Eight Million Gods-eARC (17 page)

She became aware of Atsumori leaning against her, feeling solid as a real person, reading what she wrote.

“Is this the same man as before?” he asked. “The one that searched your apartment?”

“Yes.” She realized that Atsumori might not approve of her plan and had the ability to stop her. “I was worried about my friend, Miriam, but he kept her from going to my apartment. She’s safe. I need to go to the bathroom.”

She put away her notepad and stood up. He rose with her. Not good. She liked Atsumori as far as boy gods went, but if handing him over to Scary Cat Dude meant Miriam would stay safe, she’d do it in a heartbeat. At least she would try. With him riding her shoulder, though, she probably couldn’t.

“I really want some privacy to pee. I’m just going up to the gift shops and use the ones in the courtyard. I should go quickly—I don’t know if they lock those for the night.”

She tucked his
katana
up into the eves of the shrine. “I’ll be right back.”

She half expected him to possess her and stop her, but he didn’t. She walked away trying not to feel like she was betraying him.

She went to the bathroom first, rehearsing what she was going to say. Then with heart pounding, she fumbled coins into the pay phone and dialed Scary Cat Dude’s number. There were some odd clicks, and then it rang.

“Moshi moshi.” He had a voice like distant thunder, a deep menacing rumble.

“Scary Cat Dude, is that you?”

He breathed out a huff of surprise. “Nikki Delany?”

“You have my wallet and passport.”

“I do.”

The important stuff established, they listened to each other breathe. She was hoping he would say “I’ll give it back” to make things simple.

“I want them,” Nikki said. “Needed” was more accurate, but it was a weaker position.

“You have the
katana
.”

“I know where it’s hidden.”

They listened again to the rhythm of their breathing. He was in a room or a parked car, no other sound leaking into the conversation. What was he learning from her silence? Dusk had given way to full night; the cicadas finally quiet. The distant traffic muted by the thick stone walls of the castle.

It started to rain, the raindrops glittering as they fell into the pool of light around the phone booth. Beyond Nikki’s island of brightness, the darkness seemed to close in.

“Are you still there?” Nikki hunched against the falling rain.

“Stay where you are. I’ll be right there.” He hung up.

She cursed as she realized that he hadn’t asked where she was. He got her position that quickly? Part of her just wanted to run and keep running. If she was going to get her passport back, though, she needed to stick to the plan.

Nikki didn’t know where he had been when she called him, but it must have been close. It was only a few minutes before he ghosted out of the darkness into her island of light. She recognized him even though she had never considered what he looked like; the angular shape of his face, his long black hair, and the way he moved reminded her of a lion. He looked very scary-sexy in a black trench coat.

She had one moment of intense relief until she noticed the gun in his hand.

He gave her an odd look, as if she’d confused him and surprised him at the same time. “What are you doing standing in the rain?”

“You told me to stay put.” Her teeth started to chatter.

He scanned the darkness around them for hidden dangers, finding nothing. He studied her again, still looking confounded. Then he looked away, set his shoulder, and said, with his voice full of ridicule, “You should have taken shelter.”

“I didn’t want to risk you not finding me.”

“Here, take my coat.” He took off his long black trench coat, a dozen sizes to big for her, and handed it to her, still warm from his body. She slipped it on and wrapped her arms around her, trapping in the heat, feeling guilty as the rain started to fall harder.

“Where’s the
katana
?” He had made his gun disappear behind his back when he took off his coat. He produced it again like a magic act.

It took all her courage to say, “Give me my passport and wallet.”

He considered her long and hard. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out her belongs including her phone and held them out to her.

Sniffing in the cold rain, she glanced inside her passport to verify it was hers and then checked to make sure her bank card, credit card, and driver’s license were still inside her wallet.

“Where’s the
katana
?”

“Why do you want it? Aren’t there freaking gods everywhere here in Japan?”

“We want it because it’s been stolen, along with other minor religious artifacts. We’re working with the Japanese government to find them.”

“If I just give you the
katana
, the
yakuza
will still be after me.”

“The
yakuza?
” His eyebrow arched in surprise.

“That’s who sent the
tanuki
to my apartment.”

“If the
yakuza
are behind this, then we’ll deal with them,” he promised. “Where’s the
katana
?”

How much could she trust him? He was supposed to be a “hero” but so had Gregory Winston and look at how that had ended. A covert international agency tracking down stolen artifacts, though, matched up with the scenes she’d written.

“It’s at the shrine.” She hated that it felt like she had betrayed Atsumori, but she needed Miriam to be safe from people looking for the
katana
.

“Go.” He indicated that Nikki should lead.

Nikki headed toward the shrine, trying to keep out the feeling that she had made a huge mistake. She still didn’t know his true name. He handled his gun as casually as another man would a cell phone. He was a tall, strongly built man; his narrow waist and flat stomach were proof that everything his T-shirt covered was all muscle. While his clothes were clean and neat, his mane of black hair and five o’clock shadow gave him an air of untamed danger that made her uneasy. Nor did it help that he didn’t seem to trust her, didn’t seem to like her, and had no real reason to keep her safe.

“What’s your name? You know my name; it would be nice to know yours.” And when he didn’t answer, she shrugged. “I could keep calling you Scary Cat Dude.”

“Why do you call me that?” he rumbled in a tone close to anger.

“You’re scary—and you rescued Misa’s kitten. I could have called you Scary Kitten Dude, but that just doesn’t scan as well.”

After a minute, he said, “My name is Leo Watanabe.”

The name felt right. It fit him. He was telling her the truth.

They rounded the corner, and she stopped short of the
torii
gates into the shrine. “It’s in the shrine. Under the eaves of the smaller building.”

He started forward but stopped just beyond the gate when she remained in place. He scanned the castle grounds. “Go get it.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that would be wise.”

“We have to get back to my car, quickly,” he said. “Get the sword!”

She started to back away from him but then heard the sound of running feet echoing off the great stone walls that surrounded the castle. The moat and the high walls were about to create a trap.

“Get the sword.” He took cover behind the
torii
post.

She dashed toward the sword, swearing. There were scenes Nikki knew were going to end badly even before she picked up the pen. It was like a horror movie when the creepy music started to build; it signaled that the monster was lurking in the shadows, breathing harshly, about to pounce, maim, and kill. This time, though, she was the heroine, and when the violins were screaming that the moment of pain was at hand, she was the one that was about to feel it.

She snatched up the
katana
and Atsumori flowed into her and through her like a lightning strike. His anger was white static brilliance that her body couldn’t possibly contain. They howled wordlessly and rushed like a storm wind through the temple grounds and headlong into the oncoming enemy. There were a six in all, tall lean men with sharp faces and feral grace.

“
Tanuki
dogs!” Atsumori shouted and slashed out. The sword whistled as it cut the air, and then it hit. The force translated through her arms with shocking knowledge that they had just struck with all her strength. That the blade was razor sharp. That they had just dealt a killing blow. That they’d cleaved through flesh and bone with impossible power. Nikki cried out with fear and dismay as blood sprayed over the face. She tasted it thick in her mouth.

“Delany!” Leo shouted behind her, and his gun roared in the night.

The men yipped in terror as Atsumori struck again, amputating an arm holding a gun before cutting the nearest man in half. “It’s the
kami!
The
kami!
”

Atsumori whirled, ducking low, and Nikki heard a gun thunder and saw the muzzle flash inches above her head, and then they struck the gunman, slicing through his legs with a sweeping cut. A backward stab took another man in the throat.

Nikki barely registered that the other three men had been shot dead, when Atsumori lunged at Leo.

“No!” Nikki closed her eyes, trying with every fiber of her being to stop.

They jerked to a halt and stood poised, panting in the cold rain.

She opened her eyes. The blade was pressed to Leo’s neck, blood trickling from the razor cut. He watched her, tense and expressionless. “Don’t hurt him. Please, don’t hurt him.”

“Who is he?” Atsumori used her mouth to growl.

Leo’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t move. Didn’t speak.

“He’s Leo Watanabe.” She realized that the name meant nothing to Atsumori. “He’s the Scary Cat Dude.”

“Is that why you left me behind?” Atsumori shouted. “So I couldn’t stop you from calling him?”

“We need help,” Nikki said. “They’ll kill me and take you. We can’t take the
yakuza
alone.”

Atsumori glared at the man and Leo stared coldly back.

“You trust him?” Atsumori asked.

Did she? If she said no, Atsumori would probably kill him. “He feels honest.”

“I asked if you trust him!” Atsumori roared.

“Yes!” she cried. She’d been inside of Leo’s head; he had wanted to protect her.

“She’s hurt,” Leo said quietly. “If you don’t let me help her, you’re going to lose her.”

Atsumori jerked back and looked down at her body. There was a hole in her shirt, and the fabric was dark red. Atsumori touched her shirt and then stared at their bloody fingers. “Oh, Nikki, what have I done?”

“Let me help her.” Leo’s voice was low and urgent.

“Keep her safe,” Atsumori said.

The
kami
slipped out of her, and her legs folded like a puppet whose strings had been cut. She saw Leo leaping toward her, trying to catch her before she hit the ground, and then everything went dark.

14

Let Me Pass

They were on holy ground. It was the only way to explain why Atsumori was sitting beside her futon when she woke up. Her hand rested on the
katana,
and his fingers were interwoven with hers. Sunlight danced on the ceiling, reflected from something that shimmered and moved. The air was heavy with the smell of cut grass from tatami mats, and a cicada droned loudly somewhere close by. Her throat hurt and her side throbbed with pain.

She tried to ask where they were and nothing came out. She swallowed, wetting her mouth and raw throat, and tried again. “Where?”

“Osaka,” Atsumori said.

She pulled her hand free so she could smack him. “Where?”

“I am not sure.” Atsumori admitted unhappily. “I have not dared to leave your side. I have leant you all of my strength that you could safely bear.”

Guilt twisted inside of her as she remembered that she had tried to hand over his
katana
without worrying about what Leo might do with him. She laced her fingers with Atsumori again.

Someplace in Osaka, on holy ground, with one very unhappy boy god.

Presumably in the protection of the Scary Cat Dude, who was not an FBI agent, who probably was named Leo Watanabe. Maybe. He’d been so leery of her at the castle; how did he feel about her now that she had tried to whack off his head and then had a screaming fight with herself? He probably thought she was stark raving mad.

She ran her fingertips over the
katana
’s sheathe. No, if he thought she was crazy, he wouldn’t have left the sword. In the scenes she wrote, he’d known all about
tanuki
and
kami.
He knew about her ability; he’d figured out that she had written Gregory’s murder before it happened. He’d talked about Talents and Sensitive as if all this weirdness was normal.

Did he realize that he was one of her characters?

All his scenes were in the notebook she had with her. She hadn’t typed up his scenes. Unless he read the last few pages of her current working notebook, he couldn’t know for sure. Could he guess? Well, there was the note on her wall, but he might think that was spillover from Misa or Gregory. She tried to remember what they had talked about at the castle. Had she accidently let it slip? She hadn’t explained how she had his number, but she did tell him that she knew about the kitten. Would he realize what it meant?

One thing was certain; he had taken her to a shrine instead of an emergency room because he was hiding her. She supposed that it would be worrisome to some people, but the last place she wanted to be while helpless was a hospital. It was too easy for her mother to find her there.

She noticed that everything that Leohad
 
returned to her was piled next to her head. She reached up with her free hand to pick up her phone, wincing as the movement lanced pain through her. Obviously Leo didn’t know her mother—the phone was on, transmitting her location to anyone determined to find her. She deleted all the calls from the log and powered off, making it untraceable.

She drifted to sleep and woke again sometime later as a shadow moved over her face. She opened her eyes to find Leo kneeling beside her futon. She wondered if he ever shaved, as he still had
 
two or three days’ worth of stubble. He had amazing eyes; dark and expressive. He peered deep into her eyes as if he could look straight to her soul.