Keith R. A. DeCandido - Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon

KEITH R.A. DECANDIDO

Based on the hit CW series SUPERNATURAL created by Eric Kripke

TITAN BOOKS

Supernatural: Heart of the Dragon

ISBN: 9781848569263

Published by

Titan Books

A division of Titan Publishing Group Ltd

144 Southwark St

London

SE1 0UP

First edition February 2010

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

SUPERNATURAL & 2010 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

Cover imagery: Front cover image courtesy of Warner Bros.; Solo Lantern On Bare Branch Shutterstock.

Visit our website: www.titanbooks.com

Did you enjoy this book? We love to hear from our readers. Please email us at or write to us at Reader Feedback at the above address.

To receive advance information, news, competitions, and exclusive Titan offers online, please register as a member by clicking the sign up button on our website: www.titanbooks.com

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Printed and bound in the United States.

Supernatural: The Unholy Cause

by Joe Schreiber

Supernatural: War of the Sons

by Rebecca Dessertine & David Reed

Dedicated to Shihan Paul and everyone else at the dojo.

The writing of this novel coincided with the preparation for taking my first black-belt promotion, which I consider one of the great accomplishments of my life. The study of karate has proven to be such an enlightening and glorious experience, and I will always be grateful to my fellow karateka for their encouragement, wisdom, and spirit.

Osu, Shihan; osu, senpais; osu , my dear friends.

This ones for you guys.

HISTORIANS NOTE

The 2009 portions of this novel take place shortly after the fifth-season episode Changing Channels.

The rain had not let up for the better part of an hour.

Yoshio Nakadai knelt in the shelter on the side of the road in sei-za positionknees and shins on the floor, feet crossed under his buttockswaiting for the rain to cease. He was in no hurry. This shelter had been built for the very purpose of shielding travelers from rainstorms. The repetitive rhythm of the rain pelting the roof gave him a focus for his meditations.

Yet such focus had been difficult to achieve of late. Even now, emptying his mind proved nigh on impossible.

Once, a samurai such as Nakadai would have committed seppuku ritual suicidewhen his masters holdings were seized, his lands taken, his title stricken. But such days were in the past. No one knew the ways of honor anymore, and the code of bushi had become a story told to children around the fire, rather than the way of life it was meant to be.

Now Nakadai was just another of the many lordless ronin who wandered the countryside in the hope of using his skills to survive. During the year that had turned since his master had fallen out of favor with Edo, he had worked as a sword for hire protecting people and caravans, and had taken work as an investigator, an arbitrator settling a dispute between two merchants, a builder, and a teacher showing a rich mans son how to defend himself.

His reputation had served him well, particularly in the towns nearer to Edo. Unlike so many ronin , Nakadai always acted honorably.

He knew no other way. Besides, if a person hired him and he did his job properly and well, they were more likely to hire him again.

However, while Nakadai was able to acquire enough coin with which to live, he was unable to obtain the contentment he longed for. Had he actually committed seppuku , as tradition demanded, he might well have found peace. But to die out of loyalty to a dishonorable man?

Nakadai felt no great love for the shogunate , but in this instance, they had been right to censure his master, who had proven himself a coward and a thief. The dishonor was his masters, not Nakadais.

There was no reason to die for the likes of him .

Yet honor demanded that he do so. Hed pledged fealty, and the fact that his master did not deserve such loyalty didnt change the fact that Nakadai had so sworn.

That conundrum continued to plague him. His mind refused to empty.

The rhythm of the rain was suddenly broken by the rapid sound of feet squelching in the mud.

Nakadai opened his eyes and peered into the obscuring rain. He saw a short man running toward the shelter. As soon as the man arrived he futilely tried to wipe the water off his face and brush it from his clothes. Finally surrendering to his sodden state, the newcomer laughed and spoke.

Greetings, I hope you dont mind if I share the shelter with you.

Of course not, Nakadai replied quietly. Then he closed his eyes once again, hoping the man would understand that he wished not to be disturbed.

However, such understanding was not forthcoming.

I honestly thought this rain would have passed by now, the man continued, peering out from under the roofs edge. I figured to myself, Cho, you just have another hour to go before you reach town, you can make it before the rain gets too bad. Instead, the downpour just got worse! Turning back to his companion, the man named Cho studied him more closely.

Hey, you look familiar.

Nakadai sighed and opened his eyes. Clearly, he would not achieve a proper meditative state with this Cho person present. Not that he had been in any danger of doing so without him, either.

Rising to his feet, he started to walk the perimeter of the shelter in order to restore full feeling to his legs. The space was so small that he had to step around the newcomer more than once.

You heading into town, too? the man asked, following Nakadai with his gaze. Im guessing youre a ronin , arent you? Then he shook his head. Okay, it wasnt a great guess, cause youve got a nice-looking katana and you seem like you could kill me just by looking at me. But those clothes have seen better decades, if you dont mind me saying. You hoping to find work?

Yes.

Nakadai continued his perambulations around the shelter, never making eye contact, and looking to the skies from time to time to see if there was a sign that the storm would break.

Despite his most fervent wishes, his companion continued.

You know, you really do look familiar. Im a messenger, see, and I get around a lot. Wouldve loved to have been a samurai or even a ronin , but you should see me with a sword. Or I guess you shouldnt, because Im very bad at it. Still have the scar, actually.

Finally, Nakadai turned his head to look at Cho, and he had to admit to himself that he was less than impressed. The messenger possessed muscular legs, as might be expected from one of his profession, but he also had huge eyebrows, unfortunate teeth, flabby arms, and his clothes hung sloppily about his torso. The latter, at least, could be attributed to the storm. But the rest....

One of those flabby arms, the left one, had a lengthy scar running from the elbow to the wrist.