Page 54 of Night of the Dragon

“Yumeko!” I lunged toward her, straining against the chains, feeling several of them snap as I pressed forward. I was free only for a moment, as several more instantly rose to take their place, coiling around my legs, arms and chest, burning and searing where they touched, and I snarled in frustration.

“Rise.” Genno raised both arms, red light shining from his fingers, and I felt the chilling ripple of blood magic wash across the stones. “Crush them, my faithful minions,” he ordered. “Obey me in death as you did in life. Rise, and serve your master.”

The corpses lining the edges of the circle stirred, lifting their heads to reveal their sliced throats, then seemed to float upright, hovering a few inches from the ground. Clutching knives in pale, bloody hands, they glided forward.

Yumeko pushed herself upright, ears laced back and eyes wide with alarm. Blood soaked the fabric of one sleeve, dripping to the ground from her arm, but she raised her hands, foxfire pulsing at her fingers, and unleashed a roaring line of kitsune-bi. Not at the ghostly Master of Demons, or even the corpses floating toward her with their knives raised, but at the binding circle at her feet.

For a moment, the words of power flared red, shining like fresh blood as the foxfire struck the surface. Then, with a roar, the entire circle seemed to catch fire, kitsune-bi racing along the runes and symbols, until with one final flare-up, the foxfire sputtered and died, taking the circle with it.

The chains holding me down vanished. Genno spun, eyes widening, as I sprang to the center of the circle, Kamigoroshi ripping the first blood mage’s corpse in two. The others turned on me, jerking forward like marionettes, eyes blank as they slashed down with their weapons. Unhindered, I lunged into the center of the swarm, cutting through limbs and dead flesh, fighting my way forward. I lost Yumeko in the press of bodies, though I did catch glimpses of Genno through the slashing arms and flapping sleeves, the blood mage drifting farther away, a grim, triumphant smile on his face. With a snarl, I lunged after him, but the corpses pressed closer, relentless and unfeeling, forcing me back.

“WHO SUMMONS ME?”

Everything froze. Even the floating corpses shivered in place, paralyzed by the deep, inhuman rumble coming from the heart of the storm. I glanced up, and my stomach dropped as a massive head emerged from the clouds, trailing a long, endless body behind it. It defied belief, bigger than any living creature I had seen, a mountain of horns and fangs and scales the color of the ocean.

The Great Dragon god, the Lord of Tides and the Harbinger of Change, coiled his huge body around the mountain peak and gazed down on us insignificant mortals far below.

Genno spun, raising his arms to the huge Kami, his face alight with savage triumph. Desperately, I slashed at the corpses surrounding me, lunging for the Master of Demons even as I knew we had failed. The Dragon had come, and Genno was too far away; all he had to do was speak his wish, and everything would be over.

“Ryuujin-sama!” Genno cried, using the Harbinger’s formal name. The yurei’s voice rang over the storm, triumphant, but he spoke quickly, knowing time was of the essence. “I, Genno, Master of Demons, am the soul who summoned you tonight! By my right as scroll bearer, I ask that you grant me my heart’s desire!” He didn’t pause to accept the Dragon’s acknowledgment, but hurried on, and the world seemed to hold its breath. “Great Dragon, I wish—”

A sharp crack rang out, echoing over the chaos. It wasn’t loud or booming, just a split-second noise that was almost lost in the madness, but amazingly, Genno jerked as if he had been shot. His body flickered, like a candle flame in the wind, and he turned huge pale eyes from the Dragon to something behind him. Tearing through the last of the corpses, I looked up, and my heart stuttered.

Yumeko stood in front of the altar, the opened scroll flapping wildly in the gale, but she wasn’t looking at the prayer. The naked skull sat in front of her, glowing faintly with power, though the top of the skull was cracked and broken, as if it had been struck with something heavy.

Yumeko, her jaw set in determination, held a large stone in both hands, and slowly raised it over her head.

“Nooo!”

Genno’s shriek echoed over the wind, high-pitched and desperate. His face was no longer triumphant as he lunged forward, throwing out a ghostly hand. “Fox, do not dare!”

Yumeko gave a savage smile. “For Master Isao,” she whispered, and brought the stone down hard.

The skull shattered. Tendrils of black and purple light rose from the pieces, spiraling into the air as the power was released, and Genno wailed. His body seemed to dissipate, fraying apart like mist even as he clutched at it, desperately trying to hold himself together. But he grew fainter and fainter, until he was only the vaguest outline of a man hovering before the Dragon.

Genno.

The voice wasn’t the Dragon’s, but it seemed to echo in the clouds, in the rolling thunder all around us. I recognized it; even after a thousand years, it was impossible to mistake that voice for anyone else.

O-Hakumon, the ruler of Jigoku.

Master of Demons,the voice droned, a terrible rumble in the clouds. The fading yurei cringed, eyes wide with terror as he looked toward the ocean.You have failed, and by our contract, your soul is once again forfeit to me.

With a final scream, the ghost of the Master of Demons became a crimson ball of light that rose swiftly into the air and streaked toward the horizon as if demons were chasing it.

It hadn’t gone far, however, when there was a blast of heat, and a pair of flaming wheels with grinning faces soared overhead. Cackling, the wanyudo demons sped after the fleeing soul, which darted and flew like a terrified dragonfly, trying to escape them. But the demons were faster, and as one wanyudo caught up to the frantic soul, its huge mouth opened, gaping wide, as it clamped its jaws around the ball of light. A tiny scream emerged from the tainted soul as it was dragged from the air in the grip of the demon, who sped toward the ocean without slowing down. I tensed as they approached, but the wanyudo dropped past us in twin balls of fire, plunged into the waves and jagged rocks far below, and vanished from sight.

26

The Harbinger

Yumeko

We...we did it.

I held my breath as the screams from the flaming wheel demons faded into the wind. For a moment, I stood motionless before the altar, my heart pounding in my chest, waiting for something to happen. For Genno’s furious spirit to rise back into the air with a maniacal laugh, mocking us for being so foolish to think we had beaten him. But Genno did not appear. The storm continued to rage, and overhead, the terrifying visage of the Great Dragon still hovered in the clouds, his eyes shining like moons as they watched us.

My legs shook, and I sank to my knees on the rough stone. The rain beat down on me, and there was a prickling sensation where a jagged piece of skull pierced my calf, but I hardly felt it. It was hard to believe, after everything we’d been through, the hardships we’d endured and the sacrifices that had been made, but it seemed that we had won.

---