The Stein & Candle Detective Agency, Vol. 3: Red Reunion (The Stein & Candle Detective Agency #3) Read Free

leave us in peace!” He turned away.
    “You don’t want to buy—” Tiny started.
    “Not from you!” Boss Yamoto shot back. “We do not need your weapons! There is no enemy that we cannot defeat with sharpened steel!”
    A big bright red fist tore through the paper wall. It was part of a massive three-eyed demon, a muscled tank of a beast, vaguely humanoid, with bright red skin, bristly black hair, curling horns and a heavy iron club held tightly in one clawed hand. It leapt at the Yakuza with a throaty snarl, bashing them like they were bowling pins with a single swing of its heavy club. More of the demons stood behind it, some armed with long broadswords and wide-bladed spears. They alternated between fiery red and electric blue.
    “Hate to break it you, Boss Yamoto,” I said, as I drew out both .45s. “But you might’ve spoken too soon.” I started shooting as one of the demons headed our way, smashing flimsy tables out of its way with thrashes of its muscled arms. “What’s the word on these mugs, kiddo?” I asked Weatherby.
    “Oni,” he explained. “Tiger-ox demons, renowned for their strength.” He was reaching through the folds of his coat, cursing himself as his thin fingers dove into the varied pockets. “Oni have a few weaknesses…”
    “You could have fooled me!” I started tossing lead at the oni heading my way. The bullet cut bloody gouges in its shoulders and chest, but only made the monster madder. I turned away, seconds before its heavy club smashed into the wooden floor at my feet. I fell hard on the ground and rolled over, as the oni pulled back for another deadly swing. More of his pals came to our corner of the tea house, their long tongues winking out over their thick lips.
    Tiny opened fire with his BAR, and got off half a clip before a blow from an oni’s club sent him reeling. I pulled him aside, planting a bullet into the oni’s skull. It roared and tumbled backwards, but didn’t go down. Tiny grabbed his gun and kept shooting. So did I. All around us, the Yamoto-Gumi gangsters were falling before the oni like dominos. They slashed at the oni with their swords and pumped bullets into them with their pistols, but it was a waste of time. The oni smashed them around like kids playing rough with toys. The Yakuza did some damage, but not enough.
    I started heading backwards, an automatic blazing in both hands as the oni charged me. I took out one of its eyes, but then it wrapped a thick hand around my waist and hauled me into the air. It roared, a low and terrible sound like the crash of an ocean wave. It grabbed my head, and started to pull. My neck ached. He was gonna rip me in half.
    Weatherby pulled a fistful of something from his frock coat. “Yes!” he cried. “Their weakness – soybeans!” He hurled the soybeans at the oni holding onto me. Those little beans flew through the air and struck the oni’s back, causing the demon to howl even louder. It tossed me over its shoulder.
    It seemed to be a long time before the floor rose up and smacked me in the face. I winced and lay there, then gritted my teeth and started to rise. Weatherby was tossing the few soybeans he had at the oni, and they were running from him, thick jets of colored steam rising from their muscled bodies. Tiny was laughing and I realized I was too. The oni ran away, their roars falling to hisses and finally whimpers. They leapt through the paper walls in their haste to leave.
    I put my hands on the floor and pushed. That got me up, and then Weatherby came and gave me a hand. “Thanks, kiddo,” I said. “For that – and for bringing out the beans.”
    “I just remembered my father’s teachings,” Weatherby said, his face going a little red. “Nothing more.” He looked out through one of the new gaps in the wall. “You know, whoever summoned those oni may still be around.”
    “I know. I’ll go have a look.” The oni had tossed me around and nearly broken me. I needed time to rest before