Suddenly, I felt an incredible thrumming of energy from the little medallion. A glance at Cara, and I knew she felt it, too. There was a sudden pulse, a blast of power that felt like the great shout of a hearty warrior in his prime. The voice shouted once, full of fierce joy, then faded to silence again. The raw, earthen power of that surge was shocking in its sudden rawness.
“You can hear the power contained within it?” Kai said as she studied our faces. “I knew you would be able to. I cannot Soul Bind myself, of course, and neither can any of my family within living memory, but enough of the magic remains in my bloodline that I can feel an echo of the relic’s power.”
“I hear it,” I said quietly.
“And I,” agreed Cara.
Kai held out her hand, and I gave her the little relic back.
“I want to give this to you,” she said, “but there is a little tradition in my family which I feel I must honor before doing so.”
“Oh yes?” I asked, catching a challenging glint in her big dark eyes.
“In my clan, we put great faith in the prowess of a warrior. I’ve already seen your fighting skill, and your ability with the Soul Binding magic. I have no doubt that you are the right person for the relic, but I feel I must still honor my family’s tradition. Before I give you this powerful heirloom, I must challenge you to a duel, and you must win.”
Chapter Fifteen
I smiled at Lady Kai’s challenge. “Very well! It’ll give me an opportunity to test my new weapons.” I slapped the kusarigama pair at my belt.
Her eyes widened. She looked both surprised and impressed. “You’d use a brand new weapon in a duel?”
“The Persona gives me the knowledge and skill I need to use it, and I’m keen to try it out. Or are you perhaps unwilling to face my new kusarigama?” I glanced at Cara and saw her grinning proudly.
Kai’s eyes flashed at my challenge. “I think I can still disarm you, Persona or no Persona. Come on, Saxen, let’s see what you’ve got!”
Quick as lightning, she drew her samurai sword and took up her stance, the graceful curved blade balanced finely in a practiced two-handed grip. She circled warily as the kusarigama leaped into my hands. With a controlled swing, I brought the ball and chain attachments up and into motion. They swung in circles around me, the heavy heads whistling through the air. Any enemy who tried to get close to me would risk becoming entangled in the heavy chains.
Kai was a highly skilled fighter, but I could tell that she could not see a way through my defense. She circled, and I turned with her, keeping my eyes on her blade.
Suddenly, she feinted to my right, and when I swung my kusarigama chains around to that side, she dived in toward my left. She was fast—deadly fast—but not quite fast enough for me. I caught her sword swing on the blade of my left kusarigama, and the swinging chain wrapped itself once around my arm and then twice around her arms, hands, and sword, binding us together.
With my right kusarigama, I swung downward, wrapping her legs in three loops of chain. A flip of my left foot, and I stopped the spiked mace head before it hit her leg.
All of a sudden, we were very close. She was immobilized. With my left hand, I could control the movement of her hands and wrists. My right hand controlled her bound legs and ankles.
I put the smallest amount of pressure on both control points to make sure she realized my complete dominance, then stared into her face. Her full lips were parted, and she was breathing heavily. There was a flush in her cheeks and a sparkle in her eyes that seemed to be more than just the thrill of the fight.
Could it be that she was aroused by being immobilized by me in this way? I knew that it was not uncommon for women to be aroused by a strong, dominating male. In some women, that sometimes extended to being bound with cords or chains for pleasure. Was Lady Kai interested in that kind of thing? The thought made my loins burn with desire. I spared a glance at Cara, and she smirked at me, as though she too had noticed this not-so-hidden predilection of the Yamato woman.
Kai and I held there for a moment, looking right into each other’s eyes.
“Will you submit to me?” I asked quietly.
A shudder ran through her at the word ‘submit’, and she suppressed a smile. Her tongue came out and swiftly wetted her lips.
“Oh, yes, I’ll do that gladly,” she said, her voice husky.
I held her for one moment longer before stepping back. At a press of my will, the chains of the kusarigama swung back up and released Kai from her bondage. Cara was watching the interplay between us with shining eyes, and she made no attempt to conceal her broad smile.
Kai stepped away, bowed once, and sheathed her sword. “Thank you for helping me to honor my family traditions, “ she said. “You have bested me in a duel. You are clearly worthy. As promised, I now give you this, the ancient medallion of power passed down from generation to generation, waiting for a Soul Binder who can use it. Let it pass now from my hand to yours and cease its long journey through the ages at last.”
She handed me the medallion, and I raised the little pendant up to my neck and put it on.
With the explosive force of a charging horse, I was blasted out of this reality and into the spirit
