The Fractured Soul Page 3

  Jogging backward in front of her, Tsuki said, “Care to tell us what happened that’s got you all fired up?”

  Suzume shook her head, huffing for air. Her mind kept circling back to that door.

  One of her earliest memories of Mother waiting. She watched the door every night. Even as a child, it had caught Suzume’s attention. It was just a door made of paper and wood like any other and yet Mother was fixated upon it. She had joined her, sitting quietly by her side, watching that door waiting for it to do anything.

  Before her brother, the emperor came often through that door. And when he did, Mother was full of smiles and laughter. Those were happy days when the emperor brought her sweets and saw her off to bed with her nurse. Then after her brother was born and they moved to the small palace, the door was different, but Mother watched it just the same. The emperor’s visits became less frequent, but her mother’s waiting never ceased. Nightly visits became, weekly, then monthly. As the visits became more infrequent, gifts came before the emperor did. She still remembered the first one, a hairpin with a jade flower. When a year had gone by without a visit, a bolt of silk arrived. Mother put in her jade flower hairpin and waited for him. The visit was brief, the emperor never stayed long. A year turned into years, the gifts stopped coming, and so did he. Mother never stopped waiting. That was what it meant to be a second wife, a consort.

  It was a life Suzume swore she would never have. When men sent her gifts, she always refused; they thought she was being coy. But a gift always came with strings attached. Mother had her parties, false friends who sought her favor, but when they were all gone, she was still left waiting for the emperor. Even when he had forgotten all about her, she still belonged to him. Because no matter what power her mother grasped for herself, no matter how many allies or money of her own, she would only ever be his caged bird living in a gilded cage.

  Lungs burning, eyes watering from the salt in the air, and energy flagging, Suzume slowed to a stop. She leaned forward, taking gasping breaths of cold air. Her constant shadows, Noaki and Tsuki stood over her. Noaki bound to her by Kazue’s heart, which Suzume had absorbed, and Tsuki and his sister Akira trapped in one body and cursed to guard the staff Suzume held. All of them were prisoners of their fate. She couldn’t go anywhere without them following. And though Suzume had run away from Kaito once, she had returned thinking he saw her as an equal, that they were a team. But perhaps it had all been her own delusion, and she was as foolish as Mother, who kept waiting on the emperor. She’d let her feelings for Kaito cloud her judgment, but if she accepted his gifts, then she’d never escape the gilded cage. Left forever in the shadows as he ruled over the yokai.

  “This isn’t like you to try quite this hard at strength training,” Akira said, she used her brother’s face to speak, not bothering to take control of the body they shared.

  “What… I… always… try… this… hard…” Suzume panted out between breaths.

  Tsuki smirked. “Well, if you’re feeling ambitious, why don’t you try racing me?”

  He’d likely offered because he wanted her to admit defeat. But tired as she was, she wasn’t going to back down from a challenge, not one from a yokai.

  “Where to?” She stood up and tried to steady her breathing.

  “What about that islet?” He gestured to a long strip of sand jutting out into the ocean.

  It wasn’t too far. She could make it that far, at least.

  “Sure.”

  They both got into position, Suzume steadied her breath as much as she could. But she was still winded from the first run. It didn’t matter, she just had to get to the finish line.

  “Count of three.” Tsuki held up his fingers, curled one downwards “…one... two...three—” As soon as the word left his lips, he was off, and his form shrunk along the horizon. Suzume’s aching legs, already tired from a morning of exercise, burned with exertion as she struggled to catch up. More than anything, she wanted to lay down in the sand and never get up again.

  It would be easier to give up. To admit the superior nature of yokai over humans. Why keep fighting for more? Why not just be happy to live in luxury? With Kaito’s protection, she wouldn’t have to worry about attacks. He could guard her from everything, he was strong enough to do that. She could live a life of leisure.

  But she wanted more.

  No. She wasn’t just satisfied with hitting the finish, she had to win. Even if it killed her, she was going to get stronger. She would prove to Kaito and everyone that she was more than just a concubine. She wouldn’t become her mother. She wouldn’t spend her days waiting for a powerful man to give her gifts, she didn’t need Kaito to protect her.

  The sand shifted beneath her feet as she increased her speed. Inch by inch, she closed the gap between her and Tsuki. As she got closer, Tsuki glanced over his shoulder.

  “Catch me if you can,” he taunted.

  But it only spurned her further. Just a little more. Just a little faster. The pain in her body faded away as a strange euphoria overcame her. She was closing in.

  Now she was at his shoulder. A few more steps. The islet was right there. Shells along the shores glittered in the noonday sun. She could do this, just one last burst of speed to finish it. She surged forward, surpassing Tsuki a few seconds before reaching the islet where she collapsed into the sand.

  The warm sand clung to her sweat-drenched skin as she stared up at the cloudless sky. Her heart throbbed in her ears, and she couldn’t keep the smile from her face.

  “Good race,” Tsuki said as he fell onto the ground beside her.

  While Suzume gasped for breaths, his breathing was normal, he hadn’t even broken a sweat.

  Suzume sighed heavily. “You let me win, didn’t you?”

  Tsuki chuckled, “You wanted it more.”

  Of course, he had. Even when she pushed herself nearly to exhaustion, there was no way for her to win unless it was handed to her. A human, no matter how hard she tried, was always going to be inferior to a yokai. She clenched a fistful of sand in her hand and sat up. The ocean stretched out until it met the horizon. Maybe if she could run to where the sky touched the sun, she’d finally be equal to a yokai. But not today, and perhaps never.

  Noaki had joined them and hovered nearby, his gaze continually scanning the horizon. Until Hisato was defeated, she would always be in danger, among the yokai or even out here, on this desolate beach. That was her life, there was no pretending otherwise. And as much as she didn’t want to be caged, that was probably the safest place to be. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.

  “Ready to talk about what’s bothering you?” Akira had taken control of her body she shared with Tsuki, and unlike her brother who’d sprawled on the sand, she knelt gracefully beside Suzume and brushed sand from her kimono.

  “Not really,” Suzume replied as she let the sand run through her fingers.

  “Suit yourself,” Akira said and looked out across the ocean, the breeze caught strands of her long ebony hair, and they fluttered across her face.

  Suzume closed her eyes as the ocean breeze rolled over her. If only it could carry away her unwanted feelings. When he had complimented her strength in front of the yokai and given her the sakura tree, her heart had fluttered. She should have known it was all leading to the one thing all men sought from her.

  She jumped up to her feet, and cupping her hands around her mouth, she shouted. “You’re an idiot!”

  “I’m assuming you’re referring to Kaito?” Akira asked in a disinterested tone.

  Damn him. Why did he make her constantly question herself and his intentions? Sometimes it seemed like he was being sincere, and other times, she felt like she was swept up in some giant joke. When he confessed, she’d held herself from replying because she feared the moment she spoke her feelings aloud it; would all come to an end. The kind gestures, his tender looks… But holding this in, it felt like it was shredding apart her insides, maybe she should open up to Akira, if only to get it off
her chest...

  A jolt of electricity shot down Suzume’s spine, and her head shot up. She’d felt this sensation before, a piece of Kazue’s soul was nearby. She scanned the beach, it could very well be Souta or Hikaru come to find her because she’d been gone too long. But she saw them every day and never felt like this, only when she’d first met them.

  “Noaki, are Souta or Hikaru close by?” Suzume asked.

  His spiritual sense was stronger than hers, as was his ability to differentiate different spiritual energies from a distance. Something was calling to her, without a voice and without a sound. The pieces of Kazue’s soul longed to be reunited, and the part of her that was Kazue was reaching out for that last missing piece. As if by instinct, Suzume’s gaze was drawn down the shore, past the driftwood and seaweed, which littered the sand. Noaki’s dark gaze was trained on the horizon, back toward the castle in the opposite direction of where the call was coming from. This had to be the missing piece, she’d found it at last.

  “I cannot sense them nearby, but I feel it as well,” Noaki said.

  “Did you sense something?” Akira asked as she stood, her expression eager.

  For Akira and Tsuki, finding the missing piece of Kazue’s soul could mean being free of her curse at last. Hikaru, Souta, and her had tried to separate them, but it was no use. The only way they would regain their individual bodies was if all the pieces of Kazue’s soul were reunited, and they were at their full power.

  “I can feel it, the last soul piece is nearby, it’s calling to me,” Suzume took a step in the direction of the call.

  “We should go and find them!” Tsuki said, using his sister’s face.

  “It might be a trap,” Noaki said. “It would be wise to go back for reinforcements.”

  They’d been searching for months for the last soul piece without success. Noaki was right, it was likely this was a trap set by Hisato. But if it weren’t, she might lose her only chance to find the missing piece. Besides, going back meant asking Kaito for help, and she didn’t need him just to check.

  “There’s no time. Let’s investigate first, and if need be, we’ll go back for backup,” Suzume declared before running in the direction the soul piece was calling her to.

  Thick gray plumes of smoke rose up in the sky from the direction she was headed. Its source was blocked by a small rise along the shore. But as she rounded the corner, a scream pierced the air. Was it the soul piece? She picked up her pace.

  Villagers ran toward them, and behind them, plumes of smoke choked the air, and flames engulfed their huts. The soul fragment called out to her, coaxing her to find them; they were close by. But she couldn’t just abandon this village to find the soul piece.

  “We have to help them,” Suzume said to Noaki and Tsuki.

  “But what about the soul piece?” Tsuki asked.

  “They’ll have to wait.” Before Tsuki could respond, Suzume rushed toward the village.

  The heat of the flames slowed her down as she approached, and she threw her arms up to shield her face as she got closer. Squinting into the blaze, she scanned for villagers or anyone who’d been trapped by the flames. From behind a scorched hut, a creature stepped out. The bottom half of it made of glowing coals stacked one on another, connected by a torso of blistered and red human flesh. Half of its face was human, but on the other side, the skin had been peeled away, revealing more burning coals. It had to be one of Hisato’s hybrids. Perhaps this was a trap after all.

  The song of destruction Ryuu had taught her was on her lips, she raised her hand to draw power from the flames around her. As the power swelled within her, she charged at the hybrid. And with her staff pointed at the hybrid, she unleashed the power of her song. But when the force of her song rolled over him, as if it were nothing but smoke. And it continued barreling toward her.

  Suzume hesitated a second too long to swing and defend herself. The hybrid grabbed the end of her staff, and it caught on fire as it tried to pull it from her grasp. She thrust forward, sliding the staff in its grip and caught the coal side of its head, shattering it, like breaking apart embers. It screamed and stumbled backward, clutching at the broken side of its face.

  If it were impervious to her song. She’d have to find another way to stop it. Tsuki was nowhere to be seen, and Noaki was preoccupied with fighting three other hybrids. She was on her own. Not far from the village was a dock. Being that this hybrid was made of coal, perhaps water could hurt it? And if she could coax it out over to the water, she could knock it into the ocean and extinguish it.

  “Come here, you fiery abomination.” Suzume taunted as she ran for the dock. The monster growled, a sound like rocks rolling over one another as it chased her. As she approached the dock, she felt the tug of the missing soul piece once again. They were very close. She stopped and searched the villagers who had gathered on a nearby hill, huddled together as their village burned. One among them had to be the missing piece. But which one?

  A flaming fist reached for her, and Suzume stumbled, tripping on the uneven boards of the dock. The hybrid was closing in, and Suzume backed away, getting closer and closer to the edge of the dock. The hybrid hadn’t come alone, two more hybrids, their bodies blistered and burned, followed close behind. There was no running around them and knocking one in. If she jumped into the water to escape, she’d drown.

  The back of her foot found the edge of the dock. And the hybrid grasped her by her shoulder. Its touch burned, and she cried out. Swinging her staff wildly, she struck the hybrid, but it only squeezed her harder. Its flames came closer and closer to her, and she strained to keep her face away from the fire.

  A whooshing sound filled her ears. And water dripped on her face. The hybrid looked up, and she followed his gaze. A wave three times her height crested over them and the dock. She had mere seconds to brace herself before it came crashing down on them. The water boomed, and Suzume was off the bridge and into the ocean. The water churned around her, and in the darkness, she couldn’t tell up from down. She flapped her arms ineffectually, trying to find the surface. But the waves tossed her back and forth like a child’s plaything. There was nothing she could do but hold her breath and pray.

  A hand reached for her, grabbing her by the wrist and pulled her from the depths. As she broke the water’s surface, Suzume sputtered and gasped for air. Noaki held her around her waist, as he swam them both toward the shore. When they reached the sand, Suzume knelt on all fours gasping for breath.

  Had that wave not come when it did, she would have been killed by the hybrid, she was certain of it. The tug of the missing piece of Kazue’s soul was gone, but Suzume was certain it had to be them, the water of Kazue’s soul had saved her life, but where had they gone?

  4

  Tsuki’s blade sliced through the flesh of the hybrid. Black ichor sprayed from the wound and splattered on his face. Without pausing to wipe it away, he leaped through the flames, racing between the burning huts of the village. The occasional battles they’d encountered since Suzume had found them at the shrine, had not quenched his thirst for blood. The thrill of battle was upon him once more. He was one with the swing of his blade, the pounding of his heart, and the cries of his fallen opponents. The hybrid whose arm he had parted from his body, roared and came charging for him, black blood oozing from the stump left behind.

  Either it was too stupid or too enraged to notice. It swung at him with a fisherman’s spear. It might as well have happened in slow motion, there was little challenge in hacking its hand off and letting it fall to the ground. It jabbed its bloody appendage at him spraying Tsuki and the flames.

  “You’re making a terrible mess,” Akira said through their shared bond.

  The drum beat of blood lust thundered in his ears, and he didn’t bother to respond.

  Thick, foul-smelling smoke rose up around them as it charged for him like a mindless animal. The hybrid monster lumbered toward him, passing through flames which caught the ragged shreds of its clothes, it did no
t so much as flinch. Fighting it wasn’t a challenge, nor was it exciting if it didn’t react. With an upward thrust of his blade, he embedded his sword in the soft giving flesh of its gut. Thick congealed black blood ran down Tsuki’s arm, soaking his sleeve as the hybrid continued to thrash. It waved its hand-less arm at him, until its heart pumped out the last of its life blood. With a slow stagger, it crashed onto the ground. Tsuki knelt down, wiping the edge of his blade on what remained of the burned and tattered clothes of the hybrid. How terribly anticlimactic that had been.

  “Can you stay focused, we don’t have time to fight these things,” Akira scolded him through their mental link.

  “Can you sense them?” Tsuki asked Akira.

  “There’s a lot of noise, but I can feel them; the last soul piece is close by.”

  They didn’t have their father Noaki’s affinity for sensing spiritual power. But he trusted Akira’s instincts. When they were free of each other at last, there would be time for him to slake his thirst. Besides, these fumbling atrocities weren’t even worth the effort.

  The fire around them grew higher and the radiant heat warmed his face. He’d been so absorbed in the fight, he hadn’t realized how big the blaze had gotten. The roof of a nearby hut collapsed, and from within, someone screamed. The poor humans hadn’t deserved to die, but that was the cruel reality of humanity. Even if there were a way to save them, he wouldn’t have bothered. There were only two things that mattered, finding the missing piece of Kazue’s soul and protecting Suzume long enough for her and the others to separate Akira and him.

  The screaming stopped, and smoke choked the air. Time to go. They might be immortal, but burns would still be painful to heal, and he didn’t want to mar his handsome face. As Tsuki passed the burning remains of a hut, it started to shift. A beam lifted off the ground, revealing the scorched back of a villager. How had a mere villager survived the flames and a caved-in roof? As they rose to their full height, it exposed their burnt skin, which glowed like coals in a fire. The flesh on his arm had split open, and long clawed fingers burst from fingertips. Now that was something he’d never seen before.