Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,157

in fear and dismay, right before the image of the girl shivered back into a glowing sphere of light. Rising into the air, it flew like a frightened bird into the darkness and vanished into the void.

“Kuso,” Hakaimono swore. “What is that bastard doing? If he’s betrayed me, I’ll tear him and his entire army apart.” With a curl of his lip, he glanced at me. “Looks like we’ll have to put this little duel on hold for now, demonslayer,” he said. “I know sharing this body isn’t what either of us wants, but if it’s trampled by some brainless bakemono while we stand here and argue, we both die.”

I gave a short nod. “For now,” I agreed, though it galled me to say the actual words. But the First Oni was right; if the Master of Demons had invaded, we couldn’t stand here fighting each other while my physical form was in danger of being destroyed.

I glanced at Yumeko. “You should return to your own body,” I told her. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be all right. But your body will be just as defenseless if you don’t return to it soon.”

She looked torn, glancing between Hakaimono and me, realizing the truth of my words but clearly not wanting to leave. “Tatsumi-san, I…”

Hakaimono snarled. “We’re wasting time! I’m not going to stand here and yap while there’s a battle being fought around us. Stay here if you want—I’m going to see what’s happening.”

His form shivered, became a glowing crimson ball, and flew into the void as the hitodama had. Returning to consciousness to take control of the body. My body. I clenched my fists and looked at Yumeko, who nodded.

“Go, Tatsumi-san,” she whispered, and I went, rising through the layers of thought and memory, back to the waking world.

I opened my eyes…and stared into the face of the Master of Demons.

Genno hovered over me, moonlight shining through his translucent robes, casting him in a sickly light. Aka the Red stood silently at his back, horns and red eyes glinting in the darkness. I noticed a bulging, red silk bag tied to the halfdemon’s waist, dangling beneath his obi, and wondered if it held the skull of the Master of Demons, the anchor that held Genno to the mortal realm. Around me, shouts and howling battle cries rose into the air, and the clang of weapons echoed off the temple stones. I caught frantic bursts of movement from the corners of my eyes, and smelled the metallic tang of blood on the wind. But Genno hovered over me, tranquil and serene in the chaos surrounding us, his thin lips drawn into a pleased smile.

“Ah, there you are, Hakaimono,” he said, gazing down at me. “You seem to have gotten yourself into quite the predicament.”

I tried to stand, and discovered I couldn’t move. I still lay on my back in the center of the binding circle, though I couldn’t see any priests or tengu around the edges. With effort, I managed to raise my head and saw glowing red links wrapped around my limbs and crossed over my chest, pinning me to the stones.

I also noticed that I was alone in the binding circle. Yumeko’s body, which would be defenseless and vulnerable without its soul, was nowhere to be seen. I hoped she was safe.

“Genno,” I heard myself say, though I wasn’t the one to speak. Hakaimono’s furious presence crowded mine, glaring at the blood mage through my eyes. “What are you doing? I told you I would get the scroll fragments.”

“Mmm. You seem to have failed.” The Master of Demons raised a ghostly finger and tapped it against his chin. “But you did show me exactly where to find the Steel Feather temple, for which I thank you. And the guardians here were so concerned with your arrival, they didn’t see my army coming until it was too late. You made a perfect distraction, Hakaimono. My army would never have made it up the mountain if the tengu were aware of them. But did you think for a minute that I would actually make a deal with the First Oni?” His bloodless mouth curled. “I will not have my own forces questioning me, nor will I stand for any competition. I am the Master of Demons. I don’t make bargains with those who should be my slaves.”

“You bastard.” Hakaimono gave a low, dangerous chuckle. “So you betrayed me before I could betray you. Can’t say I wouldn’t do the same,