• “Wake up, Otōto!” I feel a swift kick against my ribs that jerks me awake. I look up into the face of my older sister, Imōto, and roll away from her, pulling the animal fur back up over my shoulder and groaning. I feel the kick again, this time in the center of my back, and it sends a surge of pain all through me. I wince, and sit up doggedly.
    “I said wake up! We’ve got to get going or we’re never going to get to Yūrei Village!” She crosses her arms and snorts, looking the other way. “Get your bedding put away, we’ve still a ways to go on foot and we need to get started in that direction.” I do as I’m told by my older sister without a word, rolling the animal fur up and binding it with a rope to keep it from coming unfolded as I walk. I hoist it over my shoulder and look to my sister, nodding. She smirks a little, hoists her things up, pours water on our dieing campfire and we start toward the village.
    “It’s about time.”
    I’m Otōto, and I’m twelve years old. My sister is nineteen. We’ve been alone for as long as I can remember. I was told by her that our parents were killed by a band of ruthless bandits from the continent that attacked our village. Father’s last request was for sister to take me, an infant, and flee the village. Ever since, we’ve lived on our own, traveling from village to village getting money by working as shamans. Well, technically, my sister is the shaman, I’m just her assistant. A shaman is someone who deals with spirits and demons, and can talk to and interact with the dead. Imōto has been working as a shaman for as long as I can remember, it’s all either of us has ever known.
    We’re headed to Yūrei village because of our latest client that sent a letter to my sister when we were traveling. It said that there were two witches that had been haunting their inn and terrorizing its patrons. My sister has never had to exorcise a witch before, but through her studies she has learned about them. Witches are nasty spirits, more demon than not, who use terrible black arts and trickery to terrorize their victims. They’re said to enjoy feasting on the souls of children, the younger the child, the sweeter the soul to them. This thought makes me cringe. I didn’t want to go, but sister said that we needed the money, and that I would have to stop being a baby.
    We walk for what seems like hours. If I hadn’t been used to walking on my bare feet on earth and gravel so long, my feet might be throbbing with pain. But, I am used to the terrain, and the soles of my feet are like leather now. My sister wears a pair of straw sandals that used to belong to our mother, so her feet are as soft as they were when we were younger. The only reason I know is because sometimes when we stop for a rest she makes me rub them.
    As the sun begins to set, we cross through the gates of the village, and get strange looks and glances from the people who see us pass by. They must know what Imōto does. Shamans aren’t the most popular people sometimes, no one trusts us. They think we’re on the same level as the demons and spirits we deal with. My sister snorts again and crosses her arms defiantly.
    “What are they all looking at? Do they want my help or not? Ingrates…” She whips her head to the side a little, pushing hair out of her eyes as we come upon the inn. There are a few people standing around the outside of it, and a woman is weeping. An elderly couple approaches us and the old man grabs hold of my sister’s arm.
    “You must be the shaman I sent for.” He spoke quickly, in a hushed voice; his wife remained silent behind him. “We need your help, just before you arrived; one of the witches emerged and snatched a child right off of the street, and drug him back in there! No one knows what to do, and the parents are worried sick, they are certain their little girl is dead.” The innkeeper looks away with a heavy sigh. “You’re kind is all we have right now, as unfortunate as that is.”
    My sister shoves the old man aside and faces the door of the inn. “Shut your trap old man, do you want my help or not?” She looked back the couple.
    “In exchange for this, you’re going to give us a place to sleep tonight and a warm meal, correct?” The old man seemed frightened, and simply nodded. My sister turned to me.
    “It’s show time, Otōto. Follow me.” And with that, she dropped her bags in the dirt and rushed into the inn. I did the same thing, taking in with me only the worn out clothes on my back and some talisman sister had given me to hold for her.
    The inside of the inn was dark, all the lamps had been blown out, either by the spirits or the wind; all the doors and windows were open, allowing the cool breeze to blow freely throughout. We heard a cackle come from the back of the building; I could see my sister tense up.
    “Otōto, stay here, I’m going to go back there and see if the little girl is still alive.” She took off into the black, and I did as I was told. In a moment or two, I heard the scream of a girl, and fear chased up my spine. I ran back there, fearing that something had happened to my older sister, that a witch was preparing to gobble up her soul like a ripe orange, the juices oozing out with each succulent bite.
    When I came into the room, it was pitch blackness, and so I remembered an incantation my sister had taught me, held up on of the talisman, marked on it and shouted in a loud, clear voice “Hikariare!” The small room flooded with light, and I could see the two witches, their features ugly and twisted, cradling the body of my sister in their arms, one of them holding a white, wispy, flame-like thing above its maw, ready to eat it, snickering. It was my sister’s soul, my hunch had been right. I looked to the corner to see the body of the little girl. They had already gotten her.
    Suddenly, the things looked to me, and the one holding the soul released it, seemingly losing interest.
    “This one…he’s much younger. His soul shall be sweet…” It dropped my sister’s body and came lunging at me, panic raced through my body as I stumbled back toward the ground, landing hard on my butt. Almost an instinct, I remembered what I’d seen my sister do so many times, and took one of the talismans, marking on it and holding it up toward the thing flying at me.
    “Tachisare!” There was a flash of purple light and a hissing noise, and at once before reaching me, the thing seemed to burn up, crying out in fear and pain, before becoming nothing but ash. I slowly, still fearing for my life, forced my eyes open, which were tightly shut, to see the other witch, looking onward in horror. It turned and ran, fleeing out a window in the back. I had done it, I acted like a true shaman and did my sister’s work!
    I saw her soul fluttering about the room, which had now dimmed considerably, the incantation I had used for light was wearing off. I grabbed it by a tail like wisp on the end of it, and took it in my hand, leaning over my sister’s body, I placed it in her mouth, and she swallowed it, her eyes slowly opening. She looked up at me, surprised to see me, looking around the room.
    “Where did they go!? Where are the witches?”
    After that, I helped my sister up and we left the inn, I told her everything that had happened. For the very first time, she said she was proud of me, but that I was still a fool for going back there. That night, we ate a good meal, and slept the best we had in a long time. She didn’t force me awake the next morning.