Rushing forward, Takara-kage and Kato-kage held him by the arms. Furious that the dragon would dare go after his friends, Ryuichi manifested his shadow sword, then used it to whack at the dragon’s thrashing claws.
Keiko touched Ryuichi on the arm. “That’s useless. Just imagine the dragon on the other side, and the gate closed.”
That would be better... He really liked the thought of the dragon being on the other side of the gate, far away from them.
But surely it couldn’t be that easy.
Could it?
Hoping her suggestion wasn’t as ridiculous as it sounded, Ryuichi took a deep breath and tried.
Nothing happened.
The screams of his friends and others tore through him. He had to do something.
I am worthless.
You are not. A gentle, feminine voice filled his head. He wasn’t sure, but he thought it might be his mother...
Remove the doubt and breathe. Try again!
What did he have to lose? Listening to her this time, he obeyed.
Winds whipped around him, blowing the flames higher. The fighting tengu shrieked. The dragon reared up as the sky above darkened. His stomach pitched.
Something was happening. It might only be that he was losing his lunch, but something was in motion.
He just hoped it was something good. Something that didn’t come back out of that hole to join the others in wanting to eat him.
“Come on,” he whispered to himself. “For once in my life,work!”
To his utter stupefaction, it did.
But not without a fight. The dragon lunged, trying to take him with it.
Masaru dropped Haruki to grab Ryuichi around the waist. Koichi slashed at the dragon with his sword, and Keiko used her powers to send blasts of fire against its chest.
They were helping him.
His friends.
His family.
With a loud, deafening crash, the dragon was sucked back through the portal, out of their world.
Keiko gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry I locked up your powers when you were little. I was only trying to protect you.”
For once, he wasn’t mad at her. “It’s okay.”
But as he turned away, he smelled the horrid stench of burning timbers and leather. Heard the screams and moans of his other friends.
Where were they?
Was he too late?
Terror returned to him as he ran toward the nightmare his father had started.
“Takara! Kato!”
