“You!” he snarled. “You trickedme!”
Panicked, I lobbed one more fireball at him. The effort practically made stars shoot past my eyes, and worse, the monkey king dodged. My blast sailed by him and slammed into the lacquered gate beyond. The wood blew outward in a spray of debris that scattered bits of wood across theentryway.
“I missed,” I mumbled, stumbling back into Raiden, who was busy fending off the monkeys. His chest was heaving and he was drenched in sweat. It was obvious he couldn’t keep this up much longer either, even with the help of an ancient samuraimaster.
“No, you don’t!” one of the crabs cried as it burst through the doorway and snapped at a monkey guard who’d been sneaking up on us. It put one claw to its mouth and let out a largewhistle.
The bushes beyond the gate came alive with crabs, and they flooded into the courtyard, running roughshod over the monkeyarmy.
“Help them,” I gasped, touching theosuzumebachicharm. As I spoke, some of the hornets broke off, attacking the guards and keeping them at bay. Pushing past the tiredness trying to settle into my limbs, I grabbed Raiden by the collar and pulled him out into the courtyard. Monkeys and crabs were fighting all around us, but I ignoredthem.
“We need to get to the gate!” Raidenyelled.
“I know!” I snapped, pushing him in front of us. “Break through with your fists of fury. I’ll keep them from stabbing ourbacks.”
He shot me a look I couldn’t decipher, then charged, slashing and parrying the monkeys in our path. Their swords clanged while I directed the hornets. Thankfully, the king was too busy being attacked by an avalanche of crabs to pay us much mind, and even though it was only seconds, I was grateful when we broke through the last defenses and escaped thecourtyard.
More crabs and monkeys were battling out here, but that was okay. We were almostclear.
“We need to get to the beach and summon theUmigame, so make sure you save some strength,” Raiden shouted, slashing at another monkey and splitting his armor open. The monkey’s blood splashed across us, hot and sticky, but I was too busy running for my life to be grossed out by it. I could feel my power fading fast, and part of me hoped I wouldn’t need much to summon the giant turtle. If I did, we werescrewed.
“This way!” Raiden cried, pushing me to the left. I followed along, trying to avoid the monkeys, and only throwing fireballs sparingly to conservemagic.
“Might I suggest becoming invisible?”thekyuubiasked, and I could have sworn I heard worry in hervoice.
“You can do that?” I askedaloud.
“Do what?” Raiden asked, but I ignored him, focusing on thekyuubi.
“In a manner of speaking.”The light around us bent like we were in thosePredatormovies. Raiden ran his sword through the closest monkey guard, and as it toppled forward, I expected the rest to come running. But they completely ignored us, as if we weren’t eventhere.
“Wow.” Raiden looked stunned. “This is fantastic, Aika.” He smiled at me, and everything but his perfect white teeth fadedaway.
“Aika!” Raiden caught me as I fell forward, his strong arms wrapping around me. I was so weak…so veryweak…
“Conserve your strength,” he said, and I felt him sweep me up against his chest. “I’ll get us toshore.”
I managed to nod as he tucked me against his body, barely able to keep my eyes open. The sound of trees rustling around us, and pounding footsteps, told me that we were running through the jungle. I wanted to open my eyes, to keep a lookout for any enemies, but my lids were too heavy, and they wouldn’tbudge.
The next thing I knew, the tang of salty air hit my nostrils. Sea spray splashed against my exposed legs as Raiden waded into the water, and I felt him press something hard into my hand. “Call him,” he gasped, and I realized it was theUmigamecharm. “Just callhim.”
“Okay,” I whispered, letting go of thekyuubi’spower and theosuzumebachi.As I did, a wave of strength rushed into me, and I grabbed hold of it, funneling it into the turtlecharm.
“Please come…” I whispered, and with that, everything fadedaway.
16
Thankfully,the turtle did come to take us back to Ryujin’s palace, though I was completely out of it by the time he arrived. I slept during most of the ride back, but even so, I was exhausted by the time we made it back. Dealing with Raiden’s near-death experience, performing in akabukiplay, seducing a monkey king, and escaping his enraged subjects really took it out of a girl. The last thing I wanted to do was go and fight a centuries-old shaman possessed by an evilgod.
“Come on, Aika,” Raiden said gently, coaxing me off theUmigame’sback. “We’ve gotten this far. Don’t give up on menow.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. But I let Raiden put his arm around me and guide me to the gate. The jellyfish guards seemed surprised we’d returned so soon, and they opened the gates for usimmediately.
As we were about halfway to the entrance, the palace doors burst open. “Raiden! Aika!” Amabie shouted, swimming toward us. Tama, the sea dragon from earlier, was on her heels, and Shota was riding on her back. Relief swept through me at the sight of him, unharmed. “Did you procure theliver?”
“Sure did,” Raiden said, hefting the pouch I’d put the liver in. “The monkey king’s liver, just aspromised.”
Tama’s eyes brightened. “Really?” she said as Amabie took the pouch. “That’s excellent news! This will cure Mother forcertain.”
