A Dragon's Clutch

by Alica Mckenna Johnson

  Thunder rolled and a flash of lightning lit up Mt. Fuji.

  “How long are you planning on standing out here?” Hiroshi asked. Holding an umbrella, he came to stand next to me.

  “Nyota said she would tell me once Emiko finished. Then I’ll go up and wash.”

  He huffed. “You’ll need to soak in the tub. I can hear your teeth chattering.”

  “I will. Plus, I’m sure your grandfather’s stew will help warm me.”

  He shrugged.

  “Hiroshi, go inside,” I said smiling at him. “I’m fine, and I’m sure they won’t be much longer.”

  “I don’t want to. I wanted to draw, and then I saw you out here.”

  I smiled. “Can I see some of your new drawings? If they’re not too personal.”

  He glanced at the ground. “If you want. You don’t have to look at them just to be nice.”

  “I’m not being nice,” I said laughing. “Ask anyone. I don’t go out of my way to be nice. I’m not that good with social skills.”

  “Somehow I doubt that. You’ve been nothing but kind to me. And you haven’t needed to. I’m just Miu’s little brother.”

  “Hey, you’re cool, and I love your manga of us,” I said. “I’m glad you’ve been hanging out with us.”

  “Thanks,” Hiroshi said.

  “Sapphire,” Nyota called.

  “Here.”

  “How long have you been standing in the rain? It’s freezing.”

  “Not long.”

  “Twenty minutes,” Hiroshi said.

  “I’m fine.”

  Nyota frowned as I came into the light. “Your lips are blue.”

  I stepped onto the porch and under the protection of the roof. Gathering my hair, I wrung it out. I didn’t want to leave puddles all over the floor.

  “I’ll bring you warm clothes to change into.”

  I toed off my shoes then took off my socks and hung them on the porch rail, along with my sweater. “Okay, thanks.”

  “Hiroshi,” said Nyota her voice teasing. “Maybe you should go inside.”

  “Oh, yeah. Um, see you later Sapphire.” He rushed inside.

  “What was that about?” I rang out my shirt and yoga pants as best as I could, leaving on my black boy-shorts and tank top.

  “You’re a bit too used to changing in front of people. And you might have broken Hiroshi,” Nyota chuckled.

  Ooops. “I hope I didn’t offend him.”

  “I’m sure you didn’t,” she said. “Go, I’ll follow behind you with a towel to wipe the floor.”

  “Thanks.” I darted up the stairs and into the bathing room. They didn’t have a shower, just a place to soap off and a bucket to rinse yourself with. I poured the cold water over myself and my jaw ached as I clenched my teeth.

  “Ow-ow-ow-ow,” I hissed sliding into the steaming hot tub. The cedar wood it was made from perfumed the air.

  Once my body adjusted to the heat, I relaxed into the water and tears began to flow. Oh, God. What those people had suffered, what they still suffered, their souls bound to the Gaki. Their fears, pain, depression, and overwhelming sense of failure was something I would never forget. I put my hand over my mouth to stifle the sobs. What was I going to do? How could I help the Gaki and all its victims?

  “Sapphire,” Nyota called. “Grandfather says dinner is ready.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right down.”

  “I have clothes for you, can I come in?”

  “Sure.” I ducked my head in a vain attempt to make it look like I hadn’t been crying.

  Nyota set my flannel pajamas on a bench. “Splash your face with some of the cold water. It should reduce the swelling.”

  “Thanks.” I got out and dried off, wrapping my hair in a towel. Nyota had brought me a pair of her thick fuzzy socks to wear. Smiling, I finished getting ready.

  * * *

  “So what should we do?” Michael asked, after I had told everyone what had happened with the Gaki.

  Right now I wanted to go to sleep. My belly was full of rich stew and rice, and my body and heart ached. I wanted this day to be over. “We have the GPS coordinates for the portal. Mr. Monroe left them in the letter he gave me.” Mr. Monroe, a priest and possibly a god, if one chose to believe Cartazonon, had handed me a bag of chocolate bars and a letter as we left Avalon. We had fought a battle and opened a portal in Avalon. We had already been to the other four portals he gave us coordinates to and this was the last one. I wonder if he would give us more.

  Shin nodded. “I think we should check out the portal and see where it is exactly, then we can better determine how we’ll get the Gaki there.”

  “It’s insane. This is going to be like a child trying to drag their drug addict parent to rehab.” I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “It won’t listen to Taliesin. How would we even be able to capture and transport it?”

  “The tengu,” said Hiroshi, smiling he held up his sketch book. A picture of several men and women with large wings and the faces of ravens, kites, and a hawk.

  “They’re real, right?”

  Grandfather patted his hand. “Good thinking. Yes, the tengu would have the power to help.”

  “But will they?” asked Grandmother. “They are powerful beings, and most legends speak of them either killing those who try to contact them or those people disappearing altogether.”

  Yay, more powerful magical beings who aren’t happy to meet me. The picture Hiroshi had drawn showed fierce warriors dressed in traditional kimonos, holding sharp swords and long spears. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting them.

  “Can you please tell us about the tengu? I’m not familiar with them.”

  “They are powerful warriors and skilled martial artists who live in fortress on Mt. Kurama,” Hiroshi began. “They can look fully human but in reality they look like this.” He held up his drawing.

  “It is said they used to play tricks on Buddhist monks trying to tempt them into breaking their vows,” Emiko said. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to contact them.”

  “I will try and get information on them and the Gaki when I dream,” Sasha said.

  “I’ll contact Philip and see if he knows anything about the tengu. How long will we need to get to the portal?” Michael asked.

  Shin looked at his phone. “It’s a three-hour train ride from Tokyo, after that I’m not sure. So two maybe three days depending on what we find?”

  “Where is the portal?” Grandfather asked. Shin handed him his phone. “Oh yes, there is a village close by. You can stay there, and it looks like the portal is by the traditional craftsman village.”

  He showed the map to Grandmother. “I knew there was something special about that place when we visited. The whole village is historic, like one from feudal Japan. They do all sorts of traditional arts: raku, silk painting, weaving, sword making.”

  “I hope the village isn’t full of people who don’t know about the portal and Akasha,” Kayin said. “It’s going to be difficult enough getting the Gaki to the portal.”

  “We’ll have to somehow keep it a secret from here all the way up to Hokkaido,” Sasha said. “It’s not like we can put it on a train.”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Michael said. “Hopefully the tengu will be able to help.”

  “Something felt different about the people in the village,” Grandmother said. “At the time I thought maybe it was because they live in such an old fashioned way or because they are Ainu.”

  “Is there anything else we need to talk about or plan for?” Nyota asked.

  “I don’t know how you’ll be able to move the Gaki,” Emiko said. “It seems impossible, maybe we should leave it.”

  “Too many people are dying because of the Gaki,” I said, not willing to talk about the soul of the Gaki in front of Emiko. “We can’t allow it to continue.”

  Taliesin frowned. “It won’t be easy, but this is what we do.”

  Tears filled her eyes and she grabbed Taliesin’s hand
. “I’m worried about you. I don’t want you to be hurt.”

  “No, of course not,” Taliesin said stroking her hair. “Don’t worry. If we can’t find a safe way to move the Gaki, we won’t do it.”

  “What?” Nyota lifted an eyebrow, her piercing glinting in the light.

  “We will find out all our options and discuss them as a team,” Michael said, his voice firm. He made eye contact with each of us who would be opening the portal.

  Emiko, Hiroshi, and their grandparents were excluded.

  I sipped my tea to hide my smile. Go Michael!

  “When we get back to Tokyo,” Michael continued, “Nyota and I will make travel arrangements to the portal, and possibly to Mt. Kurama. Are there any other magical beings we need to meet before we leave tomorrow?”

  “Some might come to the house,” said Grandfather. “But the Gaki was the only one we felt you needed to know about.”

  Michael nodded. “Okay, then. Who is helping me clean?”

  “Oh no,” said grandmother. “Miu and Emiko will help me. You’re our guest, you go have fun and relax. Girls.”

  They both rose and began collecting dishes. Normally I would have helped, but I didn’t want to be around Emiko any more than I had to.

  “Cards?” asked Grandfather. Michael, Shin and Kayin joined him.

  Nyota left to read, and Sasha and Taliesin went to get ready for bed.

  “Hiroshi, you said you’d show me some more drawings,” I said.

  Hiroshi beamed and shifted to the far end of the table, setting his sketch book out. I moved to sit next to him so I could see better.

  I laughed. The first picture was us at the ninja restaurant. Our server performed a trick, while another ninja lay on the floor barely visible and pulling on my braid.

  Next were pictures of shopping in Tokyo, then of our performance.

  “These are amazing,” I said looking at a drawing of Taliesin wrapped in silks. I turned the page and the acrobats seemed to move across the paper. Two flew through the air while groups at either end waited to catch them. In the middle three of them did backflips. “Hiroshi, you are very talented.”

  “Yeah, you think so?”

  “I do.”

  “I want to do this when I finish school, but Mom and Dad want me to go to college and get a real job.” Hiroshi’s bitterness prickled against my shield.

  “Well, can you take college classes that teach you to do this? Maybe show your parents how dedicated you are?”

  Hiroshi’s brow furrowed as he thought it over. “Maybe. I’ll have to look into it. I want to make them proud of me, but I also don’t want to be trapped in some job, some life I don’t want.”

  I reached up and touched my fire pendant. “I understand. Well, like I said before, when you turn eighteen you can run away with the circus if you want.”

  “Thank you,” Hiroshi said with a grin.

  * * *

  I climbed into bed, the rain still falling on the roof tiles, the sound lulling me to sleep.

  Hands grabbed at me. People called my name. Begging me for help. Their pain and fear choked me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Snakes writhed over my body. Several arched up baring venomous fangs.

  My hair was pulled forcing me to arch my back exposing my neck to the snakes.

  A scream ripped through the image.

  I jerked awake, grasping at my throat. I almost screamed again as my braid jerked back until I realized it had wrapped around my arm. Freeing myself, I got up and walked around Miu, Emiko, and Nyota as I headed for the door. I managed to get down the stairs and out the front door without making too much noise.

  Outside the storm had turned to a light drizzle. Glowing figures danced around the fields. They must be nature spirits. In Japan the Shinto religion believed that all plants, rivers, lakes, and mountains had a spirit. I wondered if that was what I saw. Energy filled the fields as they danced. The tiny rice shoots glowed green under the water.

  I saw other beings join the dance. The pink man with seaweed for hair, cats, badgers, and foxes who danced on their hind legs. Little faeries fluttered from plant to plant encouraging them to grow.

  Darker beasts seemed to slip from shadow to shadow as they came out of the forest to enjoy the power and magic. Ghostly figures, long black hair covering their faces in dirty clumps danced along the paths between the rice patties. A huge snake slithered across the fields, its body draped over the path while its head and tail were in opposite fields.

  A stag pranced among the dancers. Reaching towards the sky his antlers glowed gold with power. With so many branches, I wasn’t able to count them. He moved between the paddies and around each house, his magic creating a protective field. At one house he stopped longer bowing his head and sending out warm blue energy.

  Reaching out with my empathy, I felt the healing power the stag gifted them with. I wondered who was sick in that house. The stag turned and came towards me. I pulled in my empathy, ready to apologize for snooping.

  “Hello, young one. Are you the one who will open the portal?”

  “I am, with help from the others. Are many of you wanting to go to Akasha?”

  “I will be going. I have longed to return home for many centuries now. I have not spoken to the others. I do not wish to interfere or guide their choices.”

  I frowned. “But didn’t you heal someone in that house?”

  He shook his head. “No, I gave healing energy, and if the child chooses to accept it, then it will help her get better. If not, she will die. Her parents prayed at my shrine for help. We will see what the child chooses.”

  Why would he let a child make a life or death choice? Why not heal her directly? “Oh.”

  He chuckled. “I learned my lesson long ago. I might, in this moment, think something is the right choice. I have no idea what is truly best for another being. I am not the one walking their journey.”

  “That sounds like something my mom wrote in her journal.”

  “She is obviously a wise woman,” the stag said.

  I laughed. “She was. She died a long time ago. I used to rely on her journal for the quotes that had inspired her and the lessons she took from them. But now it seems like everything is too complicated the choices too difficult for what she had to teach me.”

  “Yes, I too went through this stage of life. Where the wisdom of my elders was not enough for the complex and complicated problems I faced.” He nodded, while his dark liquid eyes stared off into the darkness, into a memory from long ago.

  “And then?” I asked after a while. I could feel that there was more. He hadn’t offered advice yet.

  He chuckled deep in his chest. “You are smart, little one. I realized that it is our fears and our desire to be important that make everything far more complicated than they need to be. Someday you will realize the simple advice does solve everything.”

  All of my fears, my worries, the things and people I failed came swirling into my brain. Nothing seemed easy or even manageable.

  “Is there any way to speed that up?”

  “I’m afraid not, little one. But perhaps I can sooth one of your worries.” One section of his antlers began to glow and he dipped his head. A jade bell appeared.

  I walked to him, realizing how massive he was with each step. The top of my head reached only an inch or two above the bottom of his chest. Standing on tiptoes I took the bell. The jute cord felt rough against my palm and the jade bell chimed clear and high like a faeries laugh as it swung free. The bell was small, about the size of my thumb, and perfectly shaped.

  I took a deep breath, the power and antiquity overwhelming me for a moment, but no negative emotions were contained within the cool stone.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “It will let the tengu know that I have sent you. It won’t guarantee that they will help you but it will insure your safety while you’re with them.”

  “Thank you,” I said putting the jute cord over my head. The tiny bell hung b
elow my fire pendant. “It is a very generous gift.”

  “You are most welcome, little one. I wish you much luck, and I will see you at the portal when you are ready. I hope you sleep well.”

  A gentle wave of energy came from the stag. Taking a deep breath, I let it in. My mind calmed and I felt sleepy.

  “Thank you,” I said and walked back into the house. My bed was cold when I slid between the covers, but when I relaxed onto my pillow, I fell blissfully asleep.

  * * *

  “Taliesin,” I called, rushing to catch up to him. I’d been trying to speak to him without Emiko all morning. Yes, she’s a Child of Fire, but I wasn’t sure if she knew Taliesin was a unicorn and I wanted to respect his privacy. What did I get for my efforts? Looking like a weird stalker as I tried to find him alone and then I always found him with Emiko. Before breakfast I caught them making out on the stairs. On the train ride back to Tokyo they cuddled next to each other. It had been disgustingly sweet. Honestly, I hoped to avoid seeing them together the rest of our time in Japan.

  “What,” he snapped.

  Rude. “I have a quick question about the bracelet you gave me.”

  “Is that why you’ve been stalking me all morning?”

  Um, again rude. I wasn’t stalking him. “Hey, I wasn’t sure if Emiko knows you’re a unicorn, and I was trying to respect your privacy. Next time I have a questions I’ll just stand there until you come up for air.” He flushed red, embarrassment flowing around him. “Look, I want to know what the gray-brown color means. I’ve seen it several times in the crystal bead.”

  Taliesin frowned. “When?”

  “A few times since we’ve been here. What does it mean?”

  “It’s a hunter. The only time I’ve seen that color in an aura is when a being is hunting.”

  “Well, that’s not overly cheerful, is it? Okay thanks.” I turned to go.

  “Wait, thank you for respecting my privacy.”

  Is that supposed to be an apology? “You’re welcome, I know you’d respect mine.”

  Taliesin turned away. Yeah, I remembered Emiko’s comment about Ramsey.

  “Don’t want to be late,” I said and began to walk to the gym for statue, jump rope, and then Hwa Rang Do practice. No rest for the wicked.