Tanaka had never really told me all of the details about how and when Miyoko and Rayna were kidnapped by the Shadow Ka. Hood and Tanaka had gone looking for them, and had found them just as a massive raid by the Ka intercepted their efforts. Without being able to get to me, our enemy's second alternative was to get the next best thing—those who were close to me, in hopes of using them as collateral.

What happened during that raid was terrible—so bad that Tanaka found it hard to talk about. But I did know that most of the Alliance—whom Rayna and Miyoko had worked so hard to gather and reunite—had been killed. The only reason those two survived is because they were useless against me if they were dead. If anything, it would only increase my efforts to get payback.

In those tense moments, when Tanaka and Hood barely escaped while they watched the almost unbearable act of seeing their loved ones taken, Tanaka had been able to get a note to Miyoko by using one of the okisaru. It had said, “We will come for you. When you are ready, use your eyes.”

And that was what she had just done.

All of the members of the Alliance had a gift. Some had more than others. Miyoko's was the ability to shine unfathomable light from her eyes, a power that defied any common sense I had in my little brain. The source of that light was a complete mystery—another one of the millions I'd chalked up in the last few months of my life. But it had come in handy before, and it worked perfectly as a beacon for all of us to begin our actions at the same time.

No one but us expected it. Just as she felt the first tingle of sleep flow through her, Miyoko opened her eyes and exerted the full force of her Gift, throwing all of her power into it like she'd never done before. Compared to the relative darkness of the cavern, the light that burst forth from her eyes was like the brilliance of the sun after an eclipse.

As the place seemed to erupt into flames, Kenji's song was halted in an instant. With a different scream than before, one of agony, he pulled his wings over his beastly head and fell to the ground. All around us the other Shadow Ka did the same, falling left and right, dropping human bodies from their grasp, screeching and wailing.

We waited for a few more seconds, knowing that Miyoko would end it soon.

The light disappeared. Even though our eyes had been closed or covered, it was still like walking into a theater from outside on a bright, sunny day. It was hard to make out much at all, but every second was precious, and we sprung into action.

Everything happened at once.