Page 18 of Son of Shadows

He reached for his teacup, which was no longer there. “Katsu, another cup, please.”

“I can’t, my lord.”

“You’ve given up, too, haven’t you? You think Lord Hayasaka doesn’t have what it takes to be in charge? You’re like all the rest. Another rotten deserter. Here when everything’s going fine and gone when things get tough. That’s you, isn’t it? I should have expected you’d leave me, too, in the end. Everyone does. But I will remember this betrayal, Katsu. May the earth be light upon your corpse so the dogs have an easier time digging up your bones.”

Ryuichi’s eyebrows shot up at a curse that sounded an awful lot like one of Koichi’s, whenever his sensei drank too much sake.

Katsu was unperturbed by his master’s hostility. “Sorry, sir. We’re out of teacups. You’ve thrown all of them at me or others. Don’t you remember?”

Lord Hayasaka let out a tired sigh as he glanced at the last shattered teacup. “So I have.” Then he returned his gaze to Ryuichi. It was sharp and condemning. “You, boy.” He pointed a bony finger at Ryuichi. “I need you to go and fix the mess you’ve caused by weakening our evil overlord. Ever since he failed to kill you, he’s lost his strength and mind. And because of that weakness, Orochi is free and intends to exact his revenge on all of us. The only reason he hasn’t attacked yet is because he’s still regaining his own strength. As soon as Orochi is fully restored, he will come and obliterate my people . . . and yours.”

Masaru slid a sideways smirk to Ryuichi. “Sounds like a good evil plan.”

“My lord,” Ryuichi said, bowing respectfully. “I’ll put everything in order and close the gate.”

Those words seemed to surprise Hayasaka. “You will? Really?”

Ryuichi nodded again, firm in his decision to right the wrong he’d committed. “I promise.”

It was his responsibility to step up where his father had failed. In his eyes, as the keeper of the gates, he was as much a part of the spirit realm as he was the human realm he had grown up in.

Lord Hayasaka stood up and bowed in return. “Ryuichi-san, I can see you possess an honest soul. And perhaps even the heart of a lion.”

Ryuichi bashfully grinned at the compliment. He’d been called so many nasty things in his life, and he wasn’t used to anyone saying kind things about him.

Maybe Lord Hayasaka isn’t as bad as I thought.

Of all people, he should know better than to judge someone else.

Hayasaka cocked his head in a very birdlike manner. “I also see something else inside you. Something . . .” He snapped his fingers to get Katsu’s attention.

“My lord?”

“Watch this boy while he’s here. I want his blade fighting the enemy, not us.” Then he looked at the others. “We’re waiting on word from my spies, who should arrive any moment. That will tell us if Orochi is on the move. May this war and your time here be brief.”

Ryuichi wished he could be that optimistic. But war was seldom brief. Creatures were stubborn, and no one wanted to be defeated. Especially when they fought with hatred in their hearts.

He couldn’t blame them for that. He didn’t like the taste of defeat either. It was a bitterness that stuck in everyone’s craw.

If only he’d been able to come to a truce with Ryukage. Maybe then they could have been allies instead of enemies.

It takes two to make war.

Sadly, it also took two to make peace. There could never be any real peace so long as one side was bent on destruction.

There were only two choices: walk away or destroy the party that wouldn’t stop fighting.

But maybe there was another path. One that didn’t require surrender or domination.

Ryuichi hoped they’d stumble upon it along the way. For all their sakes.

CHAPTER SIX

Ryuichi was the last one to be shown to his room. A few minutes ago, Katsu led the group outside to a separate building that was set to the left. When Katsu slid open the door, Ryuichi blinked rapidly, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

This was a former dormitory. Small. Sparse.

Dingy.