Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,42
Shadow magic, coming from the figure in the center of the floor. I rose and squinted past the haze and the smoke, searching for the daimyo of the Kage family, and nearly gasped out loud in surprise.
A beautiful woman met my gaze, full red lips curved up in the faintest of smiles. Her skin was the color of the moon, almost glowing with its own inner light, and her midnight-black hair was so long that it curled around the hem of her robes like a silken tail. One pale, elegant hand held a pipe, tendrils of wispy smoke coiling around a slender arm, and somehow it made her even more beautiful and mysterious. Luminous dark eyes glimmered in the shadows, watching me over the folds of a magnificent, many-layered kimono, far fancier and more elegant than my own. For the first time ever, I was extremely aware of my station, an insignificant peasant in borrowed robes, facing what had to be the most beautiful woman in the empire.
And then, I felt the cold tickle of Shadow magic again, like the flutter of a moth’s wing against my ear, and shook my head to clear it. The image of the beautiful woman rippled like the reflection in a pond and for a moment, I saw the face of a hideous crone, wrinkled as rotten persimmons, toothless and half-blind, only a few strands of hair attached to her withered scalp. Only for an instant, and then the face of the beautiful woman solidified again, but though my feelings of awe and inadequacy had dissolved with the illusion, my tail bristled and my heart began a rapid thud against my chest. This version of Lady Hanshou was what she showed the outside world, like the skin on a peach infested with worms and decay. How old was she? How could she still be alive?
The illusion of the beautiful Kage daimyo smiled at me, cool and amused, making me tense. Shadow magic and fox magic appeared to share many traits; covering the truth, making people see things that weren’t there. I had to be cautious. If Lady Hanshou discovered I wasn’t fooled by her magic, she might become angry, much as I would get annoyed the few times Denga-san had seen through one of my pranks. If she became angry, I didn’t know what she would do, but it probably wouldn’t be pleasant.
I dropped my gaze to the floor. If she can’t see my eyes, she can’t see the truth in them. I hope. There was a soft chuckle, and then the daimyo’s voice drifted out of the shadows.
“Welcome, Yumeko of the Silent Winds temple,” Lady Hanshou said, the low, smooth tone not quite able to mask the harsh rasp I heard underneath. “Welcome to Hakumei castle. I hope the journey here was a pleasant one?”
“Thank you, Hanshou-sama,” I said, remembering the lessons from Reika about addressing daimyos. Tell them only what they wanted to hear; the truth was inconvenient, impolite and could get you killed. “It was quite pleasant, no trouble at all.” Well, except the part through the realm of the dead. “Your hospitality has been most generous.”
“Has it?” Lady Hanshou looked amused. “You are in the Kage lands now, girl,” she said in her rasp-purr. “There are no secrets that can hide from us, not from those who live in the shadows, who know the darkness better than any in the empire. I might not look it, but I have lived a few years longer than you, and I have come to find the polite dribble of court wearisome. Say what you mean in my presence, or do not speak at all. I ordered Naganori-san to find you and bring you here. I know that he took you through the Path of Shadows, which runs alongside the realm of the dead. I cannot imagine that was ‘pleasant,’ in any way you might look at it. So, please…” She smiled, and for a half second I saw the face of the ancient hag, grinning menacingly in the dark. “Speak true when you address me in my own castle. I will know if you are lying, and I will not be pleased.”
A stab of fear went through me, and for a moment I was certain she knew everything, before I paused to think. No, that can’t be right. If that was true, she would already know I’m kitsune. And that I have the scroll. Why would she say something like that? I mulled