Emperor of the Fireflies Read online

  Reika bent over Kuri and, with deft fingers, pried open the tiny catch holding the collar in place.

  “There we are.”

  And then she dropped the collar, shaking her hands as if they had been burned. At the same time, Ayaka felt Kuri begin to tremble so violently that he rolled off her lap and on to the floor.

  “What’s happening?” she cried to Reika as the little dog vanished within a fast-uncoiling column of black smoke. Reika threw herself toward Ayaka, dragging her out of the way as a dark, crimson-eyed figure began to materialize within the spinning coils of smoke.

  “Where’s Kuri?” Ayaka asked, bewildered. “What have you done with my dog?”

  The dark figure, clothed in smoke and flame, opened its mouth and laughed, showing white teeth. “I was your dog, majesty.” And then, like a summer festival firework, he shot upward, passing straight through the ceiling and roof and out into the sky.

  ***

  The moment Kai’s arms went around Sakami, the moment she felt his lips, warm against hers, a wave of bitter-sweetness engulfed her. He tastes salty. Like the ocean. Like tears.

  And then she found herself staring up into his sea-stained eyes and all her happiness evaporated as she remembered all too clearly what she had done to him.

  I – I can’t. She pressed her palms against his shoulders, shoving him away from her.

  “What’s the matter?” He looked confused, hurt by her reaction.

  “I did something terrible. I betrayed you, Kai.” She could no longer meet the gaze of those clear blue eyes and stared at the ground. The memories – still fragmented but rapidly gaining greater coherence – made her feel so ashamed that she dropped to her knees and bowed until her forehead grazed the dry grass.

  “Please don’t, Sakami.” She heard his voice, not harsh in anger but bewildered. She looked up in surprise to see him holding out his hands to help her up.

  It would be easier if he were angry with me. I could understand that.

  “Please get up.”

  “But I stole the Tide Jewels.” She turned her face away. “And because I stole them, Lord Naoki –”

  “You were acting on Inari’s orders, weren’t you?” He bent down, his head close to hers, his voice still gentle. “She told you to steal them. She wanted to protect the harvest.”

  “I should have trusted you. And now, because of what happened, you –” She could not look at the sea-blue eyes that had once been dark and warm as honey, the indisputable proof of the burden that he was forced to bear. Sea and land can never be one. The proof that they could never be lovers again.

  His hands came to rest on her shoulders, gently but firmly raising her to her feet. This time she didn’t push him away.

  “What’s been going on here? Tell me.”

  She didn’t answer at first, trying to think how to break the news to him. “Lord Naoki is the new master of the castle,” she said eventually.

  “Naoki?” He echoed her words in disbelief. “Then that explains the men I saw coming down the mountain just now. But why?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  “I heard that the emperor had pardoned the Red Kites. So why is Naoki here? Why isn’t he helping his father rebuild Akatobi castle?”

  “It’s something to do with the hot springs,” she said. “They’ve been exploring the caves up there.”

  “They’ve been collecting bat-shit,” announced another voice and Honou appeared from behind the boulders.

  “How long have you been eavesdropping?” Sakami cried, furious .

  “Lady Inari told me to keep watch over you,” he said, sauntering out. “I’m just following her orders. You ought to do the same,” he added, staring resentfully at Kai. “Didn’t she tell you to keep away?”

  But Kai’s expression had become distant, even more troubled than before. “If they’re searching through the caves, they must be looking for something. Suppose Hotaru has told them to look for the fragments of Inari’s sacred sword?”

  “What are you muttering about, Flood?” Honou asked rudely. “Has the sea addled your brains?”

  “Honou!” Sakami rounded on him.

  “You told me that Kurika came here,” Kai said, ignoring Honou. “Do you want to help me find a way to destroy him?”

  Sakami nodded, remembering the choking fear that had overwhelmed her when the vengeful shikigami swept in like a fiery tornado.

  “Scattered around the ruins of the village and the hot spring are fragments of the sacred sword Inari used to bind Kurika. Is there any way you can get the kitsune to help collect them?”

  “Why would we help you?” Honou said with undisguised hostility.

  “Why?” Kai’s blue eyes glinted dangerously as he turned to stare at Honou. “Because if we don’t stop Kurika now, he’ll become so powerful that even Inari won’t be able to defeat him. He’ll take back this mountain and the fires that heat the springs will boil up and send molten lava down the sides, searing everyone and everything in its path to ash.”

  Honou’s mouth dropped open, speechless for once.

  Sakami had never heard Kai speak so forcefully before. He’s changed. But he has every reason to be angry with us. Especially with me. And, to her shame and surprise, she burst into tears.

  “Look what you’ve done now; you’ve made Sakami cry.” Honou put his arms around her, glaring accusingly at Kai.

  What’s the matter with me? I’m not the crying kind. But the tears continued to stream down Sakami’s cheeks; mortified, she turned and fled toward the shrine.

  Chapter 16

  “Sakami – wait!” Kai cried but Sakami ran on, still sobbing, toward the shrine.

  A white-veiled woman suddenly appeared on the mountain track in front of Kai. Startled, he skidded to a halt, almost losing his balance on the gravelly path.

  “I warned you to stay away, Kaito,” she said, lifting her veil, “but you disobeyed me.”

  “Lady Inari.” He bowed, dazzled by the pale light radiating from her body.

  The rice goddess stared coldly at him. “Sakami had forgotten all about you. Now she’s upset. Conflicted. Think of her future, for a moment, not your own selfish desires.”

  Her words stung like a harsh slap. “Is – is it so selfish to want to see her?” he managed to stammer out. “I love her. And I think she still loves me.”

  “You’re a Tide Dragon.” Inari drew herself up to an unnatural height, towering over him, her eyes darkened hollows in her ghost-white face. “And she’s a fox spirit. I told you before: sea and land must not – cannot – mix.”

  “Then help me become human again. You owe me that, at least.” He would not let himself be cowed. “This half-life, constantly torn between land and sea, it’s hard to endure. I just don’t know how long I can stay sane.”

  “Are you threatening me, Kaito?” She bent down and slipped one hand beneath his chin, forcing his head up so that she could stare probingly into his eyes. “Are you beginning to think like a dragon lord of the sea?”

  “Maybe I am,” he said defiantly.

  “All the more reason for you to stay away from Sakami.”

  The sky began to darken and a faint shiver of heat flickered through Kai’s mind, like a bolt of distant lightning, far out to sea. Inari let go of him, turning to stare in the same direction.

  “No,” Kai heard her murmur. “Not again. Not so soon.”

  ***

  The creature of smoke and shadow that had been Hotaru’s little dragon dog was gone and Ayaka knelt in shock, gazing after it, the sound of its mocking laughter still echoing in her ears.

  “More dragon than dog,” Ayaka heard Reika murmur. And then she ran over to the outer door screen and pushed it open to gaze at the sky. “He’s gone,” she said. “But where?”

  Ayaka picked up the collar and examined it, turning it over and over. She saw now that what she had imagined was just an intricately tooled pattern in black and crimson ink might also be read as an
onmyōdo binding spell, scribed using the most powerful kanji to contain a dragon kami. Even touching the leather made her fingertips tingle in an unpleasant and unsettling way.

  “Did anyone know what he really was?” Reika asked.

  “Kuri was Hotaru’s pet,” Ayaka said, still gazing at the collar. “And we’ve let him escape. Oh dear. Hotaru will be angry.”

  Reika knelt down beside her. “But did the emperor know? Did he warn you about the collar?”

  Ayaka shook her head.

  “Perhaps the emperor knew,” Reika suggested, “and bought Kuri to protect you?”

  Ayaka turned to her. “That must be it. Who would suspect that such an adorable little ball of fur was a guard dog? Oh dear. And now he’s vanished.”

  “But that collar.” Reika still looked troubled. “It suggests that the creature had been enslaved against its will. Why else would it have escaped at the first possible opportunity?”

  “I didn’t treat Kuri unkindly, did I?” Ayaka was even more mortified at the thought that she might unintentionally have been increasing Kuri’s suffering.

  “No; he was quite affectionate toward you. But that still doesn’t explain –” Reika didn’t finish her thought.

  “Explain what?”

  “So many things. Where – and how – the emperor purchased such a rare and magical creature. Or even if –”

  “If? What do you mean, Reika?” Ayaka was more than a little unnerved by Reika’s hesitations; her maid usually said exactly what she thought.

  “His imperial majesty has been a student at the Bureau of Onmyōdo for many years. I imagine that must have brought him into contact with many wonders that the rest of us never encounter in our everyday lives.”

  “You think that Hotaru conjured up Kuri? As a present for me?” The idea enchanted Ayaka – until she heard Reika sigh and realized that she had not quite grasped Reika’s point. “You mean he might be a magic-user – one of those other onmyōji?”

  “Don’t say anymore out loud. We’re treading on dangerous ground here.”

  My Hotaru – so quiet and scholarly, such a gifted poet – a dabbler in the forbidden arts? Ayaka placed the broken collar on the little table and the unpleasant residual tingling in fingers ceased. It just doesn’t seem likely.

  “The emperor must never know we’ve had this conversation. And – please be careful, my lady.”

  “Don’t worry.” Ayaka smiled reassuringly at her maid. “I feel safe as long as I have you to protect me, Reika.”

  ***

  The sky above Sakuranbo was fast filling with black, roiling clouds as if a thunderstorm were about to break overhead.

  “Kurika,” Inari said, her voice hard with loathing. “He’s too strong for his master to control. He’s broken free again.”

  “Kurika?” Kai echoed. He recognized this feeling now. It was the same shimmering wind of molten heat that he had felt the night Akatobi castle burned down. He had felt it again the day of the Tide Festival when the temple burst into flame. Only then did he realize where Kurika must be heading.

  “Sakami and Honou – they’re still at the mountain shrine!” He turned, hurrying back up the overgrown track toward the ruins of the village.

  I can’t go back to the sea yet. Sakami’s in danger. But how much longer have I got before the tides change?

  “What use will you be against Kurika?” he heard Inari call after him.

  “Who knows? But I’m not leaving her to face him alone.” The sky grew even darker as he ran and a hot, dry wind began to lash at the tree tops and roar through the bushes.

  “Sakami!” Kai shouted above the wind. “Take cover. Hide!”

  ***

  “I’m so very sorry, Hotaru.” Ayaka held out the broken dog collar to her husband, averting her face as she did so. He took the collar from her and examined it without saying a word. And somehow his silence was more disturbing than if he had reacted in anger.

  “What happened?” he asked at last.

  “Kuri seemed to be in pain. A lot of pain. So Reika tried to loosen his collar and it kind of came. . .undone.”

  “Your maid Reika?”

  For a moment Ayaka felt as if she should not have mentioned Reika’s involvement in the incident. She nodded. I hope Reika won’t be punished.

  “Go on.” Behind the thick lenses it was difficult to read the expression in Hotaru’s eyes. “What happened next?”

  “Kuri. . .transformed. Into a dark, smoky creature. A kind of yōkai, maybe.” Even now, trying to explain, Ayaka realized how extraordinary her explanation must sound. “And then he vanished.”

  “This creature – it didn’t threaten you?” Hotaru came closer and took her hand. “Or attack you?”

  “No. It just laughed.” Ayaka felt relieved that Hotaru wasn’t angry with her; he even appeared to be concerned for her safety. “Can all dragon dogs do that? Transform? Or was Kuri special?”

  “It seems he was unique.” Hotaru drew her to him. “I’m just thankful that you weren’t harmed in any way, Ayaka. You must have been frightened.”

  “More surprised than frightened,” she said, which was true. She had confronted the Tide Dragons; she didn’t want him to think she was a delicate flower like some of the court ladies who tended to faint at the slightest shock.

  “Listen,” he said, kissing her, “I think it best, don’t you, if we don’t share what happened here today with anyone else?”

  She nodded. “Reika can be trusted. She doesn’t gossip.”

  “Reika?” He repeated the name, a little distractedly as if it reminded him of something, then kissed her again, more lingeringly this time. But just as she felt the tension begin to melt away, he gently released her, saying, “Forgive me, Ayaka, I have some official business to finish.”

  And before she could ask when she would next see him, he was gone, taking Kuri’s broken collar with him, leaving her with a mind full of unanswered questions.

  ***

  “I’m not to be disturbed, Kobai,” Hotaru said to his page boy who was waiting patiently outside his quarters to attend on him.

  “Very good, imperial majesty.” Kobai withdrew, leaving the emperor alone.

  “Where are you, Kurika?” Hotaru muttered, pushing back the voluminous sleeves of his court robes on his left wrist, then removing the woven bracelet he had been wearing to disguise the Sacrifice seal inked into his skin.

  “Come back to me now.” He pressed his fingers to the seal, closing his eyes, seeking far out beyond the grounds of the palace for any trace of his errant shikigami. He was grateful, he supposed, that Kurika had not attacked Ayaka or her maid, but this second willful bid for freedom was a deliberate act of defiance and would have to be punished.

  Suppose my hold over him is broken and he’s gone for good? Another fire-raising rampage like the one seven years ago would be a disaster. And my hold on the Phoenix Throne is still tenuous. Lord Kiyomori is already stirring up his allies against me. He’s never liked me, he always favored Suzaku because he was so malleable, so easy to influence.

  “Kurika!” he cried aloud again, hearing a telltale crack in his voice.

  ***

  Kai reached the little clearing where the newly restored Inari shrine was situated just as a thundercloud scudded overhead, blotting out the daylight.

  Sakami and Honou were standing in the shrine perimeter, gazing upward. Kai followed their gaze and saw a fire-eyed creature appear from the heart of the cloud. Before Kai could shout out a warning, it shot to earth, alighting right in front of the shrine. Heat shimmered around the shadowy body and sparks glittered in its smoky hair. The grass beneath its feet sizzled and turned to pale ash.

  “How dare you.” Its voice simmered with outrage. “How dare you rebuild her shrine here, on my mountain?” It raised one hand, pointing at the freshly painted torii. Kai saw little gouts of fire dripping from the coal-black talons.

  “Stop, Kurika!” he called out, hoarse from running so fast.
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  Kurika turned his head to stare at him, hand still raised. Kai felt a wave of raw heat exuding from his body and stumbled back a step or two on the stony ground, then righted himself.

  “And why should I stop? This is my mountain. Don’t tell me what to do, Flood.”

  “Go back to your master,” Kai said. “This is Black Crane land now. Your place is with Hotaru.”

  “My place is here. I was here long before the Black Cranes. I shall still be here long after you’ve all died and moldered to dust.” The fiery eyes seared into his, a look of such menace that it was all Kai could do to stand his ground when every instinct was telling him to run away. And yet, as Kai took another step toward the shrine, he noticed that Kurika – for all his snarling – had not yet retaliated.

  Something’s staying his hand.

  Then he saw a slow, cruel smile spread over Kurika’s face.

  “I burned this cursed shrine down before. No matter how many times you rebuild it, I’ll reduce it to ashes again. And you with it.”

  He made a sudden careless gesture, flicking a fistful of flames at the newly-painted wooden torii.

  Sakami let out a vixen-shriek of rage, piercing in its intensity, as the wood caught fire. Dark smoke billowed into the clear sky.

  Kai’s mind filled with blue; a floodwave building, cresting higher and higher.

  I am Flood. I control the power of the incoming tide.

  His right arm shot out. A jet of water came fountaining up from the dry ground and he felt his hand twisting it, molding it as if it were a length of liquid silk, flinging it with all his strength at the flaming torii.

  The fiery gate sizzled, sputtered, and the fire went out just as the two shrine guardian kitsune appeared in mortal form, one on either side of Sakami and Honou.

  Kai turned on Kurika. To his surprise he saw Kurika step back from the spiraling jet, his face distorted in a grimace of surprise.

  Why is he hesitating? Is he afraid of the water?

  The shikigami clutched at his chest – and beneath his clenched talons Kai saw the unmistakable gleam of a Sacrifice seal, like his own, except that this curled dragon glowed bright red, as if etched in arterial blood.