Page 37 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

“Where are you going, Kimen?” Akki yelled, rising to her knees. Kimen, for once, ignored his wife, sliding the door shut and walking away. Akki made a frustrated noise and sat on her heels once more.

“If you’ll please face me, Madam Akki,” she calmly but firmly ordered, using please out of habit.

“What do you think you could do, huh?” Akki said, confrontative even as she turned.

Shumei barely suppressed a gasp. Her magic had done the equivalent of a somersault in her stomach, and though it wasn’t nauseating, it was certainly off-putting. And now that it was “at attention,” she sensed something.

“Just relax and stay still. It won’t take long,” she whispered.

Her magic moved excitedly, extending itself into her arms as she raised her hands. There was something in the air around Akki. Or rather, something attached to her. Akki had frozen, possibly aware of the tension between them, but Shumei doubted the woman could feel the touch of magic.

That was it. There was a spell on Akki. Something had been cast on her, and it was clinging to her like a creeping vine. Shumei needed to find the source of it—the head of the plant, as it were.

Shumei reached out, pushing through the force around Akki’s body. It gave some resistance, like thick mud. Draped over Akki’s shoulders were strands of magic, thin and new. She traced them with her fingers, looking for the root.

“What’s happening?” Akki said, voice small. Shumei ignored her and examined the invisible vines of power wrapped around the woman’s waist.

There. On her stomach. She found a sort of mass, like the center of a weed, tough and bumpy. She curled her fingers around it, tightening her hold on the spell.

Akki gasped but didn’t move. Shumei tried to pull it out like she would with any weed, and Akki gave a pained grunt. Shumei pulled harder, feeling the roots of the weed loosen. Akki croaked, cheeks growing paler as she clenched at her skirt, but she stayed still like she’d been told, though perhaps it was too painful for her to move.

The weed was stubborn, so Shumei let her magic out, and it sizzled along her arm, flicking at the spell in her hand while she pulled. The spell popped out with a jerk. Akki braced both hands to one side, nearly collapsing to the floor, and her breaths came in shuddering gulps.

Shumei could feel the spell sitting free in her hand, dripping down her arm, though the drips seemed to be harmless. Then it began to shake, and her hand trembled as she tried to hold on to it. A high-pitched whining grew inside the room, and she realized she needed to let go of the spell. Now. She twisted and tossed it into the air behind her. Half a second later, it burst with a loud pop and a red cloud rose to the ceiling out of nowhere.

“W-What was that?” Akki asked, breathless.

“Someone cast a spell on you. I removed it, and it exploded…I think.”

Shumei couldn’t help wincing. Her secret was no longer a secret now. Yet she wasn’t as upset by this development as she had thought she’d be. Already, she was mulling the many ways she could escape the village if Akki decided to raise an alarm.

“A spell?” Akki asked, pressing her hand to her stomach. She took in a deep breath and her cheeks flushed with blood. She smiled, a genuine one this time. In fact, she looked ten years younger.

“Madam Akki, this started at the beginning of winter, right?” Shumei asked, wondering how much longer the woman could have withstood the curse.

“I…don’t know,” she said, confusion replacing her smile. “Why can’t I remember that? And why didn’t I know it was on me? What would’ve happened if you hadn’t…?”

The most important question, the one Akki didn’t ask, was who had cursed her. For a second, Shumei worried she would be Akki’s first suspect, but then she realized Akki already had someone else in mind, undoubtedly the same person who had cast a spell on Shumei as an experiment. The one who had unleashed the Burning, and who had admitted to Shumei that she had “unfinished business” in the village.

She couldn’t accuse Majo without direct evidence, though. And the witch could still prove useful. Shumei had no one else from whom she could learn about her magic. Although, Vallen had been a magic-user as well, and still was to a lesser extent…

Shumei mentally shook her head. Asking for tutelage from Vallen was perhaps even more dangerous than dealing with Majo. She could stand to let the woman have a few more kisses, but the only thing Vallen would ask for as payment would be meeting even more frequently. She didn’t know if she could handle that. Her feelings about him had already grown past what was safe.

“I’m not sure, Madam Akki, but I can find out. However, my concern now is what you’ll do with me,” she said, giving her a pointed look.

“What…do you think I should do?” Akki asked in a careful tone.

Akki was offering her a way out of this. Yes, Akki could reveal Shumei as a magic-user, but if she’d been cursed once, she could be cursed again. And if Shumei were either banished or executed, Akki would have no one to protect her.

“In exchange for removing the spell, you won’t tell anyone of the abilities I’ve discovered, and I’ll find a way to keep this from happening again. We will continue as before,” Shumei suggested.

Akki thought about it for a moment, and Shumei waited with bated breath to see if the woman would be spiteful or smart.

“I can agree to that,” she replied. “I believe you even cured my stiff joints with that little show. I will no longer be needing your medicines, then.”

Shumei quietly regretted the extra income but rejoiced in both the fact her secret was still safe and the fact she would never have to visit the leader and his wife again.

“Agreed.” Shumei grabbed her medicine bag and made to leave, but Akki’s hand on her sleeve stopped her.