“GET OFF MY MASTER!” a voice screamed.

I blinked myself awake in time to see a flurry of movement and a lithe form pounce from the open doorway and tackle the woman poised above me.

Kira! It’s Kira!

The two girls rolled about on the floor. The young woman who had been crying a moment before had changed radically in appearance. She was completely naked but covered in feathers, talons had replaced her hands and feet and she had green glowing eyes. She squawked as Kira hissed, pinning her to the ground. I tried to move my body to help but found my muscles incapable of even the smallest gesture. I was paralyzed.

I looked on helplessly as the two fought for the upper hand. I felt a strange stirring in me as I tried to access my spiritual power and saw my body begin to glow, Kira’s did likewise. Just like the dream! I’m feeding her energy. I could see the cat-spirit’s eyes widen. Overcoming her opponent, she pinned the bird spirit below her and the demonic entity squealed helplessly as Kira’s claws and fangs extended as her body became more feral, more catlike, covered in fur.

She’s transforming! Just like Fenra used to do!

She leaned over to bite the neck of her prey when another BOOM sounded and the room was lit with green light. Cackling bounced off the walls as the demon disappeared in green smoke.

“Foolish guardian. Foolish pet. You cannot stop me or the brotherhood. My work here is already done!” the shrill voice of the bird spirit cried out from thin air.

Kira looked from wall to wall but saw no sign of the enemy. The lights in the cabin turned on and Kira rushed over to me. She lifted me up, surprisingly strong in her cat form, and buried me in a furry hug. I held her close. We were one, her and I. Inside of me, I felt her every emotion, her fear and adrenaline.

She looked at me with wide eyes and I beheld her with the very same awe.

“Master…we…”

“Yes, we did…” I said, now sure of it myself. “We bonded.”

***

Kira was back in her old form and fully clothed. She had gotten shy and had me turn her back as she changed but I had already seen her naked in my dream. I didn’t tell her that though, I wasn’t sure how much of that was real, how much of it she knew or understood…. But just like with Fenra, after intimacy, we had bonded. That place, it hadn’t been just a dream, the demon had possessed me… but something more had happened too.

As we walked in tense silence back to the cabin I stopped Kira before we opened the door.

“Kira, we need to talk. About what happened. And it's best we do it just the two of us, without getting Hana involved.”

The cat spirit nodded. “Yes… we should. Master, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you sooner. I was having a dream. It was about…” she stopped, blushing furiously and looking at her feet.

“It was about me and you. Back in Kitayashi, wasn’t it?” I asked, my heartbeat speeding up.

“Yes,” Kira answered. “It was.”

I nodded slowly and took her by her shoulders. She looked up at me shyly.

“So it really happened, master? Me and you? Like that?”

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I chewed my lip. “In the dream at least. Somehow that demon teleported us both there and made it happen, but I don’t know why.”

Kira sniffled. “So you are… ashamed, that it happened, with me… master I promise I never meant…”

“I know. Neither did I. It just happened. She put a spell on us both. But I don’t regret it, it was wonderful. And now we are bonded. But Hana… and Fenra… this is all so complicated now. I don’t think we should speak of this until we understand.”

Kira nodded. “I know, I know. I’m just glad you are okay.”

She pressed into me and I held her close. Her body was shaking. I didn’t realize how hard the fight with the spirit had been for her. I led her by the hand to the room where Hana was snoring peacefully. We parted and she slept in the other bunk. Soon I heard her soft purring and knew she too was asleep. I lay awake, thinking, late into the night. What had been the plan? Hadn’t the demon only brought us closer together? And what was this brotherhood?

What the hell was I going to tell Fenra!?

***

Finally, sleep did indeed take me. I awoke to a text from Miku. The girls were already up and splitting packets of snacks. The sunrise was peeking in through the window and had lit up the cabin. The peaceful scene before me had me thinking last night had been just a dream. But then Kira snuck a look at me and I realized it most certainly had not been. I felt our connection. I looked down at my phone and read the texts. The team that had been dispatched to meet the summoner had gone missing. She said when we arrived at Kyoto we should, at the very least, try to lay low. That sounded exactly what the doctor ordered.

Pulling into Kyoto station was like a breath of fresh air. It was not as cool as the mountains and we could shed our jackets. Tourists were everywhere and the foliage was on full display. We wandered the streets. Ryu had given me a call about the charges to his card, he told me not to worry about it, to just be safe. I was surprised at his kindness. He had changed so much since moving to Kitayashi. Still, I tried to keep our excursions cheap.

We ate at convenience stores and stuck to free tourist things like the open temples and wandering side streets. By sunrise, we found ourselves on the outskirts of town on a hill overlooking the whole of Kyoto.

I felt a strange pull in me as I looked down the hill. Just below us was a cemetery. Kira seemed to be eyeing it too. We followed the path towards the entrance. The gates were wide open. I looked between the girls. Kira shivered, but Hana’s eyes looked only forward. I knew that both of us sensed the energy forming there. We had no choice. We entered.

Nighttime was creeping up on us. The sunlight was fading, and fast. Finally, Hana spoke up and said we should go back but I could not ignore what I felt. I kept walking down row after row of headstones, my heart thrumming in my ears. I heard the girls calling out from behind me but their voices were muted.

My feet came to a halt. There, before me, was the stone that had drawn me. A tome with its names scratched out. Large and grey. Below it, the earth was disturbed. I recoiled.

What kind of monster would disturb a grave?

I heard the girls catching up to me. “Master!” Kira cried, “Be careful!” I felt Hana grip my arm as well. “Ryo what on earth are you doing? You gave us a scare!”

I knelt by the earth. There were no bones, no body. Only tainted soil. I felt evil here, a dark presence. I walked to the stone and touched it. Immediately I felt my body transported upwards into the air, like a ghost and I saw a scene play out below me. There, in his tattered red robes was the summoner. I tried to call out but I had no voice. I saw him raise his hands and cast a spell, the earth rending apart. I saw him dig into it with his bare blackened hands and pull forth the beads. The fourth artifact. I saw him twist his head from side to side as if he sensed something.

Then he walked off, limping, I noticed, as though he was injured. Then the vision ended.

I heard the girls calling and realized I was on my hands and knees, gasping for breath. The rain was coming down. They lifted me to my feet. Kira let out a concerned meow and clutched at me. Hana pulled out an umbrella. “Let’s get you to the hostel,” the pink-haired girl said in a concerned voice.

I agreed. Only one thought ran through my head.

We were too late. He has it. We have failed once again.

***

I dreamt that night of Fenra. Her eyes were red and her teeth were long. She called to me in the night, howling. I ran after her in the empty streets of Kyoto but it was hard to catch her. Finally, I found her in a back alley and she turned to me, straightening up in her human form. She was naked. She growled.

“It’s me! Don’t you recognize me?” I asked. “I am your guardian! I am Ryo!”

“I have no guardian. I am his,” her words were harsh but her eyes were sad. She drew closer and whispered in my ear. “Do not come for me. If you do… death will surely follow.” I felt her soft lips on my cheek, and then she was gone.