by Jay Noel
“I miss my son,” Hideaki confessed. “I hope he is doing well.”
Takeo stopped. His hand grasped one of the doors' iron handles. “Zen is resourceful. I am confident he is having a wonderful adventure.” Before opening the doors, he added, “That is what we must keep telling ourselves.”
With that, Shogun Takeo Yoneda was gone.
IT WAS GOING TO BE a full day of more diplomatic appointments, but Hideaki decided to retire to his private chambers for a brief rest. He longed for sleep, but knew it was worthless to try. He stood on the balcony, overlooking his capital city of Tokei. The mountain air was cool and soothed his lungs.
Far out in the distance, he watched a slow moving airship hover near the industrial smokestacks along the outskirts of the city. The factories ran constantly now, building his new battle transports.
Master Kyta entered the chamber and shuffled towards the balcony. She walked slowly, and her frail body leaned heavily on her staff when she joined Hideaki. Kyta scanned the bustling city below, smiling.
“It is a beautiful sight,” Kyta said finally. “Taking a much needed respite?”
Hideaki kept his eyes shut. “Yes. My meeting with the Xian ambassador sapped my strength. I have a long day ahead of me.”
“What troubles you?” Kyta's pale hand touched his shoulder. “Is it Zen?”
Hideaki shut his eyes once again. “I am tired.”
Kyta wasn't fooled. “We knew we were going to have to take drastic measures to protect our sovereignty. It is not enough to establish the Sun Nation once again. To the Iberian Empire, we are nothing more than a pesky mosquito to be slapped aside.”
“I know,” Hideaki said.
Kyta nodded. “It is best Zen remains absent during these difficult times.”
Hideaki agreed with her, but secretly, he hoped the spirit of his dead wife didn't curse him should something happen to their son.
“This is the only way,” Kyta said, taking Hideaki's arm and leading him back to his chamber. “If we are to have a chance against the Iberians' horrible instruments, we must do what is necessary.”
Slipping from Kyta's grip, he leaned against a tall post on his bed, and for one fleeting second, he caught a flash of his wife's face on the pillow. He closed his eyes, and pushed the vision away. When he opened them, the image was gone.
“Horrible instruments indeed. Like the Shadows?” Hideaki both admired and distrusted his clandestine army.
The Shadows were brutal, able to perform the nefarious work even the most loyal soldier couldn't stomach. The Shadow Army was not much of an army, as only five of them remained loyal to Hideaki. There were others, living in the remote Qomolangma Mountains of southern Xia. His hope was to one day bring the rest of them under his command. They would be a formidable resource at his disposal.
As things currently stood, their allegiance was never clear, and his alliance with the Shadows constantly stood on shaky ground. Hideaki rewarded the few faithful generously, and they made themselves available for these secret missions. He paid tribute to them in the form of food and money, just to remain in their chief's good graces. Kai was the only one he truly trusted, however.
That was why he had given his most loyal Shadow a separate and vital mission. Kai was sent to the continent south of Agrios two days after Zen left home.
After Zen's successes on the battlefield, Hideaki had considered reassigning his son to the Shadows. He could have persuaded Kai to train him. The boy was a born killer, but he was also such an innocent. He lived and breathed the samurai code. Zen could not do the work of a Shadow no matter how intense his training had been.
Hideaki had sent two pairs of Shadows to Xia. Two Shadows were hired to abduct Chancellor Zhi's wife and four children in order to coerce him into signing Nihon's treaty. They would be killed if the chancellor refused. The other two Shadows had gone to the Eastern Sui to hold Chancellor Song's family hostage likewise. Zen would never be able to do such things. His son was not meant to be a Shadow.
Kyta pointed a bony finger in his face, breaking the spell. “I can see your mind is full of grievous thoughts. Do not second guess utilizing the Shadows. They are a valuable asset.”
Hideaki chuckled dryly. “Kai left Nihon with a lot of my gold on board his ship.”
“True,” said Kyta. “He represents the best in them. Kai is a single-minded machine obsessed with completing his task at whatever the cost. You need not worry about him. He can be trusted.”
NEVA WAS RELIEVED TO HAVE company inside her jail cell during the night. A young foreigner and a mammoth of a native were thrown in with her about an hour before sunrise. Even in her despair, she couldn't help but notice what a stark contrast her fellow captives were to each other. They were as opposite as two people could be.
The one called Toksu was a giant, with his head mostly shaved except for the wedge of black hair on top and the sideburns connecting to his beard. By the thinnest streaks of emerging light, his dark skin glistened in the gloom of their prison.
Zen looked young and fragile. His black hair was neatly tied up at the top of his head. He wore bright red chest armor with an embossed golden dragonfly in its center, but there was something distinctive about him. Neva had been around nobility before, and there was an air of aristocracy to his mannerisms. How had these two very different people become friends?
Zen gave a colorful story of how they met, and Toksu pointed to the bruises the boy had given him in their contest. She wondered if her cell mates were trying to play a joke on her. After laughing, she allowed herself to cry.
A hint of sunlight painted the cloudy sky, and her already desperate situation now looked even bleaker. Zen seemed genuinely sympathetic to her struggles. He and Toksu listened in silence as she told her story. Talking about it was painful, and the regret stabbed her straight in the heart all over again. They sat in silence until she'd concluded her tale, and both watched her cry until she collected herself. Neva's tongue felt swollen, and the dizzy spells came more frequently. She wondered if it was from Jaarg's blow to the back of her head or the lack of food and water for two days that brought on this weakness.
“Cheng is cruel,” Zen said, shaking his head. “Only one so vile would do this to a woman.”
Neva jerked her head towards the boy, pulling herself out of her dizzy spell. “A woman?”
Zen looked perplexed.
Toksu laughed and shook his head. “Forgive the boy. Where he's from, perhaps women are not allowed to carry a weapon.”
“I apologize,” Zen said to her. “Toksu is correct. In Nihon, women are held in high esteem, but are not allowed on the battlefield. Women assume other vital roles in our society. In fact, my greatest teacher and my father's most trusted adviser is a woman.”
Neva accepted the boy's sincerity. “In my country, women fight alongside the men. I served in the military as a master pistoleer. I fought against the Iberian Empire in the Francian Rebellion until our politicians decided to surrender our independence. I led a battalion until I chose to retire.”
Toksu stood up and stretched his legs. He gripped the iron bars while looking out into the dim, gloomy street. “I hope Enapay is able to avoid getting himself killed.”
“Who's Enapay?” Neva asked.
“He's my tribesman. He's the one who transported us here from my village in his cloud-hugger.” Toksu gave the bars a useless rattle.
“Cloud-hugger?” Neva shrugged her shoulders.
Toksu pointed to the sky with his eyes. “Airship.”
Zen picked up a stone and threw it against the wall. “I told him to leave if I failed to return by sunrise. Let us hope he followed that part of the plan. I do not think he would endure torture very well.”
Zen got to his feet and began to pace on what little floor they had. “We must figure out a way out of this. I have information vital to the Nabeho. Cheng has a warehouse full of Iberian cannons. He is sure to use them to destroy the fortress wall.”
“
If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear them,” Neva said, exasperated. She had run a million schemes through her mind since her capture, and they all ended with her death. “Even if I kill Cheng's man, there's no way he'll let me leave this town alive. Criminals aren't known for keeping their promises.”
“I will think of something.” Zen sat down and closed his eyes. “I must stop all of this nervous energy. Allow my mind to work quietly.”
Neva looked at Toksu and shrugged. “What are we supposed to do while you're meditating in the corner?”
The boy opened his eyes and spoke with the authority of a commanding officer. “You must do the same. Prepare yourself for battle, as you did when you were a soldier. You must survive for the sake of finding your son.”
Zen was right. She had earlier accepted defeat and assumed all was lost. At the very least, she needed to make sure she gave herself the chance to escape this town with her life. That meant killing Jaarg.
“I lost my mother when I was a child,” Zen added, his tone softening. “I understand the importance of your quest.”
Neva met his brown eyes, and she couldn't deny the wisdom of Zen's words. She did not want to leave her own son alone in this world.
“Besides,” Zen said, “my plan will likely rely on your survival. You must win your contest. Stay alive for your son.”
Neva caught a reassuring smile on the boy's face before he returned to his meditation. Toksu gazed out at nothing through the metal bars. She looked at Zen for a moment, appreciating his cool demeanor. With controlled deep breaths, she worked to contain her despondence and focus on only one thing: defeating Jaarg.
If killing the raider gave her even a slight chance of escaping with her life to continue her search for Marcel, then she had to fight through her guilt and anguish at all costs.
TWO RAIDERS CAME FOR NEVA in the morning. They snickered like they shared some sick secret, and their smiles revealed yellow and rotten teeth. One of them tried grabbing her arm, but she slid to her left and punched him square in the jaw. The other guard drew his weapon, and Neva threw her hands into the air and let them snatch her out of the cell.
Zen tried to come up with a resemblance of a plan before sunrise, but nothing solid had come to mind. He would keep his eyes open for any opportunity to escape.
Neva was led towards the main square while another round of pirates came for Zen and Toksu. The raiders tied their arms with rough, thick rope before escorting them out. Feeling helpless was new to Zen, and he was disgusted with himself.
Neva swiveled her head briefly, and she wore a quiet and cold look on her face. There was no sign of fear in her eyes, which was reassuring. Zen and Toksu followed with their arms bound behind their backs.
Cheng wore a dark brown coat, his scraggly hair going past his shoulders. He held a large rock in his hands when he met them in the town square. The raiders watched from along the edges of the dirt street. They were all filthy, armed with rifles and pistols, and hundreds more were perched on top of the buildings. They flashed hungry jackal eyes and wore sick smirks on their faces. Zen estimated at least three hundred men surrounded them in the main square.
Two guards led Zen and Toksu to a saloon, allowing them to stand on the front steps to watch the duel. Cheng waited patiently between Neva and Jaarg in the center of the otherwise empty street. Jaarg looked like a humanoid spider with dirty hair and long limbs. He looked as sinister as Cheng. His beady eyes locked onto Neva and he licked his lips, as if to savor a meal he was about to enjoy. A smile meandered across his sun-dried face as he blew Neva a kiss.
“The rules are simple. You and Jaarg will face off at opposite ends of the street, each taking twenty paces away from each other.” Cheng slightly lifted the heavy rock in his hands. “When I drop this, that is your signal to begin. Either of you fire your weapon before the signal, I will kill you where you stand. Is this clear?”
Both nodded.
Neva kept her eyes trained on Jaarg. “Where are my guns?”
“Igor has them at your end,” Cheng replied.
“How do I know you didn't sabotage them?”
Cheng let out a hollow laugh. “When you check your pistols, you will see I did not tamper with them in any way.”
“If you say so.”
“That was my best friend you killed in the tavern,” Jaarg barked. “I'm going to put a bullet in that pretty face of yours.”
Neva's expression remained unchanged. She was calm, perhaps experiencing her own version of Ishen. Strength without effort. It was a good sign.
“Take your places,” Cheng ordered.
Toksu's face wrinkled while he watched Neva saunter to the other side of the street. She took her belt and holsters from a long haired man nearly as large as Toksu himself.
One by one, the pirates cheered and yelled foreign obscenities to the woman. Jaarg, still smiling, looked up at his comrades and their cheers grew into roars.
All of this was strange to Zen. In Nihon, duels were in keeping with the old ways of the blade. The rituals performed prior to a duel conveyed the mutual respect buried beneath the hate between two opponents. To kill with a bullet from forty paces lacked honor.
He was in Agrios. There was no honor here.
Neva strapped her belt on and checked her pistols before facing her enemy. Without blinking, she pulled her long hair away from her face.
Jaarg was already at his station sixty yards away. He threw aside his long coat, revealing his guns and a sheathed dagger attached to a bandolier strapped to his chest. The raiders' yelling subsided, replaced by murmurs and chuckles.
Zen lowered his head and he said a prayer for Neva. May her ancestors cast their strength her way. She was going to need it. Something looked wrong. Despite the admirable focus in her eyes, she looked as if the effort to fasten her gun belt had sapped her energy.
THE SUN'S LIGHT GREW BRIGHTER in the distance, casting a play of shadows in the square. Neva noticed the raiders watching her with lean and hungry looks.
Cheng took his place off to the side and lifted the rock up with both hands. “This is a fight to the death, where only the righteous is left standing.”
Neva glared at Jaarg. He bounced on his toes, as if he might charge. From this range she could put a bullet through his heart, but only if he remained still. To hit a moving target was difficult, and she didn't want to waste her bullets unless she was sure to hit him. Neva reached down, pinched a bit of dirt, and released it into the air. There was a strong wind coming from the west.
She was beyond thirsty, and she hoped she didn't pass out in the middle of the fight. She considered Zen's words. You must survive for the sake of finding your son. With one more deep sigh, Neva expelled the fog that clouded her mind.
Cheng hurled the stone, and it seemed frozen in the air. Neva's right hand bolted to her side but stopped short of touching the pearl handle. She held her breath and watched the black rock finally slam into the dirt road with a thud.
Neva drew her revolver and cocked back the hammer. She steadied her aim. Jaarg let out a barbaric roar as he bolted forwards. His long legs kicked up clouds of dirt as he ran wildly like a madman blasting from both pistols. Neva fired. The swirling wind blew the acrid gun smoke into her face, and she held her breath. She felt no pain, so she assumed Jaarg had missed. He continued his mad dash. She cursed for missing him with her first bullet.
Jaarg's movements were disjointed and crude, making him difficult to hit. Her heart raced, but she fought to keep from panicking. She rarely missed with her pistol, but she couldn't afford another mistake.
Pausing to steady his own aim, Jaarg brought up his left gun and fired. A hot razor cutting through Neva's right thigh nearly brought her to her knees. Ignoring the pain radiating from her leg, she willed her body to steady itself and drew a bead on her target. She squeezed off another round.
Jaarg screamed and clutched at his left shoulder. He stumbled forward and dropped to one knee, whipping his right arm up and pulli
ng the trigger. It was a wild shot, and it nearly killed a spectator.
Jaarg winced and struggled for breath. He cocked his revolver once more.
Neva closed the distance with quick and light footsteps, stopping only to aim and fire before Jaarg could do the same. His lean body arched backwards and his arms lost their tension. He stared blankly into the sky, his mouth agape as he collapsed flat on his back. Neva holstered her pistols and did her best to keep from fainting. She checked her leg to assess the damage from Jaarg's bullet. Her torn pants were wet with blood, and she felt the warmth running down into her boot.
The raiders remained silent. Their eyes were fixed on Jaarg still on the ground, his legs twisting in the dirt. Her lungs burned, and now, terror consumed her. Cheng was sure to kill her now, and she would never see her son again.
THE RAIDERS STIRRED. ZEN AND Toksu exchanged quick looks of astonishment. The men all around them were frozen, as if they couldn't believe what had just happened. Cheng closed his eyes for a long moment, and he leaned his head back in disbelief. Zen felt a heavy dread in the air, and their opportunity for escape was approaching.
Neva jogged towards Jaarg's quivering body. He jerked and convulsed, and Zen noticed the splotch of red blood spreading over the man's chest. Cheng's men got to their feet, their faces pale.
Neva's right leg was bleeding. She panted and looked as if she was about to fall over, but her weapon remained steady.
Cheng stepped forward, exasperation in his dark eyes. This duel was supposed to be entertainment, and Zen doubted any of them were entertained. Zen knew the dynamics of leadership, and this display was going to be demoralizing for Cheng.
Neva aimed her revolver at Jaarg's head. She turned to Cheng for a moment, as if seeking his approval. Jaarg's mouth opened wide. Blood bubbled from his lips. Cheng nodded, and Neva put the raider out of his misery.
Everyone around Zen froze, and this was the time to act. He was about to tap Toksu with his foot when a low chugging sound filled the air. Even when the earth-jolting explosions from the far eastern side of the village shook the ground, it took longer than it should have for the raiders to react. Finally the pirates snapped out of their trances and scattered towards the blasts. Large plumes of smoke and fire mushroomed at the far end of town. Cheng reached for his belt and tore his own weapon free. When he whirled around towards Neva, she was gone. Hopefully, she was safe.