Chapter 13.
"Wait!" Kannon moved
from behind my elbow to stand in front of me, arms outstretched. "These
people are in the service of Fujiwara Sanesuke- sama! If you hurt them, you
must answer to the Master."
Tennyo lifted her face and
laughed, and it bubbled like water. "She doesn't answer to a master. She
is lupa, she is dominant."
He looked back to me to find my
Browning pointed at her face. Kannon ducked back behind me, out of the way.
"Have your people back off
or I will kill you."
"You won't make it out of
here alive." She smiled knowingly.
"Yeah, but you're still
dead." I stared her in the eyes. I heard metal sing and saw Aya's katana
come into my peripheral vision.
"Samurai in this day and
age." Tennyo licked her lips. "Grant me one thing and I will let you
leave."
"What is that?" I
asked.
"Him." She pointed at
Aya. "Have the samurai present to me, and I will let you leave."
I looked to Aya, and he was
stone-faced as if he hadn't heard the request.
"Aya?" I asked.
"Present?"
I looked from her him to her.
"If you kiss her, she'll let us leave."
He blinked a moment. "Kiss
her?"
"Well, you don't have to do
it, we could fight our way out."
He watched Tennyo, who set her
hand on her curving hip, watching him consider.
"I will not wait
forever," she urged.
"Aya, make up your mind
fast."
Aya lowered his sword, and I
held my breath.
"Sheathe your katana,"
Tennyo instructed him, "and present to me."
The katana vanished back into
Aya's coat and he stepped forward. I held my breath as he approached her. He
was taller than her, and she looked up at him. She tilted her face up towards
him, and I let my eyes shift to the other Tora in the room. All of them were
watching, waiting.
I looked back to Tennyo and Aya,
and his head was lowered to hers. Then he abruptly stepped back, lifting his
head.
"You call that a
kiss?!" Tennyo screamed and her hands shot out to grab him. The Tora
surged towards us and I shot the one closest to us. The Tora fell back, and the
others pushed forward past him. Jason pushed past my elbow to meet them.
"Silence!!"
The whole room froze at the
booming voice that nearly knocked me off my feet. The single word seemed to
resonate through my chest. A large, no, huge man stood in the doorway to the
back of the bar. He wore a muscle shirt, baring huge arms, and his pants were
biker's leathers. His hair was short and dyed green. Power flowed around him,
like that shimmering of heat waves in the summer. And he didn't seem to be
doing it on purpose.
Tennyo had hold of Aya's hair,
nearly bending him over backwards. His hand was on his was on the hilt of his
katana, the weapon half drawn. Tennyo let go of Aya, and he stepped quickly
away from her. The man walked up beside Tennyo, looking at us.
"The Yo," Kannon
whispered to me. Yo? Must be the Alpha male.
"What disturbs my
rest?" the Yo rumbled through his chest.
"I am Anita Blake, the lupa
for the Thronnos Roke Clan."
"I am Honyaku Shinji, I am
the Yo," he rumbled back.
"We are seeking the foreign
pard," I explained.
"I know where they
are." Dark eyes studied me.
"I'd offer you tribute, but
I've already presented twice."
Shinji looked to Tennyo. Tennyo
pouted her lips at him.
"It was not worthy of the In."
"You have gotten greedy,
Tennyo," he snarled at her, and he looked at the Tora I had shot, who was
still laying on the floor, coughing up blood. I'd shot him in the chest, and
his lungs were struggling to heal. At least it hadn't been silver shot. The
silver bullets were in my backup clip.
Shinji stroked a hand over
Tennyo's hair and looked across the other Tora. The Tora quickly backed off,
including the one behind us.
"You have followed ritual,
and my In was rude. To atone for this, I myself will take you to the foreign
pard," he said to me.
I let out a breath I hadn't been
aware I was holding. "I am grateful."
I holstered the Browning and
Jason opened the door behind us. We backed out of the bar, with Shinji
following.
"Wait." Shinji walked
back down the alley, and we climbed into the car.
Kannon was muttering to himself
as he pulled on his seatbelt. I turned to look at Aya. He looked back at me,
face blank.
"Don't worry about
it," I told him. "She didn't plan to let us go anyway."
His eyes flicked to the window.
I don't really know if he had taken the incident as an insult to his kissing
abilities, but still felt I should have said something. Shinji came back into
view, pushing a motorcycle. Kannon started the car and we tailed the tiger.
Shinji led us through the busy
streets. I was so glad I wasn't driving. Even in the passenger seat, the
traffic gave me road rage. I guess this is how it feels to drive in Los
Angeles. Now I can understand the shootings.
After fighting the traffic,
Shinji led us into a park area that was nearer my hotel. Figures, they had to
be next door, and I'd come all the way through this. He pulled over in a
parking lot and we parked next to him.
"Meiji jingu." He
pointed ahead at a building I could see in amidst the trees.
"It's a temple,"
Kannon explained. Great, time to see if I can insult their religion too. Shinji
stepped ahead and we followed. Aya seemed agitated, constantly looking around
as if he wanted to be done and out of here.
"Should we have
tribute?" I asked Kannon. Kannon looked to me, at a loss. I glanced around
us and pulled a red blossom off a bush. It was really the fact that we offered
something that was more important what was it was. I hoped, anyway. Hope I
didn't just desecrate some sacred bush.
"That's them." Kannon
pointed. A group of folks in between the trees of the park. Three males and one
female. The female was in a pink kimono-looking thing, with long white-ish hair
that flowed down over her shoulders. She was gently wrestling with a tow-headed
male in a red jacket and black pants. Another pale haired male in a tight,
white outfit sat next to them on a bench, resting his arms on the back of the
bench and watching the wrestling two. The third male didn't have pale hair, but
dark red hair, dressed all in black leather and it seemed like he was trying to
join in on the wrestling match.
They all paused and looked to us
as we neared.
"Shinji." The male in
black leather stood. His hair was a little longer than Aya's and he was thin.
Painfully thin, and not much taller than me. Yellow eyes glittered through his
dark red bangs. His arms were bare, slender silver chains hanging around his
hips.
Shinji nodded at him and Kannon
smiled. Shinji spoke in Japanese to the leather-clad male as we waited. The
other three watched us, the wrestling two separating and getting to their feet.
I'd have guessed the girl at around sixteen or seventeen, lovely as a child's
doll. Her pale hair seemed to have a pink tint, possibly reflection off of her
kimono. Her eyes were a cobalt blue in a light skinned face. Her hair had been
twisted into extravagant loops and pinned to her head, then trailing down her
back, thin pastel ribbons running through it. Tiny chimes jingled amid the
ribbons as she moved.
Hovering beside her, crouched
with one hand down, was her wrestling partner. His hair was white with butter
undertones. His face didn't have the childlike roundness the girl's did, but
there was something about his dark blue eyes, the wide, almost blank look he
had. The eyes you see on young children. He was a bit more fleshed out than the
black-clad male, and seemed healthier.
The last male was probably the
tallest in the group, and the palest. His skin was pallid. So pallid I could
practically see his veins through his skin. Albino was my guess. He'd streaked
his equally pale hair with strands of lavender and orchid. His eyes looked
purple, probably from the play of blue and capillaries, peering out
suspiciously through the colored bangs that hung half way down his face. His
all white clothing further paled him. It made him almost too bright to look at
in the sunlight. A small silver bell shone at his throat. None of them looked
like murderers, but appearances could be very deceiving.
"Anita Blake?" The
leather-clad wereleopard looked to me finally.
"You speak English?" I
asked in relief. He nodded.
"My part is done,"
Shinji said quietly.
"Thank you, Yo. I am
grateful." I nodded respectfully at him. He returned the nod, and returned
to his motorcycle.
"I am Rune, Nimir-Raj of
this pard," the wereleopard said pleasantly. "What can we do for
you?"
"Rune, I am Anita Blake,
lupa of the Thronnos Roke clan. I need your help. Sanesuke has kidnapped a
child. I need your help to get him back."
I held out the flower to him
with both hands, waiting to see if he was going to laugh at me. Instead, I
watched Rune's golden eyes soften as he took the flower carefully from my
hands, and wondered briefly if he and Kannon had been separated at birth.
"A child? What can WE
do?" he asked, looking up from gazing at the blossom cupped in his hands.
"Sanesuke wishes to meet
with you."
He looked around quickly with
just his eyes. "We will not stay to be his slaves. We aren't staying that
long."
"We've already told
Sanesuke we aren't interested," the albino male spoke up.
"Please, just come talk to
him for the child," I said seriously. "After we get the child, I'll
make sure you do not have to stay."
"Sanesuke is mean,"
the female spoke up, sounding quite young. I wondered how old she really was.
The whole group was young. In America, I bet they were illegal.
"What interest do we have
in a child?" the albino male asked again.
"A child held prisoner by
Sanesuke, and most likely to die if you refuse," I said earnestly. Rune
looked to Kannon, who nodded back. Shape shifters can smell a lie, but I guess
he wanted confirmation from another shape shifter.
"I don't know why Sanesuke
wants to see you so badly, but it's my people and that child on the line if you
won't speak to him," I pressed.
"We don't owe you anything."
The albino male frowned.
"Synne!" the girl
scolded.
"I speak for the
pard." Rune turned his topaz stare on his pard member. Synne shrugged and
lowered his head.
"Just as you seek to
protect your people, I seek to protect mine. Tell me why, Miss Blake. Tell me
why I should lead my people into danger for yours." Rune looked at me
intently.
I bit my lip. I'd have felt the
same way. Five pairs of eyes stared at me as I tried to put my thoughts into
words.
"It's true you have no obligation
to help me and endanger your people. But I will do anything for my people. Even
ask you to endanger yours." I stared back at him. "I will not abandon
you to him, Rune. Because I ask you to do this for me, I will ensure you
leave."
Rune stared at me intently, as
if weighing whether or not I could be trusted. I could tell that he had a good
heart that he even considered my request. It was highly refreshing to meet a
dominant that was so friendly. And maybe why he kept the pard moving. His
friendliness was probably a downfall in the long run.
"Tomorrow, Miss
Blake," he said finally. Meet us here tomorrow morning, eight o'clock, and
I will tell you our decision. I must speak with my pard."
"Thank you, Rune." I
nodded. I hated waiting longer, but at least it wasn't a no.
"And thank you for the
gift." Rune smiled, lifting the blossom. He had fangs, upper and lower.
Small, but there. I had to smile back, and turned to lead the others back for
the car.
Aya rumbled and Kannon
translated. "So they agreed?"
"No yet, they have to
decide. They'll tell us tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Aya
hissed.
"They haven't said 'no', so
stow it, Aya. It's diplomacy right now. When it comes time to hack and slash,
I'll let you know."
He glared at me and rolled my
eyes. That glare must work well for him in normal life, since he liked it so
much. That's right, the glare would work well on a customer shopping for
flowers. I'm sure they had repeat business.
"Where to now?" Jason
asked as he slid into the back seat next to Aya.
"I guess we go home and
wait till tomorrow," I sighed, leaning back in my seat and closing my
eyes. "I just wanted a vacation. Just a vacation."
"Would you like to meet my
people?" Kannon asked as he started the car. "As my guests. No power
plays or formalities. We'll have a good lunch together."
It sounded too good to be true.
"Where?"
"They stay in an old temple
in the mountains outside of the city. My mother, that is. She's a caretaker for
the place. My sisters are visiting. I'm sure they'd be glad to meet you."
"Really?" Jason leaned
forward, gripping the back of Kannon's seat. "Your sisters are
single?"
Kannon laughed. "No,
they're both married."
"Better luck next time,
Jason." I had to laugh at his crestfallen look. Then I saw Aya. His arms
were crossed and he was staring out the window with a very aggravated look.
"Fiber, Aya." I
crossed my arms on the back of my seat. Kannon turned to look and started
laughing, joined by Jason. Aya turned to glare at me again, then look at the
others. He turned back to glare at me, and I blew him a kiss before I turned
back around to face front. With all the aggravation he was causing me, I
figured giving a little back was fair.
