Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,23
inside coming to the surface.
I blew out a breath in disbelief. They weren’t real, I told myself. Master Isao, Denga, Nitoru, Jin—they weren’t here at all. I just saw what I expected…what I’ve always feared.
The woman continued to rail at me, accusing me of being a horrible daughter and forgetting her, of not visiting her grave as often as I should. She certainly didn’t recognize me as a stranger, and a kitsune at that; it seemed the dead saw only what they wanted, as well.
They’re not malicious, I realized. Just unhappy. Maybe it gets very lonely in Meido while they’re waiting to move on. They see the spirits of the living as people they knew, and it reminds them of when they were alive. I wrinkled my nose. Though you’d think Naganori could have mentioned that.
Carefully, I rose and bowed to the distraught spirits, sobbing at me beyond the wall of mist. “Safe travels to you,” I murmured. “May you find what it is you are looking for, so you can move on.” Then, I took a deep breath and turned my back on the spirits of the dead. They howled and cried, begging me not to go, but I stepped away, and their pleading, sobbing, cursing voices faded into background noise. Closing my ears to the clamor, I shook myself and looked around for the others.
I was alone on the dark path. I couldn’t see Reika, Okame, Daisuke, Master Jiro…even Naganori had disappeared. My heart gave a violent lurch as fear and panic spiked, and I gazed wildly around for any hint of the familiar.
“Yasuo?”
The whisper drifted out of the darkness, causing relief to flood my veins. I took a few steps toward the voice and saw a familiar figure materialize in the distance.
Okame-san. I nearly called out to him but stopped myself, seeing the faces of the dead watching me through the mist. Not wanting to attract their attention, I began striding toward Okame, moving as quickly as I could without making any noise.
“Okame,” I called in a loud whisper, but the ronin ignored me. He stood at the edge of the path, gazing at something in the fog. A few feet away in the mist, I suddenly saw the pale figure of an old man, who pointed an accusing finger at the ronin at the edge of the mist and snarled something I couldn’t hear. Okame’s shoulders were hunched, his head bowed, and a quiet sob came to me over the whispers of the dead.
“I’m sorry, Yasuo.” Okame’s voice was choked. “Forgive me.”
No, Okame. Don’t listen! Fear stabbed at me again, and I began to jog toward him, but it was like running toward something in a dream. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t seem to close the distance, though I could clearly hear his voice, shaking and tormented, drifting to me through the shadows.
“It was a mistake, brother. I didn’t…I didn’t realize what would happen. I know I can’t ever make it up to you, but…” A pause, as the spirit on the other side said something, and Okame’s voice came again, resigned and heavy with guilt. “Yasuo, if joining you is the only way to put your spirit to rest…”
“Okame, no!” I put on a burst of speed, but I was still too far away to reach him. “That’s not your brother, Okame!” I cried in desperation. “Your brother isn’t talking to you, it’s just an angry, lonely spirit who wants your soul! Don’t let it trick you into joining it in Meido!”
The spirits of the dead hissed at me, crowding the edge of the path, their voices rising into the air. Okame finally turned his head, his bleak, hollow gaze meeting mine through the darkness.
“Yumeko-chan,” he murmured, as the spirit in front of him gnashed its teeth. “I’m sorry,” the ronin said, making me frown in confusion. His eyes were bleak, but he still gave me that wry, crooked grin of defiance. “It looks like I can’t go with you to the Steel Feather temple,” he said. “My brother, Yasuo, has demanded that I stay with him. I have to put his spirit to rest.”
“No, Okame-san. Listen to me.” I hurried forward, pleading. “That’s not your brother. It’s not Yasuo. Would your brother demand that you stay here, in the realm of the dead? Really look at him, and tell me what you see.”
The ronin shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Yumeko-chan,” he said dully. “The truth is I betrayed my brother, and