Back above ground, the Creator and Dee met New Baggins and Mathias at a newsstand. Mathias leaned against the counter with a bored look while New Baggins read through a newspaper.
“What kept you two?” Mathias asked.
“We got a little lost,” the Creator explained.
“Well there are two pieces of good news,” New Baggins said from behind the paper. It appeared he was using it to hide his face from the man working behind the counter. “The first is that the media hasn’t mentioned anything about the soldier who attacked you two days ago.”
“That was to be expected, we left no traces of his death behind,” said the Creator.
“Secondly, this man says he saw someone identical to the picture of King Evans here seven days ago.”
“That was the day after he left the palace,” Dee said. “That means he really did come to this city.”
“He’ll be able to explain his story in more detail,” said New Baggins, folding up his newspaper.
“You’re leaving?” asked Dee.
“It’s getting late,” New Baggins said, eyeing the setting sun. “I need to be on my way, but I’ll meet back with you all tomorrow morning to hear what you’ve learned.”
Before anyone could protest, New Baggins was already on his way down the street. Mathias eyed him cautiously as he turned the corner.
“I’ve still got a weird feeling about that guy.”
“I assure you there’s nothing to worry about, Mr. Albright,” the Creator said. The reassurance from the deity did not relieve the bad feeling Mathias got from that man, but he wasn’t in any position to say anything bad about their most valuable teammate.
The Creator turned to the newsstand employee. He was middle aged, tall and skinny with unkempt graying hair that fell down to his shoulders.
“Well if New Baggins is gone, I’ll need to use the translator to ask him our questions,” the Creator said. Dee hummed quietly, fighting the urge to say anything about the Creator’s poor attempts at communication, even with the translator.
“That won’t be necessary,” the employee said in English with a thick accent. “I get many tourists. I can speak English alright.”
“Oh, excellent,” the Creator said. “So you’ve seen a man who looks like me, a week ago?”
“I have many customers, but I remember him,” the man said. “He came by with a big group, maybe five or six others. Most of them foreigners like him, but two were Japanese.”
“That’s not like Iilil-ja,” the Creator said. “He usually travels alone. Tell me, did you notice if he was wearing a pair of sunglasses? They would be small and round.”
“I don’t think so,” the employee said, thinking back on that day. “He looked just like you though. A little different though, in the eyes. His eyes were what made me remember him more than anything. They were frightening to look at. I helped him make his purchase and sent them on their way.”
“What did he buy?”
The cashier went to one of the walls and pulled off a book from a display. He placed it on the counter and pushed it forward so the other three could see.
“This is a guidebook to Kyoto,” he continued. “It seemed like he was planning on travelling there soon.”
The Creator eyed the book with a sour look, but it quickly faded and his usual smile returned.
“May I get a copy of this book?” he asked.
The cashier rung up the guide as the Creator handed over some Japanese currency.
“Thank you very much for your help, sir,” the Creator said with a slight bow. He took his book and moved away from the newsstand with Dee and Mathias close behind.
“So what does this mean?” Mathias asked.
“I don’t think that the person who bought this book was Iilil-ja,” the Creator explained. “That man would have recognized the glasses that Iilil-ja always wears, and he would certainly be alone. I believe that the one who came to this spot was the physical form of Iilil-ja’s released anger. We now know that his destination is this other city, Kyoto. We can only assume that Iilil-ja became aware of this and made his way there as well.”
“You mean we’ve been looking in the wrong place the whole time?” Mathias asked.
“More than likely, yes. This is good information, though. Now we know where he is, or at least where he was going. Tomorrow we’ll make our way there, and hopefully have much better luck.”
“That man said that there was a group of people with the anger-form,” Dee said. “Do you think they’re the same ones who attacked us here?”
“It would make sense. Iilil-ja’s anger wants to get rid of him, and so when he saw me he must have gotten us confused. But I don’t think the danger for us has ended yet. There are certainly more of them left out there. Let’s not give them another chance tonight to come after us.”
The three of them decided to return directly to the hotel and wait for morning, when they could take their next steps across the country and enter the ancient city where Adam Evans and his own angry alter ego lay waiting.
Beyond the newsstand, Friedrich Gien looked at his watch and recorded the time. He had been making careful observations of the group since the second attack on the Creator, making sure this time to keep his distance. He made a note that the group had visited the same newsstand he and his team had been to their first day in Tokyo. They probably had figured out that the rest of his team was already in Kyoto. It wouldn’t be long before they would be on their way as well.
He pulled out his phone and placed a call. After a few rings, a husky voice answered.
“Good evening, Friedrich,” he said.
“Hyogo, the Creator’s team may be leaving the city,” Gien reported. “I think they’ll be going to Kyoto. We can’t wait here anymore to see if Evans will show up. We know for sure that those four will be on their way, so we should focus on them.”
“So we’ll leave Tokyo then?” Hyogo asked.
“Tomorrow, they should be leaving too. We’ll keep watch, but I have a strong hunch I know how they’re going to be travelling. I’ll keep watch on them tonight. You should rest and get ready.”
“Get ready for what?”
“For tomorrow,” Gien said, “when we kill the four of them as they travel on the bullet train.”
Chapter Eleven
The New Problem
Kyoto, Japan
In the west, the fading daylight washed over Mt. Higashi. Deep in the bamboo grove, there was a crash and the swift crunching sound of the plants being pushed aside. Adam Evans was thrown from his feet by a ball of fire into the bamboo, sending him crashing through the thick stalks and stopping a few feet back. As he lay in the snow, his jacket smoking slightly from the fireball, Master M stood in the clearing facing the path of broken bamboo. He rested his sword, a Japanese katana, on his shoulder and scowled.
“Come on now, you should be better than that by now,” he said, swinging his sword back in front of him. “Get up, we’re going again.”
Since their training had started, Adam’s ability to control the elements of Magid had grown exponentially. From the first rock he brought up through the snow, he could now move whole walls of earth, control the growth of plants, and change the wind’s direction, among other things. Still, he had been unable to create his own fire. As a result, he had spent the last three nights in the cold.
“Did you hear me?” Master M called again. “Don’t tell me you’re dead. Get up!”
“Give me a break, we’ve been training almost nonstop for three days,” Adam said, using his own sword to help him stand. His sword, like Master M’s katana, was single edged, but was a different design from the Republic of Gravell on the planet of Carvon.
“We’re training so hard because you still haven’t mastered the elements, and your time is short,” Master M said. “That double of yours could be making his move any day, and from what you’ve said you’re going to need every advantage over him that you get. Besides, I’m doing this out of
the kindness of my heart remember, so don’t complain.”
“It’s just harder than it looks,” Adam said. He stepped out of the bamboo and approached Master M. Around them, the clearing had been beaten flat by their constant moving about and it was much easier to walk now.
“Alright, try to tap into the power of fire,” said Master M. “Let it come out through your sword.”
“I can’t use the fire power yet,” Adam admitted.
“What do you mean you can’t use it?”
“I just can’t, alright?” Adam said, clearly frustrated. “Trust me, that was one of the first ones I tried when got out here. I’ve been trying to make a small campfire, even getting a spark from my fingers. But it’s not working, I don’t understand why.”
Master M stood thinking for a moment. “Tell me, are there other elements you couldn’t get to work either?”
“A few, yeah,” Adam answered.
“How many were you able to manipulate?”
“Well, there was earth, nature, wind, water, and light, in some way or another, but the other ones haven’t worked for me yet.”
“In other words, five that you can control and five that you cannot,” said Master M.
“What does that mean?”
“I understand the problem now, and it certainly makes your situation much worse,” Master M said. “You became the King of Magid two years ago, and at that time you were give then ten elements. However, who you are now is not the same person.”
Adam’s eyes widened as he realized what Master M was saying to him.
“You have control over five of the ten elements. However, control of the other five has been passed on to someone else.”
Adam’s angry alter ego sat in a flimsy wooden chair in the middle of his makeshift command center. The room he was in was one of the largest in the building, but without heat or electricity and only walls made of paper and wood, he was hardly as comfortable as he had been at Magid Palace. On top of that, he was bored out of his mind.
During the centuries where he and Adam existed as one being, he enjoyed being able to move freely across the Other Universe. He could do as he pleased and killed whoever he wanted and whenever he wanted. The last two years had been dull for him as he’d given up that life to become the King of Magid, but that boredom was nothing in comparison to the last week he had spent in Japan.
That’s because most of that time was spent hiding out at his current position, getting reports from his new subordinates and passing his time sifting through grainy channels on a battery powered television he had acquired in the city. But now nothing of interest was on and no reports had come in since Gien reported the Creator’s last movements. That group was just another thorn in his side, but he didn’t expect to let them interfere with his plans.
The rest of the room was quiet and bare. The only other object in the room was one of his subordinates, who may as well have been a statue. The man was an assassin from Romania and had yet to show his face from beneath a mask, keeping his entire body wrapped in black cloth with a hood covering his head. Only his eyes were visible, but for now they were closed as he slept.
The doppelganger yawned. Sleep might not be a bad idea at this point. At least it would alleviate his boredom. But he was restless, as always. On top of the responsibilities he had just signed on to, he also had to deal with his meddling other half and the Creator’s group. It was a lot of extra effort for nothing, and it made his blood boil.
There were footsteps in the hallway, creaking with the wooden floor. The doppelganger looked up and saw the youngest of his subordinates appear in the door frame. It was one of the two natives on his team, a teenager who called himself Souji Okita. His boyish face smiled as he caught his superior’s eye.
“You look happy, Okita,” the doppelganger said. “I take it you have good news to report.”
“Not so much good news as just plain old news,” Okita said. His smile was common, whether he had something to be happy about or not. “Mr. Gien just contacted me to let me know that he believes the Creator will be leaving Tokyo tomorrow morning.”
“Returning home, I hope.”
“No, to Kyoto,” Okita said. “It seems he spoke to the man you purchased the guidebook from and inferred that you were here, and that your other half is likely here as well.”
“Have you seen the fledgling since we’ve been here?” the anger double asked.
“I haven’t, and I don’t think the other two have either,” Okita reported. “Mr. Serbanescu has been searching at night with no luck, and Mr. Abernathy, well, I don’t think he’s even left our base.”
“Well keep up your efforts,” the doppelganger said. “It’s important that I know where he is.”
“With all due respect, sir, may I ask why? You told him yourself back in Tokyo that you’re not interested in him, and he plays no part in our plan.”
“Because he’s bothersome,” the double said. “He’s going to get in our way at some point, and even though the fledgling doesn’t have any real power without me I don’t want him flying around my head while we’re trying to get things done.”
“What should I do if I find him?” Okita asked.
“Let me know immediately, but don’t take your eyes off of him. Not for one second, do you understand? He’s too important to lose.”
Okita smiled, prompting a glare from his superior. “What’s so funny, Okita?”
“You’re obviously lying through your teeth,” the boy said. “I think you’re much more interested in him than you’re letting on.”
“You should keep your opinions to yourself, kid,” the doppelganger growled.
“If you say so,” Okita said. He turned to leave, but stopped to look back at his superior. “You know it’s interesting,” he said. “You and your other half are just about identical. Suppose I should mistake you for him somewhere out in the street. We’d both end up wasting our time, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yes, you’re right,” the doppelganger said, standing up from his chair. “That would make a problem of things. Let me see if I can clarify things for you.”
Okita turned fully as his superior rose to his feet. He cracked his knuckles, then placed his right hand over his face so that his pointer and middle fingers pressed against his forehead. He shut his eyes and grit his teeth together as his face clenched up. Okita took a cautious step back as the doppelganger began to grow and snarl like an animal, his breathing getting heavier by the second.
His hand clenched up, furiously digging into his face now as the rest of his body trembled. The battery powered television began to flicker as the entire room started to shake slightly. Okita was frozen, awed by the sight before him. He watched as the roots of the doppelganger’s hair began to fade from brown to white. Slowly, all of the color left his hair as the creature roared aloud a final time. The room became still again. The doppelganger caught his ragged breath and peered at Okita through his fingers. His eyes were bloodshot and shaking.
“Well, Okita,” he said, his speech staggered through his breath, “Is there any confusion now?”
“This changes things considerably,” Master M said. “You’re just going to have to perfect elemental powers you have and hope that your other half never learns of the five dwelling within him.”
“Let’s keep going then,” Adam said. Master M sheathed his sword, prompting a look of confusion from Adam. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve already shown you how to tap into the power of the elements,” said Master M. “I can’t teach you anything else. You just need to master how to control these elements and use them together to defeat your double.”
“Are you leaving?” asked Adam.
“Just for the night,” Master M said. “It will be easier for you to focus by yourself. Take this time to perfect your abilities. I’ll be back tomorrow morning sometime after dawn to test your progress. If you can beat me one on one, you just might be ready.”
He moved away from A
dam and headed down the mountain path they had come from.
“Tomorrow your training will end,” he said. “So get moving, you’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Adam watched him disappear behind the bamboo. He looked at his sword and clutched it tightly in his hands. Above him, the sun was about to set.
Chapter Twelve
The Bullet Train
Tokyo, Japan
Chiyoda District
December 18th, 2004
“I can’t believe we’ve spent all this time in the wrong place,” Mathias grumbled. “What a complete waste of time.”
“It wasn’t a total waste,” Dee said cheerfully. “We were able to stop that rogue soldier.”
“You mean someone else took him out,” Mathias corrected her. “We didn’t even get any information out of him. He might have known where the King of Magid is.”
“We know where he is,” said Dee.
At the moment, the four members of the rescue party were sitting together in Tokyo Station. It was still early and they were hoping to catch the first train travelling from Tokyo to Kyoto. Spirits were high, but the bounty hunter was still perturbed that his time had been wasted. He was busy, after all, and didn’t have endless free time to run around on a wild goose chase.
“I’m just saying that for all we know he’s moved onto a different city,” Mathias said. “And even if he hasn’t, Kyoto’s a big city. We’ll have just as much luck finding him there as we did here.”
“Try to remain positive, Mr. Albright,” the Creator said. “We’ll keep up our search efforts. Hopefully Iilil-ja’s been a bit more active in Kyoto.”
“What if another one of those assassins shows up?” Mathias asked.
“We’ll do our best to deal with him,” the Creator answered. “With any luck, we won’t run into any more trouble any time soon.”
“Creator,” New Baggins said. “It’s arrived.”
The Kyoto Ordeal (Tales of the Other Universe Book 1) Page 9