The gas station behind him rumbled and groaned. The ground beneath their feet sagged as the concrete threatened to cave inward.
Magic burst through the dam of radiation around them and flooded the space. Geysers of power ruptured the concrete between them, spewing a cosmic blend of raw energy into the air. The sorcery twisted, downy soft fibers of gold and silver weaving together. As the fiber reached its final form, a rich black patina coated it.
His komainu had found their way to him.
Their paws touched down on the ground, leaving no prints as they put themselves between Kanruo and his father. They growled in warning, pacing with ears flat against their broad skulls.
Tak hurriedly backed away. His face blanched as his eyes went wide with awed terror at the sight of the sacred beasts prowling before him.
“Raijū, Yuko, heel.” Kanruo snapped his fingers and the komainu retreated to his side.
Tak looked at the two beasts then at Kanruo, then back to the beasts. “It’s not possible.”
Raijū nuzzled Kanruo’s shoulder, and he gently stroked the beast’s massive nose. “My name is Kanruo, and fifteen years ago, you got me out of Japan. You entrusted me to a moon witch named Notia.” his voice quavered. “The goddess saw fit to gift me with manipulation magic. But no matter what I did, it always felt as if part of myself was missing. I . . . I’ve been searching for you, Dad.”
Tak stared at him and took a shaky step forward. The knife fell from his grasp as he rushed to his son.
Many times, Kanruo had lain awake wondering what his father’s embrace would have felt like. Nothing could have prepared him for the shockwave of emotion that coursed through him. He barely had time to secure his sickle before Tak was embracing him.
The man smelled like warm tobacco as he hugged him closely. He was lean and just slightly soft as he’d aged, but his shoulders were solid enough for him to hide his face and his tears.
It was over too quickly.
“Let me look at you properly.” Tak took a step back. With gentle, callused fingers, he turned Kanruo’s face upward.
“My boy.” His voice quavered. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Why not?”
Are you sure you want the answer to that? the voice warned.
“It was all over the news. The extinguishing of the Moon Witch coven.” Tak let his hands drop to his sides. “But you’re alive. She got you out and away from there. That’s all that matters.”
“Why didn’t you come with us?” Kanruo asked.
You sure love asking the worst questions, don’t you?
Tak looked bewildered. “It was part of the agreement. Hells, I couldn’t even name you. We had to go separate ways, leave no trail. The Union had cornered us, and I was bleeding out.” A faint smile tugged at the corners of Tak’s lips. “I should’ve died that night, but . . .”
“Notia saved you?”
“I didn’t expect her to.” A faint smile tugged at the corner of Tak’s lips. “I don’t know what magic she wove, but she did. I also never expected that she’d let you come see me after all that fuss, but here we are.”
Kanruo winced. Notia didn’t know he was here. What would his father think if he told him that he’d snuck out? No, he wouldn’t think about that now. Besides, it seemed like Notia had broken her own rules once too. Emboldened, he forged ahead. “What name would you have given me?”
“Masaru, written with the kanji for ‘win’.” Jun beamed. “Look how big you’ve gotten. You were so tiny.”
Kanruo whispered the name to himself, reminding himself to look the characters up. His head and heart were too full, as if they might burst. He wanted to hug his father again, but Tak made no further moves to reach out to him. So Kanruo took the initiative.
“Come back home with me.” He put his hand over one of his father’s. They couldn’t keep talking in this derelict gas station. “I have so many questions.”
Yuko let out a growl of warning before Tak could open his mouth to answer.
Kanruo yanked his father to the side as a plasma bolt melted the concrete behind him. Raijū and Yuko snarled, paws swiping at the spot, long talons raking at the hole in the concrete. Kanruo quickly returned them to the ether.
“Sniper!” Tak swore in Japanese. “Were you followed?”
“What? No! I warped into the bathroom at the bar!” Kanruo peered out into the darkness.
“Don’t give them an easy target.” Tak pulled him further back into the skeletal ruins of the gas station. He swore again. “I’ve been here for years and they never found me. What the hell tipped them off?”
Your summons isn’t exactly subtle, little witch. It’s a damn lighthouse of magic.
“Oh, no,” Kanruo whispered, inwardly cursing himself. The voice was right. He’d been so focused on finding his father, so desperate to prove himself, that he’d practically sent up a flare declaring his location.
Previously, all his magic had been done within Notia’s dampening wards. He wasn’t skilled enough to create his own yet. Now, without interference to scramble the magical signal, the Union could find him.
Might I suggest running?
“It’s me,” he whispered. “They’re tracking my magic.”
Tak stared at him and kicked over a display of centuries-old snack food in frustration.
No one is going to miss this place. Wipe it off the map, problem solved.
“You have to get out of here.” Tak grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the back of the store.
“But what about you?” Kanruo protested as the voice offered increasingly creative ways to wipe the immediate vicinity off the map.
“I’ll be fine. As far as the Union knows, I’m already dead.” Jun reached for a small pistol strapped to his side. “You need to get out of here. I can hold them off—”
“No! I just found you!” Kanruo protested. “Come with me! Come back to—”
“Not another word! I can’t know where you are! If the Union catches me and picks my brain, they’ll come after you.” Tak shoved him into the freezer at the back of the building.
A shot hit the wall next to Tak’s shoulder, spraying him with bits of concrete and dust. He wrinkled his nose at the debris. But without missing a beat, he shut the doors behind Kanruo, locking them tightly. “Don’t worry, your old man knows a trick or two. Now get out of here!” he shouted through the steel.
Kanruo pounded on the doors. “No! Let me help!”
“GO!” Tak boomed as the sound of plasma lasers filled the air.
Then it was silent.
Kanruo took a step back from the door, small sobs coming from him. “No . . . Dad . . .”
You’re running out of time, little witch.
He sniffled and wiped his face on the back of his sleeve.
Ten seconds, unless you want to be a lab rat for the Union.
Kanruo opened the warp portal through his tears. It was unstable, splintering out and shattering old boxes of chips and energy drinks.
There was a pounding on the door.
“Open up!”
Kanruo flinched, momentarily losing his concentration. The portal lost its shape and the energy flared out in wild rebellion.
“Fuck no, come back!” he hissed to himself, fingers curling into claws as he twisted his wrists around. He had to fine-tune the portal or he’d end up splicing himself into mincemeat.
“Setting charge!” The call came from the other side of the door.
Through the steel he could hear the shrill, rapid beeping of the ballistic as it counted down.
He ground his teeth and envisioned the forest around Notia’s house and flung his hand forward, plunging the magical lead into his destination. It wobbled but held firm.
The ballistics droned into a single long tone.
The portal wouldn’t get more stable. He was out of time. Kanruo jumped into the portal as the doors blasted open behind him.
10
Pity about your fa
ther, the voice hummed as Kanruo wandered through the forest in a daze. Tears stained his cheeks and smoke from the bar clung to his clothes.
He’d not been able to go back to the house. Notia would be furious at him for leaving the wards. For doing something so reckless. And he had nothing to show for it, only the brief memory of his father’s embrace.
All the months of questioning and searching, only to have his answers snatched away again.
You could change things, you know. Bring about a bright and shining future.
Kanruo frowned, refusing to acknowledge the voice. He didn’t know what it was nor why it had suddenly decided to latch onto him. If he ignored it long enough, hopefully, it would go away.
The future. What sort of future could he have if he was hiding behind Notia’s wards all the time? If he couldn’t stand against the Union and protect his family?
Something dark slinked about the edges of his peripheral vision, lurking in the ferns and undergrowth of the woods.
You have the power, little witch, the voice crooned. A shadowy creature with excessively long legs skittered up a boulder, staring down at him with gleaming eyes. The edges of the apparition floated about like fuzzy streamers, distorting its figure at the slightest breeze.
Kanruo took a step back, his hand resting on his sickle’s hilt. “What are you, anyway?”
We are you, the voice tittered, a long tail wrapping around its limbs, mimicking a cat. But we are also not. We are old and young. The beginning and end. We see all, know all.
“Why did you help me? What do you want?” The woods had grown quiet. His breath came in great white clouds as the world around him faded to gray and the grass and foliage frosted over with decay.
We want in, the voice purred, the creature’s tail fluttering lazily on the stone. You can let us in. Free us from where we are trapped. The creature tilted its head. We are so hungry, and this world has so much to give.
Kanruo bared his teeth. If this creature was trapped, it was likely for good reason.
But how was it communicating with him? How had it breached both Notia’s wards and his own enchanted pendant? Kanruo gripped at the shard of obsidian beneath his shirt, hoping the moon goddess would hear his silent plea for strength. The sudden cold made him shake, made his hands and fingers numb and his mind slow.
“No,” he hissed.
No?
“No,” Kanruo repeated, firmer this time. Whatever this creature was, it was wrong and powerful. He could see the magical currents around it. The energy twisted and contorted before fading, the power drawn toward the shadow figure. As if the creature itself was devouring it.
We could help you. Give you all that you want. We led you to your father, did we not?
“I would have found him eventually. I didn’t ask for your help.” Kanruo ground his teeth as he felt the creature reach out, its tail extending to gently brush against his face. He took a step back as the gray world crumbled away into nothingness.
Wouldn’t you like to leave this land and walk among the world again? To not be hunted and hated for your power? Don’t you want to make things right? Don’t you want to know the truth? The creature leaped off the rock, growing as it moved toward him, legs elongating. Its head twisted around as it gazed at him with eyes that weren’t there.
We have that power. We would give it to you. Reset the world, build it better. A shining future.
Kanruo backed away as the ground beneath him faded, finding himself suspended in oblivion. The array of darkness spread out before him, a black hole devouring even starlight until there was nothing left but the crushing weight of silence.
Let us in, little witch! Let us in! The creature was upon him, shadowy claws cutting deep into his arms and chest.
“NO!” Kanruo strained against the creature. He could feel it leaking into his mind, working its way into the folds of his brain, whispering sweet promises as its claws dug ever deeper into his flesh.
Kanruo’s body was weightless, his head heavy as he choked on his breath. He had to do something, but how could his magic push back against something that devoured everything?
The silver of his sickle flashed bright in the all-encompassing abyss. He had to fight. He couldn’t die like this!
“Heed these words and heed them well.” Kanruo pulled all the power he possessed close to himself. The spell was powerful in its simplicity, giving him confidence as he faced his foe. “For in my realm, you shall no longer dwell.”
He twisted free, running his hand over the flat curve of his weapon. Its silver blade took on a blinding light, illuminating the endless space around them.
“Break what holds your soul to me, with this rhyme I am free!”
With a shout he sliced at the creature, cutting upward and through it. The light of a solar storm arced from his blade, twisting and spiraling around the creature as it shrieked, the sound shrill.
But the darkness remained. The ever-growing apparition gazed down at him, cold and unimpressed by his resistance.
You have much to learn, little witch. The creature blinked as it extinguished the light of his spell with the flick of a shadowy claw.
It reached for him, jaw unhinging to reveal a mouth full of terrible eyes. Kanruo scrambled backward, trying to escape its reach. His strongest banishing spell was nothing more than an annoying fly to the interdimensional beast.
A voice rang out. “Thrice around, the circle’s bound!”
A tear ripped through the abyss, shattering the nothingness.
“Sink this evil into the ground.” Notia stepped through the tear, brilliant light surrounding her. Effulgent spells on her fingertips illuminated the eclipse. The creature shrank back, hissing and spitting as its shroud deteriorated.
She reached out to Kanruo. “By the maiden, mother, and crone, this evil is not welcome in our home.”
The creature retreated as her light grew stronger. The moon fire burned away the darkness, collapsing it on itself. She grabbed Kanruo’s hand and pulled him out of the abyss.
He crumpled on the forest floor, gasping for breath. “What was that?” He looked up at Notia.
She was frowning as she secured her sickle. “Trouble. The persistent kind.”
“It spoke to me. It knew me, knew everything I wanted . . .” Kanruo felt a terrible panic flooding over him. What had he just blindly let in?
“Goddess be good.” She closed her eyes, one of her hands tightly clenched in a fist. With a sigh, her glamour faded in the pre-dawn light.
She settled on the ground next to him. “It knows all, it devours all. It was there at the beginning of the universe, was witness to her birth. And it will be here when she finally dies. We witches call it the Void, but the rest of the world knows it by another name.” She looked over at him. “Dark matter.”
“That . . . no. That . . . It was intelligent! Matter doesn’t have intelligence!” Kanruo protested.
“In the beginning, it did not. But as it devoured, it learned, grew. Now it roams, ever hungry, a monstrous vacuum that consumes all life, all love, and even the gods themselves. Centuries ago, the witches discovered it, tried to control it. Each one died a terrible death. The Void bows to no one—”
“But you stopped it! I saw you!” Kanruo grabbed her hand.
“Would that I could.” Notia gave him a bittersweet smile. “I only caught it by surprise. It will return with its sights on you, Kanruo.”
“But why me? What is so special about me?”
“Every so often, there is a witch who is attuned to the Void. Just as there are children born to parents with no magical lineage and magicless children born to witches.” Notia sighed. “I don’t have all the answers, little supernova.”
Kanruo groaned and let her hand drop as he pulled his fingers through his hair. “Is this—” His breath caught in his throat. “Did you know? Did you foresee this? Is this what everyone’s died for?” His words came out harsh and accusatory.
“In some ways, yes,” Notia
admitted. “The Void is a source of great power if it could ever be harnessed. The Union wanted that power. More people than you can ever imagine died trying to stop their folly. The war, the Great Purge, it wasn’t just prejudice that sent the corporations after witches. They wanted unfettered access to the Void, dangers be damned. And we refused to give it to them.”
“And me?”
“We knew there was a chance that you could be attuned to the Void. Any witch who is gifted with manipulation magic carries that risk. The Union wanted to use you as their conduit, to lift the veil between the realities and fuel their greed.”
“What do I do now? What happens to me?” He couldn’t keep the tremble out of his voice. If the Void was as bad as she said, how could he ever hope to stand against it? He had just seen firsthand how powerful it was. What chance did he have?
“You live your life. You grow stronger and wiser. You endure.” Notia stroked a strand of hair out of his face.
“I can never be rid of it, can I?” Kanruo’s shoulders slumped. Already, he could sense the darkness reforming, coiling about, ready to whisper promises in his ear again.
“I’m sorry, little supernova. It has the scent of your soul. No spell can hide you from it. No ward can bar it. But I will do everything in my power to keep you safe for as long as I can.”
They sat in silence as the sun began to rise, its light filtering through the forest leaves and warming the world.
“Notia?” Kanruo’s voice was quiet. Silent tear streaks stained his face. “Can we go home?”
“Of course, little supernova.”
Kanruo collapsed on his bed. His head spun, a sickness, as if he’d held his breath too long. Each of his limbs felt leaden while he stared at the ceiling.
“Drink some tea.” Notia set an earthenware cup down on the small table next to his bed. “It’ll help.”
Slowly, his eyes moved to watch the steam rise from the cup. “I found my dad,” he whispered.
Notia sat down on the bed next to him. “I see.”
“Are you mad at me?”
The Last Moon Witch Page 11