Tears and Shadow (kitsune series) by Morgan Blayde

Author:Morgan Blayde [Blayde, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2012-10-08T23:00:00+00:00

TWENTY

COUP DE JARNAC: early Renaissance term

for a crippling blow to the back of the knee or

hamstring. Used in a famous judicial duel, it

was not new, but did become quite notorious.

The hotel shuddered as thunder broke, announcing a storm rampaging over the building. Not a good omen. But, Hey! How was I hearing thunder while in the ghost realm? My gaze shot to the sword of the storm god Michiko held. If I had to guess, I’d say the relic was breaking the rules with impunity.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Crunch make a shoving motion to the side, ghostly green fire trailing his hand.

An unseen wall of force smacked me out from between him and Michiko. I tumbled through the air and immaterially skimmed through a couple tables. Hitting the floor, I blurred my hands with orange wisps of aura, clawing the carpet to stop myself. By then, I was back at the entrance to the piano lounge.

I should have just walked away. I had nothing invested in who won, but my goal was to get the miko to lead me to Tukka. For that, I needed to be on her good side. Here was a chance to rescue her and do just that. I gathered myself and sprang to a tabletop, bleeding aura to make it solid under my feet. From there, I spring-boarded into the air, angling for the four chairs pinning the miko to the ceiling.

The green ghost that had been licking her face—leaving a residue of slime that wouldn’t be visible in the human world—saw me coming like a flame-wrapped comet. He fled the airspace, but there were still dozens of ghosts drifting about the lounge. Fortunately, they were staying well clear of the looming battle. Getting killed teaches vulnerability like nothing else.

Arriving, I latched onto one chair with both legs and an arm, and used a free hand to worry at the other chairs holding her secure. They didn’t budge. I swung flaming feet and double kicked a chair. Its seat and legs remained, but the hourglass-shaped back broke away. Taking on my orange glow, the back fell languidly until the glow faded, and then—crossing back—it crashed to the floor at full speed.

The miko stopped struggling. From her perspective, it would seem like one of the chairs holding her spontaneously shattered. She was looking at the other chairs now, waiting to see what they would do.

The legs were deeply imbedded, and the attached seats very well constructed. I needed some other way than brute force. I could have whipped out my shadow sword, but using it one-handed in close quarters while dangling from the ceiling seemed too risky. However, there was one thing that occurred to me. I reached across to the broken chair and poured my aura into it, making the chair remnant a ghost. It eased out of the ceiling. I pulled my aura back to myself, letting go. The broken chair dropped as its back had done.

As if in approval, more thunder shook the building.

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