Shadow Fan (The Shadow Fan Series #1) (2 page)

She turned her body to face Naru. He glanced at her saddened eyes. “I did try to show my displeasure. I allowed violent storms to hit the mountain all winter. And then a dro
ught that summer. But nobody received my warning. Then your parents were killed by those bandits…” She frowned. “I am a spirit of balance, and the loss of your parents threw this mountain out of balance. So I have done my best trying to protect you.”

Naru’s lips pressed together as he remembered the times he’d chased after her. She often disappeared in a patch of wild berries, or nut trees. Just when he thought he’d starve he always, somehow, ended up with food. And that was
her
doing. Yoshino, the Great Spirit.

Shock held him motionless as the realization opened his eyes. He fell to his knees, bowing before her. “Thank you for helping me.”

She knelt slowly, and peered into his eyes. “Now I need you to help me. And if you do, I will reward you with that young woman.”

He stood. Could it be true? Was there really a chance he could stand next to Aya? To be allowed to hold her hand, and kiss her soft lips? “What do you need me to do?”

“I can’t lose Aya. She has a pure and innocent heart. If she is murdered it would only intensify the unbalance of my mountain.” Yoshino’s body began to emulate a soft glow. “There are too many humans with soiled hearts here. Unlike you.

“With that said, I will explain what you must do.”
She gestured toward the temple buildings. “I will need you to start catching the rats in the shrine. Ask the High Priest, he’ll allow it. They’ve been trying to kill the rats without success.” Her brow creased. “But you must not kill my rats. Only cage them, and I’ll lead them away from the village. After they are gone, only one rat will remain. The black one with red eyes. He is the
yokai
. He’s too smart to be tempted by regular rat bait. We will set a different trap for him. Then I will handle the rest.”

“How could catching a few rats win me the Lord’s daughter?
” Naru shook his head. It was so simple. “Why would you choose to honor me in such a way?”

She smiled as her body began to fade. “Unlike the other humans on this mountain, your heart is balanced. And you have the gift of sight. Because of this, many years ago I chose you to be my
High Priest.”

CHAPTER TWO

Aya dreamt of butterflies. She marveled as they swirled around the girl who could have only been a couple years older than her eighteen years. But the ethereal glow gave away her identity immediately. She was the spirit Yoshino.

As she walked forward the soft grass tickled her feet and her kimono b
rushed the ground. She realized there was another figure beside Yoshino. She couldn’t see his face, but he, too, emanated a soft light.

She wanted, no,
needed
to see that man’s face. There was something about him… His
hitatare
gleamed solid black with a deep red obi tied around his trim waist. His movements confident, yet soft, as he handled the clouds of butterflies.

He turned suddenly, and she paused. He began to walk to her, the butterflies still obscuring his face. She leaned one way, then the other, trying to get a glimpse. He stopped just wit
hin touching distance. His arms reached out with a single butterfly nestled in his strong hands. Aya held her breath as she accepted the gift. His fingers brushed hers and her nerve endings burned with the desire to grab him and never let go. She blushed and finally, for the first time, the butterflies cleared.

The man was much younger than she thought. Maybe only as old as Yoshino looked. But he was absolutely beautiful, with a strong jaw and rich, dark eyes. His feathery black hair fell loose to brush the tops of his shoulders. He smiled and Aya almost melted against him.

“Aya!”

She woke with a start, groaning as she struggled to grasp the last vestiges of the dream. It was almost as if Yoshino herself were presenting that man to her. She hoped he wasn’t another spirit, because she wanted to be in his arms. She took a moment to pray he was real.

“Aya? Are you awake yet?”

She quickly slid out of bed and met her sister on the outside walkway, overlooking the pond. “Good morning, Wakana. What is it?”

She held two jewel encrusted combs in her hand. “I’m going to see my fiancé this afternoon, and I can’t figure out which comb would go better with this kimono.”

Aya held each one to her sister’s immaculate hair. “The green one.”

Wakana held it up to the mirror. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she sighed. “Don’t worry so much. You look beautiful no matter what.”

Her sister slid the comb in her hair. “Thank you.” She smiled. “You look really tired still. Did you have the same dream again?”

She sighed happily and leaned against her sister. “He was
so
handsome!”

Wakana grinned down at her. “You finally saw what he looked like?”

Aya nodded. “If that man exists I must find him. He was incredible.”

“Did he speak?”

Aya dangled a leg off the deck. “No. But I hope tonight he will.”

Wakana set her mirror and extra comb beside her. She paused as she stared a
t a blue glass jar at the end corner of the house. “What’s that?”

Aya sat up to see where her sister pointed. “How strange, it looks like one of my flower vases. How did that get out here?” She wandered down the wooden walkway. As she knelt before the vase she noticed a violet silk square draped over the top. Each corner was tied to a silver weighted ring. But the most curious was the
kanji
character painted on the top. It was the symbol for her name.

She carefully lifted the silk up at the rings. The movement beneath it made her gasp as four swallow tail butterflies floated out to their freedom.

“Oh, how beautiful.” Wakana glided forward. “Did you catch them?”

Wide eyed, Aya’s eyes darted around the grounds. Her heart sped up.
Was he here? Could it be possible?

Wakana touched her sister’s sleeve. “Aya? Are you all right?”

She turned back to watch the butterflies disappear into the distance. Excitement, confusion and longing tore through her. “Those were the exact butterflies that have been in my dreams all week.”

CHAPTER THREE

The old
High Priest held out a handful of coins. “Here you are, Naru, as promised. Twenty-five yen.” The coins fell heavily in his hands. “Who would have thought there were so many rats in our temple?”

Naru bowed humbly. This was the priest who had banished his father and failed to recognize Yoshino’s warnings. He thought he would hate him, but he couldn’t. He was old, and those things took place a long time ago.

The priest leaned on his staff topped with a brass circle. The spike in the center shone in the sun. He continued to stare at Naru. “I have been told you help around the shrine, receiving no payment before this. Why is that?”

Naru noticed Yoshino’s form just behind the priest. “Because Yoshino gives us a fertile harvest, and mild winters every year. She keeps this land balanced, and looks after us weak humans that dwell on her mountain. She shouldn’t have to do everything herself.”

The priest’s brow rose. “How true that is.”

Naru began to feel uncomfortable under the weight of the priest’s stare. “Uh, is there something wrong, sir?”

The man shook his head and motioned to walk with him. Naru obeyed. “How is it you’ve fared so well without anyone to watch over you?”

Naru didn’t know how to answer that. If he were honest with the priest it might look like he was trying to take his job, even though Yoshino herself had already made him her priest. “The mountain is my home. So I strive to work with it, not against it.”

As they drew closer to the temple grounds Naru could see a procession standing outside the shrine. It was Aya’s guards.
But… she’s a day early.
His heart sped up. He didn’t have time to prepare the final trap for the beast.

Too late. A woman’s scream echoed over the land.

Naru watched in horror as Aya stumbled outside, clutching a bloodied shoulder. The
Yokai
, now human sized, crashed through the wall after her. His pinched, pointed face and black hairy body resembled a rat, though he stood on two strong legs. His muscular arm swiped at Aya, grabbing a claw full of hair.

In a surge of protectiveness, Naru grabbed the old priest’s staff and threw it like a spear. The pointed brass tip sank into the flesh of the
Yokai
. He howled and dropped Aya. She scrambled away as Naru darted forward. “Yoshino, help me! How do I kill him?”

Yoshino appeared beside him as he neared up the steps. “Lend me your body. I’ll handle it.”

As he scaled the steps, he caught the frightened look in Aya’s eyes. The
Yokai
reached for the staff and yanked it from his back, snarling at him. “Anything, Yoshino. Only save her.”

A moment later his chest lightened and his muscles began to move on their own. He noticed his arms and hands took on an eerie glow, like Yoshino’s. He wondered if his whole body was affected as the giant rat hissed at him.

Malicious red eyes fixed on his form. “You will not rule forever, Yoshino.”

A woman’s voice sounded in the air around him. “Perhaps. But today balance will be wrought by your death,
Yokai
.”

Naru’s lips never moved, though he knew Yoshino’s voice came from him. She had taken over his body.

Naru suddenly shot forward. His legs lept into the air, spinning, as the heel of his foot made contact with the skull of the giant rat. A loud crack echoed off the trees as his body brought the other leg around to deliver a second kick. As Naru pitched forward, his hand landed against the fallen staff. He stood and the sacred staff took on the same glow as the rest of his body. A rush of energy pulsed through his body. It flowed from the very tips of his toes, up his body to feed the staff. An instant later the
Yokai
charged. Naru threw the wood and brass projectile. It hit the rat directly between the eyes, shattering his body into a fine mist of blood and light.

What just happened?
Naru blinked at the disappearing remains, then he recovered himself. Aya was hurt! The glow began to dissipate from his body, and he was able to turn enough to see her down the wooden walkway. She inched her way out of a door on her knees, still clutching her torn and bloody shoulder. Her soft eyes stared at him in wonder.

He struggled to keep his head up as his strength sapped away. “Lady Aya, are you all right?”

She nodded slightly.

“Thank goodness.” A slight smile turned his lips as his body crumpled to the ground.

CHAPTER FOUR

Aya struggled to her feet, and hurried to the young man’s side. It was
him
. The man in her dreams. He was younger, but there was no doubt. The way his body glowed… it was just like in her dream. And his face, though smudged and bloody from the spray of the monster, looked on her the same as the man with the butterfly.  And now he was unconscious on the ground.

A rush of priests surrounded them. “Is he hurt? Will he survive?”

She brushed his hair out of his face. “He never got hit.” She whispered. “Who is he?”

The gardener gently eased her back
as the priests carried the young man’s body to a nearby room. “He’s just a boy that lives in the wilds.” They watched the priests lay him on a mattress from the distance. “His name is Naru.”

“Naru.” The word caused her heart to double. “His name means ‘bringer of change’.”
Is he here to change my life?

The gardener chuckled. “Well, he certainly changed the day here.” He touched her elbow gently. “We need to have someone look at your arm, Lady Aya.”

She nodded. “Yes, of course.”

The gardener led her down the deck, past the room where Naru was being tended to. Her heart raced as she watched them remove his soiled shirt. A tight, muscular chest peeked out at her. She couldn’t tear her eyes from such perfect masculine beauty. “Do you suppose this is Yoshino herself? Maybe she’s taken on the form of a young human man?”

Aya knew she had no right to intervene, but she wanted them to know the truth. They were Yoshino’s priests, after all.  “Forgive me,” she bowed. “But that young man is not Yoshino. He is her personal helper. I know she speaks directly to him.” The priests just blinked at her.