We might not survive this battle, Yumeko-san, but our time is nearly up, and our choices are gone. Are you and your friends still with us?”
“Yes,” Yumeko answered, and there was no hesitation or fear in her voice. “This is why we came, Kiyomi-sama. We’re not giving up now.”
The Moon Clan ruler nodded. “Then make ready,” she told her daughter. “Gather what you need, pray to the kami and say your goodbyes. Whatever horror the dawn brings, we will face it with honor, and we will either stop a madman from summoning a god, or we will meet our ancestors in the next life.”
PART III
21
Valley of Demons
Yumeko
My soul felt sick.
That was the only way I could describe what I was feeling; the terrible sensation of wrongness that lingered over the entire island. The very air seemed lifeless, the once lush forests felt barren and dead. Where the land once teemed with life, it felt hollow now. Empty. And it wasn’t hard to figure out why.
The kami were gone. Whatever Genno had done, whatever dark magic he had performed, it had caused the mass evacuation of every spirit on the island. And with them, the heart of the land had vanished, as well.
I rode beside Kiyomi-sama at the head of a procession of Moon Clan warriors, the last of the army that had survived the attack. Mounted, armored samurai rode behind contingents of ashigaru, spear-carrying foot soldiers who, according to Okame, were made up of farmers and peasants that had been “volunteered” to serve in the army. Unlike the heavy black-and-silver armor of the samurai, the ashigaru wore little more than cuirasses and bracers, with conical metal hats perched on their heads. They also looked rather scared, like they didn’t really want to be marching to their deaths alongside the warriors and samurai. I couldn’t blame them. I didn’t know anything about armies or warfare, but to my eyes, our forces looked frighteningly small. How would we stand up to Genno’s army of demons, monstrous yokai, blood mages and whatever other surprises he had planned?
However, outside the city walls, a second force of mounted samurai greeted us, all in the black-and-silver colors of the Moon Clan. I blinked in amazement, wondering where they had all come from, before realizing the Moon Clan capital was not the only city in Tsuki lands. Kiyomi-sama must have put out the call to the rest of her islands, who had answered their daimyo’s command and sent forces of their own.
“Kiyomi-sama,” one of the lead samurai greeted, bowing to her in the saddle. “You have called us. We have come.”
The Moon Clan daimyo cast an appraising glance at the assembled samurai and ashigaru soldiers behind him. “How many have answered?”
“So far, forces from Miho, Izena and Yugawa are here, my lady,” the samurai answered. “There are likely more, but they have farther to travel and will not be here soon. With such short notice, we came as fast as we could.”
Kiyomi-sama gave a solemn nod. “Then we will continue with whom we have. And we will pray that it will be enough.”
Now a much larger force, we left the city outskirts and entered a gently rolling grassland dotted with copses of trees, the blades of grass so long they brushed the bellies of the horses. As the light broke over the horizon, it illuminated a mottled gray sky, bleak and dark and sullen, or perhaps those were just my feelings coming to the surface. I hoped it was not an omen of what was to come.
On Kiyomi-sama’s other side, Lady Hanshou rode a horse as dark as shadow, her black-and-purple armor seeming to absorb the shifting light. The Shadow Clan daimyo spoke to no one, not even Masao, riding quietly at her flank. I had not seen a single Kage samurai since we had left the city, but occasionally, I thought I would catch movement in the grasslands around us, a ripple of darkness or a blur that didn’t quite belong. Hanshou’s shinobi trailed us, following alongside like deadly shadows. Behind me, Okame and Daisuke were mounted as well, but Tatsumi had opted not to ride with us, as it seemed horses still had a strong aversion to having a demon