“Then you won’t mind wagering my freedom on it, eh?” sheasked.
“Aika…” Raidenwarned.
“I agree to your terms,” I said coolly, ignoring Raiden. Ineededto dothis.
Evil, feminine laughter echoed throughout the room. “Very well,” thekyuubisaid, eyes sparkling with mischief. Her tails beat the air behind us, whipping up a tornado of flame. “You shall have yourtest.”
And with those words, the world all around us exploded into sapphireflame.
8
Heat unlike anythingI’d ever felt before tore a scream from my lungs. The sapphire flame rippling out from thekyuubimelted the ground into slag, and the smell of burning wood and plastic filled my nose as thick black smoke made my eyes water. The room was so hot I swore my blood was boiling. I’d turn into an Aika-kebab any secondnow.
Maybe this wasn’t such a goodidea.
“What’s the matter, little shaman?” thekyuubimocked. She watched me through glimmering eyes, clearly unaffected by the fire swirling around us. “Can’t you take theheat?”
“I’m fine,” I gasped, doing my best to ignore the rivers of sweat coursing down my body. My lips were chapped, and my mouth was so dry I could barely speak.. But I refused to buckle beneath thekyuubi’spower. Yes, it was hot, but I wasn’t actually dying. I knew thekyuubicouldn’t kill me, not so long as I still held possession of the charm I’d used to summonher.
“Are you going to stand here and stall, or are you going to give me the test?” I managed tosay.
“Very well,” thekyuubisaid. She flicked her tails, and ash rained down all around us. “All you have to do is take the charm from mypaw.”
She extended a paw, and I gasped at the sight of my fox charm sitting there. How the hell had she gotten it from me? Panic surged through my veins—if she had the charm, that meant she could kill me with impunity. I was entirely at hermercy.
Do not allow such thoughts to poison your resolve,a cool voice in my head said, and I froze.You are far too powerful to be easilyovercome.
Who are you?I asked, looking around. I’d heard the voice before, back in my house when I was being buried by those mushrooms. But the voice didn’t answer, and there was nobody here but me and thekyuubi.
Whoever it was that kept speaking to me clearly wasn’t going to give me instructions. I was on my own inthis.
“So that’s it, huh?” I asked through gritted teeth. “Just take thecharm?”
Thekyuubi’sgrin widened. “If you can, littleshaman.”
You can do this.I reached down inside myself and gathered up my courage. Then I extended a hand toward thekyuubi’soutstretched paw, where the fox charm satinnocuously.
But before I could grab the charm, thekyuubiflicked her tails, and a wave of fire rose up over her. Fear slammed into me, and I threw myself back seconds before the flames crashed down over us in a whirling tornado offire.
“Dammit!” I cried as waves of heat scalded me. My entire body felt like it was on fire, and I was half-certain that if I looked in the mirror, my face would be a cracked, bleeding mess. How the hell was I supposed to reach the charm if thekyuubi’sfire was going to attack me everytime?
“Pathetic,” thekyuubisneered, looking down her snout at me. “You’ll never be able to master me, little shaman, if you’re so easily frightened by a littleflame.”
The derision in her voice reached past my fear and ignited the outrage that had been simmering in the bottom of my heart ever since I’d learned my mother had beentaken.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I spat, getting to my feet. “You have no idea what I’m capableof.”
“You’re a puny little human, barely an adult,” thekyuubiscoffed. “You don’t think I notice how your little body trembles with fear and pain before me? A real shaman would have already had mesubdued.”
“I am a real shaman,” I growled, taking a step toward her. “Shaman blood flows through myveins.”
Thekyuubiflicked her tails, whipping more fire up around us. Scalding air blasted me, searing my flesh, and suddenly it hit me. Thekyuubiwas a master of illusion. If these flames were real, and this heat was real, I would already be dead. There was no way the human body could withstand these temperatures for as long as we’d already been in this place. The heat, the flames, the pain…they were all in myhead.
Or at least I sincerely hopeso.
“Enough games,” I growled, gathering my courage again. Thekyuubi’seyes narrowed, and she whipped another wall of flame up as I stepped within range. But this time, I ignored the wave of sapphire fire and reached for the fox charm winking in herpalm.
The flames crashed down on me just as my fingers touched the charm, and a scream ripped from my lips. But the scream was reflexive…because the flames never touched me. White light burst from the charm, enveloping me in a harsh glow. The flames burst into nothingness on contact with the pure energy, and a flood of power rushed through me, chasing away all the pain anduncertainty.
