Retaliation

by Charles Tillman

  Yagi glanced at Horst and then at Yuko for confirmation. Yuko nodded and raised her hand toward Horst in an “it’s his story to tell” gesture.

  Yagi shook himself visibly. “Come, let’s go inside. Ono will skin me alive if she thinks I kept you here too long without offering proper hospitality.”

  “Maybe not skin you completely, but she would make you feel it,” Asai joked as she pulled her father toward home, her arm still wrapped around his waist.

  When they entered, Ono was just putting a pot of water on and already had her special tea service laid out on the table. Asai let go of her father and rushed into her mother’s open arms.

  “Asai, my daughter. You are looking well,” Ono said as she held her at arm’s length. “We were concerned for you when Koda told us of her experience at the hands of those,” she hesitated, not using the first word that came to mind, “criminals.”

  “Mother, I never saw a criminal,” Asai assured her. “Except the ones on the news when the police arrested them all.”

  Ono shook her head. “There is no way they got all of them. The Yakuza is like an Orochi. There are many heads, and another pops up as you cut one off.”

  “I know Mother, but I am cautious,” Asai told her. “I seldom have the time or need to leave the Palace, and when I do, I’m not alone.”

  “I know you are cautious,” Ono conceded. “I just worry about you and Koda, is all.”

  Asai kissed her mother’s cheek, then looked at her with an impish smile. “I think if anyone decides to try anything with Koda again, it will end badly for them.” She nodded at Horst, who was standing sideways in the doorway, his shoulders too wide to enter the house otherwise.

  Ono released Asai and looked where her daughter indicated. Her mouth dropped open as she stared at the giant of a man. She closed her eyes briefly, and when they opened, she bowed to Horst. “Forgive me, I didn’t realize Asai had brought company. I am Ono Yagi, wife of the Mayor and ashamed mother to this rude child who failed to properly introduce us.” She spoke with mock seriousness, her eyes giving away the lie as they danced with restrained mirth.

  Horst didn’t miss a beat as he bowed deeply. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Ono-san. I’m sure you taught her properly. The fault is not yours.”

  Asai looked at the two, her face flushed and her mouth opening and closing as she tried to speak.

  Ono burst out laughing and was joined by Horst, Yagi, and Yuko as Asai still stood with her mouth opening and closing like a fish’s.

  “Oh, I like this one, Asai,” Ono told her daughter as she walked to Horst and shook his hand.

  Ono then turned to Yuko. “Forgive me, Yuko-san. I was so shocked by Horst-san coming through the door and then having a laugh at Asai’s expense that I failed to welcome you properly.”

  “Think nothing of it, Ono-san,” Yuko told her with a grin. “It’s been, oh, let me see, two hours since I have seen Asai at a total loss for words today,” she finished with a chuckle.

  Asai found her voice just then. “What is this? Did someone declare today was official Pick On Asai Day and not tell me?”

  The indignant look on her face as she protested brought on another round of laughter from around the room.

  Asai maintained her serious look for a few more seconds before she joined in, enjoying the fact that her mother could laugh at all.

  “This area here, Yagi-san,” Horst pointed to an area of unoccupied dwellings, “could be cleared and a facility to house the workers could be built. What I have in mind could be repurposed into a hotel when the workers leave.”

  Yagi looked at the area, trying to picture what it would be like with the building. “How many floors are you thinking? Why would there be a need for a hotel? We are a small community, and I don’t see us growing to need it.”

  Horst shook his head in disagreement. “No, I think with what Eve and I have been researching, you will have any number of people wanting to visit here. Kume was known for its beauty and was a tourist destination for years, correct?”

  Yagi nodded. “Yes, but we no longer have the means for people to come here.”

  “That leads me to the proposition I have for you. I believe people from all over Japan would be willing to come here if travel was easier. I have been talking to Eve, and she has a design for an engine that is much more efficient than what is currently in use. She said it would be easy for her to fabricate one large enough to power ships—ships that are faster than any operating now.”

  “I still don’t see how there are enough people able to travel to support it.”

  Horst smiled, imagining the future. “Currently, the only ways to travel between islands are by sailboat, or by securing a spot on one of the few solar-driven cargo ships. What I am thinking is to add Kume as a regular stop on a route for ships that are designed to haul both cargo and passengers.

  “Eve has already located and secured four ships that can be fitted with the engine. They will have luxury rooms topside, with ample cargo space below decks, like the large passenger liners that plied the seas early in the last century. They can carry a good number of passengers as well as a significant amount of cargo.”

  “But why would people come here?” Yagi asked.

  “Because we make it the place to go,” Horst told him with enthusiasm. “Much like Yuko and Eve did with the Palace, we advertise it as an affordable getaway. With the ability to move cargo and people faster and more comfortably than any other ships, combined with a regular schedule that puts a ship here every four days, I think we could build Kume into a must-see destination.”

  Yagi was silent as he absorbed the proposal.

  Horst recognized information overload in the mayor. “Of course, I will need to do some research back in Tokyo to see if the numbers support it, but I needed to talk to you first. Yuko, Eve, Koda, and Asai have already proven that people are starved for entertainment. They have people walking for days just to see the Palace.”

  Yagi looked around the site again as he thought. “These homes are all uninhabitable, not that any of the owners are still alive. I see no harm in you checking, but I still have doubts.”

  “All I wanted was your blessing to check into it further,” Horst assured him. “If you were against it, there would be no need to do that.”

  “We already have the castle here. If you can get the tourists to come again, maybe we can heal some of the hurt and make it into a positive thing.”

  Horst winced as Yagi said that. “Ah, Yagi-san, there is something…something I need to confess before you agree to go ahead with this.”

  “What’s that?” Yagi inquired trustingly.

  Horst swallowed hard and looked away, not wanting to see the look on Yagi’s face. “Isamu and Ogawa were sent here on the orders of the Forsaken who raised me. Until I met Akio and Yuko, I…I was part of the group responsible for what happened here.”

  Yagi looked at the man, hearing the pain in his voice as he confessed. “Asai has already told me about you, Horst. She told me you not only helped destroy the organization, but that you personally killed the creature who was behind it all.” He paused a moment, then continued, “She also told me that you are more than human.”

  Horst stiffened, not knowing what to expect.

  Yagi placed his hand gently on Horst’s shoulder, causing him to flinch. “She has also told me how you feel about Koda, and that you believe you need to atone for the evils done here. I tell you now, you didn’t send Isamu here, and you are not responsible for his actions. You exacted the vengeance I was unable to, along with Akio and Yuko. If anything, it is I who owes you.”

  Horst raised his eyes and saw in Yagi’s eyes the sincerity of his words. He blinked back the hot tears that threatened to spill. That simple act of kindness from a man he felt responsible for hurting made Horst realize that he was not only free of Heinz but that he could possibly forgive himself for the evils his brother had perpetuated. He hesitated as all that Yagi had said sunk in.


  “You know what I am, Yagi-san?” he asked warily.

  “Hai, Horst-san. I know that you are an honorable man my daughter speaks highly of. I know that Yuko and Akio have accepted you into their fold. I know my niece thinks well of you. For those things alone, I would be proud to call you friend. Knowing that you lost someone you loved and gave up everything you knew to stop it from happening again makes me want to call you family.” His voice cracked with emotion, and his eyes sparkled with unshed tears as he finished.

  Horst slowly reached for Yagi’s shoulder. He swallowed hard, trying to keep his emotions in check. “Yagi-san, I, I don’t know what to say. I would be honored to be a part of your family.”

  Yagi smiled at the huge man as he pulled him into a tight embrace.

  Horst hesitated only a second before returning it, feeling that he was home for the first time in many years.

  Chapter Twelve

  Ning Jing Temple, Dabie Mountains, China

  “Master Cui.” Commander Yimu, the commander of the Clan’s scouts, bowed with his hands clasped at his waist while he waited for a response.

  Cui Yong had taken over all day to day operations after Li had departed for Japan. The network of scouts ranging through the area was only one of many things that took up twenty hours of his day.

  “Report,” Cui ordered.

  “We have received a report from Yushu that there are bodies turning up in the area,” Yimu informed him.

  “What of it?” Cui snapped. “Bodies turn up all the time. It is the world we live in.”

  “These bodies all have similar markings that indicate the same cause of death,” Yimu expanded. “They appear to have been killed by a Forsaken.”

  Cui’s eyes widened at this revelation. “A Forsaken? We haven’t been troubled by them for years. Are you certain?”

  Yimu nodded. “The scout reports that he has located five bodies in the area. All have bites on their necks and have been drained of a significant amount of blood. He also reported that the bodies were poorly hidden, and in one case, was left beside a road with no attempt at concealment.”

  Cui thought for a moment. If a Forsaken was in the area and not concealing its kills, it could cause a panic. Although the government had collapsed, there were still pockets of the Party scattered around the country. They operated more like ancient warlords than the formal government of before, but each commanded large numbers of troops. If they started actively searching for a vampire, they could cause trouble for the Clan.

  “Has the scout located the Forsaken?” he inquired. “Is there more than one?”

  “His last report indicated that he was still searching for it,” Yimu replied. “He also reported that it appears to be a single Forsaken operating there, based on the look of the bites and the scent on the bodies.”

  Cui nodded. “Thank you. Advise the scout who found this that Master Peng will be notified of his diligence.”

  A short time later, Cui met with Peng Kun. “Master Peng, Commander Yimu has brought information that there is a rogue Forsaken killing humans near Yushu. One of his scouts has found several bodies, not hidden, that bear the marks of a vampire bite.”

  “That cannot be allowed,” Kun stated. “The last thing we need at this stage in our plans is to deal with a Forsaken causing trouble. Has the scout located where he is hiding during the day?”

  “Not when the report was sent,” Cui replied. “It took a few days for it to arrive using the runner network.”

  “We need to put this Forsaken down before he draws attention to us, and especially before he creates any more of them. It has been many years since we were troubled by vampires, Li and his team killed the last one in this area six years ago.”

  “I propose sending a strike team to the area,” Cui suggested. “Equipped with one of our remaining satellite phones, they will be able to flush it out and destroy it.”

  “How many functional units are left?” Kun asked. “We must ensure we have the means to remain in contact with Li in Japan.”

  “Three units are still operational,” Cui informed him. “The other option is to equip them with the older radios. We have plenty of those in storage, but it will require deploying additional units to relay the messages back and forth.”

  Kun did the math. “That’s roughly two thousand kilometers. Do we have enough working units to cover that far?”

  “Yes,” Cui replied. “Li saw the need for a way to communicate long distances after the country collapsed. He has collected close to one thousand of the type that do not require a computer to operate or program. We have plenty of spare tubes and crystals, as well as over thirty working base units.”

  Kun thought for a moment, trying to remember the specifications of radios that were being phased out when he was a newly minted officer. “Those base units require a good deal of power to operate. How do we get around that?”

  “Some of the techs have managed to cobble a solar array and batteries that will power them for short periods. They can monitor for several hours but are limited to a few transmissions each day. A bonus of these is that they have boosted the signal strength, so we will only need to deploy four of them.”

  “Make it so,” Kun commanded. “Keep me apprised of any updates.”

  “You will deploy to the predetermined areas and assemble your units,” Cui explained to the communications teams selected for the mission. “Monitor the frequency and relay any updates back here immediately.”

  “You should all be in position within a week,” Pan Xun instructed. “Runners have been sent ahead to assemble Clan members to provide logistical assistance and help with the equipment along the route. That will allow you to run longer distances each day and get into position sooner.”

  Pan was one of Cui’s team. He had assigned each of them to additional duties to fill the spaces vacated when Li took his team to Japan. It was good experience, but they were still finding their way as commanders instead of the sub-commanders they had been before. His idea to assemble transport for the heavier base units showed Cui that he was growing into the position as he should.

  “There are teams already on the way with the portable units. They will deploy to relay reports sent back from the strike team to the bases. Since we don’t know if the Forsaken will remain in that area, we have sent out enough to maintain coverage over a large section of land.”

  The team leaders all bowed to Cui and shouldered the special packs each member carried. They were designed to be worn in both human and tiger form to allow for faster travel over the long distances each team had to cover.

  Within minutes, the teams were assembled and running toward their assigned destinations. The Forsaken would be run to ground and eliminated soon.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Safe House, Yushu, China

  The figure in front of Miko was out of focus and blurred. The voices around him—there was more than one, he was sure of it—were muffled and unintelligible. The only thing that was clear was the pain of his arms pulled tight above his head and the agony coming from his chest. Pain shot through him as a sharp instrument was shoved into his flesh over and over. Laughter rang in his ears as his agonized screams echoed through the room.

  Miko sat up with a start, his hands curled into claws and a growl rippling from his throat. He was on his feet in an instant, ready to tear his enemy to shreds and feast on his blood.

  He looked around, unsure of where he was, the scent of blood strong in his nostrils. He calmed, realizing he was alone in the safe room he had been using for a hideout for the past week. As his breathing slowed, he willed his body to relax. His hands uncurled, and the fangs he hadn’t realized were extended retracted into his mouth.

  The odor of blood was still in the air, and he saw that the light shirt he had on was soaked with it. He snatched it from the bottom, ripping it in his haste, and discovered he was not bloody and torn as he first feared but was covered in a sheen of blood sweat again. The dream…No, nightmare, he correct
ed, was coming more frequently. Each time he woke to a voice his mind told him he should recognize, followed by screams.

  As always, the dream faded fast, and he lost the memory before he could remember who it was.

  Another nightmare. I’m not injured. Miko balled up the ruined shirt and threw it aside in disgust. He could tell the sun was just setting, another new experience for him, and an apparent effect of the last serum Heinz had given him. In addition to more strength and faster healing, he had discovered that he could tell in an instant the position of the deadly sun and how long until it rose or set.

  He had fed nightly since he’d arrived in the area after escaping the prison he had been trapped in when the lab was destroyed. His body was healed now and he was back to full strength. The dreams were the only thing that had not gotten better. They continued to torment him, like a distant memory that he should be able to recall but was just out of his reach.

  He had also discovered that his ability to compel humans to do his bidding had grown stronger. His compulsion had been weak before, barely able to hold a human’s mind long enough to feed. The shirt he had destroyed was one advantage of this new ability. He had compelled a young peasant boy to go into the town and bring him new clothes. He’d watched from his hiding place as the boy returned to where he had been told, placed a bundle on top of a pile of rubble, and waited for him as instructed.

  He crossed the room, weaving around the items left by Isamu and Ogawa. His lips curled into a sneer of disgust as he remembered what those two had done here. It had been their own personal chamber of horrors, everything a sick fuck torturer and his apprentice could want.

  No wonder I’m having those dreams. I’m living in a damned torture chamber.

  Miko stopped in the corner and poured a small amount of water into a bowl from an old fuel can he had found. He sponged the blood sweat from his body as best he could, scraping away the spots that had already dried.