Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,76

where to find the scroll, Hakaimono? My servant, Lady Satomi, informed me that she knew where a piece was, that she was getting close to acquiring it. But now it appears Lady Satomi is dead, and the scroll fragment lost. How is it that you know where the final pieces are located?”

I smiled. “Jigoku is eternal, Master of Demons,” I said. “I’m older than you can even fathom, and my memory is very long. The Kage have had a long history with the Dragon scroll—the second Wish was spoken by Kage Hanako, better known today as Lady Hanshou, who desired immortality and to rule the Shadow Clan forever. She got her wish, though not in the way she expected. As it turns out, eternal life is not the same as eternal youth.”

There was a faint rustle from the soul inside, Tatsumi’s curiosity stirring at this newest revelation. I chuckled inwardly at his ignorance. If he only knew the truth, the depth of his daimyo’s obsession.

“But even before the Kage,” I continued, staring at Genno, “I am no stranger to this realm. I was around when the empire was young, when demons and yokai outnumbered men. I remember the places that have been lost to human history. And thanks to a naive little fox girl, I know where to find the last pieces of the scroll.”

“The Steel Feather temple,” Genno said flatly, revealing that he, too, knew where the scroll was being held. Probably from Lady Satomi. But he didn’t know where the temple itself was located, because the crusty guardians who lived there knew how short and fickle human memory was. They didn’t even need their magic to hide themselves away; all they had to do was not interact with the mortal world for a few hundred years, and the humans would forget they ever existed.

But Jigoku was eternal. Jigoku did not forget.

I just smiled, and Genno’s brow lifted. “You know where the temple is,” he stated quietly.

Deep inside, I could feel Tatsumi’s anger, his desperation, but especially, his worry and concern for a simple peasant girl who, even as we spoke, was on her way to the temple. Whose path would surely cross with mine once more.

“Yes,” I said, savoring Tatsumi’s despair as I answered. “I do.”

12

THROUGH YUME-NO-SEKAI

Yumeko

“Lady Hanshou asked you to do what?”

We had returned to Hakumei castle in the darkest hours of the night. As quickly as we could without attracting attention, we slipped through the halls and through the doors of Master Jiro’s room. The old priest was sitting against the far wall when we came in, long-handled pipe curling tendrils of smoke into the air, gnarled staff resting on his knees. Ko lay curled up beside him, looking like an oversize dandelion puff, and barely flicked an ear when Reika and Chu herded us through the doors.

“Ah,” Master Jiro breathed, taking the end of the pipe from his mouth. “You found them, Reika-chan. Thank the kami.”

The shrine maiden hadn’t answered right away. After shutting the doors, she’d reached into her haori and pulled out a familiar slip of white paper—an ofuda—one of the talismans that allowed her to work her magic. This one read silence in stark black ink, and Reika pressed it firmly to the doorframe between the shoji panels. I felt a ripple of energy emanate from the little strip, spreading over the walls of the room, a barrier that would keep prying ears from listening to our conversation. As the magic settled, I felt a prick of vindictive satisfaction. Ha, try eavesdropping on us now, nosy Kage.

“No thanks to these three,” Reika growled, turning to glower at me, Daisuke and the ronin. “I’m not even going to mention the stupidity of certain individuals who go wandering around the Shadow Clan capital by themselves. Or a certain lying yokai who told me she’d stay in her room and then went gallivanting into the streets of Ogi Owari with no thought for herself or the very important thing she is carrying.”

“That isn’t true,” I argued, making her scowl at me. “I was thinking of the very important thing, which is why I disguised myself as you. No one even knew I left the castle. I was perfectly safe. Well, until the assassins.”

Ko raised her head and growled. Master Jiro blinked.

“Assassins?” he repeated. Taking the pipe from his mouth, he tapped the end on a square of tissue and set it aside. “I fear you are going to have to start from the beginning, Yumeko-chan,”