feet behind me, “then you have to forgive all of us. We’ll never be able to be together if you don’t.” I wasn’t promising to marry Kai, not by a long shot, but I didn’t want to detract from the point by mentioning that. Breaking this curse was more important, and I instinctively knew it hinged on Kai letting go of the hatred in his heart.
Some of the darkness in Kai’s eyes lifted. “I would do anything for you,” he said fervently. He dropped his hand from my cheek, then turned to Raiden, who was staring at us both with a shell-shocked look on his face. “Haruki, I—”
A loud boom echoed throughout the chamber, and I shrieked as a black hole opened behind Kai.
“Dammit!” Kai roared as a huge black arm with swirling red runes reached out of the vortex and grabbed him around the waist. He fought against his attacker as he was pulled back, slashing at the huge black arm with his sword, but the strikes were completely ineffective.
“No!” I shrieked, lunging at Kai. I grabbed for his legs, but Shota caught me around the waist and pulled me back.
“Are you crazy!” he shouted, pulling me back. “You’ll get sucked in too!”
“Fumiko!” Kai shouted, his arms outstretched toward me. “I lo—”
The black hole sucked him in, cutting off the rest of his statement. But I damn well knew what he was about to say, and tears flooded my eyes. Kai and Fumiko’s love had been a powerful thing—the powerful ache in my chest for a man I didn’t know was testament to that.
“Let go of me,” I sobbed, shoving
at Shota’s chest. “It’s over.”
Shota did as I said, backing away, but as he did I caught sight of Raiden.
The look on his face said that this was far from over. His eyes blazed with fury, and his skin was stretched taut across his face, as if he were about to explode.
“I can’t believe you,” Raiden snarled, his voice vibrating with rage. “You had the chance to seal him away. I saw you reaching for the ofuda in your pocket. Why didn’t you use it?”
“Because,” I said brokenly, “I wanted to save him.”
Raiden flinched. “Save him? After all he’s done to you? To us?” He gestured at Shota for emphasis.
“It’s not like that—” I started to protest, my heart twisting at the betrayal in Raiden’s eyes. But before I could explain, the walls around us began to shake. Several of the lanterns fell to the ground, and I gasped in horror as their flames began to lick at the wooden floorboards.
“Shit,” Shota swore, grabbing my hand. “This place is collapsing. We need to get to the shrine!”
More lanterns began to rain down from the ceiling as we sprinted from the room. Shota clutched my hand in his, and though it was a bit too tight, I didn’t complain, focusing all my attention on running. The stairs began to crumble as we raced down them, and I shrieked as one gave out from beneath me. Raiden caught me as my hand slipped from Shota’s, yanking me into his arms before I could fall down, and I stumbled for a second before I got my feet underneath me and kept running.
Thankfully it wasn’t that far, and we managed to dodge and weave as pieces of ceiling crashed to the ground all around us.
My lungs burned and adrenaline surged in my veins as cracks opened up in the ground. By the time we made it back to the dungeon, the earth was shaking so hard we were clinging to the walls, barely able to keep upright.
To my relief, the tengu rushed out of the dungeon to greet us.
“Come on!” the yokai roared, spreading his enormous wings over us to shield us from falling debris. “Get to the shrine!”
“Take us to the Takaoka Shrine!” I shouted as Shota hastily clapped his hands. “We need to get to my mother!”
Nodding, Shota rang the bell twice. The familiar flash of light blinded me, and I held on tight as we were swept into the current of the Reikai, hoping against hope that my mother was okay.
25
“Mom,” I yelled, bursting through the front door of our apartment. The moment we’d arrived at the Takaoka Shrine, I’d rushed down to the first floor and caught a cab at the curb. The cab ride had been filled with tension. Raiden had refused to look at me the entire time. He was still angry at me for what I’d done. Shota had stared out the window numbly, obviously still trying to process everything he’d been told. But he’d also kept my hand gripped tightly in his, as if he couldn’t stand to let go of me after watching me nearly die. I was incredibly grateful he wasn’t angry at me too—I wasn’t sure if I could handle both of them giving me the cold shoulder at the same time.
I couldn’t really blame the two of them for being out of sorts. Everything they thought they’d known had been turned on its head. Hell, I was struggling to wrap my head around it all. On the one hand, I was relieved that my feelings were finally vindicated. I wasn’t imagining my connection to Raiden and Shota.
But on the other hand, how did we know Kai was telling the truth? Could he really be trusted? Yes, the moonlight Tsukuyomi had given me hadn’t reacted, but just because Kai didn’t think he was lying didn’t mean he was right. What if Raiden’s version of events was the real story? I didn’t know how to determine which one was correct. But that was a problem for another day.
Right now, I just needed to see my mother.
“Aika?” my mother called from her bedroom as I rushed up the stairs. My heart soared—her voice sounded weaker than ever, but it was there. I dashed into her room to see her lying atop her rumpled bed sheets, still wearing the silk robe Kai had given her.
“Mom,” I choked out, falling onto my knees next to the bed. I gathered her up in my arms and rocked her, my tears soaking her clammy skin. “I’m so glad Kai kept his word.”
“He is not an evil man,” my mother whispered, her voice barely audible. “He did not lie when he said he tried to keep me as comfortable as he could. That tea he gave me numbed the pain from my illness and made it easier to bear.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” I said, my voice trembling. Gently as I could, I laid my mom back on the bed sheets. “You’re way too cold, Mom, and weak. I’m going to call an ambulance.”
“No,” she whispered, her gaze heavy with exhaustion. “It is too late. All that travel through the Reikai has sapped my strength. The doctors can do nothing to help me.”
Her words hit me so hard in the chest I couldn’t breathe. “No,” I croaked, fumbling for the cell phone that wasn’t in my pocket. Panicking, I turned to Raiden and Shota. “Let me borrow one of your phones,” I said frantically. “We need to call 911, now!”
Shota shook his head, his dark eyes filled with sadness. “It’s already happening now. Look.”
Slowly, dread weighing my motions, I turned back to my mother. A blue glow was emanating from her skin, and as I stared, her spirit gradually began to lift from her body.
“Please, Mom,” I begged, grasping her cold hand. “Don’t leave me.”
“I will never truly leave you.” My mother’s spirit fully separated from her body, and she smiled down at me. Grief swelled in my throat, but on its heels was a strange sort of happiness. My mother’s spirit form looked different from her body—her face was unlined by weariness, and she had long, dark hair that hung to her waist, just like it had been before the cancer. She wore one of her knee-length dresses with the cap sleeves that she loved so much, and her face glowed with an inner contentment.
“Don’t despair, Aika,” she said softly, reaching for me with a ghostly hand. Her fingers passed through my face, but they left a warm tingle on my skin, as if she’d really touched me. “It is my time to go. And you will not be alone, not so long as you have that young man with you.” She looked at Raiden. “You will take care of my Aika, won’t you?”
I turned back to Raiden, and my heart sank at the expressionless look on his face. God, did he hate me now for what I’d done? Would he reject my mother’s dying wish?
But he simply inclined his head respectfully. “I will guard her with my life, Fujiwara-san.”
“Good.” My mother beamed, then turned her head to the sky. “I can pass on in peace. Your father will be coming soon.”
“My father?” I asked, excitement banishing some of the grief. I hadn’t considered that I might be able to meet his spirit, but it made sense—my mother’s next of kin would come to guide her into the afterlife.
“Here he is now,” my mother said as the air next to her began to shimmer. Another glowing spirit appeared, and my mouth dropped open in shock and dismay. It wasn’t my father at all, but a wrinkled old man wearing ancient Japanese armor, his hair secured in a samurai topknot.
“Oh!” My mother’s eyes widened. “Who are you?”
“I am your great-grandfather, Genzo,” the old man said, frowning. “Were you expecting someone else?”
“My husband,” she said, confusion and hurt in her voice. “Fujiwara Hidetada. Why has he not come for me?”
“Your husband!” Genzo exclaimed. “Why would he come for you? He is not dead.” He reached for my mother. “Come, Hamako. We must cross over to the Reikai now, before it’s too late.”
“Wait!” I cried as he grasped her hand. “If my father isn’t dead, then where is he?”
My great-great-grandfather looked me dead in the eye. “You must find that out for yourself. Before it is too late.”
And with that, he disappeared, leaving me with a hole in my chest and a mountain of questions I couldn’t hope to answer.
* * *
To be continued…
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Aika’s story will c
ontinue is Monsters and Magic, Book Two in the Shaman Queen’s Harem! Amazon can be really bad about notifying readers about new releases, so be sure to subscribe to Jasmine and J.A.’s newsletters so you don’t miss the next book!
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Glossary
This short, spoiler-free glossary will help you familiarize yourself with some of the Japanese and mythological terms in this book.
butsudan – a shrine traditionally found in Japanese Buddhist temples and homes.
daimyo – (Feudal Japan) one of the great lords who were vassals to the shogun (general).
furi – a monkey-like yokai appearing in both Chinese and Japanese legends.
gaki – the spirit of a jealous or greedy person who has been cursed with an insatiable hunger.
geisha – a Japanese hostess trained to entertain men with conversation, dance, and song.
haiden – the hall of worship at a Shinto shrine.
hakama – a form of loose trousers with many pleats in the front, worn as part of Japanese formal dress.
haori – a lightweight coat worn over a kimono.
hitodama – a floating ball of fire, said to be souls of the dead that have separated from the body. Within this story, hitodamas are the spirit form of both yurei and yokai, which a shaman can merge with in order to use their powers and abilities.
hiyaku – Japanese word for “soar.”
honden – the most sacred building at a Shinto shrine, intended purely for the use of the enshrined kami, who is usually symbolized by a mirror or sometimes by a statue.
jinmenju – a yokai tree with human-faced fruits called jinmenshi, a human-faced child. The tree is said to be found in remote valleys in the south of Japan and China.
kabuki – a form of traditional Japanese drama with highly stylized song, mime, and dance, performed only by male actors using exaggerated gestures and body movements to express emotions, and including historical plays, domestic dramas, and dance pieces.