Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,86
dark and abandoned. Shadows clustered along the walls and polished floors, thrown back by the occasional lantern and stream of moonlight through the windows. A heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by my own whispering footsteps, as if I was the only living soul here. How long had I been wandering this place? I was supposed to be hunting…something, but I couldn’t remember what. Still, I had to complete my mission. I could not return to the Shadow Clan without finishing my objective, whatever it was.
Turning a corner, I stared in dismay at the statue of the demon at the end of the hall, its fanged maw open in a grin. I had come upon this same statue numerous times. No matter where I turned or which direction I went, I always seemed to find myself back here.
A sense of weariness crept over me. I was going in circles, with no objective and no sense of direction. How long would I be here, wandering this endless castle, aimlessly drifting down empty corridors like a shadow, only to end where I had started?
Angrily, I shook myself, dissolving the hopelessness and the numbing fatigue that had settled deep in my bones. I could not give up. I was the Kage demonslayer, and this was my job. No matter the obstacles and difficulties in my path, even if they proved impossible, I was expected to complete my mission. Failure was never an option.
As I drew back, ready to turn down another hallway once more, a whisper of sound shushed behind me, the faintest hiss of footsteps over polished wood. I spun, my blade clearing its sheath in an instant, ready to cut through whatever monster had crept up on me.
A girl stood at the end of the hall, staring at me with wide dark eyes. And for a moment, for perhaps the first time in my life, my muscles froze and my mind went blank with shock.
Yu…Yumeko?
The sword in my hand trembled. I lowered my arm, hardly believing she was there. I had the fleeting thought that this was a trick, an illusion conjured by the seemingly malicious castle to show me what I desperately wanted to see. But…it was Yumeko. She glowed in the darkness of the corridor, dressed in a white robe trimmed in red, her shining hair falling around her shoulders. Despite the impossibility of it all, something inside me leaped up, as if recognizing what it had been searching for all along.
“Tatsumi.” Her voice was a whisper, soft with relief. She stepped forward, and the dark hallway seemed to ripple as she passed, like the surface of a pond that had been disturbed. As if the castle was merely a shadow, a reflection, and she was the one that was real. I couldn’t move, could only watch as the girl drew close, seeing my own reflection in her dark eyes.
“I found you.”
One hand rose, and a shiver went through me as her fingers gently brushed my cheek, her gaze searching, as if making certain I, too, was real. Almost against my will, my eyes closed and my body relaxed, submitting to her touch.
“Yokatta,” she whispered, expressing her relief. “Tatsumi-san, you’re all right. I’m so glad. I thought Hakaimono might have…”
Hakaimono?
A flicker of apprehension went through me at the name, a memory just out of reach. Why would she bring up Hakaimono? Did she know about the demon in the sword? Had I…told her of my link with Kamigoroshi? I tried to think, to remember what had passed between us, but my thoughts were scattered, like moths flitting around a light, and I couldn’t settle on any of them.
“Yumeko.” Reaching up, I took her hand, curling my fingers around hers. Her skin was smooth, her hand light and delicate beneath my palm, and my stomach tightened. For a moment, I had to catch my breath. “You need to leave,” I told her softly. “You can’t be here now. There’s a…” I paused, still unable to remember why I had come, what I was supposed to be hunting. “There’s something dangerous roaming this castle,” I finished. “I have to find it. I can’t have you following me.”
She shook her head. “No, Tatsumi-san, listen to me. This is a dream.” Dropping her arm, she took my hands, gazing up at me. “You’re dreaming right now. None of this is real.”
A dream? I frowned. No, that couldn’t be right. Master Ichiro sent me here to…