The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

precious to you? Say that you accede!"
    Too stunned to coherently consider what he was asking, and overwhelmed by the intensity of his words, Youko found herself nodding despite herself. "I accede," she said.
    What he did next left Youko completely dumbfounded.
    A beat--and a chorus of voices arose in objection. "What's with you two? Are you nuts?"
    Thunderstruck, Youko watched as this man--whom she had never seen before in her life--dropped his head in worship and touched his forehead to the instep of her foot. "What are you..." she started to say, but was cut off mid-sentence.
    Her senses reeled. She felt something coursing through her. Her vision momentarily went black. A low rumble like an earthquake shook the room. The courtyard outside the windows fell into muddy shadows.
    "Nakajima!" the vice-principal shrieked, his face apoplectic with rage. "What in the devil is going on?"

Chapter 5
    A torrent of water crashed against the building, blew out the remaining windows, swept a wave strewn with icy shards throughout the room. Youko threw her arms up in front of her face. A flurry of tiny darts stung at her head and arms and body.
    Her ears shut themselves to the violence of it all. She heard nothing.
    The sensation of being caught in a whirling sandstorm faded away. She opened her eyes. Glass glittered on every surface. Those who had gathered at the windows now crouched in shock on the floor. The vice-principal was curled up in a ball at her feet.
    Are you all right, she felt compelled to ask, until she saw that his body was studded with brilliant shards. He wasn't all right. The others were struggling to their feet, groaning. Youko had been standing right beside the vice-principal yet there was not a nick or cut on her.
    The vice-principal seized her ankle. "Why?" he groaned.
    "I didn't do anything!"
    The stranger peeled the vice-principal's bloody hand from her leg. He was as uninjured as she. He said, "We must go."
    She shook her head. If she left with him now they would all conclude that they had been in on it together, from the start. But the fear of staying there overcame her. She let him pull her along. The enemy is at the gates. That meant nothing to her. The horror of remaining there amongst the bloodied and wounded frightened her far more.
    They lit from the office and at once came face to face with another teacher. He shouted, "What's going on?" His eyes shifted suspiciously to the stranger.
    Before Youko could respond the stranger gestured towards the office. "There are injured people in there. They need medical attention." He set off again, Youko in tow. The teacher yelled something at them she didn't understand.
    She said, "Where are we going?" She only wanted to run home as fast as she could. Instead of fleeing down the stairs the stranger headed up. "This way goes to the roof," she gasped.
    "Others will be using the stairs below."
    "But . . . . "
    "Where we go now, hell follows after. Better that we not involve anyone else."
    Then why did you involve me? Youko wanted to scream at him. What enemy? What are you talking about? But she did not have the courage to raise her voice against him.
    He flung open the door at the top of the stairs and half-dragged her out onto the roof. Behind them came the sound of metal ground against rusty metal. A shadow fell across the doorway. Youko forced her eyes up, taking in tawny wings, a gaping mouth beneath a hooked, venom-stained beak.
    A catlike howl burst from the wide maw. Each of the bird's enormous wings was tipped with five talons.
    I know this creature.
    She stood, frozen as if bound hand and foot. With each horrid screech the creature's blood lust poured down upon her.
    In my dreams.
    An inky dusk stained the overcast skies. Through the heavy pleats of the swirling clouds streamed the roiling red glow of the setting sun.
    The great, eagle-like bird had a horn in the center of its forehead. It tossed its head, flapped its wings, buffeting them in a foul-smelling wind. As in her paralyzing nightmares Youko could only stare. The bird lifted its body from its perch, floated upwards, beat its wings once again, tucked in its feathers and plummeted towards her. Its scaly extremities reached out for her, the razor-sharp claws unsheathing from its horny feet.
    She had no time to prepare. Her eyes were wide open. Yet she saw nothing. Even when she felt a blow to her shoulders it seemed impossible that the creature's claws could be tearing into her flesh.
    " Hyouki!