Page 40 of Night of the Dragon

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 ofwrongnessthat 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 on their backs and refused to calm down when he was present. I couldn’t see Tatsumi, but I knew, like the shinobi, he was close, following in the shadows, and would appear when we needed him. I could also feel something in the air, a growing dread and darkness, getting stronger and more terrible the closer we came, like walking toward a violent storm.

Ahead of us, the land sloped upward in a gentle rise, the top empty of trees and showing a clear view of the sullen gray sky. Thunder growled overhead, and my heartbeat picked up in response. Something was out there, waiting for us. We started toward the rise, but at the bottom of the hill my horse suddenly gave a violent squeal and half reared, nearly throwing me from the saddle. I yelped and grabbed for the reins, clutching them tightly, as the animal snorted and danced in place, throwing back its head. From the corner of my eye, I saw Okame and Daisuke struggling with their mounts, though they were faring far better than me, and heard the snorts and squeals of the horses behind us.

A hand grabbed my horse’s bridle, bringing the animal to a snorting halt, though its eyes were still white with fear, its ears pinned flat against its skull. I blinked and looked up into Kiyomi-sama’s grim face.

“The horses will take us no farther,” she told me. “The amount of corruption and fear in the air is too much for them. The rest of the way must be traveled on foot.”

That sounded good to me. I nodded and quickly slid from the saddle, grateful when my feet touched solid ground again. Kiyomi-sama released the horse, which immediately cantered back the way we’d come, tossing its head. She turned to the army behind her.

“Dismount!” she called to the closest ranks of samurai. “From here, we go on foot!”

It took a few minutes for the army to release the rest of the horses, who were all too eager to be gone. In the organized chaos of dismounting and setting horses free, I realized Tatsumi had appeared again, standing beside me as we watched the army of horses gallop away over the plains. I also noticed that a pair of black-clad shinobi had appeared before Hanshou-sama, their heads bowed as they knelt before her. It was impossible to see their faces, but both were trembling violently through their dark haori.

“Over that rise is Tani Kaminari, the Valley of Lightning,” Tsuki-sama told us, gesturing up the slope to the clouds crawling above it. “Beyond the valley is the ascent to the sacred cliffs of Ryugake, where the Dragon will be summoned. Whatever is waiting for us, whatever lies between the valley and the cliffs, we must reach the Summoning site if we want any hope of stopping the Master of Demons.”

“Then let us stop talking about it,” Lady Hanshou said quietly. “There is no time left. My scouts have reported demons in the valley, apparently pouring from a hole in the very earth. They could not tell me where this hole came from or why it appeared, but both were nearly out of their minds with terror. There is no doubt that Genno is close.” She lifted her chin, giving the Moon Clan daimyo an almost challenging look. “The Shadow Clan stands ready to die defying the Master of Demons, Lady Moon. Is your clan prepared to do the same?”

Kiyomi-sama’s jaw tightened. But instead of answering the Kage ruler, she deliberately turned away from her, her gaze seeking me. “Yumeko-san,” she said in a soft voice, making my stomach tighten at the hidden emotion in her words. “Fate, it appears, has been cruel to us both. Were these any other circumstances, I would thank the Kami for guiding you here, for giving me another chance to rediscover something I lost so long ago. But I realize destiny has another path for you, and that you were brought here for a specific purpose, one that my selfish desires cannot stand in the way of.” Kiyomi-sama briefly closed her eyes, a flash of pain crossing her face, before she opened them again, hard and determined. “And so, I will release you with these words. Do not worry about me, do not think of my clan—this night, we are but tools to help you achieve your purpose. When this is over, and we both yet live, perhaps there will be time to mourn the years lost, and to celebrate the ones that remain. But not tonight.” Her gaze lifted, staring at something on the horizon, her voice going distant. “There will be loss this day, Yumeko-san,” she told me. “Loss, and grief, and sacrifice. And there may come a time where you will have to make a choice. But you know what you must do.”

I swallowed the tightness in my throat, trying not to let the tears pressing against my eyes spill forth as I nodded. “I know.”

“Then may the Kami guide your steps,” Kiyomi-sama whispered. “And may you not falter on your path. I will pray for our victory, and your safe return. Now let us see what Genno has prepared for us.”

We turned, and with Tatsumi, Okame and Daisuke at my side, and the two daimyos leading the way, we walked the rest of the way up the rise and gazed down toward the valley.

Into hell itself.

The valley floor was a writhing, squirming mass of demons. Demons, amanjaku and monsters I didn’t even have a name for crawled, leaped or slithered over the ground. Terrible oni stomped their way through the crowds, ignoring the lesser demons or swatting them out of the way. Wanyudo and other flying horrors wheeled through the sky, leaving trails of flame behind them.

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