Soul of the Sword Read online

  “But you are not afraid to speak the truth,” Lady Hanshou went on, gazing at me. “Even to a daimyo of a minor clan. And yes, Naganori-san does smell of fungus sometimes. I think he spends so much time in his study, mold starts growing beneath his robes.” She chuckled again, and the noble beside her gave a defeated sigh. “You see?” Lady Hanshou said, gesturing to her advisor. “He tells me I will make him prematurely gray. It will only make you more distinguished, Masao-san. I was going to threaten you with imprisonment and torture if you did not tell me what I needed,” she continued, making me start as she focused on me again, “but you’ve made a tired daimyo laugh today, and that is not an easy thing. Let us speak to each other plain, woman to woman. Masao-san…” She waved a hand at the courtier, still at her side. “Leave us.”

  “Of course, Hanshou-sama.” The handsome noble rose, bowed to his lady, and walked away, his robes brushing softly over the mats. He reached the door, slipped through the frame and closed it behind him with a snap, leaving me alone with the daimyo of the Shadow Clan.

  Lady Hanshou regarded me with glittering black eyes. “You are not as simple as you look, are you?” she mused. “When I questioned my informants about the girl traveling with the Kage demonslayer, they all said the same. She is a mere peasant, a commoner, unremarkable and unimportant. But that is not entirely true, is it?” Her gaze sharpened, as if trying to peel back the layers of figment to see the truth beneath. My heart pounded, though I found it ironic that one illusion was trying to see past another illusion. “Kage Tatsumi does not suffer fools,” Lady Hanshou went on. “We trained him too well for that. Who are you, that the Kage demonslayer would not only consent to travel with you, but would protect you with his life along the journey?”

  “I’m only a peasant,” I said. “No one special. Tatsumi only agreed to come with me because…”

  I trailed off and saw Lady Hanshou’s brow arch. “Because he thought you could take him to the scroll,” she finished.

  I held my breath. Lady Hanshou smiled, showing a set of perfect white teeth, and a split-second flash of a gaping, toothless mouth. “I won’t ask you to take me to the scroll, girl,” she said, to my immense surprise. “I could, of course. I could order you to bring me the piece of the Dragon’s prayer from the monks at the Steel Feather temple. Oh yes,” she added as I straightened in alarm. “I know the name of the temple that protects part of the scroll. Tatsumi told my Shadow mages everything while he was traveling with you. They watched him constantly, you see, to make sure he followed orders, that the demon in Kamigoroshi did not overwhelm him. There is no conversation you had with Tatsumi that did not flow directly to me.”

  I thought back to the times Tatsumi would disappear, giving no hint of where he was going or what he was doing. I hadn’t pressed him about it, because I knew he wouldn’t answer me anyway, but my heart sank at the realization. He had been reporting to the Shadow Clan the whole time.

  “So yes, I know of the Steel Feather temple, and that they guard two pieces of the Dragon’s scroll,” Lady Hanshou went on. “I have already dispatched shinobi to find it. But that is not your concern, nor the reason I called you here. Let us speak of Kage Tatsumi, the demonslayer.”

  I swallowed the dryness in my throat. “What about Tatsumi-san?” I whispered.

  “You traveled with him,” Hanshou said. “From the Silent Winds temple in the mountains of the Earth Clan, across the Sun plains, to the capital of Kin Heigen Toshi. How you managed to pick up a ronin, a Taiyo noble, a shrine maiden and a monk along the way without Tatsumi killing any of them is a mystery but not the issue at hand. We watched you enter the city with the demonslayer. We watched you carefully at the emperor’s Moon Viewing party. A fine bit of trickery, that. Very well-done.” The illusion gave a wide, knowing smile. “Someday, you must tell me the secret of the rabbit and the emperor’s fortune, because you are certainly no onmyoji.”

  I bit my tongue, heart pounding, and tried to appear innocent. Lady Hanshou chuckled at my silence, then sobered immediately, her face turning dark. “And then,” she continued, “you followed the emperor’s concubine into a storehouse at the edge of the lake, and simply…vanished.” She opened slender white fingers to reveal an empty palm. “Without a trace. And not just from the Imperial palace. You disappeared from the city entirely.

  “You must understand, this caused the Shadow Clan some concern.” She folded her hands in her lap, peering at me intently across the mats. “When Tatsumi disappeared, I sent every shinobi in the capital to look for you and the demonslayer, but all I received were reports of strange mirrors and possible blood magic. And then, days later, a report comes back that someone has spotted Tatsumi, far to the north in Sora territory.” Her face darkened even more, and beneath the veneer of the beautiful woman, Lady Hanshou’s milky eye burned with searing intensity as it met my gaze. “Only, he is alone and is not Kage Tatsumi any longer.”

  I shivered and closed my eyes, remembering Hakaimono’s terrible voice, his dark promises that he was going to kill me and everyone I cared about. The horror when I realized the oni had possessed the demonslayer, and that the real Tatsumi, his soul or spirit or whatever, could hear every word the demon said and knew exactly what was happening but could do nothing.

  He was actually starting to trust you, little fox. Tatsumi never trusted anyone in his life—his clan punished any attachments or weaknesses. But he was starting to trust you, a kitsune who lied to him, who has been deceiving him from the very beginning. And now, he sees exactly what you are, and how you betrayed him.

  Lady Hanshou’s voice burned with the smoldering heat of an ember. “What happened to cause Tatsumi to lose control is irrelevant,” she said. “I can hazard a few guesses as to what caused Hakaimono to appear, especially with the rumors of oni and blood mages swirling about, but that is not important. The concern now is that Hakaimono is free, and that Tatsumi is no longer in control of Kamigoroshi. Right now, only a select few know that the demon is loose, but this will not remain a secret for long. The course of action is clear.” Her lips thinned as she set her jaw. “Because of the enormous threat Hakaimono represents, to both the Kage and the rest of the empire, I must give the order to kill Kage Tatsumi on sight.”

  “No!” I saw her thin brow arch and realized that the daimyo of the Shadow Clan probably had never had the word no spoken to her before. “Please,” I pleaded, leaning forward. “Don’t kill him yet. Let us find Tatsumi-san.”

  “Why would I do that? I would only be throwing more lives to Hakaimono’s terrible bloodlust. Do not think that he would spare you, girl.” Lady Hanshou shook her head. “Hakaimono is as sadistic and cruel as he is powerful. He will make you think you have a chance, that you are winning, before he tears you apart and laughs at your naivety.”

  “I know.” I remembered the demon’s mocking voice. “I realize that, but please hear me out. We think…we might have a way to stop Hakaimono and force him back into the sword.”

  I thought she would be surprised. I thought both brows might shoot up in amazement and disbelief. I wasn’t prepared for what actually happened. Lady Hanshou smiled, this time a slow, knowing smile that told me I had stepped right into her web. “Is that so?” she purred, lacing her fingers together. “Please, go on. You do know that the strongest priests and majutsushi have failed to exorcise Hakaimono once he has taken control of a body, do you not? The one time it was attempted, Hakaimono freed himself and slaughtered every soul present in a spectacular bloody massacre. After that, it was decreed that should a demonslayer fall to his influence again, he would be killed immediately, with no attempts at an exorcism.” Lady Hanshou’s eyes narrowed shrewdly. “Hakaimono is too dangerous and cunning to take alive. I am quite eager to hear your plans for dealing with the First Oni.”

  “Um.” I swallowed. Lady Hanshou raised an extremely skeptical eyebrow, and I winced. The hazy remnants of a dream came back to me, the words of a white fox telling me what I had to do to save the demonslaye
r. It still made my stomach churn. “We’re still working out the details.”

  “I see.” Now the daimyo’s voice was flatter than rice paper. “And let us say that, against all odds, you do manage to capture the First Oni, who has been known to slaughter entire armies at a time. What then?”

  Then I will attempt to use kitsune-tsuki to enter Tatsumi myself and bring him back. And try not to get my spirit ripped apart by Hakaimono. But I certainly couldn’t tell her that.

  “Master Jiro and Reika are from the Hayate shrine,” I answered. “They’ve performed exorcisms before. They will drive Hakaimono back into the sword.”

  “One priest and a shrine maiden,” Lady Hanshou said, and now she did sound incredulous. “Against the most powerful oni this realm has ever known.” She tapped her fingers against her arm. “And what happens if you are unsuccessful? If Hakaimono proves too strong for you all?”

  Then I’ll be dead. And Tatsumi will be trapped forever. Or until someone finally kills Hakaimono. But I’m not going to let that happen. I’ll save Tatsumi, even if I have to be evil to destroy evil.

  “Then we will very likely get eaten by Hakaimono,” I told the Shadow daimyo. “But you lose nothing. Except time. None of your own clan will be in danger. If Hakaimono kills one priest, a shrine maiden, a ronin and a peasant girl, what is that to anyone? But if we’re successful…if we can bring Tatsumi back…”

  A chill slid up my spine. My thoughts had been consumed with getting to Tatsumi, coming to terms with having to use kitsune-tsuki to possess him, facing down Hakaimono and somehow driving the demon out. I hadn’t thought about what would happen if we did rescue the demonslayer, but if I freed Tatsumi from Hakaimono’s influence…he would probably have to return to his clan. And then what? Would they punish him for losing control? Would he be taken and executed anyway, as a threat to the Shadow Clan?

  Or would Lady Hanshou order him to kill us all and bring her the Dragon scroll?

  “If you can bring Tatsumi back,” Lady Hanshou echoed, “you will have done what all others before you could not. But how successful can you possibly be, taking on Hakaimono the Destroyer? Even in a human body, he is more than a match for anyone.”

  “We have to try,” I said. “Please. Let us find Tatsumi. Let us at least try to drive Hakaimono out. If the demon kills us all, that will be no loss to you.”

  “I can offer no help,” Lady Hanshou warned. “My hands are tied in this matter. The law is clear—if Hakaimono is released, the Kage must do everything in their power to kill the bearer of Kamigoroshi and send the demon back into the sword. Already there are murmurs of anger and discontent, the various lords of the Kage whining in my ear like mosquitoes, demanding I do something. That the honor of the Shadow Clan is at stake. Should Hakaimono attack any of the other territories, the Kage will certainly be held responsible. I cannot risk war with the other clans. I must do everything within my power to destroy Hakaimono before he causes real destruction.

  “But,” she added before I could protest. “Should a group of outsiders not affiliated with the Kage in any way happen to exorcise Hakaimono and return the demonslayer to himself, well, there is nothing I could have done about that, is there?” Her tone made the hairs on my arm stand up. “And if they learned that the demon was last seen heading toward the Forest of a Thousand Eyes between Hino and Mizu lands, they certainly wouldn’t tell any members of the Shadow Clan, for fear of risking Kage Tatsumi’s life, or their own.”

  I blinked. Had the daimyo of the Shadow Clan just given me her blessing to save Tatsumi? And Hakaimono’s last known destination? “The Forest of a Thousand Eyes?” I repeated. “That sounds…ominous.”

  Hanshou nodded. “It is where Genno, the Master of Demons, first rose to power,” the daimyo said, pitching her voice very low. “It is a cursed place of monsters and corrupted kami, a place where no mortal man dares venture, and if Hakaimono enters the castle at the heart of the forest, he will be nearly impossible to reach.” Her eyes narrowed, staring me down, as her voice dropped to a near whisper. “So if you want to save the demonslayer and bring Tatsumi back, I would make haste.”

  Behind us, the door slid open, and then the soft shushing of robes over tatami could be heard. I turned my head slightly and watched Kage Masao mince across the floor and bow before his daimyo.

  “Forgive this interruption, Hanshou-sama,” the courtier said in his low, smooth voice. “Lord Iesada wishes an audience with you.”

  “Merciful Jinkei.” Lady Hanshou rolled her eyes. “This is the third time in as many days. Send Lord Iesada my apologies. Tell him that I am unwell and not fit to see him at the moment.”

  “Please forgive me, Hanshou-sama,” Masao went on, not lifting his head. “But Lord Iesada is insistent. He said he will become very insulted if an outsider is allowed to speak to the daimyo and he is denied.”

  The Kage daimyo sighed. Regarding me over the mats, her withered lips curled in a smirk. “Be thankful you are a peasant,” she told me, “and do not have to deal with the games, machinations and constant struggles of the nobles within the court. Sometimes I wish I could simply shut them out and be done with them all, but sadly, even a daimyo must play the game from time to time.” She gave a very inelegant snort, rolling her one good eye, then returned to formality. “Tonight you will stay in the castle as honored guests of the Kage. Tomorrow, I will have Naganori take you and your friends through the Path of Shadows again, to a town called Jujiro, on the edge of Fire Clan territory. It is the closest settlement to the Forest of a Thousand Eyes, and the farthest anyone is willing to travel in that direction. You, of course, will speak of this to no one. What passed between us here never happened. Is this understood?”

  “Hai,” I nodded. “Thank you, Hanshou-sama.”

  One slender brow rose. “Remember that you walk among the shadows, girl,” she told me. “We are the keepers of secrets, but we are also adept at uncovering them. If what we spoke of today does reach the wrong ear, the shadows also hide silent blades that will cut the life from you while you sleep. So I extend this warning with my apologies—trust no one. Even those with a familiar face could betray you, because once you become entangled with the shadows, they will never let you go.

  “Masao-san…” Lady Hanshou turned to the courtier, still bowed low on the tatami mats. “If you would remain but for a moment. Yumeko-san, it has been…enlightening, but I fear my attention is required elsewhere. You may go—a servant will be summoned to show you back to your room.”

  And just like that, I was dismissed. I bowed to the ancient daimyo and left her presence, slipping out the door into the shadowy hall beyond.

  “Ah. If it isn’t Hanshou-sama’s honored guest.”

  I froze. Lord Iesada was there, surrounded by his two guards. As our gazes met, the noble sauntered forward, giving me a predatory look that made my tail bristle.

  “How curious,” he mused, approaching with half his face hidden behind his fan. “That one so young is able to command the attention of our good daimyo, while her betters are turned away and left standing in the cold. Do let me guess what you were speaking of. It will be a fun game to pass the time, ne?”

  I bit my tongue. I could think of several other games that involved fox magic, a leaf and Lord Iesada trying to avoid an illusionary rat scurrying up his hakama, but that might cause more harm than good. The noble shut his fan with a snap and tapped it against his arm in mock contemplation as he gazed down at me. “What would Hanshou-sama want with an onmyoji?” he mused. “And one not bound by the laws of the Kage? She has mages, diviners and holy men at her beck and call. Why this sudden interest in an outsider?”

  “Perhaps Hanshou-sama is simply being polite,” I offered, and his lip curled.

  “Perhaps,” he repeated, with a subtle glint in his eye that told me he was somehow insulted. “Or perhaps she wishes to discuss matters of a more…demonic nature.”

  My insides chilled, but before I could say anything, the door opened and lig
ht footsteps shushed toward us.

  “Lord Iesada,” came Masao’s cheerful voice, as the advisor swept between us. His billowy sleeves rippled as he gestured grandly toward the daimyo’s room, shielding me from the other noble. “Please forgive the delay. Hanshou-sama is ready for you.”

  Lord Iesada gave him a tight smile and stalked away, though his guards remained where they were. Masao bowed as the noble swept through the doors into Hanshou’s chamber but as soon as they closed behind him, he straightened and turned to me.

  “Come, Yumeko-san,” he said serenely. “Harumi-san is waiting to take you back to your room.”

  “Why is Lord Iesada so interested in Tatsumi?” I asked as the courtier escorted me out of the waiting area.

  Masao didn’t answer right away. Only when we had stepped into another hall and away from Lord Iesada’s two samurai did he stop and turn to me.

  “Iesada-sama is a powerful person within the Shadow Clan,” the courtier replied, his voice calm but very soft. “He has the ear of many of the nobles, and lately, he has been expressing concern that our good daimyo is…somewhat distracted. He has even gone so far as to suggest that Hanshou-sama has ruled the Shadow Clan long enough, that is it time for her to step down and let another lead. For the good of the Kage, of course.”

  Masao’s tone remained perfectly neutral as he said this, though his dark eyes glittered, hinting that his thoughts regarding Lord Iesada were not so neutral. “When Hakaimono broke free of Tatsumi’s control, Lord Iesada was the first to suggest that it was Lady Hanshou’s decision to continue training demonslayers that brought this shame upon the Shadow Clan,” he went on. “Hakaimono has overcome his hosts before, but always while they were still in training, where the Kage could deal with them quickly and quietly. But Lord Iesada has long insisted that Kamigoroshi is too dangerous to be in the hands of any one person, and that Hanshou-sama’s reliance upon the demonslayers would bring disaster to the Kage in the end.” Masao regarded me with a solemn look, his mouth pulled into a grim line. “For years, he has whispered to the Kage that the demonslayer should be killed and Kamigoroshi returned to sealed isolation. Should word of Hakaimono’s release become known, many of those nobles will certainly agree with Iesada-sama.”