Shadow of The Fox (Shadow of the Fox #1) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,74
him?”
“We can’t leave him here. He’s injured.”
“He tried to kill us,” Tatsumi said, his voice flat. “He led us into an ambush. Those bandits would have shown us no mercy.”
“He helped us, in the end,” I argued. “He’s not like the others. I don’t think we should leave him here to die.” Tatsumi didn’t move, and I frowned at him. “Fine. You go on ahead. I’ll catch up when I can.”
I walked back to the fallen ronin, then knelt at his side to examine the arrow. It jutted out below his left shoulder blade, the shaft sitting in the center of a dark circle of blood, spreading slowly across his vest.
“If you’re going to yank that out, just do it quick,” came a tight voice. I blinked and looked down to see that the ronin’s eyes were open, gazing back at me. “Grab it as close to the head as you can, and give it a good hard tug.”
“Won’t it hurt?”
“Nah, I get shot like this all the time. Sometimes I shoot myself with arrows just so I can rip them out again.”
“Really?” I gaped at him. “How is that even possible? Is it some sort of exercise? Do you also try to dodge the arrows or catch them as they come in?”
“I’m being sarcastic, Yumeko-san.” Okame gave a pained smile. “Of course it’s going to hurt. But it’s got to come out sometime. I can’t walk to town with an arrow sticking out of me. Just yank it out and leave me here. I’ll be fine.”
Gazing at the length of wood jutting from the ronin’s back, I hesitated, gathering my courage for the deed. Taking a deep breath, I started to reach for the shaft, when a shadow fell over us. I glanced up just in time to see Tatsumi reach down, grab the arrow and yank it out in one swift motion.
“Aagh!” yelped the ronin, jerking against the stones. “Kuso! Ow!” Panting, he glared back at us. “Dammit, Kage, if you’re going to kill me, just cut off my head and be done with it. You don’t have to torture me with false hope.”
Tatsumi tossed the bloody arrow to the ground. “If I was going to kill you, you’d already be dead,” he stated flatly. “Where’s your hideout?”
“Our hideout? Why?” Okame struggled painfully to a sitting position, clenching his jaw. “This is all of the gang. There’s no one left for you to slaughter.”
“Because I don’t want to carry your bleeding carcass to town once you collapse from blood loss.” Tatsumi crossed his arms, gazing up the steps. “Because Yumeko refuses to leave you in the road to die. If your hideout is close, better to go there. I assume you have basic necessities like water and bandages.”
“Water, yes. Bandages...eh, I’m sure I can find something.”
I blinked up at the warrior, surprised. “You’re staying?”
Cold violet eyes regarded me without expression. “I promised I would, didn’t I? I said I would escort you to the capital, and I have yet to repay my debt. So...” He reached down and, in one smooth motion, grabbed the ronin, hauled him to his feet and slung his arm around his shoulders. The ronin yelped and swore, then made a comment about being better off dead. Tatsumi ignored him. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
16
Yokai in the Moonlight
Master Ichiro would beat you senseless if he saw you now.
I ignored the thought, concentrating on keeping myself and the bleeding ronin upright as we walked through the forest, eventually coming upon the hideout in a stand of trees. The bandits had taken shelter in an abandoned woodsman’s cottage not far from where they’d staged their ambush. The cottage itself was ancient and run-down; the veranda was sagging, the railings rotted away, and the thatch roof was full of holes. Inside it was even worse, the floor covered with thin mattresses and strewn with dirty bowls, loose chopsticks, dice, blankets and empty sake bottles. It smelled of sweat, urine and too many unwashed humans in the same room at once. I dropped the ronin on one of the dirty mattresses, then retreated outside to the veranda, leaving Yumeko to bind his wounds.
Leaning against a rotten post, I gazed up at the sky, watching the sun set behind the trees, as grim thoughts swirled around my head.
What are you doing, Tatsumi? You should have killed him. Now another has become involved, and if the clan finds out they might order you to kill him anyway.