Sword Kissed Read online

  Sword Kissed

  The Dark Fae Hollows ~ Hollow 2

  Leigh Anderson

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Thank You

  Also by Leigh Anderson

  About the Author

  Sword Kissed Hero: The Dark Fae Hollows – Hollow 2 © 2018 Leigh Anderson

  All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Demons of Japanese myth lurk in Chiyoko Hollow, and if they aren’t stopped soon, the magic of the lands will be twisted beyond salvation.

  Akari Tanaka is Sword Kissed, a human born with the power to harness magic through her katana. Her duty is to keep the residents—fae and human alike—safe from the increasingly dangerous demons that haunt Chiyoko Hollow. When people across Chiyoko begin disappearing, Akari is determined to find them—but so is half-fae warrior Takeo, who prefers to work alone.

  As the bodies of the missing start turning up, drained of their life force, Akari realizes that they aren't dealing with just any twisted demon. Now her sensei is missing, her sister has been spirited away, and her childhood rival has united with a demon of smoke and ash. But with their list of enemies growing longer and their allies shorter, if Akari and Takeo can’t learn to work together, the evil that threatens their world will prevail. And once that happens, there’s no turning back.

  Fans of J. Y. Yang and Marjorie M. Liu will be spirited away by this dystopian paranormal romance based on Japanese lore.

  SWORD KISSED is a standalone contribution to the Charmed Legacy Dark Fae Hollows collection. Stories can be read in any order. To learn more, visit CharmedLegacy.com

  1

  Akari Tanaka braced as the impact from the katana reverberated through her body. She looked up at her opponent, Endo Ryo, and saw the smirk on her face. Akari gripped her sword and pushed up on her elbows, readying to take Endo down, but Endo’s face hardened and she took another step forward.

  Akari quickly rolled away as Endo swung at her. Akari flipped over and launched to her feet. She ran her sword over her hand, slicing open her flesh and causing her blade to glow with a blue aura. Her hand almost instantly healed before she was even able to tighten her grip.

  Endo laughed. “What are you doing? I’m not a demon. That won’t help you here.”

  She may have been right, but training to kill demons was Akari’s job, so she preferred to treat the training sessions as realistic as possible. Besides, imagining Endo as a demon wasn’t that much of a stretch of the imagination. The two had been rivals since they were girls.

  The glowing sword gave Akari the confidence boost she needed. She gritted her teeth and rubbed the ball of her foot on the mat as she prepared to attack.

  “Hold,” Sera calmly said as she stepped into the practice arena. Everyone except Akari lowered their swords and stepped aside. Akari grunted in frustration.

  “I can do it, Sensei,” Akari said as she tightened her grip even more and glared at Endo.

  Sera raised her hand to silence her. “You are using far more energy than necessary. You will burn out long before your opponent will. Do not keep pushing yourself beyond what you are capable of. Learn from the experience so you will be stronger next time.”

  “But I can do it,” Akari argued. Everyone’s jaw dropped, and Sera looked at her directly. “…Sensei,” she added quickly, making sure to sound respectful. “Just because I appear weak or beaten doesn’t mean I am. You mustn’t give up, even when it looks like you are going to lose.”

  Some of Akari’s classmates shook their heads, shocked Akari would question the sensei’s teachings. Others started to whisper among themselves. Akari felt sweat drip down her back, and not because of her exertion during the fight.

  Sera smirked. “And how will you know if you have lost or if you should keep going?”

  “I suppose I will know in the moment,” Akari said, not relaxing her stance.

  “In this moment,” Sera said, turning away, “the match is at an end, as is this training session. See you all tomorrow.”

  Everyone gave the sensei a deep bow, and Akari finally lowered her sword, the blue glow fading. Akari did not bow as deeply as she should have. Most of the students headed for the showers from the practice arena. Endo had a pleased look on her face as she gave Akari one last glance before leaving. Akari stuffed down her anger as she stayed behind to get in a few punches with a practice dummy.

  “Are you mad you lost?” her friend Kaya asked as she stood behind the dummy. “Or mad you lost to her, Akari-chan?”

  Akari shot her an angry look, grunting as she slapped at the dummy’s protruding prongs.

  Kaya rolled her eyes and stepped away. “You never give up. Not sure if they call that tenacity or stupidity.”

  Akari screwed her face up as she punched and kicked at the dummy harder and faster.

  “I could have beaten her,” Akari finally said, out of breath. She gave the dummy one last punch in its blank face before she went over and grabbed a towel to wipe her brow.

  “Then tomorrow you will,” Kaya said, patting her shoulder and then making a grossed-out face as she wiped Akari’s sweat from her palm.

  “Thanks for the encouragement,” Akari said, pulling Kaya in for a bear hug.

  “Ugh! No! Yuck,” Kaya yelled as she fought to pull away. Akari laughed as she let her go.

  “Still,” Kaya said. She wiped herself down and then grabbed their bottles of water. “You didn’t need to light your sword. There are no demons here. Only egos as big as oni.”

  Akari sighed as she took a bottle from Kaya and took a big gulp. “Maybe,” she said. “But what is the point of practice if we don’t take it seriously?”

  “We are Sword Kissed,” Kaya said. “The light will always burn within us.”

  Sword kissed, Akari thought, rolling the title over the top of her tongue. It always sounded strange to her even though it had been her life for as long as she could remember.

  The Sword Kissed were a class of warrior women with innate abilities to fight demons by virtue of their blood through their swords.

  “As darkness filled the world,

  the Light of one woman shone,

  and thus, all were saved,” as the haiku explaining the birth of the first Sword Kissed went. It also summed up how the world came to be as it was.

  “Come on,” Kaya said, handing Akari her sword. “Take a breath.”

  Kaya sto
od in front of a mirror, holding her sword in front of her, and took several calming breaths. Then she dipped her sword to the right, and gently moved her body with it. Swooping her sword to the left, she dipped into a crouch before rising and holding the weapon out straight while balancing on one foot.

  Sword dancing was part of their training. It built strength, stamina, agility, dexterity, and grace. Kaya was a better sword dancer than Akari. When Akari faced an enemy, she preferred to charge in, her sword blazing, ready to take the demon down with as few stabs as possible. Kaya, on the other hand, was more thoughtful, methodical. She preferred to use as little of her own energy as possible, by drawing her enemy out and coaxing them into attacking her. Her methods usually took more time, but required more finesse, and usually ended up with less blood and pain.

  Akari joined her sword sister in the dance. They moved as one, slowly and delicately, spinning, ducking, and weaving their blades through the air.

  She tried to forget about Endo. She and Endo had been rivals since they were girls. Sera was the most sought-after sword-kissed trainer. She had originally agreed to train Endo. But after Akari was discovered, Sera took her on instead. Endo’s parents were furious, but there was little they could do. It wasn’t like they could refuse to allow Endo to be Sword Kissed. They had to accept the other trainer—who was quite good, but no Sera—and Endo grew into a competent Sword Kissed in her own right. She often kept Akari on her toes…on days like today and many others. Akari admitted to herself she was only as good of a fighter as she was because of Endo. But she would never admit such a thing out loud.

  Akari felt the anger and stress of the day wearing off as she moved in tune with Kaya, and her movements became more fluid. She was almost sad as they came to the end of the routine.

  “Thanks, Kaya,” Akari said as they toweled off and prepared to head out. “That really helped.”

  “I’m glad,” Kaya said with a smile.

  As Akari turned toward the door, she was sure she saw the edge of Sera’s robes disappear around the corner. Sera had been watching them. Of course she had been. Sera was always watching. But she hadn’t said anything. Akari slipped out. She had no desire to talk to Sera anyway.

  She exited the dojo and trotted down the front steps of the building. The dojo was part of Sera’s home. The largest structure in town at six stories tall, the building was once a castle in the traditional style and was considered by many to be thousands of years old. Somehow, it had survived the Great Divide.

  Legend claimed that at one time the world was one, with many continents and oceans, countries and peoples. Then a great calamity happened. No one knew what it was really, but the result was the earth was divided into thirteen Hollows, each almost separate from the others through invisible barriers no one had been able to breech. They only knew the other Hollows still existed due to occasional radio signals that would come through.

  Akari lived in southern Chiyoko Hollow, which, according to history books, had once been called Japan. Legends also said the great calamity had also ripped open the world, releasing demons, fairies, hill folk, and other creatures of myth and magic into the world.

  The fae were almost identical to humans, tall, rational, community-oriented beings. Except they were able to wield some forms of magic and came in a variety of colors, such as blue, orange, and pink. Some had spots or stripes or even horns or other markings. They also had pointed ears and were generally leaner, stronger, and faster than humans. Akari suspected the fae had even more powers and abilities than she was aware of, but the fae kept some things to themselves.

  The fae were few in number, and humans did not trust their magical abilities. So most fae lived in small communities outside of the main cities. Their villages were usually more rustic, with thatched homes and livelihoods derived from the land. Akari knew it wasn’t right the fae were forced to live apart from the rest of humanity—as her sister Yoshimi constantly reminded her—yet she tried to stay out of the discussions while doing her best to protect all people, fae and human alike.

  No matter what the legends said, it was true that demons—some benign, some deadly—prowled their lives. And it was the responsibility of the Sword Kissed to keep the monsters at bay. In the past, the job had not been too difficult because everyone knew the creatures and how to avoid the dangerous ones. Over the years, though, there had been a change. The creatures, all of them, were becoming more aggressive and unpredictable. Akari never knew when she might be called upon to take down a murdering basan or trap and release a troublesome nobusuma.

  Akari wandered through the marketplace, trying to figure out what to fix for dinner. She wasn’t in much of a hurry since she knew Yoshimi wouldn’t be home from classes for another hour. She picked out a nice fresh fish that would be delicious grilled and a few vegetables she could steam as she cooked rice. She was haggling with a seller over the price of some fresh berries when she heard raised voices.

  “Hey! Look out,” someone yelled.

  She looked up just as a small hooded creature crashed into her, knocking her to the ground and spilling her purchases in the dirt. Grunting, she made her way back to her feet and gave chase. She couldn’t believe she let someone catch her off guard! She felt her anger rise, which helped her run faster. In only a moment, she was able to grab the small creature by the collar and turn it around. She was surprised to see she’d caught a small fae child.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked, shaking him slightly. “What are you doing?”

  The child, who was blue-tinged and had pointed ears, shook in fear and clutched something in his hands.

  “What do you have there?” she asked. “What did you steal?”

  He tried to keep a tight hold of it, but Akari grabbed his arm. He dropped two steamed buns. They would have been quite cheap to purchase.

  “Where are your parents?” she asked. The little boy shook his head. “What do you mean? Speak up.”

  “Dead,” he finally whispered.

  “What?” she asked, loosening her grip. “How?”

  The boy shook his head again. The shopkeeper who had originally called out finally came up behind Akari.

  “Good job, Tanaka-san,” he said. “Now we can teach this thief a lesson.” He tried to grab the boy away from her, but she placed herself between him and the child.

  The shopkeeper, like everyone else in the immediate area, was human. She knew he would be more motivated by his hate of fae than of losing two steamed buns.

  “I’ll handle this,” she said. She started to drag the boy away.

  “What about me?” the shopkeeper asked. “How am I to be compensated?”

  “You can have the fish I dropped,” she said. “I’m sure it’s still flopping on the street somewhere.”

  The man grunted. “Fae-lover,” he scowled under his breath.

  Akari ignored him, heading back to the dojo. Sera was not only the main Sword Kissed trainer, but their commander as well. She needed to tell Sera what happened and ask her how she wanted her to proceed.

  She noticed as they left the market that the boy looked back longingly and licked his lips. She stopped by a different stall and bought him two steamed buns, which he devoured in a couple of bites.

  “Calm down, kid,” she said. “You are going to make yourself sick. How long has it been since you’ve eaten?”

  He just shrugged.

  “Where are you from?” she asked.

  “Ryu,” he said, which was the capital city. What was a fae child from Ryu doing here without parents? Compared to Ryu, the city of Nasu was nothing but a backwater burg.

  They entered Sera’s home and were shown into the main reception area. “It doesn’t make sense,” Akari said to Sera.

  Sera kneeled in front of the boy and smiled at him. “Why don’t you head over there and feed the fish?” she said, motioning toward a koi pond out in the front garden. The boy nodded, exiting to wander over to the pond. Akari and Sera moved to the porch and watched hi
m as they spoke.

  “Fae don’t have orphans,” Sera said when the boy was out of earshot. “They take care of their own. If his parents were killed somehow, another fae family would have taken him in.”

  “Yet, not only did they not take him in,” Akari mused, “he somehow made his way here, all alone.”

  Sera nodded. “I have contacts in Ryu. I’ll find out what they know. Dead fae and missing kids won’t go unnoticed. Someone will know something.”

  The kid dropped some small pieces of food into the pond and watched the fish, but there was no joy on his face. He seemed distant, haunted.

  “What are you going to do with him for now?” Akari asked. Nasu was mostly made up of humans, so no one was going to go out of their way to take care of the kid.

  “I’m not sure,” Sera said. “We aren’t really set up to be a daycare.”

  “Have you sent for Yoshimi?” Akari asked. “She might have an idea.”

  “What might I have an idea about?” Yoshimi asked. She entered the gate and walked up the path. Once she reached the porch, she gave Sera a bow.

  Akari smirked and shot a look to Sera. Of course she had already sent for Yoshimi. Sera was not the sort of person to leave anything to chance. Akari nodded toward the kid. “What to do with him,” she said. “I found him stealing in the marketplace.”

  “Does he have some horrifying plague?” Yoshimi asked.

  “Umm…no…” Akari said.