Page 34 of Son of Shadows

“Who said that?”

I think it was your mother, Masaru answered.

No. It couldn’t be. Her voice was smoother and gentler.

Ryuichi twitched as the spirit of Masaru jumped out of his body and appeared in his kitsune form. “No offense—it felt crowded in there. Gave me the buruburu.”

Ryuichi started to say something, then realized that Masaru was right. Something or someone else was within him.

And they were leading him to the portal.

“Masaru?”

“Let it lead, and I will follow you,” he said with an encouraging nod.

Don’t be afraid, child. This time it was a different woman’s voice in his head. Her tone was soft and comforting.

“Okay, what’s going on? Who are you now?”

That doesn’t matter. Trust me.

Easier said than done. Trusting others didn’t come naturally to Ryuichi. More often than not, it hadn’t gone well. And he had no idea who or what this spirit was.

Or what her intentions were.

Although he tried to wrestle his body away from her control in protest, the spirit swung him up on a horse and had him ride swiftly toward the gate before Orochi or his army could stop them.

What happened next amazed him.

As the horse quickly ran toward the portal, Orochi and his yōkai soldiers didn’t notice him at all. Ryuichi watched as the giant dragon and his men searched everywhere for Ryuichi. Some of them looked right in his direction, and it was as if Ryuichi was a ghost.

That’s when he realized he and his horse were completely invisible.

Ryuichi didn’t know if this was one of his dormant powers that came out whenever he was under attack, or if this magic belonged to the yōkai protecting him.

Trust yourself, Ryuichi. Find the part of you that wants to save the world.

Those words echoed in his head. Then he felt a familiar fire, stirring deep inside his heart. The sensation traveled through his veins, igniting his arms and legs with a jolt of electricity.

Now he knew without a shadow of a doubt.

This spirit was his mother.

You are my son, Ryu-chan. My powers are yours.

Once again, his mother was helping him.

“How do I control the gate?”

The powers are within you. You just have to believe in them. You’ve always been capable of anything, and you always will be.

But believing in himself was hard. He was getting better at it. Still, it was difficult to think of himself as the great Mahōtsukai Ryuichi, especially after the way Katsu had treated him during training.

The tengu had tried to tear down his confidence, and he managed to succeed a bit.

You are Mahōtsukai Ryuichi.

As soon as his mother’s words whispered through his head, he saw an incredibly beautiful golden kitsune appear by the gate.