“Someone has to be,” Raiden said, shaking his head. “That guy looked like he was about to piss himself. I’m nervous as hell, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to cower in the corner like a scared puppy. Not after we’ve come all thisway.”
I nodded, understanding. Raiden was putting his game face on—not just for that shaman’s benefit, or for mine, but to show Kai that he was unafraid to face him. Show an enemy weakness, and you’ve already given him half the battle. I read that in a book somewhere, and it seemed more appropriate now than it ever had in mylife.
Taking a deep breath, I dispelled the anxiety in my chest and forced myself to standtaller.
No matter what lay in store for us, I would not show fear. It was time tofight.
The sound of ocean waves crashing against the cliffside reached my ears, along with the tang of sea salt. A few moments later, we emerged from the trees at the edge of a cliff. We peered over the edge, and my stomach flip-flopped at the sight of the sheer drop—it had to be at least two hundredfeet.
“Well, shit.” Shota scrubbed a hand over his lower jaw. “I thought we’d use a featherofudato get down, but the drop is too high. The winds would blow us way offcourse.”
“Hang on.” I lifted the wrist that had my bracelet on it, where I’d attached the rest of the charms Raiden had brought. “We haven’t tried this bird one yet,” I said, tapping the tiny wooden bird. It flared to life beneath my touch, as if begging to be summoned. “Maybe whatever this is can fly usdown.”
Raiden glanced warily at it. “It’s worth a shot. Let’s hope it’s bigenough.”
“Maji,”I said, willing theyokaito appear.Yokiblazed from the tiny charm, and I held my breath as the familiar blue ball of flame burst into life in front of us. A shrill bird call raised the hair on my arms, and the ball swirled into the form of an enormous, red-skinned man wearing a blackkimonoand a pair ofgeta—Japanese-style clogs. He stood at least ten feet tall, with a gigantic nose that protruded about a foot from his weathered face and a bushy, mad-scientist-like mane of hair. A sword and fan were tucked into his belt, and he sported a huge pair of blue-gray wings on his back. Like an ugly, red-skinnedangel.
“Holy crap,” Raiden breathed, his eyes wide. “That’s atengu!”
“Awhoziwhatsit?”
“Indeed I am.” Thetenguinclined his head, regarding me from beneath his bushy brows. “You are the one who summonedme?”
I nodded. “My friends and I need to get to the bottom of this cliff. We were hoping you might fly usdown.”
Theyokailooked surprised. “You merely want a ride down to thecliffs?”
“Well, yeah.” I bit my lip in confusion. “Are we supposed to ask for somethingelse?”
Thetengupuffed out his chest. “The last time I was summoned by ayokaishaman, I fought in battle with him. I am not merely a form of transport—I am a fierce warrior, and I punish those who are impure.” His face contorted into a fierce scowl as he looked toward the cliffs. “I am aware of Amatsu’s great, evil presence down in those cliffs. I would be honored to fight by your side againsthim.”
“Andwewould be honored to have your help,” Shota said as I blinked up at thetengu. “But before we can fight, we must get down to thecliffs.”
“Of course.” Thetenguflapped his wings, and his form blurred, as if he was vibrating on high speed. He shifted into a gigantic bird with a yellow beak and silver-blue feathers, then settled onto his belly. “Climb onto my back,” heinstructed.
We did as he asked, which was no mean feat—the feathers were slippery, and I had to grip great handfuls of them to keep from falling off. Somehow, we managed to find the middle of his back, and settled there as comfortably as we could. Since there was no harness, we lay flat on our bellies and grabbed fistfuls of hisplumage.
“Hold on tight,” thetenguinstructed right before he flapped his wings. I tucked my face into his feathers as he kicked up dust and twigs. My stomach shot straight into my throat as the huge bird launched himself off the cliff’s edge, tucking his wings tight against hisbody.
“Woohoo!” Raiden and Shota yelled in unison as we plummeted straight down. Their faces were shining, and they sported identical grins, as if this was the best thing that had ever happened tothem.
A few seconds later, thetengusnapped its wings out, catching an updraft, and we began to soar toward the bottom of thecliff.
“Wow.” I let out a relieved breath, my stomach sinking back down to my abdomen as it realized we were not, in fact, going to die. “I thought I was going to pass out for a secondthere.”
Raiden snorted. “You afraid of heights orsomething?”
“No,” I snapped defensively. “I’m just not used to diving off cliffs on the backs of mythicalbirds.”
Thetengulaughed, apparently able to hear us even over the whistling wind. “I would not let you fall,” he said. “You have nothing to fear so long as you are on myback.”
That’s easy for you to say,I grumbled silently as we banked toward the cliff edge. Thetengulanded in the sea, spraying us with salt water, and I groaned. It seemed like I was going to spend the rest of my life smelling like thesea.
“So now what?” I asked, reaching into the pouch and pulling out the stone of ebbing tide. I handed it to Raiden, then pulled out the other stone. “How do we find theentrance?”
“Well, since I don’t see it, I’m guessing it’s below us,” Raiden said, gripping the stone in his hand. White sparks shot from between his fingers as he shut his eyes and exhaled slowly, and the wind around us whippedviolently.
“I’m notsure—”
