Page 89 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

“Empress, that was amazing!” Rosuke called, coming closer. Mai’s relieved laughter followed him. “By the dueling gods, you’re glowing! What spell was that?”

Shumei loosened the ties of Vallen’s shirt and parted the cloth to reveal his chest. The small scar on his ribs that marked where the Touch of Death had hit him was shaped like a broad, red flower that had wilted. She grimaced as a sob swelled in her throat.

“Empress, we…” Rosuke said, slowing as he approached. “Are you all right?” Mai stopped beside him, and Shumei spared them only a brief glance. They were both splashed with demon blood but appeared uninjured. “Is that…? No.” Rosuke shook his head. “No. No, he’s not dead.” He backed up and bumped into Mai, who covered her mouth with her free hand. “S-Shumei, he’s—” Rosuke’s voice broke, and he turned away.

Tightening her jaw, she gazed at the slack face of the man she loved. She had to do this in the next ten minutes. She had plenty of time, but she wouldn’t waste even ten seconds on an explanation, nor could she spare any energy. The Ray of Cleansing had nearly put her under. By will alone was she still conscious. Vallen’s sword was still clutched in his death grip, and she used the sleeve of her dress to wipe the blade. The ink for this spell had to be clean.

When she was satisfied, she sliced the tip of her finger along the blade’s edge. Hissing at the pain, she tried to ignore it as being the smallest of sacrifices for such a powerful spell.

“Empress?” Mai called in a small voice, afraid she’d shatter the sudden quiet of the forest. The light from the empress’s spell had faded to that of a sunset, and the empress didn’t look up from what she was doing. Mai turned to Rosuke, who had dropped to his knees. He stared at nothing, his expression slack and unblinking. Tears shined on his cheeks.

“Rosuke,” Mai whispered. She felt an unwelcome impulse to put her arms around him and instantly denied the urge.

“I’m going to save him,” Shumei said, voice rough and breathy with fatigue. “I’m going to save him because the alternative is too cruel. Because he’s one of us. Because he loves me.” Her voice softened. “And because I love him.”

Shumei began to draw on his skin, her blood acting as the ink for the most powerful of the known set of magic circles—a spell only she could cast, for it would kill anyone else. She drew one circle on the spell’s scar and another over his heart. Then she carefully traced a complicated pattern to connect the two. Several times, she had to pinch her finger to make more blood well up.

When she finished, she double-checked and triple-checked the patterns, but she knew they were perfect. Careful of any extraneous blood drops, she then painted both her lips and his, making sure plenty of life’s essence covered them.

“Come back to me,” she whispered, leaning down to give him the Kiss of Power. She pressed her lips to his and stiffened as an immense amount of power poured out of her, though the sensation was more like it was being sucked out. Her magic vibrated and trembled so violently it shook her body. But the seal of their mouths was solid, and even if she’d wanted to pull away, she couldn’t have.

“You have done well, Champion. I gladly give of myself to restore your precious treasure.” The Divine One’s voice muffled the headache pounding in her brain. “But remember, your greatest challenge is yet to come.” Vallen took in a breath, and his lips twitched as he tried to react to her kiss. “You have one year, Shumei. Use it well.”

“The Divine One has blessed us,” Mai cried out. “Look, Rosuke. He’s moving!”

“V-Vallen?” Rosuke called.

Shumei’s tears dripped onto her lover, whose lips moved with slow passion as he kissed her back. He combed his shaky fingers through her hair, and she sobbed with both joy and grief as she hugged him closer.

“I can hardly believe my eyes,” Mai said, awed. Leaves crunched as she stood. “Where did…?”

Something was happening around them, but Shumei couldn’t pull away from Vallen just yet. He slowly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, still pulling magic from her.

“There’s so many,” Rosuke said.

The flow of magic abruptly slowed to a trickle, and Shumei went slack in Vallen’s arms, utterly spent. Vallen held her close, and she tucked her nose into the crook of his neck to inhale the spicy scent of his soap. How she hadn’t slipped into a coma yet…

“You saved me—again,” he said.

“Only as…many times as…you’ve saved me,” she panted. “Besides…I couldn’t live…without you.”

“Shumei!” Oka’s voice was unexpected, and it startled her into paying attention to their surroundings. She opened her eyes, intending to reassure her brother—and then scold him for leaving the building—but the sight before her rendered her speechless.

“She’s… S-She’s fine,” Rosuke said, distracted. “Everyone is…just fine.”

At least two hundred people were spread among the trees. Vallen stood, then helped Shumei to her feet. She leaned heavily on him, and they both stared with mouths agape. Oka attached himself to her left side while Vallen stood on her right and scanned the sea of faces that had appeared before them.

“Who are they?” Shumei asked softly, hoping Vallen could explain.

Mai answered instead. “Your followers, Empress. Only the first wave. The light from your spell told them where to go.”

“This, this is correct,” a young man said, his peers prodding him to come forward. He held a bag over his shoulder, gripping the strap tightly.

“You’ve been searching for me?” Shumei asked.

“Yes, for weeks. We thought we were close when the attacks began, but we felt you move away from us. It was difficult to follow, but…the light showed us the way,” he said, breathless and looking elated simply to be speaking to her.

In the sea of crows, those with lighter hair easily stood out, and she gasped when her eyes landed on Master Takebe and his wife. Next to them was Ikuro, who held one of her children asleep in her arms. Her oldest boy stood behind her. She didn’t see the woman’s husband. All three adults stared at her with shock but also fascination.