Page 61 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

“It’s my guess,” he said with a nod.

“So my magic is healing me?”

“I should say it’s speeding up the natural healing process, but don’t worry. You can handle it. Drowsiness and a little stiffness are the only side effects.”

She nodded, watching as he spread a new layer of salve over the wound. The stitched flesh looked red and raw, but it had already fused. The yagikusa blossoms mashed into the salve began to work within only a moment, and the mild throbs of pain faded a degree. Vallen wrapped a new bandage around her shoulder and then helped put her dress back to rights.

“And now I have something important to tell you, which cannot wait any longer,” he said gravely.

“What is it?”

“I returned to your village last night,” he revealed. She started in surprise to think he’d gone all the way back. He answered her question without even hearing it. “When we came here, it took us half a day, but I was forced to keep my horse at a trot to avoid exhausting it.”

Ah, it had been carrying two adults and a child, after all.

“There was a town meeting happening when I arrived, even though it was hours past sunset,” he continued. “The leader, whose name I forget—”

“Kimen,” she supplied. He nodded.

“Right. He told many lies and few truths, but I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty that Majo left the village and took most of her belongings with her.”

She swallowed. Dread sat heavy in her stomach.

“She had screamed that demons would kill them all, and…that she would find you and kill you,” he said, mouth stiff.

“She was at the meeting?”

“Kimen recounted the events to those who hadn’t seen it, though I’m sure those who hadn’t seen it had heard it from their gossiping neighbors. Kimen also lamented that Akiji had gone with her.”

“By the dueling gods,” she whispered. “Akiji is a bully, but he’s not evil. He doesn’t know what she is.”

“I imagine he knows now,” he said haltingly.

“What else did you learn?”

“That’s…” He slid his warm fingers around hers, and her chest grew tight with worry. “They were deciding what to do next when absolute chaos broke out. A hundred demons swarmed the village—”

“No!” she gasped.

“I killed a handful, but there were simply too many. I could only get a few villagers out. I told them to get to your medicine field and stay there until dawn, for it has the correct prayers on its barrier charms. But I don’t think they believed me.”

Of course. His hair was white and they wouldn’t recognize him. They’d think he was tricking them. Shumei couldn’t stop her tears, and he held her in his arms while showering the top of her head with kisses.

He continued after she’d composed herself. “Human-born demons had sabotaged the village’s barrier. They were the ones I went after first. I didn’t know any of them, and I don’t know how they were recruited. I tried to ask one, but he thought attacking me was a better idea.”

“You’re worried Rosuke was recruited,” she said, hesitant.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“What are we going to do?”

So many people she’d grown up with had just died. It was the epidemic all over again, but far more frightening. Yes, many had not been kind to her, or at least most of them hadn’t, but she had helped birth several children, had healed dozens of wounds, and reversed many fevers. And in their own way, people had expressed thanks, whether it had been a soft word or a sigh of relief with a glance at her face.

Now all except for a few had died. She wondered if the leader and his wife had survived, if Ikuro and her many children had escaped, and if Master Takebe and his wife had been able to run away with her leg still so tender.

Vallen pulled her into his arms again, letting her cry against his neck, and promised everything would turn out all right. But she couldn’t help thinking of her dream from last night and how he hadn’t been there at the end.

Chapter Fourteen