I watched the tall, elegant figure of the Tengu leader with interest as she was released from captivity. She looked exhausted and leaned heavily on Kai.
When she pushed her hood back and uncovered her face, I was surprised to find that she was beautiful. The soft suggestion of feathers swept upward from her finely-curved cheeks and high, intelligent brow. Long, soft brown hair was wild about her face. Her lips were very full, and her large eyes glimmered a pale gray. There was something inhuman about her; it was subtle, but it was easy to see that she was Tengu rather than human. For all that, I was attracted to her exotic features as Kai led her away from the cage and the scene of battle. I figured an introduction was in order at some point, but, for now, it would be best to allow Nika to rest.
The soldiers quickly set up a tent, and Kai led the Tengu woman in. When Kai came out alone shortly afterward, she looked grave.
“Nika is not well,” she said, with a shake of her head. “She’s had a bad scare, and she is not immune to the terror of the Festering. It has taken a toll on her.”
Cara reached to her belt and pulled out a little vial of opaque crystal. She immediately handed it to Kai. “Give Nika some of this. It’s a powerful healing potion, and it’s also a strong sleeping draught. She’ll sleep until the morning, and when she wakes, she’ll feel much better.”
Kai smiled gratefully and took the potion. “Thank you, Cara,” she said. Their hands brushed as they passed the vial over, and Kai blushed as Cara smiled and raised her eyebrows at the tall Yamato woman. Kai turned and hurried back to the tent.
I looked at Cara. She was smiling, looking back and forth between me and Kai. “Do you feel that tugging sensation on your Persona awareness?” she asked.
I nodded. “I believe it’s Yakuna,” I said. “Give me a minute to speak to Koshu, then we can go somewhere private and answer that call. I think Yakuna might have something for us.”
General Koshu had done well in our absence, gaining the respect of the mercenaries and the Byakko. Toshiro’s little band seemed still a bit wary of him, and that was to be expected. He had led an attack against their house, after all, even if it had been a mistake. I gave orders to him to set up a camp here on the hilltop. We had tents and gear in plenty, and there was a stream and a little copse of woodland at the bottom of the hill which would provide firewood. Koshu did not delay, and soon the white shapes of the tents were popping up like mushrooms all over the green hilltop.
Now that the Festering had passed away from this place with the influence of Yakuna, the land had returned at a stroke to the beautiful green space which it had been before. Most of the day had passed, and the evening sun was golden over the now-lush green of the hills.
Cara and I walked away from the bustle, down the hill to an open space where piles of old stone were tumbled under trailing vines and thick grass. We looked at one another, then answered the call of the spirit realm.
Unlike previous times, the place where we sat did not fade, but it shivered as if it had been shaken, and I looked around in surprise. We had definitely opened the gate to the spirit realm—I could feel it—but there was no visible change.
“What...?” began Cara, but I stopped her.
“Look,” I said quietly, pointing.
A little way down the hill, a tall, grave-looking man was standing. He wore a blue robe in the Yamato style, and he had a samurai sword at his belt. I knew at once that we were looking at Yakuna.
He approached us slowly, his face looking down. When he reached the edge of the ring of stones we were sitting at, he bowed low.
“Thank you, Soul Binder,” he said. “I am ashamed to have been caught by the Festering so completely. Without your intervention, it would have caused so much damage to the land of Yamato, but you have saved me, and it, from destruction.”
“That’s what we came here to do,” I said to him. “I’m glad you can have peace now.”
“In thanks for your help, I have something I can give you to help you in your quest.”
“A Persona?” Cara asked, but Yakuna shook his head.
“Not that. But when you are in battle, you can summon me. You can call on me, and I will be able to send a spirit warrior to aid you, for a short while. It’s only a small service, but it’s all I have the power to do now...”
He was fading, disappearing into the grass. We heard a long, relieved sigh, and he was gone.
“I wonder what he meant?” said Cara.
“We’ll find out when we’re next in battle,” I said. “Whatever form the warrior he sends takes, it will be useful. Every advantage is going to be useful in this battle.”
“Every advantage?”
I heard the flirtatious note in her voice and glanced over at her.
“Yes, every advantage...”
“Including Kai having access to Persona magic?”
I laughed. “Yes! Absolutely! I think she’s keen to have that herself, and I’m keen to bring her in.”
Cara’s voice was husky as she replied, “Me too.”
We summoned our upgrade diagrams and spent our Renown. Instead of looking for anything new at this point, we decided it would be best to choose upgrades that increased the effectiveness of what we already had. Working quickly, we upgraded the explosive power of Cara’s lightning storm spell, and the strength of my mace. She found an upgrade to make her potions even more effective, and to increase the speed of her draw when she went for her bow. I upgraded the Ironside Persona with extra power in my shockwave attack,
