Reaching deep within, I focused on my internal energy, my core, and pulled on what I could to give myself the energy I needed. The result surprised me. While before I’d been able to move faster in water, here I started pushing myself with the surrounding water in the air; as the rain and sleet fell on me, despite making me cold and miserable, I received energy. I was pushed along so the last legs of that hike were almost nothing to me.

  Or so I thought until I reached the top. It was there that a sudden emptiness hit as if the source I’d been pulling on for my power had gone dry. That was when the cold and pain started to hit, but I was passing under the final torii gate, the shrine in sight. Mt. Fuji’s peak was exactly as I’d seen it in the 360 videos online, but I was too busy wheezing and looking for a spot to sit to truly appreciate it. From the corner of my eye, I made out the crater and rising steam. The sleet must have stopped at some point, or I’d grown so used to it that I wasn’t noticing it now. A bench at a viewpoint was tempting, but the shrine building wasn’t far, and that was my destination.

  Stumbling to the shrine, I arrived only to collapse and catch myself on one of its walls. There I leaned, on my knees, catching my breath, simply wondering if maybe that Dorito-lifestyle was the way to go after all.

  “Suck it up,” I muttered to myself. “You’ve made it this far.”

  I took a deep breath, focused on my energy flow, and found that spot within that first Suiko had helped me reach, then the deeper one I’d managed to open with Vaper’s help. Another breath, and on the way out I pushed the negative, forcing it to leave my body. My eyes moved from the ground to the sky and I marveled at the stars. It made sense why the sleet had stopped—I was above the clouds. They formed a smooth bed in all directions, but where I was, only the tip of the mountain showed to the night sky. More stars than I’d ever seen in my entire life welcomed me, sparkling softly as if to say “hello” to me, to celebrate my victory in the most peaceful way they knew. This was how the sky should always look.

  Another deep breath and I turned my gaze to the shrine, adjusting my body to face it, keeping one hand on the shrine wall while I bowed my head.

  “Here goes,” I muttered and focused on my next breath, deciding this was the time. Already the energy flowing through my body made me feel rejuvenated, and I was in such a sudden state of peace that I didn’t want to waste it.

  When Vaper had said this was one of the most peaceful locations on Earth, he hadn’t been kidding. A wave of spiritual energy charged me as I opened myself to that spot, feeling I could have climbed the mountain one hundred times over again right then.

  Instead, I used that energy to focus on the Iridant, touching the power of my Alexandrite stone, and said, “Now. I call on you. Come.”

  Unlike before, this time, the answer was complete and immediate. No monster girl thumped in a closet or bed, instead I was alerted to her presence by the sound of rock splitting, by her roar, then intense heat and spiritual energy. Turning toward the energy, I witnessed her emerging from the side of that steaming crater, and instantly understood her power, why it had been so impossible for me to summon her before.

  This wasn’t a normal monster girl. This creature that emerged seemed to be made largely of stone—or at least covered by it—with lines and cracks of steaming red. Blood? Or… lava? She didn’t crawl from the stone. Rather, she pushed stone away and shot out, jumping to land on the side of the crater closer to me, and standing there, staring down with a glare.

  I rose to face her. She had to be at least seven feet tall. Close up like this, I saw that flesh melded with stone, as if the rock grew from her to form armor and weapons. Her eyes were a fiery red, steam rising from her mouth with each breath. At least she breathed, so that told me something about her nature. This creature would have been truly terrifying at any other time, but after all I’d been through, and with my current connection to the spiritual world, I stood my ground.

  “Welcome,” I said.

  She sneered, eyes moving past me, then head swiveling to take in our island above the clouds. “To where, exactly?”

  “Earth. I’ve called you here to help in a quest, and to assist us in opening a way back to your world.”

  She turned her fiery eyes back to me, and while she took me in, I marveled at her. Power radiated off her. Where there was flesh—abs, thighs, breasts—her skin was tight, muscles threatening to break through. Her breasts and inner thighs, and area between, all glowed with such intensity, my eyes hurt just from looking. Maybe that was how she wanted it? Around her head, the rock formed in a protective helmet in a wave that could almost pass for hair.

  “You want my help, you don’t simply summon me,” she said. “You earn it.”

  “How do I do that?”

  “Prove you’re worthy.” She seemed to smile, though it was hard to tell, and I didn’t have much time to judge before she attacked. First, it was a simple lunge as she swiped at me. Her hand glowed red, and as it passed my face—I dodged, thanks to the blur that helped me see it coming—the heat of it caused me to stumble away and lose my footing.

  Spinning, she lifted that same hand, and the heat had formed in its center, giving it a very Ironman look.

  “Shit,” I muttered, realizing what was coming, and dodged out of the way. The blast shot by me like a beam of lava, and I came at her with my hunter sword appearing in my hands.

  My goal here wasn’t to kill her but to get her on my side. It seemed, though, that she required a demonstration of my skill.

  As for brute power, I was lacking. But I had other skills, and as I sliced through the air, I realized those skills would be very necessary here. Especially when she knocked the sword from my hand and nearly slammed her fiery hand into my face.

  My bat senses helped me dodge the strike, but then she sent out a wave of heat. To my relief, I was so in tune with myself that I remembered the Alexandrite and focused on it. Most of the heat was absorbed by the stone; to my relief, I found a new burst of energy. It was as if the stone had channeled the attack into something I could use.

  With the energy fresh, I clicked my tongue to get a sense of my surroundings, then said, “Let’s take this fight to my turf.”

  With a step back, senses telling me I was at a drop-off, I fell and went rolling. But that took me back into the clouds and sleet, and meant my water power would be in effect. As a bonus, when the glow that was the monster girl showed in a blur through the thick clouds, she let out a roar of what I assumed to be pain. Like Jalee, who wasn’t good with water, this monster was also at least inhibited by it; it made sense, given her fiery nature. Still, she charged me, the ground shaking with each thunderous step.

  She didn’t know that I could use my new surroundings, however, so when I dodged left, I used the area around me to make it a feint. I came back and summoned the sword to whack her with its broadside—but she turned fast, blocking the strike with the stone of her forearm. Her counterstrike nearly got me; I managed to fall back from it, losing my balance and calling on the water to help.

  But I miscalculated and my bat sense was off, maybe marred by the very clouds that were helping me. I missed a step and my fall was too fast for the water in the air to help. It might have been a good thing, though, because even as I landed and felt pain radiate up my side, a sizzle sounded in the air above, as if another of her blasts had narrowly missed me.

  “Impressive,” she said, “the ability to be clumsy enough not to die.”

  “You wouldn’t kill me,” I said, pushing myself up and taking a quick breath while regaining my focus.

  “And why not?” She appeared over me, and the effect of her height while being on a higher ledge was quite intimidating.

  “Because you’d be missing out on all the fun times we’re going to have together.”

  The fire in her eyes surged; from where I stood it wasn’t clear if that was a sign of humor or annoyance. It didn’t matter, because I’d only been buying time. Swiping out for her legs, I caught one with the flat of the sword; there was enough force behind the attack—helped by the water in the air—to cause her to stumble.

  She roared, spinning as she almost missed her step, but I was moving again, and slammed my shoulder into her thigh to send her falling. The ground shook as she hit it, and she went skidding down at least twenty feet before stopping herself. Rocks tumbled on down below, and she lifted a hand to shoot.

  The blast came faster than I was ready for. A shield charm, maybe—did I have one of those?—or maybe some water effect caused the attack to glance right off of me. I jumped and used the water in the air to slow my fall just enough to land, straddling her, my sword at her throat underneath the chin, where its tip met soft flesh. I didn’t push, but simply held it there, breathing slow and steady.

  I didn’t say a word, instead waiting to see what her next move would be. To my relief, she let her hands fall to her side, their fiery glow fading. The red heat subsided from her almost entirely, except for her eyes. This seemed to be a power of hers.

  “You win,” she said. “I give you my name, to call on me as you will. My name is Devasla. Now get off of me.”

  “Ferris,” I replied, and stepped off. Offering a hand to help, I hesitated, unsure if her hand would burn right through mine.

  She eyed me, laughed, then pushed herself up with ease. Her muscles rippled through the motion, reminding me how powerful she was. In that brief instant when I’d had her on the ground, I’d nearly forgotten.

  “Human?” she asked.

  I nodded.

  “I’m familiar with the concept,” she admitted. “Though you’re the first I’ve met in person.”

  “Same here. Whatever you are.”

  She grunted, and this time when her eyes flared, it seemed to be with humor. “I don’t have an answer for that. From what I’ve been able to tell, I come from a group that lived in the fiery mountains, though I might be part ifrit, part lava monster, maybe a bit of golem. It’s complicated.”

  “I’d say.” Glancing around, and realizing the sleet was still causing her discomfort, I gestured down the hill. “Shall we get out of here?”

  She considered me. “I don’t understand much of what happened to bring me here, but you bested me, and that says something about you. What I do know is this—I can’t stay. You pulled me away from an act of long-sought-after revenge, and if I don’t return now, I might forever lose my chance.”

  I scrunched up my face. “Sorry, but I don’t exactly know how to send you back.”

  “Send me…?” She laughed. In the darkness, with that sound, there was something actually feminine about her—plus, with the glow gone, her flesh was more visible, though dark in the night and sleet. “I said I’m part ifrit, did I not? At least in my world, that means, well… let me test it.”

  To my surprise, she looked at a spot in the ground and it glowed bright, rock melting away to form a yellow, glowing area wide enough for her passage.

  “There you go. My way in and out,” she said. “I’ve told you my name, and you’ve summoned me once. Wait, you tried before, didn’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “Ahhh. Well, next time you simply add my name to it, and I come. There will be no challenge, though I have yet to make up my mind about you. I’ll come, and see what I can do to help you with this problem of yours. You’ve impressed me, after all, and that’s no easy task.”

  “That should do,” I said, not liking the idea of having come all this way only to see her leave again, but something about her made me believe her words. “How long do you need?”

  “Long?” She glanced around, considering. “Half of a sleep-cycle, I should think.”

  “Ah. You don’t have hours? I’ll assume a sleep cycle is close to eight hours, as it is for us, though that could be wildly off. We’ll give you time. I think we can manage that.”

  “We?”

  I indicated the way down. “Back there, I have a group that is waiting. Several others that I’ve summoned from your world, and some from mine. They’ll… love you.”

  That last part was a wild guess and perhaps a stretch; judging by her laugh, she thought so, too.

  “Where I’m from, others fear me—not love me. You’re a strange one, Ferris.”

  “Thanks.”

  With another weighing glance my way, she nodded, then stepped into her fiery portal and was gone.

  Even after she left, I felt her presence. Not like she was with me, but like she was only a phone call away, and that brought me comfort. Then again, she’d said she was part ifrit—weren’t they known for their trickery? That was something I’d have to figure out, but for now, I had to stick with trust.

  I turned to make my way back down the mountain, chest puffed out with pride, all exhaustion and pain replaced with excitement for the days ahead and the idea of having Devasla on our side in a fight against those in the monster mansion.

  29

  My group met me along the path, near a section called Station Five, where a couple of large buildings would host hikers during the hiking season. Vaper allowed Kinara to break in to get me dry, warm clothes and some energy bars but had insisted Ahlaksiz leave payment, which she did gladly.

  After quickly dressing and conveying what had happened, they all stared at me with awe, all but Vaper. He nodded wisely and said, “I sensed it in you. Well done.”

  “Thank you for all you’ve done,” I said, glad to find Jalee holding onto me, sending little waves of electricity around me that were both shocking and kind of annoying, but also warming.

  “I agreed to train you, and nothing more,” Vaper replied. “Which means I must go on my way, now. I will not linger here, as I have no doubt your actions atop the mountain have alerted others.”

  “STP will be coming, I have no doubt,” Ahlaksiz said. She nodded to the parking lot, where, to my relief, the car sat waiting. I was so glad they’d brought it. Even if I was badass and had my power restored, I loved the idea of not having to walk back to where we’d earlier left it.

  “Let’s not dawdle, then,” Vaper said, and he stepped forward, offering me a hand. “As the Americans do.”

  I accepted, shook his hand with both of mine, then stepped back to bow low. “Argiatou gozaimasu.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, and when I looked up, he was gone. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be the last we’d see of him. Even if he proclaimed that he didn’t want to get involved, in a sense, he already was.

  The rest of us piled into the car, and Ahlaksiz confirmed my thoughts. “Don’t worry, he’ll show up,” she said. “He always promises to not get involved, but when the world truly needs him, he can’t resist.”

  “And the Fuji monster?” I decided to call Devasla that, as I’d summoned her at Fuji. At least until she was okay with me telling the others her true name. “Do you think I’ll truly be able to call on her when it’s time?”

  “You said you maintain a connection; you sense her?”

  I closed my eyes to confirm, and in that instant felt her heat, sensing her attacking someone—I could even hear the roaring of enemies as she tore through them.

  “I sense her, strongly,” I replied.

  Ahlaksiz smiled, patting me on the shoulder. “In that case, without a doubt.”

  We were all in the car, except for Mizuki. All of us made room, waiting, but she shook her head. “Koharu, it’s time. The Eye of Ra has served its purpose. We must return it to the princess for safekeeping.”

  Koharu, now squeezed into the car, frowned. “The princess and I spoke, before… about me going out into the world. To learn, to bring knowledge back. Serve as an ambassador of sorts, to those others out there. I think… I believe this is the time.”

  “You’d stay with them?” Mizuki asked, eyes wide.

  “If they’ll have me.”

  My first thought was, Fuck yes. My second, and overriding one, was that I was going to shut up and let the ladies answer this one. Turning to face Milrae first, I waited. She didn’t make eye contact with me but shifted to the monkey woman behind her.

  “Why?” Milrae asked.

  “I like you all. Your dynamics, your adventures…. what you’re trying to accomplish. I could no more return to bathing and doing nothing all day as you could spend a lifetime away from Ferris.”

  Milrae finally looked my way, blushed slightly, and nodded. “It’s fine by me. She may come.”

  The others didn’t even debate it. Kinara let out a yelp of excitement before saying, “Goody!” and Jalee nodded enthusiastically.

  “Welcome,” Ahlaksiz said.

  “In that case… It will a solo journey,” Mizuki said.

  “You can’t join us?” Kinara asked.

  “We have a duty. No, I must be going. The eye?” She held out her hands and waited while Ahlaksiz pulled the ball of light from her face, handing it over. When she turned to me, it was her again—still young, but no glowing eye.

  “Thank you for your help, Mizuki-san,” I said, and bowed my head. The others said their thanks as well, then goodbyes, and she was off, rejecting our offer to give her a lift.

  “She doesn’t need it,” Koharu said, pointing. “Watch.”

  Sure enough, Mizuki leaped into the air and landed on a little puff of cloud that appeared; then she was off, zipping through the sky until she vanished from sight.

  “Can you do that?” I asked.

  “Not yet,” Koharu replied. “As you trained, so must I. With your help, perhaps? All of your help?”

  “Gladly,” I replied, and we lifted into the sky, done with our Mt. Fuji trip.