Samurai Son (44 page)

Chapter Eighty-Three

The sun was rising in the east just over the island’s central mountain when Kasumi awoke in a soft bed of fragrant flowers and pine needles, covered with a bedroll of fine silk.
 
She was no longer in pain, and upon examining her hands, side, and even her leg, she found that her wounds had been healed.
 
Her clothing, too, was dry and looked as though someone had washed it.
 
She turned and saw Akira lying a few feet away, his breathing rhythmic in a deep sleep.
 
His ugly wounds were no longer there.

She smiled wryly for a moment, feeling foolish for misjudging him.
 
She had come to Ninja Island to rescue him, and Akira had rescued her.
 
Akira had saved them both.
 
Perhaps he wasn’t as helpless as she had thought.
 
Stormhammer,
she thought.
 
The wind spirits had given him that name.

The scent of hot tea and warm rice filled her nostrils, and she sat up.
 
Nearby, someone had made a fire and a pot of hot tea.
 
Two bowls of warm rice sat on the stone ring that encompassed the fire.

For a moment, she stared at the fire before picking up the cup of tea.
 
She heard Akira Stormhammer groan and turned to him.
 
His eyes fluttered open.
 
“Where are we?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“The okami must have brought us to the other side of the island.”
 
She handed him the cup of tea and took one for herself.

“The wolf?”
 
He blinked and took a sip of the tea.

She nodded, picked up the bowls of rice, and offered him one.
 
“He was a tutelary spirit here; his job was to make certain travelers passed through unharmed.
 
The temple was the only place he couldn’t go—not without a human to break the wards.
 
Monks trapped the Akuma here hundreds of years ago and set wards so that the demons would not escape.”

“The wards would’ve kept the storm spirits out,” Akira said.

“But because you called them, they could enter.”
 
She paused.
 
“I guess the wards hid us, though.
 
The wolf was able to lead your storm kami to the temple.”

Akira nodded slowly.
 
“The rain and wind destroyed the demons.”
 
He took a bite of rice.

You have destroyed a great evil, Stormhammer, and for this, I am grateful.

They both turned to see the okami standing in the sun.
 
They could just make out the translucent wolf’s form in the sunlight, shimmering like a dissipating mist.

Akira stood up and bowed to the wolf.
 
“I am honored by your presence and your aid, great okami.
 
We thank you for your hospitality.”

The wolf dipped its head in what Kasumi could only guess was a bow.
 
Follow the trail to the east.
 
Two hours’ walk will bring you to a small village where you can gain transport from this island.
 
With that, the okami’s body shimmered and disappeared.

Thank you, okami,
Kasumi said in mindspeak, hoping the wolf could still hear her.
 
She turned back to Akira and smiled.

#

Akira went back to eating his rice, silent in his thoughts.
 
He had come very close to using his Tengu magic when he called up the winds.
 
He had spoken not much more than a simple summons; the winds had done his bidding because of who he was.
 
Had been,
he corrected himself.
 
He was no longer a Tengu, and he could not think in their fashion.

Yet weeks—or was it months?—of training with the Tengu had left an indelible mark on him.
 
He could pretend he was human, but he felt more comfortable talking with the wind kami than with Kasumi.
 
She thought he was useless when it came to fighting against demons.

I think she has a different opinion of you now,
Windspirit spoke in his mind.

She doesn’t really like me,
Akira replied.
 
She acted nice because she was afraid of the Akuma.

That may be but the winds came to you when you called them.

That was too close to using Tengu magic,
Akira remarked.

Windspirit remained silent.
 
Akira half wondered if the Tengu would come and take him back or, worse, kill him.
 
He looked up from the lukewarm tea and saw a red hawk sitting on the branch looking at him.

“Do you think we should go to the village the okami suggested?” Kasumi asked.

Akira said nothing, staring at the hawk.
 
He tried to discern if it was a Tengu who had seen him call the winds.

“Did you hear me?”

“What?
 
Oh, the village?
 
I don’t know,” Akira said, frowning as the hawk flew away.

“Were you even listening?”
 
Kasumi put her hands on her hips.

“Not really.
 
I’m worried about the hawk.”

Kasumi snorted.
 
“I don’t see a hawk.”

“It flew away.”
 
Akira saw that Kasumi was looking askance at him and he shrugged.
 
How could he explain his fears?

There’s nothing to explain,
said Windspirit.
 
She’s a distraction, you know.

Akira ignored the sword.
 
He turned to Kasumi.
 
“Come on.
 
Let’s go.”

#

They started walking toward the village the okami had directed them to.
 
Kasumi was silent, wondering how they would possibly find passage off Shinobi-jima.
 
Everyone here was ninja—not just those who lived in the compound.
 
She suspected that Shigeko had sent orders to all the ninja in the outside villages to capture or kill them.

She sighed and caught a quizzical look from Akira.
 
She was still chagrined that Akira had killed Shinobi, but she knew it couldn’t have been helped.
 
The Shinobi intended to keep Akira there on the island, and there was no way they would’ve escaped without a fight.
 
Chances were good that the ninja didn’t know she could change forms and they might just assume the tiger to be some other kami.

As they walked, she saw Akira as someone caught between worlds, much like herself.
 
Only she didn’t have to choose.
 
She wondered what it would be like for her to never shape change again or never see anyone of the Neko clan.
 
But in some ways, she had been exiled as surely as Akira had been exiled from the Tengu.
 
She had not seen her people for years since her mother was forced to stay in an apartment in the imperial city while her father served at court.
 
She sighed.
 
Her mother wasn’t even a first wife.

A waft of oni stench tickled her nostrils, and jerked her out of her reverie.
 
She halted and looked around in earnest.
 
Akira stopped and looked askance at her.
 
She trembled as she saw the dark shadow sliding through the forest.

“What’s wrong?” Akira asked, his hand on the no-dachi’s pommel and his voice low.

“Oni,” she whispered.
 
“I can smell it.”
 
She pointed to the shadows, which now swayed with the breeze and naught else.

Akira frowned.
 
She could tell he didn’t see what she had seen and certainly couldn’t smell it.
 
Still, despite his doubts, he nodded.
 
“What do we do?”

Kasumi was about to answer when she heard a scream above them.
 
Looking up, she could see the shadow of a dragon circling.

Chapter Eighty-Four

The dragon flew overhead, its scales scintillating like water droplets in the air.
 
At first Kasumi halted and looked up, thinking it was the dragon who flew them to Shinobi-jima.
 
Yet as she looked at the dragon, it became apparent that this creature was bigger and older than the dragon she had ridden.
 
The wind picked up, and the dragon roared, its voice thunder that rolled over the island.
 
As it shook its scales, rain fell in torrents around them.

“Quick!” Kasumi shouted.
 
“Call the winds!”

Akira’s face betrayed his uncertainty.
 
His brow furrowed and he gritted his teeth.
 
She could hear him mentally call to the winds, but the weather became more violent.
 
“I can’t,” he shouted over the downpour.
 
“They won’t listen to me with the dragon.”

Suddenly the dragon turned and, with a deafening roar, sped right for them.

#

Akira drew Windspirit.
 
Even as he did so, he knew he was no match for this dragon in human form.
 
The dragon would kill them both.
 
He looked at Kasumi, who stood beside him, her katana drawn.
 
Certainly she didn’t deserve to die for his mistakes.

“Get out of here!” Akira said to Kasumi.
 
“The dragon doesn’t want you; it wants me.
 
If you run, you can find passage off this island.”

Kasumi shook her head.
 
“I’m staying beside you.
 
You can’t possibly take on the dragon alone in mortal form.”

Remember your training,
Windspirit said.
 
Every time a samurai draws his blade, he welcomes death as a friend.

Akira was about to argue with both of them but was grateful for the help.
 
The dragon charged them, breathing fire.
 
They both dodged the flames and ran into the forest, using the trees to shield themselves.
 
The dragon roared and crashed into the woods behind them, snapping whole tree trunks like thin branches and dried twigs.
 
Akira ran; sweat streaming down his face and body, his hand gripping the no-dachi’s hilt.
 
He had to find a way to put the dragon at a disadvantage.
 
But how?

Good, you’re using your mind.
 
Keep the dragon on the ground and reduce its ability to maneuver.

The trees,
thought Akira, but he couldn’t see the forest slowing down the dragon.
 
Still, if he could find rocks or trees big enough impede the dragon, he might have a chance.
 
The forest ground grew marshy, and with each step he took, his feet sank into the wet grass.
 
Grass soon gave way to sand, and he and Kasumi stumbled out onto the beach.

#

Kasumi stared in horror as she saw the dragon coming for them.
 
She doubted that it would let her live, and even if it did, she would fail in her duty to bring Akira home.
 
She looked in longing at the ocean.
 
So close and yet so far from escaping.

Akira turned around and brandished the no-dachi.
 
The dragon paused, much to Kasumi’s surprise, on sight of the blade.

You are mine, Stormhammer.
 
Do not defy your destiny with the Shinobi.

Akira frowned.
 
“I can’t!
 
I am samurai, not ronin.
 
My family would be shamed should I choose this fate.”

The dragon laughed.
 
Your family thinks you are dead.
 
You could bring greatness to both your clan and the Shinobi by joining us.
 
Your lands will become ours and you will be a greater warlord than you could ever be as a samurai.

Don’t listen to him, Akira,
Kasumi said in mindspeak.
 
Their promises serve only them.

Akira glanced at her.
 
“Will you allow Kasumi to leave?”

No, the girl will bring fresh blood to our island.
 
She will marry one of my children.

Kasumi stared.
 
“You want us for breeding stock?”

Akira raised his sword.
 
“Unacceptable.”
 
I’ll become Tengu before I let that happen,
he told Kasumi in mindspeak.

Kasumi gaped at him.
 
You can’t do that; they’ll kill you or take you away forever.

Akira’s gaze never left the dragon.
 
I’m already dead, Kasumi.
 
I’ll do what I have to.
 
Run and find a way out while I keep the dragon busy.

There is another way.

Kasumi blinked.
 
The voice that spoke was neither the dragon nor Akira.
 
The dragon growled, rumbling like thunder, but did not speak to her.
 
What?
her mental voice whispered.
 
Who are you?

The one who can help you save your people from Nanashi.
 
The one who can save your lives…

Kasumi looked around.
 
There, beneath the waves, she saw the darkness edge nearer.
 
“No,” she whispered.
 
“No.”

The stench of demon grew, making her weak and causing her stomach to churn.
 
The demon coalesced beneath the waves from a formless creature to a dark female with fangs and long claws instead of hands and feet.
 
Kasumi Neko, you haven’t much time.
 
The Shinobi will be here soon.

No.

The dragon roared, breaking the staring match between itself and Akira.
 
It lunged at Akira, raking its claws and belching fire.
 
Akira ducked away from the claws and rolled, sliding beneath the dragon’s belly before the flames hit.
 
He sliced upward with the no-dachi, cutting into the dragon’s belly.
 
Dark blood, stinking of sulfur, splattered him and he screamed.
 
The dragon clouted him with its tail, and Akira stumbled back, dropping the no-dachi.
 
The dragon leaped on top of him as a cat would pounce on a mouse.

At that moment, the ninja appeared around Kasumi.

#

Akira gasped for air and rolled as the dragon’s claws raked him.
 
He could change into a Tengu, he thought.
 
He could save them both.

But at what cost?
Windspirit said.
 
The blade lay beneath him.
 
Pick me up.
 
Use me.
 
We can fight our way out of this!

Akira drew his wakizashi, his short blade, and made thrusts upward into the dragon’s belly.
 
The dragon screamed and swatted at him, knocking him off balance and onto the no-dachi.
 
He rolled and brought the no-dachi lengthwise as a guard over his body.
 
The dragon’s claws tore as they scratched the no-dachi’s blade.

#

Kasumi changed into a tiger and attacked, fighting her way through the Shinobi to reach Akira.
 
He had somehow slipped from the dragon’s grasp and drew his wakizashi, using it as a stabbing weapon in close quarters.
 
The ninja used her moment of distraction to throw shuriken at her.
 
Her coat was like armor, but her skin was still fairly thin, and she whimpered as the occasional throwing star met its mark.
 
She wheeled around, clawing ninja and leaping on them, biting with her huge fangs and disemboweling with her claws.

But the ninja had ninjato, and soon she felt the sting of the blades entering her side.
 
She screamed in rage, tasting blood.
 
She wheeled on the ninja and, with a single swipe of her massive paws, ripped the man open from throat to belly.

You will not win without my help.
 
I can bring you both back to Tsuitori.

No.

I can heal you.
 
Without Akira, you will not win against Nanashi.

No.
 
Kasumi screamed with tiger rage.
 
She wanted to lash out at this wicked thing, but it was too deep in the water, and the oni would have her if she entered the waves.

Your people will die.
 
Demons will run rampant over the world.
 
All because you would not accept my help.

You are a demon.
 
Why would you help me?

Because I don’t care about the other demons.
 
I care about myself.
 
I will help you.
 
In exchange, I would want payment from you in a year’s time.

Payment?

I need a body.
 
I want yours.

No!
she shrieked and lashed out at the ninja.
 
Akira screamed as well, and she saw he was in the dragon’s talons again.
 
The dragon opened its maw, exposing katana-sharp teeth.

A ninja with a kusarigama wrapped the chains around her legs and slammed the sickle into her flesh.
 
She cried out in pain and collapsed as bright red blood from her lungs filled her mouth with a copper taste.

One year?
she mindspoke to the demon.

One year.
 
My payment is due in one year.

Her mind began to darken.
 
All right,
Kasumi said.
 
Save us.
 
I’ll pay your price in a year.

With that, she blacked out.