“How did you find them?” Kaito asked Shin.
“They gave us a lovely chase. One attacked, and the other popped up further away. At first, we thought we were dealing with a single kijo, until Akane caught this one.” He nodded to the kijo who’d spat at him.
Were they working for Hisato? A pair of kijo felt out of character for Hisato, who was a master of tricks and illusions. But then again, he might have sent them just to distract him keep him off the trail of something else.
“You are fortunate, I am in a rush. Tell me who sent you, and I will spare your miserable lives.”
“Why would we tell anything to a pretender like you,” said the kijo who’d spat, as she bared her crooked yellow teeth at him.
“You’re right, I don’t need both of you alive to answer me. Kill her,” Kaito said to a soldier, who drew his blade and pressed it to the kijo’s throat.
“Don’t you dare harm her!” Seethed the second kijo, as she struggled in her bindings, trying to get closer to her sister. A soldier grabbed her shoulder and held her back.
“Tell me who sent you, or I will have him spill your sister’s blood,” Kaito said.
The kijo stared at him with red eyes narrowed, and he stared back unblinking.
She bowed her head. “He didn’t give us his name or show us his face, but he paid us to keep your soldiers, and you distracted.”
“What are you distracting us from?”
“I don’t know,” the kijo replied with a snarl.
“Kill her,” Kaito said to the soldiers.
The second kijo leaned toward him. “I’m telling the truth. It was a powerful being, a lesser kami, perhaps. He offered us energy in exchange for our services. Please don’t kill her.”
Kaito held up his hand to halt the soldier who withdrew the blade. She wasn’t lying, it seemed. Something still felt off. Would Hisato have paid a couple kijo just to take them off the trail of Tsuki and Akira? It seemed excessive when he could create portals to transport them anywhere in Akatsuki.
“I spare you today, but should you ever step foot on my lands again, you will not leave them alive. Understand?”
Both kijo nodded their heads in understanding.
“See they leave, and don’t come back,” he said to the soldiers before striding away.
Shin and Akane fell into step beside them. “You’re going to let them go? Before you would have gutted them where they stand.”
He’d grown tired of the bloodshed. The yokai were so few now, if he killed everyone who displeased him, there would be none left in another century. Besides, they were weak. Whoever had bribed them had done so with the promise of spiritual energy. They were no threat to him or his kingdom. Let them live and return to whatever hole they’d crawled out of.
“I want you to follow them, see where they go,” Kaito said.
“Ah, that’s more like The Dragon, I know.” Shin chuckled.
“I need to know what this diversion was for,” Kaito said.
“We wasted half a day chasing them down, maybe they were to help Akira and Tsuki escape,” Akane said.
“No. It had to be something else. Akira and Tsuki aren’t that important.”
“What if they were part of the distraction as well. What if they were trying to draw you away from the palace?” Akane said.
Kaito froze mid-step.
“If that’s the case, we should head—” Shin hadn’t even finished his sentence before Kaito was launching himself into the air. Suzume was still at the palace. Hisato didn’t want Akira and Tsuki, he wanted Suzume. This entire chase had been designed to leave her unprotected.
Sweat beaded on Suzume’s forehead, and her jaw ached from clenching it. She glared at her open palm, envisioning the fire, the flicker of flames, the familiar warmth. Why was this so hard? Just days before, creating a fireball had been as easy as breathing. The fire was there just beneath the surface, a raging inferno waiting to be unleashed. But it was as if something was blocking the power from her. For days she’d been trying to unleash it, only for it to remain elusively outside her reach.
Suzume growled in frustration as she let her hand swing lamely down to her side. Dark gray clouds gathered in the sky, threatening rain.
“Why can’t I do it?” she shouted, her voice drowned out by the crashing of waves outside the palace walls.
“You can, you just have to let go,” Souta said.
He had been repeating that same phrase over and over, like a chant that would unlock her power. If only Ryuu were here. She almost missed his nagging, at least under his tutelage she made real progress. But he was miles away by now, searching for the last fragment. He was doing something useful. Meanwhile, she couldn’t create even a spark, and all Souta could tell her was to ‘let go.’
“I’ve told you, I’m not holding onto anything! What are you asking me to let go of exactly?” She held up her empty hands, turning them over to show him.
“What you hold onto is not in the physical realm, but the anger you are harboring in your heart. For the power to flow, it must be free of all obstacles. You must forgive those who’ve wronged you.” Souta said it like it was as simple as emptying a bucket.
“Forgive.” She scoffed. “How can I forgive them, they betrayed me!” She paced around the training grounds, kicking sand in the sparring ring.
Souta watched with a serene expression on his wrinkled face. How was he so calm? This was a disaster. She’d lost her staff and with it the ability to use her power. All because of Akira and Tsuki. She thought they were different. She thought they were her friends. This is why it was better not to let anyone in. Friendship was a dream, something people wanted to believe was real, but in the end, people only wanted you for how much they could get from you. And once they were done, they disposed of you. Suzume kicked over a stand of training staffs and wooden weapons. They fell over with a satisfying clatter.
“Life is chaos, things do not always go as you expect, or how you want. When you go to face Hisato, do you think he will let you fight him in ideal conditions? You must learn to work around the distractions—” Souta said.
“How can I even think about facing Hisato without my staff!” She spun on Souta, her face flushed with anger. “There won’t be a battle if I can’t use my power. What if I have to learn how to use it all over again. How long will that take? A month? Six? A year or more?” She was breathing hard, her nails dug into her palm.
Souta rested his hand on her shoulder. “You have not lost your power, once the shock wears off—”
She knocked his hand aside. “It’s been days, and I still can’t summon even a simple flicker. Without the staff, I’m nothing.”
She reached for where the staff was usually strapped to her back, only to be reminded again it was gone. Countless times over the past few days, she’d reached for it without thinking. Saying it out loud made it that much more real. But it was true. Before she’d found Kazue’s staff, she was nothing but a walking bonfire. The staff helped channel her energy and helped her control it. Without it, she couldn’t summon the flame at will, and it felt as if she’d lost a limb.
“The staff is merely a tool, you will see that with time. How about we meditate to finish today’s lesson?”
Suzume ground her teeth. Meditation, that was Souta’s answer for everything. It hadn’t worked the last dozen times they’d tried, and she wasn’t sure what difference it would make this time. But instead of arguing with him, she sat down on the ground. Maybe this time, it would calm her nerves at least.
“Close your eyes,” Souta instructed.
She did as she was told. This was stupid. Why was she even wasting her time?
“Listen to the sound of the ocean and breathe in with the rhythm of the waves. In and out...”
The waves crashed, and seagulls cried overhead. She felt like the rocks on the shore, constantly buffeted, over and over, slowly being chipped away until there was nothing left. No, don’t think about it. She had to clear her
mind...
“Feel the wind as it moves through your hair.”
When Kaito had carried her on his back, it had been both thrilling and terrifying. He had treated her as an equal. But she had failed, and nearly gotten herself killed. While Kaito was out searching for Tsuki and Akira, she was locked inside his gilded cage. He hadn’t even bothered to ask if she wanted to search, he’d just left her behind. Would there ever be another chance?
“Now open the channels of your energy, let it flow...” Souta’s voice washed over her.
What if she never recovered her power? What if she remained helpless, dependent on others, but unable to trust anyone? The thought burst through, raging along her body like a wildfire. No. She wouldn’t be caged.
“You’ve got the flame, now control it,” Souta said firmly.
The fire kept on burning, surrounding her, expanding outward with a destructive hunger. She wanted to burn the entire palace to the ground. She wanted to find Akira and Tsuki and make them pay for their betrayal. A tempest wind blew away her fire, and her eyes flew open. Souta had used his spiritual energy to extinguish her fire.
“Why did you do that. I thought I was supposed to make fire.”
“Not that, not fueled by rage.”
“I think I’ve had enough for one day.” Why was she wasting her time, nothing she did was good enough anyway? The ends of her hair were sparking as were the tips of her fingertips. As before she’d learned to control it, the flame had a mind of its own. Though she should try and calm it, and heed Souta’s words about rage-fueled flame, she let it burn. It heated her skin and stoked embers in her gut.
Noaki, who’d been guarding the entrance to the sparring ground, fell into step beside her. Even he didn’t serve her by choice. He was bound to her by Kazue’s heart, that she had accidentally absorbed. If not, he might have turned on her as well. Nothing around her belonged to her, even the fire that was burning her up from the inside out was Kazue’s, she was nothing but the vessel.
The flames danced along her skin once more, kindled by her growing anger. Yokai moved out of the way as she approached, she supposed the only good thing about losing control was everyone was afraid of her. And wasn’t there power in fear, maybe she couldn’t control it, but the wild, raw energy of the flame had its own influence.
She was nearly across the courtyard, when hitotsume from the other day stepped into her path. He’d chosen the wrong day to mess with her.
“The Dragon isn’t here to protect you this time, human.” The hitotsume smiled, revealing his pointed teeth. A crowd of yokai surrounded her and the hitotsume. Had they planned this ambush?
She reached for her staff. Only to grimace as she grasped only air. If only he wasn’t fireproof, she would have loved to burn him to cinders. Ryuu wasn’t here to scold her, and Kaito wasn’t here to stop her.
“I’m not going to give you a chance to escape this time.”
The hitotsume threw back his head and laughed. “I’ve been watching you, and I know you can’t control your powers, not without your little stick.”
Suzume scanned the yokai around her, Noaki was at the back of the crowd struggling against a pair of Oni who was trying to keep him back. She didn’t need long, she rushed the hitotsume and landed a flaming punch in his single eye. He howled and stumbled backward, clutching his eye, tears streaming down from it. She might not have control of her power, but Ryuu had put her through her paces learning hand to hand combat.
She swept her leg, to kick his legs out from under him, but the hitotsume caught her arm and twisted it behind her. She cried out as she tried to break free of his grip. Her flames rose higher as red filled her vision.
“Try and beg for your life, I’d love to hear it,” he said against her ear.
Suzume grit her teeth. She would kill him with her bare hands if she had to. Another lightning bolt of pain shot through her. He was about to rip her arm out of the socket. Fire engulfed them both as she felt it wash over her like a tide. She thought she’d learned to suppress Kazue, but she’d let her anger get the better of her, given into the primal flame too much. Suzume threw her head back and screamed as flames burst from her lips, and Kazue took control.
11
Smoke rose up on the horizon as Kaito flew closer to the Seaside palace. His worst fears were confirmed. The palace was under attack. Visibility had been reduced, and he couldn’t see where they were being attacked from. Spreading out his spiritual energy, he searched for Hisato or his hybrids and instead found only Suzume’s raw spiritual power, amplified tenfold. She’d lost control to Kazue again. This must have been Hisato’s plan all along, to get her isolated and force her to unleash Kazue.
Embers flew into the air off the burning roofs. Screams echoed as yokai fled away from the collapsing buildings. He never should have left her alone, but he had been so fixated on finding Akira and Tsuki he thought she would be safe back at the palace. If something happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
In the courtyard, an inferno blazed, and at its center, Suzume projected flames at the yokai who rushed her. As a wave of fire shot toward them, they leaped backward, shielding their faces. Kaito landed at the edge of the blaze, the heat too intense to look into directly, and he was forced to take a step back or be set on fire. As he did, his foot kicked the charred corpse of a yokai, their features indistinguishable but for their single eye in the center of their head. The hitotsume...
Fire yokai closed in on Suzume, braving the blaze with weapons drawn.
“Do not harm her, stand down,” Kaito roared at his subjects, to protect himself from the blaze he surrounded himself in his own icy barrier, which melted as quickly as he made it while he crept closer to Suzume.
The fire yokai hesitated to obey his command; their eyes bounced from Suzume, who threw fireballs at Souta, who redirected them onto the ocean with his wind.
“Lay a hand upon her, and you will lose that hand,” Kaito growled.
They set their weapons down and instead fled from the palace. Suzume’s fire was spreading; in no time, the entire palace would be destroyed. Kaito pushed forward, the flames closed in all around him, removing any hope of an escape route. Embers glowed on the ground, and the heat was breaching his barrier by the time he joined Souta and Noaki, who were inside Souta’s spiritual barrier.
“You shouldn’t get any closer, her flames are stronger than ever before,” Souta shouted over the roar of the flames.
A wind buffeted all around, catching strands of Souta’s white hair. As Suzume had been gaining mastery of her flame, it had also made the untamed part of her soul more dangerous. He had hoped to never see her this way again. He thought since she was learning to master her powers, he never would. What had caused her to lose control when she had nearly mastered her ability? That was a question that would need to be answered later.
“How do we stop her?” Kaito asked.
“Only I can subdue her now, but I will need you and Noaki to distract her in the meantime.”
Noaki drew both his blades, ready for Kaito’s signal. Souta’s barrier fell, and the flames rushed in. Kaito recoiled from the heat, but it was soon pushed back by a burst of wind from Souta. With a pathway opened through the fire, Kaito rushed toward Suzume. In retaliation, Suzume flung fire at him, which he zigzagged to avoid it.
Suzume lunged for him with a ball of flame in the palm of her hand, Kaito rolled to avoid her. She was faster than usual. When Kazue took over, her power increased, but this was unprecedented, did she always have this untapped potential within her. Kaito ran, leading Suzume on a chase around the burning courtyard. As she closed in on him, Noaki stepped into his path, drawing her after him instead.
Souta meanwhile was enclosed in his barrier, Kaito couldn’t see him past the smoke clogging the air. A ball of fire zoomed dangerously close to his head, and Kaito spun to face her once more, and she was upon him reaching for him with a fiery grip. Kaito grasped her by the wrist, her flames exploded out of her and
melted the ice he’d coated his skin with to protect him. His burns throbbed as they wrestled against one another. Souta’s song rose on the wind, creating a tempest that blew all of them back, and extinguished Suzume’s flames. Her face was screwed up in anger.
“No! You will not suppress me again!” she roared, fire flickered out of her mouth.
Kaito held onto both her arms, pinning them to her side as the last notes of Souta’s song faded away, and Suzume slumped forward into his arms.
“Don’t worry, I got you now,” Kaito said.
Her expression softened in sleep, but for the slight furrow of her brows. He rubbed his thumb across it. Then hooking his arm under her knees, he cradled her in his arms, carrying her through the burning wreckage of the courtyard. Noaki had sheathed his swords and approached him.
“See to it that the flames are put out, and assess the damage,” he ordered him.
Noaki nodded his head before turning to do as Kaito had commanded.
Most of the damage was concentrated on the outer rings of the palace. And even now, with the source gone, the flames were starting to die down. Kaito carried Suzume through the palace, yokai emerged from their hidey holes and watched them pass with soot-stained faces. Their murmurs followed him as he went.
The inner rings of the palace smelled of smoke and ash carpeted the ground like snow. Other than that, there was no damage. He brought Suzume to the room he had prepared for her, and laid her down on the futon, tucking her in up to her neck. He sat at her bedside for a few moments watching the rise and fall of her chest. He wanted to protect her, and he thought giving her more freedom to gain her own strength would be enough. But even after months of practice, she had lost control of her power and given over to her soul fragment. The damage would take weeks to repair. Not to mention the loss of life.
Footsteps approached, and Kaito stood.
Souta hovered in the doorway, his expression solemn.
“How did this happen?” Kaito growled. Was Souta preparing to betray them as well, was he working for Hisato too? Souta was loyal to that bastard Ryuu, maybe they both were working for Hisato, perhaps Tsuki and Akira’s betrayal had all been part of a greater plot to destroy his palace from within, by using Suzume...
The Fractured Soul Page 9
