A Fantasy Fragment

The sword was spotless, but it smelled strongly of blood. Many years had passed since the old warrior had drawn his dai-katana in battle--even longer since it had tasted death--but the scent of blood remained.

The yamabushi from whom he'd taken this beautiful sword claimed that the steel had been quenched not in water but in the blood of children. He claimed the spirit of the sword had had its fill of innocent blood and would shed only that of demons. "A horrible and beautiful story this blade has," the yamabushi had said. Horrible and beautiful indeed, thought the old warrior.

"Time to hide you again, old friend." Baher thought of the many lives he'd done this same thing, wandering through crowds and waiting for a man to ask him for the sword to keep for him. Usually, they'd apologize... the blank expressions on their faces indicated that they hadn't realized they had asked until the words were out of their mouths.

Karma is a beautiful thing. Sometimes, anyway. Baher was tired, tired of demons and those who let them in the door. Why do people have to keep making the same mistakes, generation after generation? And there were so many more people now, so many more doors for people to open to so many more of the Dark Ones. Mexico was next, he knew that. His next mother would be Mexican, poor, as twisted and sick as the rest had been.

The thought of his last mother caused his lower belly to wrench. If his testicles had been there, they'd have crawled right up inside him to hide, but thanks to Dear Old Mom's trusty pair of pinking shears... well, some thoughts were best left unthought, he supposed. It made him strong, and that was what counted. The mother's demon was always the first to die anyway.

Baher was tired. Tomorrow at sunset his spirit would be set at liberty, and he could rest for a moment then. Tonight, though, he would lie in his bed and let his lives play themselves over and over in his mind's eye, just as he had done every night for seven lifetimes before. Lessons to be learned with every breath, every heartbeat... the death of every Dark One bringing him closer to the last...

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