Page 38 of Night of the Dragon

There was no answer. The shrine maiden lay against the pillar, eyes closed, a faint smile still on her face. Against her side, Chu’s body flickered, glowed red, and then shimmered into a million tiny lights. They floated around us for a moment, warm and soft, like tiny embers on the breeze, before they spiraled up and vanished into the wind.

20

Departure of the Kami

TATSUMI

The ring of shinobi surrounded us, a silent black swarm, blades glittering in the flickering lights of the fire. Kage Ichiro hovered at my back, and from the rubble, Taiyo Daisuke emerged, nodding to me in grim triumph, but it was the woman a few yards away who drew all my attention.

Lady Hanshou smiled at me over the bloody corpse of Akumu, Kage Masao at her side. She stood straight and unbowed, her pale skin smooth and unwrinkled, her raven hair long and thick. With a shock, I realized this wasn’t an illusion; that somehow, the Kage daimyo had restored her health, her beauty and her lost youth.

But then I saw the black veins crawling up her arms, the dark spiderweb spread across her temple and jawline, and I realized how she had accomplished such a feat. Hanshou had always been a talented majutsushi, one of the strongest Shadow mages in Iwagoto. But those lines down her arms and face were the marks of a much darker, forbidden magic. Blood magic.

Not that it was surprising. She had used blood magic before. Long ago, a thousand years past, Lady Hanshou had summoned the greatest oni of Jigoku to fetch the scroll from her champion, Kage Hirotaka, because she feared Hirotaka would betray her and take the power of the Wish for himself.

Searing rage flooded my veins. Those were Hakaimono’s memories, his sudden, ancient hatred for the Kage daimyo stirring to life. For a moment, I had visions of springing forward and driving my claws through the woman across from me. But that would prompt the Shadow Clan to attack, and though wiping out the Kage had always been the goal, there were other, larger enemies to deal with tonight. A whole army of yokai. And the Master of Demons himself.

“Hello, First Oni,” Hanshou greeted, watching me calmly over the field of carnage and death. “Or, is it Tatsumi-san? From here, it is rather hard to tell.”

I smiled, showing fangs, and raised Kamigoroshi to the sickly light. “Lady Hanshou. It’s been a while. I’ll come closer and let you get a good look before I tear out your heart.”

“Ah. So, it is Hakaimono, after all.” The Shadow Clan daimyo did not sound alarmed, though her face turned grim. “Striking me down here would not be advisable, First Oni,” she warned, raising a billowy sleeve. “I come with an offer of help.”

I barked a laugh, causing the shinobi surrounding me to jump. “You have never helped anyone without it directly benefiting you,” I said. “What is the catch? Why are you really here?”

“Do you not feel it, Hakaimono?” The words were a whisper, but I still heard them over the roar of the fires and the sound of distant battle. The ancient Kage daimyo stepped forward, crossing the road and walking by the smoking corpse of Akumu to stand in front of me. Kage Masao came with her, though he hovered at her back, watching me with dark, wary eyes. “We are at the end of an era,” Lady Hanshou said gravely. “The night of the Wish is upon us, and Genno still holds the scroll. If he summons the Harbinger, nothing that you or I have done in the past will matter. The world as we know it will end. Look.”

She raised her eyes over the rooftops, to the edge of the city and the four great statues that loomed over at the corners: Phoenix, Tiger, Kirin and Dragon. I followed her gaze and saw the figures still on each of the statue heads, arms raised and sleeves billowing in the wind. Only now, they seemed to be drawing in some kind of malevolent, sullen energy, for an aura of darkness hovered around each of them. A black-red cloud of swirling energy.

“Blood magic,” Hanshou said. “An extremely complex, powerful ritual. I have not felt anything so strong in...centuries. They are using the lives lost, the blood spilled and the slaughter here to power whatever it is they are doing. An entire city’s worth of carnage and death. I shudder to imagine what Genno is planning.”

At my side, the noble blew out a horrified breath. “Kage-san, we must return to the palace,” he said, turning to me in alarm. “Kiyomi-sama must know about this. Yumeko-san, as well.”

“An excellent idea,” said Lady Hanshou, smiling faintly at the Taiyo noble. “Let usallreturn to the palace. I imagine Kiyomi-sama will want to know why a contingent of Kage warriors suddenly appeared in her city out of nowhere. Hakaimono,” she went on, her voice growing softer as she turned to me. “You and I go back a long way, First Oni. I know you wish to take your vengeance, and perhaps you will one day.” Her eyes narrowed. “But onthisday, we have the same enemy. And he is close to achieving victory. The Shadow Clan is here, and we will offer whatever aid we can. I suggest you take it.”

“On one condition,” I told her, making the ancient daimyo raise a perfectly inked eyebrow. “Stop calling me Hakaimono. My name is Kage Tatsumi, and I am no longer yours to command.”

Lady Hanshou blinked at that, and a faint smile curled one corner of her lips, but she only nodded. “Then let us go, before Genno completes whatever ritual he is casting.”

The journey back to the palace was swift. Demons and yokai still roamed the streets, but they appeared to be fleeing the city instead of attacking. We killed the stragglers we came across without slowing down, and soon reached the outer walls of the palace.

When we entered the courtyard, we came upon a scene of slaughter. Bodies of both humans and yokai, samurai and monsters alike, were scattered across the stones. It was clear that a horrific battle had taken place here, and worry for Yumeko twisted my stomach. Hanshou’s expression was grim as she gazed around at the massacre and I remembered her words about death powering the ritual. If that was truly the case, then Genno would have all the blood and butchery he needed.

I saw the Moon Clan daimyo in the courtyard, directing samurai and servants as she dealt with the aftermath of the brutal battle. Spotting us, her eyes widened, and she straightened quickly, her attention not on me or the Taiyo noble, but on the Kage daimyo striding toward her over the carnage. Lady Hanshou’s demeanor was calm as she and Masao walked easily across the yard, but by Kiyomi-sama’s expression, the Tsuki daimyo wasn’t entirely certain that having the Shadow Clan appear in her city was a good thing.

“Daisuke!”

The ronin came hurrying across the courtyard, dodging or leaping over bodies, his gaze only for the Taiyo. The noble didn’t move, only held out an arm, and before samurai, daimyos and servants alike, pulled Okame close as the ronin crashed into him.

“Yokatta,” muttered Okame, his voice muffled against the noble’s haori. “You’re alive.” His brow furrowed, and he pulled back to glare at the Taiyo, shaking his head. “Bakanoble. Why do you always have to fling yourself at the biggest thing on the battlefield?”

“Forgive me.” Daisuke’s lips curved faintly, and one hand rose to touch the ronin’s face. “But I was in no danger. I promised I would not meet that glorious death without you, Okame-san. And I have yet to break a promise.” His fingers traced the stubbly jaw, and the other shivered. “We are here, and we are victorious. It is not yet our time.”

The ronin sighed, his face darkening as a flicker of grief went through his eyes. “We lost Reika.”

I straightened, and Daisuke’s eyes widened. Shoulders slumping, Okame turned, observing the massacre spread through the open yard.

“It was crazy,” he muttered. “Demons and yokai everywhere, all trying to get to the daimyo and slaughter the rest of us on the way. And that was before they brought out this huge, eight-headed monster that started killing everything in its path.”

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