by Julie Kagawa
Flinging blood from his sword, Tatsumi spun toward another mound, but the limbs of the severed corpse pile twitched, then rose again as two smaller, separate entities that reached for him once more. A few feet away, Daisuke was struggling to keep distance between himself and a pair of corpse mounds; no matter how many limbs he cut off, how many heads he dismembered, the piles kept coming.
“Yumeko!”
Reika’s voice rang out, sharp and frightened. I turned just as a shadow fell over me from behind, a dozen hands clawing at me from every angle. I let out a yelp and sent a wave of foxfire into the monster’s many faces, causing it to flinch, but not stop. A cold, clammy hand grabbed my wrist, dragging me forward, and I cried out in disgust and horror.
“Purify!”
An ofuda sped past my head, sticking to the putrid mass of the monster who’d grabbed me, and with a burst of spiritual light, part of the mound was flung apart. I stumbled back, the fingers of the severed arm still clinging to my wrist, as the corpse pile howled and reformed into a smaller mound of dead. It lurched forward again, but the enormous crimson bulk of Chu slammed into it with a roar, shoving it back.
“Ew, ew, ew.” I shook my arm rapidly, dislodging the fingers still curled around my wrist. “This isn’t working, Reika-san,” I gasped. Behind me, I heard Tatsumi’s furious snarl and the squelch of his blade tearing through the mounds of corpses, and I saw the flash of Daisuke’s sword as it carved through limbs and bodies, but there were always more. “How do we kill things that are already dead?”
“The corpses are only puppets,” Reika snapped, ducking as a pale hand clawed at her. “Kill the puppet masters, and you cut the strings.”
“Oh!” Understanding dawned. I looked up at the witches, standing at the edge of the loft and smiling down at us, then to Okame, who met my gaze through the lurching dead things. “Okame-san!”
“On it!” Without hesitation, the ronin raised his bow and fired three rapid shots at the trio of blood mages overhead. The arrows flew unerringly for their targets, but right before reaching them, they struck an invisible wall of force that sent them spinning away. For a moment, a barrier flickered into sight, surrounding the blood mages in a black-red dome, and the head witch let out a cackle.
“Fight and struggle all you want, pathetic mortals,” she hissed. “No one will stop Lord Genno’s glorious return.”
“Reika-san!” I called, leaping back and blasting a corpse in the face with foxfire to little effect. “There’s a barrier—”
“I saw.” The miko cast a glare of pure annoyance at the witch trio before pulling an ofuda from her haori. “I just need a minute,” she said, holding the slip in two fingers and bringing it to her face. “Keep them off me until then.”
“Minna!” I called, as Chu lunged between his mistress and a pair of corpse mounds shuffling toward her. “Everyone! Protect Reika-san!”
Immediately, Tatsumi and Daisuke fell back to flank the shrine maiden, while Okame, Chu and I covered the front. Really, it was mostly Chu, who had become a roaring, raging whirlwind of teeth and claws, striking out at any dead thing that got too close. Snatching a pebble from the floor, I tossed it toward the corpse mounds, and a second komainu appeared, snarling and lashing out with enormous paws, adding to the confusion and chaos. Reika closed her eyes, murmuring words under her breath, and the paper in her hand started to glow.
“Enough of this foolishness.” Above us, the head witch raised a bloody claw. “It is time for all of you to die. Destroy them,” she called, and the corpse mounds seemed to swell and become even more grotesque, new arms and faces emerging through the putrid bodies. They lurched forward and one of them fell on Chu, the komainu snarling as he was buried under a mountain of rotting flesh and grasping hands.
Okame swore, releasing an arrow that hit the corpse mound lying on Chu and sank halfway into the putrid flesh, but did nothing else. “Kuso!” he spat again, and pulled another arrow from his quiver, but Reika suddenly reached out and snatched the arrow from his hands.
“What—?”
“Not the corpses,” she snapped. Raising the faintly glowing ofuda, she shoved the talisman halfway down the arrow shaft and tossed it back at him. “The witch, ronin. Shoot the witch!”
The corpse mounds closed in, hands flailing, stench overpowering. Okame leaped back, raised his bow and sent the arrow streaking toward the head witch gloating down at us. As before, the dart struck the barrier, but this time the arrowhead seemed to punch through the crimson dome, the ofuda glowing blindingly bright. With the sound of breaking porcelain, the barrier shattered, eliciting cries of alarm and fury from the witches as they flinched back, raising their arms.
“Curse you!” the head witch hissed and glared down at us, but Tatsumi sprang to the top of the ledge with a snarl, and the witch had just enough time to shriek in terror before she was split apart by Kamigoroshi. The other two gave cries of alarm and tried to flee, but the raging demonslayer struck them down before they took three steps, and their severed bodies thumped wetly to the wooden planks.
A shudder went through the air. Slowly, the corpse mounds stopped moving and began falling apart as the bodies went limp and slumped to the floor. Chu wriggled his way free from the motionless pile of corpses, shook himself violently and padded back to Reika, who was observing the now truly dead bodies with a look of disgusted triumph.
Okame took a deep breath. “You know, ever since I met you people, I’ve seen a lot of weird things,” he announced, curling a lip as he gazed around. “Hungry ghosts, demons, giant centipedes that want to eat you. I thought it couldn’t get any worse, that I had seen it all.” He shook his head. “Apparently I was very, very wrong.”
“Is everyone all right?” I asked as Tatsumi dropped from the platform, his eyes still shining a bloodthirsty red, his claws, horns and fangs fully visible. His gaze met mine, and I shivered at the cold fury glimmering within, but forced myself to face the demon staring back at me. “That should be the end of it, right? The curse should be lifted now that the coven is dead.”
For a moment, the demonslayer watched me, an eerie, contemplative look on his face, as if he was considering springing forward and plunging his sword through my middle. But then he shook himself, and the demonic features faded as he turned away, gazing out the warehouse doors. I followed his gaze and saw that the street was strewn with bodies, lying motionless where they had fallen. A heavy silence hung in the air, and I felt my stomach churn as I stared at the piles of corpses. So much death and destruction, all because the Master of Demons didn’t want us following him to reclaim the scroll.
“By the Harbinger’s fickle whiskers, you did it!”
We turned. A man stood in a door on the opposite side of the warehouse, gazing at us and then the mounds of dead with wide eyes. He wasn’t samurai, wearing rough but sturdy clothes, and his skin was leathery from the sun.
“My men and I were watching you,” the stranger went on as another pair of rough, sun-blasted humans poked their heads inside and stared at us. “Saw you magic your way through the doors, then heard an awful commotion from inside. We’ve been stuck here for days, trying to figure out a way to get past the hordes of dead. I don’t know who you are, strangers, or what sorcery you used to break the curse on this town, but I’m truly grateful.”
“Who are you?” Tatsumi asked.
“Oh, my apologies.” The man offered a quick bow, and the rest of his men did the same. “I am Tsuki Jotaro, first mate of the Seadragon’s Fortune.” He paused, his brow creasing with a painful memory. “Well, actually, now that Captain Fumio is dead, I suppose I am the new captain. We had stopped here to trade with Umi Sabishi when the town began swarming with the dead and we were unable to get to our ship. Now that you’ve dealt with the problem, we can finally return home.”
“To Tsuki lands,” Daisuke confirmed, as if he couldn’t believe our good fortune.
> Jotaro nodded. “As soon as I can find and gather the rest of my crew,” he said. “We cannot leave this cursed place fast enough. But, whoever you are, you have my eternal gratitude, strangers. You saved this town, my crew and my ship. If I can be of any help, you have only to ask.”
“Actually...” Reika stepped forward, smiling. “There is something you can help us with.”
6
In the Crow’s Nest
TATSUMI
I did not enjoy being on a ship.
Not because of the ocean, or the constant rocking of the ship itself. I was a strong swimmer and had been trained on all manner of unsteady platforms since I was young. Seasickness had never been a concern for me, unlike the ronin, who had been consistently and loudly miserable ever since we’d set sail from Umi Sabishi Mura.
It was the notion that I was, essentially, trapped on a small vessel with several other souls, and there was no escape—for anyone—should I get the sudden, bloodthirsty desire to slaughter them all. I could feel those urges now, that hunger for violence and carnage that never went away. I had spent the past day and most of the night in the crow’s nest, far removed from the crew and the rest of my companions, so my demonic nature wouldn’t be tempted to indulge in a killing spree.
Don’t lie to yourself, Tatsumi, whispered a voice inside that wasn’t entirely my own. You’re hiding...from her.
I shut the voice out, closing my eyes, but I couldn’t escape the truth of it. Yumeko. I had been thinking of her a lot lately. Ever since the terrible night when she had freed my soul from the demon possessing it, the fox girl was all I could think about. I worried for her in battle and felt hollow when we were apart. Even now, though I knew she was safely below on the ship, I ached to see her, to hear her laugh. I wished...
Wishing is for fools, Tatsumi. Ichiro’s voice echoed in my head, cold and logical, repeating one of the many tenants of the Kage demonslayer. Wishing for what cannot be only weakens your resolve. You are the Kage demonslayer. You must never waver, you must never question yourself, or you and everyone around you will be lost.
“Tatsumi? Are you up here?”
My heart leaped as the familiar voice that had been haunting my thoughts for days on end sounded directly below. Across from me, four slender fingers curled over the edge of the crow’s nest, just before a pair of black-tipped ears poked over the rim and Yumeko’s face appeared, her hair streaming behind her in the strong wind. She spotted me, and her lips curved into a smile.
“There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” She pulled herself up the side and half crawled, half fell into the basket, wincing as her forearms hit the floor of the crow’s nest. “Ite. Well, that was exciting. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified to look down. Even the old camphor tree in the forest near the Silent Winds temple wasn’t this tall.” Still on her knees and clutching one of the ropes with both hands, she peeked over the edge of the basket, and her ears flattened to her skull. “We are certainly very high up, aren’t we? I hope Reika doesn’t get too cross if I decide to stay here all night.”
“What are you doing here, Yumeko?” I asked, not moving from my place against the side of the basket. Seeing her made my heart pound, but whether from excitement, fear or something else, I couldn’t tell.
“I was worried.” The girl scooted around the mast toward me, never letting go of the ropes or the edges of the crow’s nest. “I haven’t seen you in nearly two days, and no one else could find you, either. I thought you might have...decided to leave.”
I frowned. “We’re in the middle of the ocean,” I pointed out, gesturing to the endless expanse of water surrounding us, glimmering in the moonlight. “Where would I go?”
“I’m not a shinobi.” Still on her knees, she scooted closer, her knuckles white from gripping the ropes. “I didn’t know if you had some secret Kage magic that let you become a fish or something. Eee.” A gust of wind tossed her sleeves and made the basket sway, and she closed her eyes, hugging the mast. “Well, that decides it. I’ll be staying right here until we get to Moon Clan territory. It shouldn’t be long until we reach the first island, right?”
It was now fairly crowded in the crow’s nest, as the basket wasn’t meant to hold more than one person. I sighed and got to my feet, gazing down at the girl still wrapped around the mast. “Give me your hand,” I told her, holding out my own. She reached for me, stretching out her arm and grasping my palm, but kept one arm wrapped around the wooden post. “Let go of the mast, Yumeko,” I told her, and her ears flattened again. “Trust me,” I soothed, keeping a steady grip on her hand. “I won’t let you fall.”
She nodded and gingerly let go of the post. I drew her upright, but as she stood, a vicious blast of wind caused the sails to snap wildly. Yumeko winced, looking like she wanted to glue herself to the mast again, but I pulled her forward so that she was braced against me, one hand clutching my shoulder for balance while the other gripped my fingers like a vise.
“Get your feet under you,” I told her softly. “Bend your knees and feel the rhythm of the waves as they move. Sway with the ship instead of letting it toss you around.”
“This is certainly not like climbing the camphor tree,” she muttered, staring fixedly at the fabric of my haori as she found her balance. “Even when the tree swayed, there were branches everywhere that you could grab if you slipped. Right now, there is nothing but air between me and a very long drop to the planks. Reika will probably lecture me if I break my neck falling from the mast.”
“You’re not going to fall,” I said. “Relax, and feel the ship move. Once you’re comfortable with the rhythm, it will be easy to climb back down.”
She straightened, finally lifting her gaze. Atop her head, her fox ears pricked forward, and her posture relaxed against me. “Oh,” she whispered, sounding awed. “You can see the whole ocean from up here.” She gazed around at the glittering black expanse, the waves rippling silver beneath the moon, and drew in a slow breath. “It really does go on forever, doesn’t it?”
Her fingers brushed my skin, trailing a line of heat across my arm, and my heart thumped in my ears. I was suddenly very aware that we were all alone up here, far removed from our companions and anyone who might see us. Not only that, our bodies were very close. I could feel Yumeko’s slender form leaning slightly into me for balance, the softness of her under my fingers. In the past, having someone so near had made me highly uncomfortable and desperate to put distance between us; now I was filled with a terrifying, incomprehensible urge to pull her closer. “You should go back down,” I said gruffly. “Ushima Island isn’t far. We’re scheduled to pull into the port of Heishi at dawn.”
She nodded absently, still gazing over the water, the moonlight reflected in her eyes. “Everything is so big,” she murmured, as if loath to speak any louder. “It feels like we’re the only things out here. Just a tiny fleck between the ocean and the sky. It makes you realize how small and unimportant you really are. Like you’re a bug who is trapped in a spiderweb, and you’re fighting so hard, thinking that you’re caught in this grand, life-or-death struggle, but really, you’re just a bug.” She paused, a faint smile crossing her face. “That was one of Denga’s sayings. I never used to understand what he meant, but now... I think I get it.”
With a sigh, she tilted her head back and looked up at the stars. “I feel like a bug right now, Tatsumi,” she whispered. “How am I supposed to stop Genno, his army or the coming of the Dragon? I’m not that strong.”
“I’ll be your strength,” I told her softly. “Let me be your weapon, the blade that cuts through your enemies. I can do that much, at least.” She shivered against me, and my heartbeat picked up in response. “Strength isn’t the only key to winning a battle,” I said. “You told me that yourself, remember? You have other ways to fight, Yumeko.”
“Fox magic,” Yumeko murmured. “Illusions and tricks. I don’t
have real power like you or Reika. I’ll try, Tatsumi. I’ll fight as hard as I can, but Genno already knows what I am—how useful will my magic really be?”
“Enough to defeat an oni lord,” I said, “the strongest demon Jigoku has ever known. Enough to keep the scroll hidden from the Kage demonslayer while traveling across half the country, and to stay alive when the immortal daimyo of the Shadow Clan wishes to kill you. And to make a Kage lord screech and dance like a marionette when an illusionary rodent scurries up his hakama.” The last bit made her chuckle, and it made me smirk, as well. I’d heard about Lord Iesada’s infamous tea ceremony from the ronin, and the disgraceful, hilarious way it had ended. I’d met the Kage lord only once, and though my human half was used to the casual arrogance and pomp of the nobles, my demon nature wanted to peel the haughty expression from his face and feed it back to him.
I sobered. “Enough to save a human soul from Jigoku, and an oni’s from being trapped in a sword for eternity,” I finished. Golden fox eyes met mine, and my heart gave a strange sideways lurch.
Chilled, I turned away, telling it to be still, to feel nothing. Gripping the edge of the crow’s nest, I stared out over the water. What was I doing? Every time Yumeko was this close, my guard would drop and my emotions were in danger of being exposed, which was how I’d lost myself to Hakaimono the first time. I was even more dangerous now, with my demon side unrestrained and so close to the surface that I could feel the anger and bloodlust simmering inside.
“Though you might come to regret that decision, once Genno is dead,” I told the kitsune at my back. “You might have saved Tatsumi, but you also saved a demon. Hakaimono is still here, don’t ever forget that.”
I felt her watching me, the wind tugging at our hair and making the platform sway. “Gomen, Tatsumi,” she said at last, making me frown in confusion. “I didn’t even ask if you wanted to become a demon. Do you wish I hadn’t saved you?”