Ayakashi Monogatari

Chapter Ten: Kagerou

Chapter Ten: Kagerou

We navigated the dark waters around the island until we found a place to dock the ship. Once we had gotten everything set, we walked down the wood plank leading to the foot of Kurama Mountain in single file, armed and ready. A million thoughts raced through my mind. What was going to happen? Would the Tengu accept us? Were we really going to meet Karura? I couldn't stop thinking about my dad. I didn't want him to take Karura's test. What if he didn't make it? I thought so hard, it made me sick to my stomach, though that may have just been another side effect of the curse.

In the meantime, our heads were on a swivel as we marched through the nighttime forest. The tree canopy was so tall and dense, I couldn't see the sky. Not even slivers of moonlight reached the forest floor. The buzzing of cicadas and the occasional cry of distant animals filled the warm, stale air. I couldn't shake off the impression that we were being watched by thousands of invisible eyes hiding out there in the darkness.

Even Karen shared my sentiment. "Ugh, here we go again. No matter how many times I come here, this place never manages to get any less creepy. If we just keep going straight on this path, we'll reach the White Wolf guards. If they decide not to murder us on the spot, we should be able to explain the situation and they'll lead us inside. Of course, with me around, they'll probably let you all in right away." She let out a displeased grumble.

I wished I had her problems. Compared to having my mother butchered in front of me, my dad possibly dying to become possessed by a morally ambiguous Kami, and having a hit out on me by the God of Death himself, being pressured into marriage and becoming a priestess didn't sound so terrible. My ears twitched. My sharp hearing caught the sound of rapidly clunking wooden sandals. I stopped in my tracks. "Someone's coming." My father's ears pinned back. "It's the Tengu."

Seconds later, a horde of Tengu burst from the treeline and swooped down, surrounding us in a circle. They were all dressed in red-and-white yukatas and armed with katanas and shields, but these ones looked different than the Tengu I was used to. Rather than horns, they had wolf-like white ears sticking up from their ivory hair, not to mention a fluffy canine tail emerging from their backsides. They still had the trademark black-feathered crow wings, however. These were a rare subspecies of Tengu- the white wolf Tengu.

A female raised her blade at us and demanded, "What are you doing here, intruders?" My father spoke firmly and straightforwardly. "We are the Onmyoji of Seimei Shrine. I am Seimei Touma, the current Lord of the Japan Branch. We are here to have a discussion with Emperor Sojobou and Empress Karasu. Your princess is also here with us." Karen begrudgingly stepped forward. "Yeah, I'm here."

A gasp left the white wolf Tengu's lips, and she took a bow of respect alongside the other guards. "P-Princess Karen, I-I apologize. Please, follow me. Come right this way." She nodded forward and led the way out of the forest. She took us to the edge of a lake with cascading waterfalls pouring from the jagged cliffs down into it. It was a remarkable sight, even in this utter darkness. We walked around to the backside of the lake, where several entrances had been hewn into the rock behind the crashing waterfalls. The sound of rushing water was a loud, audible hum even within the caverns. They were dimly lit by dangling lanterns burning with green and blue flame.

The world within Kurama Mountain was a sprawling subterranean metropolis. Shops and inns bustled, and the underground streets teemed with life. Every which way I looked, crow Tengu and white wolf Tengu busily went about their business. They were so preoccupied that they didn't even seem to notice us passing through. I had never seen so many Ayakashi in one place since the first time I ended up in the Otherworld, in that Ayakashi village.

The guards took us off the beaten path and up a long, winding staircase carved from stone. We seemed to be walking for hours. "We're headed to the upper strata," the white wolf guard explained. "All the Tengu royalty of Kurama Mountain live here. I'm sure the Emperor and Empress will be very pleased to see you, Princess Karen." The Tengu girl didn't look so pleased.