Page 96 of Son of Shadows

The doubting voice in his head. He hated whenever it visited. It was always undermining him. Telling him he wasn’t good enough. Smart enough.

Capable.

That he didn’t deserve anything more than the mockery of others.

Now it was here to make him fall in battle.

I won’t listen to you. Not today.

Today he was going to prove to himself that he had what it took to be a strong warrior and leader.

“I will not fall!”

More than that, he wouldn’t fail.

With a new determination, he went after the two onis. He wasn’t making much progress, until Yamaguchi appeared behind one of them and slugged him hard across the face. The oni staggered backward and almost fell. Yamaguchi followed up with more blows, hitting him repeatedly with his mighty club. Ryuichi took advantage of the distraction to run his sword through the other oni in front of him.

The oni cried out and crumbled to the ground.

Ryuichi couldn’t believe it. He was absolutely stunned that he’d succeeded.

But that didn’t last.

Two heartbeats later, something grabbed him from behind and yanked him off his horse, choking the breath out of Ryuichi’s lungs.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Something pressed hard against Ryuichi’s chest. It felt as if his ribs were breaking.

Help me!

He couldn’t speak or see. Panic set in as he tried to struggle and couldn’t move at all. Never in his life had he felt anything like this. More than that, a thousand voices screamed in his head.

You’re not going to make it.

You were too weak.

Too small.

Who are you to think you can do anything?

Those doubts and voices shredded and strangled him even more than the dirt he was being dragged through.

Then, just as he was sure he could bear no more, he was released and left in a darkened room.

No. A cave.

He heard the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The stench of decay and rot made his stomach tie into a knot.

Where am I?

The question was no sooner asked in his mind than he heard something coming toward him.

Raising his sword, he turned toward it, ready to do battle.

Until he saw the size of what he was facing. At least twenty feet high, it was a giant dragon unlike anything he’d ever seen before.

His heart was pounding in his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to quell the fear that threatened to send him into flight as eight sets of hungry dragon eyes stared him down.