Page 40 of The Tainted and the Tamed
Mindless wraith or not, it infuriated him that she’d had the gall to hunt on Fusae Castle’s grounds. It likewise enraged him that he’d just let her get away. But he’d needed to tend to Murasaki.
That moment as he’d stood there, battling over whether to chase Chiyo before she could hurt anyone else, the same thought kept running through his mind.Mortal bodies are so fragile.
The moment he saw Murasaki crumpled on the pavers, covered in blood, eyes wide and clearly in shock, the decision had been easy. It only took seconds in a wraith’s grasp for Murasaki’s scent—that strange combination of urban and rural smells that had so intrigued and confused him—to become nothing but iron and death.
Who else was Chiyo mauling while he sat here? The longer he waited to chase down the wraith Chiyo had become, the worse the feeling of dread in his stomach became.
It was his fault she had risen to terrorize his home and his people. Because he had thought to starve himself of blood. Because maybe, for just an instant, as his teeth sunk into her neck, he’d told himself it was alright this one time—that he would make her a vampire like him after and he wouldn’t be alone.
His thirst had ruined that. Had he been thinking clearly, he would’ve known what a dangerous game he’d been playing.
Setouchi was wrong. The man and the vampire could not coexist.
As Haruki sat there, his hand entwined around Murasaki’s blood-stained one, a hundred concerns pinged through his mind. But the one that worried him the most?
How had Chiyo gotten so strong already, if not by feeding on many humans? And why did recognition and anger flash in her eyes as they came face to face—as she’d snarled at Murasaki just before he’d ripped her hands away?
She wasn’t even trying to drink Murasaki’s blood.
This was not the indiscriminate feeding of a wraith. This was targeted—this was personal.
Haruki replaced Chiyo with another woman. And gods help them, Chiyo somehow knew it.
Haruki could barely sit still as he waited for Junpei and Daisuke’s return. The moment he heard the door open—well before he’d seen the flash of their masks, replaced before they’d come to the doctor’s residence—he was on his feet and racing through the garden.
“We’re losing the night,” Haruki shouted over his shoulder. “We have to catch her.”
“Haruki—Haru, wait!” Junpei called after him, struggling to catch up. He held something out to Haruki—Haruki’s sheathed sword, the ornamental tassel on its end swaying wildly as they ran. “We can’t leave Fusae unprotected.”
“I can’t wait for her return some other night. She’s a wraith now. Who will she kill between now and then while we sit here, guarding a castle like we’re still samurai?” He slowed a little, allowing Junpei to pull abreast of him. “We make the orders now, Junpei—and all the responsibility is ours.”
“Shit, you pigheaded idiot—how long have I been telling you that? Of course I’m coming with you. But Daisuke must stay behind—”
“The Setouchis will watch Fusae—”
“The vampire who practices minimal feeding and a fox shifter? A weakened vampire and a single inari cannot protect the entire town. We found bodies in the gardens, Haruki.”
Haruki nearly stumbled as they reached the gate, as if he had no vampiric grace at all.No wonder Chiyo is so strong.He allowed himself a moment, wondering who her victims had been, before pushing on.
His steps faltered once more as Junpei spoke.
“Let Momoko and the doctor guard the estate,” he urged Haruki. “Daisuke will stay and patrol the town.”
The mountains rose up in the distance, blue-black shadows that, in a prior era, had served as a natural defense. But now, with so many supernatural creatures throughout Kaiden, nothing was safe any longer. Haruki tucked the sword into his sash, noting the blades already at the other chairmen’s hips.
“Daisuke—”
“It’s already decided,” Daisuke said from somewhere behind him.
“I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll guard the castle and castle town. It’s in my nature anyway.”
Haruki paused as he leaped atop the wall, his eyes scanning the empty streets and increasingly sporadic houses ahead. “It really frightens me how much I’m starting to like you,” he said under his breath.
“I heard that. Get going. Fusae is in safe hands.”
Haruki wanted to believe that. But one vampire couldn’t be everywhere at once.
