worst. But here, in the realm of dreams…”
He flicked his tail, and a ball of kitsune-bi flew through the air, striking a tree a few yards away. It instantly burst into flame, flaring a blinding blue-white a moment before it was consumed. Leaves burned to nothing, limbs blackened and withered away, and the trunk turned to ashes that scattered to the wind.
My jaw dropped, and I felt the white fox smile. “It can be as deadly as you wish,” he said smugly. “Deadly enough to burn even an oni lord. Now, you try it.” He turned, pointing an elegant muzzle at a gnarled oak several yards away in the fog. “Destroy the tree.”
I followed his gaze, facing the tree, and took a deep breath. With a wave of my tail, kitsune-bi flared to life, casting me in a circle of ghostly light. Pinning back my ears, I hurled it at the oak.
The sphere of foxfire struck the gnarled trunk and exploded in a burst of light, tongues of blue-white flames flaring up only to dissolve in the air, writhing away to nothing. Disappointed, I looked back at the white fox, who shook his head.
“You still don’t believe foxfire can be dangerous,” he said in an unruffled voice. “You must know, beyond any doubt, that within the realm of dreams and on the plane of the soul, your kitsune-bi can burn. Sear. Kill. Banish any uncertainty from your mind.” His ears twitched, and he waved his plumed tail at the oak. “Try again.”
With a growl, I faced the tree once more, curling a lip at the gnarled giant. This is for Tatsumi, I told myself, as foxfire burst to life once more, dancing on my tail tip. If you want to save him from Hakaimono, you must do this. Burn!
I gave a defiant snarl, and threw the ball of foxfire at the tree again. This time, when the flames struck the oak, there was a roar, and a blue inferno sprang up to engulf the tree. It blazed like a tiny sun, blinding and intense, and the huge oak vanished in the glare, turning to ashes in a heartbeat.
The hairs on my back stood up, and I heard the white fox chuckle behind me. “Good,” he said, padding gracefully to my side. “Within a mortal soul, pure emotion is a powerful thing. The stronger the conviction, the brighter the magic becomes. Just be certain it does not burn so bright it consumes everything around you.” He gave me a solemn, golden-eyed stare. “But learn quickly, little fox. And heed this warning. Hakaimono will be a challenging opponent. Even if you master your power, he will be the hardest enemy you will ever encounter. Driving him back into Kamigoroshi will not be as simple as throwing foxfire in his face.”
“But it’s a start,” I whispered. “It will give me a fighting chance.”
“It will,” the white fox agreed. “Unfortunately,” he continued in a warning voice, “there is still one small problem, and that is the demonslayer himself. The human spirit is a fragile thing, and will not take an invasion into its essence well at all. If you use kitsune-tsuki to possess Kage Tatsumi, you will very likely damage his soul.”
I blinked, remembering what Reika had said earlier that night. “How?”
“It is already under a lot of duress with Hakaimono,” the kitsune went on. “Another forced intrusion could very well cause the host’s mind to snap—it is not uncommon with mortals who have been possessed. Worse, if you start flinging kitsune-bi around, and the demonslayer gets caught in the battle between you and Hakaimono, who knows what it will do to his soul? He might come back different, or mad…or not at all.”
I swallowed the frustration rising to my throat. “Then, how am I supposed to help him?” I demanded. “If possessing Tatsumi will just cause him to go mad, I’m no better than Hakaimono.”
“I did not say it would be easy,” the white fox said, still insufferably calm. “I said I would give you the means to drive out the demon. However, there is a way to ease the shock of yet another presence forcing its way into his soul. You must let the demonslayer know you are coming. If he recognizes you as a friend and not another enemy, he might be more accepting of your presence.” The white fox waved his plumed tail. “Of course, you will still have to be careful that you do not damage his soul while