Grinning, I closed my fist around the charm and met thekyuubi’sshocked gaze. “You’remine.”
Thekyuubisnapped her jaws, her tails flashing wildly. But the flames gushing about her slapped uselessly against the field of energy surrounding me. The illusionary magic no longer had any effect on it, and in fact, as I stared at it, the flames began to meltaway.
“Hmph.” Recognizing defeat, thekyuubisat back on her haunches. The flames disappeared, leaving only a vast expanse of darkness around us. “Maybe you are strong enough to command me, little shaman. But it will take more than one little test to earn myrespect.”
She swished her tails one more time, then disappeared in a ball offire.
“Aika!” Raiden cried as the dojo reappeared around me. He grabbed me by the shoulders. “Are you allright?”
“Yeah.” Relief rushed through me—for a split second, I’d been worried that thekyuubiwas going to leave me stranded in whatever realm she’d taken me to. “The test was easier than Ithought.”
“Thank the gods you’re safe.” Raiden pulled me against his chest. I stiffened in surprise as he wrapped his strong arms around me. “You scared the hell out ofme.”
“Sorry,” I squeaked, trying to come to terms with the conflicting feelings I was experiencing. The warmth from Raiden’s body curled around me like a blanket, both soothing and arousing all at once. Heat bloomed in my core, sending tingles racing through me, and I had the strangest feeling that we’d done thisbefore.
But that was impossible. I’d never met Raiden before today. There’s no way I would have forgotten abouthim.
“Umm,” I finally said after several seconds had passed. “Do you think you could let me go? It’s getting a little hard tobreathe.”
“Oh.” Raiden quickly let me go. “Sorry,” he said, scratching the back of his neck as he looked away. His cheeks were stained red with embarrassment, which I found kind of adorable considering how stern and imposing he normally was. “Er, why don’t you tell me what happened when thekyuubitook you away? How did you defeather?”
I sat down on the floor with Raiden and told him all about what had happened. As I talked, I fiddled with the fox charm. It continued to emit a soft glow, and it felt a bit hotter to the touch than it had in the beginning. I wondered if that was because thekyuubiwas still pushing herboundaries.
Well, that was going to have to change. It would take time, but eventually I would show her who wasboss.
“Wow.” Raiden blew out a breath when I was finished. He stared at me as if he wasn’t quite sure what to think. “I didn’t know if you were going to be able to handle that one, Aika. Pretty sure you picked the strongestyokaiin thebox.”
“Did I?” I looked away, not wanting to read too much into the impressed look in his eyes, and fastened the fox charm to my bracelet. When I was finished, it dangled a few chain links away from the silk monkey. “You mean the otheryokaiaren’t necessarily going to be likethat?”
Raiden shook his head. “I doubt it. You’re strong, Aika, strong enough that the averageyokaiwouldn’t even try to challengeyou.”
“I don’t get it.” I scrubbed a hand across my face. “If I really have this much power, how has it stayed dormant for so long? Why did I need to see thatkamiin order to activate it? Is that how all shamans find theirpowers?”
“No,” Raiden said, sounding just as puzzled as I felt. “We usually come into our powers by around five or six. But my parents have been using their abilities around me all my life, whereas yours haven’t. If your father really was a shaman, and he’d stayed around, you might have discovered your abilities earlier. What happened to him,anyway?”
“He’s dead.” I broke Raiden’s gaze, looking down at the charm around my wrist. “I don’t have any memories ofhim.”
“I’m sorry,” Raiden said, his voice quiet. Seconds passed in silence, and I was grateful that he didn’t offer further sentiments. I didn’t have any kind of emotional connection with my father, but after everything that had happened today, I couldn’t help but feel sadness and resentment toward him. Why did he have to leave us so soon? Would things have turned out differently if he’d stayed? Would Kai still have come afterus?
“Let’s call it a day,” Raiden said gently, taking my hand. I looked up at him as he pulled me to my feet, and the compassion in his steady gaze warmed me. “I can see that you’re tired. We’ll come back to this in themorning.”
“Thanks,” I said, grateful for the reprieve. I followed him to the elevator, my hand still in his. There was something comforting about Raiden—he was a rock steady presence, the kind of guy a girl could lean on when she needed support. And right now, with my thoughts and feelings in such turmoil, with all these new experiences and ideas to sort through, I could sorely use ashoulder.
“Wait a second,” I protested as Raiden pushed the button for number seven instead of the lobby. “Where are we going now? I’m not up for any more training tonight—I want to go tobed.”
“You are. I’m showing you to a room for theevening.”
“I’m not staying here,” I said as we began to go down. “I didn’t bring a change of clothes oranything!”
“It’s too dangerous for you to go back to the house,” Raiden said. “If Kai really is looking for you, he’ll have your place watched. This entire building is warded—he can’t get to you as long as you stay in here. Besides,” he added as the elevator doors opened, “we have toothbrushes and pajamas here. We’re notbarbarians.”
I pressed my lips together and glared at Raiden. I didn’t really have an argument against this—surely there was no harm in spending the night. But when the elevator doors opened again, the reality of what Raiden was saying hit me in the chest. “Are you saying that I have to stay inside here? That I can’tleave?”
“Yes, for now,” Raiden said. “You need to have a little more practice defending yourself before you can just go out on your ownagain.”
“And how long is that going to take again?” I asked as we stepped into the dark hallway. Impatience brewed inside me, chasing away the exhaustion. I knew I couldn’t just rush outside again—I didn’t even have the first clue of where to go, beyond Mount Koya. And it wasn’t like I had the money to jump on a plane anyway. But I hated feeling helpless, and being told I had to hide inside this tower like a damsel in distress was really chafing at me. No, I wasn’t a superhero, but I was still used to taking care of myself. I didn’t like being told what todo.
“Considering your aptitude, it should only take you a couple of days to get a grasp on the basics,” Raiden said. “But knowing Mamoru, he’ll want to keep you longer. It takes years of training to become trulyproficient.”
