“I knew I could count on you!” Shota beamed at me. “See? She’s much more sensible than you,” he said, shooting a look atRaiden.
“I guess Ryujin probablydoesknow something about it,” Raiden conceded reluctantly, “but that doesn’t mean he’s just going to help us.Kamiaren’t always benevolent, and Ryujin is a very powerful one. He might put us through a test or demand a favor in exchange for hishelp.”
“What else is new?” I propped a hand on my hips. “It seems like ever since I stumbled into this mess I’ve been making deals and forced into uncomfortable situations. If this Ryujinguy can help us, it’s worth a shot.” I turned back to Shota. “What is it you want me todo?”
Grinning, Shota unhooked something from his keychain and held it up. “This is ayokaicharm,” he said, dangling a tiny turtle carved out of glowing iridescent blue stone in front of my nose. “It has the power to summonUmigame,the Great Sea Turtle.” He said the name with reverence, as if we were talking about a legendary creature. “None of us have ever been able to use it, but since you’re a powerfulyokaishaman, you’ll be able to summon him with noproblem.”
I took the turtle charm from Shota. It flared brightly in my hand, reacting to my power, and I cursed as pain stabbed my brain through myeyeballs.
“Calm down,” I snapped at it. “I just want to look atyou.”
To my surprise, itdid.
“Look at that!” Shota elbowed Raiden in the ribs. “She’s anatural.”
“She is.” Raiden looked as if he wasn’t sure whether he should be impressed or annoyed. “Mamoru is going to bereallyupset if we get herkilled.”
The excitement buzzing through my veins was instantly dampened by a healthy dose of fear. “Is this journey going to be reallydangerous?”
“Dealing withkamiis always dangerous,” Shota said, shooting an annoyed look at Raiden. “As is dealing withyureioryokai.It’s par for the course of being a shaman. Honestly, Aika, don’t let Raiden get you all riled up about it. I’ve studied up about Ryujin, and he’s not a malevolent deity. In fact, Japan’s first emperor was rumored to be his great-grandson, so in a way he’s an ancestor of our imperial line. He likes humans, for the mostpart.”
“It sounds like he should,” I mused, trying to remember the tale my mother had told me about him. Unfortunately, like much of my toddler years, the memory was fuzzy. “If there’s the slightest chance he can help me find my mother, we have to go. Besides, going to an undersea kingdom has always been on my bucketlist.”
“Exactly!” Shota patted me on the shoulder. “All we have to do is get to the coast, and then you can summon him. It’ll be easy-peasy.”
Raiden scoffed at that. “If we’re going to go, we need to do it now, before Mamoru comes looking for us.” He gave me a pointed look, as if to say,You agreed to this.“Meet us at the elevator in tenminutes.”
I grabbed my clothes, then rushed down the hall for a quick shower. I wish I’d had clean clothes to change into, but there was nothing for it. I was just thankful I’d thought to wash my clothes and hang them on thekimonorack. Luckily, they were mostly dry, and a quick blast with the hair dryer got them the rest of the waythere.
I put them on, ran a brush through my long hair, then left it loose so it could air dry. I checked my reflection one more time, then, after a moment of consideration, swiped the tube of lipstick across mymouth.
Hey, I was visiting a dragon king, wasn’t I? Might as well make theeffort.
Knowing this was as good as I was gonna get, I hurried out of the room to meet the others. Raiden and Shota were already fully dressed and waiting. They both looked me up and down, and I felt the tips of my ears heating up under their intense male regard. Had they noticed my lipstick? God, I didn’t want them thinking I’d been trying to dress up for either of them. I was trying to impress the dragon god, notthem.
And yet, I found myself standing a bit taller, my lips curving into a little smile of their own. There was something about being the center of male attention that gave me a confidence boost, and though I wasn’t totally certain how I felt about either Shota or Raiden, it was clear they were both interested inme.
Then why did Shota push meaway?
“So, where are we going?” I asked as we got into theelevator.
“To the rooftop shrine,” Shota said as the elevator doors closed. He pressed the “R” button, and we began goingup.
“Rooftopshrine?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like,” Raiden said. “You’ll see when we getthere.”
The doors opened, revealing a sprawling Zen garden with a huge shrine in the center. Finely crushed gravel had been raked into straight lines that ran across the length of the roof, interspersed with circles that surrounded carefully placed rocks andboulders.
Swathes of grass were strategically grown in paths so that one could navigate through the garden without disturbing it. Several Japanese maple and dogwood trees were planted all around, their leaves providing splashes of color. Walls made of honey-colored oak surrounded us on all sides, blocking out the noise and bustle of the city while still allowing the early morning light to gildeverything.
“Wow,” I said as Raiden and Shota stepped onto the grassy path that led to the shrine. “This isamazing.”
Raiden smirked. “Wait until you see the inside of the shrine. The Takaokas never do anything byhalves.”
I followed them up to the shrine, pausing just before the massivetorigate to bow. The gate was at least twelve feet tall, and the shrine twice its height, a gorgeous wooden structure painted white and vermillion, with a bark-covered roof with edges that curled like parchmentpaper.
A few feet from the gate was a covered fountain carved into the shape of a sea dragon, and we gathered around it to wash our hands and mouths to purify ourselves. Picking up the bamboo ladle, I poured water over my left hand, then my right hand, then back into my left hand, which I lifted to my mouth. The cool water flowed over my tongue as I swished it around to cleanse my mouth, then spat it back into my left hand before dumping it into the fountain’s run-offtray.
