The Chrysanthemum Seal (The Year of the Dragon, Book 5) by Calbraith James

Author:Calbraith, James [Calbraith, James]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Young Adult, fantasy, Steampunk, Japanese, Dragons, samurai, Victorian, Historical Fantasy, Japan, epic
Publisher: Flying Squid
Published: 2014-04-28T16:00:00+00:00

Nagomi absentmindedly picked at the rice with a chopstick. She still felt as if the earth beneath her feet rolled slightly back and forth, but that was just an illusion — they were on dry land, at an inn in some small castle town somewhere past Okayama.

Half-way through a yawn she realized what she was doing and covered her mouth, looking around nervously. Luckily, the bear-man seemed equally distracted, playing with the small wooden slat upon which a piece of silken paper was glued — their permit of passage, a forgery produced by the Chōfu conspirators who had helped them get across the mountains of Todō province.

After a week’s journey together, they had split from Takasugi in Naniwa. He boarded another, smaller ship, to get any pursuit off their backs. Nagomi promised to pray for his safe arrival in Chōfu, but she soon forgot about her pledge.

“How many more of these stations before us?” Torishi asked, rolling the tegata in his fingers. The forgery was good, but every time they had to present it to the officials along the way, the tension was unbearable.

“I’m sorry?” Nagomi raised her eyes from the breakfast. “Oh, I’m not sure. The boats are not checked as often as the roads. We should be fine from now.”

“You seem distracted. Visions, again?”

She paused for a second.

“I had the dream today.”

“The one with the dragon?”

She nodded.

“You must pull that sword out.”

“I know, but… I’m too terrified to move. You know how it is with dreams.”

“You must try, little priestess,” he said, clenching his fist in encouragement. “Something is waiting at the end of that vision. The third verse. It must be the key.”

They had been pouring over the words she’d heard in her vision, trying to decipher their meaning. Who was the boy who couldn’t be seen? What man and beast were torn apart? Neither of them could guess.

“I understand. I will try next time.”

“Think of the sword before you go to sleep. It helps.”

She nodded and pushed the rice bowl away and stood up. The floor beneath her swayed. She wasn’t sure if it was a tremor or her still weary legs.

“What did you say?” she asked.

Torishi raised his head.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Strange. I’d swear I heard somebody calling me.”

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