Shadow of the Fox

by Julie Kagawa

  The demon laughed. He rose, towering over me, his fangs shining a terrible crescent moon grin as he stepped back. “You’re entertaining, little fox,” he told me. “Which is why I’m going to let you live awhile longer. Don’t worry though—I’ll kill you and everyone you care about soon enough. When you’re not expecting it, someone close to you is going to die. The ronin, the noble, the priest, the shrine maiden and the two puppies. I’m going to kill you all, and Tatsumi will be forced to watch as I rip the limbs from your body one by one. This is his punishment, too, for keeping me trapped in his stubborn head all this time.” His eyes glittered, and for a moment I saw unbridled rage and loathing deep in their depths, making my blood chill. “So fear not. When we meet again, I promise I’ll make your death slow and painful.”

  Leaning forward, he deliberately stretched out a hand and placed it on the barrier, which snapped and sputtered, flickering erratically at his touch. Smoke rose from his clawed fingers, coiling into the air, but it didn’t seem to bother him. Smiling, Demon Tatsumi bent close, dropping his voice to a rough whisper. “If you think you can stop me, Yumeko-chan, I encourage you to try your best. The game has just begun.”

  Stepping back, he crouched and then leaped into the air, soaring onto the roof of the castle. Another leap took him even higher, a black shadow drawing farther and farther away. For a moment, he paused on the highest tower, a horned figure silhouetted against the moon, his wild mane billowing behind him, before he dropped to the other side of the castle and was gone.

  * * *

  After a few minutes of searching, we found our missing companions. The ronin lay buried under the collapsed watchtower, pinned by beams but struggling weakly to free himself. Miraculously, despite a large purple bruise on his forehead and several gashes across his arms and legs, he didn’t seem seriously hurt.

  “You have the luck of the kami themselves,” Reika muttered, sounding reluctantly impressed as she wrapped strips of cloth around his many cuts. “That, or your head is harder than a cannonball.”

  “Ha, my hard head is infamous,” Okame said proudly, tapping his knuckles against his skull. “Nothing gets through this, all right.”

  “I’m not sure you should be boasting about that.”

  Taiyo Daisuke was another matter. After scouring the battlefield, Chu finally led us to an isolated corner of the courtyard. The noble knelt on the stones in a pool of blood, his head down and his chin resting on his chest. He was surrounded by broken weapons and pieces of armor, and still clutched his sword tightly in one hand.

  A ghostly figure stood beside him, a girl in simple robes, her hair tied behind her. Raising her hand, she touched the side of his face, a wistful smile crossing her lips, before she shivered into nothingness. A glowing white sphere, the light that had led us to Master Jiro, rose from where she had been, and drifted away over the wall.

  “Daisuke-san.” I sniffed as Chu approached the fallen noble, ears pricked in hopeful anticipation. “Can you hear me? Are you still alive?”

  The body of the samurai didn’t move. I swallowed the tightness in my throat, and was about to turn back to find the others, when Chu whined and shoved his nose under the noble’s empty hand.

  Shakily, it rose, as if attached to a string, to pat the dog between the ears. I gasped, and the samurai lifted his head, squinting against the dark.

  “Yu...meko-san,” he murmured, as I released a shaky breath. “You’re all right. Did you find...Master Jiro?”

  I nodded mutely, and he relaxed. “Yokatta,” he whispered, an expression of relief. “But...what about the demon? Where...is Kage-san?”

  The weight in my chest got bigger. “Gone,” I said quietly. “Yaburama is dead, but Tatsumi...isn’t here anymore.”

  “Then... I failed.” The noble bowed his head. “I couldn’t protect him.”

  “No,” I told him, and the noble looked up sharply. “He’s not dead, Daisuke-san. Yaburama couldn’t beat him. That’s not what we have to worry about now. Tatsumi is...”

  A demon. One even worse than Yaburama. And it’s my fault.

  “Forgive me, Yumeko-san,” Daisuke said, still squinting up at me. “I have either taken a blow to the head, or am hallucinating from blood loss but, are those...forgive my rudeness...ears?”

  “Yes, she’s kitsune,” came an exasperated female voice, and Reika walked around to my side, a bandaged ronin close behind her. “She’s been kitsune the entire time you’ve known her, both of you. This is nothing new, and right now, we have larger issues to worry about. Taiyo-san...” She gazed at Daisuke, her face softening a bit in sympathy. “We’ll need to dress your wounds. Can you stand?”

  Daisuke, still staring at my ears, nodded painfully, then winced. “Give me but a moment.”

  Abruptly, Okame stepped forward, lifted the noble’s arm around his shoulders and pulled him upright. Daisuke clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth in pain, and the ronin braced himself until the noble had gotten his feet.

  “Okame-san,” he muttered when he had gotten his balance, still leaning against the ronin. “I am...pleased to see you unharmed. Forgive my weakness. I am ashamed that I could not help you or Tatsumi-san.”

  The ronin snorted. “I didn’t see much after that bastard oni collapsed the tower,” he replied, “but it looks to me that you cut down the entire hoard of ankle-biters on your own. I don’t know how you managed it, but that doesn’t sound like a weakling to me.”

  The noble gave a faint smile. “Arigatou gozaimasu.”

  Okame sighed, glancing up at me and the shrine maiden. “So,” he said with forced cheerfulness, “Yumeko-chan is a kitsune, the priest is saved, and apparently Kage-san went insane, carved the oni into little pieces and took off. Big night. Anything I’m missing?”

  “Lady Satomi,” Reika said. “Let’s not forget her. We still have no idea where she is, or what she’s doing. Certainly, she lured us here to kill us, but now that we found Master Jiro, she will likely strike again. We need to find a way out of here, quickly.”

  “Agreed,” said a new voice, Master Jiro’s, as he stepped over rubble piles and bits of armor. Ko was at his side, and the head priest looked grave as he joined us. “There is no time. We must...”

  His legs trembled, and he nearly fell, causing Reika to grab his arm. I snatched a wooden bucket from the dirt and placed it upside down in front of him, and the priest lowered himself onto it with a groan. For a moment, he sat there, breathing hard, then lifted his head.

  “Time is now against us,” Master Jiro panted, gazing around at us all, though his gaze lingered on me. “Kitsune...” He paused. “Yumeko-san...do you have the Dragon scroll?”

  I nodded, feeling numb inside and out. “Yes, Master Jiro.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You must take it to the Steel Feather temple. The monks there will protect it. Nothing else matters but getting the scroll to the temple, do you understand? The Dragon cannot be summoned into this world again. Reika-chan,” he continued, making the shrine maiden straighten, “we will go with her. Protect her on the journey. We must not let the scroll fall into the hands of evil like Lady Satomi.”

  “Yes, Master Jiro.” The shrine maiden bowed. “I understand.”

  “Hey, don’t forget about us,” the ronin broke in. “I’ve come this far, fought demons and blood mages, and just got my ass kicked by an oni. I feel I’ve earned the right to continue with Yumeko-chan, at least until we get to this Steel Bird temple or wherever she’s going.”

  “Indeed.” Daisuke’s voice was tight with pain, but resolved. “I, too, will accompany Yumeko-san. To make up for my failure in protecting Kage-san, my blade will be at her side until my debt is paid. This I swear.”

  “I will take the scroll to the temple,” I told the priest. “I’ve already promised to do so. But...” My throat tightened, and I took a deep breath to open it. “Tatsumi,” I whispered. “Can we
save him? Can the demon be driven out?”

  Master Jiro bowed his head. “To answer that question,” he began, “you must know who you are dealing with, and the bloody history that is tied to it.” He glanced at Daisuke, still leaning against the ronin, and his mouth thinned. “Taiyo-san’s wounds must be addressed,” he stated. “And Lady Satomi could still be about, not to mention Hakaimono. We must flee. But when we are safe, I will tell you the story of the Shadow Clan, the Dragon’s prayer, a woman named Lady Hanshou, and the cursed sword named Kamigoroshi that is tied to them all.”

  Epilogue

  In the golden palace of the emperor, all was quiet. The Moon Viewing party had gone splendidly, and everyone had returned to their rooms with a sense of satisfaction. Or, at least, in the pleasant haze of alcohol. The emperor, especially, slept soundly on his futon in a sake-induced torpor, his sleep free of dreams and the nightmares that had plagued him of late.

  In the lavishly furnished apartments of the royal wing, in a bedroom cloaked in shadow, a full-length mirror shimmered, and the smiling form of Lady Satomi stepped through the glass. Brushing imaginary dirt from her robes, she sauntered to her writing desk, sat down on the stool and lit the candle. She then pulled open the bottom drawer and removed an object wrapped in silk cloth, placed it on the desktop and removed the covering.

  The naked skull stared at her, empty eye sockets dark and unseeing. As Satomi waited, they flickered to life, lit with a baleful purple glow that threw eerie shadows over the rice paper walls. Satomi lowered her head in a bow.

  “Everything is going to plan, master,” she said in a low murmur. “Yaburama should have killed the boy by now and taken the scroll. The priest will tell the survivors where the Steel Feather temple is located, and we will simply follow them until they reach it. Then the second piece will be yours, as well.”

  The flames in the skull’s eye sockets pulsed, and a raspy whisper emerged between its grinning yellow teeth. “I fear you may have underestimated the Kage demonslayer, Lady Satomi,” it breathed. “Yaburama is one of Jigoku’s strongest oni, which is why I summoned him for you. But Hakaimono is a true monster. If he makes an appearance, if Yaburama cannot kill the boy quickly enough, then you might have another problem on your hands.”

  “You needn’t worry, master.” Satomi smiled. “Everything is under control. Soon, you will have the last two pieces of the Dragon’s prayer, we will summon the beast and you will rule this country as you were meant to.”

  “And you will not turn on me, as you did everyone before you?”

  “Of course not, master!” Satomi put her hand to her chest, sounding horrified. “I am your loyal servant. Everything I do, I do for your glorious return.”

  The light in the skull’s eyes faded, becoming faint pinpricks against the black. “Be sure that you remember who your master is, Lady Satomi,” the voice rasped, growing fainter with the light. “You are a talented blood witch, but as replaceable as any mortal, and I have an army of yokai and demons who will answer my call. Do not disappoint me. I will await word of your success.”

  Satomi gave a smile and a small bow, and when she raised her head, the light in the skull’s eyes had gone out, and she was alone.

  As the glow faded and darkness returned, Satomi’s smile faded, replaced with trembling anger.

  “You think you are so clever, master,” she whispered to the skull. “But only a mortal soul can summon the Dragon, and your army of demons cannot call the Harbinger for you. When the time comes to speak the wish, it will not be for your glorious return, I can promise you that.”

  Smiling again, she rose from the desk, turned around, and came face-to-face with her maid.

  “You?” An annoyed frown instantly darkened her face. She tried to remember the name of this newest girl, and failed. “I didn’t call for you. What are you doing here, you worthless thing?”

  The girl’s eyes lifted to meet her own, flashing gold in the darkness, right before she shoved the blade of a sword through Lady Satomi’s chest.

  Satomi’s mouth gaped. Stunned, she gazed down at the shining length of steel in her breast, at the blood beginning to well around the edges. A thread of crimson ran from her lips, trickling down her neck, and she raised her eyes to her maid’s face.

  The corner of the girl’s mouth pulled into a smirk. There was a soundless explosion of white smoke, and when it cleared, a man stood before her, his blade still sunk into her middle. He was beautiful; his long hair the brightest silver, like polished metal, his eyes a lazy gold.

  “Good night, Lady Satomi,” the beautiful stranger said, his voice low and cool. “I believe you’ve done enough for one era.”

  “You...” Satomi gasped, finally recognizing him. “You’re—”

  He pulled out the sword and beheaded her in one smooth, blinding motion. Blood spattered the wall and the cluster of folded cranes on the desk, and Satomi’s head struck the floor with a muffled thump. Her last expression, as the skull rolled slowly across the boards, was one of shock.

  Standing in the slain woman’s bedroom, feeling the cold eyes of the skull on his back, the stranger smiled.

  “I’m afraid I can’t allow the boy to die just yet,” he murmured, as the blood from Satomi’s corpse spread across the floor, seeping into the cracks. “And the little half fox is...interesting. I wonder if she’ll be strong enough to bring the demonslayer back?” He chuckled to himself in amusement. “Hakaimono might yet meet his match in this game. I suppose we’ll have to wait, and see what she does.”

  “Master?”

  Seigetsu glanced down as a small yokai, a child-sized figure with a single, enormous eye in the center of his face, crept into the room. Gazing down at the headless corpse, it wrinkled its nose, then looked up at him.

  “The guards are coming closer, master. We should flee while we can.”

  “Go, then,” Seigetsu told it. “Do not wait for me. I will join you when I am done.”

  The small yokai bowed low and scuttled off, vanishing out the door, and Seigetsu was alone.

  His gaze moved to one corner of the room, to the full-length mirror and the ghostly figure of a girl, hovering before it. One silver brow arched, and his lips curled in a slow smile.

  “Satomi is dead,” he told the ghost, who watched him with large pale eyes. “If you are lingering here for vengeance, you can move on. My task is done.” He flicked blood from his blade, sheathed it and turned away. “Whoever you were,” he said, walking to the door, “I hope you find peace. Sayonara.” His lean form swept through the doorframe, onto the outside veranda, and disappeared from view.

  The ghost of Suki shimmered, becoming a ball of softly glowing light. For a moment, it hesitated, floating over the floor and the shocked, bloody head of Lady Satomi, casting her features in a pale glow. Then it rose into the air and flew quickly out the door, following the beautiful man down the veranda, and both vanished into the night.

  * * * * *

  Thank you for reading book 1 of the

  Shadow of the Fox trilogy!

  Look for book 2,

  Soul of the Sword.

  Only from Julie Kagawa

  and Inkyard Press!

  Return to the Shadow of the Fox world in the

  next wildly enchanting and thrilling adventure,

  Soul of the Sword.

  Only from Julie Kagawa and Inkyard Press!

  Glossary

  amanjaku: minor demons of Jigoku

  arigatou: thank you

  ayame: iris

  baba: an honorific used for a female elder

  baka/bakamono: fool, idiot

  chan: an honorific mainly used for females or children

  chochin: hanging paper lantern

  daikon: radish

  daimyo: feudal lord

  Doroshin: Kami, the God of Roads

&
nbsp; furoshiki: a cloth used to tie one’s possessions for ease of transport

  gaki: hungry ghosts

  geta: wooden clogs

  gomen: an apology, sorry

  hai: an expression of acknowledgment, yes

  hakama: pleated trousers

  hannya: a type of demon, usually female

  haori: kimono jacket

  hitodama: the human soul

  inu: dog

  ite: ow, ouch

  Jigoku: the Realm of Evil, hell

  Jinkei: Kami, the God of Mercy

  jorogumo: a type of spider yokai

  kaeru: copper frog, currency of Iwagoto

  kago: palanquin

  kama: sickle

  kamaitachi: yokai, sickle weasel

  kami: minor gods

  Kami: greater gods, the nine named deities of Iwagoto

  kami-touched: those born with magic powers

  karasu: crow

  katana: sword

  kawauso: river otter

  kitsune: fox

  kitsune-bi: foxfire

  kodama: kami, a tree spirit

  konbanwa: good evening

  kunai: throwing knife

  kuso: a common swear word

  mabushii: an expression meaning “so bright,” like the glare of the sun

  majutsushi: mage, magic user

  Meido: the Realm of Waiting, where the soul travels before it is reborn

  miko: a shrine maiden

  mino: raincoat made of woven straw

  mon: family emblem or crest

  nande: an expression meaning “why”

  nani: an expression meaning “what?”

  netsuke: a carved piece of jewelry, used to fasten the cord of a travel pouch to the obi

  nezumi: yokai, rat

  Ningen-kai: the mortal realm

  nogitsune: an evil wild fox

  obi: sash

  ofuda: paper talisman possessing magical abilities

  ohayou gozaimasu: good morning

  Ojinari: Kami, God of the Harvest