Emperor of the Fireflies

Sarah Ash

Description

Sparks... glittering like fireflies against the night sky... Kai and Masao, once enemies, are now condemned to the sea by the Tide Dragons Sacrifice. If Hotaru, the new emperor, is unable to summon the Tide Dragons of Ebb and Flood at the Autumn Moon Festival, he will forfeit the right to rule Cipangu. The two Sacrifices face a desperate race against time to free themselves from this ancient curse before Hotaru binds them with forbidden magic to obey his will - forever. Sakami, Kai's lover, has become a kitsune, a fox spirit. She is determined to do all in her power to save him - but is Hotaru, aided by his treacherous shikigami, Kurika, just too formidable an opponent to overcome?

Sujets

• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: Tourmalise Press
• Date de parution: 28 novembre 2016
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781912022946
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Emperor of the Fireflies
Book 2 of TIDE DRAGONS
Sarah Ash
2016 Sarah Ash
Sarah Ash has asserted her rights in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. www.sarah-ash.com
Published by Tourmalise Press
First published in eBook format in 2016
ISBN: 9781912022946
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
All names, characters, places, organisations, businesses and events are either the product of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Spoken at the enthronement of the new emperor by the archbishop:
Ever since the First Empress, Himiko, forged a sacred bond between the God of the Sea and the imperial bloodline of the Islands of Cipangu, each emperor must yearly prove his right to rule by summoning the Tide Dragons of Ebb and Flood. Failure to do so furnishes indisputable proof that the emperor is no longer judged worthy by the gods to rule and protect the empire and must abdicate in favor of another of the imperial bloodline.
Contents
Prologue
Emperor of the Fireflies Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
INTERLUDE
Emperor of the Fireflies Part II
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Emperor of the Fireflies Part III
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Epilogue
Glossary
Honorifics
Cast List
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Roar of breakers cresting, each one higher than the last, crashing in toward the shore
The sea is angry. The young vixen lifted her head, pricking up her ears. Can t you feel it, Honou?
The sleek dog fox lifted his head too to sniff the air. I can smell a storm, he said. And then he growled, deep at the back of his throat, fur bristling as if scenting an enemy nearby. Tide Dragons, he said with loathing. Tide Dragons stirring up trouble.
We should go and see for ourselves. She set out, skidding down the steep mountain path, winding in and out between the pines.
Hey, wait, Sakami! Honou came bounding after her. Lady Inari told us to guard the castle shrine.
But this could mean danger for everyone. The disturbing sense of imminent danger was making her restless; she had to move, to take action, even if she wasn t sure what it might be.
Everyone? He caught up with her and cut in front of her, forcing her to stop. Who exactly do you mean by everyone?
A throng of human faces flashed across Sakami s mind. She gave a little whine of confusion. So many people
Honou was staring at her shrewdly. Are you getting your mortal memories back? He walked around and around her, russet brush slowly swishing, the white tip flicking the tops of the long grasses.
You re making me dizzy, Honou, please stop.
He stopped, his cool, moist nose touching hers, gazing deep into her eyes. Alarmed, she took a little jump backward. You could forget about them all, all the humans, and just be mine, he said softly.
He was so close that she could breathe in his musky scent; it set off strange, giddy feelings that were not entirely unpleasant.
Well? he said, nuzzling her suggestively. You do like me. You ve always liked me.
I Another shudder of seawater comes flooding in . She skipped away again, fur bristling with the sense of approaching danger. There s no time for liking now! We must see for ourselves. And she turned, making for the cliff top. Honou bounded after her, catching up with her as she came out of the shelter of the forest pines and ventured on to the rough grass of the high promontory that overlooked the bay.
Look, she said. Below them, all she could see was a great expanse of dirty gray sea, stretching far out into the distant horizon. The water had come in far beyond the high tide mark and was lapping around the trunks of the forest trees at the edge of the beach. Ships at anchor in the bay below were being tossed to and fro by the surging tide, and the beach had disappeared beneath the in-rushing sea.
This is bad, said Honou. If it doesn t stop soon
And then a fine rain began to fall, silvery crystal drops that shimmered unnaturally bright against the louring gray of the sky.
This rain Sakami gazed upward, opening her jaws, letting it fall on her tongue. It s so sweet.
Honou copied her. This is the best rain I ve ever tasted, he said, licking his chops with enthusiasm. It s different from the usual.
Ohhh Sakami closed her eyes in an ecstasy of sensations. As the raindrops melted on her tongue, she caught a glimpse of a young man with eyes as blue as the sun-drenched deep. He gazed at her with a look so intense and tender that it made her ache with sadness, although she didn t know why. Then he turned, and began to walk away. Don t go. Wait! Her heart started to pound. I know you. I know you so well.
What are you babbling about? Honou nipped her gently, yet sharply enough to shatter the vision. She blinked at him. The fleeting image had gone but the sensation remained, so intense that it frightened her. I - I felt as if I just lost something. Or someone. Someone very important to me.
But before Honou could reply, a gust like a deep sigh stirred the forest and set the cliff-top grasses rippling. The Rice Goddess Inari, their mistress, flitted past them, her hands covering her face, her white robes streaming out behind her.
Lady Inari? Sakami called. The goddess stopped, hearing her voice, and turned. Sakami saw that her face was wet with tears.
What s wrong, my lady? Sakami crept up to her and rubbed her head gently against her, wanting to comfort her. Why are you so sad? Why are you crying?
Sakami, Honou. Inari stroked their coats and Sakami closed her eyes, reveling in the deep pleasure she felt at her touch; the goddess s fingers exuded a soft tingle of warmth that made her whole body glow. My little ones. Thank you for reminding me of my true purpose. She wiped the glistening tears from her cheeks. I am Inari now. I m not Empress Himiko any longer, although it seems that I still retain her memories. I Her words died away as she suddenly went very still, as though listening intently.
No, Sakami heard her murmur. Not now. Not here. She rose. Run, children. Get away while you can.
***
Naoki and Y giri, summoned to attend on Prince Hotaru, found the emperor-elect in the abbot s garden overlooking the sea.
We pursued the prisoners along the cliff path. An officer in the imperial guards presented Hotaru with a plain black flute and a katana . But this was all we found.
A flute, said Hotaru, examining the slender instrument, and a sword?
There was a burst of dazzling light and when we could see clearly again, the fugitives had vanished.
I see.
If they jumped into the sea from the cliffs, I doubt they would have survived the fall. We re searching the shore to see if any bodies have been washed up.
Bodies . Naoki sensed Y giri flinch but the clan healer remained mute.
Do you recognize this sword, Lord Naoki? Hotaru asked, nodding to the officer to hand the weapon to him. Naoki took it and, after a swift glance, identified the distinctive scarlet mon on the hilt that marked it as belonging to an elite Akatobi retainer.
That katana belongs to Lord Masao, my brother.
Then, Lord Naoki, please receive your brother s sword; perhaps your father would like to have it in his keeping until we can discover what has become of its owner.
Naoki bowed his head as he took the katana in both hands and returned to Y giri s side.
They can t be dead. . .can they? Masao s a strong swimmer. . .but the jump from such a great height could have knocked him unconscious
And I will look after Lord Kaito s flute, said Hotaru, handing it to his page Kobai. He turned away from the sea, saying as he left, Interrogate anyone who was on the shore - or the cliffs - at the time. I want to know if anyone witnessed anything unusual.
***
The Tide Jewels. Emperor-elect Hotaru stood in the burned-out shell of the Tide Dragon temple, gazing at the two sacred pearls in his hands; in his left lay the Ebb Jewel, creamy-white as tide-foam, and in his right, the Flood Jewel, a deep and translucent blue.
Fakes, he murmured. Only he knew they were fakes - or so he hoped. He had lost his hold on the original sacred jewels when Kaito of the Black Cranes had pushed him into the sea - and nearly ruined all his carefully-laid plans to depose his brother, Emperor Suzaku.
What followed seemed like a miracle wrought by the gods of sea: the jewels had melted on contact with the waves, creating a glistening fountain that showered down on the whole coastline, extinguishing the fire ravaging the Tide Dragon monastery. It was only thanks to his swift use of a su