Page 49 of Shadow of the Fox

“We have to help them.”

“What?” Okame gave me a look of disbelief. “March through a cemetery crawling with gaki to talk to a ghost? In case you didn’t notice, I was almosteatena few minutes ago. I could really go the rest of my life without having to experience the real thing.”

I ignored the ronin, locking eyes with Tatsumi, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. “We have to do this, Tatsumi-san. After hearing their story, how can we walk away now? These people have suffered enough—they aren’t the targets of his wrath any longer. If we could just talk to the monk, maybe we could convince him to lift the curse.”

“Yumeko.” Tatsumi’s gaze was hard, and he shook his head. “Grudge spirits can’t be reasoned with,” he said in a grave voice. “Their anger has consumed them, and their vengeance can never be satisfied. If the monk is truly an onryo, you won’t have any hope of placating it, and it could very well turn its wrath on you.”

Fear prickled my stomach. “I’m...willing to take that chance,” I said. “It won’t take long. I just need someone to keep the gaki away while I talk to the monk. This is the last night of the month,” I reminded him, as his eyes narrowed. “It will be the only time we can talk to him. When dawn comes, he’ll disappear with the gaki and we’ll lose our chance to lift the curse.”

Tatsumi held my gaze a moment longer, then let out a breath. “You’re going to talk to him with or without me, aren’t you?” he murmured.

I nodded. “I might not be able to wield a sword or shoot an arrow,” I told him, “but I can talk to ghosts and kami. I want to help, and this is something I can do.”

He sighed again and glanced out the door. “We don’t have much time,” he said, making my heart leap in my chest. “When dawn comes, spirits tend to fade when the first light breaks over the horizon. If we’re going to speak to the monk, we should do it now.”

Okame groaned. “Hold on,” he growled as we turned toward the door. After pulling the sake gourd from his obi, he yanked off the top and tipped the container upside down into his open mouth, emptying it fully. He wiped his lips, then tossed the bottle at the headman and turned back to us with a grin. “Okay,nowI’m ready.”

The village was silent as we walked back outside. Overhead, the moon blazed down, outlining the houses in silver and casting hazy light over the distant rice paddies. I didn’t glimpse any gaki wandering about, but as we drew closer to the graveyard, I could see the faint green light coming from the bottom of the rise.

We sidled around the wall of the guesthouse, then peered down the slope.

The gaki were back. Or a few of them were, anyway. Certainly not in the numbers that had swarmed us earlier, but more than I was expecting, considering Tatsumi had wiped them all out. And we had been inside the hut when they attacked, which had allowed the demonslayer to deal with them one at a time. Out in the open, fending off a huge mob would be much more difficult.

“And you want us to go down there.” Okame sighed and made a face as he stared at the figures lurching about. “Ugh, this isn’t going to be fun, but lead the way.”

“Wait.” Tatsumi held out his arm, stopping us. “We may not have to fight.”

I glanced at him. He hesitated, as if struggling with himself, then exhaled. “If we march down there in plain sight, the gaki will be on us in a heartbeat. However, I might be able to perform a technique that will render us unseen, for a short while.”

“Huh.” Okame crossed his arms. “So, youarekami-touched, after all. I thought so. Though the creepy glowing sword was a huge hint.” He spared a glance at the black-clad samurai behind us and dramatically lowered his voice as he leaned in. “There are stories,” he told me, “that if a Kage child is born kami-touched, it is taken away and raised to become a shinobi.”

I frowned. “What are shinobi?”

“Shadow warriors. Secret assassins that strike from the darkness, cutting your throat from behind or in your sleep.” Okame snorted. “Every clan employs them—don’t let all that talk of honor on the battlefield fool you otherwise. But there are stories that the Kage shinobi have the ability to pass through walls, to become shadows themselves...or to turn invisible.”

“There are also stories,” Tatsumi said in a soft, lethal voice, “that those who speak of these shinobi vanish, and are never seen again.”

“Good thing I don’t believe wild tales, then.”

A faint chime shivered into the air from the direction of the graveyard.

We turned, peering down the rise. A ghostly figure in white was walking through the cemetery, straw hat and staff bobbing as he moved between headstones, passing shambling gaki, who paid him no attention. He moved slowly, purposefully, trailing fading tendrils of mist that curled into the air, before he himself walked behind a large cedar trunk and disappeared.

“There he goes,” I whispered, and glanced at the dark warrior behind Okame. “Tatsumi, you said you could get us down there, without having to fight?”

He drew back a step, his gaze solemn as he peered down the rise. “Yes, but there are a few conditions. The spell only works if we ourselves remain silent and unnoticed. Anything louder than a whisper will cause the illusion to break, as will any sudden movement. Looking directly into a gaki’s eyes or drawing its attention will also dissolve the spell. So be quiet, keep your head down and stay close to me. Can you do that?”

“What about me?” Okame demanded. Tatsumi gave him a cold look.

“The more people that go down there, the harder it will be to maintain the spell. I’m already stretching the limit of what I can do with one other—two would be setting us up for failure. It would be better for us all if you stayed here.”

“Trying to get rid of me, Kage-san? I’m wounded. It would be such a waste if I was eaten by a gaki.”

Tatsumi narrowed his eyes. “Your swordsmanship is lacking,” he said bluntly. “You would be no use to us among the gaki should they see through the spell. Trying to protect Yumeko with your blade would be futile, and would put you both in harm’s way.”

Okame sniffed. “You don’t have to insult me, Kage-san. I don’t have the right to demand satisfaction anymore, but Icanbe offended. In fact, I think I am.”

“You’re a better shot with your bow,” Tatsumi continued, as if the other hadn’t said anything. “If the spell fails and the gaki attack, it would be prudent for you to be farther away, covering our escape. You can kill the gaki before they get to us, and I won’t have to worry about protecting you and Yumeko, should the worst happen.”

---