Page 107 of Tears of Gold

“So, that went well,” he says with a dark chuckle. Thunder sounds, and the cabin shakes. “Can you believe they called me a dragonling? How rude!”

“Skye,” I warn, secretly glad he’s not visibly freaking.

“Right.” He clears his throat, long silver mustache quivering. “A dozen goblins, two dozen yokai. At least three are class two. Kappa blood as well, not sure how many.”

“I thought you said twenty!”

“More are still coming across the wards.” Skye grunts and winces. “And there goes my ward cornerstone. Well, I’ll just drain my qi standing here. Erritt, stay and hold the house wards.”

“No way you’re going alone.” I flex my hands and summon my katanas. They take a moment to materialize across the distance from the academy. “The sooner we take them out, the better.”

A loud crash sounds on the roof, and we hear a muffled yelp from under the bed.

We exchange glances. “Fine,” Skye concedes. “You flank but fall back here the moment you start breathing hard.”

“Let me try royal command first.”

Skye shakes his head. “That’s a bad idea. They have to be Davina. Don’t announce your presence; stay in the shadows. Let’s go.”

It goes against the protocols I’ve been taught, but his suggestion is logical. He throws open the door and I take a deep breath to steel my resolve about what has to be done, then teleport beyond the tree line in a flash. Landing, I spot a goblin and zap closer. I swing my blade, and his head flies through the air. I teleport to the next stop before it’s even hit the ground. They ignored Skye’s warning.

My next target is a cluster of enemies. I summon spikes of ice which impale two smaller goblins. The yokai with them screeches and meets my katana with a qi shield. A dark gray bolt chases me, and I leap to the side.

“Elemental!” someone nearby screeches, announcing my presence.

I catch movement from the corner of my eye and raise shields as three qi bolts spiral straight at me, the bright light contrasting sharply with the gloom of pre-dawn. My battered qi twinges in protest. The yokai lunges through, using a pure-qi spike that splits my shield. That shouldn’t be possible. I teleport to the air to assess my opponent.

This tengu spirit is a strong one.

Her dog-like head, covered in stringy long hair, swings up, tracking me and a second later, she sprouts wings. I rain ice shards down on her, flashing from one teleport to another to stay airborne, catching a kappa below in the shoulder by accident. The yokai wraps herself in glassy gray power that turns my attacks aside.

On the ground, Skye hurls himself across the clearing, a quicksilver flash of deadly qi and teeth. A glance shows me the silver wards on the house holding, rippling under a barrage of attacks.

Three bodies converge on the back door and my temper frays. I drop back into the trees as a dozen attacks flare in my direction, the enemy flocking to mob their hated enemy.

Hoping I can do this right, I split off a mirage and send part of myself to the rear of the cabin. I dodge the yokai’s incoming spear in the clearing. She closes in, and I kick her hard, borrowing one of Harper’s favorite moves. I hear a rewarding crack in her ribs and a second yokai drags her away, deflecting my katana blow as I follow up.

Holding two consciousnesses of myself is achingly hard work. Sweat trickles between my shoulder blades, but I don’t know in which body. I can’t seem to keep a grip on two selves and teleport both of me at the same time. I grit my teeth and swing again. I’ll stand my ground here for the moment.

At the cabin, I drop with flashing ice blades on the trio trying to assault the barrier near the back door. I behead one goblin in a heartbeat. The enemy seems to be running in cells consisting of a yokai and several goblins or kappas.

In a rookie mistake, my next swing lodges in the tough shell on the kappa’s back. He screams and jerks away. I growl and release my blade rather than be pulled forward into the yokai’s attack, then summon a new shard of ice. My qi stings as the cool ice slides into my grip.

Fucking Anik! I better recover from this injury soon.

An explosion goes off nearby as a goblin gets too close to the cabin, which I’d bet my qi is thanks to Harper’s bag of charms. Blood spatter and pieces of green creature slide down the plank walls and wreaths of smoke haze the air.

The yokai’s eyes bulge to the size of grapefruit as he lunges at me with a glimmering spear. I fend him off, loading qi force behind my shield to catapult him sideways. The chest of the kappa is softer just under the arm so I blast through his shield and stab ice into its chest. Pale blue eyes roll up, and blood pours from its mouth. A fiery ache flares in my arm. I think the real me just defended a hard blow.

The yokai at the cabin screams and hurls a bunch of throwing stars. I’m too sluggish to teleport, and one lodges in my flank, biting deep. I hiss and close with the creature, hating that I’m struggling with such a pathetic being. Anger flares through me, and ice shoots up from the ground, trapping its feet. He trips, swearing. A blast of qi catches me, and I yell as pain explodes through my left arm.

A blade flashes through the qi barrier surrounding the house, impaling the yokai through the eye. It drops dead with a sharp whine. I yank the knife free and pass it back to Harper, the barrier instinctively parting as my hand goes through. His eyes widen, and his face pales.

“Erritt!”

Looking down, I find my arm hanging by a tendon. Blood spills down my side, turning to golden motes in the wind before reaching the ground.

“Not the real me,” I grind out. “Stay inside.” I release my mirage and return to one body.