Taming the Storm (Crimson Storm Chronicles Book 1) by Yumoyori Wilson (27)

"Storm Yuna. A pleasure for you to be here."

I kept my facial expression blank and nodded my head ever so slightly. I'd rather have sliced his throat with my katana, but with my hands tied and these two imposter guards cloaking my restraints, no one would see I was being led astray against my own will.

I was taken into the building and we made our way to the courtyard. The crisp, cool air did nothing to cool the burning anxiety and anger pulsing within me. I couldn't do anything though or my men would die.

They were in a meeting that had been bound by magic. If I didn't obey their request, the magic would be set off and all six men that I loved would be gone.

The only way for them to live was for me to die.

"It's such a shame to have you in this predicament, Ms. Yuna, but you should be aware of what happens to people who want to instill peace in the world. There are many examples to choose from, but they all have one thing in common."

I looked up at the man with white eyes and watched the cynical smile form on his lips.

"Death," he whispered, followed by a sickening laugh that hurt my ears and sent my spirit animals into a frenzy inside me. They knew death was upon us and it pained them to see me meet my end.

I wouldn't let them perish. They would be locked in my pocket watch and be sealed there. I only knew one person who'd have the potential to open it, but I had no idea how she'd be able to acquire my watch in time.

"Now, let's get this over with. The meeting should be over with soon. Don't worry, Ms. Yuna. I'll keep my promise. When you stop breathing, your men will walk out of the boardroom unharmed. Well, physically that is. I can only imagine the pain your death will have on them. Oh, the joy of watching someone’s pain; it makes me feel marvelous. After this, Nokamato will fear change." The man laughed yet again and I bit my lip hard.

I couldn't believe how foolish I'd been. I should have gone with them. But for the sake of peace, something we'd been fighting to achieve for years, I let myself get distracted and had fallen into the worst trap imaginable. We reached the middle of the yard and the guard with red eyes forced me to my knees.

He walked around me once then stood before me, pulling out his long sword.

"The Master and I have this handled. Go back to the site and make sure everything goes smoothly. Once we've finished and I arrive back home, call me and tell me the news. I'll make sure everyone else is aware of her death," the red-eyed man instructed; the other guard bowed and ran back into the building.

He smiled when his eyes scanned my body and the tip of his sword gently ran across my left cheek. The sword was sharp enough to slice my skin with ease and my blood coated the silver blade.

He lifted it up to his lips and his sinister smile widened as he slowly licked off the blood.

"I always love to have a taste of my victim's blood before they die. It's like a silent commemoration of their life before it’s taken by me." He grinned and it made me want to vomit.

"Ah, James. This side of you freaks even me out. I'm surprised your girlfriend hasn't found out about who you really are," the white-eyed man said casually as he rested on the bench a few meters away.

"Crimson? Tsk, she's a fool. A pathetic human who can't even figure out that her powers were locked away. It's only a matter of time. She's getting sicker with each birthday that passes. You know the drill. If five years have passed and the shifter hasn't been reunited with their birthright weapon, they'll die. Her twenty-third birthday is approaching. Once that hits, she'll bleed from the inside out and die. Then they'll realize who she really was and the power will already be lost," James sighed dramatically and returned to stare at me.

"Too bad, don't you think? She would have been stronger than you. Having two Kitsune shifter parents, both with SS magic affinities. She'd surpass you with just her awakening. She could have helped you achieve this peace you desperately crave for," he mocked.

Crimson! The Sealed One that I bumped into during my run. She...maybe she can save them?

James pointed the tip of his sword at my pocket watch that hung on my neck. "Imagine if your powers were combined. To think of Storm Yuna, the strongest mage of our time with her beloved guards and Crimson Arashi, the strongest Kitsune shifter with her cherry blossom power. To think such a pretty weak name for a power could actually be a deadly skill to have. Weird how nature works," James shook his head and sighed.

"Hahaha. I can't believe twenty-two years have gone by and no one has caught on yet. I love how frantic Konashi is. I bet he wishes he was the actual father. What a shame," White Eyes said.

"What do you mean?" I interjected, confused by the hidden meaning of their words.

James smirked and tilted his head, his eyes twinkled with excitement. "Crimson Arashi is not the daughter of Konashi. She's not an Arashi at all," James revealed.

"But... that's..." I trailed off. I'd known Mosuki Arashi since I was a child and there was no doubt that the woman I met during my run was her child. Even their eyes were identical.

"Ah. Curious little Storm. Since you won't be breathing for much longer, let me let you in on our little secret," he mocked.

White Eyes laughed.

"Mosuki was forced to marry Konashi. You know the sad realities regarding arranged marriages and all that. But she was already pregnant with baby Crimson. I wonder by whoooom?"

I returned my attention back to James who rolled his eyes. "It was rather obvious. Mosuki was head over heels with her partner in crime. Does the name Hotaka Jiyuna ring a bell?" James hummed.

My eyes widened and I now understood what they meant in their assessment of Crimson. Both parents were astonishing mage fighters and Kitsune shifters at their best.

"Wait...you’re not saying—" I realized, but screamed as James sword was driven through my chest.

He smirked as he hovered over me. "Yes, Ms. Yuna. What happens when two Kitsune shifters give birth to a female?" he whispered down at me.

I choked as blood began to pour out of my mouth.

"Now, James. She can't speak with a sword in her chest. Not very kind of you. Just tell her." White Eyes laughed and James chuckled.

James chuckled. "You're right. How thoughtless of me." He swiftly pulled out the sword.

I screamed before coughing up the pool of blood that was bubbling up in my mouth.

"Answer, Ms. Yuna," James demanded and I heard the impatience in his voice.

I glared up at him as I spat out more blood. "Nine tails," I choked out.

He smiled, clapping his hands. "Well done. I guess your parents did teach you about our hidden history before they were murdered. How thoughtful of them. At least they won't be alone anymore," James cheered.

"A nine-tailed Kitsune with an SSS magic affinity. Damn. Hey James, what if she had that pocket watch on top of all that?" White Eyes asked curiously.

"She'd be stronger than the Emperor. Her elements are strong enough as is. I can only imagine what force would be produced if that was in her possession," James muttered.

"Can't we just kill her?" White Eyes asked.

"No. Let her die. She won't be keeping this bad boy anyways. Why don't we have some fun first?" James suggested, while eyeing my pocket watch.

He crouched down before me and placed his sword on the ground before pulling out a knife.

"I heard it's a rather painful experience to take these little jewels out. Like ripping away one's magical essences?"

He met my gaze before lifting my pocket watch in his hand and eyeing it. "Hmm. Red is my favorite color," he cheered, before digging the knife under the edge of the red crystal.

I cried out, gritting my teeth in an attempt to fight the agonizing pain that ran through me. The red animal within me cried out in agony as it began to fade inside me. NO!

"Stop!" I cried as tears tinged my eyes and blood continued to pool in my mouth. I screamed again and watched the red jewel finally pop out.

I gasped and squeezed my eyes shut as I felt something forced out of me. I opened them up to see the red animal spirit of my phoenix hover over me before it began to fade.

"NO!" I wailed, trying to fight my bonds.

James laughed. "Aww. Bye, bye phoenix familiar. I'm impressed you have five of these. Hm. Let's go for blue next." He smiled and began to take the blue crystal out.

My screams and cries echoed through the night, but no one came to help me as one-by-one, my familiars, the spirit animals that had loved me all their lives were ripped away, fading into the sky.

As the gold crystal popped out, my scream was nothing but a silent plea. I watched my eagle look down at me with sad eyes before it too, began to fade into the sky.

"One more," James sang, then paused. "Actually, I think I’ll let that one stay. It can die with her and mourn the deaths of its fellow familiars. I think that counts as torture."

He rose to his feet and threw the blue crystal to White Eyes. "When you deliver the news about this to Konashi, you can give this to him as a little gift. He'll be happy to know his position will remain his," James ordered.

"I'll put it in a nice little box for him. What about the watch?" White Eyes asked.

"Let it stay with her. It's incomplete with the crystals gone. I'll just scatter these others across Homatomashi. Maybe even gift one to the two other organizations. It would earn me a nice promotion," James considered aloud.

The magical ties that bound my hands began to fade the closer I got to death, having done their timely purpose. It was my chance to try and fight back, but seconds later, James’ sword was inside me once more and this time it didn't miss its primary target: my heart.

I stared at him with wide eyes as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"How does it feel? To watch the familiars you love and cherish fade away? At least, now you can die knowing those men are safe. Sadly, it won’t be for long. If they try and figure out who killed you, I'll hunt them down and kill them nice and slow." He licked my bleeding cheek before he yanked his sword from my chest, allowing my body to fall back to the ground that was already soaked with my blood.

I struggled to breathe as the blood filling my lungs and mouth began to suffocate me. James and White Eyes came into my line of vision, blocking the black sky above.

"Let's go. We'll be generous and give her a quiet moment to die in peace," James whispered. They both began walking away.

I fought to breathe and struggled to turn my head to let the blood flow out. I coughed, which only made the pain in my chest worse as the air in my lungs leaked out and my bleeding heart began to fail.

Tears rolled down my cheek and I looked back to the sky. I wouldn't survive this.

"Uru...fu." I choked out the word and used the remaining magic within me to summon my last familiar.

"Woof!" Urufu hovered over me and I saw the fear and sadness in those pink eyes. I smiled the best I could as my eyes glistened with tears.

I'm sorry. I can't stay with you any longer. You have to find a new owner. Someone who will take care of you and love you. Please, move on.

"Woof! WOOF!" Her barks eventually gave way to whimpers and she tried to stop the blood that leaked out of the two gaps in my chest.

Uru... please.

"Woof..." she whined and pressed her forehead to my cheek. I smiled and closed my eyes.

Urufu, my lovely familiar. Please forget this. Forget the men who killed me. You pursuing them would lead to your death too and I can't afford to lose anyone else. Find a new mistress and protect her like you would me. Love her like you would me. I love you...so much.

She howled out her pain as I let the magic work on her. She whimpered softly, taking one last look at me before running off.

I was alone in the cold night, staring at the dark sky. I reflected on my life, the good and the bad. I remembered the men who loved me, adored me, and treated me as their equal and not as some weak female.

I would miss them. They were my life and we had become a family.

I guess we won't be going on vacation. I'm sorry Akihiro, Yoshimitsu, Itsuki, Malachi, Haru, and Quillian. I failed you and now I'll leave you with such heartache.

Tears blurred my vision as each gurgling breath led me closer to death. I had to do something with the small amount magic I had left. I couldn't leave this world with a lost legacy.

I worked so hard my entire life. I didn't play with school kids or spend my childhood with a loving family. I stayed indoors and studied magic. I enhanced my skills and dedicated hours every day to become strong enough to avenge my parents.

The N.R.O. stole them from me, and now they took my life too. They would sweep the whole matter under the rug, just like they did with my parents’ death. With time, everyone would forget about me, too.

I'd be nothing but a sad tragedy and a name written on a fancy tombstone. I couldn't allow that to be my only legacy. I closed my eyes and tried to ward off the darkness that attempted to claim me. I concentrated on the pocket watch around my neck.

I felt the last threads of magic enter the pocket watch and I opened my eyes to stare up at the sky one last time. The memory of Crimson Arashi came to my mind and I realized what a fool I was.

I should have told her what she was. Maybe she would find a way to be able to fight and discover how amazing she was meant to be. She was humble and I could see the kindness in her eyes. We could have been good friends if things had been different...

I took my final breaths as a thought came to my mind.

With that final prayer, the last of my tears rolled down my cheeks and I took my final breath.