rather than later.
Grabbing the edge of the blanket, he pulled it over Kimi's arms and lay back down, his hands tucked behind his head. Why had Augustin sent his minion? A Ciretham was a weak demon, and Kimi had already knocked the master to the floor. Was he betting that she couldn't do it twice, or had Kimi hurt Augustin worse than Nic had seen in her mind? Of course, it could be some other reason altogether, one he wouldn't guess.
You will not protect the kijo.
Something about that word nagged at him, as if the knowledge he needed existed somewhere in his head, but was just out of reach. The way the sentence was structured, it had to refer to Kimi—she was of Japanese descent and the word itself sounded Japanese. And Nic didn't think the demon had just been insulting her.
Their room had online service available, and lately humans seemed to have compiled a lot more information on demons—especially since the attack. Not all of it would be accurate, but maybe he could find something that would point him in the right direction.
Carefully, Nic slipped out of bed and went to the desk. He winced at the fee they charged and hated adding more debt to Kimi's card, but this was too important not to get some answers. Sitting down, he selected yes to start the service.
As far as Nic was concerned, one of the best things about the Overworld was instant access to an incredibly large knowledge base. Yes, there was garbage, but a bit of discernment and some additional checking weeded that out easily enough. In Orcus, information was not as accessible and the ruling council hoarded books, keeping important facts from their people.
He searched for
kijo
and pulled up thousands of results. Sometimes, he thought, there was too much knowledge available.
Browsing down the page, he discovered that many of them were names, belonging to either a person or place. That wouldn't make it simple to eliminate hits. With a silent sigh, Nic continued to scan the screen, but he didn't find anything he considered helpful.
After forty-five minutes with nothing to show for his work, Nic added
Japanese
to the search parameters. One of the results he received this time was for an online dictionary. Curious, he selected it and read the definition.
Kijo meant
witch, demoness, ogress.
Demoness?
A vague recollection came to him, something that he'd heard in a tale from his mother. When he'd been a small child, she'd frequently told him demon legends as bedtime stories.
Think. He had to think, he had to remember.
Could a demon legend have made it into human lore? Nic returned to the search screen and entered some new terms. He didn't get many results, but one of them yielded what he was looking for. The information he found on the site prodded his own memory, but he kept reading anyway. "Well, shit," he murmured, "this explains a lot."
*** *** ***
Half awake, Kimi heard Nic's voice and reached for him, but all she touched were cool sheets. Propping herself up on her elbows she let her gaze sweep the room and found him at the desk. "What are you doing?" she asked around a yawn.
"Some research, tes. Go back to sleep."
Kimi pushed back the covers and padded over to him. If he was checking something out, she wanted to know about it. As soon as she reached him, she glanced at what Nic was reading. The picture on the screen made her shiver. It showed a hideously ugly woman with blood dripping from her hands. "What is that?"
"This," Nic said, turning to smirk at her over his shoulder, "is an artist's rendering of the kijo."
With a sniff of disdain, Kimi straightened. "I'm insulted. Even on a bad hair day, I've never looked that terrible."
Nic swiveled to face her. "You heard the Ciretham demon call you kijo?"
"He did? No, I didn't hear that."
Nic scowled and his eyes took on a faint red glow. "You've been keeping secrets, then. Start talking, Kimi."
"I have not kept any secrets," she insisted. "I told you right away that Augustin wanted to steal
Grabbing the edge of the blanket, he pulled it over Kimi's arms and lay back down, his hands tucked behind his head. Why had Augustin sent his minion? A Ciretham was a weak demon, and Kimi had already knocked the master to the floor. Was he betting that she couldn't do it twice, or had Kimi hurt Augustin worse than Nic had seen in her mind? Of course, it could be some other reason altogether, one he wouldn't guess.
You will not protect the kijo.
Something about that word nagged at him, as if the knowledge he needed existed somewhere in his head, but was just out of reach. The way the sentence was structured, it had to refer to Kimi—she was of Japanese descent and the word itself sounded Japanese. And Nic didn't think the demon had just been insulting her.
Their room had online service available, and lately humans seemed to have compiled a lot more information on demons—especially since the attack. Not all of it would be accurate, but maybe he could find something that would point him in the right direction.
Carefully, Nic slipped out of bed and went to the desk. He winced at the fee they charged and hated adding more debt to Kimi's card, but this was too important not to get some answers. Sitting down, he selected yes to start the service.
As far as Nic was concerned, one of the best things about the Overworld was instant access to an incredibly large knowledge base. Yes, there was garbage, but a bit of discernment and some additional checking weeded that out easily enough. In Orcus, information was not as accessible and the ruling council hoarded books, keeping important facts from their people.
He searched for
kijo
and pulled up thousands of results. Sometimes, he thought, there was too much knowledge available.
Browsing down the page, he discovered that many of them were names, belonging to either a person or place. That wouldn't make it simple to eliminate hits. With a silent sigh, Nic continued to scan the screen, but he didn't find anything he considered helpful.
After forty-five minutes with nothing to show for his work, Nic added
Japanese
to the search parameters. One of the results he received this time was for an online dictionary. Curious, he selected it and read the definition.
Kijo meant
witch, demoness, ogress.
Demoness?
A vague recollection came to him, something that he'd heard in a tale from his mother. When he'd been a small child, she'd frequently told him demon legends as bedtime stories.
Think. He had to think, he had to remember.
Could a demon legend have made it into human lore? Nic returned to the search screen and entered some new terms. He didn't get many results, but one of them yielded what he was looking for. The information he found on the site prodded his own memory, but he kept reading anyway. "Well, shit," he murmured, "this explains a lot."
*** *** ***
Half awake, Kimi heard Nic's voice and reached for him, but all she touched were cool sheets. Propping herself up on her elbows she let her gaze sweep the room and found him at the desk. "What are you doing?" she asked around a yawn.
"Some research, tes. Go back to sleep."
Kimi pushed back the covers and padded over to him. If he was checking something out, she wanted to know about it. As soon as she reached him, she glanced at what Nic was reading. The picture on the screen made her shiver. It showed a hideously ugly woman with blood dripping from her hands. "What is that?"
"This," Nic said, turning to smirk at her over his shoulder, "is an artist's rendering of the kijo."
With a sniff of disdain, Kimi straightened. "I'm insulted. Even on a bad hair day, I've never looked that terrible."
Nic swiveled to face her. "You heard the Ciretham demon call you kijo?"
"He did? No, I didn't hear that."
Nic scowled and his eyes took on a faint red glow. "You've been keeping secrets, then. Start talking, Kimi."
"I have not kept any secrets," she insisted. "I told you right away that Augustin wanted to steal
Similar Books
