Scott McGough: Outlaw:Champions of Kamigawa

Toshi glanced back at Michiko, who no longer had the guile to conceal her emotions. She looked tired, frightened, and almost ready to surrender. He wished

Kobo were here. Not just to simplify his options, but because the big ox was useful. Strong, obedient, good in a fight, and most of all, he kept his mouth shut.

"Well?" Mochi said. "Another few moments and this discussion will be moot. I will defend the princess myself if I have to. Michiko must survive this night. You have no such imperative."

"So you'll just leave me here to rot."

"Basically."

"Unless I tell you what I want from you kami."

"Exactly. Ask, and it shall be granted. Join us, Toshi. You can't do everything alone."

Thoughts of Kobo bubbled through Toshi's mind. He turned to the Myojin of Night's Reach.

"Hey," he called. "Let me hear it from you. You will give me what I want, when I want it, and all I have to do is ask."

The dire figure did not reply, but instead simply stared with her cold, vacant mask. Slowly, the alabaster chin dipped and then rose again.

Michiko finally broke, tears streaming from her eyes. "Do it, Toshi. Please. You don't have to save me, but please… help my friends."

Toshi watched her tears fall. A cold smile turned up the corners of his lips.

"I know what I want from the kami," Toshi said. "And I will call for it, humbly, when and if I need it."

Mochi cocked his head. "If?"

"If," Toshi confirmed. "I may not require a kami blessing after all, Mochi. Not when I have all the power I need right here."

With a smooth, sudden motion, Toshi drew his sword and lunged, sending the point toward Michiko's throat.

Pearl-Ear tore a long strip of flesh from an orochi's arm as she grappled with it. There must have been over twenty of the snakes outside the cave, but they were finding the kitsune more formidable than before. The lack of weapons made the foxes more alert, quicker and more savage. The kitsune quickly formed a line with their back to the cave and repulsed wave after wave of the snakefolk's attack.

Pearl-Ear and Riko were likewise unable to gain access to the cave, but they were poised to do so as soon as the steady flow of orochi broke. They seemed endless, but the snakes had not endured the days-long sprint that brought them here anywhere near as well as the kitsune had. Outnumbered five-to-one, Pearl-Ear and her kin were easily holding their own.

Something sharp whistled past her ear, and the orochi charging toward her screamed. The snake fell, holding a bleeding gash on its neck. Pearl-Ear silenced his struggles with a heel to the back of his skull. Three more solid whispers shot out of the cave, glancing off orochi and leaving long, gaping wounds.

Pearl-Ear concentrated, and she was able to see the fast-moving blades. They were small and black, shaped like two-dimensional birds. They had no eyes, and their entire bodies were the color of dull coal, with no differentiation among beaks, feet, and wings. The mock-birds sliced whatever they touched, swarming around the snakes like hornets, slashing them open and driving them back from the cave.

"Hey, you kitsune," Toshi yelled. "Duck."

Pearl-Ear heard a flurry of razor wings as she tackled Riko to the ground. Sharp-Ear and the brothers also took cover as a cloud of the sharp bird-things surged out of the cave and began flaying the snakes alive.

It was a terrible sight, one that would have shocked Lady Pearl-Ear a short time ago. She had been inured to blood and violence over the past few days, however, and the awful cloud of screaming snakes and spattering blood barely horrified her at all. Riko, blessed child, turned her face away.

The storm of razor birds was brief but spectacular. When it died away, not a snake was left standing outside the cave. Pearl-Ear's keen ears heard more orochi approaching in the distance, but for now she had a moment's respite.

The flock of false birds retreated back to the cave entrance and hovered there, blocking the entrance. Pearl-Ear heard the sharp snap of human fingers, and then the curtain of sharp wings split down the middle, separating as Toshi emerged with sword in hand.

The curtain closed behind him. He looked around, spotting Pearl-Ear and Riko and the rest of the kitsune. He looked confident and strong, but the mischievous grin was belied by the stern glare in his eyes.

He nodded to Lady Pearl-Ear. "Where's the wizard boy?"

She didn't answer him immediately. All she could see was the man who had taken Michiko. "Nearby," she growled at last. "Where is Michiko?"

Toshi pointed over his shoulder. "In there. We'll have our reunion once the orochi are dealt with."

Indeed, Sharp-Ear and the others were already engaging the second wave of snakes. This one was larger than the first, and Pearl-Ear guessed that the word was spreading among the snakefolk: our quarry is here. She briefly wondered how many of them had come after Michiko, and how many they'd have to subdue before they could take the princess home.

Toshi strode forward. As he passed Lady Pearl-Ear, she sprang to her feet and dug her claws into his arm. "Take me to Michiko."

Toshi shrugged, and a powerful jolt of force tossed Pearl-Ear back onto her rear.

"If it's all the same to you foxes," he said, "I'll handle this."

He drew his sword, and Pearl-Ear shielded her eyes. The weapon's edge was glowing white, not hot but brighter than the midday sun. The glow spread down the length of the blade and spilled over onto Toshi himself. It ran up his arms, over his shoulders, and across the rest of his body until he was surrounded by a nimbus of brilliant purplish light. When he moved, there seemed to be several of him at once as he flickered around the battle site.

And move he did. Pearl-Ear's sharp eyes were barely able to follow as Toshi darted around the area. She took in a series of strobe images: Toshi with his sword through an orochi's chest; Toshi standing next to a beheaded snake; Toshi cutting three throats with a single stroke. In each attack, he was gone before the blood could flow, flashing to a new target as soon as he'd struck the current one.

As the ochimusha flashed around the forest like a mad hummingbird, the kitsune all stared in amazement. They didn't need to defend themselves, as every snake in the area was focused on stopping Toshi. Scaled body parts continued to fly and orochi continued to drop as Toshi became a blur even to their keen eyes.

Lady Pearl-Ear recognized magical enhancement when she saw it, but she didn't understand how Toshi had become so dangerous. She watched him pursue a small group of orochi to the far side of the glen and then rolled to her feet and charged the cave entrance.

The razor birds across the entrance were so thick they appeared as a solid mass. Pearl-Ear felt a hundred pinpricks and slashes on her skin as she covered her face and plunged into the blockage. The pain was manageable so long as she didn't slow down. The birds didn't seem to be attacking her as they had the orochi, but they were numerous enough to cause her real harm if she wasn't careful.

A powerful hand caught her by the scruff of the neck and hauled her free from the wall of birds, back out to the forest glen.

"That's a terrible idea," Toshi said. "I made it very tough to get in there, and you wouldn't like what you saw anyway." He was still shining brightly, but not as brightly as before. Whatever he had used to enchant himself seemed to be wearing off.

Pearl-Ear slapped his glowing hand off her. "I will see Michiko now."

"Not a chance." Toshi pointed back to the hill that kept spawning orochi. "The grunts have been dealt with. But the generals are still to come."

Pearl-Ear followed his hand and saw a half-dozen kannushi priests on the hillside. They had clasped hands and were chanting. They alternated between hisses, shouts, and groans, but the rhythm was clearly that of a summoning ritual. Lady Pearl-Ear understood enough of the words to make her heart sink.