the scroll, seemed like a very bad idea. “If it’s all the same, I’d really rather not.”
“I’m afraid I must insist.” The majutsushi raised a hand, and the shadow warriors hovering in the darkness took a menacing step forward. Daisuke tensed, and Okame half raised his bow, as the growling from the two dogs rose sharply into the air. “I do not wish this to end in violence,” Naganori said, clasping his hands before him. “But we will be taking the girl to Lady Hanshou. Those who oppose us will be cut down for interfering in Shadow Clan official business.”
“I would be more cautious with your threats, Kage-san,” Daisuke said, earning a frown from the majutsushi. “Lady Yumeko is under my protection, and harming a Taiyo is a crime against the Imperial family. I am certain Lady Hanshou does not want to start a war with the Sun Clan.”
“Daisuke-san…” I looked at the noble in surprise.
“She’s also under the protection of the Hayate shrine,” Reika chimed in, and raised her arm, an ofuda strip held between two fingers. Chu and Ko stepped forward, forming a tiny barrier in front of the shrine maiden, their eyes shining gold and green in the darkness. “I’m afraid we cannot let you take her away, even if we must defy the Kage daimyo herself.”
“Yep,” Okame added, smiling evilly as he fitted an arrow to his bowstring. “Basically, you want Yumeko, you have to go through all of us.”
“Insolence!” Naganori bristled, and around us, the shinobi raised their swords. “I will not stand and argue with ronin and commoners.” The Shadow mage raised his hands, and the air around him grew darker as even the firelight flinched away from him. “Our Lady sent us for the girl, and if you get in the way of our mission, we will have no choice but to strike you down.”
“Wait!” Quickly, I stood up and faced the majutsushi, and the circle of blades turned in my direction. “I’ll go,” I told him. My stomach twisted with the words, but if the other choice was a bloodbath with shinobi and a Shadow mage, I’d choose the less messy option. Even though meeting Lady Hanshou would probably go very badly for me, I didn’t want to drag the rest of them into a fight with Tatsumi’s family. There were a lot of shinobi surrounding us, ready to pounce, and those were just the ones we could see. And the majutsushi was an even bigger question mark. I didn’t think Naganori’s Shadow magic would produce flowers and butterflies, unless they were black butterflies that ate your soul, which didn’t seem healthy at all.
And perhaps, when I faced Lady Hanshou, the leader of the Shadow Clan, I would learn more about Tatsumi and how I could save his soul from the monster now possessing it.
Stepping forward, I faced Naganori and raised my chin. “I’ll go,” I said again. “If Lady Hanshou has called for me, I will go and speak to her.”
Tatsumi, I’m sorry. I hope you can hang on until I can find a way out of this.
“Yumeko-san.” Reika stepped forward, causing her dogs to skitter aside. “It is inadvisable for you to go right now,” she said, raising her brows at me. No doubt referencing the precious secret hidden beneath my onmyoji robes. “If you are going, then I insist upon coming with you.”
“You don’t have to, Reika-san…” I began. But the shrine maiden gave me a look reminiscent of the expression Denga-san used to make when he caught me in the middle of a prank, so I fell silent.
Daisuke stood slowly and with great dignity, drawing the attention of all. “I, too, must insist upon accompanying Yumeko-san,” he said. “I made a vow to protect her, and I will not suffer the dishonor of breaking my word. Where she goes, I will follow. Until the time of my death, or she no longer has need of me.”
“And I’m her yojimbo,” Okame added. “The bodyguard goes wherever the client does. So I’m coming, too.” He smirked at Naganori, as if challenging him to refuse. “No matter what anyone says.”
I looked at the majutsushi, expecting him to protest, but Naganori simply smiled. “Such a loyal bunch,” he mused, in a voice that was half-mocking, half-suspicious. His gaze slid to me, flat and cold like a snake’s. “A shrine maiden, an honorless ronin dog and a Taiyo noble, all willing to accompany you into the unknown. What is the onmyoji hiding to