Hey Dragons!
I know many of you haven’t read Shade of the Kitsune yet, but I wanted to give you a sneak into chapter one. You can start reading the first three episodes on Kindle Vella for free afterward.
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Promise #3 No Matter Where You Run, You Belong To The Clan
The cool spray of the ocean brushed through Haruka’s hair. Out on the beach, the other children ran barefoot and screaming. If she dared to go near them, they’d run off, calling her bug-eyed, daughter of a whore, or yokai. Plenty of names they chose from, some more creative than others.
“I heard about your mother, Haruka-chan.” One of the fishermen, Sakai-san, sat next to her. His crooked nose and bags under his eyes made him look twice his age. Haruka didn’t know exactly how old he was, but she imagined he wasn’t much older than her father.
Haruka pulled her knees inward. “They said she’s going to have a baby. But she’s been away from Otou-san for a long time. They say I’m the daughter of a whore…I don’t even know what that means, Sakai-san.”
Sakai-san wrapped an arm around Haruka’s shoulders. “Don’t worry your head about it. I’m sure—”
“Haruka!”
She recoiled at the sound of her father shouting. “Y-yes, Otou-san!” She pushed away from Sakai-san and stood up.
Her father glared down at Sakai-san then back to Haruka. “Come with me.”
“Come with? Where are we going?” She had never been called back home by her father before. Based on his short responses, it wasn’t anywhere good.
Sakai-san stood and grasped Haruka’s shoulder. “You’re not going to do this, Goto. She’s a child! She’s barely seen more than eight cycles.”
“And that’s my wife!” her father snarled. “Unless you have the coin to pay, then I don’t want to hear your complaints.”
“I—”
“Enough!” He stormed to Haruka and grabbed her wrist. His veins popped in his hands. “You’re coming home, Haruka.”
Haruka turned to Sakai-san who only stood by. The solemn smile flashed for a moment before disappearing into the sunken face of the hardened fisherman.
“How much?” Sakai-san croaked out.
“What?” her father snapped back to Sakai-san. He dragged Haruka closer to him.
Sakai-san gulped. His entire body shook. “How much is the fee for your wife?”
Haruka knew Sakai-san to be strong willed. He raced across the waves while searching for fish and helped defend the village from wild beasts. It didn’t make sense why he shook in front of her father. She never heard about a fee either. It was like so many secrets were being whispered in front of her, and she received only a few pieces to latch onto.
“Five hundred ryo. That’s if that fee is still set. You know how the Hikage clan is.”
What energy Sakai-san had in his body drooped into the earth. “Five hundred…far more than a year’s worth of wages…” He looked at Haruka and forced another smile. “I will count and see if I can help.”
There were stories of the Hikage clan hunting innocent people at night. Though Haruka never knew which stories were real, or the ones the kids all told while playing games in the streets. Tales stretched from the clan controlling yokai to being yokai themselves. The thought of her father being involved with the clan shoved a stone in her throat.
“You have until sunrise. We’re leaving then.”
He didn’t say another word.
Haruka and her father hiked back toward the village. Whispers echoed from person to person as they passed. None of them wanted to say anything directly. Not since her mother went missing a few moons ago. No one wanted to tell her what happened either.
Inside their small house was quiet. The wooden floors were rotten where pieces met from a lack of replacement and holes where water leaked during storms. She was thankful most of the year stayed warm enough that the holes didn’t bother her too much. After her mother left, they had to move here and sell their old home. Her father never looked in her direction the rest of the night, muttering under his breath as he fell asleep.
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