“Are you sure? Maybe something is just setting off the dogs in the neighborhood,” Stephen said, as he followed Shitoro down the stairs.

“Dogs do not relay complex ambush strategies to one another,” he replied over his shoulder.

“Strategies? I didn’t hear anything except...”

“Nor would you,” Shitoro snapped from the bottom of the stairs, “because you do not have these.” He pointed to his ears. “I do, however, and they are telling me we are in grave danger. Follow me, before it’s too late.”

Shitoro ran for the front door, transforming into his tiger form as he did so. Kisaki was on his heels, followed by Tamiko and Stephen.

The little youkai abruptly skidded to a halt in front of the door, then looked back expectantly at the others.

“Let me guess,” Tamiko said. “Forgot the value of opposable thumbs for a minute there?”

Shitoro fired back his best withering glare, but Kisaki was already pushing the door open.

“Quickly,” Shitoro said, “before they have us...”

The words died in his throat as the group stepped onto the front porch.

Before them, standing in the street in front of the house, was a trio of large, muscular wolves. Just behind them stood a massive black bear. Two large hawks circled close to the ground in the sky above them.

Kisaki took it all in, noting that their formation was too deliberate to be the work of mere animals. The sound of doors being opened registered in her ears and she glanced around to see Stephen’s neighbors peeking out of their doors.

“So much for this being a subtle getaway,” Tamiko said from behind her.

“Stand back,” Shitoro growled. “I’ll carve a path through these mongrels for us to escape.”

“Mongrels?” the largest of the wolves asked, erasing any doubt whatsoever of their demonic origin. “Big talk for such a small kitty.”

“I’ll help you,” Kisaki said, worried for her diminutive guardian. Large in spirit he might be, but, tiger or not, she was doubtful he’d be a match for the youkai in front of them.

She realized she should have been scared, and for a moment she was, but in the back of her mind, that cold logic began to stir again. Besides, her mother was a daimao. She wouldn’t be worthy of her lineage if all it took were a few mangy-looking youkai to send her running. “Tamiko, Stephen, get back. Lock the doors and stay inside until we say so.”

“I ... think that’s a good idea,” Tamiko replied uncertainly, backing up.

“Wait up,” Stephen said. “My dad keeps a shotgun in his closet, and I know the combo for the safe where he keeps the ammo.”

“Shotgun?” Kisaki asked idly, but he was already on the move.

“Come on, Kisaki!” Tamiko pleaded. “You get in here, too.”

Kisaki was rooted to the spot, though, because Stephen wasn’t the only one on the move. With a snarl of anger, Shitoro raced forward toward the wolves.

♦ ♦ ♦

Shitoro leapt, claws bared, at the wolf who’d spoken ... and was subsequently swatted aside like he was nothing.

“This is what we were paid for?” the wolf asked. “Pathetic. Easy prey.”

“More meat for us,” the bear said from behind him. “This just works up an appetite.” It stood up on its hind legs and transformed. In its humanoid form, the ursine youkai stood over six feet tall. Though he retained a bear’s head and claws, the rest of his body took on the appearance of a hairy, muscular human.

The large wolf, probably the pack leader, was next to change. He was more human in appearance than the bear, smaller and leaner – his extra-long canines and slightly pointed ears being the only indication of his inhuman nature.

He stepped up and sniffed the air. “A hanyou,” he said after a moment, a slight twang to his voice. “Now this is interesting. Never ate one of those before.”

“I hear they taste terrible,” the bear said.

“Only one way to find out, Orsen good buddy,” the wolf leader replied with a toothy grin. He raced forward, his hands clenched into fists. He was dreadfully fast, far faster than Kisaki expected, and for a moment, she felt fear welling up in the pit of her stomach.

But then, just before he reached the front porch, once more the world seemed to slow down around her.

Tamiko cried out from behind her, but her voice seemed to echo as if from afar. “Kiiiissssaaakkkkiiiiiii!”

As before, Kisaki’s vision blurred. It was as if a ghost image superimposed itself over the wolf racing toward her, then it solidified and she was elsewhere. Rather than a wolf youkai, she saw humans in uniform charging toward her. They had dark hair and their facial features vaguely resembled Mr. Yoshida’s. They appeared to be screaming a battle cry, although she heard nothing. Her hands came up ... again, larger than they should have been ... holding a weapon of sorts. The object jerked in her hands and one of the enemy soldiers fell to the ground. Again, and another toppled over. There were too many of them, though, and they swarmed her.

Whoever’s eyes she was seeing out of, for that seemed the only explanation that made sense, wasn’t so easily defeated. There was a knife at the end of the weapon, and she used it to spear an enemy through the abdomen. She spun and brought the other end to bear, clubbing another enemy soldier across the jaw.

A hand fell upon her shoulder and she quickly turned to see a man fighting by her side. Kisaki immediately recognized him. He was the man she’d seen in the earlier vision, the one who had fended off her attack with ease. But that wasn’t all. She now realized he was the same man from the photo Stephen had shown her, the one who had his arm around her father as if in friendship.

What is going on?

Whatever it was, figuring it out would have to wait. The vision faded as quickly as it came, leaving only that cold logic behind. Time, however, continued to move far too slowly – her friend’s warning cry still escaping her lips and the wolf leader still closing in on her, albeit far slower than he should have been.

Amazingly enough, Kisaki felt the beginnings of a smile starting to work its way onto her face. Though much faster and obviously a lot more dangerous, the pack leader’s attack was no less sloppy than that of Robbie or his followers.

He was moving as one who was sure of his power. He considered her weak, easy prey.

It was time to dissuade him of that notion.

♦ ♦ ♦

The pack leader leapt at her, a snarl of triumph upon his face, and time picked that moment to resume its normal pace. That was fine by Kisaki. She was already on the move, spinning and bringing her leg up. She caught the pack leader square on the side of the jaw with her heel. Teeth shattered and he let out a yip of pain before flying limply into a nearby bush.

The two wolves still in the street stared at her agape, as much shock showing on their canine faces as they could.

The bear, however, merely laughed. “Easy prey, eh? You must be getting complacent in your old age, Durgo.” He turned to the other youkai. “What are you waiting for? Crag sent us to fight, so do it!”

Crag?

Who was that and what did they have against her? Questions for another time, Kisaki noted.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Two more of the youkai transformed. One of the hawks turned into a small, frail-looking humanoid with wicked talons on both his feet and at the end of his winged arms. Another of the wolves changed, too, becoming a fur-clad female with murder in her eyes.

“You hurt my mate. Now I’m gonna hurt you.”

Mate? That explained why the female looked absolutely furious at what she’d done to the one called Durgo.

This time, all four of the smaller youkai charged forward, two from the ground and two from the air. With Shitoro still down and her not wishing to endanger her human friends, that left Kisaki alone to face them.

Her newfound fighting prowess had proven itself, but without knowing where it had come from or whether it would last, she realized it would be foolish to rely on it against these odds.

She needed something else.

The quill in her jacket began to heat up again, but she ignored it. The last time she’d drawn it had been almost disastrous. Not to mention it had remained a stupid quill. It was useless against the human bullies, and probably even more so against a pack of angry youkai seemingly bent on murder.

She quickly scanned the porch and the surrounding yard looking for something that could...

There!

The memory of her recent vision flashed again in her mind as she laid eyes on a promising-looking object. A length of wood was lying in the grass a few steps away. It had the words “Louisville Slugger” written on the side. She didn’t know exactly what that meant, but the makeshift weapon looked sturdy enough to her.

First she would need to reach it, though, a challenging prospect, as the hawks were even faster than the wolves.

The one in humanoid form reached her before she barely had time to blink. Kisaki tried to sidestep, but was a hair too slow. Razor sharp claws raked against her, cutting through her shirt like it was paper.

Even as a bloom of heat and pain rose from her side, she was already analyzing the demon’s movements and preparing a counterattack. As the youkai passed her, she swung and caught it in the back of its head with an elbow.

Kisaki heard a scream of fear and turned in time to see that her blow had driven the hawk youkai tumbling toward the house. It slammed into the wooden frame of the door, where it lay stunned.

Tamiko stood in the open doorway looking at it wide-eyed before turning to her friend.

“I did say to close and lock the door, did I not?” Kisaki commented.

Tamiko nodded blankly, then finally did as she was told.

Kisaki was already on the move again before she finished closing it. She instinctively leapt back, spinning to see the three other youkai converging on the spot she’d just been. The two wolves went tumbling onto the ground, but the hawk was much more graceful in adjusting its attack.

She was just barely aware of the sound of a door slamming shut when she was forced to throw herself into a dive roll to avoid the claws of the second hawk.

It wasn’t a panicked move, though. Her aim had been purposeful and, when she came up again, she was holding the length of wood. She dared a quick glance down at her side, but fortunately the wounds from the first hawk were superficial, a couple of scratches at best.

When she looked up again, the wolf, still in its four-legged form, was nearly upon her. She brought the improvised weapon up in an arc and caught it under its jaw with a solid crack. The youkai went tumbling away where it landed in the grass unmoving.

She took a moment to look down upon the object in her hands, its weight comforting in her grasp. A slugger, she pondered. Perhaps a fitting name after all.

The female wolf was more wary than her companion. She began to circle Kisaki, looking for an opening to utilize her superior speed.

“I’m going to shove that bat down your throat,” she snarled.

“I do not believe it would fit,” Kisaki replied calmly.

“Let’s see about that.”

Kisaki raised the weapon, apparently called a bat. An odd choice of names. I don’t see wings upon it.

Sadly for her, the wolf’s banter had been a ruse, a distraction. There came a shriek from Kisaki’s flank and she looked up to see one of the hawks descending upon her, claws outstretched and aimed right at her face.

Kisaki’s eyes opened wide, but then something small and white hit the bird midair, driving it to the ground and pinning it. “Shitoro!”

He was back in the fight. A bit dirty but seemingly no worse for the wear.

There was no time to celebrate, however. Movement registered in Kisaki’s periphery, but she’d been prepared for it. She spun, driving the wide end of the bat into the female wolf’s midsection. The demoness let out a huff of breath and doubled over.

“I am sorry about your mate,” Kisaki said, “but I cannot allow you to shove this down my throat.” With a quick shift of her arms, she slammed the other end of the bat into the side of the she-wolf’s face. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she dropped to the ground.

“Oh, stop squirming,” Shitoro growled from where he had the second hawk pinned. “The day a bird can beat a tiger is the day I let that human put a collar around my neck and call me Fluffy.”

Kisaki couldn’t help but smile. All of the smaller youkai were either stunned or incapacitated, which left...

Strong arms wrapped themselves around her, pinning her own to her side and lifting her from the ground.

“Forget about me, little hanyou? That’s okay. I didn’t forget about you.”

It was the bear, Orsen. Kisaki struggled against his grasp, but he was dreadfully strong and she had little leverage.

“Stop fighting,” he snarled, “and I promise to make it quick.” The snarl quickly turned into a laugh. “I do have to warn you, though, I am known to be quite the liar.”

“Lady Kisaki!” Shitoro cried, but he had his hands full with the hawk demon, just barely keeping it in place.

“Don’t worry about me,” she called back.

“Like he would be much help anyway,” the bear chuckled. “Where did you find such a midget tiger anyway? Munchkinland?”

“Your friend doesn’t seem to find him so small,” Kisaki replied, trying to find some purchase with which to escape.

“Friend?” the bear said with a cruel laugh. “These clowns? I’m glad you cleaned house. Less of the reward to share, I say.”

“Reward?”

“Of course. We got paid handsomely to find you and teach you a lesson. Ichitiro sends his regards.”

“Who?” Ichitiro? To the best of her knowledge, Kisaki had never met an Ichitiro. She couldn’t imagine what she had done to offend him. Certainly she couldn’t recall doing anything that would warrant sending youkai to kill her and her friends.

“It doesn’t matter,” Orsen replied. “Corpses don’t need to ask questions. Now hold still. This will just take a minute.”

Kisaki felt his hot breath against her cheek. She turned her head as far as she could and spied rows of teeth as he opened his mouth wide.

“Let her go, asshole!”

What?!

Stephen was standing just outside of his home, with Tamiko right behind him. In his hands he held something, a weapon not entirely dissimilar to what Kisaki had used in her vision. If that were indeed the case, perhaps it, too, was capable of spitting death from a distance.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Orsen said.

“Human, look out!” Shitoro cried, still struggling with his opponent.

The other hawk youkai had pulled itself shakily to its feet and was approaching Stephen from his flank. He turned and shouted in surprise when he saw it closing in.

Kisaki wanted to cry out as well, to tell him to run back inside and bar the door, but whatever she was about to say was drowned out by a thunderous explosion of sound.

What in the name of the elder gods?

Despite what she’d seen in her vision, Kisaki hadn’t expected such a loud noise. Whatever had just happened caused Stephen to stumble back a step. The hawk, however, was affected in a far more lethal manner.

It flew off its feet as the front of its chest exploded in a shower of blood and bone. When it landed, its body twitched for a few moments and then became still.

Though Kisaki had read countless tales of battles and knew that combatants on both sides died, it was the first time she’d seen something like it in person. Death had come to the hawk in an ugly, horrifying manner. Though she felt little sympathy for the creature, it gave her an idea of what the bear had planned for her, and that thought made her angry.

The bear spun, shifting Kisaki between itself and where Stephen still stood looking at the remains of the hawk. Shock was evident on the young man’s face.

“You got it!” Tamiko cried.

“Yes,” Shitoro said, sounding annoyed. “Now get the other one!”

Almost as if waking from a dream, Stephen shook his head, then turned toward where Orsen still held on to Kisaki. He pointed the weapon their way, but then uncertainty filled his eyes.

She realized what the bear youkai was doing. It was using her the same way a warrior might use a shield against an incoming sword blow. That made Kisaki even angrier. Where was the honor in this?

“That’s it, human,” Orsen said. “Put the peashooter down. Sorry to be the one to break it to you, but hunting season is over ... for you anyway.”

Stephen lowered the weapon, indecision etched upon his face.

“That’s right. Now be a good meatsack and go back inside and maybe we’ll forget this ever happened. I’m just being paid for the hanyou and her kitty cat. You’re not worth the effort.”

“No,” Kisaki growled, “but I can assure you, I am.”

Stephen had tried to save her, proving that he had her father’s warrior spirit somewhere deep inside. Though he hadn’t succeeded, he had given her something almost as good – hope, not to mention time enough to come up with a plan of action.

She kicked out, then brought her heel back into the bear’s kneecap with a jarring blow.

Orsen cried out in anger, loosening his grip just enough for Kisaki to pull free. She spun, bringing up the Louisville Slugger, intent on making certain that this youkai had laughed his last for this day.

Much to her surprise, though, he caught the bat in his teeth. She tried to pull it free, but it held fast. Before she could counter him, he bit down with a crunch, snapping the end of the weapon and leaving her with the stump of its handle.

He spit out the wood, then bared his teeth at her. “Not really my idea of an appetizer. Think I’ll wash it down with your blood.”

Orsen took a step forward, but then paused as a sound began to fill the air. It was a wailing noise Kisaki had never heard before, almost as if screaming demons had been set loose and were heading their way, a prospect that didn’t fill her with a great deal of optimism.

“Hah!” the bear snorted. “Guess someone called the cops. Go figure. Can’t murder anyone these days without some asshole sticking their nose in your business.”

Cops? The American police that Tamiko had mentioned. But who?

But then Kisaki remembered the curious faces who had been peering out of the neighboring homes when the youkai first attacked. Though she wasn’t well versed with life on Earth, she’d come to at least understand that such an occurrence wasn’t commonplace these days.

“Too bad for you,” the bear continued. “They’re still too far away to stop me from sending you to whatever hell awaits half-breeds.”

The bear youkai opened its mouth and leapt, its large body momentarily blocking out the sky as it launched itself at her. Kisaki had only a moment to act. Remembering her vision again, she looked down upon the broken shaft of the bat. It ended in a point where Orsen had bitten through it.

With no time for thought, she lifted it up as the bear fell upon her.