Page 30 of Night of the Dragon

Suki

Suki found Lord Seigetsu on a cliff overlooking the valley. The moon hung low in the sky and the stars were beginning to fade, but they still cast a pale glow around him, shining off his silver hair. Below, the valley was cloaked in shadow, but the city glowed with a soft orange light, like a chochin lantern pulsing cheerfully against the darkness. For a moment, she wondered if Seigetsu-sama would be angry at her for lingering in the Moon Clan Palace instead of returning straightaway, but he only gave her a knowing smile and turned back toward the edge of the cliff.

Suki looked around, feeling that something was wrong. Missing. After a moment, she realized what it was. “Where is Taka?” she whispered.

“Taka.” Seigetsu’s voice was flat, and he didn’t look at her. “He is with the carriage. His sulkiness was beginning to wear on me. But it is of no matter. The board is set. The pieces are nearly in place. There is only one maneuver left.”

He turned, holding out a hand to her. “We are near the end, Suki-chan,” he said softly. “Very close to changing fate. I need you to do one more thing. If not for me, then for your Taiyo prince, the fox girl and the entire empire. I promise, Suki-chan, this will be the last thing I ask of you. Will you help them, and me, one final time?”

“I...” Suki looked down at the city, at the palace glowing with light in the very center. Where she had left Daisuke-sama in the arms of his ronin. He was happy, but not safe. Not yet. “Yes, Seigetsu-sama,” she whispered. One more time, and maybe it would be enough. Maybe Daisuke-sama, the fox girl and all the people she had come to care for would survive, and then she could finally move on.

“Good,” Seigetsu murmured, and stepped forward, raising two fingers to her forehead. “This will not hurt,” he assured her, and as before, she felt the faintest brush against her skin as Seigetsu closed his eyes. “Just relax, and let the memories come to you.”

There was a flare of light across her vision, and suddenly, she was at the bottom of a cliff, the waves crashing against the rocks below and sending up sprays of white foam. Before her, she could see the imposing wall of the cliff, a sheer rise of jagged rock that soared into the air. As she watched, a section of the wall seemed to dissolve into mist, revealing a narrow gap in the rock face.

Of its own accord, her body moved forward, flying across the rocks, and the black hole filled her vision. Then she was through the gap and into a series of winding, narrow tunnels and caverns. She couldn’t stop or even slow, flying through the caves with no control over where she was going. Boulders and stalactites zipped past, barely missing her, and once she soared right through an enormous column and continued down the tunnel without slowing down.

The passageway twisted around, and she entered an immense cavern, the ceiling so high that she could barely see it. As she soared through, the stone floor flashing beneath her, she caught a glow from the corner of her eye, a hazy, box-shaped structure that flickered with an ominous nonlight. It was gone before she could see it clearly, but Suki was suddenly filled with dread. She knew, without a doubt, that she was not alone in these caves. That something terrible lurked in the narrow passageways, something ancient and terrifying. Stomach twisting, she willed her body to go faster, wanting only to find the way out.

At last, a tiny oval of light appeared ahead of her, growing larger and brighter with every passing moment. Relieved, Suki focused on that light, not daring to look behind her, until she flew through the gap and into open sky.

Once more, her body moved of its own accord. Squinting, she looked up to see a jagged mountain peak rising into the air, the point seeming to scrape the sky. Overhead, clouds swirled and lightning flashed, and for just a moment, she thought she glimpsed the silhouette of something massive within the storm.

Suki blinked, and abruptly, she was floating before Lord Seigetsu once more, feeling dazed as he lowered his arm. “What—what was that, Seigetsu-sama?” she whispered, not certain of what she had seen. She did remember the cave system, the ominous presence lurking within and the massive, terrifying form in the clouds.

The silver-haired man offered a faint smile and turned away, walking back to the edge of the cliff. “A path,” he said, to her further confusion. “And you will be the guide to light their way. Do not worry on it overmuch, Suki-chan,” he continued as she floated beside him, feeling lost. “When the time comes, you will know what to do. But now, we must watch and wait. The final play has begun.”

Movement stirred the valley below. From the trees surrounding the city, tiny pinpricks of light emerged, blinking yellow and red in the shadows. With a start, Suki realized they were eyes. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of glowing eyes flowing out of the woods toward the city in the center of the valley.

“Genno is making his move,” Seigetsu said quietly. “The end has finally started. The demons will overtake Shinsei Yaju by dawn.”

16

Demons at the Gate

TATSUMI

You knew this couldn’t last forever, Tatsumi.

I opened my eyes and found myself sitting in a dark, ordinary room. Sometime during the night, Yumeko had either lost her hold on the illusion or had simply released it. The moonlit grove was gone, the bamboo and sakura trees replaced with four simple walls, a raftered ceiling shutting out the night sky. I found that I missed it, and the feeling of peace it had brought. For the first time, I had been able to forget everything that had brought me here, my past, my training, the missions of death and pain and destruction. Under her touch, all of that had faded away. For the first time in both my lives, I had been content.

A soft sigh rippled across my senses. Yumeko lay beside me, curled into her kimono, eyes closed and face peaceful. Her fox ears twitched in her sleep, and her bushy tail was draped across her legs, the white tip standing out in the shadows. A faint smile crossed my face as I watched her. Kitsune. Peasant. Daughter of a daimyo. She was all these things and more, but to me, she was just Yumeko.

Reaching down, I gently brushed a dark strand of hair from her cheek and felt a stirring of amused dismay from somewhere deep within.Kuso. I’m in love with her.

Yumeko slept on, oblivious to the world and my realization. Pulling my hand back, I waited for the flicker of demonic rage to follow, the anger toward both Yumeko and myself for succumbing to such a weakness. Oni did not love. Oni were incapable of weak human emotions. But even my demon half could not muster any hostile feelings toward the sleeping kitsune, just a somewhat wry resignation. I had slaughtered armies and laid waste to cities, but the thought of harming one slip of a fox girl was unimaginable. She was my reason to fight now. I didn’t expect to survive this final battle, and even if I did, there was no world where a half-oni demonslayer could exist. The Kage would come for me; they would want Kamigoroshi returned, but more than that, they would want Hakaimono destroyed. Running wasn’t an option; they would always follow. Hanshou would never let me go. I had betrayed my clan and, by continuing to exist, I was the enemy of the empire, but I would see this battle through. Whatever happened, I would make sure Yumeko’s newfound home and family were safe.

Beside me, Yumeko shivered, curling tighter into herself as if cold. I reached down and pulled the kimono up farther, covering her shoulders, but she trembled again, her brow furrowing in distress.

“N-no.” The soft whisper cut through the quiet. Yumeko stirred under the coverings, her hands clenching into fists. “No,” she whispered again, jerking as if to ward something away. “Stop it. Please...”

“Yumeko.” I reached down and put a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at my touch, pinning her ears back, and I shook her gently. “You’re dreaming, Yumeko. Wake up.”

“No,” she said again, and then jerked upright with a gasp. Golden eyes flared in the shadows of the room, glazed and terrified as they stared at me, before they blinked and recognition emerged once more.

“I’m here,” I told her quietly. “It was just a dream. Are you all right?”

“Tatsumi.” Rather than calming, Yumeko reached out and grabbed my sleeve, her face pale. “Something is wrong,” she whispered. “The kami...the kami are terrified. I can feel them, crying out in fear.” Her frightened gaze swept the room before settling on me again. “Something is happening, something terrible. We have to find Kiyomi-sama and—”

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