The Black Blossom: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 2)

by C. J. Anaya

  “You place an unhealthy amount of faith in my willpower. Why, I could close the distance between us,” he took a few steps forward, arriving directly in front of me, “take you in my arms,” he stunned me by reaching forward and lightly wrapping an arm around my waist, “and do exactly what I wanted to do when I saved you in the woods almost a month ago.”

  I might have become nervous and pulled myself away, if I hadn’t noticed the mischievous look on his face. I gave him a shy smile as I realized he merely teased. His emotions were completely blocked off, so I only had his countenance to go by.

  “You’re just being playful,” I said, though his arm around my waist felt warm and secure.

  His small smile slowly left his face as he placed his other arm around me. “Am I?”

  I couldn’t tell if he posed the question to me or himself. A sharp sense of longing slipped through the wall he usually held tight. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his as I watched his thoughts play across his face. He seemed to be battling some conflicting emotions that centered solely around me.

  I didn’t know for certain how Katsu truly felt about me. I didn’t know if he had resigned himself to his fate and sometimes forced himself to pay more attention to me, as if to give the idea of our union a chance, a strange need to fulfill his duty and play his role to perfection. Or perhaps he actually felt something more than just a sense of duty. Maybe he longed to find a sense of belonging and acceptance much the same way I did despite our union remaining an order and not simply a choice.

  He leaned his head forward a little, and I nearly panicked. I had never been kissed before. I had no idea if I wanted to be kissed. My inexperience was something Katsu expected, but I was certain over his lifespan he had been with many women. I couldn’t imagine he would have remained alone, waiting for the moment when we could be together. How could I compare to those other women when I was so terribly naïve?

  He rested his forehead against mine, giving me a brief respite as I tried to come to terms with our physical contact, his close proximity, and the way my heart raced even though I didn’t want to feel anything for him.

  He breathed in deeply, and then placed a lingering kiss on my cheek. “You’re trembling.” His voice sounded gruff. “Do I frighten you, Mikomi?” He pulled back. His eyebrows furrowed with worry.

  I looked at the floor. “No, I’m not frightened. I’m simply not used to…to being touched by a man…I mean, I don’t know how to react…I…” Why couldn’t I form one coherent sentence at the moment? I didn’t love him. I knew I didn’t, but his presence affected me nonetheless.

  He lifted a hand and brushed back strands of hair from the side of my face, tucking them behind my ear. I felt a warm tingle at his touch and used all my will power not to shiver in front of him.

  “Mikomi, please look at me.”

  I did as I was told and raised my eyes to his.

  “I know this is all very new to you, but I wonder if you would allow me to—”

  There was a knock at the door and the guard said, “Your meal has arrived, Princess.”

  Whatever Katsu had been about to ask, and whatever courage he seemed to have gathered was interrupted. He pulled away from me and walked to the door. Opening it, he beckoned the servants to set up the food in the center of the room where a table low to the ground stood surrounded by a few red cushions.

  I was relieved that our conversation had been cut short. His intensity had been overwhelming.

  “May I eat with you, Princess?” Katsu asked. My stomach tightened further, wondering if I would be able to handle more alone time with him, but I nodded my consent. I knew it really hadn’t been a question anyway. He had come to my quarters for a reason. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy his company, but I felt hopelessly confused as to how I was supposed to respond to his hot and cold behavior.

  I needn’t have worried about the intensely charged atmosphere. Once the meal had been set and Katsu and I began eating, it seemed that whatever question he had wished to ask, and whatever moment we had been about to share, would not be brought up again.

  The moment was gone.

  “I wondered if we might train a little today before your outing with Kenji,” he said after serving me some roasted fish. “You’ve never actually trained with my sword, and it is going to be important for you to become familiar with its energy and how it relates to your own healing powers.”

  I nodded. “Of course, I am certainly happy to learn more.”

  “What do you know about the sword thus far?” he asked.

  I searched my memory, attempting to dredge up the few lessons Kenji had forced upon me before giving up once he realized that I was steadfastly in denial about my prophesied future.

  “The only thing I am positive of is it is used to strengthen weak areas within the veil.”

  I could tell Katsu was not happy with my ignorance on the matter. “In order to understand how the sword strengthens the veil, you must learn what its powers are.” He shifted on his cushion. “The sword is directly connected to the health of the veil. Our First Parents knew the veil would eventually weaken against the never ending onslaught of the demon god, requiring a massive amount of energy to sustain the line between the world of those who have passed on and those who are living.”

  “How did they find that kind of energy?”

  “That question pertains to your healing powers. When you connect to someone’s ki you’re connecting directly to the life force or essence of that individual. What do you sense during these connections?”

  I thought about it for a moment and could come up with only one answer.

  “Intelligence.”

  Katsu smiled and nodded. “Correct. Everything, down to the smallest particles of life have intelligence and can function to create some of the world’s most magnificent creatures with the right amount of guidance. Within these intelligences you have unlimited amounts of power and energy, and a person’s ki is the purest source of energy available. And where does their ki go when an individual passes on?”

  My eyes widened as I realized where this conversation was going. “Their spirits move through the veil to the other side. In other words, on the other side of the veil are millions of spirits, life forces that continue to progress and grow with power due to their increase in intelligence.”

  Katsu smiled. “Exactly. Their energy is what sustains the strength of the veil, but in order to harness that energy and help pinpoint it to where it is most needed, there has to be a conductor of sorts, something that can penetrate the veil, absorb the energy and channel it into the fabric of the veil, thereby strengthening it.”

  “So those we have lost to the other side of this veil, they are literally all around us, just participating in a different way and on a different plane than we are.” I thought about this new information and felt certain I wasn’t going to be happy to receive an answer to the question I posed next. “If this sword is able to channel power to heal the veil, why am I needed?”

  “With every new recruit, the demon god receives power from their ki as well, and the balance between a life force that has chosen good over that of one who has chosen evil is quickly tipping. There are no longer merely one or two places that the veil is weakened at any given times. Amatsu plans his attacks all at once in several locations. The sword alerts me to these breaches when it lets off a bright golden glow, and I am led to them through the power of the sword, but I can only fix one weakened area at a time due to the fact that the sword cannot handle more power than it was made to.” He reached a hand across the table and softly touched mine. “Your ability to take a person’s ki and guide them into healing themselves is exactly the kind of procedure you would use with the veil, but you would be doing it on a much grander scale with thousands of individual ki available for you to guide.”

  I swallowed hard, unable to imagine having thousands of ki all responding to my every instruction. “How would I accomplish this?”

  “First, you must lea
rn to feel the veil around you. Once you are able to do so, you will be able to sense where it is weakening. We hold the sword together, and you use our combined, soul mated ki to channel your power through the sword in order to connect to the spirits on the other side. The sword then becomes an amplifier of your gift, enabling you to communicate and guide thousands of ki, teaching them how to use their energy to repair and strengthen all of the weakened points at the same time instead of having to do so one by one.”

  “I didn’t know our ki would be used together.”

  Katsu looked down, seemingly uncomfortable. “We haven’t talked much about your ascension. On your eighteenth birthday we do what is called a binding ceremony where our souls are bound together forever. Once that is accomplished, you will be ready for your full ascension as a kami, having a ki as powerful as that of any other immortal being.”

  “If my ki already heals my body, why am I still considered half mortal? What is it that you do that brings me to full immortality?”

  “Once we are bonded, I use my ki to heal the half of your ki that is mortal. I won’t go into the details of how at the moment since we are still five months from the ceremony, but I can assure you, once you are a full kami you and I will have no problem healing the veil together.”

  “Forever.” I hadn’t meant to say it as if it were some kind of prison sentence, but I couldn’t consider it anything else. “And what if I fail, Katsu? What if the prophecy is wrong, and I’m simply not powerful enough to heal the veil with you?”

  Katsu brushed my hand with his as if to encourage me. “The prophecy is not wrong, Mikomi. I promise you, you will be ready for this when the time comes.”

  “But what if I’m not? What if I can’t?”

  “Then the veil will fall, the demon god will win, and this world and all of humanity will be thrown into the hands of a bloodthirsty, power hungry god.”

  I felt the full weight of my responsibility nearly crush me where I sat, and suddenly such mundane activities as eating food or conversing with Katsu seemed trivial and out of place considering the severity of the consequences that would follow if I didn’t fulfill my part in the prophecy.

  “Mikomi, you must have more faith in yourself. You won’t fail. We won’t fail.”

  I looked into Katsu’s eyes, felt the truthfulness of his words behind the emotions seeping through that ever present wall of his. His sincerity, his belief in me was humbling, and I felt certain I would never be the kind of person to deserve it. Not when I desperately desired to run away from my responsibilities and into the arms of a man far different from this warrior god seated before me.

  “Would you like to hold the sword? Get a feel for it and its energy?”

  I nodded.

  Katsu stood up and pulled a long straight sword from his saya. The blade, though made of steel, seemed to glow with a vibrant, gold light. The hilt was silver and simple, without ornate carvings or embellishments. It really was the most unassuming weapon, one I never would have considered sufficient for healing the veil if I didn’t know better.

  “Do you also use this sword in battle?”

  “I do. It is one of the few weapons that has the power to fight against the forces of the demon god. Nekomata are easily dealt with.”

  He motioned for me to stand beside him. I left the table and crossed over to his side.

  “Now, take the sword by the hilt, and with the point touching the floor, I want you to close your eyes and connect to it.”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Connect to it? But it is metal.”

  Katsu smiled knowingly. “Take the hilt and you will see what I mean.”

  I did as I was told, bringing the point of the blade to the floor as I marveled at its lightweight feel considering its size. Once I closed my eyes, I attempted to connect with it just as if it were a living, breathing entity.

  I felt a slight stirring from the sword and then a strange intelligence brushed my consciousness, latching on to it and allowing me a connection. I might have dropped the blade from the unexpected sensation, but the connection I experienced was overpowering my senses. With it I felt an energy and power buzzing through me. Soon I felt other energies and forces moving toward me at an alarming rate, all hoping to latch on and communicate to me something important, but I couldn’t understand their meaning nor their intent, and I wasn’t used to so many life forces connecting with me all at once.

  I quickly broke from them, and, without meaning to, dropped the sword to the floor. I was breathing heavily and looked at Katsu, wondering if I had done something wrong. He simply gave me a smile and bent down to retrieve the sword. Considering its importance, I wondered if I should have been punished for my careless treatment of it.

  “There were several energies responding to you, correct?” he asked as he sheathed the sword.

  I nodded, still feeling slightly out of sorts. “How will I ever be able to channel so many ki at one time?”

  “Because you will have me. As one who is not full kami, the weight of those intelligences would be too much for your mind to handle, but as a kami bonded to my ki, my energy will be at your disposal to help strengthen your abilities. You will find that this will not be so daunting a task.” He gave me a tender, but firm look. “This is why we must practice, Mikomi, and why you must learn to feel the veil around you without the use of the sword, and without assistance of those that are near death themselves.” He took my hand in his and rubbed his thumb across the back of it. “We must develop these skills before your ascension.”

  The need to escape the mounting pressure building within my chest was quickly becoming the only thought I could hold on to with any kind of clarity. If I thought the salvation of the world had been too great of a responsibility it was because I had never experienced the kind of responsibility the veil placed upon me. With so many intelligences clamoring for my guidance and direction, I couldn’t begin to understand how I would ever survive the process.

  And for eternity?

  I’d never considered myself special in any way. My healing power had been a natural extension of me, like an appendage or the permanent color of my eyes. I could use it to help others, and in that I had some measure of control, some source of happiness and fulfillment. I couldn’t begin to imagine how I would ever turn from healing people in need to healing a veil for the rest of my existence. I understood my responsibilities. I knew that everything rested solely upon my person, but did it have to? Would I be trading in one prison sentence for another once I married Katsu and left this empire behind me?

  I needed to be noble, self-sacrificing, and duty bound, but I felt too small and insignificant, too overwhelmed as I learned more about my future role as The Healer.

  “I think perhaps we have done enough for one day. The power you were exposed to can be draining, even for a kami, and you are still half mortal.” Katsu studied me intently, looking concerned. “Perhaps it was too much, Mikomi.”

  I shook my head. “No, it was important for me to know. I needed to know.” It wasn’t the best in the way of reassurance, but it was all I could say without breaking down and begging Katsu to choose someone else. Someone less selfish and cowardly. I closed my mouth tight and endured my panic and anxiety in silence.

  Katsu gave me one last searching look and then nodded, clearly satisfied with my response. “I will leave you to rest then. Until tomorrow?”

  “Yes. Of course.”

  He surprised me by leaning down and placing a gentle kiss upon my forehead, and then he disappeared through the door.

  * * *

  Akane was waiting for me at the ruins as requested. She sent Yao and Chan to one of the abandoned buildings for light refreshment, and as a way to ensure they didn’t hear anything that would put them at more risk than they already were.

  I agreed wholeheartedly, recognizing their lives were in danger should the emperor ever discover where their loyalties lay, and how they aided my involvement with the rebels.

  Akane didn’
t waste time with pleasantries but delved into the matter at hand.

  “Mikomi, I was quite worried about your message. Has your father discovered your involvement with us?” she asked.

  “No. Nothing like that. If he had, I most certainly wouldn’t be here. Most likely I’d be in a cell somewhere. Something strange happened today.”

  I explained in detail the healing my father had summoned me to perform and the unusual entities in his officers’ different bloodstreams. I also discussed the memories I had absorbed. All the while, dear, supportive Kenji stood by my side, his agitation growing with each word that passed my lips.

  Our first order of business was to utilize the map she brought with her so as to notate the areas that had been similarly marked within the soldier’s memories. With that accomplished, we moved on to the more distressing part of their memories and the unorthodox meeting with my father and his men.

  “In these memories you absorbed, your father’s officers were injured on purpose in order to receive an audience with you?” she asked.

  “Yes, and I can only assume that whatever substance existing within the drink they imbibed has something to do with why.”

  “Perhaps it is the drink itself that contained these entities you speak of,” Kenji offered. “Though how they would assimilate themselves within the blood is puzzling and a bit unsettling. It almost sounds similar to a process used by the demon god before he was cast out by our First Parents.”

  I quirked a questioning eyebrow a him. “What process, Kenji?”

  My tutor shifted his stance and leaned heavily against his cane. Without thinking I touched his arm, connected with his ki and eased the pain in his joints all within a matter of seconds. He gave me a rueful yet grateful look and then moved on to his explanation.

  “After the creation of the world, the kami and all other forms of life, there began to be divisions of power amongst the kami—roles assigned by our First Parents to keep the balance of nature and the world in which nature exists.”

  I nodded, remembering the lessons he had taught me from a tender, young age.