Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,9

my throat, making me cough. It seemed I was looking down on the plane of Jigoku itself.

“That is the state of the empire,” the white fox said behind me, seated primly on a snow-covered rock, “if you cannot stop Hakaimono.”

My legs shook. The howling wind seemed to dig talons of ice beneath my fur and rake them down my back. I stared at the destruction, as the tongues of red-and-orange flames blurred together, filling my vision until all I could see was fire.

“Think on it carefully, little dreamer.” The white fox’s voice now seemed to come from far away. “Before the flames of war consume the world, consider how choices will affect everyone. You are the only one who can defeat the First Oni and save the demonslayer’s soul. I can show you how and give you the best chance of victory when you come face-to-face with Jigoku’s strongest oni. But only if you are willing.

“Unfortunately,” he went on, as I stood there struggling to breathe, “our moment here is nearly done. You are needed back in the waking world, little dreamer. Just remember my offer, and I will find you again when the time is right. For now, the shadows draw close, and you must…”

Wake up.

I opened my eyes and immediately knew something was wrong. The forest was too quiet; the rustle of small animals was gone, and the insects had fallen silent. I sat up carefully and saw Daisuke and Master Jiro dozing with their chins on their chests and Reika curled up near the fire with the two dogs.

A man stood at the edge of the firelight, his long shadow spilling over the ground.

At my yelp, Daisuke’s eyes snapped open, and Reika jerked upright, tumbling the dogs out of her lap. Seeing the stranger, the dogs exploded into a cacophony of high-pitched snarls and barks, bristling and showing tiny teeth to the intruder, who watched them with cold amusement.

“Hush, now.” His voice was high and raspy, and he raised a spindly hand before the rest of us could say anything. “I did not come here for a fight. Do not do anything…hasty.”

Movement rippled around us, shadows melting out of the darkness to form a dozen figures clad completely in black, only their eyes showing through the slits in their masks and hoods. Their swords gleamed silver in the moonlight, a dozen razors of death surrounding us in a bristly ring. Shinobi, I realized with a chill. Their uniforms were unmarked; only the stranger in billowing black robes wore the familiar crest that set my heart to pounding: a moon being swallowed by an eclipse. The symbol of the Kage.

The Shadow Clan had come.

3

THE SHADOWS CLOSE IN

Yumeko

The robed man stepped farther into the firelight, and the orange glow washed over him. He was very thin, his face pinched and narrow, and his bones showed through the papery skin of his hands, as if some force had sucked away his vitality. His face was painted white, his lips and eyes outlined in black, as he loomed over us like some terrible specter of death. For a moment, I wondered…were he to suddenly die while his ghost lingered on, would anyone even know?

“Please excuse this intrusion,” the man rasped. His stark black gaze, cold and impassive, slid to me, and I shivered. “I hope we have not disturbed anything important.”

“Where is Okame-san?” I asked, and the man arched an ink-thin eyebrow. “He would have told us you were coming if he could. What did you do to him?”

The tall man gestured toward a tree. I glanced up and saw Okame in the branches, bound hand and foot to the tree trunk, a gag stuffed into his mouth. A shinobi crouched on the branch nearby, the ronin’s bow across his knees.

“I’m afraid we could not have your friend alerting you,” the man said, as Okame struggled against the ropes and glared at him. “We wouldn’t have wanted you to get the wrong idea—that we were simple bandits in the night. Worry not, it was a temporary solution.”

He raised a hand, and the shinobi who had been crouched on the branch immediately turned and sliced through the ropes tying the ronin to the tree. As Okame started to free himself, growling curses as he yanked out the gag, the shadow warrior melted into the darkness, leaving the ronin’s bow hanging from a nearby branch.

The knot in my stomach uncurled, but only a little. There were still a dozen shinobi surrounding us, plus