Page 80 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

“Don’t interfere,” she said sweetly to Oka’s two handsome buffers. “I want to know just how much potential I supposedly have.” Vallen nodded, but Rosuke jutted his chin. “Well then, Mai. Let us find some space.”

Having watched the scene in silence, Mai nodded and set her sword and satchel down.

They kept their distance from one another but walked toward a more open area. The canopy didn’t allow more than a few small patches of sunlight, but the breeze was strong enough to pierce the denseness of the forest and flutter the ends of her hair. They were soon out of earshot but stayed well within eyesight of the men.

“That blondie is your brother?” Mai asked, speaking through her teeth as though the question had been burning in her throat.

“Yes. His name is Oka, not Blondie,” she warned.

“A blondie is a blondie—”

“A blondie is a snake-eyed tyrant who feeds on hurting others. Oka is a sweet, pure boy, and I’ll not have you call him such,” she corrected her.

Mai stiffly nodded. “I’ll make my own judgment before calling anyone names, I suppose, and that includes you,” she said with a hard edge to her voice. “I’ll not call you Empress unless you’re fit for the title.”

“If you must.”

Mai seemed annoyed by her answer, based on the sneer that briefly wrinkled her nose. “Prepare yourself.”

The woman’s magic burst out of her with an audible crack that made Shumei jump. Green-tinted magic swirled around Mai, pulsing with heat and energy. It was like watching a bonfire through green glass, and at the center, Mai burned without burning. She was meant for a spring house, it seemed.

A gust of wind from Mai’s direction sent leaves and twigs flying, and Shumei brought her arms up to protect her face. Her heart raced, and the cold hand of fear gripped her heart. She watched Mai the best she could despite the bright glow of power, and when Mai put her foot back, she realized Mai was going to rush her. What would happen when Mai reached her, she couldn’t guess. Nor did she know how to defend herself from a magically enhanced physical attack. She was in trouble.

“Empress,” Rosuke shouted with a twinge of panic.

She spared two seconds to glance his way. Vallen held him back even though Vallen’s face was filled with concern. Oka was tense with fright, his wooden sword forgotten on the ground.

Shumei gasped as Mai sprinted toward her holding two bright orbs of energy in each palm. Bracing herself, she breathed in to speak the shield invocation, but the command she’d been practicing all morning would not come. Was it toh-tay or tah-tay? Casting that option aside, she pulled at her magic, trying to will it into her legs to help her dodge, or her arms to help her block, as it had with Akiji and Majo, but her concentration was scattered, and Mai was only a heartbeat away.

Divine One help her, she was useless. Why had he chosen her? Why hadn’t he chosen Mai, whose experience and strength of will were readily apparent? Was Shumei really meant to be empress? Or had it all been a mistake?

A high-pitched whine filled her ears. Mai rapidly slowed, then froze. Swirls of her green-tinted magic hung like smoke in a windowless room. Indeed, the wind blowing off her had also stopped, and Shumei’s hair now hung straight. Forest debris floated in midair, and all sound had ceased except for the buzzing in her ears. The entire world had stopped.

“There’s no denying it, Champion.”

She turned and swung into a new world. Mai was gone, the estate and the trees had disappeared, and even the screaming whine had faded. She once again stood in a familiar darkness, barely able to discern the semi-solid, smoky figure in front of her. Her gasp of recognition was loud in the stillness.

“Are you…?” But she couldn’t bring herself to finish the question.

“You shall reign as empress. Your court shall bring peace to the world, and your power shall destroy him, once and for all.”

Him? Have mercy, did he mean the Damned One?

“A-Are you the…?” she tried again.

“I shall teach you as your need grows, and your next lesson is now.” He floated closer.

“Are you the Divine One?” she blurted. As faint as it was, she detected a smile on the figure’s indistinct face.

“I am. Come to me,” he commanded, spreading his arms.

Tears stung her eyes, and she pressed her fingertips to her lips to stop their trembling. Her belief in the Divine One had been one of the few comforts in her life, even on the worst days when the villagers had been especially cruel—even when her father, and then her mother, had passed. Belief that he loved her as much as the rest of his people. Hope that he would accept her soul, her love, her faith. Now here he was, arms open to her, accepting her as she had prayed he would.

She took the three steps separating them and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. His smoky presence seemed to be an illusion, for his body was solid and warm.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she felt as at home as when her father had been alive. Love radiated off him like perfume from a bed of flowers. Every safe feeling one could have filled her—the kiss of a mother, the hug of a father, the laugh of a friend, and the passionate touch of a lover. Her tears flowed freely, and she happily accepted his kiss.

Heat poured down her throat as power filled her from head to toe, bone to skin, and with it came incredible knowledge that passed by her mind’s eye in disorienting flashes. She tried to focus on the thoughts and experiences flowing into her—a demon’s bones cracking, the splash of magic reflected away, the feel of raw power surging through her arms—but concentrating only made her head pound.