Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,164

off your demons, or I’ll burn this piece of the prayer right here.” Glancing at Okame and Daisuke, my eyes narrowed and I glared back at the Master of Demons. “Let them go and…and we can negotiate.”

“Yumeko!” Reika surged to her feet, as the remaining tengu whirled around, their eyes wide with shock. “Do not speak to him! Do not negotiate with the Master of Demons! We will not give up the scroll, under any circumstances.”

“Yumeko-san,” Daisuke added, his voice soft but strained, “Listen to Reika-san. Do not bargain with Genno on our accounts. Let us die with honor, protecting the scroll.”

The Master of Demons laughed. His deep, cruel voice rang off the rafter beams, rising over the howl and snap of the flames. “You cannot destroy the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, kitsune,” he told me, but his army did not come any closer. “It is a sacred text from the kami themselves. Why do you think the scroll has been separated and not destroyed by your peace-loving fanatics? Because sacred, holy and ancient artifacts always have a way of returning to the hands of men. Burn it, bury it, toss it into the sea—the prayer will simply appear in the world again.”

My heart plummeted, but I kept my voice firm. “That might be true,” I said, “but not here. And not now. If I destroy it, you’ll have to start your search all over again, and time is running out. You might not find this piece of the scroll before the night to summon the Dragon is past.” Genno didn’t say anything, and I knew I had struck a chord. I took a deep breath and played my last card. “This is my offer. I’ll give you the prayer, if you swear on your honor to take your army and leave. No more death. No more bloodshed. You leave us alone, and no one else is killed. What are a few human and tengu lives if you have the final piece of the scroll in your hands?”

For a moment, Genno didn’t answer, and both sides held their breath, the demons poised to lunge forward and rip us to pieces, the tengu and humans braced to die. Daisuke and Okame were frozen, their faces tense and their bodies rigid against the lethal chains, knowing that one word from the Master of Demons would mean a very bloody death.

Finally, Genno smiled. “Very well,” he said calmly. “You have a deal, fox. Give me the scroll, and I will take my army and depart. My lieutenants will not kill you, at least, not today. You have my word.”

I glanced at the yokai twins, still holding on to their captives, and frowned. “Let Okame and Daisuke go first,” I said. “Then I’ll give you the scroll. Not before.”

The two yokai scowled at me, but Genno simply nodded and raised a hand. Immediately, the twins relaxed the tension on the barbed chains, letting them fall to the ground. With another gesture from the Master of Demons, the third lieutenant, the crimson-haired oni, stepped forward and held out a claw to me, the meaning very clear.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward, trying to ignore the furious glares from the last of the tengu, the feathers on their wings trembling, as if they were fighting the urge to fly forward and stab me through the heart. Anything to keep me from giving up the scroll. I understood their dismay; they were ready to die to protect it, to keep it from falling into the hands of evil. Just like Master Isao, and everyone at the Silent Winds temple. But I couldn’t watch that again, especially now. Daisuke, Reika, Okame…we had come so far. I wouldn’t let them die. This time, I could do something to stop it.

“No tricks, kitsune.” Genno’s voice echoed quietly overhead, a subtle warning. “No illusions, no fox magic. I will know if what you give me is real. Play me for a fool, and your deaths will not be quick.”

The demon loomed before me, his cold red gaze making my skin crawl. Heart pounding, I put the scroll in his outstretched hand and watched his claws curl over the wood. Stepping back, a sick sense of betrayal gnawed my insides; I could suddenly sense a hundred disappointed gazes boring into my soul. But I wouldn’t regret my decision.

I’m sorry, Master Isao, everyone. I know I failed my duty. But what does it matter if I stop the coming of