Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,8

drifting to the ground like snow. “I’m…dreaming,” I guessed, turning back to the white fox. “This is a dream.”

“You can call it that.” The white fox nodded. “It is certainly closer to the truth than anything else.”

I frowned, trying to dredge up a memory long buried in my mind. Of a day in the forest, hiding from the monks, and the sudden feeling of being watched. Of a pair of glowing golden eyes, a bushy white tail, and the sense of longing that came when our gazes met. “I…I’ve seen you before,” I whispered. “Haven’t I? A long time ago.” He didn’t answer, and I cocked my head. “Why are you showing up in my dream now?”

“Your plan to exorcise Hakaimono is going to fail.”

The ground beneath my paws seemed to crumble away, leaving me hovering in a void. “What?”

“Hakaimono is too strong,” the white fox continued calmly. “In the past, the Kage have attempted to do what you are planning, to force the oni spirit back into Kamigoroshi. It ended in death and disaster. Hakaimono is not a normal demon, and the demonslayer’s relationship with the Cursed Blade is unique. Even if you manage to capture and bind the First Oni, the priest and shrine maiden will fail the exorcism, and Hakaimono will kill you all.”

I trembled, forcing myself to meet those piercing yellow eyes. How can you know that? I wanted to say, but the words froze in my throat when I met a gaze that had seen kingdoms rise and mountains crumble. Those eyes were ancient, all encompassing, and gazing into them was like staring into the face of the moon itself. I looked down at my paws.

“I can’t give up,” I whispered. “I have to try. I promised Tatsumi that I wouldn’t leave him to Hakaimono.”

“If you want to save the demonslayer,” the white fox said, “relying on humans is not the answer. If you truly wish to free Kage Tatsumi, you must do it yourself. From the inside.”

From the inside? Bewildered, I looked up at him. “I don’t understand.”

“You do,” was the cool reply. “You were speaking of it tonight, in fact. Oni are not the only creatures who can possess a human soul.”

Understanding dawned, and I flattened my ears in horror. “You mean…kitsune-tsuki?”

“Sacred rituals and exorcism will not work on Hakaimono,” the white fox continued, as if oblivious to my dismay. “They are only words. Words of power, yes, but Hakaimono’s will is stronger than any human’s, and he will not submit. To have a chance of saving the demonslayer, another spirit must confront the oni lord within Kage Tatsumi’s body, and drive him out by force.”

“But…that would mean I would have to possess Tatsumi-san myself.”

“Yes.”

Flattening my ears even further, I backed away. “I can’t do that,” I whispered, as the other kitsune’s eyes narrowed to golden slits. “Possessing a human body. It’s…evil!”

“Who told you that?” the white fox asked. “The monks at the temple? The ones who tried to limit your kitsune magic, who insisted that you remain mostly human?” His slender muzzle curled. “Kitsune-tsuki is only a tool, little cub. Much like your illusions and foxfire, magic itself cannot be evil. It is how you use your powers that determines the intent.”

His words had an eerily truthful ring to them, but they still felt…strange. If it wasn’t dangerous, why had kitsune-tsuki been so strictly forbidden by the monks at the Silent Winds temple that I wasn’t even allowed to talk about it, lest I become curious? “I’ve never done kitsune-tsuki,” I said. “In fact, I’m not even sure I can. I’m only half fox, after all.”

“That does not matter.” The white fox shook his head. “Kitsune-tsuki comes naturally to all of us. As I believe your Master Isao once said, it is in your blood. When the time comes, your yokai half will know what to do.”

“But…It just feels…wrong.”

His magnificent tail gave an irritated twitch. “I see. Then perhaps we should view the problem from a different perspective.”

The forest around us disappeared. Petals swirled through the air like they were caught in a typhoon, blinding and suffocating. When I sneezed and looked up again, the soft petals had turned into snowflakes. I stood among the clouds at the top of a mountain, gazing down on the humans’ empire, far, far below.

The world was burning. Everywhere I looked, all I could see were flames, consuming the land and spreading everywhere. I could smell ash and smoke, and the stench of burning flesh clogged