The Flood Dragon's Sacrifice Page 34

  He saw her pause, then remove the contents of one drawer; in the brightening moonlight he saw the milky gleam of the Ebb Jewel in her palm and felt an answering throb in his wrist. Just one more. But will Kaito sense it when she removes the Flood Jewel, as I did just then? The frantic rummaging through the little drawers continued, with the girl constantly glancing round, guiltily checking that her master had not woken up. Naoki leaned forward, biting his lower lip as he watched.

  The final drawer yielded up its contents; the servant girl took out the second jewel and Naoki caught a glimpse of its star-blue purity.

  Kaito stirred restlessly in his sleep. “Sakami…” he murmured.

  The girl started up, clutching both jewels to her, about to make a run for it.

  Naoki knew he had to make his move now while Kaito was still half asleep. Drawing his kunai, he impelled himself forward, speeding across the moonlit clearing as fast as a gale-blown leaf.

  ***

  Sakami’s muffled cry woke Kai. He opened his eyes to see a shadowy figure streaking across the ruined shrine toward her.

  The assailant caught hold of her and forced her to her knees. Kai saw the moonlight glint on the kunai he held to her throat.

  “Give me the Tide Jewels, girl,” the assailant said in a hoarse, breathless voice.

  Waking so abruptly from deep sleep had left Kai shaken and disoriented. Tide Jewels? What does he mean? Why would Sakami…

  He tried to get up and fell back, his weak leg buckling beneath him.

  “Hurry.”

  Kai saw the shinobi tighten his hold on Sakami. She let out a soft whimper and shook her head. Fear for her, raw and visceral, flooded his whole body. “Let her go,” he said. “Don’t hurt her.” And then he felt the Flood Dragon seal throb.

  “I’m sorry, Kai – ” Sakami began, her voice filled with tears, but the shinobi pulled her head further back, pressing the blade against her skin, and her words ended in a gasp.

  “The jewels,” he hissed, “or I cut your throat.”

  Kai’s hands began to tremble. I can’t do anything to help her. Or myself. He felt overwhelmed with disgust at his own uselessness. A cloud drifted away from across the face of the moon and a shaft of pallid light dimly illuminated the shinobi’s face. Even though the man’s skin was darkened by the feathery markings of the Kite Shadow, Kai recognized him.

  “Naoki.”

  Chapter 36

  The kunai blade bit, cold as a sliver of ice, into Sakami’s throat. Her attacker held her pressed tight against him and she could feel him gasping for breath. She could smell his sweat, rank and salt.

  Where are you, Honou? Why have you gone off hunting when I need you?

  “Naoki, this is just between the two of us.” Kai’s voice. She was so glad to hear it – and in the same instant deeply ashamed; now he would know she had betrayed him. “Let her go and I’ll give you the jewels.”

  Lord Naoki was her assailant? She heard him give a curt laugh, felt the vibrations resonating through his body. “Don’t you get it yet, Kaito? She’s betrayed you. Haven’t you, girl? Just give me the jewels and I’ll let you live.” He tightened his grip on her.

  Lady Inari, Kai – I’m sorry. I’ve failed you both. Her mind went blank.

  A pale flame streaked across the ruined shrine. A snarling creature, its eyes blazing fox fire, hurled itself at Naoki, teeth bared. The Kite’s stranglehold weakened, the kunai wavering as the fox’s surprise attack threw him off balance.

  This is horrible. It’s just like last time…

  “Run, Sakami!” Honou’s voice woke her from her stupor. She jammed her elbows into Naoki’s stomach as hard as she could and heard him retch.

  The kunai dropped.

  Wriggling free, she stumbled toward the path just as Naoki, winded, tried to kick Honou away. She could feel the Tide Jewels, cold against her breasts, where she had stuffed them beneath her tunic. Honou was making horrible growling, gargling sounds as he hung on, teeth embedded in Naoki’s ankle.

  Sakami had no idea how she was going to reach the sea. All she knew was that she had to try to free Lord Kaito from the curse, even if he didn’t understand that she was doing it for him.

  “Forgive me, Kai,” she cried, and ran off into the darkness of the mountain forest.

  ***

  Kai saw the ransacked medicine chest lying on its side, the drawers scattered across the ground.

  “Sakami – what have you done?” he cried after her fleeing figure. Had she betrayed him? Or was she trying to help by drawing Naoki away?

  Naoki was battling a crazed two-tailed fox, kicking at it as it tried to savage his legs with its sharp white teeth. Kai crawled toward the ransacked chest, hoping against hope that the jewels were still there. But all he found was the two pieces of silk lying discarded on the grass.

  So Sakami had taken the Tide Jewels. But why? Has Inari ordered her to? This was all happening too fast. The fox’s yelp startled him out of his confusion as Naoki gripped the creature and wrenched it from his ankle. Next moment, the two-tails went tumbling head over heels into the undergrowth where its pale flamelight dimmed.

  Was that Honou? Before Kai could finish the thought, he sensed a sudden powerful surge of energy close by. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered previously; it crackled and roared like a blacksmith’s forge. Turning in its direction, he saw Naoki extending his right arm toward the fleeing Sakami.

  “Look out, Sakami!” Kai yelled.

  Fiery feathers sang through the air, gold and scarlet. He saw her hesitate at the sound of his voice, looking around just before the flames caught her. They pierced her like burning arrows, extinguishing themselves in her body. Kai watched helplessly as she wavered, then toppled to the ground.

  Naoki launched himself toward Sakami. Kai struggled after, unable to match the Kite’s astonishing speed.

  “Keep away from her.” How pathetic the words sounded even as he shouted them out, hearing the desperation in his own voice. He fell heavily but forced himself up again.

  Naoki ignored him. He alighted beside Sakami and started to search her, his hands sliding beneath her tunic.

  “Don’t touch her!” Kai could not bear to see him treating her with such disrespect.

  Naoki withdrew his hands and turned to show Kai what he had found. Moonlight fell on the Tide Jewels, turning their inner flames from red-gold to silver. But the Kite’s eyes glinted even more brightly as he stared triumphantly back at Kai; they were lit with flickers of living fire.

  Kai halted. “W - what’s happened to you, Naoki?” he stammered.

  “Poor lame Kaito,” Naoki said dismissively. “So you thought you could deceive us with your decoy? It doesn’t pay to underestimate the Red Kites.” And before Kai could say a word, Naoki slipped the jewels inside his tunic and clapped his hands together. Immediately he vanished in a whirl of feathery shadows; the rushing wind he left in his wake stirred the branches overhead like a brief gust of fierce spring breeze.

  Kai dropped to his knees. He felt empty and weak, as if Naoki’s attack had drained all the energy from his body. Must help Sakami.

  He crawled toward her over the rough, weed-infested ground. She had not moved or made a sound even while Naoki was searching her, and that terrified him more than the knowledge that the Tide Jewels were gone. The Sakami he knew would have fought back, slapping the intrusive hands away.

  Everything that he had ever learned from Master Seishi seemed to have fled his mind as he reached her and raised her, cradling her against him. She was so limp, and her head so heavy as it flopped against his chest, that somewhere deep inside him he already knew what his mind was refusing to accept.

  “Sakami.” There were scorch marks, striated like feathers, burned into the plain fabric of her tunic. Beneath, her pale skin bore the same stains. Had they stopped her heart? “Sakami!” How could someone so vibrant with life be so swiftly, so callously destroyed?

  There had to be a way to bring her
back.

  He flung back his head and howled the goddess’s name into the night.

  ***

  As he skirted the tops of the mountain trees, Naoki felt as if his body was alight, his veins fizzing with liquid fire. This heightened sense of elation was wilder than anything he had ever experienced when using the Kite Shadow alone.

  Flame Feathers. And I’m the first Kite to use the jutsu since Takadai founded the clan.

  He had followed the course of the hunters’ path that led over the craggy peaked cone of the mountain and was already heading down toward the distant plain far below. Beyond lay the flat expanse of rice fields that stretched into the far distance and the sea. He had never travelled so fast or so far before.

  If I can keep moving at this pace, I should reach the monastery just before dusk. Just before the Festival begins. And the next day would bring an end to Suzaku’s ineffectual reign and the restoration of his clan.

  Yet at the back of his mind a doubt began to niggle. There has to be a toll to pay for wielding such a powerful Shadow skill. Will the Hisui shamans be able to restore me when they’ve never encountered this jutsu before?

  Skimming the pine trees, he dismissed the thought from his mind. I’ll deal with it when it happens. Right now my mission is to reach the monastery.

  “Inari!” Kai called the goddess’s name again as he cradled Sakami’s lifeless body.

  The dark air shivered and Inari appeared beside him, her robes as translucently white as polished rice.

  “Help her, Lady Inari.” Kai heard the sob in his voice; tears began to spill down his cheeks. “Bring her back!”

  Inari knelt beside him and laid one hand on Sakami’s scorched breast. “The foolish child,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I warned her to stay away from you. You and your cursed Flood Dragon master have brought her nothing but death.”

  “It’s your fault as much as mine. You told her to destroy the Tide Jewels.” Kai was so overwhelmed with shock and grief that he forgot he was addressing a goddess. “If she hadn’t tried to steal them to follow your orders, she wouldn’t have been attacked.”

  Inari turned toward him, her gaze so terrifyingly bright and forbidding that he flinched.

  “Is there nothing you can do to save her?” He was determined not to be intimidated; he would endure anything the goddess inflicted if it would bring Sakami back. “She was your faithful servant.”

  “And what will you do for me, if I grant your wish?” She stared directly at him with a look that penetrated to his very core. He felt naked: exposed and weak.

  “Me?”

  “Will you go after the Kite thief?”

  “Of course I will,” Kai answered, dashing the tears from his eyes. “As best I can. What else can I do?”

  “Will you give me your word that you’ll do everything you can to stop him – or his master – from using the Tide Jewels?”

  “I give you my word.” Sakami’s limp body was growing heavier in his arms with every minute that passed. What more proof did Inari want?

  “Even your own life?”

  “Please just bring her back.”

  “She may not be as you remember her.”

  Kai heard the goddess’s warning. But at that moment all that mattered to him was that Sakami had a second chance. “Whatever it takes.”

  The goddess was silent a moment. Kai waited, in an agony of suspense. Why was she delaying?

  “Lie her down on the ground,” said Inari at last. Kai obeyed, unable to resist letting his fingers gently stroke a wisp of hair from Sakami’s forehead. She may not be as you remember her.

  The goddess bent over Sakami and placed one hand over the scorch marks that had stopped her heart. She leaned closer in, pushing aside her black waterfall of hair, and, covering Sakami’s slack lips with her own, gently blew her own divine breath into her mouth.

  Kai, kneeling beside them, watched. If only I had the power as a healer to breathe life back into my patients. But such a thought was blasphemous. No mortal should ever hope to attain the powers of a god. And this divine gift came at a heavy price; nothing would be the same again between them. But right now he wasn’t prepared to think about the consequences of the bargain he had made. He just knew he couldn’t have made any other choice.

  Inari raised her head and sat back on her heels. Every movement she made was slow yet graceful, like the elegant gestures of a dancer.

  A little sigh escaped Sakami’s lips. Kai leaned forward, watching her still face intently, seeing her dark lashes flutter, like the beat of a bee’s wings.

  “Sakami – ” he began eagerly, but Inari raised one finger to silence him.

  Sakami began to take in gasps of air; the rasping sound was so painful that it hurt him to hear and to watch her struggle for breath. His hand shot out to grasp hers in reassurance, but Inari shook her head and he let it fall back to his side.

  A soft rustling stirred the undergrowth behind him. He swung around, fearing that the Kites were back, only to see Honou emerging in human form from the bushes. Disheveled and bruised, dirt and leaves in his red hair, he limped slowly toward them, dragging one foot, and knelt down behind Inari.

  “I failed you, Inari-sama,” he said, head bowed. “I failed her too. Punish me. I deserve it.”

  Sakami coughed, jerking her head from side to side. Kai leaned in, desperate to hold her, but Inari placed a restraining hand on his arm. As he watched, a convulsive shudder made Sakami’s whole body twitch. Her back arched and her limbs began to thrash, as though she were suffering a seizure. He wanted to look away. He hadn’t imagined that being restored to life would prove such a painful experience. But I have to stay by her side, even if I can’t touch her.

  And suddenly Sakami’s eyes opened. She was breathing heavily, staring wildly, as if she had just awoken from a terrifying dream. Inari leaned forward and stroked her cheek. “Welcome back, my child,” she said.

  “Lady – Inari?” The words came out as a sere whisper.

  “You remember me. That’s good.” Inari slipped her arm around her shoulders and raised her up. Sakami glanced hesitantly around, her eyes wide, as though fearing another attack. She looked directly through Kai as if he were not there.

  “It’s all right; no one here will hurt you,” Inari said in her most serene and calming tones, stroking her hair.

  “But I – ” Sakami broke off, one hand clutched to her chest, as if remembering Naoki’s murderous attack. Her eyes still stared blankly into the night, glazed with terror. Kai wanted so desperately to be the one holding her but he did not dare to ask the goddess.

  And then he saw that as the goddess’s slender fingers moved over Sakami’s hair, it began to lengthen until it hung in glossy strands down her back, as silkily luxuriant as Inari’s own smooth locks.

  “Wh - what are you doing to her?” he blurted out, not quite believing what he was witnessing.

  Inari ignored his question, leaning forward to brush Sakami’s eyelids with her lips. Sakami blinked.

  Will she recognize me now? Kai leaned in closer, inwardly praying that she would remember him too. “Sakami?” he ventured. She turned her head at the sound of his voice and gazed at him with a puzzled expression on her pale face. Inari’s radiance illumined her features so that Kai saw with a shock that her eyes had become amber, like Honou’s. Fox eyes. Bewitching eyes.

  “She’s a kitsune?” He could not come to terms with what was happening. Where was his Sakami, the girl he had fallen in love with? This creature was not Shun’s sister any longer, but something weirdly beautiful and fey.

  “She died, Kaito. I couldn’t bring her back to life exactly as she was before.”

  “But what happens when she returns to the castle? What will her brother say? Will she even remember her brother?”

  “Her body is still changing and adapting.” Inari passed her hands gently over Sakami’s head and the young kitsune sagged back against her. “Don’t worry,” she said, laying Sakami gently
down on the grass, “she just needs to rest a little while longer. We’ll leave Honou to guard her.”

  Honou, who had been watching in silence, moved closer and obediently sat down cross-legged in the grass beside Sakami’s sleeping form. Kai swallowed back the feelings of jealousy that had risen, acrid as bile. It should be me guarding her, not that arrogant fox boy.

  “Why did she look at me like that? As if I was a stranger?” He choked over the words.

  “She’s a kitsune now: a fox spirit is animating her body. She’s forgotten her previous life as a human. Including you.”

  “Then how do I make her remember?” All that mattered to him at that moment, he realized, was Sakami. “I love her, Lady Inari.” It took a lot of courage to blurt out his innermost feelings, especially as he had not even said those words to Sakami yet. “How do I get her back?”

  “You may never get ‘your’ Sakami back,” said Inari bluntly. “She died here tonight.”

  She died. The full horror of those two blunt words had still not sunk in. “There must be something I can do!” He refused to believe that Sakami was lost to him forever. “Whatever it is, I’ll do it. Just tell me.”

  Inari gazed steadily back at him. “You already know. Return the Tide Jewels to the sea. Break the imperial family’s hold over the Tide Dragons. Set them free.”

  “And then you’ll restore her memories?”

  “Flood’s Sacrifice,” she said, “by then you may well be dead, too.”

  “Do you think I’m not aware of that?” Kai cried.

  “So she means that much to you?”

  “Yes.” He stared defiantly back at her. “I told you. I love her – ” Kai broke off as he heard Sakami let out a quiet, halting sigh. She pushed herself up to a sitting position, rubbing her eyes.

  “Sakami?” He heard himself hesitantly call her name. What if she still doesn’t remember me?

  She looked round, her head tilted a little to one side, listening. He was reminded of a cat – or even a fox – interrupted in mid-toilette.

  “Feeling better, Sakami?” Honou asked hopefully.