Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,148

fear. The birdlike creatures stood in a large circle, two fingers held out before each of them, chanting words that made the air shiver like heat waves.

Suki looked down, catching sight of what the ring of bird monsters had surrounded, and would have gasped if she’d had the breath.

A terrible demon lay in the center of the circle, an oni with skin as black as ink and a wild white mane framing his face. His eyes were closed, though his lids twitched and his clawed fingers spasmed, as if he was caught in the throes of a nightmare. Glowing chains, seeming to have emerged from the stones themselves, wrapped around the oni’s limbs and chest, pinning him to the ground and throbbing as if they were alive.

Beside the demon, lying on her back with her hands folded across her stomach in the death pose, was the kitsune. The same kitsune that Suki had guided through Lady Satomi’s castle the night she had come to rescue the priest. The fox girl’s skin was as pale as parchment, her face slack and her body limp. A shrine maiden, her lips pressed into a tight line, knelt at her side, one slender hand on the kitsune’s forehead. Dead, Suki thought in terror and a sudden, surprising grief. The fox girl is dead. The demon must have killed her.

But as she drifted closer, the shrine maiden let out a breath that almost sounded like she was fighting back a sob. “Hang in there, Yumeko-chan,” Suki heard the miko whisper. “If anyone can bring back Kage-san, it will be you. You’re too damn stubborn to let Hakaimono win.”

Suki was almost to the edge of the circle now. She could see Daisuke’s face, grim and solemn as he stared at the two figures on the ground, as if expecting something to happen. Everyone, from the humans to the bird monsters to even the small orange dog sitting beside the miko, seemed focused on the two bodies in the center of the ring. But as she drew close, her light falling over the hunched shoulders of the figures surrounding the pair, Taiyo Daisuke raised his head and spotted her.

“S-Suki-san?”

Suki froze at hearing her name on his lips. Everyone glanced up at her, and she suddenly found herself pinned by a dozen wide, startled gazes.

Taiyo Daisuke blinked, gave his head a tiny shake as if to clear it, then stared at her again, eyes wide. “It…it is you, isn’t it?” he breathed. “Just like that night in Satomi’s castle. I thought…I heard your voice. It was you, after all.” His brow furrowed, as the beady eyes of the crow monsters seemed to bore into her from all sides. “Why have you come, Suki-san?” he asked in a faintly sad voice. “Do you desire vengeance? Are you here to haunt me for my failure?”

No! Suki shook her head violently. Never, Daisuke-sama, she wanted to say. I would never do anything to make you unhappy. But the words stuck in her throat, refusing to emerge past her lips, and she could only shake her head in mute denial.

“Hitodama.” The shrine maiden rose, her eyes hard, and stepped away from the motionless bodies of the demon and kitsune. “You have helped us before, so I can only assume you have come for the same reason. But our time is short, and we are in the middle of a very dangerous procedure. We cannot spare much time or attention, so be brief. Why are you here?”

“Demons.”

Suki’s voice was still a whisper, but it rose into the air, causing everyone to straighten immediately. “Genno’s army…is coming,” Suki continued into the horrified silence that followed. “They have…followed Hakaimono…to this place. They intend to kill everyone!” Her gaze met Daisuke’s, pleading. “You must flee…before they arrive!”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a booming howl echoed from the direction of the gates, causing everyone to spin around. Suki could suddenly hear them, dozens of claws and boots and feet, scraping against stone, climbing the steps, and despair squeezed her throat. It was too late. She was too late. The army had arrived.

“They’re already here.” One of the bird monsters stepped forward. Unlike the others, his skin was bright red, a huge crimson nose stabbing the air before him. “They’ve come for the scroll fragment. I must protect it at all costs!” He spun on the other bird monsters, eyes narrowed and teeth bared as he pointed toward the temple. “Do not let them