Masaru scoffed. “How does anyone get corrupted? They pinpointed his weaknesses, exploited them, and then catered to his ego.”
“That doesn’t make sense.” They were kami. How could anyone corrupt them?
Keiko brushed the hair back from Ryuichi’s face. “Your father’s worst fear was losing your mother. She was his sole weakness.”
Masaru scoffed. “Be careful where you lay your trust, little one. Seldom do we choose to give it to those who accord it the honor it deserves.” He drew closer. “Haruki told your father that if he were more powerful, he could keep Haruka by his side and never lose her. She convinced him that all he needed was to control the dark forces Haruka held back from the world.”
Keiko’s eyes turned sad. “What she didn’t tell him was that the shadows he courted would devour his heart and soul. The price for controlling evil was to become evil.”
How terrifying. “What did my mother do?”
Sighing, Keiko looked away. “At first she fought against those trying to turn your father evil, but they teamed up against her and used their powers to enchant her instead.” Tears welled in her eyes. “They used her shadow to overcome her goodness and replace her with a hollow shell who was incapable of feeling anything for anyone.”
“Until you were born.” Masaru knelt so that he could study Ryuichi’s features. “It’s said that the moment she first saw your face and held you in her arms you returned her heart to its purity. You sent her shadow back into the darkness and allowed her soul to return to her.”
Keiko nodded. “I was there. The moment she saw you, she remembered why it was so important to keep the Kimon locked away. To stop the Ryukage and her sister from contaminating everything pure in this world.”
Ryuichi sucked his breath in sharply at what they were implying. Surely it wasn’t true.Please let me be wrong...
“My father killed my mother?”
“He tried.”
Keiko slapped at Masaru’s stomach.
“What? He did!”
“Have some feeling, would you? Those are his parents you’re speaking about. Not random strangers.”
Masaru gestured at himself. “Renegade? Hello? What part of compassion do you think I have?”
Shoving him away, Keiko turned back toward Ryuichi. “Your father truly loved your mother—neverforget that. And a part of him loves you.”
“But he will kill you.”
She glared at Masaru.
“Seriously, nice fairy tale,” he said. “But while you’re dancing around his feelings, the boy needs to understand that his father will not spare his life. Unlike his mother, Ryukage isn’t going to see his cute little face and think, ‘Ah, that’s my boy!’ and be overcome with parental love. The Ryukage will pull his heart out and eat it and feel no remorse. They. Are. Enemies. The sooner the boy gets that through his head, the longer he might live. Take it from someone who’s been bargaining with death gods. We tend to know a lot about death and those who like to kill things.”
Keiko had to agree. “He’s right. Not just Ryukage but Haruki too. They want your powers, and they will do whatever they must to get them.”
Ryuichi cringed as a thought went through his head. “They can’t have my powers if I’m dead, right?”
“Well...” Masaru hedged.
Keiko glared at him.
“You want me to lie to the kid?”
Fear pierced him. Hard. “Wait... what? If I’m dead, my powers are gone. They won’t be able to use them. Right?”
Masaru screwed his face up. “Well... there’s dead, and then there’sdead.”
“Meaning?”
Masaru manifested a torch and held it up over his head. He turned Ryuichi around so that he could see the wall behind him.
More confused than ever, he tried to understand what Masaru was doing. “What am I looking at?”
