I searched within and felt for the energy of my sword. It was there, but transformed. It felt stronger, coiled, and almost sentient, like it was waiting for me to release it.
“It feels different now.”
“Different how?” Calisto asked, a tinge of concern in her voice. “What do you sense?”
“Hard to explain,” I said, still focusing on the floor and my balance. “It feels like it wants to pounce, like it’s waiting for me to use it. Never…never felt like that before.”
I stumbled and caught myself before face-planting again.
“That difference you sense is the Jade Demon,” Calisto said, her voice grim. “Emiko…your mother used to say it needed release. It waited with anticipation. She spoke about it as if it were alive.”
“Is it?” I asked. “It’s not like we know everything about the dark blades. For all we know, this Jade Demon is a sentient being I’ve merged with.”
“I don’t know,” Calisto said. “The one person who may have an answer for you is currently in hiding.”
“Fuma?”
Calisto nodded.
“Whatever he did to you and your sword was something he was supposed to do…when you were ready.”
“I’m going to be the first to say,” I said as I took a step and nearly lost my balance, “I’m so not ready. He and I may need to talk.”
“He will not be found unless he wants to,” she said. “All of the ward paths that could lead to him have been sealed or destroyed.”
“I’m sure I could find him,” I said. “Not like this. Not in this present state, but I will find him…eventually.”
“Forget him for now,” Calisto said. “He is not the priority. Getting the Demon Anchors off your wrists is.”
“You’re going to remove them?” I asked hopefully. “That would be excellent.”
I slowly raised my wrists with a short grunt of effort as Calisto gave me a withering glare, shaking her head.
“No,” she said, pushing my arms down gently and nearly compromising my balance again. “You are going to remove them.”
SIX
“I don’t understand,” I said, regaining my balance. “You told me they were put in place to stop my transformation.”
“Yes, they were. Do you remember what happened when you turned?”
“No,” I said, searching my memory. It was a hazy mess. “I remember facing off against Marks, and then turning and seeing Izumi before she blasted me with something. I remember meeting a child, Chusi, but I don’t know if that was real or a dream. It’s all a blank after that.”
“Chusi was real,” Calisto told me. “Izumi sent you to Fuma.”
“I don’t recall that,” I said. “Is she…?”
“Gone,” Calisto said with a nod. “Her mind had been fractured. It was the kindest mercy I could offer her.”
“Death was the kindest mercy?” I asked, incredulous. “Really?”
“You do not get to judge me…ever,” Calisto said, her voice grim. “By the time this is over, many will fall by your hand.”
“I will control the Jade Demon,” I said. “Nothing dies unless I want it to.”
“You still don’t understand what you’re facing,” Calisto said. “The days of you upholding the code of the deathless have passed. Now, it is kill or be killed. You can rest assured, those who come for you will not be giving you another option.”
“I don’t want to kill,” I said. “Every life—”
“I know you were taught every life has value,” Calisto answered. “What you need to understand is that the forces arrayed against you place no value on yours. They will kill you without hesitation, if you allow it.”
“I may not want to kill,” I said. “That doesn’t mean I’m just going to let them take me out.”
“When the time comes, and it will, remember—hesitation is death.”
“What happened after Izumi sent me to Fuma?”
“Fuma did what he was supposed to, what he promised Emiko,” Calisto said. “He merged the Jade Demon with Perdition and you, then unleashed you in the Jade Demon form to wreak destruction upon on the Order.”
“Intentionally?” I asked. “Is he insane?”
“Yes, and not entirely,” Calisto said. “Fuma bears much hatred for the Order. He was hunted and persecuted for his abilities as a Ward Master during the war. He kept his word to your mother, after a fashion. He made sure you received your birthright, but he also unleashed the Demon.”
“He wanted to kill me?”
“I can’t say for certain,” Calisto answered. “His mind has been twisted by years of isolation and manipulating dangerous levels of energy. He regularly remained near the rift. Proximity to that much energy for a prolonged period is dangerous, even for someone as powerful as Fuma. I would imagine it’s something similar to radiation poisoning.”
“It’s too much power,” I said, recalling the agony of being close to such a concentrated source of energy. “I’m surprised it hasn’t killed him.”
“Fuma is staggeringly powerful,” Calisto said. “I’m certain he devised some safeguards against exposure, but the rift is too strong.”
“The rift,” I said as the memories flashed back. “Is there some way to close it or seal it off?”
“Not to my knowledge,” she said. “The Order has tried on more than one occasion. The last time they did, they failed.”
A deep rumbling shook the Keep, followed by a low roar. Whatever was making the sound was caught in a rage.
“What was that?” I asked, concerned. If the sound could reach us this deep in the Keep, it had to be devastatingly loud outside. “Whatever it is, sounds beyond pissed.”
“It would seem that some of the stronger Unholy are sensing your presence,” Calisto said as she cocked her head to one side as if listening to a sound I couldn’t hear. “That sounded like a Greater Behemoth.”
“Greater Behemoth?” I asked in disbelief. “You mean there are classifications of those things?”
“Of course,” Calisto answered. “The Greater Behemoths are rare and nearly impossible to kill. It actually makes sense; your increase in power is going to attract the strongest of the Unholy.”
“Wonderful,” I said. “I don’t suppose you
