Midnite's Daughter

by Rick Gualtieri

  She stepped past the still protesting Shitoro and prepared to once more engage her foe, when there came three thunderous reports from nearby. They were so loud and sudden, they caused her to flinch in fear.

  Fortunately, she hadn’t been their target.

  Multiple explosions erupted near Ichitiro. It must have been those weapons. Mortars, as Beth had called them. A strong name worthy of the death they spewed.

  Ichitiro was knocked off his feet. He landed in a crumpled heap, and for a moment, Kisaki hoped that the humans didn’t need her after all. But it was only for a moment. The explosions had apparently caught him by surprise, managing to tear sections of his armor asunder.

  Even from where she stood, she could tell he wasn’t gravely injured, though. If anything, he looked far more angry. He turned toward the line of trucks and the soldiers lined up in front of them, his eyes glowing red with rage. He lifted his sword above his head and charged toward them.

  She had little doubt he would cut through their ranks like paper, showing no mercy to those brave souls standing against him.

  She had dallied long enough.

  With a battle cry, Kisaki raced forward, her own sword ready for the attack. She intended to hit his flank before he could reach his targets and once more bring the battle to him.

  “Kisaki!” Shitoro called after her. “Blasted willful child!”

  She allowed herself the ghost of a smile. Now if only he would do as he’d been told, she could engage this devil without having to worry about him.

  If so, then she could fully concentrate her attention elsewhere, such as worrying about her own odds against this monster.

  42

  The mortars fired another volley at Ichitiro, but he was moving too fast, and their shots all fell wide of the target, exploding behind him and throwing up clouds of debris.

  The remaining helicopters had better luck, peppering him with fire from above and causing him to stumble slightly.

  It wasn’t much, but it was enough for her to catch up to him.

  Now to hope that Beth and Chuck had gotten through to the soldiers, because if not, she was likely to be cut down the second she stepped into the fray.

  There was no time for second guessing, only savage action – seemingly the only communication this Ichitiro understood – so she hoped for the best and took a leap of faith.

  Once more, the cool logic of battle descended upon her and she found herself considering possible strategies. There! Ichitiro’s path was going to take him past a pile of rubble.

  Kisaki put on as much speed as she was able to in the debris-strewn street. Thankfully, Ichitiro’s focus still seemed to be on the soldiers. They’d apparently done more to injure him than anyone else.

  It was time to remedy that.

  She ran up atop the pile of rubble just as Ichitiro was passing it, using it to shield her from his view, then leapt off of it, sword held high and a cry of rage upon her lips.

  Amazingly enough, the humans picked that moment to disengage. Either lucky coincidence or the others had been successful.

  Now it was her turn.

  Ichitiro was frighteningly quick for his size, however. In the moments it took her to descend upon him, he turned, saw her, and brought up his own sword to parry the blow.

  She brought the blade of heaven down with everything she had, envisioning herself cleaving this monster in two just as he’d tried to do to her.

  The strange blade of the Taiyosori met the burning ferocity of Ichitiro’s weapon. There came a squeal of metal followed by a flash of light and then Kisaki once more found herself airborne, being flung back as if by another explosion.

  She managed to roll with the blow, slamming the tip of the Taiyosori into the ground so as to slow herself down. She skidded to a halt, pulled the sword free, and bounced back to her feet without further injury. Even she was half amazed at what she’d managed to do.

  However, the look on her face was nothing compared to the shock on Ichitiro’s. He still held the grip of his sword, but only about three inches of burning blade remained. She’d missed in her gambit to cut him down but was willing to settle for having destroyed his weapon.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  This cannot be!

  Not only was the wretched hanyou still alive, but she’d somehow managed to destroy his own sword, the Kaokatta. Ichitiro had no delusions about the Taiyosori being the superior weapon. It was, after all, why he’d lusted after it. But for such a low creature to not only wield it, but somehow find the strength to cleave his own blade in twain, was unthinkable.

  Everything about this scenario had seemed so ideal, almost down to the last detail. The hanyou, Midnite’s offspring, had stolen the Taiyosori and come to Earth. It was a perfect opportunity for him to step in and pluck it from her corpse. Yet the blasted creature had not only refused to die, but had somehow continued to fight back, even managing to wound him.

  This hanyou was nothing more than an insect, but even insects, it seemed, could sting.

  Now the humans were getting involved. He didn’t know if they’d purposely helped the hanyou or not, but that had been the result. All of the talk his siblings had wasted in the council chambers had been true. The weapons the humans now wielded were far more powerful than in eons past. Arrows, crossbows, spears, even catapults; those had been nothing. Child’s playthings to one such as he. But these new armaments were capable of hurting him. And he knew for a fact this was far from the worst they were now capable of.

  His siblings would surely be aware of his absence by now, but he trusted in their fear and Reiden’s insufferable sense of bureaucracy to hold them at bay. That was a must, because he now understood that this battle wasn’t as easily won as he’d originally presumed. He was going to have to draw upon more power than he had counted on, enough for the other daimao to sense his location if they turned their eyes toward Earth.

  It was a risk, but easily worth it once the Taiyosori was in his hands.

  The time had come to remind the humans why they once bowed down to the daimao as gods.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Bolstered by what she’d managed to do, Kisaki again sprang forward to engage her enemy. As hoped, the humans brought their weapons of war to bear again the moment she had disengaged. She allowed herself a second to be amazed. The weaponry on display was like nothing she’d read about in her studies. If anything, it seemed the humans had been paying attention to the destructive magic wielded by some demons and had been successful in harvesting it in their own way.

  It made her heart proud, because it told her that this race, her people, were now capable of defending themselves against divine threats.

  More explosions rocked Ichitiro, knocking him down again. It was the perfect opportunity, but she was forced to shield her eyes from the debris thrown up. The smoke from the shellfire was thick, and she found herself nearly doubled over from coughing after she inhaled a lungful of the acrid discharge.

  She forced herself to continue, though. If they could knock Ichitiro down, stun him for even a few moments, she could do the impossible ... use the Taiyosori to end this.

  Unfortunately, her hopes turned out to be little more than fantasy.

  The smoke instantly cleared as Ichitiro threw out another wall of force, gouging the very earth in front of him and slamming into two of the trucks, sending them flying as if they were mere toys. They landed dozens of yards away with terrible squeals of rent metal. Both vehicles exploded, tearing them apart and setting the nearby buildings on fire.

  Kisaki had only a moment to rue the war she’d brought to this quiet town. Soon it would be less a community and more a burning graveyard. She said a quick prayer in the hopes most of the people here had been lucky enough to flee after Ichitiro’s first attack.

  Her moment abruptly ended, however, when tongues of lightning flared up around Ichitiro, a dozen or more tendrils each possessed of the deadliest of kisses. The energy whipped
around him, simultaneously fending off more gunfire while lashing out at those who’d attacked him.

  One bolt flared out at her, but she managed to bring the Taiyosori up to fend it off, deflecting it with the powerful weapon. Sadly, she wasn’t nearly so lucky with a second bolt. It got past her defenses and struck her on the leg.

  She was thrown from her feet, scorched from thigh to knees. The only reason she didn’t immediately lose her grip on her sword was that it was as if all of her muscles seized up at once. She couldn’t have dropped it even if she wanted to.

  Kisaki hit the ground hard and lay there twitching as Ichitiro continued to mount a defense against the humans.

  Thank goodness for them, because otherwise, he could have simply strolled up and plucked the sword from her fingers. Kisaki said a silent curse. It seemed every time there came a shred of hope in their battle, he would do something to cut that hope to ribbons and scatter it to the wind.

  After several more moments, she began to regain control of her muscles. She forced herself back to her feet, then almost fell again before catching herself, using the blade of heaven as if it were a mere walking stick.

  I’d best not think that too hard. Otherwise, it might turn into one.

  She chuckled to herself. It helped to distract from the injuries once again being inflicted upon her. Fortunately, though the pain from her leg was pretty bad, it was still able to hold her weight.

  Kisaki steeled herself to rejoin the battle. With Ichitiro’s weapon destroyed, she needed to get in close so as to bring the fight directly to him, put him on the defensive. Only then would she have a chance of walking away from this.

  Unfortunately, she saw that where she was focused on remaining upright, Ichitiro had set his aspirations much higher.

  Before she could so much as take a single step, he rose from the ground. Smoky miasma gathered around him and the fingers of lightning seemed to carry him toward the sky and out of her reach.

  From the air, he could rain death down upon them all, and there wouldn’t be much she could do other than accept her fate.

  43

  Ichitiro rose to about fifteen meters off the ground, hovering as if daring his attackers to come to him.

  They did.

  Death was unleashed at him from all directions. The ground troops opened fire skyward, but it was the two remaining helicopters that were the real threat. They had larger weapons to bring to bear and, now that Ichitiro was airborne, they did so without hesitation. An explosion to rival the mortar fire hit Ichitiro from the backside, sending him careening through the air.

  For a moment, Kisaki held out hope that he would be sent tumbling back to the ground, but he managed to right himself, his miasma almost acting like massive wings of smoke. The helicopter who’d hit him flew past, no doubt meaning to come around for another pass, but the daimao was ready for it.

  He held out his palm and a ball of white-hot flame erupted from it. It slammed into the helicopter, vaporizing it midair. As its remains fell to the beleaguered town below, the lightning from Ichitiro’s miasma began to form a protective cage of energy around him.

  Kisaki’s heart dropped as she watched it seemingly fend off all other attacks against him, flaring and crackling as more weapons were discharged in his direction. Nothing seemed to make it through. More fingers of lightning flared out around him, striking the last helicopter even as it sped toward the demon. The discharge hit its tail rotor, sending it in a dizzying spin toward the Earth.

  Kisaki noted, with no small amount of panic, that the fatally wounded air ship was headed straight toward her.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Kisaki ran as quickly as her injured leg could carry her. About a dozen meters away, she could see Beth and Chuck, still filming despite everything. They were truly dedicated to their craft. It was admirable, if somewhat insane.

  They wouldn’t be anything, though, if they stayed where they were.

  “Get down!” she screamed a moment before the helicopter slammed into the ground somewhere behind her.

  She followed her own advice and threw herself in a desperate dive roll, hearing the whistle as shards of flaming shrapnel flew over her at lethal velocity.

  A moment later, there came an explosion, and Kisaki felt a sting of fire as something hard and hot slammed into the small of her back. She reached around and felt a ragged hole in her shirt, hot blood, and the sting as her fingertips touched ragged metal. She’d been hit, but how badly, she did not know.

  If she didn’t get moving quickly, though, she was certain it was going to get much worse. She tried to push herself up, but the pain from her injury was making it difficult.

  “Stay down, you stupid girl, I’m coming!”

  Kisaki looked up to find Shitoro sprinting her way, his four-legged form allowing him to circumnavigate the minefield of debris with ease. She wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or furious with him for disobeying her command, but decided to settle on the former as he changed and began to examine her.

  “I swear, you are helpless without me,” he said.

  “I told you to run.”

  “And I promptly ignored you. Do not forget, I was charged with being your guardian, not the other way around.”

  “It’s for your own ... ow!”

  “Hold still,” he ordered. “It’s not a big piece, but it’s lodged in there. Almost ... got it...”

  Kisaki screamed as the jagged shard was torn from her, feeling as if her flesh were being ripped apart from the inside out.

  “Oh, do stop whining,” he said once she got herself under control again. “You have no idea how lucky you are.”

  “L-lucky?”

  “Yes. The metal was quite hot. It cauterized the wound from the inside.”

  “I shall have to thank the fates once this day is done,” she replied, gasping.

  Shitoro gently eased her over onto her back. “You should. The very fact that you have lasted this long against Ichitiro is nothing short of amazing.”

  Sadly, she couldn’t share in his enthusiasm. What she saw from this new angle was not encouraging.

  Ichitiro continued to rain fireballs at his attackers on the ground, all while his storm miasma protected him from further harm. A nearby police cruiser resembled a heap of burning slag. The few combat vehicles that remained were backing up as quickly as they could. Multiple fires burned throughout the town. Whatever Ichitiro hadn’t leveled yet looked as if it were in danger of being consumed by flames.

  With a wince of pain, she sat up. So far, Ichitiro hadn’t turned his full wrath against her, but she was certain it was only a matter of time. Once that happened, she would be helpless to stop him. Up close, she was barely able to hold her own. At range, she could do nothing save run. “It’s over.”

  “We’re still breathing and he doesn’t have the Taiyosori yet,” Shitoro replied.

  Kisaki looked at him, surprised by his sudden show of optimism. If anything, he’d been the one advocating running ever since the moment Ichitiro’s name had been mentioned. Since then, he’d been mostly doom and gloom about their chances. Perhaps the battle had driven him mad. Then again, she’d seemingly switched opinions with him. Now she was the one who was failing to see any hope.

  Maybe it had driven them both mad.

  “He’s untouchable up there,” she said. “All he has to do is stay in the sky and eventually he’ll win. My father’s skills, they’re impressive, but I don’t think they’re enough.”

  “Then don’t rely solely on his.”

  She inclined her head toward him. “What do you mean?”

  “I shouldn’t have to explain this, child, but you have two parents.”

  “As I am aware. But what does that have to do with...”

  “It’s what I was trying to tell you earlier while you were insisting on throwing yourself back into the fray. As a student, you still leave much to be desired.”

  “I’m not followi
ng, Shitoro. My mother isn’t here.”

  “Yes she is.” He pointed a finger at her heart. “She is always with you, as is your father.”

  “I do not understand.”

  “Nor do I,” he said, “but I have been trying my best to consider the possibilities ever since you told me you were seeing visions of your father. Tell me, did it happen again when Ichitiro attacked?”

  From the sporadic sound of the gunfire, it didn’t seem like the daimao would be distracted for much longer. She nodded once. “Yes. Before the fight began, I saw him, clearer than ever. If anything, the visions seem to be growing stronger.”

  Shitoro nodded as if this wasn’t unexpected. “What happened?”

  “It was a lesson on winning the war of the mind, using that to defeat your enemy.”

  “Wise of him.”

  Kisaki nodded. “What does that have to do with my mother?”

  “You seem to have inherited an unprecedented gift, a quirk of your unique heritage. You have somehow retained your father’s blood memory. But it is not only your father’s blood that you have running through your veins. Your mother’s does, too, and hers is far more potent.”

  “But the only visions I’ve had are of my father.” She paused for a moment, remembering them. “Except this last one.”

  “Lady Midnite was in it?”

  “Yes, but only incidentally. I saw her through my father’s eyes, their first meeting. It was still his memory, not hers.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that and I have a theory as to why. You have been consumed by the thought of him ever since you learned of his existence. It would stand to reason that these visions, his knowledge, are appearing to you during times of need, but I believe you are the one calling out to them.”

  “Not consciously.”

  He waved a hand dismissively. “The hows are unimportant. That it happened is what matters, even if your waking self wasn’t aware of it. However, I see no reason why you cannot do the same for your mother’s memories. After all, hers is the divine blood from which this power almost certainly descends.”