Hana heard raised voices over the driving rain, the thunder of wings. Yoshi quirked an eyebrow, looking toward the growing disturbance, the running footsteps and shouts. A sky-ship engine sputtered to life somewhere in the distance, the propeller’s drone chopping through the thunder. He put his hand to his brow and hissed.
“What the hells is going on over there? No respect for a body’s aches, these yokels.”
The siblings looked into the sky as another thunder tiger swooped overhead, coming in to land on the decking with a crunch. Hana knew from the tales the beast’s name was Buruu. He was magnificent—broad chest and rippling muscle and fire flashing in his eyes, lightning flaring along his clockwork wings. But Hana was even more fascinated by the girl riding him. Yukiko. The girl she’d first seen in Kigen’s Market Square. Blood streaming down her nose. The iron-thrower in the Shōgun’s fist, leveled at her head. She could hear the words in her mind again, as clearly as if Yukiko had spoken them aloud.
“Let me show you what one little girl can do…”
Her hair flowed about her face in black waves, held in check by the goggles above her brow. She walked amidst the flurry of leaves that marked their arrival, pale as ashes. Hana could see why people spoke about her the way they did. There was something beyond the superficial beauty, a fierceness in the way she moved. An electricity humming in the air around her.
Yoshi inclined his head, a small crooked smile on his lips.
“Stormdancer.”
The girl smiled back. “It’s just Yukiko, Yoshi-san.”
Kaiah locked eyes with Buruu, and Hana sensed disdain in the female’s mind, a low growl in her chest. Hana looked between the pair, then to their savior. The girl who’d rescued them after the attack on Kigen. The girl Hana owed her life to. She saw Yukiko’s face was flushed, her eyes wide. Somewhere in the Kenning, she felt anger. Anguish. Sorrow.
“Are you all right, Yukiko-san?”
The girl sighed, crouched beside the siblings. She dragged a stray lock of hair from her mouth, rain beading on her skin like jewels. Her voice was heavy as lead.
“I’m sorry to do this to you. I’m sorry you haven’t had time to rest. But something’s happened. The rebellion is splitting. I’m leaving here today. I want you two to come with us.”
“Splitting?” Hana blinked. “Why?”
“There’s an insurgency inside the Lotus Guild. I think we can use them as allies, but other Kagé refuse to stand beside them. It’s all hatred and grudges and politics. Point is, Buruu, Kaiah and I are taking a ship and some of the less militant Kagé to Yama city. The Fox Daimyo slighted the Shōgunate by refusing to attend the royal wedding. He’s no friend of the government or the Guild. And I’m hoping that’ll make him friend to us.”
“You’re lighting out on your little rebel friends,” Yoshi said. “Just like that.”
“I’m going to keep fighting. But I can’t be part of a rebellion that murders innocent people. I hope you can understand that. I hope you’ll come with me.”
Hana tried hard not to frown. “Where else would we go?”
“Anywhere you like. I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything. This is a war, and I’m in it up to my neck. Fighting to bring down the Guild and set this country free from blood lotus. The smog. The deadlands. The poison that is chi.”
“I know,” Hana smiled. “I’ve heard you talking on the radio.”
“They call me a terrorist. They say I’m trying to destroy the whole country, not just the Guild. And for every person who listens to the pirate radio, there’s a dozen who long to go back to the days of plenty.” Yukiko shrugged. “Part of me can’t blame them. There’s no easy answer. We’re in for hard times once the Guild is gone.”
“We’re in for harder times if it stays.”
“Try telling that to a screaming mob.”
“Three stormdancers are louder than one.”
Yoshi scoffed, but for once, kept his opinions to himself. Yukiko looked between the pair, the question plain in her eyes.
“You’re a smart girl, Yukiko.” Hana’s laugh brightened the deepening dusk. “But you’re fucking crazy if you think we’d go back to sleeping in gutters after seeing all this.”
“So you’ll come with me? You’ll fight?”
“We’ll do more than fight.” Hana took her brother’s hand. “We’ll godsdamned win.”
Yukiko grinned and grabbed her in a bear hug, squeezing tight. Hana was taken aback at the sudden show of affection, but she felt the comforting strength in Yukiko’s arms, Buruu and Kaiah’s smoldering heat behind her, and for the first time in what seemed like her entire life, she felt absolutely righteous. Absolutely safe. And so she kissed Yukiko on the cheek and hugged her back, bathing in unfamiliar warmth.
The pair broke apart, the wind howling between them. And Kaiah stepped into the gulf and extended one wing, dipping her shoulder toward the ground.
– FLY WITH ME. –