Page 24 of Night of the Dragon

“We managed to float into Heishi harbor,” Okame said. “After the locals fished us out of the water, we told them our reason for coming, and they sent us here to speak to the daimyo.”

“We only just arrived,” Reika added. She looked troubled now, watching me with shadowed eyes. Something in her gaze was a warning, though I didn’t understand from what. “Kiyomi-sama was kind enough to grant us an audience, but...”

“But she was unaware that two others would also be coming to her city,” said a voice behind Reika. “And that they were also looking to prevent the Summoning of the Dragon.”

I looked up as Daisuke, Reika and Okame moved aside, revealing a woman standing between them. And suddenly, I couldn’t move, feeling my shock rise to clash with the rest of the room’s. I understood now the strange looks and glances of the nobles, the disbelief in the eyes of the court. Apparently, they weren’t reacting to seeing a kitsune at all.

The daimyo of the Moon Clan stood before me, small and slender, with long, straight hair and a firm, no-nonsense mouth. Her billowing robes were silver gray with the silhouettes of bamboo and dragonflies staining the fabric like ink. Her dark eyes stared into mine, mirroring my own stunned expression. She was undoubtedly older—faint lines radiated from the corners of her eyes and mouth, and a few silvery strands were threaded in her hair, but the similarities were unmistakable.

Me. The woman staring wide-eyed, like she, too, had seen a ghost...was me.

11

Longings of Yurei

Suki

She’s here.

Hovering invisible near the rafters of the main hall, Suki watched the fox girl enter the room and felt an immediate swell of relief. For two days, she had drifted around the Moon Clan Palace, watching nobles, servants and samurai go about their daily lives. She had been surprised to learn that she was not the only spirit hovering around the Tsuki palace; in the gardens, she had glimpsed a pale, glowing woman standing wistfully at the edge of the pond, and a child in a beautifully patterned kimono had laughed and waved to her in one of the halls before it turned and walked right through a shoji screen. They did not seem hostile, existing peacefully with the humans, the odd yokai and the hundreds of tiny green kami that were everywhere in and around the palace. The humans did not seem to begrudge sharing their home with ghosts and kami, leaving out offerings of food, sweets and sake, even asking a spirit’s pardon before entering a room. If Suki could have chosen a place to haunt for the rest of eternity, there were certainly worse places in the empire than the palace of the Moon Clan.

But she had a job to do, and Seigetsu-sama was counting on her. She could sense him sometimes, another presence lurking behind her vision, not intrusive or frightening, but definitely there. Mostly, he was an impassive observer, one she could almost forget about. Only once, when she’d first seen the woman who she later learned was the daimyo of the Moon Clan, had she felt a glimmer of emotion that was not her own. Curiosity? Amusement? Regret? The emotion vanished before she could place it, and she suspected Lord Seigetsu would not explain his mysterious interest in the Moon Clan daimyo to her, so she watched the woman closely, knowing she was special.

Two days later, Suki had been in the main hall, observing the daimyo and the crowds from her place near the ceiling, when the doors opened and a pair of guards entered.

Escorting Daisuke-sama, the ronin and the shrine maiden.

Suki’s hands had flown to her mouth, a relieved smile breaking over her face. The Sun Clan noble looked weary and disheveled, his robes torn and his long white hair a tangled mess, but he still looked beautiful to Suki’s eyes.Daisuke-sama, she thought, watching as the guards led them to the daimyo.You came. I’m so glad you’re all right.

There was a faint stirring from within, a ripple of something terrifying crossing her mind, and Suki had frozen, wondering what she had done wrong. Lord Seigetsu’s voice echoed in her head, chilling and ominous.The kitsune is not with them,he observed.Nor is the demonslayer. This was not supposed to happen. Why could I not predict this?

His fury had been suffocating. Choking and terrible, even though, as a ghost, she didn’t breathe. She huddled against the ceiling, wanting to flee but knowing she couldn’t escape the presence inside her.Taka, she heard him muse in a cold voice that made her want to shiver into mist and disappear,your visions did not account for this. Did I make a mistake, or has your usefulness come to an end?

“Yumeko!”

Suki had jerked up as the shout echoed through the hall. Relief had filled her when the kitsune girl herself strode into the room, an old monk trailing after her. She was immediately surrounded by her friends, talking excitedly about what happened after they were separated, and Suki went numb as she observed their reunion.

She felt Seigetsu sigh, and the terrible fury evaporated like frost in the sun.She is safe, he breathed.She and the demonslayer both. Her fortune continues to defy fate, and the game goes on. Suki-chan,he said, making her start at the direct communication.I thank you for this. You don’t understand the significance, but all the pieces are now in place. The last maneuver is about to begin. Please return to me when you are ready. I have one final task for you.

And just like that, he was gone, his consciousness fading from her mind completely. Startled by his abrupt departure and the sudden, eerie emptiness left behind, Suki looked back to where the fox girl and her companions were speaking to the daimyo. The Taiyo noble stood quietly beside the ronin, his beautiful face and relieved smile making her insides twist.

Daisuke-sama, she thought. I’m afraid for you, for everyone. Something is about to begin, and only Lord Seigetsu knows what that is. I don’t want you to die. I wish I could tell you what is happening.

She hesitated. Perhaps shecouldfind a way to speak to him, if only for a moment. Seigetsu-sama had asked her to return; he needed her for one final task, and she did not want to disappoint him. But this might be the last time she would see Taiyo Daisuke, her last chance to talk to the noble she had loved in life. Surely Seigetsu-sama would not begrudge her a few more minutes.

Suki struggled with herself a moment more, then gathered her courage and made a decision. Still invisible, she dropped from the ceiling and drifted silently toward the Taiyo noble.

12

The Moon Clan Daimyo

Yumeko

“Who are you?” the daimyo whispered. Around us, the court, the samurai, and even Daisuke, Okame and Reika, disappeared, fading into a surreal background of blurred colors and muted sound. The woman standing before me was the only clear image in the room.

“I...my name is Yumeko,” I answered. “I’m nobody, Kiyomi-sama, just a peasant from the Earth Clan mountains. I...” I trailed off, for the daimyo had stepped forward, her expression searching. I saw her gaze flit to the top of my head and knew, without a doubt, that she could see my true self. Briefly, I felt a stab of fear for Tatsumi: if the daimyo of the Moon Clan could see my fox nature, she would certainly notice the half-demon in the room, as well. But Tsuki-sama didn’t even glance at Tatsumi. Shaking her head, she staggered back a pace, as if she could not believe her eyes.

“How?” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “How can this be? I gave you up for lost. And now you return, on the eve of the Summoning, when the world teeters on the brink of change. I...” She paused, looking stricken, but then raised her chin and drew herself up. “Why have you come?” she asked in a hard voice.

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