The Dragon Saga Box Set by Nicolette Andrews

Author:Nicolette Andrews [Andrews, Nicolette]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Magpie Publishing
Published: 2019-02-28T22:00:00+00:00

24

Suzume reached for her staff. With its familiar weight in her hand, she tried to take a step backwards out of the ring of stones. But as soon as her feet got close to the edge, energy crackled and sparked against her skin. She leapt away before she could get burned. A shimmering barrier of energy surrounded the ring of stones. The orbs hung above each of the stone lines of energy, connecting them and extending outward to create the barrier. They were not some benign yokai of light, but guardians of this place. Which meant they were there to keep whatever was inside the stone inside.

The maniacal laughter filled the air and rattled through Suzume's skull. She fought the urge to cover her ears to stop the noise, because that would mean letting go of the staff and somehow she thought it was more important to hold onto it right now. Makato drew his bow and arrow, pointing it at the hole. Something black and gray with oily, black strings dangling from its wrists clawed its way out of the hole. The stone behind it had cracked in half and any sign of the fire Suzume had shot disappeared. All that remained was a smoldering pile of rubble.

The thing, whatever it was, crawled out on all fours. What Suzume had originally mistook for oily string was actually limp hair which fell in a curtain in front of the thing's face. A putrid scent that followed it, like long rotten meat.

Makato shot an arrow at the top of it's head. It landed in the flesh of the creature with a sick wet noise. But the creature kept crawling towards them, its eerie laughter filling her skull. She grabbed onto the side of her head to try and block out the sound but it seemed to be coming from inside.

"What is that thing?" Suzume asked. Giving up on blocking it out, she held her staff in front of her in the guard position, trying and failing to summon the fire she had just used to free this thing. But it would not come to her; there was not even the faintest spark along her skin. It was as if her energy had been all used up, but she could still feel it churning in her gut, like a small inferno just out of her reach, waiting to be grabbed a hold of and used to vanquish this horrifying creature before her.

The creature stopped its slow progress towards them, and then slowly unbent from all fours to stand and stare at her. It had the general shape of a woman, and was wearing all white. The long black hair was obscuring her face but Suzume could see the molted gray skin beneath.

"It's a yuri," Makato said, not removing his eyes from the creature.

"You're telling me restless spirits are real too?"

It shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise, if Kami and yokai were real, why not the spirits of the dead, trapped on earth because of some unfinished business.

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