night progressed and learnt from her experiences with the first two spirits. She knew she could defeat this monster somehow. This thing had taken its shape from her, and because she was imperfect, the spirit must have its imperfections too. It was just a case ofputting herself in the spirit’s place and thinking about what she would do, and how she could be outfoxed, if she had a head the size of...
Koyasan smiled. It seemed too simple, but she was sure it would work. The thing about spirits was that they were simple. No matter how frightening or invincible these creatures looked, they weren’t as clever or complicated as humans. They were shades of the dead, mere shadows of the night. And there wasn’t a shadow in the world that could stand up against a good strong light.
Koyasan studied the spirit’s head, trying to get an accurate measurement. Then she examined the ground, silently counting off paces. She took a step backwards. Another. One more to be absolutely sure. Then, facing the spirit, she smiled politely... and bowed.
Immediately, automatically, bound by the rules of politeness — just as Koyasan was — the spirit bowed in reply.
The neck held its grip on the head for maybe two seconds as the spirit bent, giving Koyasan a scare and making her think she’d misjudged it. But then gravity took control and the giant head came thudding down to earth, snapping the flesh and bones of the spirit’s neck and chest, hammering into the ground like a meteor which had fallen from the sky.
A great cloud of dust, pebbles, twigs and leaves rose into the air, filling the dome. Koyasan had to close her eyes and cover her mouth with the top of her shirt, and wait for the dust to settle. When it did, after a couple of minutes, and she opened her eyes, she saw the head imbedded in the earth, the nearest edge no more than a worm’s wriggle away from her toes. It had been closer than she’d realised!
She couldn’t see the body until she nudged round the head. When she got a clear view of it, she was pleased to see it lying stiffly on the ground, as lifeless as its giant head.
And behind the motionless body, pulsing more brightly than ever, hung Maiko’s beautiful soul.
Koyasan felt as if she was erupting with joy as she raced towards the prize at the centre of the dome. She’d won! She had defeated the three spirits, found Maiko’s soul and kept her silence. There was nothing the other spirits could do to detain her. They were bound by the rules of their own game. All she had to do was collect the soul, take it home and—
As her left foot came down, the skeletal mouse darted forward, grabbed the side of the foot with its tiny paws and sank its teeth as deeply into the flesh as it could bite. Caught by surprise, Koyasan did two things simultaneously. First, she kicked the bony mouse away. And, at the same time, reacting instinctively, she yelled, “Ow!” at the top of her voice.
Before the echoes died away, the dome filled with more spirits than Koyasan could count. They materialised out of thin air with the inhuman speed of bodyless ghosts. And she knew, within the space of a panic-stricken heartbeat, that all was tragically lost.
A SWAP
KOYASAN NEVER guessed there would be so many spirits. She should have known, by the amount of tombs and headstones, as well as the legends. But she had never truly believed that the spirits of the dead would haunt the ancient graveyard in such massive, uncountable numbers.
They filled not just the dome, but all the area around it. Koyasan could hear them muttering and cackling beyond the cover of the bushes and trees, trying to push forward to see what would happen next. The dome could only accommodate a small percentage of the spirits. Koyasan guessed that those who were here must be the more powerful and prestigious of the dead... and thus the most dangerous.
Unlike the three spirits she’d faced and defeated individually, these didn’t have fixed shapes. They were
Koyasan smiled. It seemed too simple, but she was sure it would work. The thing about spirits was that they were simple. No matter how frightening or invincible these creatures looked, they weren’t as clever or complicated as humans. They were shades of the dead, mere shadows of the night. And there wasn’t a shadow in the world that could stand up against a good strong light.
Koyasan studied the spirit’s head, trying to get an accurate measurement. Then she examined the ground, silently counting off paces. She took a step backwards. Another. One more to be absolutely sure. Then, facing the spirit, she smiled politely... and bowed.
Immediately, automatically, bound by the rules of politeness — just as Koyasan was — the spirit bowed in reply.
The neck held its grip on the head for maybe two seconds as the spirit bent, giving Koyasan a scare and making her think she’d misjudged it. But then gravity took control and the giant head came thudding down to earth, snapping the flesh and bones of the spirit’s neck and chest, hammering into the ground like a meteor which had fallen from the sky.
A great cloud of dust, pebbles, twigs and leaves rose into the air, filling the dome. Koyasan had to close her eyes and cover her mouth with the top of her shirt, and wait for the dust to settle. When it did, after a couple of minutes, and she opened her eyes, she saw the head imbedded in the earth, the nearest edge no more than a worm’s wriggle away from her toes. It had been closer than she’d realised!
She couldn’t see the body until she nudged round the head. When she got a clear view of it, she was pleased to see it lying stiffly on the ground, as lifeless as its giant head.
And behind the motionless body, pulsing more brightly than ever, hung Maiko’s beautiful soul.
Koyasan felt as if she was erupting with joy as she raced towards the prize at the centre of the dome. She’d won! She had defeated the three spirits, found Maiko’s soul and kept her silence. There was nothing the other spirits could do to detain her. They were bound by the rules of their own game. All she had to do was collect the soul, take it home and—
As her left foot came down, the skeletal mouse darted forward, grabbed the side of the foot with its tiny paws and sank its teeth as deeply into the flesh as it could bite. Caught by surprise, Koyasan did two things simultaneously. First, she kicked the bony mouse away. And, at the same time, reacting instinctively, she yelled, “Ow!” at the top of her voice.
Before the echoes died away, the dome filled with more spirits than Koyasan could count. They materialised out of thin air with the inhuman speed of bodyless ghosts. And she knew, within the space of a panic-stricken heartbeat, that all was tragically lost.
A SWAP
KOYASAN NEVER guessed there would be so many spirits. She should have known, by the amount of tombs and headstones, as well as the legends. But she had never truly believed that the spirits of the dead would haunt the ancient graveyard in such massive, uncountable numbers.
They filled not just the dome, but all the area around it. Koyasan could hear them muttering and cackling beyond the cover of the bushes and trees, trying to push forward to see what would happen next. The dome could only accommodate a small percentage of the spirits. Koyasan guessed that those who were here must be the more powerful and prestigious of the dead... and thus the most dangerous.
Unlike the three spirits she’d faced and defeated individually, these didn’t have fixed shapes. They were
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