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RIN TRAVELED ALONG a human road, her ears twisting to and fro and her senses spread out looking for other Yokai. The night was silent and no one pursued her. It seemed strange; knowing Akio, he should have sent an army after her. Why did he let me go? She hated using human roads because even those posed their own dangers. The stink of humans and the scent of earth and water invaded her nostrils, tugging at her animal instincts to run and hide, but the forest was no safer than the road. She disguised herself as a fox to travel. If she crossed paths with a human, they would see a fox unless they had spiritual powers, like that young man. There was something different about him, though I cannot quite place what it was.
Wet earth squished beneath her paws as she wandered. She glanced over her shoulder. Even with her defenses up, every shadow and chirp of the night insects made her jump. She had not thought Akio would know her. She was of minor standing in the Dragon’s court. Well, she had been, but how could rumors have spread this far? How can I return home now? My reputation may never recover. A twig snapped behind her and Rin jumped, the hair on her back rising up. She peered into the dark, teeth bared. The trees swayed in the breeze, but apart from that, nothing else moved. Her spiritual powers were limited in this form, but if anyone was following her, she should have been able to sense them. Though her senses told her she was alone, she could not shake the feeling she was being followed.
She was better equipped to fight in her true form, but there were rules against doing so close to humans. Her muscles constricted, ready to spring. She sniffed the wind; the hundreds of human scents on the road had disguised a fresh scent. A quick probe indicated whoever was approaching was human. She relaxed. Along with the scent of human, there was another musk, one she could not place. Whoever it was, they were drawing closer. Rin’s golden eyes pierced the darkness. In this shape, her vision was more acute and the dark did not hamper her vision. A bent figure shuffled in Rin’s direction. The scent she had smelled before intensified and the musky smell disappeared, replaced by a rich tangy scent. The scent was intoxicating and her mouth watered.
An old woman hobbled over, leaning heavily on a cane. Her other hand, balled into a fist, clutched a parcel. Rin’s eyes followed the parcel. The smell was coming from there. She knew that she should flee, but her feet would not listen to reason. Instead she crept closer to the old woman, who had stopped a few feet away from her. The old woman opened her crabbed hand and pulled back the covering on the parcel, revealing a brown square. It was food, Rin knew that much. Human food had never appealed to her, but this was different. She crawled closer, her belly nearly touching the ground. She sniffed the old woman’s hand. It does not smell like poison. The old woman smiled; she seemed harmless enough. The wrinkles on her face reminded Rin of folds of fabric.
“Take it,” the woman said. Her voice was thin and reedy. “I know you want it.”
The spell the scent of the food had wound around her was irresistible. She snapped up the food. It was soft, almost creamy, with a crunchy exterior. It was divine. She had never tasted anything so good, even in the courts of the highest Kami.
Rin swallowed her food and looked to the old woman for more. The old woman was still smiling, but it was not the kindly expression from before, but a wicked, triumphant grin. How could I trust a human? She turned to run and collided with an invisible wall. Where her skin touched it, it prickled with energy and sparked as if she had brushed against a flame. It’s a barrier. Panicked, she let her animal instincts take over and she turned, only to crash against another wall. The energy erupted from the barrier and singed her fur. It wasn’t just a barrier but one made of spiritual energy. The old woman had penned Rin in on all sides; a barrier made of spiritual energy was one of the only things that could hold a Yokai. She looked down at the ground and a circle glowed a faint blue; unfamiliar markings had been traced in the soil. Rin growled at the old woman. Now Akio is using humans?
“There is no need to pretend any longer, Kitsune,” the old woman said. “I saw you as you emerged from the forest. Show me your true face, I command it.”
This woman was ignorant of her power if she thought a simple binding spell would force her to reveal her true form, so instead she shifted. Light flashed around Rin, a burning gold and orange. A flurry of leaves settled around Rin before they dissipated like raindrops on the ground. Hands on hips, Rin stood before the woman. Humans, she had found, were more willing to speak when faced with a humanlike face. Rin’s coppery red hair fell down to her waist, and her head crowned by fox ears was anything but human. Rin twitched her foxtail back and forth as she regarded the human.
“You have captured me, human, and as a reward I will grant you one wish,” she said. It was difficult not to snicker. Humans were too easy to manipulate. If she was working for Akio, she would be easy enough to bribe.
The old woman rubbed her hands together. “How fortunate am I to find a Kitsune wandering about at night. Why did you come here?”
“Is that your wish; to answer your question? I can only grant you one.”
The old woman shook her head. In the dim moonlight Rin noticed a crescent-shaped scar on her right cheek. Her long white hair, tied in a single tail, draped down her back and swung back and forth as she shook her head. “No. No. It does not matter, I have won a great prize. I will not squander it.” She paced in front of Rin with her hands folded behind her back.
“I can give you gold, power, or perhaps there is a man you desire?” Rin said. Humans, in Rin’s experience, had basic wants. From time to time, she allowed herself to be captured just to play tricks on them. Their petty needs amused her. She had never cared about their well-being until that young man.
The woman turned to face Rin, her lips spread wide in a ghastly grin. Under the pale moonlight, her face was cast in shadow, exaggerating her smile and making it look too wide, her teeth too large for her mouth. And the crevices around her mouth and eyes looked like dark gashes, as if she had been carved out of darkness.
“I think it is you who desires the love of a man,” the old woman said.
The hairs along the back of Rin’s neck prickled. Rin laughed off the old woman’s comments and tossed her head back. “I have no desire for mortal men.”
“What about the Great Dragon? It is him that you desire, am I correct?”
Rin took an unconscious step backwards. Energy from the barrier leapt out at her, burning her skin. She shifted away and brushed a hand unconsciously against her tender flesh. “You finding me was no mere accident, was it?” Rin asked.
The old woman laughed again, throwing her head back in a parody of what Rin had just done. Her voice echoed and surrounded Rin inside her tiny prison, as if there were thousands of the woman closing in, their laughter cutting through her. “I know much about you, Rinmiyu.”
Hearing her full name from a mortal’s lips was like a bucket of ice dropped over her. A Yokai’s name meant power over them, it meant she was bound to do this woman’s bidding. How had she learned her name? The words swirled around her, choking her with invisible bonds.
“How do you know my name?” Rin choked out. Rin had not spoken her own given name in centuries. Even Akio would not have known it.
“I have been following you for a long time. I know much about you, Rinmiyu.” She used Rin’s name to taunt her.
Rin laughed; she would not show the old woman her fear. “I think you are bluffing, old woman.”
The old woman continued. “You can believe what you will. As for me, I have been waiting a very long time for this moment and I wish to make a bargain with you.”
“You should know never to make a bargain with a Yokai. Especially a Kitsune, we do not play by the rules.” Rin stood up a little taller. She could not get a good sense of the woman. She should be able to feel this woman’s spiritual energy, but all she felt was an empty void. She is very powerful if she can suppress her spiritual energy that way.
“I am willing to take the risk.”
Rin had to fight the urge to rub her hands together in evil glee. The old woman may have trapped her, and knew her name, but humanity’s critical flaw was that they were too arrogant for their own good. This woman was no different. She may have gotten Rin’s name, but she must not know how to use it or she would not try to bargain.
“Then give me your terms, and I will see if I am willing to agree.”
The old woman clapped her hands together. “You desire the Dragon, but as you are now, you cannot hope to win his favor. You are a minor Yokai, and without the power and strength of a greater Yokai, you cannot hope to compete on his level.”
Rin rolled her eyes. She may as well tell me to transform into a fish. That is not possible. “Are you claiming to have the power to make me a greater Yokai?”
“I do not have that power, but I can lead you to a place where power runs like rivers and any creature can become as powerful as the first Eight Kami.”
Rin laughed long and hard. There was no such place, nor any power on this earth that could do such a thing. This woman was mad and misguided. I should transform into my true form and snap her in half like a twig. I am tired of playing games.
“You doubt me, Rinmiyu? I have your name and I can bind you to my will.”
Rin transformed; her hands grew into paws covered in white fur. Her tail extended and more burst from the base of her spine. Each one was tipped with licking flames. She loomed over the woman, though still confined within the barrier. Even trapped, Rin was an imposing sight.
“Mere mortal, you think to use me. The moment I break these seals, I will devour you.” Her voice sounded like rolling thunder and she bared teeth the length of the woman’s head. She would enjoy devouring her. Humans with spiritual energy were always delicious.
The woman sang an incantation Rin had never heard before. She thinks to seal me, but this barrier will not hold me. In her true form, her power was at its peak. She pressed against the walls of the barrier and they sparked and sizzled, but it felt like flies buzzing against her skin, a mere annoyance. Rin may be a lesser Yokai, but she was more powerful than this human. But the walls did not budge, no matter how she focused her own energy into destroying them. They did not shrink either, as they should if the old woman was attempting a sealing. A warmth enveloped Rin. Like a blanket wrapped around her, it forced the hair back into the follicles and her strength waned. She threw herself against the barrier walls again and again, but it made no difference. She changed, returning to her humanlike form. She fell to the ground, heaving for breath. She looked up at the old woman through a curtain of ebony hair.
It was dark out, darker than she remembered. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. She glared at the woman.
“I have made you mortal, a form you despise. I will return you to your real form once you complete a task for me. I need you to break the treaty between the Kaedemori clan and Fujikawa clan. End their pact by the next full moon or I will turn you into a real fox.”
***
WHEN NAOKI REACHED the border of the forest, he felt the residue of magic; it clung to his skin as it hung over the countryside like a shroud. Stretching out his senses, he felt an Okami hunting in the night; small, ignorant Yokai watched him fearfully from the shadows. Intertwined among the other energies, very faintly, he felt the presence of a priestess. Intrigued, he stretched out his senses and touched the edges of her power, like a vine reaching toward the sun. She had masked her energy or else he would have felt her straight away, which meant she was powerful. He probed her energy, analyzing it—confident his own greater spiritual power would hide him. Even at a distance, he could often learn all about a Yokai or priestess without them ever knowing he had brushed against them, reading their emotions and sometimes their memories. But she fought him; like a breeze blowing against a tree branch, she tried to repel him. He focused his energy into a single beam. Now he was truly curious.
He skimmed through her energy, reading it, but he only got vague impressions and flashes of emotions. This wasn’t a priestess, a human priestess’ energy was pure. This human’s spiritual energy was clouded with darkness, and familiar. As he tried to pinpoint her location, she disappeared entirely. This is dangerous. Few could fight against him, and if a human could hide from his probes, then she was equal in power to him. He searched in vain for her—he was certain he recognized that energy. As he searched, he found traces of the Kitsune as well. He hoped she would leave this region straight away. But he could feel her all around; he could see her progress in his mind’s eye, running along the human road disguised as a fox, until her energy disappeared as well. Something was not right.
Then like a flash of light, he felt the priestess’ spiritual energy unmasked. She had revealed herself to give him a taste of her real power. He knew this energy, though it had been centuries since he’d last experienced it; she was no mere priestess. What is she doing back here? He stopped, pretending to straighten his sandal. He would rather go on his way without a fight, but the priestess was drawing closer—there was no way to avoid a confrontation now. He drew up and reached for his sword.
“He has let you off your leash, then?” she said from behind him.
Naoki rested his palm on the end of his sword but did not draw. “It is you. I did not think to see you here after all you have done.”
The witch came out from around a tree. She bowed low to Naoki, mocking him most likely. She had not changed much over the years; everything about her was the same from her white hair to the crescent-shaped scar on her face. His hand itched to draw his blade, but he would be dead before he pulled it free.
“Have you visited Akio? I am sure he would like to see you.”
The witch cackled. “I am sure he would love to see me. Have you come for me, then?” She looked him up and down. “Perhaps not. You wear a human’s skin.”
“Why are you here?”
“I had some work to take care of in the area.” She looked him up and down and a slow smile spread across her wrinkled features. It had been a long time since they had crossed paths. He still remembered that look and it still set his teeth on edge even after all this time. “I am glad I ran into you,” she said slowly, enunciating each word. “You can assist me.”
He never showed his emotion, but a scornful smile flitted across his face. “Why would I help you?”
“You want free of the guardian, and I can help you.”
He ran his thumb across the hilt of his blade. This must be a trick. With her it was never this simple. If he helped her, he was likely to incur some other favor and be beholden to her instead of Akio. But he could not say it was not an enticing offer. “How can I trust you?”
“Do not mistake me for Akio. He made his own choices. I never wished you any ill will.”
He crossed his hands over his chest, to defeat the urge to draw his blade and take her head as a prize. “What business do you have here?” he asked.
“Human business. Nothing that would interest you.” She waved her hand. That was as much as he would get from her, he expected. “Do you want to hear how I can free you of Akio or not?” Her gloating hung over her like a cloud; she loved to be in control.
He did not respond, but he was curious. He did not trust her. He had once, but that was when he was a different man.
She took his silence as assent. “There is a clan near here who I have some interest in. I sent my own spy, but another would not go amiss.”
“And what exactly are you spying for?”
“I am making war.” She smiled with an almost childlike glee.
A shiver went down his spine. Only she would find joy in carnage. “And what could I do to that end?”
“Watch, listen, and report, nothing more.”
“And in exchange you will free me from Akio?” He was skeptical. “I know you are powerful, but even you cannot break his pact.”
“Hmm. Perhaps, but I know where she sleeps, and if you wake her, she will be able to.”
Where is she, where is she! he wanted to shout. He had been searching for five hundred years and not been able to find Tsukiko. How could this witch know? He knew the witch was powerful, and her power had only grown over the centuries. It should have been expected from a priestess who did not fear black magic. But to know where Tsukiko slept, when even the Eight could not tell him, it was impossible.
“You lie.”
The witch reached into her billowing sleeve and removed something from it. She tossed it onto the ground. He slowly knelt down to pick it up off the ground, not taking his eyes off the witch. His hand closed around the cold stone. He unfurled his hand, revealing a comb—inconsequential, uninteresting, made of jade with a carved rose on the front entwined with thorns. It was his last gift to Tsukiko before they had been separated.
“Where did you get this?” How could she have known? It could not be hers...
“If you want to find her, then perhaps you would be willing to do me a favor?”
He stared back down at the comb. After centuries of waiting, how could he say no? He could try to overpower the witch and demand the answers, but he knew the witch well enough to know she would die before telling him. And then he would never find Tsukiko.