Finished with the illusions, I summoned thekyuubiinto my body, and we headed out. She simmered in my chest as we approached the monkey statue that marked the edge of the monkey king’s territory; she was clearly unhappy with having to ride along inside me but aware that she could do nothing aboutit.
The statue was a massive thing, standing nearly fifteen feet tall and made of polished wood, making me think it had been carved from a singular tree trunk. Rubies glittered in place of its eyes, and they sparkled with malevolence, following us as we movedpast.
A shiver wracked me as I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to ignore the feeling we were being watched. I knew it shouldn’t matter since we were being hidden by thekyuubi’sillusions, but it was possible they had weird monkey magic that would get us spotted. I really hoped they didn’t, but after what I’d been through so far, I couldn’t discountanything.
There’s no point in worrying about it,I told myself firmly. But as we walked, I began to notice there were monkeys all around us, frolicking in the trees. My heart began to hammer in my chest, and I hoped like hell they weren’t about to start throwing stones at us. Even with Raiden and thekyuubi, I didn’t think we could take an entire army of theseguys.
Hmph,thekyuubiscoffed at the idea that we were outgunned. But she didn’t refute my fears, and that said it all, didn’tit?
Thankfully, the monkeys seemed too lazy to pay us much mind. Most of them were lying on the ground drinking beer and sake. One was even lying in a pile of persimmon seeds, his bloated belly full as he snoozed in the sun. The crabs bristled next to me at the sight of him, but they didn’t give us away. I could tell they wanted to reach out and throttle that monkey for eating their precious fruit, but they seemed to know that wouldn’t helpus.
No, the only way out of this mess was finding the monkeyking.
As we moved across the sandy path, a huge stone fortress came into view. The blocks were immense, easily a couple feet tall and just as wide. It must have taken an army of monkeys to push them into place. They were piled on top of one another haphazardly, but they were so thick and tall that they cast a shadow over us even though we were almost a hundred feetaway.
“Wow…” I breathed, shielding my eyes as I stared out at the sight of the fortress’s walls. It was a good thing we planned on sneaking inside, because there was no way we were breaching thatwall.
“Yeah…” Raiden muttered, glancing at me. “That’s pretty intense. How the hell did they get all those blocks there?” He pointed toward the wall. “It’s over twenty blocks tall and at least twice as wide. Those things have to be measured intons.”
“They captured many of our people and forced us to drag the stones into place,” the crab beside me said. “Then, when my brothers would fall from overwork, they’d eat us and mix our shells into themortar.”
“You mean that fortress is held together by your family?” I gasped. Shock and horror filled me at the thought, and suddenly I had newfound sympathy for thecrabs.
“Yes.” The crab nodded. “Now you can see why we want the monkeys to leave. They are not honorable neighbors, and instead visit cruelty and pain uponus.”
“Well, I’m glad we came along then,” Raiden said gruffly. His jaw had clenched, and he glared fiercely up at the fortress. “This is exactly the type of thing we shamans should befixing.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourselves. We must still gain access to the king,” another crab said as we approached the gate in the center of the wall. Unlike the wall surrounding it, this gate was made from lacquered wood and banded together with dark iron. Two monkeys leaned lazily against the frame on either side of it, their eyes lidded withboredom.
As we approached, the left one looked up and eyed us carefully. “What do we have here?” he asked, reaching up to rub his jaw between his thumb andforefinger.
“We are the famedkabukidancers Komorebi, and we have come to perform for your king,” the first crab said, dropping into a low bow. We followed suit, bowing low to the guards as the other monkey pushed himself to his feet and took a plodding stepcloser.
“Is that so?” he asked, glancing at the other guard as he reached down and touched my shoulder with one slender finger. “I don’t recall hearing about any dancerscoming.”
“Well, you know how it is,” the first monkey said, shrugging. “Us guards never get told nothing.” He shook his head. “We’d better let them through or the king will put us back on kitchen duty.” He made a face. “I do hate cleaning thedrains.”
“But what if it’s a trick?” He poked me again before grabbing my hair and tugging on it. Not hard enough for it to hurt, but enough for me to feelit.
“Ow,” I cried, leaping to my feet and pushing him away. “What do you think you’redoing?”
“Making sure you’re real,” the monkey said, rolling his eyes. “There was akyuubiaround earlier. So we have to be real sure you’re notimposters.”
“Well, are you satisfied?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at themonkey.
“Aika…” Raiden said, his tone low and full of warning. He and the others straightened out of their bows, following my lead. But the monkey onlyshrugged.
“Fine,” he said, “but I hope for your sakes you’re the real deal. If you dance badly, the king will crack open your skulls and eat yourbrains.”
Great,I thought as the monkey strode back toward the gate and rapped on it with one fist.Nopressure.
Golden light rippled across the surface for a moment before the gate creaked open on hinges in desperate need of oil. I stood there watching it inch open to reveal an ornate floor covered by polished black tile. It led off into the distance toward an immense house with golden monkeys stylized across its walls. The thatched roof glimmered in the sun like spun gold, and as the two guards stood aside and gestured for us to enter, I knew I was staring at the monkey king’spalace.
Normally, I would have been filled with wonder at the sight. I was pretty sure no human had been here for centuries, if ever. But the sight of hundreds of monkeys gathered inside the gated area stopped meshort.
They weren’t just normal monkeys. They were the size of freakingelephants.
“Go on,” the right guard said as a cold sweat broke out over me. He shoved me lightly through the entryway. I opened my mouth to protest, but the moment my foot touched the black tile, a buzz of electricity shot throughme.
