Fuming, I ducked underneath Raiden’s left arm and pushed past him. “Aika—” he began as I stalked out of theroom.
“Save it.” Head high, I flung open the audience chamber doors and strode to the dais. Raiden was right on my heels, and Shota was glancing at us curiously. Ignoring them, I stopped behind my seat cushion and boweddeeply.
“I apologize for the delay, Ryujin-sama,” I said. “My friends and I are very interested in your generous offer. Please, tell us what you will do to help us, and we will do whatever we need to inreturn.”
“Are you certain?” Ryujin said, looking down at me curiously. “You have not even heard what it is that I want from youyet.”
My face flamed as I realized mymistake.
“My apologies, Ryujin-sama, for my companion’s hasty words,” Raiden said quickly, stepping in front of me and saving me from further embarrassment. I blinked, surprised that he was stepping in even though I’d just pissed him off. “I’m afraid her excitement has carried her away. We would like to hear out your terms before we agree tothem."
“A wise decision,” Ryujin said. I let out a tiny sigh of relief at the amused tone of his voice—at least he wasn’t mad, or trying to take advantage of my slip-up. I knew from the old stories that other gods weren’t quite asforgiving.
The dragon king opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could, the doors flewopen.
“Father!” a female voice cried, and we turned to see a smaller sea dragon with pearly white scales swim into the room. She had golden eyes like Ryujin, and looked extremelyagitated.
“What is it, Tama?” Ryujin asked, his expression shifting to alarm. “Is it yourmother?”
The sea dragon nodded. “She is growing weaker, Father. I am not sure she will be with us muchlonger.”
Ryujin’s expression darkened. He turned his turmoil-filled gaze back to us and extended one of his huge arms. His claws unfurled to reveal two giant gemstones, one that looked like pure moonlight, and another that blazed like a dyingsun.
“These are the jewels of the rising and ebbing tides,” Ryujin told us. “You can use these to lower the tide that blocks the cavern entrance and seek passage through it to Kai’s tomb. I will lend you these, if you go to Sarushima and procure a monkey liver forme.”
“Monkey Island!” Shota exclaimed. “You’re going to send us there? I’ve always thought it was just alegend!”
“You will not be going,” the dragon king said sternly. Shota deflated visibly, and for a moment I felt bad for him. “I require one of you to remain behind as a guest and keep my daughtercompany.”
Amabie, who had been watching quietly from her father’s side, drifted over to Shota. “I wouldn’t mind showing him around the castle,”she said, looping his arm into hers. I forced myself to ignore her as she snuggled against Shota—I wasnotgoing to let my jealousy distract me from the real problem athand.
A pained look crossed Shota’s face. “I’m not sure the two of you should go by yourselves,” he said, taking a step toward me. “I’ve heard stories about those monkeys,and—”
“There is no choice in the matter,” Ryujin said firmly. “One of you must remain behind, and I must have that liver. My wife is dying,” he said quietly, his great head drooping a little. “She has been ill for some time now, but in the past few weeks it has gotten worse. Only the monkey liver can cure what ails her, and none of my subjects have been able to procure one forme.”
“Then we will get you one,” I said, feeling sympathetic for the dragon king. Raiden shot me a look, but I ignored him. I knew all too well what it was like to stand aside and watch as someone slowly wasted away from an incurable disease. If there was a way to save his wife, and get what we needed in the process, then I was glad tohelp.
Something in Ryujin’s gaze shifted, and he studied me for a long moment, silent. “You have a noble heart,” he said gravely. “Both of you do. I believe you will keep your word.” His expression changed, turning businesslike. “Any monkey liver will do, in theory, but I desire the strongest one, for the best chance of my wife’s survival. Should you bring back the liver of the monkey king himself, I will give you a special weapon you can use to defeatKai.”
“A special weapon, you say?” Raiden said, soundingveryinterested. “What kind ofweapon?”
“I will reveal that to you once you come back with the liver,” Ryujin said imperiously. “Now do we have a deal, ornot?”
12
“Thanks for coming with me,”I said as Raiden and I swam out of the palace without Shota. Since we’d agreed to Ryujin’s terms, we’d been forced to leave Shota in Amabie’s care, a fact that rankled me a lot. “I know you think this is a dumbidea.”
“I would never make you face something like this on your own,” Raiden said as we floated past the gates. He sounded a little miffed. “You’re an untrained shaman about to go up against an entire island of monkeyyokai. What kind of guy do you think I am, that I’d make you do that byyourself?”
I flinched at the hurt look in his eyes. “I just figured you were angry at me, since I’m not doing what youwant.”
Raiden sighed. “I’m angry because I think you’re playing right into Kai’s hands,” he said, scooping a hand through his hair. It floated around his face in the water, a black cloud of fine strands, and I was struck by the urge to smooth it back from his face just to see what it would feel like underwater. “But it is our duty as shamans to stop him, and if Ryujin really does have a weapon we can use to bring him down, we need to do whatever we have to in order to get our hands onit.”
He turned his body to face mine, and my heart stuttered when he lifted a hand to my cheek. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you,” he said softly, rubbing his thumb against my skin. “You’re already carrying such a big burden with your mother as it is, and I know it’s unfair that all this is coming down on your shoulders. But this thing with Kai…it’s bigger than any of us. We can’t let him win, Aika. Do youunderstand?”
“Of course I do.” The stakes were pretty obvious now that I’d heard the story from Ryujin. But Raiden was staring so intently at me, it made me wonder if there was something hidden between the lines of his warning. “Why wouldn’t Iunderstand?”
“It’s just…things are more complicated than you think.” He hesitated, as if he wanted to say more, but he just shook his head. “You should call theUmigamenow.”
