Night of the Dragon

by Julie Kagawa

  The souls above me suddenly flared with light. I winced, closing my eyes, and for just a moment, I could see two figures hovering there, entwined, a human with dark hair and purple eyes, and an oni with onyx skin and burning ember horns. With a snarl, the demon wrenched himself from the human and shoved him back, and Tatsumi stumbled away, suddenly free of the demon’s soul, floating alone in the air.

  “Hakaimono...” The image of Tatsumi sounded stunned. “Why?”

  The translucent oni gave a tired smirk. “Don’t say you’ll miss me, human. We both know that’s a lie.” He motioned to the glowing blade with a claw, curling a lip. “You think I want to be stuck in Kamigoroshi with you and your tiresome human emotions? There’s no way I’m spending the next millennia whining about a fox girl. This wasn’t a favor, mortal, it was to keep me from going crazy. So don’t get too broken up about it.”

  Tatsumi bowed his head. “Arigatou,” he murmured. “I won’t forget...the demon who shared his soul with mine.”

  “Wish I could.” The oni shook his head. “If I’d known what was going to happen, I might’ve let us both die the first time.” A purple light surrounded Hakaimono, pulsing with ghostly flames, and he sighed, sounding incredibly weary. “No more of this. I’m done. I think I prefer the void of Kamigoroshi to experiencing that again. So...go on.” He jerked his head at the sky. “Get out of here, before I change my mind and drag you into the sword with me.”

  Tatsumi’s image became bright and transparent, and started to fade. “Goodbye, Hakaimono,” he said quietly. “You were honorable, in your own way.”

  Hakaimono snorted. “The next time I’m free, I will remedy that, I assure you.”

  The oni closed his eyes as the flames spread over his body, consuming him, until at last, he erupted in a flare of violet and disappeared.

  The light faded...and I was alone. Tatsumi’s body was limp in my arms, nothing but an empty shell, and the storm still howled around us. Kamigoroshi flickered once and died, the blade becoming dark on the stones.

  I gently lay Tatsumi on his back, pressing my lips to his forehead one last time. “Safe journey to you, Tatsumi,” I whispered as I drew away. “Until we meet again.”

  Numb, I rose, the wind buffeting my hair and clothes, and walked to where Seigetsu slumped against the boulder, golden eyes gazing sightlessly upward. The pearl in one bloody hand glimmered dully as I bent down and picked it up. It lay in my palm, lifeless. As dead as the Dragon curled around the pit to Jigoku.

  Tucking the Fushi no Tama into my obi, I turned from the ninetail, then stopped, a chill racing up my back. Kamigoroshi lay on the ground beside Tatsumi, the blade unsheathed, the steel cold and dark. My heart pounded as I stared at the sword. Tatsumi was dead, his soul departed for whatever afterlife lay beyond. But Hakaimono was still there, trapped in the sword once again. The oni had been vicious, cunning and unmerciful, a terrifying enemy, once. But...now.

  I swallowed hard. He had been part of Tatsumi, part of the soul I had loved, who had loved me, as well. Even if Hakaimono was pure evil once again, I couldn’t leave him here.

  Heart in my throat, I reached down, hesitated, then curled my fingers around the hilt of Kamigoroshi. My hand shook, and I held my breath, bracing myself for... I didn’t know what. A stab of pain? Hakaimono’s evil laughter as he rushed in to possess me? But there was nothing. No pulse of a heartbeat, no consciousness that wasn’t my own. If Hakaimono was in the sword, he wasn’t responding.

  Sheathing the blade, I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. The valley was a roiling mass of demons and spirits; they crawled over the rocks and swooped through the air, leaving trails of flame behind them. The scar to Jigoku pulsed red and purple in the center of the chaos. And in the center of it all, the Dragon’s huge body lay in the midst of demons, giving off coils of light that spiraled toward the clouds. He was much fainter now, barely an outline of a once Great Kami, growing more transparent by the second.

  And somehow, I had to get to him. Before he faded from the world entirely.

  I took a deep breath, feeling my heart pound in my ears. I couldn’t fail. Not this time. This would probably be my final task, but I had made a promise, to Tatsumi, to Kiyomi-sama and everyone else on this island. I would resurrect the Dragon, or I would die trying.

  Alone, I made my way down the mountain, uncaring of the scrapes on my skin, the blood I left on the rocks. For a brief flicker of thought, I considered using fox magic to conjure a giant leaf to float down the mountain, but that required concentration to hold the illusion together, and I was exhausted, numb in both body and spirit. It was all I could do to keep walking until I stood at the edge of the plains.

  Gazing into the darkness, I could see the ocean of demons and tortured spirits spread out before me, a vast, unending flood, and beyond them, the faintest blue-green glow of the Dragon. Flickering, fading, completely beyond my reach.

  I trembled, feeling ice creep into my veins, and closed my eyes. Tatsumi, I thought, Reika-san, everyone. If you can hear me, give me strength. I have to make it to the Dragon. Let me do this one last thing before I join you on the other side.

  There was a sigh in the back of my mind, a tickle of consciousness, and my heart nearly stopped. What are you doing, fox? If you walk into that mess, you’re going to get yourself torn to pieces.

  I gasped, and my stomach turned inside out. “Hakaimono?” I whispered, and felt the demon’s weary annoyance. “You’re here. Why...why aren’t you trying to possess me?”

  Don’t make me answer that. The oni sighed. You know you’re not going to make it to the Dragon. Your fox magic isn’t going to work here, kitsune, not this close to Jigoku. With the portal open, the spirits and demons have been driven to a frenzy. They’re going to see through any illusion.

  “I have to try.”

  Typical. I could almost see the demon shaking his head. Then, I suppose I’ll have to help. This once.

  His presence grew stronger; I could suddenly feel it pressing against my consciousness, powerful and overwhelming, like staring into the face of a monsoon. I shivered, and heard a quiet chuckle in my mind.

  There’s no barrier around your soul at all, is there? Hakaimono mused. It would be so easy to take you over and be free of the sword again. What I could accomplish with the power of a kitsune.

  I swallowed hard, knowing there was nothing I could do if the First Oni decided to possess me. I didn’t have Tatsumi’s training, the discipline needed to completely shut off my emotions. Especially now, when my insides were a churning mire of grief, determination and loss. “Please don’t, Hakaimono.”

  You really are naive, aren’t you? the oni replied, though his voice wasn’t a threat; it just sounded tired. Kami, I hope this fades in time. I’m never going to forgive you and Tatsumi for making me feel this way.

  I’m going to fully grant you my power, Hakaimono went on, even as my stomach twisted at his last words. But it’s going to feel strange, like you’re not in control anymore. Don’t resist. I’m not going to possess you, so you’ll still look like yourself, but you’ll need my strength if you want the barest chance of getting to the Dragon. Are you ready?

  My arms shook, but I took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes.”

  Power flooded me, an inferno rising up to consume me from the inside. For a moment, it felt like my blood would boil and my skin would split apart. Gasping, I sank to my knees, arms around myself, as a searing rush of heat filled every part of me.

  Opening my eyes, I rose, feeling a strength I’d never experienced before, and a sudden, savage desire to cut down anything that stood in my way. I looked down and saw Kamigoroshi engulfed in violet flames, and a purple-black glow rising from my own skin.

  Peering around the rock, I gazed into the valley at the army of demons between myself and the Dragon, and with Kamigoroshi loose at my side, I began walking. The snarls and screa
ms of the demons pierced the night, and the cries of thousands of tortured spirits rose into the air, but I wasn’t afraid. Or rather, all my fear had been shoved down into a tiny corner of my soul and abandoned. I didn’t have time to be afraid now. Though I knew, even with Hakaimono’s strength, my chances of making it through the valley to the Harbinger were slim. I would give it everything I had, but I was walking to my death, and I was...all right with that. I understood now what it meant to sacrifice everything, to give your life to protect not only the ones you loved, but their world and what they cared for, as well.

  All right, fox. Hakaimono’s voice was much clearer now, like he was walking right beside me. I was almost to the edge of the valley, and the wall of horrors stretching to either side. This is suicide, but I guess we take down as many as we can. Just get out of the way and let me do what I do best.

  I gave a single nod and raised Kamigoroshi, the purple flames lighting the way forward. For Tatsumi, I told the demon, and myself. For Kiyomi-sama, Reika, Daisuke, Okame... Watch over me, everyone. Let me make it to the Dragon. Just one last thing.

  Gripping the hilt of Tatsumi’s sword, I started to run.

  29

  The Spirits Answer

  Yumeko

  I hit the edge of the demon wall with a snarl unlike anything I’d uttered before, fury singing through my veins as I slashed Kamigoroshi through the monsters in my path. They howled and split apart, as the sea of claws and fangs turned on me with a roar. I roared back and let the fiery hatred within carry me forward, the Godslayer a blur as it danced and sliced its way through heads, limbs and torsos. A trio of spirits rushed me, sobbing, reaching for me with grasping hands. I raised an arm, and foxfire seared forth, the sobs turning to wails as kitsune-bi consumed them.

  Oh, well, isn’t that surprising. What else can this do?

  I raised Kamigoroshi, and foxfire erupted down the length of the blade, swallowing the flickering purple flames. With the sword blazing like a blue-white torch against the night, I gave a savage grin and leaped forward.

  I lost track of time. The demons closed in, and there was nothing but an endless sea of monsters surrounding me. I cut and sliced a bloody path through them, but there were always more, wave upon wave of them, slashing at me with weapons and claws. I struck a wanyudo from the air and felt a searing pain across my shoulder as a red-skinned demon with six arms hit me with one of its three swords. It lost two of its arms before I plunged Kamigoroshi through its middle and ripped it in half, then blasted a group of amanjaku with foxfire. They shrieked as they were burned to ashes in an instant, writhing into mist on the wind.

  And then, something struck me from the side, lifting me off my feet with an explosion of pain through my shoulder. I hit the ground several paces away and rolled, somehow managing to come up on my feet, but my sword arm blazed with agony even as I lifted it in defiance.

  A red-skinned oni, the thing that had hit me, bellowed as it lunged, swinging an iron-studded club at my head again. I ducked, swept low and sliced the monster’s legs out from beneath him, hearing it shriek as it toppled forward. Staggering to my feet, I stared at the ring of demons and horrors around me, wave upon wave with no end in sight. I couldn’t see the Dragon, I couldn’t see anything except a wall of enemies, and the bloodred glow through the cracks in the clouds that proclaimed it was almost dawn.

  Sorry, fox. Hakaimono’s voice echoed in my head, and I felt him brace for the rush that would finish it. My arm shook; I was almost certain it was broken, and that only Hakaimono’s strength and resilience were keeping me on my feet. I staggered back a pace and saw the ground beneath me was spattered with red. I brought you as far as I could. But at least you’ll be with Tatsumi in a few minutes. I felt the oni’s presence rise up, as if drawing on his last reserves of power. And I don’t plan to go down quietly. Let’s send as many of these bastards back to Jigoku as we can.

  Pain clawed at me. Failure was a heavy weight in my chest, bitter and suffocating. I wasn’t going to reach the Dragon. I was going to die here, and Kiyomi-sama, if she was still alive, was going to lose everything.

  I’m sorry, everyone. I tried.

  With a flare of light, a small glowing ball soared overhead, lighting up the darkness for just a moment. The sea of horrors closed in, and I raised Kamigoroshi for one final stand.

  Something streaked past my face, a tiny strip of what looked like paper, but glowing like a beacon in the night. It flew toward the first rank of demons and exploded in a blinding flash of light, causing them to howl and cringe back. I flinched, turning away and raising a hand to shield my face, until the light faded and I peeked up.

  A ghostly, glowing figure stood between me and the horde, a massive komainu at her side. I gasped, tears immediately flooding my eyes, as the figure in white turned, giving me a familiar, exasperated smile.

  “Come on, Yumeko,” Reika said, holding out a hand. “Don’t give up. You’re not there, yet.”

  “Reika-san?”

  My choked, ragged whisper was drowned in the snarling of demons as they surged forward, claws and fangs grasping, weapons raised overhead. As I turned to face a demon charging in from the side, an arrow streaked through the air in a blaze of white, thumping into its temple. It bellowed and collapsed, and something moved past me in a blur, cutting a spirit in two with a single, precise stroke.

  “Yumeko-san.” Daisuke, his hair glowing an even brighter white in the shadows, turned to smile at me over his shoulder. “Our apologies for being late. But it appears you could use our help, after all.”

  “Yep,” sighed Okame as he strolled past, shaking his head and grinning. “Crazy fox. Leave you alone for a minute, and you go charging the entire plane of Jigoku by yourself.” He raised his bow and swiftly sent three arrows into three different demons. “Well, come on then, Yumeko-chan. Let’s get you to the Dragon.”

  A shadow fell over me from behind. I glanced back to see a massive oni, a pair of tetsubo raised, one in each claw, give a strangled roar as it toppled forward, its head leaving its neck halfway down. As it collapsed at my feet, I looked up to meet glittering purple eyes, and my heart stuttered in my chest.

  Tatsumi met my gaze, looking as he had the night we first met in the forest outside the Silent Winds temple. Fully human, lacking any demonic features or hints of another soul mingled with his own. He glowed like starlight, and for the first time since I had known Kage Tatsumi, his eyes were clear of the shadows that had haunted him. He gave me a wry smile as my breath caught and the tears gathered in my eyes spilled down my cheeks.

  “Go, Yumeko,” he said softly, his voice a whisper into my soul. “Get to the Dragon. We’ll be right beside you.”

  I nodded. Turning, I raised Kamigoroshi, as Chu gave a defiant roar and sprang into the wall of demons ahead.

  Together, we cut our way through the endless waves of monsters. Okame and Reika stayed close, firing arrows and hurling ofuda, while Chu rampaged ahead, crushing enemies or knocking them aside. Daisuke and Tatsumi were an unstoppable force, moving seamlessly together as their blades cut apart their foes. After the initial shock, I relinquished control to Hakaimono, letting his instincts guide me forward, and joined the two swordsmen as we carved our way through the ranks of spirits and demons.

  Fighting side by side with Tatsumi, I blasted a column of foxfire into a cluster of spirits, sending them reeling back, and through the sudden gap in the mob, I saw the fading body of the Great Dragon lying at the edge of a glowing pit. He was almost gone, a ghostly image with only a few tendrils of color and light clinging to the once massive Kami. Even as I watched, the Dragon disappeared, and the last streamers of light began rising into the darkness like coils of smoke on the wind.

  “Hurry, Yumeko!” called Tatsumi, and cut down an oni in front of us. I dove through a pair of demons, feeling their claws miss me by a hairbreadth, slashed through a spirit that grabbed for me, and sprin
ted to where the last tendrils of light were coiling into the air, the final remains of the Great Dragon leaving the world.

  Lunging forward, I fell to my knees in the midst of the lights, holding the pearl as high as I could. “Great Dragon,” I called. “I return to you the Fushi no Tama! Take it, and be at peace once more!”

  The lights didn’t stop. They swirled around me, warm and bright, but continued spiraling toward the clouds. Helpless, I watched the final remnants of the Harbinger float away, growing smaller and fainter, until they disappeared.

  Slumping back, I bowed my head, despair and helpless anger raging within. Too late. I was too late. We didn’t make it in time, and now, the Great Kami was gone for good.

  In my limp palm, the Fushi no Tama stirred. Numb, I opened my eyes as the tiny pearl suddenly pulsed against my skin, throbbing like a heartbeat. It rose into the air, following the same path as the lights had moments earlier, until it vanished into the clouds and was gone.

  Hope stirred, even as I cast a resigned glance at the sea of demons surrounding us. Maybe that was enough, I thought as the ring closed in, despite Tatsumi’s and the others’ valiant attempts to hold it back. Maybe the Dragon will revive and return to his kingdom beneath the waves. Maybe this wasn’t for nothing, after all.

  Weariness clawed at me, but I grabbed Kamigoroshi and pushed myself to my feet, seeing the others falling back, giving ground before the infinite, relentless assault. The scar to Jigoku pulsed, spewing forth ever more demons to swarm the valley. We were a tiny island in a surging sea of monsters, and that island was shrinking rapidly.

  I met Tatsumi’s eyes, and my heart swelled. There was no regret in his gaze, no anger or fear or madness, just a calm resignation. No matter what happened, he was at peace.

  I raised Kamigoroshi and stepped up beside him, meeting the horde head-on. Together, Tatsumi, I thought, bracing myself as the demons closed in. At least I’ll be at your side this time.