by Liz Delton
“Yes, but Zowan was the one to actually save the girl,” Kira muttered.
“Integrity,” Ichiro said, setting down the tea tray and rejoining them. “Another requirement for advancement.”
“And Jun saved me from being murdered—he stopped Zowan.” She didn’t know why she was trying to convince them not to advance her, but the idea of advancing to page before Nesma and even Hikaru was making her incredibly nervous. As if she hadn’t already been singled out for being from the Shadow region.
“Trust me, Kira,” Ichiro said, handing her a cup of tea. “It will be easier to tutor you in the ways of the realm, and of the Shadow region, once you advance to page, since Lord Zowan is already privy to your true identity. You will be able to leave Gekkō-ji, under the pretense of helping him on quests, where you can talk privately.”
“Why can’t you tutor me?” Kira blurted. “Or Mistress Nari,” she added, but they could all tell it was an afterthought.
Nari didn’t seem offended in the slightest but instead said, “That would attract unwanted attention, having a novice being tutored by either of us. Zowan is the perfect choice. He is also highly interested in his uncle’s plans and what the Storm King might have been up to sending a Shadow messenger into the Starless Realm.”
Messenger. It wasn’t the word Kira would use to describe the shadowy demon that chased her through the door. She shuddered, remembering the splintering crash as the beast turned the sturdy wooden bench into a pile of matchsticks.
“Do you think—do you think the Storm King meant to have it chase me into this realm?” she asked. “How do we know the beast isn’t watching us now?” Kira wondered.
“The temple has long been fortified by both Light and Shadow magics to prevent outside interference. How do you think we could have withstood his attacks this long?” Nari retorted, personally affronted at her security being questioned.
Kira shrugged. They were the ones who were giving her a tutor to learn these things.
“It’s the human element we’re worried about,” Nari explained. “Traitors and spies, whether Light, Shadow, or no magic at all, that is his only way of gathering information from inside Gekkō-ji. Which is why it is imperative you do not tell anyone else your secret.”
“I didn’t have a choice!” Kira exploded, growing tired of Mistress Nari’s accusatory gaze. Ichiro shot Nari a look, and she dropped the glare, turning instead to study her teacup.
“In any case, there are now four people who know. Do not increase that number.”
Kira repressed a huff.
“As to the fourth,” Mistress Nari now addressed Jun, who stiffened on his cushion. “I hope we have made it clear that Kira’s identity must remain secret. Her life, and everyone in the Light region, depends on this knowledge not reaching the Storm King. I trust that your position as a member of the Kosumoso clan will make the importance of this clear to you.”
“I understand, Mistress Nari,” Jun addressed his knees.
“I’m not sure you do,” she said sharply, and they both looked up. “Either of you. The Storm King is meddling with things we do not understand—the earthquake in the village yesterday, the door through which Kira traveled—we do not know what we’re dealing with yet, and you would both do well to remember that.”
“But the door—I thought people had come here from my realm before?” Kira interjected.
Ichiro nodded gravely over his steepled fingers. “As I’ve said, Camellia has seen several visitors from the Starless Realm over the ages. Each and every one left a mark on our realm, whether they intended to or not. Their accounts have been recorded thoroughly. None speak of doors or anything more distinct than falling through a fiery portal or down a dark hole.”
“The door is something new, and if the Storm King’s messenger was there too, it bodes not well for the realm.”
Chapter Fourteen
The Fall of Azurite
The next morning, there was a note from Ichiro in Kira’s mailbox. Because she had advanced to page outside of the normal academic process, she would need to wait until the next new moon ceremony, when apparently they celebrated this sort of thing. She was glad to discover that it was two weeks away, because until then, she would remain in the novice lessons. She realized she only had two weeks to get her Light and combat skills up to scratch so she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of the other pages.
Ichiro’s note also informed her that she would begin meeting with Zowan on Saturdays, when she had no lessons, for her informal training on the realm. Though it was still two days away, Kira’s stomach wriggled uncomfortably every time she thought about it. Despite saving the little girl together, whenever she thought of Zowan, all she could remember was the tight darkness of Shadow magic across her eyes and mouth and the look in his eyes as he glared at her over his fiery dagger. She tried to assure herself that Ichiro wouldn’t have suggested she go with Zowan if he were truly dangerous, but it didn’t do much to calm her nerves.
It had been difficult to tell Nesma about her advancement, but Jun had come with her. Kira thought it best to tell Nesma right away, before the new moon ceremony, so she could get used to the idea.
“We’ll still see each other,” Kira had assured her. “We’ll still be in the dorm house together.”
Nesma nodded forlornly.
“And you’ll be with Jun,” Kira said soothingly, pulling him forward a little.
As if the news of Kira’s advancement wasn’t a big enough change, today was Jun’s first official day of training. He and Hikaru met them on the way to the morning’s fighting lesson. Master Tenchi called Jun along with the other lower novices to the main ring and delivered another cold speech to the new trainee before beginning their lesson.
Kira was nervous under the master’s eye. He didn’t always call her group of trainees into the main ring but seemed to know when each group of novices needed more instruction so rotated daily.
As Kira lost herself in the repetition of the set of moves Tenchi had shown them, she remembered—in two weeks, she would be training with the pages. She was barely competent enough to be a novice. With a jolt, she remembered Rabenda was a page.
“What’s the matter?” Jun asked, lowering his palms.
Master Tenchi had stepped away from the main ring to bark instruction at the group of novices skilled enough to wield Light staves.
“Nothing.”
Jun gave her a look, raising one eyebrow.
She sighed, pretending to stretch out her shoulder. “I just—I just realized Rabenda is in the page class.”
“Ah, yes, Rabenda.” He didn’t look to happy about her, either.
“And,” she lowered her voice so there was no chance of Nesma or Hikaru overhearing, “I’ve only got two weeks till I’m in the page class. I can barely even do Light magic, let alone whatever they’re doing in combat class.”
“Well, we’ll just have to work hard, then, won’t we?”
“We?”
“You think you’ll be the only new page at the new moon?”
Kira’s face contorted with amusement. “Really?”
“I’m not Jovan Kosumoso’s son for nothing.”
Kira raised her hands with a grin, nodded at Jun, and they returned to their work, movements sharp and sure.
***
Kira’s first Saturday at Gekkō-ji had been spent pulling weeds for hours in one of the vegetable gardens with Nesma, but today she thought she would rather be doing chores than meeting up with Lord Zowan. Though he was Jun’s family friend, Gekkō-ji’s newest trainee didn’t have much to say about the Defector before Kira’s first appointment with him. She had no idea what she was getting herself into.
Nesma and Hikaru were ecstatic to hear that Kira would be apprenticing with a knight, until she told them who exactly it was. Nesma’s eyes widened in terror, and Hikaru’s face twisted in a mix of confusion and awe.
“The Defector?” Hikaru said, as if there might be another Lord Zo
wan.
Kira nodded over her breakfast, trying to look excited, or at least not unhappy with the prospect of leaving Gekkō-ji with the knight. Pages and squires often left the temple to apprentice under the Light knights to aid them on their quests or to help them with their gear at the very least. Squires were required to apprentice under a knight for a year; whereas the pages merely had permission to do so if a knight chose them.
She watched wistfully as the three novices departed for the gardens and the day’s chores. Feeling vaguely empty handed—though she still had almost no possessions besides the clothing Nesma had gathered from the temple outfitters—she headed for the gate and down the stairs leading from the temple, where she was to meet Zowan.
The surrounding woods were cool and quiet. A light breeze sent dead leaves skittering across her path as she descended. As she turned the collar of her new black jacket up, she spotted Lord Zowan at the bottom of the stairs, mounted on an enormous black gelding.
Zowan said nothing, only gave her a grin that some people might be inclined to describe as evil; Kira was coming to think that was just the way he looked.
“Hi,” she said timidly. The walls she had spent the last two weeks building around her true identity seemed to melt, knowing that no one was watching her but Zowan. She didn’t have to worry about proper customs or greetings today. Fleetingly, she wondered how much he might know about her home—the Starless Realm.
“‘Hi’ yourself, Kira. Get on,” Zowan said, laughter in his voice.
“On?” Kira peered around his horse to see if he had brought a second mount, but there was none. “No—I couldn’t possibly fit,” she protested when she realized what he meant.
“Briar? Can she fit?” Zowan addressed his horse.
For a second, Kira thought he was mad. The horse snorted, but it couldn’t possibly have understood him.
“Briar thinks you can,” Zowan said stoutly. “I don’t have a spare mount, and I don’t want to waste time walking. Just get on.”
With a wave of apprehension flooding her stomach, she accepted Zowan’s outstretched hand. While looking to see if she might fit her foot in the stirrup to help herself up, Zowan yanked her up by her arm, and she had no choice but to fling her leg around Briar’s back. She was quite suddenly on, and she had somehow managed it without kicking Zowan.
Zowan wasted no breath talking as they galloped across the countryside, with Kira gingerly holding his waist from behind. Briar seemed to read Zowan’s mind; not a single word or command passed his lips, yet the horse seemed to know where to go. Thankfully, the ride wasn’t long, for Kira’s bottom was already becoming sore by the time they reached a copse of trees on the edge of a field. Briar came to a stop before they reached the tree line.
Kira slid off the horse at a nod from Zowan. Are all knights and mages so tight-lipped? she wondered. Anzu had been just the same. She wondered if she would see Anzu again soon, or if the knight always snuck in and out of Gekkō-ji in the dead of night, wordless.
Perhaps the rite to become a knight scared the words out of them, Kira thought. She shuddered as Zowan joined her on the ground. Jun had told her a little about the new moon ceremonies and that pages, squires, and knights each had a different rite to observe before advancing to the next status. Even Jun didn’t know what the different rites were, though, so Kira really had no idea what to expect when the time came.
After hobbling Briar so the gelding wouldn’t wander far, Zowan led her into the woods.
“We’re not going on a real quest, are we?” Kira asked, clutching her arms about herself. Once inside the trees, they lost most of the sun’s light and were immersed in a cold dimness. She wasn’t prepared to face any more spirits, bandits, or whatever else caused trouble in the Realm of Camellia. Certainly not empty-handed, anyway. Or even—she laughed at herself—with a handful of needles.
Zowan snorted. “No. There’s a clearing up ahead where we won’t be disturbed. We’ll be using it for practice.”
Kira raised an eyebrow, but it went unseen by Zowan, who was charging toward the clearing Kira could now see.
“Practice?”
A stream gurgled at the northern end of the clearing, and soft green moss underfoot grew on everything—the grass, the rocks, and it even crept several feet up the trees. Zowan halted and turned to face her; he held out his hand, the tip of a dagger held between his fingers.
Kira stared at him blankly.
“Take it,” he said, thrusting the handle toward her.
Reluctantly, she grasped the handle, and he dropped his hand. The dagger was by no means new, the handle wrapped in worn leather that had perhaps once been black. She had never held such a weapon before. She didn’t think she would wield her own Light weapon for months, either, considering all she could summon at the moment was a needle.
“I don’t know what your life was like in the Starless Realm, but that doesn’t matter anymore,” Zowan said bluntly. “This is Camellia, and you need to protect yourself. I’m guessing you’ve never fought with one before?” It wasn’t really a question by the tone of his voice, but at least he had the courtesy to pose it as one, Kira thought.
“I haven’t even held a dagger before,” she admitted.
He nodded then turned to pace silently across the soft moss. “I’m here to teach you about Camellia, and about Light and Shadow, but it’d be a waste of energy just to sit around talking like Mistress Nari asked me to.”
Zowan stopped pacing. “Can you tell me if that blade is made of Light or not?”
“Um.” Kira looked down at the blade and bit her lip. If it was Light magic, it was a good imitation. “No.”
“Well, I’m not going to tell you. You’re going to keep that blade with you night and day from now on—so you’ll have plenty of time to figure it out.”
“I’m keeping it?”
A smile turned up the corner of his mouth. “I thought visitors from the Starless Realm were supposed to be more impressive, smarter at least.”
“Sorry to disappoint you.” Kira chuckled. “Mistress Nari thinks I’m originally from here anyway, since I can do Light magic.”
Zowan nodded absently. “Yes, there hasn’t ever been a visitor from the Starless Realm who could use Light or Shadow. They’ve all brought other skills or ideas. But that is a conversation for another day, I’m afraid. We’ve got a lot of work to do. I thought I’d start with the beginning of the feud.”
“Okay,” Kira said. She reached to tuck the dagger into her belt sash, but Zowan held out a hand to stop her.
“Didn’t I say we weren’t just going to sit around chatting? Hold it up, let me see your form.”
He pulled out another dagger so she could mirror him and went on.
“You may have noticed the feud going on,” Zowan said delicately, behind her now, adjusting the angle of her elbow. “Light and Shadow haven’t always gotten along, ever since the realm came to be, and the two magics were named and divided into separate schools of learning, but it’s never gone on quite this long before. The wounds inflicted run too deep. In the past, they’ve been able to balance each other out, but the Storm King has taken it too far. It all started with the Fall of Azurite.”
Kira shuddered involuntarily. She had heard the name several times now of the incident that had started the feud.
Zowan had been there. Had seen it. Had tried to stop it.
***
Zowan was excited to visit Azurite, the largest Light temple in the realm full of old traditions and learning. It was his first visit to the illustrious temple, where he would study Light magic, even though he could not wield it. Many dreamed of becoming Grey Knights, but Zowan knew he was destined only for Shadow. No one in his family line had ever wielded anything other than Shadow. Yet he was drawn to learn how Light worked.
For his uncle the Storm King, the exchange of information between the temples was more important than any other resource and required a delegation of Shadow masters and mages. Of course,
the Storm King himself wanted to be present to be sure he got what he wanted out of any bargain that might be struck, and Zowan had been allowed to accompany him.
Their journey had taken less time than expected—perhaps because the Storm King had diverted a rainstorm that struck their party outside Heliodor. They arrived a day early. It was decided that they would camp nearby for the night, so as not to overstay their welcome at the temple. Besides, the view of the temple from below was breathtaking.
The stone temple and all its buildings sat clustered next to the base of a waterfall, with lush green foliage exploding from all sides. The water fell from a high peak, soaring above the temple. The Shadow delegation slept that night to the sound of the pounding falls, a constant thrum of noise.
The next day, they arrived at the temple at the agreed upon time, but no one came to the gate to greet them. The Storm King quickly grew irritable at the lack of courtesy; the Light folk must have seen their party approaching.
Furious, the Storm King sent Zowan inside to report their presence, after waiting nearly an hour.
Never having been to Azurite before, Zowan wasn’t sure where to go, but once he passed through the small door beside the gate—which was unlocked—the way was clear. He followed a stone path, crossed a small wooden bridge, and made his way through the manicured garden on the other side. The place radiated peacefulness.
Zowan was glad his uncle had sent him inside to see what the trouble was instead of charging in himself. His uncle could never control his temper. Zowan was sure it was some small oversight that they hadn’t sent a delegation to greet the Storm King at the gate. They had to know such an act would offend his uncle. He would just find some page or other, inform them that his uncle was here, and the temple would send out their delegation to greet them.
Yet he saw no one.
But then he heard raised voices coming from inside the largest stone building, and he headed in their direction. He passed through the columns and entered chaos.