Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,87
was here. I didn’t recall a conversation with Master Ichiro, or any details regarding this mission. And the more I thought about it, the more unlikely it seemed. I was the Kage demonslayer. I did not forget.
“This is a dream,” Yumeko insisted. “Think back, Tatsumi-san. Do you remember Lady Satomi’s castle? The five of us went there to find Master Jiro. Do you remember what happened?”
Master Jiro. The name was familiar, as was Lady Satomi. I closed my eyes, trying to still the memories that flitted around my head. “Lady Satomi…was a blood witch,” I said slowly. “We met her at the emperor’s party and followed her through a mirror to a castle on the other side.” Yumeko squeezed my hands, assuring me that I was right, encouraging me to go on. “There was…an oni,” I continued, frowning as more pieces of the night came back to me. “Yaburama. I fought him, and then…”
And then…
The bottom dropped out of my stomach. My hands shook, and I staggered back as memory rushed in, drenching me in an icy wave. The moment I lost control, the demon’s howl of triumph as he rushed into my mind. “Hakaimono,” I whispered, feeling Yumeko’s gaze on me. “I’m still…”
Numb, I leaned against the wall, as everything came flooding back. Hakaimono was free. I had failed to keep him contained, and now he was threatening not only the Shadow Clan, but the whole empire. My blood chilled as I remembered his threats against the Kage, the slaughter he had caused already and the mass carnage that would happen if he couldn’t be stopped.
I felt Yumeko draw close again, a bright, solid presence against the hanging darkness. “Tatsumi, listen,” she said, as I looked up and again saw my reflection, bleak and anguished, in her eyes. “We’re coming for you,” she went on. “I won’t let Hakaimono win. We’re going to find you, trap Hakaimono and force him back into Kamigoroshi.”
“No.” My voice sounded strangled in my ears. Stepping forward, I gripped her forearms, making her blink. “Yumeko, if you face Hakaimono alone, you’re going to die. Everyone who challenges him is going to die. You have to kill him.”
“Tatsumi—”
“Please.” The intensity in my voice sounded strange, like it belonged to someone else. “There’s not much time,” I continued. “Take this message to the Shadow Clan, the emperor and any who will listen. Hakaimono is free, and he has formed an alliance with Genno, the Master of Demons.”
“Genno?” Her eyes widened, indicating that she recognized the name. I didn’t doubt she’d heard of him; the Master of Demons was the most famous and feared blood mage in the history of Iwagoto. Even Yumeko, with her sheltered upbringing, would have learned of the man who nearly destroyed the empire.
“But…Genno is dead,” Yumeko argued. “That all happened four hundred years ago, didn’t it?”
“He has returned,” I said. “His soul has been summoned from Jigoku and bound to the mortal realm. He has an army of demons and yokai waiting in the ruins of his old castle. The only reason he hasn’t attacked the empire is because he has no body, so he is not at his full strength. Hakaimono intends to fix that…by giving him the Dragon scroll.”
The blood drained from her face. She slumped in my grip, and I suspected she might have fallen if I hadn’t been holding on to her. “Hakaimono,” she whispered, “is going after the Dragon scroll?”
I nodded. “He knows where the Steel Feather temple is,” I said, and she went even paler. “He’s on his way there now. If you don’t stop him, he’s going to slaughter everyone and take the pieces of the scroll back to the Master of Demons. Genno already has one fragment of the prayer. If he acquires the others and summons the Dragon, the empire will be thrown into chaos. You have to stop him.”
“How…” Yumeko still seemed a bit dazed. Carefully, I released her arms, letting her stand on her own, and waited until she met my eyes again.
“Kill me,” I told her softly. “It’s the only way. Before Hakaimono reaches the scroll. End my life, and send Hakaimono back into the sword.”
She jerked back, a look of dismay crossing her face. “No,” she whispered. “I won’t kill you. Tatsumi, please don’t ask this of me.” She stepped forward, her gaze beseeching, and my heart clenched painfully in my chest. “We can save you,” she insisted. “Just give us a chance.”