Page 52 of Night of the Dragon

“Well.” The ronin’s quiet, weary voice was the first to break the silence. “Looks like you got your wish, peacock. That was one hell of a glorious death.”

Daisuke raised a trembling hand, clasping the ronin’s palm resting against his chest. “I am glad you’re here, Okame,” he breathed with his eyes still closed. “And I am...pleased that you will survive this. If one of us made it... I was hoping it would be you.”

But the ronin shook his head. “No,” he murmured in a resigned voice. “I’ve lost too much blood. And I’m pretty sure those knives were poisoned. Don’t worry, peacock.” A faint, rueful smirk tugged at one corner of his lip as he bowed his head. “I’m not about to break my promise. I’ll be following you soon enough.”

“Together then, after all,” Daisuke murmured, as the ronin’s free hand brushed a strand of bloody hair from his cheek. “No...regrets, Okame?”

“Regrets.” The ronin gave a soft chuckle. “Peacock, before I met you, Yumeko-chan and everyone else, I was a bandit and a ronin with no purpose in the world. I didn’t care about anything, because I thought there was nothing in this life worth caring for. Not honor, family, friends or empire.” The hint of a smile crossed his face, and he shook his head. “Then this impudent little fox girl gave me a second chance, and everything changed. I’ve been to places few mortals have ever seen. I’ve fought things straight out of the legend scrolls. And I’ve been a part of something far greater than anyone, especially an honorless ronin dog, could ever hope for.”

He paused, a shadow of pain going through his eyes for a moment, before it smoothed out again. “So no, peacock,” he sighed. “I have no regrets. If I never joined Yumeko that day, I would still be a worthless, wandering ronin with no goals, no friends and nothing redeemable about him. And I never would have seen Oni no Mikoto on the bridge that night and, for the first time, wished I could be something more.”

Daisuke’s arm lifted, and he pressed a palm against the ronin’s jaw. “You were...always something more to me,” he whispered, and Okame closed his eyes. “Do you think...they’ll tell stories of us, Okame?”

“I hope so,” the ronin choked out, pressing his own hand over Daisuke’s. “Or at least a tragic poem that will make everyone cry when they hear it.”

“I would like that,” Daisuke whispered. His eyes opened, peaceful and calm, gazing up at the sky. “I feel...warm,” he murmured. “Light. I think... I think it’s time, Okame.”

The ronin blinked, and a streak of moisture ran down his cheek as he lowered his head, pressing his lips to Daisuke’s. “Go on, then,” he whispered, smiling through the tears on his face. “You’ve earned it. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Okame.” Suki could barely hear him now. The noble’s voice was a breath that the wind tore away and scattered over the sea. His eyes closed, and he sank further into the ronin’s arms. “I’ll...wait for you,” he whispered. “Don’t be...too long.”

His body slumped, and the hand still pressed against the ronin’s cheek slid away, dropping into his lap. The ronin let out a quiet breath and leaned back, gazing up at the sky. His dark eyes fell on Suki hovering overhead, and a faint smile crossed his face.

“Still hanging around, yurei?” he murmured, though it was mostly to himself. “I guess if we get lost on our way to Meido, we’ll at least have a guide. Oy, Suki-chan, wasn’t it?” the ronin went on, his eyes focusing on her. “If you see Yumeko again, tell her...thank you. For taking in a stray dog. She’s going to cry, but...we’ll see each other again. I don’t regret a thing. It was one hell of an adventure.”

He drew in a shuddering breath and sighed, as his eyes flickered shut. “Kuso,” he muttered, his voice growing fainter. “I wish... I could’ve seen the end. I hope you and Kage-san make it, Yumeko-chan. If not... I guess I’ll see you both soon enough.”

Painfully, the ronin straightened, bowing his head so that his lips brushed the noble’s cheek. “All right, peacock,” Suki heard, though his voice was nearly gone, and growing fainter with every word. “Meet you on the other side. I hope it has good sake, or...I’m going to be...disappointed.”

His head dropped the final few inches, resting on Daisuke’s shoulder, and he didn’t move again. Numb, Suki hovered there a moment, as the clouds opened and rain began falling over the two bodies slumped together in the flickering light of a hitodama.

A pair of glowing spheres rose from each of the bodies on the ground, pulsing softly as they drifted into the air. As Suki watched, the two globes of light climbed steadily into the sky, circling each other in a graceful, almost excited dance, and floated away toward the clouds.

25

The Summoning Site

TATSUMI

Nearly there.

I was expecting trouble. The last stretch up the mountain was narrow and rocky, with soaring cliffs and jagged crags to one side. Perfect for an ambush, or to trap us between a wall of stone and a sheer drop down the cliff face. But there were no demons waiting for us, no monsters, yokai, bakemono or blood mages lurking in the cracks between rocks. No ambushes or traps of any kind. Either Genno was overconfident in Rasetsu’s ability to guard the path—not to mention the oni’s loyalty—or there was something we didn’t know about.

I could see the top of the peak overhead, a flat surface of stone rising over the sea, with nothing but air between the cliff and the drop to the waves below. Directly above it, clouds swirled frantically in the sky, a whirlpool of darkness and flickering strands of lightning. Rain and wind beat the sides of the cliff, ripping at our hair and clothes and slashing at us with icy talons.

As lightning flashed, it lit up the valley far below the mountain, showing a split-second glimpse of the desperate, futile battle between men and demons still raging in the dark. Neither the fall of night nor the vicious storm halted the march of demons on their way to slaughter every living thing, and the armies of Shadow and Moon continued to fight a losing battle in the rain and darkness.

Yumeko stumbled on the rough path, falling to her knees with a small exclamation of pain. I turned and took her hand, pulling her upright, and she raised her head, fox ears twitching in the wind.

“Do you hear that?” she gasped.

I did. A voice echoing over the storm, rising over the wind and rain, coming from the top of the peak. The individual words were lost in the howl of the gale, but there was no question as to who it was, or what was happening.

“Genno,” I growled. “Summoning the Dragon. He’s not finished with the prayer, though. We can still make it.”

Yumeko nodded, a steely glint in her yellow eyes. Together we began sprinting up the path, as the booming, droning chant from the Master of Demons grew louder, and the clouds swirled even faster.

The path curved around a cliff, and suddenly ended at a steep flight of stone stairs going up the mountain. A weathered gray torii gate stood over the first step, marking the entrance to the territory of the gods, and I heard Yumeko gasp when she saw it. This was it, the final staircase. At the top was the Summoning site, and the Master of Demons.

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