as something white and ragged clawed its way out of the hole; a woman in a dripping white burial gown, long hair covering her face. Her hands were twisted claws, curved nails glinting in the light, and her skin was a pallid bluish-gray. As I shrank back in horror, the yurei turned its head toward Tatsumi, who stood his ground as the specter crawled off the edge of the well and staggered toward him.
“Am I…pretty?” it whispered, its voice turning my blood to ice. Both arms reached toward Tatsumi, water dripping from its gray skin to vanish into the grass. “Am I…beautiful?” It raised its head, and I saw the streaks of crimson running down its robe from its slit throat, the dead white eyes peering through the curtain of hair. “Will you love me?”
“No, Mizu Tadako.” Tatsumi’s voice surprised me. Calm and almost gentle. “The bones of a dozen priests and holy men lie at the bottom of your well. The time for exorcism is past.” He raised his sword, and the cold purple glow of Kamigoroshi washed over his face, which looked solemn and determined in the flickering light. “Wherever Kamigoroshi sends you, may your spirit find peace.”
The specter’s face contorted with rage, and she lunged at Tatsumi with a bone-numbing scream.
“Found you, little fox.”
My blood went cold for a different reason, and my stomach turned inside out with fear, as his presence materialized behind me. Without thinking, I leaped forward, feeling something catch the ends of my hair as I darted away. Heart pounding, I ran for the center of the clearing, where Tatsumi and the ghost woman were swirling around each other, her furious shrieks echoing over the trees. Without looking back, I vaulted onto the edge of the well and, before I lost my nerve, dropped into the yawning blackness, hearing Hakaimono’s snarl of frustration follow me into the dark.
I hit the ground hard but managed to turn the fall into a roll and tumbled to a painful stop at the base of a wall. Wincing, I pushed myself upright and looked around, wondering where I’d ended up this time.
I shivered. A massive castle loomed before me, silhouetted black against the eerie red sky. Lightning flashed through the clouds, unnatural strands glowing purple-black, and in the flickering nonlight, I recognized this place. Hakumei-jo, the castle of the Shadow Clan, sat before me like a great, patient beast. But it was somehow darker and more twisted than its counterpart in the real world. Fat red vines slithered over its walls and coiled around corners, pulsing like they were alive. Small, misshapen things crawled along the tiered roofs, staring down at me with eyes like hot coals. The darkness here seemed a living thing; shadows moved and crawled along the ground and walls, attached to nothing but still reaching out for me.
And suddenly, I knew.
He’s here. Tatsumi’s soul…is somewhere inside the castle.
Somewhere overhead, nearly drowned by the moaning of the wind through the courtyard, there was a muffled roar that made my stomach drop. Hakaimono was still coming.
I raced up the steps to the castle, making sure not to step on the fat red vines that pulsed angrily as I approached, and pulled open the heavy wooden doors at the top. They groaned, reluctantly swinging back, and I slipped through the opening into the blackness beyond.
Inside, the halls and corridors were dark, the walls and polished floors covered with more heaving crimson vines that slithered in from the windows and pushed through cracks in the wood. The castle itself seemed to be breathing, the walls expanding and contracting, though I couldn’t tell if that was my imagination.
Tatsumi, I thought, gazing around in dismay. Where are you?
From somewhere deep below, I got an answer. The faintest pulse of a heartbeat, barely noticeable, vibrating through the castle. I took a deep breath and darted forward, and the shadows closed around me.
26
BATTLE FOR THE STEEL FEATHER TEMPLE
Suki
She barely made it in time.
Daisuke-sama, Suki thought, flying over the walls of the temple. Behind her, frighteningly close, she could hear the panting of demons, the scrape of claws and talons against rock. The sounds terrified her, but she forced herself into her human image, gazing around wildly. Where are you?
She saw him then, in the center of the stone courtyard, his white hair and bright haori standing out against the dark. Figures surrounded him, robed creatures with claws and great black wings growing from their shoulders. More monsters, Suki thought, balking in