Page 41 of Shadow of the Fox

“Ah.” The ronin smirked and picked up the sake bottle. “That’s what I thought. Relax, Kage-san. I’m not in the habit of sleeping with random peasant girls, especially if they have a killer bodyguard nearby who is all too willing to cut off my head.” He poured the last of the contents into the sake cup, and frowned when only a trickle came out. “Kuso. That’s unfortunate, I’m not nearly drunk enough. Well, only one thing to do.” He tossed back the last of the liquor, then picked up the bottle and rose, swaying a bit as he stood up. “Noboru, you bastard, I know you had a secret stash hidden somewhere.” He started to stagger away, but paused and glanced at me, that wolfish grin crossing his face again.

“You know,” he announced, “if you’re heading to the capital, I think I’ll come with you for a bit. The roads around here are dangerous—bandits and all sorts of lowlifes assaulting honest travelers. I’ll travel with you, make it a little less perilous. You can be the bodyguard, I’ll be the guard dog. Safety in numbers and all that, right?” He chuckled, fully realizing the irony, and glanced at the corner where the girl still slept, dead to the world. “You don’t think Yumeko will mind, do you? No matter. I’ll ask her tomorrow when she wakes up. Now...” He turned and staggered toward the back of the hut, toward a separate room. “Where’s that sake, Noboru?” he muttered. “Don’t think you can keep it from me, I can sniff out liquor wherever it’s hiding.”

I listened to the sounds of rummaging and the occasional grunt or profanity. After a few minutes, there was an exclamation of triumph, and then nothing could be heard but the soft clinking of bottles. Eventually, even those stopped, and a guttural snore came from the corner room. I drew Kamigoroshi into my lap and waited for sunrise, planning to wake Yumeko the moment the light touched the horizon. With any luck, by the time the ronin roused from his sake-induced hangover, we would be long gone.

Because if he did follow us, I might have to break my promise to Yumeko and kill him.

17

Hospitality

“Mabushii,”I muttered, shielding my face as blinding beams of light cut through the pine branches and stabbed me between the eyes.So bright.“Why is the sun so bright today? And if someone could please tell the birds to stop singing so loud, I would appreciate it.”

Tatsumi, walking a few paces ahead, did not seem at all affected by the mysterious increase in light or noise this morning. He didn’t say anything, but I could sense he was secretly amused. “I can hear you laughing, Tatsumi,” I warned, scowling at him. “Does my misery entertain you?” He didn’t answer, and I groaned, rubbing my eyes to ease the pounding behind them. “I’ve never been sick a day in my life,” I muttered. “I don’t understand why I’m ill now.”

“You’ve yet to build up a tolerance for alcohol.” Tatsumi cast a glance at me over his shoulder. “Sake can be very strong for the uninitiated. Unfortunately, this is one of the side effects.”

“This isnormal?” I thought back to the previous night, what I could remember of it. The strange, strong drink Okame kept pouring into my cup had burned as it went down, then seemed to light a pleasant warmth in my stomach. I remembered feeling drowsy and strangely light-headed, and then I couldn’t recall anything after that. “It’s like a troop of monkeys are screaming and throwing pinecones against the back of my eyes,” I groaned. “Why do people even drink sake if they feel like this in the morning? Do you think Okame-san feels the same? I can’t remember half of what we were talking about...”

A chill ran up my spine. I couldn’t remember anything of what was said last night. What else had I forgotten? Or done? What if I had revealed something I shouldn’t have, like what I truly was? If I’d slipped up, if Tatsumi found out that I was kitsune...

I shivered in the bright sunlight. I had to be more careful. The demonslayer might tolerate a human girl leading him to the Dragon’s prayer, but definitely not a yokai. If he discovered I had tricked him, I could definitely see Kamigoroshi slicing down to take my head.

“Yumeko?”

I glanced up to see Tatsumi still watching me over his shoulder. His face, though not exactly sympathetic, wore a puzzled frown. “Are you all right?” he asked. “Do we need to stop to rest?”

I shook my head, smiling at how genuinely concerned he sounded. “No, Tatsumi-san, I’m fine. I’m just—”

“Oiiiiiiiiii!”

The faint shout came from the road behind us. I turned and saw a dark, blurry shape hurrying forward, one arm upraised. As it got close, it resolved itself into Okame, huffing and puffing as he jogged toward us.

“Finally...found you,” he panted, bracing his hands on his knees. Gasping, he looked up at me with a wry grin. “Thought you could get rid of me, eh? Didn’t Kage-san tell you I was coming with you to the capital?”

I glanced at Tatsumi, who wasn’t looking at either of us, his gaze on the distant mountains. “No,” I said, frowning. “He didn’t mention that.”

“Well, lucky for you, I’m a light sleeper.” Okame straightened, adjusting the yumi bow on his back. “And that I’d already decided to help you out. Because I happen to know you’re going the wrong way.”

I blinked. “We are?”

“We’re not,” Tatsumi countered. “This road leads to the imperial highway, and from there, straight to the capital itself. We are on the right path.”

“Yes, if you want to go completely around the mountains,” Okame said, jerking his head at the mist-shrouded peaks, still cloaked in shadow. “Which will take days of travel, at least. I know this territory and, more specifically, I know the trails and hidden paths through the mountains.” His thumb rose, pointed back at himself. “If you follow me, I can get you to the capital much faster than if you keep to the main roads.Andwe won’t have to bother with the imperial checkpoint at the border.”

I couldn’t be sure, but I thought Tatsumi perked up at that. Well, maybeperked upwas the wrong phrase, but he did seem to take notice. “Itwouldbe nice to reach the capital sooner,” I mused.

“And just think, Kage-san,” Okame added. “The sooner we get to Kin Heigen Toshi, the sooner you can get rid of me. Win-win situation, right?”

Tatsumi regarded us in stony silence, then shrugged and turned away. “It doesn’t matter,” he said with his back to us. “As long as we reach the capital. And you don’t get us lost.”

“Good!” Okame exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “Just follow me, then. We’ll be in Sun lands before you know it.”

* * *

“Huh,” Okame mused later that afternoon. “I was sure there was supposed to be a path here.”

We were deep in the mountains now, having left the main road a few hours ago to hike into the wilderness. Okame had quickly found a game trail, and we’d followed him through a dim forest of pine and cedar, over a thick carpet of green moss that covered stones, roots and fallen logs. He was, I noted, very graceful despite his self-proclaimed boorishness, moving easily through the woods and brush like he was part of the forest itself. Tatsumi trailed silently at my back, making no sound at all and prompting me to glance over my shoulder every so often, just to make sure he was still there.

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