Page 58 of Son of Shadows

And it brought shame to him, as he didn’t like the thought of it. “It’s been a while, okay?”

Haru inspected Koichi’s clothes. “Here.” He pulled out a purse full of gold. “I’ll treat ya. I’m feeling generous.”

This was what Koichi loved about these kinds of places. Solutions simply manifested by kind strangers.

“Actually, I have a bit of a problem.”

“Nothing a little money can’t fix.” Haru smiled, counting his coins.

“You wouldn’t happen to have enough money to buy a shinigami’s services, would you?”

That sent one of Haru’s eyebrows north. “You want someone killed?”

The waiter coughed as he brought a pot of tea for Haru. “He’s talking about our shinigami.”

“Oh, now that is interesting. What would a little thing like you want to do with someone like him?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me. If it’s what I think it is, then I think I can help you out.”

The waiter was aghast. “Haru, don’t be an idiot. You don’t know this human.”

Haru dismissed his concern. “I know what I’m doing. Most days anyway.” He sneezed and a fistful of gold coins appeared in front of Koichi.

Never had Koichi seen so much money. Whatever absurd price the shinigami had, this was more than enough to cover it. He was sure of it.

It was also very heavy. Not a problem, for a large wolf yōkai. But for Koichi . . .

He could feel it weighing him down.

“Don’t!” Ryuichi-kage appeared from the shadows to prevent him from taking it, startling Haru and the waiter.

“What are you doing?” Koichi asked.

“No yōkai is so kind. He wants something,” Ryuichi-kage said, puffing out his chest.

Haru lifted one corner of his lip up, exposing his long canine teeth. “Who is this insolent pup?”

Koichi put his hand over Ryuichi-kage’s mouth. “Don’t listen to him. He’s no one of importance.”

Ryuichi-kage bit Koichi’s hand—hard.

“Ow! That hurt, you little deviant!”

“Listen to me. You can’t trust the wolf. He’ll ask for something awful in return. They always do.”

Perhaps, but Koichi was desperate, and this was more than enough to find their lost companions.

Especially now that he knew his student was running out of time.

So he pushed the shadow back and took the money from the wolf. “Thank you.”

Haru shrugged his gratitude away. “No problem. Just remember: This is a loan. I expect you to pay it back.”

“You have my word,” Koichi said.

“I’m planning to be out of town soon, so if I’m not here, drop the money off with the owner. Let him know it’s for Haru.”