to take their place, coiling around my legs, arms and chest, burning and searing where they touched, and I snarled in frustration.
“Rise.” Genno raised both arms, red light shining from his fingers, and I felt the chilling ripple of blood magic wash across the stones. “Crush them, my faithful minions,” he ordered. “Obey me in death as you did in life. Rise, and serve your master.”
The corpses lining the edges of the circle stirred, lifting their heads to reveal their sliced throats, then seemed to float upright, hovering a few inches from the ground. Clutching knives in pale, bloody hands, they glided forward.
Yumeko pushed herself upright, ears laced back and eyes wide with alarm. Blood soaked the fabric of one sleeve, dripping to the ground from her arm, but she raised her hands, foxfire pulsing at her fingers, and unleashed a roaring line of kitsune-bi. Not at the ghostly Master of Demons, or even the corpses floating toward her with their knives raised, but at the binding circle at her feet.
For a moment, the words of power flared red, shining like fresh blood as the foxfire struck the surface. Then, with a roar, the entire circle seemed to catch fire, kitsune-bi racing along the runes and symbols, until with one final flare-up, the foxfire sputtered and died, taking the circle with it.
The chains holding me down vanished. Genno spun, eyes widening, as I sprang to the center of the circle, Kamigoroshi ripping the first blood mage’s corpse in two. The others turned on me, jerking forward like marionettes, eyes blank as they slashed down with their weapons. Unhindered, I lunged into the center of the swarm, cutting through limbs and dead flesh, fighting my way forward. I lost Yumeko in the press of bodies, though I did catch glimpses of Genno through the slashing arms and flapping sleeves, the blood mage drifting farther away, a grim, triumphant smile on his face. With a snarl, I lunged after him, but the corpses pressed closer, relentless and unfeeling, forcing me back.
“WHO SUMMONS ME?”
Everything froze. Even the floating corpses shivered in place, paralyzed by the deep, inhuman rumble coming from the heart of the storm. I glanced up, and my stomach dropped as a massive head emerged from the clouds, trailing a long, endless body behind it. It defied belief, bigger than any living creature I had seen, a mountain of horns and fangs and scales the color of the ocean.
The Great Dragon god, the Lord of Tides and the Harbinger of Change, coiled his huge body around the mountain peak and gazed down on us insignificant mortals far below.
Genno spun, raising his arms to the huge Kami, his face alight with savage triumph. Desperately, I slashed at the corpses surrounding me, lunging for the Master of Demons even as I knew we had failed. The Dragon had come, and Genno was too far away; all he had to do was speak his wish, and everything would be over.
“Ryuujin-sama!” Genno cried, using the Harbinger’s formal name. The yurei’s voice rang over the storm, triumphant, but he spoke quickly, knowing time was of the essence. “I, Genno, Master of Demons, am the soul who summoned you tonight! By my right as scroll bearer, I ask that you grant me my heart’s desire!” He didn’t pause to accept the Dragon’s acknowledgment, but hurried on, and the world seemed to hold its breath. “Great Dragon, I wish—”
A sharp crack rang out, echoing over the chaos. It wasn’t loud or booming, just a split-second noise that was almost lost in the madness, but amazingly, Genno jerked as if he had been shot. His body flickered, like a candle flame in the wind, and he turned huge pale eyes from the Dragon to something behind him. Tearing through the last of the corpses, I looked up, and my heart stuttered.
Yumeko stood in front of the altar, the opened scroll flapping wildly in the gale, but she wasn’t looking at the prayer. The naked skull sat in front of her, glowing faintly with power, though the top of the skull was cracked and broken, as if it had been struck with something heavy.
Yumeko, her jaw set in determination, held a large stone in both hands, and slowly raised it over