Frail Human Heart

by Zoe Marriott

  Aaand now it’s much, much worse.

  As one, the guards took a wary step back. There was a flare of light: both sets of tails had gone up defensively and were crackling with electricity. The male guard’s tail let out a purplish spurt of panicked lightning. He caught it one-handed, letting it spike between his fingers in place of his broken weapon.

  Keeping my hand away from my sword hilt with an effort, I eased forward, urging Jack behind me and hip-checking Rachel to force her to let me through when she resisted. I searched the guards’ faces in vain for a sign of recognition. They didn’t know who I was, and I didn’t know them, either. Damn.

  “Listen,” I said, showing them my empty hands. “This isn’t what you think. I’m sure you’ve heard of me – I’m Yamato Mio-dono, the sword-bearer. I am a friend. We’re all friends here.”

  The female guard stared hard at me for a moment, then lowered her bow so that the arrow pointed at the ground. “I’ve heard about the sword-bearer.”

  “Don’t believe them!” the mouthy male one cried. “They’re humans!” He jerked his hand back as if to let the ball of lightning in his hand fly—

  The amphitheatre flooded with vibrant light, as bright as day. I looked up to see a whole constellation of pale blue fox lights filling the space under the silver leaves.

  “The sword-bearer’s powers seem to be evolving at a prodigious rate, indeed,” said a familiar voice. It echoed with ancient power that betrayed its light, youthful quality and, as always, made my knees go slightly wobbly.

  The guards drew back from us – the un-thrown lightning bolt in the male one’s hand snuffed out like a candle – and prostrated themselves on the grass as the king stalked into view.

  She was in her human form, a slender young girl, shorter than me, with pale skin and a light dusting of freckles. Having now met Hikaru as a girl, I saw that the resemblance between them was really striking, even though Hikaru was much taller and more athletically built. They could have been sisters. The king’s copper hair was piled on top of her head in a mess of corkscrew curls, and she was swathed from neck to ankle in what I was sure had to be the fanciest dressing gown in this or any other realm − scarlet velvet with a stiff mandarin collar, huge bell-shaped sleeves and yards and yards of winking golden embroidery. Her great fan of tails – nine in all, showing that she was at least a thousand years old – was currently lit up with a sizzling glow of blue fire, tiny bolts of lightning leaping from tail to tail.

  I caught a glimpse of acid green eyes blazing with tumultuous emotions that I couldn’t identify and looked away hurriedly.

  “Your Majesty—”

  She cut me off. “This rupture punched through our protective wards as if they were tissue paper and opened my own personal gateway, in the middle of the night” – oh, crap, that’s right: day and night are reversed in the spirit realm – “without any prior warning. How is this possible? And how on earth did you imagine that I would allow you – even you – to get away with it?” Her voice was icy, but beneath the ice I sensed something else. Unhappiness. Almost fear.

  The king? Afraid? Of … what?

  “Grandmother.” Hikaru was suddenly right next to me, haphazardly brushing soil off her hands. I only just controlled a startled jump. I’d almost forgotten about her: it had taken her long enough to turn up. But, of course – she’d had to close the rupture behind us before she could do anything else.

  The king seemed to turn into a statue as she stared at her youngest descendant. Her gaze turned glassy. It was as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

  I heard Hikaru gulp. “Grandmother, this is my fault. Please don’t blame Mio or the others – they didn’t know that I was going to bring us here. I apologize deeply for using the throne gateway without permission. I never meant to offer you any disrespect. I honestly wasn’t even sure that I could open a rupture at all, let alone lift the wards to let us in, and I didn’t stop to think of the consequences.”

  Great. Now you tell us.

  “You did this?” the king whispered, her face still immobile with shock. “You’re not even half a century old. Great and little gods, you must be the most powerful Kitsune to be born since…”

  “Since you, Grandmother?” Hikaru finished when the other fox spirit’s voice trailed off.

  The king’s face lit with fury. She marched towards Hikaru and dealt her a ringing blow upside the head.

  “You thoughtless, reckless child! How dare you disappear without a word to me or anyone, sneak into the mortal realm against my express instructions, enter a battle with a swarm of Shikome and then not even bother to let us know you are alive?!”

  “I – I thought – your scrying mirror…” Hikaru said weakly, clutching the back of her skull.

  “The power explosion from the sword shattered it. Scouts went out to look for you and found the city awash with monsters and no sign of you. I was worried out of my mind, Hikaru!”

  On the last word her voice trembled, and the next thing I knew she was hugging Hikaru fiercely.

  “I’m sorry,” Hikaru said, in a completely different tone to her formal apology earlier. “I really am. I didn’t realize… I didn’t know you’d worry.”

  “Well, you should have! Perhaps I have not always been the … the most demonstrative of grandparents, but you must know that I love you, child. Never put me through such an ordeal again.”

  The king sniffed hard, then stepped back from Hikaru and took the younger Kitsune’s face between her hands in a gesture that reminded me uncomfortably of my mother. Her expression grew steely. “And now, hear this. If you defy me a second time there will be consequences, Granddaughter. The only reason I am not punishing you is that it’s a first offence, and I’m too bloody relieved. Once more, and you will be in exile. With your Aunt Midori and the lovely Miyako-san. Think on that.”

  Hikaru gulped again. The king let go of Hikaru’s face, shook herself and seemed to remember that the rest of us were still there.

  “You two! Get up!” She prodded one of the guards, who were still lying on the grass, with a small, bare foot. “That may be how things are done in the Old Kingdom, but if you dive headfirst onto the grass every time you have the honour of being in my presence, you’ll end up with indelible grass stains on your foreheads.”

  As the guards got sheepishly to their feet, she turned back to me. I thought that there might be the slightest hint of an apology in her voice when she said, “I am glad that I was not mistaken in you, Yamato Mio-dono.”

  “I am glad that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, Your Majesty.”

  “Who are the new people that you have brought to meet us?” she asked. Then her gingery eyebrows went up. “Surely not… Are these your parents, sword-bearer?”

  I nodded. “This is Yamato Takashi and Yamato Aiko. I brought them here to be safe, since London is under attack by denizens of the Underworld.”

  Shinobu let go of my mum’s shoulders and stepped out of their way. My parents – not being idiots – said nothing, just executed twin deep bows. Normally the king expected newcomers who hadn’t yet been awarded a status to do a dive onto the grass pretty much exactly the way that the guards had done, but since she was apparently not in the mood for that, I let Mum and Dad get on with it.

  “The family of the sword-bearer is, of course, welcome,” the king said, with a gracious wave of her hand. “Given what we have observed of the state of the city, and taking into account Hikaru’s somewhat precipitous actions in bringing you here, I assume that you have at last come to claim the boon that I granted you?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.” But I couldn’t spill the beans about that just yet, so I quickly changed the subject. “I finally know what the sword is and where it came from. It is a god-killing blade, and tonight, at midnight in the human realm, Izanami-no-Kami will open the mouth of Yomi and unleash the Underworld on London in order to try to retrieve it. If I’m to prevent the destruction of the city and perhaps our entire world, I must fi
ght Izanami’s former husband, Izanagi-no-Kami, and send him back to his wife in hell.”

  For once, I saw the king look thoroughly disconcerted. Her eyes flicked to the hilt of the sword protruding over my left shoulder, and then back to my face, and then, surprisingly, to my parents. “I … see. Go on.”

  “We don’t know where the mouth of Yomi will open, or where the battle will take place. London is already a war zone. By tonight it’s likely to be even worse. I need to know that I – and everyone I’ve brought with me here – will be able to get to the fight in time, and in one piece. Can you help?”

  “This fight concerns the fate of an entire plane. I will willingly place my soldiers – the Kitsune that you fought alongside at Battersea – at your disposal. But they are only a small force. I fear it may require more to guarantee your safety and the safety of your friends.” She pursed her lips. “It is against my principles to order my Kingdom to war. Many of my people are not fighters by nature, nor trained warriors, though they all possess the natural weapons of the Kitsune. If that is the boon you wish to claim…?”

  “It isn’t,” I said quickly. “There’s something else that I want to ask of you, something even more important. But it would be great to convince more of your people to fight with us, if we can. Do you think some might volunteer, if we explained the situation to them?”

  “It is possible,” she conceded. “I have made you an adopted daughter of the Kitsune, and you therefore have the right to speak in court, as we all do. If you wish to address my people to plead your cause, I can arrange it.”

  “Address your…?” It took a moment for her meaning to click, and then I quailed, remembering the intimidatingly packed amphitheatre on my first visit here. Most of the Kitsune had looked like they wanted to eat me for breakfast. No way could I get up in front of all those fox spirits and get them to take me seriously. They’d laugh in my face, if they let me speak at all…

  The king arched an eyebrow. “If you do not wish me to order my people to fight, there is nothing else I can do in the matter. As a ruler, I can command, but not beg. You have the power to ask, which I do not.” She hesitated for a second, then added, “If any human can convince them to take up this battle, it would be you, Yamato Mio-dono.”

  When she put it like that … it was still terrifying. But maybe – maybe she was right. I might be able to win at least a few of them over. The worst that could happen was that they’d say no.

  That, or you could expose your pants to them all again.

  I cleared my throat. “We don’t have much time.”

  “Then you must make up your mind swiftly. I can summon my people almost immediately if that is what you want.”

  I sighed. “Yes, please.”

  “Very well. Guards! Rouse the Kingdom. Tell my people that the sword-bearer wishes to address them and does so with the king’s blessing and favour. Attendance is mandatory. Then alert my soldiers and have them ready themselves for battle.” She paused. “And when you’ve done all that, for the love of heaven, one of you bring me a cup of tea.”

  CHAPTER 21

  DAUGHTER OF THE KITSUNE

  T he amphitheatre was full. I thought there were more Kitsune here now even than the first time. The grassy steps that ran around the walls of the steep bowl were jostling with foxes of every description. Classic red-and-white foxes like Hikaru and the king. Sandy-coloured foxes with huge, pointed ears and dark eyes. Tiny white foxes with black-tufted fur. Grey foxes, brown foxes, black foxes. Foxes with every number of tails possible, all the way up to eight. The whole of King Takahiro’s Kingdom had turned out for this. Their curious chattering voices blended into an overwhelming tide of sound, and they were all staring at me.

  I took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm my heartbeat and suppress the queasy simmering in my stomach. I had fought and survived a nine-tailed vampire-cat-demon, swarming Shikome and the worst that the dream realm had to offer. No way was a little speech going to make me ralph in public.

  Right?

  The king – in fox form now, and firmly back in control – approached me where I sat on the lowest tier of the steps. I was surrounded by my mum and dad and Jack and Rachel, with Shinobu’s arm wrapped comfortingly around my shoulders. Hikaru had disappeared a short while ago with a promise to return before I started.

  “Everyone is now present,” the king said. “It is time for you to speak.”

  I tried to respond, but my voice came out as a squeaky whistle.

  Shinobu tucked my hair behind my ear, his expression serious. “You are Yamato Mio-dono, onna bugeisha, the bearer of the god-killing blade. You are the equal of anyone in this place. You can do this.”

  “Listen to him, honey,” Mum said warmly, as if that list of weirdness was completely normal. “We believe in you.”

  My dad patted my shoulder bracingly, and Rachel backed them both up with a firm nod.

  “Knock ’em dead, She-Ra,” Jack said. “But keep your trousers on this time.”

  My parents both stared at her in shock. Somehow I had managed to avoid mentioning that part of the story to either of them. I glared at her, and she gave me a helpless shrug.

  With a sigh, I got to my feet and reached back to draw the sword, still sheathed in the saya, from its place in the harness. Maybe it was wrong of me to take comfort in that scorching pulse of power, like the heartbeat of a living nuclear bomb in my hand. But at this point, did it matter? The blade wasn’t going to interfere with this – I was doing exactly what it wanted. Everything that it wanted. Soon, it would be unbound and free to attempt to destroy Izanagi, the one who had imprisoned it. The sword was happy. Its energy purred with the contentment of a sabre-toothed tiger about to feast on the guts of easy prey.

  The king led me back to the centre of the bowl and the low green hill that was her throne. It struck me that Araki or another of the king’s servants really ought to be doing this little escorting job. The fact that she was walking with me herself was a rare and pretty amazing honour. She was letting everyone within the court see that she considered me worthy of the personal attention of their ruler.

  She might not be able to stoop to asking her people for their help, but it seemed she wasn’t above flinging a fairly hefty hint at their heads.

  We reached the base of the hillock and circled it. For the first time I saw the back of the throne. Steps like the ones in the wall of the amphitheatre, but on a much smaller scale, had been set into the smooth curve of the grass to allow someone in human form to ascend easily. That was good, because otherwise, knowing my luck, I’d have slipped in the scramble and ended up doing a faceplant in front of the entire court.

  Before I could start up the hill, the king turned to me and sat, her tails fanning the air behind her gently. “Since we have a spare moment, perhaps you would enlighten me as to the nature of the boon that you intend to claim from me?”

  It was framed – politely – as a request, but clearly it was a command. She was done waiting. This must have been bugging her since I’d turned cagey about it in front of my parents. Maybe even since I’d asked to hang onto the debt instead of claiming it right after we’d slain the Nekomata.

  I looked around cautiously. No fox spirits sat directly behind the hill – not surprising, since you would struggle to see what was going on from that angle. The height and width of the hill blocked us from most of the amphitheatre. But Kitsune did have really acute hearing…

  “I have blocked us from my people’s eyes and ears,” the king said. “Our conversation will be private.”

  Might as well get it over with.

  “You … know, don’t you?”

  Her eyes narrowed a little. “Know what?”

  “What’s going to happen to me.” I was surprised at how steady and matter-of-fact the statement came out. “I could see it in your face when I told you about my plan – the way you looked at my mum and dad. To succeed in sending Izanagi to hell I have to kill him. I’ll never survive that, and if I don
’t manage to kill him, he’ll slaughter me anyway. One way or another, things aren’t looking that great for me past midnight tonight.”

  She sighed. “I’m glad you’re aware of the consequences of what you intend to attempt. I was afraid it might fall on me to inform you.”

  “No, I know what I’m doing. But the thing is … what you couldn’t realize … is when the sword’s greatest power is summoned, Shinobu will also … lose his life.” Now my words croaked a bit, but I forged on. “That means, whether I win or lose, my friends and parents will be left alone when the battle ends. The boon that I’m asking of you is to take care of them. If Izanagi walks away and Izanami continues her assault, then the city is going to be overrun with Yomi creatures. My family and friends will need sanctuary. If I win, there will still most likely be dangers to face and they might not be fit to defend themselves. I need you to promise me that whatever happens, you’ll keep them safe once I’m not here to do it.”

  The king stared at me, motionless, eyes wide. “Out of all the favours that I have the power to grant you, you would choose this? Didn’t it occur to you to request that I shelter you from the blast of Izanagi’s power? Or even to ask me, as an immortal, to fight in your place? The debt that we owe you is immeasurable. I could not turn you down.”

  Well, that explained why she had been so desperate to know what I was going to ask for. I looked away from her, trying to put my feelings into words.

  “Your Majesty, ever since I took my grandfather’s sword from its hiding place, I’ve had this odd feeling that came and went. I kept imagining that … that these immense forces were swirling around me, changing the universe while I stood, helpless, at the epicentre, feeling it all shift. But I had it wrong, and I realized that today. There is no great power controlling the world and forcing me to walk a predestined path. There’s just me. The reason I felt the universe changing was that I was changing it. These choices, these terrible choices that kept altering the fate of the world – they were mine. Today I came to this moment, this choice that literally put my world in my hands, and I had the chance to walk away, and I couldn’t.” I looked back at her. “This is my fight. My responsibility. I know what I have to do. I just need to know that my loved ones will be safe when I’m done.”