by Ryan Kirk
“Aren’t we supposed to be closer to those mountains?”
Asa looked to the dim outlines of the peaks to the north. In the darkness of night they stood like silent giants, barely illuminated by the stars above. Junko was right, though. If the blades were marching to the heart of Katashi’s camp, they needed to be closer to the mountains.
Asa’s confusion only lasted for a moment until she figured it out. “We’re not heading straight for Katashi’s camp. Hajimi lied to us all in case there were spies among us.”
Asa jumped up, trying to see over the mass of blades in front of her. She felt foolish, and it took her a few attempts, but eventually she was able to get an idea of where they were going. In front of them were two distinct camps of light. One had to be Katashi’s, and the other Satoru’s. They were heading roughly between the camps.
Hajimi’s true strategy struck Asa as being much more sensible. Had they attacked the heart of Katashi’s camp, the carts would have struggled among the tents, no matter how much damage their attack created. By trying to split the forces, the blades could hopefully create confusion between the opposing armies. With luck, Katashi and Satoru might even attack each other for a while.
Asa figured the night was half over by the time they neared the enemy. Every step heightened her anticipation, and she saw no small number of blades holding onto their hilts nervously.
Off in the distance, to the north, a sudden burst of red light hung in the sky. Asa took a short glance at it, just as several more lights joined the first. The lights drifted slowly to the ground, like a firework that refused to burn out. With a start, Asa realized the enemy was attempting to light the battlefield.
In the flickering red light, she saw that Katashi’s camp was up and prepared for battle. Koji had worried that they’d be attacking a sleeping army, but someone within the ranks of the blades had warned Katashi. However, they’d expected a charge through their camp. As a result, Katashi had lined his forces up against an empty field.
Suddenly, the mass of blades shifted as though through some unspoken command. Perhaps orders had been given at the front and Asa hadn’t heard. Regardless, the blades changed direction, heading more to the north now, deeper into Katashi’s camps.
The red light didn’t illuminate the enemy like Katashi’s men had expected, but they cast enough light that they could see the columns of blades. Lines attempted to re-form just as the blades hit them, and chaos erupted everywhere.
For a few surreal moments, Asa felt as though she stood in the heart of a battle without any of the danger. In front of her, as the lines clashed, the sounds of battle echoed. But for the moment, she was surrounded only by fellow blades.
The moment didn’t last long. Soon, soldiers in red uniforms started streaming through the blades, and Asa’s swords came out, her body already responding to the nearest threat.
With so many bodies in such a confined space, her sense couldn’t travel far. She pushed it out to about five paces, then reined it in. The information was near the edge of what she could handle safely in combat, and her skills had never been put to the test like this. In a heartbeat she went from seeing a handful of soldiers to being nearly inundated with them.
For most encounters, her strategy was simple. She parried blows with one blade while cutting with the other. In the cramped press of bodies, the shorter length of her swords became an advantage, as did the additional steel. Asa felt Junko only a few paces away and moved in that direction, cutting down a young man who was about to strike at the nightblade.
The two women held their ground, clearing the space surrounding them. Asa allowed herself to leave her back exposed, trusting Junko to cover it, the same as she covered Junko’s. The girl wasn’t bad. Some of her strikes were a little wild, but she was fast and fearless, and in the dark, they possessed plenty of advantages.
The eerie red light diminished, but new ones were launched into the air. Asa guessed they were supposed to negate some of the nightblades’ advantages, but the reality was almost the opposite. The flickering red light allowed Katashi’s soldiers to think they should be able to see, but it wasn’t bright or constant enough for combat. Katashi’s soldiers trusted their eyes and were betrayed, while the nightblades trusted their sense and were rewarded.
Still, the difference in numbers was telling. All the advantages in the world counted for very little if you could be cut down from behind while focusing on the enemy in front of you.
Paired up, Asa and Junko managed to avoid the fate of many of the blades near them. Without someone to watch their back, too many blades fell to overwhelming numbers. But Asa and Junko kept their space clear, advancing one bloody step at a time.
Every once in a while, Asa had to yell at Junko to slow down. The girl’s eagerness was almost the death of her, and she needed to fight her desire to wade constantly deeper into the battle. Fortunately, she listened to Asa’s commands, and every time they almost split apart, she either returned or waited for Asa to catch up.
In the short breaks between individual fights, Asa sometimes risked looking up at the mountains, trying to pin their position down. The blades had started the march heading almost directly west, but after the lights had been lit, they shifted their direction northwest. Asa hoped that the carts remained safe from the worst of the fighting.
Time and place lost all meaning as the fighting continued. Most of the blades had tried to sleep the day before, knowing the long night that waited for them. But if most were like Asa, their rest had only been intermittent. All Asa could do was keep her sense focused tightly on the space immediately around her and hope for the best.
She barely noticed when the green uniforms started joining with the red uniforms. In the darkness, color was hard to make out, and enemies and friends looked much alike. Only to the sense was there a difference, the glowing energy of a nightblade brighter than the dull light of a house soldier.
Hajimi’s plan, if that was what it was, seemed to be working. The red lights in the sky were becoming more intermittent, and Asa figured they were running out of whatever they were. With less light and more darkness, Asa reveled in the additional advantage. Without the flickering light, Katashi and Satoru’s forces fought one another almost as often as they fought against nightblades.
Junko and Asa encountered a clump of soldiers, all fighting against one another. The two blades skirted around the conflict, only to find themselves in the heart of another battle. Junko attracted three opponents and Asa two. The soldier on Asa’s left cut down, and Asa moved her left sword up to deflect the strike. As she did, the soldier on the right cut across, a vicious slice with more anger than technique behind it. Asa stepped backward, sensing the swing coming. The soldier’s blade cut in front of her, missing by a narrow margin. Unable to control his cut, the soldier cut through his partner, who couldn’t block as his own sword had been knocked out of the way by Asa’s deflection. The man fell, a look of surprise and betrayal on his face.
The soldier on Asa’s right looked shocked and numb as he realized what he’d just done. Asa didn’t give him time to regret his decision, stabbing into his throat with one quick motion.
Behind her, Junko was hard pressed. Her sword moved quickly, but against three opponents, she needed to give ground that wasn’t there to give. Asa sensed all the strikes. “Junko, down!”
Had Junko been fighting alone, the decision would have killed her. She listened, though, dropping into a low squat without hesitation. One cut passed just over her head, and Asa spun and slashed at the other two attacks, knocking them off their lines. Junko didn’t waste the openings Asa had given her. She stabbed through one opponent as Asa twisted and cut at the other two.
Out of position, Asa’s attacks didn’t do much but force the other two to give up ground, but then Junko joined the counterattack, and the two men fell quickly against the combined might of the two women. Junko gave Asa a small nod of appreciation and they waded deeper into the battle.
Asa sat
, utterly exhausted, her muscles limp, as she watched the scene from the small rise she and Koji had climbed to.
The blades had broken through Katashi’s lines a little before daybreak, and by the time the sun had risen, the blades were out of range of Katashi’s archers. Too many had been lost to arrows after the worst of the fighting was over.
The fight had been brutal, a bloody mess of swords and hatred, and both sides had paid the price.
Katashi’s forces had been broken, and for every blade that had fallen, Katashi had lost at least three men. Katashi was still a threat, but Asa was reasonably certain he now had the smallest force on the field, as well as the most disorganized. Satoru’s forces had taken casualties as well, but they’d largely remained out of the fighting. The new lord of the southern lands now found himself with the largest fighting force. Unfortunately, unlike Katashi’s troops, who had trained diligently both under Lord Shin and Lord Katashi, the southern troops were inexperienced. Isamu had never prepared for war.
Koji sat down next to Asa. His black robes were covered in blood that wasn’t his own. The carts had been attacked, and Koji had been forced to defend them. By all accounts, some of the fiercest fighting had taken place back there. Asa wanted to ask about it, but Koji’s attitude made it clear he didn’t want to speak about the evening.
Together they looked over the battlefield they’d just left. Katashi’s forces were trying to regroup, and Satoru’s forces looked to be in disarray. Katashi hadn’t shared his intelligence of the impending attack with his ally, and many of Satoru’s men had been asleep when the battle began. They’d woken up to red lights in the sky and the sounds of battle, but had been completely disoriented.
Even now, this morning, from the movement of troops among the camp, it looked like Satoru wasn’t sure if he would attack, camp, or retreat that day.
In contrast to the two opposing armies, the combined force of all of House Kita’s troops rode down into the valley from the mountains they’d traveled through for many days now. They formed up in the valley below Stonekeep, lines orderly. Asa assumed the battle would begin soon.
Most of the blades continued to march north. Neither Asa nor Koji knew where Hajimi led them, but the blades followed without question. The price of breaking through Katashi’s lines had been high. Asa estimated there weren’t more than four hundred blades left in the group. Although many still certainly wandered the Kingdom, Asa was certain their total number was far less than a thousand now. So few of them were left.
Some blades had come with Asa and Koji, curious about the outcome of their actions. Maybe three dozen stood or sat on the hillside. Junko had wanted to join them, but Asa had insisted the girl remain with the others. She didn’t need to see yet another battle.
Even after the nightblades’ actions, Takahiro’s forces still seemed to be outnumbered, although not by much anymore. They’d certainly never have a better opportunity to defend their land. Just as Asa had the thought, the House Kita troops started marching forward. Before long, archers were sending waves of arrows into the enemy troops.
Katashi’s forces responded, though more sluggishly than Asa had seen them react in the past. They’d been up all night fighting and had taken heavy losses. Takahiro’s troops were well rested and defending their homeland. Would it be enough?
It didn’t take long for the lines to collide. They were far enough away that Asa couldn’t pick out the details of the fight, but neither side seemed to be gaining an advantage. As the sun rose and heated the late summer day, the fight seemed to stall.
Few of the blades spoke, and when they did, it was usually in hushed whispers. Asa and Koji remained silent, watching as the fate of the Kingdom was decided without them.
As Asa’s eyes drifted over the battlefield, her attention was drawn to Katashi’s forces. They were hard pressed, and except for one pocket, seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Then Asa saw Katashi’s flag, far back near the rear of the formation. The man rarely risked himself in combat. A hard decision occurred to her.
Katashi’s men weren’t paying any attention to their flank. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t need to worry. The mountains protected them from forces trying to work their way around the battle. But they’d forgotten about the nightblades. She looked around. No one else had noticed, or if they had, they didn’t care.
But they could go back. They all had more than enough reason to kill Katashi. He was the one who’d burned Starfall to the ground, who had murdered a fellow lord in cold blood.
Asa turned to see if she could see the column of blades retreating to the north. They had moved out of her sight. They had already left everything behind.
Asa thought of the freedom that awaited her. A home where she wouldn’t be judged for the skills she possessed. All she had to do was nothing.
And she thought of Mari, smiling up at her as she got married.
Asa stood up, attracting the attention of most of the blades. She pointed to Katashi’s flag. “Katashi is undefended from the rear. I’m going to kill him. Anyone want to help?”
23
Part of Koji had simply stopped thinking. He was finding it easier to go as the wind tossed him, like a ship upon stormy seas. The best he could do was ride the waves.
He followed Asa and the almost two dozen nightblades. Like him, they hadn’t seemed to need much convincing. He approved of Asa’s decision even as he was surprised she’d made it. Seeing Katashi brought to justice for the crimes he’d committed would be satisfying. Having met the man in person, Koji was certain he should never be allowed to rule.
He felt a spark of something inside him as they ran toward Katashi’s lines, something he hadn’t felt in many days. He stood with Asa, running toward a battle with other blades at his side. His actions were entirely his own, and what they did was right. He felt so in his bones.
With every step, energy built within him. The closer Katashi came, the angrier Koji became at everything that had happened. His energy surged, like a wave cresting just before it crashed, and although he’d already fought for an entire evening, his steps were light and his focus sharp.
Those around him seemed to feel it, too. Koji ran faster, overtaking Asa. They shared a glance and she nodded. She had started the charge, but he would lead it. He felt as light as air, power welling up inside him. He increased his pace. Although the other nightblades were also tired, he could feel them keep up easily as well. Together, they shone brightly in his sense, almost blinding in their intensity.
Koji saw a few haphazard arrows being launched into the sky. Some of the archers had noticed them and were trying to pick them off. The blades hadn’t come equipped with shields today. They had traveled lightly to break through Katashi’s lines, and they hadn’t thought they’d need them when they climbed the hill to observe the battle.
They couldn’t sense the arrows, either. Their gift only worked with living objects, so sight was their only defense.
Fortunately, there was no organized resistance. Koji and the blades saw the arrows and were able to easily dodge the few that came close. The archers did warn the back lines, though, and by the time Koji and the other blades closed the remaining distance, they were facing organized lines.
Koji knew Katashi would surround himself with some of his best warriors. He wondered whether the lord would dare include the nightblade mercenaries under his command. Although his sense got confused if he sent it too far into the battlefield, Koji didn’t sense any other blades.
Koji slapped a spear aside as he hit the lines. The spearman held on to his weapon, but the force of Koji’s strike turned him slightly to the side. Koji cut and the man fell, opening the first gap in the line. Koji twisted as another spear point came at him, driving his elbow into a soldier’s face. He let his momentum carry him into the middle of enemies, stopping only when he rammed his shoulder against a giant of a man in heavy armor.
The giant stood at least two heads above Koji, and his armor bulged over musc
les. Moving more quickly than Koji expected, the man swung one of his meaty fists at Koji, the nightblade too close for the man’s long, curved sword.
Koji sensed the blow coming from far away. He stepped back, letting the fist pass in front of him. Before the giant could respond, he brought his sword up to block another attack from another enemy, and then another.
Then the giant swung his sword in a deadly arc. Koji had seen such blades before, but not often. They were too big for the average warrior. This man, though, held it as well as Koji had ever seen. The blade cut almost horizontally, and Koji couldn’t step far enough away to avoid it, the reach too long. He brought up his own sword, bracing it with his free hand. The huge sword clanged off Koji’s, redirecting up and away from him.
Koji’s arms quivered at the force of the impact, and he barely recovered in time to respond to the other soldiers around him. He needed to clear his space so he could focus on the giant, but he had too many attackers to deal with at once. He was fortunate not to have been skewered already.
Where were the other blades? He wished he had even a moment to pause and assess the situation. He could feel their presence several paces behind him, so close and yet unreachable. A spear snuck in between two enemy warriors and Koji had no place to dodge. He twisted and the spear cut along his upper left arm.
Koji ignored the pain, focused only on getting to Katashi. He cut down a soldier between defending against attackers, but another immediately stepped into his place. Koji wasn’t sure how much longer he could avoid the sheer number of strikes coming at him.
Suddenly, Asa was beside him, her twin blades flashing and blocking strikes. Koji flowed into an attack stance as she passed, his sword cutting down and then across. Soldiers started falling, and for the first time in several moments, Koji advanced against the enemy.
The giant warrior saw an opening and swung down at Asa. Koji couldn’t react in time, but Asa dove out of the way. Koji attacked the soldiers around her as she returned to her feet. Then another nightblade plowed into the mix and the battle became more even. The giant took his sword and cut horizontally, forcing the blades back.