I ducked through the curtained doorway into the streets.
Outside, the sun had set. Many of the shops had closed their doors, though there were a few stubborn businesses that continued to stay open even after dark. I walked to the edge of the main road and felt the paper crane in my sleeve stir. It slipped out and fluttered away down a narrow side street, becoming lost in the darkness. Setting my jaw, I followed.
Jomei was waiting for me in the shadows of a warehouse, his painted face seeming to hover against the black. The paper crane perched on his knee, fanning its wings as if it were truly alive.
“You’re late.”
I bowed so he wouldn’t sense my reluctance. Why was I feeling so hesitant tonight? This meeting was the same as all the others. “Forgive me, Master Jomei. I was held up. There were..plications.”
“Yes, I saw that.” The mage’s voice was faintly amused. “You’ve picked up quite the party, Tatsumi-san. Now, not only is there a girl, but an uncouth ronin dog following you about. Would you care to explain why you haven’t killed him yet, or at least lost him somewhere along the road?”
“He was part of a bandit gang that ambushed us,” I began. “But he ended up turning on them instead. Yumeko...insisted that we help him, after the fight.”
“The peasant girl told you not to kill the bandit,” Jomei said. “And you listened to her?”
“She’s my only lead to Master Jiro and the Steel Feather temple,” I replied. “If I’d killed the ronin, it might’ve frightened her, or angered her. I couldn’t take the risk that she would leave.”
Jomei pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, briefly closing his eyes. “This girl is becoming more and more problematic,” he muttered, and a shiver of unease crept up my spine. If Jomei thought Yumeko was becoming a danger to the clan, or if he believed she was no longer essential to my mission, he would give the order to have her and the ronin killed. He might order me to dispose of them both on an isolated stretch of road outside the city. No one would notice, or care, if a ronin and a peasant girl suddenly disappeared without a trace. Both of them were dangerously naive, far too trusting of the demon beside them. Oni no Mikoto might be a local legend, but a real demon lurked in their midst, hungering for blood, for their very souls. They wouldn’t suspect a thing until it appeared and cut them down. If Jomei gave the order to kill both my companions, it would be all too easy to carry it out.
And I...didn’t want to do it. The notion shocked me. I’d never questioned orders before, never faltered in what I had to do. If I was told to “cleanse” a hamlet because the villagers were using blood magic to summon demons, I would slaughter every man, woman and child there. If they ordered me to Jigoku to slay O-Hakumon, the ruler of hell himself, I would jump into the abyss without a second thought. My life was not my own. As always, duty to the Shadow Clan was everything.
“Am I to kill her, Master Jomei?” I asked softly. My stomach tightened, and it was suddenly difficult to breathe. If my orders were to kill Yumeko, so be it. I would carry out my duty, as I’d always done. And I would hope that, somehow, her face would not haunt me for the rest of my life.
Jomei sighed. “No,” he said, igniting a sudden and unexpected flare of relief. “If she can truly lead you to the scroll, there’s no reason to kill her yet. Right now, she is naive and harmless, and the ronin seems a bumbling fool. Continue traveling with them, if you must. As long as they pose no threat to the secrets of the clan.”
I bowed my head. “As you wish, Master Jomei.”
“When you reach the capital, be sure to check in with Kage Masao in the Shadow Clan district. He’ll be expecting you.”
“Understood.”
“Oh, and here.” The shadow mage tossed something at me. I caught it with a clink; a circle of cord strung with copper kaeru and a few silver tora. “Your stipend for the month. Since you seem to have an extra mouth to feed. Make it last.”
“Thank you, Master Jomei.”
“Go, then.” Jomei waved a hand, dismissing me. “Return to your ‘companions’ before they grow suspicious of where you are. Remember,”