Page 23 of Shadow of the Fox

“Business.” Her brow furrowed. “At this time of night?” When I didn’t answer, the frown deepened. “Why can’t we go together?”

“That is not possible.”

“Why not?”

Irritation flared, mingled with a hint of fear. “You ask a lot of questions,” I told her in a cold voice. Questions were dangerous. Questions would get her killed faster than anything else. “Perhaps there are things you don’t need to know.”

She shrank back, then sighed and closed her fingers tightly around the coins. “Just...promise you’ll come back,” she said quietly. “That you won’t disappear into the night and I’ll never see you again. Swear to me that you’ll come back.”

“I have no intention of leaving.”

“Do you promise?”

“Yes.”

She nodded once and stepped away, but I abruptly reached out and caught her sleeve, making her turn. “I want the same promise,” I told her, and a flicker of confusion crossed her face. “That you’ll remain at the inn. That you won’t try to leave or follow me. Stay in the room until I return, Yumeko. Promise me.”

She nodded. “I will.”

“Go, then.” I released her, and she started across the street toward the ryokan, clutching the handful of coins. I watched until she had ducked through the doorway beneath the curtains, then turned and walked back the way we’d come.

Something rustled in my hand. When I opened my fist, the folded paper crane stirred and unfurled crumpled black wings. With several flaps, the paper creature rose into the air like a dying butterfly and flitted away.

I followed. The crane led me past the square, the drums still pounding out their booming rhythm, to a narrow alley between a teahouse and a textiles shop. The origami creature continued into the corridor, flitting over the ground, but I paused at the entrance and gazed into the dark. Overhead, a single string of chochin stretched away for a good fifty feet, illuminating the wooden walls on either side, before ending at an intersection. Wary of attacks and threats hidden in the shadows, I stepped into the alley.

Directly above me, a lantern flickered once and went out. The next one followed, going dark as its flame was extinguished, as did the next, and the next. One by one, all the chochin on the string down the alley sputtered and went out, plunging the narrow space into complete darkness.

I kept walking. Darkness was no cause for alarm; I was more comfortable in the shadows than the light. I followed the dying lanterns until I reached the intersection and stopped, gazing down one road, then the other. They stretched away between buildings, cutting a narrow path behind stores and warehouses, completely empty and dark.

“Hello, Tatsumi.”

The soft, high voice echoed behind me. And even though I recognized it, I stifled the urge to spin and draw my sword, forcing myself to turn calmly. A figure sat in the back doorway of a storehouse, cloaked in shadow, where nothing had been before. His robes, black and unmarked, billowed around him, and his long hair fell loose down his shoulders and back. His face was painted white, with heavy lines of black around his eyes and down his chin. He wore a single short sword at his waist, but his skills were not of the blade, though they were just as deadly. He waskami-touched, what ordinary people would call a majutsushi, or magic user. All the clans had a few unique individuals whose talents reflected their family’s element, but the majutsushi were by far the strongest and most powerful. As a Kage shinobi, I could work small Shadow magics—become invisible or create a ghostly twin, the talents of darkness and misdirection. But within Iwagoto, there were majutsushi that could turn the very land against you, call down fire or lightning, or heal a fatal wound in a few heartbeats. The mages of the Kage were not as destructively impressive as the Fire Clan, or miracle workers like the Water Clan; their command of the night and everything in it was subtle, though no less dangerous.

“Jomei-san,” I said, and bowed, feeling his gaze follow my every move. “So it’s your turn to check up on me, I see.”

“That’s not a very nice greeting, Tatsumi-san,” Jomei said in his high, breathy voice. “If I was the type, I might be offended. You know why we must do this.”

“I know.”

“Kamigoroshi is not something we take lightly,” Jomei went on as if I hadn’t spoken. “We of the Shadow Clan know darkness better than most. We dance with it every day, and walk a very thin line between the shadows and the abyss. We know the evil that lurks in the hidden places of Iwagoto, and in the souls of men. And we know, more than any other clan, how easy it is to fall.

“You are the bearer of the Cursed Blade,” Jomei went on. “Kamigoroshi, Hakaimono, whatever you wish to call it—that sword has corrupted the souls of better men than you, Kage Tatsumi. We have taught you how to resist its influence, trained you in the ways of the Kage shinobi. And yet, we know the terrible evil you carry, that one day, you might succumb to the darkness.” His eyes narrowed. “Which is why we follow you, why these meetings are essential. If there is any hint that you are losing the battle with Hakaimono, we must take care of it immediately, before you lose yourself and the true demon is released.”

I bowed my head. He was right, of course. What had come over me? I had never spoken to the majutsushi like that. Perhaps Yumeko’s peasant mannerisms were affecting my judgment. “Forgive my outburst, Master Jomei,” I said. “It won’t happen again.”

“Good. Now...” Jomei settled back, lacing his fingers under his chin as he watched me. “Since you seem to have a handle on Kamigoroshi, what of your mission? Did you reach the Silent Winds temple? Were you able to retrieve the scroll?”

“No.” I straightened, stifling all emotion. I was a weapon. I felt nothing. “It was gone when I got there.”

“Gone?” Jomei’s gaze sharpened. “What do you mean gone? Are you saying that the mission was a failure?”

“An army of amanjaku attacked the temple. They were led by an oni.” Jomei’s brows arched; demons were something the Shadow Clan took very seriously. “The master of the temple sensed them coming,” I went on, “and sent the scroll away before they could reach it.”

“An oni.” The other Kage’s voice was grave. “Merciful Kami, who is summoning oni into this realm? Did you kill it?”

“No.”

His lips thinned. “Tatsumi-san, I understand that you have been taught to answer only what is asked of you, but I am going to need a little more information than that. Please give me the full report of your mission and all the important details. Leave nothing out.”

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