Page 30 of Son of Shadows

It said a lot that he didn’t leave Ryuichi and his friends alone to face their enemies.

Katsu, beaming with pride that his master was finally showing his worth, leaned in and whispered to Ryuichi, “Lord Hayasaka is one of the best. There is nothing he can’t do when he puts his mind to it.”

That was well and good, but Ryuichi wanted to see what was coming for them. Without waiting for the others, he ran up the stairs of the badly damaged and cracked northern wall. There he would have a clear view of the gate.

As soon as he reached the top, he wished he hadn’t. No wonder Katsu had been so brutal during training. Orochi’s motley yōkai soldiers went on for what seemed like miles. Never in his life had he beheld a sight like this.

Giants, oni, dragons, all of them fiercely battling each other.

But where was Orochi? For a vicious, fearless demon, he certainly was letting his army take the brunt of this fight.

As thoughts ran through Ryuichi’s mind about how they would repel this gruesome assault, he was suddenly teleported from the wall back to the courtyard where he and Katsu trained. Masaru had brought him safely there along with others, the barrage of firepower now focused only on the main fortress.

Just as Ryuichi appeared on the scene, a messenger did the same. So close that they were lucky they hadn’t collided on the spot.

The messenger bowed to Hayasaka. “My lord, they’ll be through our final line of defenses soon.”

Lord Hayasaka grabbed his sword. “Then I’ll go meet them.”

Katsu shook his head. “There’s too many of them. For all our sakes, we should issue a retreat while we can.”

“Let them come and feast on your blood!” Haruki was jubilant.

No one could argue that the threat of their imminent deaths excited her.

Another blast of fire from a dragon yōkai managed to hit the base of the castle, causing a great, terrible crash to roar out. The castle was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

“Come, youngling!” Katsu grabbed him by the arm and led him away from the fray. The others followed close behind.

Arrows, fire, and blinding light exploded around them, making it hard to tell who was winning.

Although Ryuichi was rather sure it wasn’t their side.

Lord Hayasaka puffed out his chest as he saw the melee closing in on them. “Follow me! I have a plan!”

Masaru glared at him. “You said that before, and it didn’t accomplish much.”

He led Ryuichi and his friends toward the gatehouse.

While Ryuichi admired the tengu’s confidence, he wasn’t quite as sure about this tactical move. What was he intending to do?

“Come with me, boy”—Hayasaka quickened his steps—“and I’ll show you how a real mastermind deals with imminent disaster.”

Koichi rushed toward them. “My advice is to run.”

“Just wait. Do nothing!” With no further warning, Lord Hayasaka immediately turned into a gigantic crow and flew off toward the enemy camp.

Ryuichi’s eyes widened. “Did he just abandon us? It looks like he just abandoned us.”

Koichi rubbed his neck. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told him to run.”

“Lord Hayasaka never runs,” Katsu said sternly. Then he looked a bit worried. “I’m sure this is all part of his plan.”

* * *

Hayasaka looked back over his shoulder, hoping none of his own men feared he was turning on them. The last thing he needed was for a flock of angry tengu to come after him because they thought he was betraying them.

Though, to be honest . . .