Professor Toei looked up at the group of teenagers gathered around his desk. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “I thought I said for you to just bring Kuzahana-san,” he said wearily.

  “You did!” Harue confirmed. “But the rest of the gang weren’t going to sit around and let me take a dangerous mission on my own! Tsuki?Hana shines together!”

  “Of course it does,” Professor Toei muttered. “First of all, this is not a dangerous mission. We need to track down exactly where the compass is pointing, so we need Kuzahana-san to hold it and James-san to keep her on track. That’s all.”

  “But then we need to bust in and take it, right? I’m pretty suited to that, but Kana is even better—”

  “Admirably stated,” Kana put in.

  “—Mitsue is sneaky, and Suki is cute!”

  “I’m not sure how that is supposed to help, but no. No busting in. I’m not aware of any government facilities in that area, but until we’ve researched what we’re dealing with… no busting.”

  “Boring!”

  “Indeed,” Kana said. “What does it matter who holds our prize? Once we have secured it, there will be nothing they can do.”

  “Oh?” Professor Toei asked. “And what if it’s pointing to the collection of an older dragon?”

  Kana hesitated. “That would be… inconvenient,” she admitted. “But I can overcome any challenge.”

  “I admire your confidence,” Mitsue said. “But scouting is a wise precaution to take before any engagement.”

  “Wise, yes,” Professor Toei said. “There will be a lot to learn, should we take the time, once we find the exact address. And speaking of wise, Suki is not to leave the island.”

  “What? I’m not going to let my boyfriend go on his own!” Suki protested.

  “I think your last escapade should have shown you just how much of a danger your presence poses,” Professor Toei said. “Your disguise didn’t work, for whatever reason, and now Kotodama is aware of that ploy.”

  “But—” Suki started.

  “But nothing,” the professor cut her off. “Kuzahana-san has to go to work the compass, James can keep her in line. Kageya-san is discreet and generally useful, so he can come. No one else, and that is final.

  “Uh, orders say that I’m supposed to take three of you,” the soldier said.

  “I am coming along, I don’t care what your orders say,” Kana declared. She glared at the soldier. “If you have a problem with that, it will be the very first in a long line of painful problems that you will experience.”

  James didn’t think that a soldier should be intimidated that easily. Kana was tall for a girl, but she still looked like a Japanese teenager. He got the impression, though, that the soldiers on the island had been briefed about the special people they might encounter.

  “Fine, get on board,” the man said, retreating back into his driver's seat.

  “Why are you here?” James asked once they were on their way. “Professor Toei said you couldn’t come.”

  “I don’t have to listen to him,” Kana said with a toss of her hair.

  “She listens to me,” Harue gloated. “And I thought it would be funny.”

  “What kind of funny?” James asked.

  “Oh, you know. Screams, fighting, widespread property damage. The usual!”

  James had almost gotten blase about the way that he was shuttled around the country on military helicopters. He wondered who was paying for it all. Did some part of the military have a budget line item for “End of the world, prevention of”? Or was it all handled through some patronage network connected to Professor Toei’s people?

  They’d been met by one of Professor Toei’s people on the helicopter. Kuroda Satoshi looked like an ordinary office worker, with the ubiquitous suit and tie. James thought that he might have been one of the techs back at the dig site, but he wasn’t sure. Those guys had all been wearing lab coats and safety goggles, and looked completely different.

  Satoshi had brought the compass with him, but he wouldn’t let Harue use it until they landed.

  “There are some anomalous electromagnetic effects when it is used that might interfere with flight systems and cause an accident,” was all that he would say on the matter. He looked suspiciously at Harue when he did so, which suggested that he’d been briefed about Harue as well.

  The helicopter, followed by a car, took them to a fairly nondescript town—or maybe a city. James wasn’t sure what the rules were, but it was big enough to have a downtown with high-rise buildings.

  “It should be within a mile of here,” Satoshi said, pulling out the case with the compass. “We’ll be more mobile on foot.”

  “It’s that one,” Harue said, pointing at a building about a hundred yards away.”

  “What? How do you know?” Satoshi said. “You haven’t even touched the compass.”

  “I don’t need to. That building is the only one that’s been warded against spirits.”

  “Is that what that is?” Kana asked. “I had wondered.”

  “If you’re going to store a collection of secret magical treasures, you want to put it in a place people like me can’t get into,” Harue said.

  “You can do that?” James exclaimed. “Can I get my room warded so you can’t get in?”

  “Only if you want to be rude, James,” Harue said reprovingly. “Warding places against spirits is a serious insult.”

  “She’s right, it is very rude,” Kana said.

  “Rude is rummaging through my stuff!” James shouted. “Rude is putting dirty magazines under my pillow!”

  “Those magazines were a gift, James. And going through your underwear drawer was an act of friendship! We know each other better, now.”

  “What you’re calling friendship only seems to go one way,” James snapped.

  “Why, James, if you wanted to see my underwear, you only had to ask,” Harue said.

  “That’s not—” James stuttered, blushing furiously.

  “You can look right now, if you want,” Harue teased. “Of course, I will have to tell Suki what you did.”

  “Never mind,” James said, looking away in case she flashed him.

  “If you kids have finished flirting,” Satoshi said, causing Harue to giggle. “There’s no need for us to rely on guesses when we have a tool that will point right at our target. If you would, Kuzahana-san.

  “Fiiiine,” Harue said, and took the compass. To no one's surprise, it pointed right at the building.

  “Well, look at that.” Harue turned the compass on its side and craned her head to look at it. “Not on the ground floor either. Gimme a sec.”

  Before Satoshi could protest, she blinked out of sight. James felt fur brush across his face for a moment, and then she was gone.

  “Where did she go?” Satoshi yelled, flailing about the cabin. “If she’s made off with the compass…”

  “Calm down, dad,” Harue said, reappearing with the compass. “I just flew up for a better angle. I think it’s on the eighth floor, near the middle of the building.”

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  “You!” Satoshi said, but that was all. He cut himself off before he could say anything he would regret. He grabbed the compass of Harue and stuffed it back into its case.

  “Are we done, now?” Kana asked. “I will be exceedingly disappointed if so.”

  “We should get a closer look,” James said. “There might be a directory on the front that tells us what company owns the eighth floor.”

  “We can get that from business records,” Satoshi argued, but James was already getting out of the car. Harue wasn’t the only one who could be proactive.

  Mitsue was out of the car right after him and stepped up next to him as he walked.

  “You’re not thinking of assaulting the building, are you?” he said in a low voice. James could hear the girls and Satoshi getting out of the car and following them.

  “No, but it couldn’t hurt to get a close look, right? We can get a look at the entrance, and you can probably scope out their security,” James said.

  “True,” Mitsue said. “As long as we’re not doing anything foolish.

  “Perish the thought,” James said wryly.

  They managed to walk past the building without any incident, besides the occasional glances from passers-by. James was reminded again of how much he stood out in Japan. Still, there was no law about a gaijin walking down the street and looking at a building.

  “Minami systems,” he read. “It looks like they own the whole building. Do you see anything… unusual?”

  James couldn’t see anything special about the building. If there were talismans or whatever was required to ward a building, they weren’t visible from the street.

  At least to him. Harue and Kana were glaring at the building as if it had personally offended them.

  “Nothing special,” Mituse confirmed. “Ah,” he added. “Walk this way.”

  He led the group further down the street.

  “What is it?” James asked.

  “Where are we going?” Satoshi said at the same time. “We need to get back to the car.”

  “Just one thing first,” Mitsue said. “Humour me for a moment.”

  “Sure, but what’s happening?”

  “I would like to tell you,” Mitsue said. “But experience has taught me that we are travelling with at least one person who would give the game away if I explained.”

  “He’s talking about you, Kana,” Harue said. “This is because you pointed at the guys who were following us before.”

  “I did not,” Kana denied. “I am the very essence of subtlety.”

  “Even so,” Mitsue said. “I’d like us to round this corner before I say anything.”

  “What’s around the corner?” James asked.

  “Nothing,” Mitsue replied, as they took the turn. “It’s a very basic counter-surveillance technique. We just turn out of view of the person following us and wait.”

  “Someone is following us?” Kana asked. “Why didn’t you say so?”

  Mitsue took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “That person is following us,” he said, pointing at the person who had just skidded around the corner. “Perhaps she can tell us why.”

  The woman—no, girl, she couldn’t be older than eighteen—who was following them stared wildly at Mitsue. She looked European and was dressed in a long robe of midnight blue, complete with a headdress that looked…

  “Following you?” she exclaimed. “I’m not following you. Maybe you’re following me!”

  Mitsue frowned. “That is clearly untrue—“

  “Hmph! Foolish mortal!” Kana interrupted. “You’ve fallen into my flawless trap!”

  “Excuse me?” Mitsue said.

  “Trap? I’m just a—an innocent bystander, getting harassed by crazy people!”

  “So you say,” Kana snorted. “You don’t have any idea who you’re dealing with, do you? Don’t worry, your death will be swift and merciless.”

  “Uh, Kana, you can’t start a fight here—”

  Mitsue’s plea for reason went unheard. The girl reached behind her back, and a six-foot-long spear appeared in her hand.

  “Oh, I think I do. A dragon and her minions? Nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Excuse me?” Mitsue said with a bit more force. “I am not—”

  “Ah, someone with eyes to see,” Kana said. “Still, it won’t save you.”

  “Does everybody know what I am holding?” Mitsue shouted.

  Both girls paused.

  “Uh, no,” the stranger said.

  “Some kind of human device,” Kana tried.

  “It is a Child Safety Alarm,” Mitsue declared. “If I press this button, a deafening alarm will sound that is sure to summon the police.”

  “You can’t bring the police into it! You’re criminals!” the spearwoman said.

  “We are not. Whatever else you are, you are a foreigner. Can I assume your presence here has been sanctioned by the Japanese government?”

  “Uh, well, this was more of a covert mission thing, so…”

  “I do not understand,” Kana said. “She is the enemy, so why are we not fighting?”

  “You don’t know the first thing about her!” Mitsue scolded. “How does fighting a random person achieve our goals?”

  Kana stared at him, dumbfounded. “I know… she has a spear?” she said hesitantly.

  No one seemed to know how to respond to that, and the break in the argument gave James a chance to ask a question that had been building for a while now.

  “Hey,” he said. “Are you a nun?”

  She stared at him, taken aback. “What? No! At least… not technically. I’m still in my novitiate period.”

  “What does that mean?”

  The girl threw up her hands with exasperation. “Are we doing introductions now? What happened to fighting?”

  “I, too, wish to know what happened to the fighting,” Kana said sullenly.

  “No fighting until we know what’s going on!” Mitsue insisted. “I’m sure Kuroda-san would agree.”

  “Yes! No fighting! This is a city street; it is no place for a brawl. And this was supposed to be reconnaissance!”

  Satoshi’s words might have been more forceful if he hadn’t been edging away from the imminent fight. He still wasn’t approaching them, so he had to scold from twenty yards away. He pointed accusingly at James.

  “You! You were supposed to keep her under control!”

  “He was supposed to keep me under control,” Harue said, smirking. “And see! I’m not doing anything bad.”

  “As far as we know,” Mitsue muttered.

  “Look, we don’t even know if she’s part of the Black Dragons,” James said.

  “Black Dragons? You’re the ones with a dragon in the group!” the girl said. “You’re the ones walking up to a Black Dragon storage facility.”

  “You wouldn’t know that unless you were a Black Dragon,” Kana accused. “There, we know she’s bad. Can I kill her now?”

  “No,” Mitsue said firmly. “Introductions. We are students of Aramara Academy. We are independent of any other groups, but we are working with the Jade Path.”

  James frowned. Had he… missed learning the name of Professor Toei’s group? Or had he forgotten? The girl winced on hearing the names.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard of them. Of those groups. But you’re not going to tell me that the Jade Path is working with a dragon.”

  “That’s racist,” Harue said. “You’re being racist right now.”

  “That’s not—You can’t be racist against dragons!” the girl protested.

  “Yes. Racism is… bad.” Kana said slowly. She glanced over at Harue, feeling out what she was going to say. “My… feelings are hurt. Yes. I think we should attack her.”

  “No.” Mitsue glared at Kana, who wasn’t actually showing any signs of upset. “The situation is unusual, I’ll grant you, but it is your turn.”

  “Fine.” The girl looked at Kana warily, but she spun her spear in a complicated maneuver that ended up with it tucked behind her back, the pointy end sticking up over her shoulder. “My name is Amelie, I’m with the Order of St George.”

  For once, Harue and Mitsue looked blank, and it was up to James to make the connection. He wouldn’t have made anything of the name under normal conditions, but these were anything but normal.

  “St George… the dragonslayer?” he asked.

  Everyone turned to look at him. Kana only stared at him for a moment, eyes wide, before her gaze snapped back to Amilie. More slowly, everyone else looked back at her.

  Amilie herself just shrugged. “Well, duh.”

  Mitsue took another deep breath. “Maybe we should take this conversation somewhere more private.

  As little as a month ago, James would never have dreamed that he’d book a karaoke room for a dragon, a ninja, a shinto priestess and a nun. After Harajuku, though, he could only rate it as “mild” on the weirdness scale.

  No one was singing any karaoke. Harue had made a grab for the microphone, but Mitsue was faster. He selected some songs that were, according to him, optimal for counter-surveillance purposes and buried the mike under his seat cushion.

  The group disclosed their names, glossing over what, exactly, they were, or could do. Satoshi elected to sit in the corner nursing an orange juice, declaring that information sharing was not condoned by the Jade Path.

  “So how do you know it’s a Black Dragon facility?” James asked.

  “One of our sacred weapons was stolen, and we tracked it here. It was stolen by the Black Dragons, so this must be one of their secure vaults.”

  Amilie shrugged. “It’s not complicated. How about you guys?”

  “We’re—Okay, this sounds ridiculous, but—We traced the location of an ancient artifact that we need to operate a giant robot, to this location.”

  “What kind of ancient artifact?” Amilie asked.

  “Something like this,” James said, taking out his necklace. The sword on the end dangled, looking for all the world like a plastic sword and not some item of unbelievable power. Amilie, though, just nodded.

  “What are these sacred weapons you mentioned?” Mitsue asked.

  “Like my spear,” Amilie said, carefully causing it to appear again. She held it above the table, narrowly avoiding scraping the big screen TV at the end of the room. “This is the Spear of St George, the very weapon with which he slew the dragon Zmeyrad. The Order has a method of making weapons like this, but it takes us like a thousand years or something.”

  “Is the Order that old?” James asked. “I thought it was from Victorian times or something.”

  “You’re thinking of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, which is a branch of the same organisation founded in 1818. Everyone makes that mistake. My part of the order was founded by King Charles of Hungary in 1326.”

  “That’s still not a thousand years,” Harue pointed out. “And didn’t you guys need to have the spear before you founded the order that was based around this Jouji guy killing a dragon with it?”

  “Oh, the organisation goes back way further than the founding of the Order,” Amilie said. “Different names, different places. The Order is just the oldest of the recent reincarnations. St. Micheal and St. George, Saint George of Rougemont… they’re all faces for the same organisation.”

  “How far does it go back?” James asked curiously.

  “I dunno,” Amilie waved vaguely. “Way back. Some records have been lost, and I’m not old enough to have read through the Order’s history, let alone the pre-Order.”

  “So, we’re not after the same artifact, are we?” James asked. “Ours is supposed to be fifteen thousand years old, and uses a magic technology unknown to the present day… or that’s what they tell me.”

  “I don’t know if we’ve been around that long,” Amile admitted. “And the Order’s techniques are a big secret, so I dunno what to tell you.”

  Harue started laughing. “You know what this means?”

  “That you have found the opportunity for some mischief?” Mitsue suggested.

  “Sort of.” Harue clamped down on her giggles, but she kept the smile on her face. “If we are after the same thing, and Amile-chan steals it while we’re sitting back doing research, she’ll squirrel it back to Hungary or whatever, and we’ll never get it.”

  Everyone looked suspiciously at Amilie. Well, James and Mitsue did. Kana continued to determinedly ignore the conversation.

  “We’ll have to go in with her,” Harue said. “And you’re going in tonight, right?”

  Amilie looked around awkwardly at the faces staring at her.“Um… Right.”