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His announcement wasn’t met with the eagerness he’d expected. Instead, the large Oni let his head fall back so that his throat was exposed. A chuckle of amusement filled the chamber.
“I’m serious. I will give you freedom.”
The laughter stopped and where once the Oni had been a pose of laziness. He now stood, his form filling the view of the door. His eyes bright with a fury so violent, Tiller took a single step back only to catch himself and step forward once more.
The Oni reached his hand out. His long pale fingers tapping against the door with a steady beat. The door vibrated as if a whole body had slammed into it.
“You have three more taps, before I escape and tear you in half. One.”
“I’m serious.”
Tap. “Two.”
Tiller didn’t run. “I am not lying.” Reaching inside his jacket he pulled out a scroll with a red letter on it. The tapping immediately ceased. “This is a decree from the Council, giving me the power to free whomever I wish from the Bowels.” He replaced it inside his coat. “You only have to agree, and I will give it to you.”
The Oni narrowed his anger filled gaze with suspicion on him. “How much of my soul are you asking for, fox?”
Tiller grinned, not knowing the way the torch light flickered over his face gave him the appearance of a devil. His teeth white, sharp, and fully exposed. “All of it.”
Those once angry eyes suddenly filled with amusement, the depths turning like an ocean. Dry, cracked lips parted revealing white teeth just as sharp as Tillers.“What makes you think there is any left?”
“Because… it still feels anger.”
Tiller expected the Oni to continue arguing, but he withdrew retreating until he stood in the center of the room. His eyes focused above him, some of his face could be seen.
“So, will you take my offer or not?” Tiller demanded impatiently.
“Yes,” the answer was short, but not so simple. “I will take your offer, but I will decide what my reward will be.” Those mysterious eyes moved from the ceiling to him. “I’m not so desperate for freedom that I won’t demand payment.”
Tiller frowned. “Is freedom not enough?”
In answer the Oni asked. “The power you have now, is it not enough?”
Tiller’s teeth clicked together as the two stood in silence. A silence that ultimately was its own form of warfare. Tiller wanted the other to bend, and the other kept silent as if the offer of freedom was nothing.
Which one of them would give in? Which of the two of them was the more desperate? The answer was clear.
“I will give you one, and only one thing,” Tiller said as he reached out and placed his hand against the flat cold wood of the prison door. A circle of magic appeared, three triangles layered in a circular pattern, with runic lettering surrounding it. The glow of it filled the long hallway. “Deal?”
The Oni smiled and lowered his head so his hair once again hid his face from Tiller.
“Deal.”
Hearing the click of the lock, Tiller grabbed the wrought iron handle and pulled. The door opened with a creaking sound. “Then, Raijin, I welcome you to the Jackals.”
Tiller felt his pulse quicken in excitement. He’d done it. He’d taken the first leap into the true power he desired and now he had his first weapon in hand.
* * *
Sabina
“Run!” A scream filled the air.
Sabina looked down the hill to the village below. Her eyes drawn to the crowd of screaming mothers who fought with the men who were taking their children. The torches the men held were the only source of light below. They flickered and stretched their shadows out.
Cries of small children mixed with their mothers’ pleas for their lives, but they went ignored. The thick jungle branches shook from the force of the wind of an approaching storm.
She inhaled deeply, and pressed her hand against her stomach. This was her last mission. Her last time helping those like her.
