“I don’t do it on purpose. I didn’t realize it’d be so cold my urge to hibernate would affect you.”
“We’ll have to be vigilant, that’s all. It’s too late to turn back, in any case.” Wide awake now, he gazed round while blowing on his cold fingers. “It’s true the temperature dropped astonishingly fast. I hate winter.”
“This from the man whose name means ‘snow,’” Akakiba said. His tone was wry, but his gaze worried. “We’re a day away now. It would be best if I left you two in a safe, warm place so you don’t go to sleep and starve to death.”
Yuki straightened in the saddle. “You want to go alone? Certainly not. They left poison on the other sword. Who knows what traps they’ll have set for this one? We should be there. Besides, it’s too late. The village we saw two days ago must have been the last. We’re in uninhabited country now.”
Akakiba gestured ahead. “Not quite too late.”
There was a large building there, its roof half rotted and the rest standing crooked. Had there not been light filtering from inside and footsteps in the snow around the door, it would have looked abandoned.
“In any case,” Akakiba added, “I would prefer to sleep inside tonight. By the look of those clouds, there’s a storm coming. An extra layer of snow might soften the biting cold.”
“One can hope.”
The door was solid wood, the same as the walls. The weather up here wouldn’t have been kind to paper doors. Akakiba knocked, calling, “Is there shelter for travelers here?”
A reed-thin child pulled the door half-open. She heaved and grunted as the door refused to slide open the rest of the way. It came free suddenly and she toppled to the ground before hastily getting to her feet again. “Do you have money?” she asked, peering at them from beneath a mop of hair. Her clothes were worn and patched but clean.
“Ari, you rude child! Don’t ask that!” A young woman of perhaps fifteen or sixteen years came into view, her clothing in the same state as the child’s but her hair better tended. “Come in, travelers. Close the door, Ari, the heat is escaping.”
The child had to throw herself bodily against the door to force it to scrape back in place.
Drac barely slithered inside in time to avoid getting his tail caught. “Careful!” he said in indignation.
“Dragon!” The small girl fell over again.
“Human!” Drac replied with equal emphasis.
Ari squeaked. “Sister, it can talk! You said dragons don’t talk!” She spoke as if misleading her on this matter was a terrible crime.
The sister seemed dumbfounded, so Yuki explained, “It’s true small dragons don’t. But great dragons do speak.”
Ari surveyed Drac. “That’s a great dragon? It’s not so big.”
“I’m still growing,” Drac said. “To be insulted by an ant-sized human, really.”
Ari drew herself up. “I’m still growing, too.”
“Please take no offense,” the elder sister said, “she’s young and careless.” She smoothed her clothes excessively, failing to disguise her unease. “Oh, pardon my rudeness. I didn’t introduce myself.” She fell into a bow. “My name is Chiyako and I welcome you in my home. The pest is Ari, my younger sister.”
They dutifully bowed back. “Call me Yuki.”
“Akakiba. We’re errant demon slayers.”
As always, Akakiba omitted to mention his clan. He hadn’t gone so far as to discard his katana and scabbard, which both bore the mark of his clan, but he kept a cloth tied around the scabbard so it wouldn’t be easily seen.
“Ari,” Chiyako ordered, “take the horses to the stable and give them the rest of the hay. It won’t have any other use.”
Normally Yuki would have worried the horses might hurt such a small child, but he knew by now their mounts were too even-tempered for that to happen.
“Please, come by the fire,” Chiyako said. “Would you take some tea? A snack, perhaps?”
The inside of the home wasn’t in as terrible a
“We’ll have to be vigilant, that’s all. It’s too late to turn back, in any case.” Wide awake now, he gazed round while blowing on his cold fingers. “It’s true the temperature dropped astonishingly fast. I hate winter.”
“This from the man whose name means ‘snow,’” Akakiba said. His tone was wry, but his gaze worried. “We’re a day away now. It would be best if I left you two in a safe, warm place so you don’t go to sleep and starve to death.”
Yuki straightened in the saddle. “You want to go alone? Certainly not. They left poison on the other sword. Who knows what traps they’ll have set for this one? We should be there. Besides, it’s too late. The village we saw two days ago must have been the last. We’re in uninhabited country now.”
Akakiba gestured ahead. “Not quite too late.”
There was a large building there, its roof half rotted and the rest standing crooked. Had there not been light filtering from inside and footsteps in the snow around the door, it would have looked abandoned.
“In any case,” Akakiba added, “I would prefer to sleep inside tonight. By the look of those clouds, there’s a storm coming. An extra layer of snow might soften the biting cold.”
“One can hope.”
The door was solid wood, the same as the walls. The weather up here wouldn’t have been kind to paper doors. Akakiba knocked, calling, “Is there shelter for travelers here?”
A reed-thin child pulled the door half-open. She heaved and grunted as the door refused to slide open the rest of the way. It came free suddenly and she toppled to the ground before hastily getting to her feet again. “Do you have money?” she asked, peering at them from beneath a mop of hair. Her clothes were worn and patched but clean.
“Ari, you rude child! Don’t ask that!” A young woman of perhaps fifteen or sixteen years came into view, her clothing in the same state as the child’s but her hair better tended. “Come in, travelers. Close the door, Ari, the heat is escaping.”
The child had to throw herself bodily against the door to force it to scrape back in place.
Drac barely slithered inside in time to avoid getting his tail caught. “Careful!” he said in indignation.
“Dragon!” The small girl fell over again.
“Human!” Drac replied with equal emphasis.
Ari squeaked. “Sister, it can talk! You said dragons don’t talk!” She spoke as if misleading her on this matter was a terrible crime.
The sister seemed dumbfounded, so Yuki explained, “It’s true small dragons don’t. But great dragons do speak.”
Ari surveyed Drac. “That’s a great dragon? It’s not so big.”
“I’m still growing,” Drac said. “To be insulted by an ant-sized human, really.”
Ari drew herself up. “I’m still growing, too.”
“Please take no offense,” the elder sister said, “she’s young and careless.” She smoothed her clothes excessively, failing to disguise her unease. “Oh, pardon my rudeness. I didn’t introduce myself.” She fell into a bow. “My name is Chiyako and I welcome you in my home. The pest is Ari, my younger sister.”
They dutifully bowed back. “Call me Yuki.”
“Akakiba. We’re errant demon slayers.”
As always, Akakiba omitted to mention his clan. He hadn’t gone so far as to discard his katana and scabbard, which both bore the mark of his clan, but he kept a cloth tied around the scabbard so it wouldn’t be easily seen.
“Ari,” Chiyako ordered, “take the horses to the stable and give them the rest of the hay. It won’t have any other use.”
Normally Yuki would have worried the horses might hurt such a small child, but he knew by now their mounts were too even-tempered for that to happen.
“Please, come by the fire,” Chiyako said. “Would you take some tea? A snack, perhaps?”
The inside of the home wasn’t in as terrible a
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