Dragon's Run by Daniel Potter

Author:Daniel Potter [Potter, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fallen Kitten Productions
Published: 2019-06-03T22:00:00+00:00

Yoshiaki walked like a mouse through a cat’s territory, eyes constantly shifting through the crowd before him. One hand gripped the handle of his large satchel as if it might escape at any moment. At the intersection, he glanced back down the way he had come. Yaki had to admire the way Mitsuo chose that exact moment to slip from the alley in Yoshiaki’s blind spot. Casually, Mitsuo slid an arm into the crook of his cousin’s arm. Good thing, too, because as soon as the weaselly scribe realized he wasn’t alone, he popped into the air like a surprised cat. Only Mitsuo’s grip stopped him from slamming into a cart of pots. She could not hear the exchange between the two men but saw Mitsuo bring his lips to Yoshiaki’s ear. He stopped struggling and clutched his bag to his chest as a child hugs a teddy bear for comfort. Mitsuo continued to talk in his ear, and the words seemed to make Yoshiaki fold in on himself further. Finally, with the weakest of nods from Yoshiaki, the pair approached the building where Yaki perched in a rooftop cafe. Yaki flagged a down a willowy serving woman and ordered three teas before hiding her face behind a cheap folding fan she had picked up on the way there. The stench of Passing Night’s charm would attract more attention than it dispelled in a place like this. Only prayers to Grandmother Willow and Death Panther protected her from any priests seeking her. Hopefully, they had given up seeking her by now, but a chance encounter with a priest could renew the hunt.

So, she watched the crowd for anyone who did not fit in among the traffic. Yoshiaki’s fine scribe robes had been partially out of place. Three blocks away was the tavern where the three cousins held court and she’d been ambushed by the priests. There was no sign of them this afternoon, and as far she could tell, Mitsuo had gone unharried by them outside his household. Perhaps his grandfather really had forced them to back off. A decision he’d come to regret.

“This opportunity better be good, Mits.” Yaki’s ear snatched the grumble from the din of the crowd and caught Mitsuo and Yoshiaki weaving toward her through the clusters of teahouse patrons. She continued to watch the crowd, spotting several people who wore the earth-toned garments common more to the industrial district than among this bustling market. One woman, a head taller than most everyone else, seemed to be stalking through the crowd in a way that seemed familiar.

“I would never waste your time dear cousin,” Mitsuo said as the chair across from her scraped against the wooden roof of the building.

Yaki felt Yoshiaki’s squinting eyes on her and studiously ignored him. “Who that’s?” he whispered with more than a trace of fear. Yaki smiled to herself that he hadn’t recognized her immediately. She had traded her dueling dress for a simple blue-and-yellow kimono wrapped with a red sash tied with a bow on her back.

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