Grimm Tales: Rise of the Yokai

Chapter 12 Miroku's Story

I climbed to my feet, but it wasn't easy. My chest was on fire, each breath like getting kicked in the ribs. I wasn't looking forward to seeing what was under my shirt. It felt like I was one big bruise.

Jason walked over to me, the aura from his spell fading.

"Thanks for the save," I said. "I owe you one."

"No, you don't," he said. "Consider it a thank you for standing up for me with David."

"Deal."

"You okay?" he asked.

"Well, I'm breathing," I said. "Do you hurt as much as I do?"

Jason chuckled, "From the ankles up."

His aura vanished, and as soon as it did, Jason stumbled, his body going limp.

I caught him on reflex, and did my best not to scream in his ear as pain ripped through my chest. I eased us both down and propped Jason up as best I could. He was panting like he'd just run a marathon, his ears drooping and his eyes half open. The poor guy was exhausted.

All magic has a price, and that spell was some major league magic. When he was first learning how to use it, Jason once told me that it made you feel like everything had been dialed up to eleven. The aura even kept your wounds closed if you were injured. But once it wears off, you crash. Hard. And the more power you draw, the bigger the crash.

Jason should be proud of himself. And if he wasn't, I sure as hell was. With the amount of power I'd felt coming from him, it was amazing he was even conscious.

I was just about to suggest we try to find our friends when they appeared from behind the mangled heap that had once been a school bus. I was so happy we wouldn't have to drag our battered bodies around looking for them, I might have cheered if I thought my lungs would cooperate.

Kora had some blood on her knuckles, but from the color, I was pretty sure it wasn't hers. She was helping Miroku stay on his feet. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead as he stumbled along beside her.

"You still with us over there, Miroku?" I asked.

"... Yeah ..." he gasped. "I'll be ... fine ... once ... everything ... stops spinning."

"He really stepped up," said Kora, a hint of pride in her voice. "Sealed all three yokai at once."

No wonder he looked so exhausted.

"Jason, you okay?"

Jason didn't seem to have enough energy to speak, so he just nodded weakly.

Sarah and Tobias both looked a little ruffled, but otherwise okay.

"Everybody good?" I asked. "The oni give you any trouble?"

"Not really," said Sarah. "Honestly, they didn't seem to be all that bright. They should know better than to touch strange plants. Ever seen what happens when someone gets hit with magic-powered poison ivy?"

"No," I said.

"I have," said Tobias. It was hard to tell because of his fur, but Tobias looked a little green around the gills. His ears were pinned back, a look of horror on his face. "I don't think I'll ever be able to un-see that."

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," said Sarah.

"Maybe not to you. I don't expect you to get it. You're a girl. But why? Why the hell would you use magic like that there?!"

"Use it where now? What are you—"

That's when it hit me. And I may or may not have made a sound somewhere between a groan and a scream.