Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,27

he said with a shrug. “I have learned that it can be found anywhere, regardless of station or circumstance. True beauty is rare, hidden and often overlooked by others. And it can appear at the strangest times. I try to appreciate it when I see it.”

“I think that’s a lovely sentiment, Daisuke-san,” I said. “It sounds like something Master Isao would say.”

“Yes,” Okame agreed in a flat tone of voice. “Except that it tells me absolutely nothing.”

“You three.” Reika turned to glare back at us. At her feet, even Chu looked annoyed. “This is the path through the realm of the dead, not a spring festival,” she scolded in a whisper. “Your constant babbling is attracting attention. Can you attempt to be silent until we are clear of angry spirits who want to drag us into Meido?”

“Sorry, Reika-san,” I whispered, as the other two made appeasement noises, though Okame couldn’t resist making a face at Reika the second her back was turned. The spirits of the dead continued to wail and cry, their sobbing accusations grating in my ears, but their voices seemed distant now, unimportant. Between Okame, Reika and Daisuke, I knew what was real. The dead couldn’t tempt me anymore; I had too many important things to accomplish.

Just wait, Tatsumi. I’m still coming. I’ll see you again soon, I swear.

We continued down the path in silence.

7

THE CURSED TOMB

HAKAIMONO

It was taking the better part of a week to get over the mountains, and I was not in a good mood.

I had already killed two tsuchigumo, giant mountain spiders who would ambush unwary travelers as they passed by their cave, and now my steps were being hounded by an okuri inu, a monstrous dog yokai black as pitch and larger than a wolf. It lurked behind me on the trail, keeping just out of reach, waiting for me to stumble and fall so it could tear out my throat. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I would’ve stopped to deal with the nuisance yokai, but the snow-laced wind was getting worse and okuri inu had the uncanny ability to know when you were faking a fall, so they could not be lured in by deception. So I continued walking, my clawed feet crunching over snow and rock, ice pellets stinging my exposed skin.

Tatsumi, I noticed, had withdrawn deep into himself; I’d hardly felt his presence at all the past few days. Just a flicker of emotion every now and then, reminding me he was still there, still inside. Honestly, it was a little annoying; I’d been expecting the demonslayer to suffer through months, or even years, of despair and helpless rage watching me slaughter his clan before finally giving up. Still, his withdrawal wasn’t entirely unexpected. Tatsumi had been trained as a weapon, to feel no emotion or attachments. He was very good at suppressing his feelings.

The wind finally died down, and a faint orange glow crept over the shrouded peaks, driving away the stars and the annoying okuri inu at my back. As the sun rose into the sky, staining the snow pink, I reached the summit of the Dragon Spine Mountains at last and gazed over the land stretched out before me.

Far, far below, the valley was still cloaked in darkness, tiny clusters of light indicating the villages, towns and cities of the Mizu family, the Water Clan. Three huge lakes slept in the shadow of the mountains, with dozens of rivers, streams and smaller ponds laced through the fertile valleys and farmland. The enormous River of Gold spilled from between the Dragon Spine Mountains, snaked through Mizu territory, and continued west toward the coast, where it would eventually empty into Dragon Mouth Bay in Seiryu City, capital of the Water Clan.

Thankfully, I wasn’t going that far. As I stared down into the valley, my gaze fell on my next destination. The waters of Seijun Muzumi, the largest of the three great lakes and the biggest in Iwagoto, were dark in the shadow of the mountains. Scatterings of light circled the huge body of water, farms and villages clustered along the edge, with plains and entire forests in between settlements. The lake was so massive, it was a two-day ride from one side of the bank to the other.

With the sun at my back, I started down the mountain. Though my goal was in sight, the path was steep and winding, and it took me the rest of the day to descend the Dragon Spine. Evening was