The Kyoto Ordeal (Tales of the Other Universe Book 1)

by J. G. Taschereau

  “The sun is already so high?” he thought.

  He left the guest bedroom and made his way to the living room, where he found everyone was already sitting and talking.

  “Good morning, Iilil-ja,” the Creator said. “I hope you slept well.”

  “Did you cover the windows?” he asked.

  “I did,” the Creator answered. “I figured it was best that you get as much rest as you needed to.”

  “What time is it now?”

  “Shortly after noon,” the Creator responded.

  “Noon? Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” Adam couldn’t believe that he had slept for nearly fifteen hours, or that so much of the day could be wasted.

  “As I said, you needed the rest,” the Creator said. “Besides, there’s no need to worry about missing the duel. Your counterpart never specified a time, and we have nothing to lose by making him wait.”

  “I suppose,” Adam conceded.

  “Have a seat,” Dee offered. “We saved you some breakfast. You’ll need it for today.”

  “No thank you,” said Adam. “I think I’ll just get washed up and dressed, and then we can leave when the rest of you are ready.”

  Before any of them could object, Adam had already disappeared back to his own room. Dee looked to the Creator, who only shrugged.

  “He’s been waiting for this for a long time,” the Creator said. “We should let him do things his way.”

  “Do you trust him that much?” asked Mathias.

  “It’s not up to me, as strange as that is to admit,” said the Creator. “Ultimately, this battle is going to be decided by Iilil-ja, not any of us. Even with The Baggins as a threat, everything has built up to the confrontation between Iilil-ja and his other half. All we can do is support him.”

  “Speaking of which,” Ayumi interrupted, “since everybody’s starting to get negative and gloomy again, I’ll bring up the surprise I was planning.”

  “Surprise?” Cody repeated.

  “Yep,” said Ayumi. “While you’re gone, I’ll be getting the house ready for a victory party for when you all come back. Isn’t that a good idea?”

  The others all smiled at the idea, though the Creator raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think that’s a little presumptuous, Ayumi?”

  “That’s a bad attitude, Daniel-kun!” Ayumi shouted enthusiastically, pointing her finger at the shocked deity. “You better not be thinking anything other than that you’re all going to win tonight. If you’re going into battle otherwise, you won’t even stand a chance. You’ve got to believe you’re going to win, and then remember what will be here when you get back. So make sure you come back, okay?”

  The more she spoke, the more emotion seemed to seep into her speech. Even Ayumi, with all of her eagerness, still couldn’t completely lose the thought of someone not coming back safely. It was a reality that all of them had to face, but by the end of her rant, even the Creator was smiling pleasantly again.

  “You’re right, Ayumi,” he said. “We can’t afford any negativity any more. From now on, there can only be victory.”

  “That’s more like it,” Mathias said. Dee smiled as well, happy that the Creator’s spirits were higher than they had been days earlier. This was the attitude that all of them needed, she realized. More importantly, it was the attitude that Adam needed to have as well.

  Less than an hour later, Adam had showered and dressed himself. He slipped on his Khazaki jacket, still covered with dried blood and stitched at the shoulder. The jacket had come a long way since he first received it, and it would have to carry him on even further. It was the force of Commander Moscov that stayed with him, pushing him onward towards the next resolution. Now, on this promised day, he only hoped to find a resolution for himself at last.

  As he went to take his dark glasses, Adam noticed the bracelet that Dee had purchased sitting on the dresser beside them. The small token of hope had nearly slipped his mind, and even if its principle was just superstition, there was no reason it couldn’t give him the same inspiration that his jacket did. Adam secured the bracelet around his wrist and put on the glasses before leaving the room with the Sword of Magid that Master M had given him. As he returned to the living room, he found the other four ready to go, along with Ayumi waiting in the doorframe of the kitchen.

  “We’re ready when you are, Iilil-ja,” the Creator said. Adam nodded. He made his way to the door, but Ayumi stopped him.

  “Hold on, there’s one more thing I want to do before you guys leave,” she said.

  “What is it?” asked Adam.

  “I know the situation is a little tense right now, but I wanted to get a picture with all of us together. You know, something to remember this by. I would suggest taking it later, but who knows what spirits will be like when you get back?”

  “I don’t see the harm,” the Creator said. “They’ve made us wait all this time, they can wait a few seconds more.”

  “Okay, good,” said Ayumi. “The living room is probably the best spot for it.”

  She half-shoved Adam into the living room along with the others and got them to line up along the back wall. Ayumi had already gotten a tripod and camera ready and set it up across the room so that all of them could fit in the frame. The Creator and Cody stood apart from each other with Mathias in between in the back, while Dee and Adam stood together in front of the Creator and Cody, respectively.

  “Adam, get a little closer to Dee-san,” Ayumi said as she checked the viewfinder.

  He complied, and felt Dee’s warm hand on his shoulder as the two leaned against each other to get in the shot. Ayumi set the camera and ran over to the group, crouching down in front of Adam and Dee and flashing a peace sign to the camera.

  “Everybody smile!” she said, and the camera flashed. Ayumi went back to check the picture and smiled. It had come out very well, and despite the underlying tone of worry in the group, everyone had a genuine smile.

  With the photo out of the way, there was nothing left to be done there. As all five of them told Ayumi they would be back safe later, the group departed for the heart of Kyoto. A cold wind met them, but not one of them turned back.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The Castle Gate

  “This is the place?”

  The Creator had led the others to the gate of Nijo Castle, where he had felt the presence of The Baggins in two days earlier. The description of the palace matched what the doppelganger had told to Adam, and with The Baggins waiting inside as well there was no mistake that Nijo Castle would be the stage of the battle.

  It had taken longer to get across the city than they had expected and it was already mid-afternoon. The winter sun would be going down in an hour or so, and the darkness would not be their ally this evening. They would have to get in quickly and engage the two villains waiting inside, all without raising alarm to those surrounding the castle.

  “It’s kind of a public place, isn’t it?” Mathias asked, looking around at the busy street behind them. The structure was ancient, but it was still surrounded by the modern Kyoto.

  “It’s much more than that,” said the Creator. “Nijo Castle is a national landmark of the city and is recognized as an important part of Japanese history. It’s incredibly inconvenient that this battle will be taking place here. The risk that this site is going to be damaged is very high, and that could cause just as many problems with the Japanese government than our enemies will. We must be cautious and brief, especially if we’re not to bring anyone into this fight that doesn’t belong.”

  “Still, there are people everywhere,” Mathias pointed out. “Someone’s going to see us go in.”

  “That much can be taken care of,” said the Creator. He nodded to Dee, who reached into her bag and pulled out her thin wooden wand.

  “Eximo,” she commanded, causing the wand to sparkle and take on its full form. Pointing the tip out towards the street, she said “Velum speculus.” The wand glowed and the air behind the group rippled for a
moment before standing still again.

  “That spell will disguise the entrance of the castle,” Dee explained. “Right now, anyone looking from the street won’t be able to see us.”

  “Works for me,” said Mathias.

  “In that case, let’s not waste any more time,” said Adam. “Are you all ready?”

  “As we’ll ever be,” said Cody.

  Adam stepped up to the cordoned off gate and snuck under the chains. The others followed suit and made their way along the path towards the true entrance to the complex. Even though the castle was closed to visitors, the grounds still appeared cared for, and the path was only lightly covered with snow. In front of them was a guard house, and Adam stopped as he saw two figures standing inside. He readied his sword for an attack, but after looking over his opponents he stopped. They were merely mannequins in armor, dutifully keeping watch.

  The group kept moving and after turning right discovered what must have been the interior gate. It was truly a specimen of royal craftsmanship, a massive gate decorated with golden embellishments and metal cast animals and flowers lining the interior. This wide gate was left open to an interior courtyard, where another gate was connected to the first part of the castle structure.

  As Adam and the others stepped into the courtyard, they observed that they were not alone. There was a young blond man leaning back against the gate of the first building. He seemed to be almost half asleep, lost in a daydream. It was only as he heard the approaching footsteps of the others in the snow that he seemed aware of any change, and slowly shifted himself upright.

  “So you decided to show up after all,” the man said. “The boss was starting to get impatient.”

  “Who are you?” Adam called out.

  “Thomas Abernathy,” he answered. “That’s about all you need to know from me. You probably ought to be moving along now, since Mr. Black is waiting further along. I wouldn’t want to get him any more pissed off than he already is.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean move along? You’re just letting us pass?”

  “I’m letting you pass, Adam Evans,” Abernathy said. “You’re the only one the boss is interested in. The rest will have to wait here.”

  “That’s out of the question!” Dee responded. “We’re going with him the whole way.”

  Abernathy sighed. “Look, I’ll be honest with you. Mr. Black sent me out here to make sure only Evans came through and to stop anyone else. Honestly though, I’m not really up for dealing with the rest of you. I’ll let you walk away from here, no harm, no foul. Just let Evans pass.”

  “As Ms. Gatti said, that’s out of the question,” Adam added. “We don’t intend to turn back or be persuaded otherwise until we are certain your group has been put down. If you insist on posing resistance that will include you as well. So now I’ll give the option to you: stand aside or prepare to fight.”

  Abernathy sighed again, even more exaggerated. “You know, you’re really not making this easy on either of us. I could get in a lot of trouble for not doing anything, but at the same time I really don’t feel like putting forth the effort right now.”

  “Then you’d better start taking this seriously,” said Adam as he drew his sword. “Move aside.”

  “I can see that this isn’t going anywhere,” said Abernathy. “That’s a real bother. It looks like I really don’t have a choice then.” He reached behind him and pulled forward a golden disk about two feet in diameter. It was beautifully polished, and reflected Adam’s figure back at him with little distortion from the curve of the metal.

  “Come forth, Dogu,” he said slowly. A glint of light flashed across the disk and blinded Adam and the others momentarily. When their vision was restored, they discovered that Thomas Abernathy was no longer their sole opponent. Five tall figures had appeared, each covered in what looked like the armor of a medieval knight except that it had a golden shine to it. Their faces were covered with enclosed helmets and each of them carried longswords at their sides which they proceeded to draw.

  “What is this?” Adam asked, more perturbed than startled at the appearance of the new enemies.

  “They are the Dogu, and they operate at my command,” Abernathy explained. “And now my command is to kill all of you.”

  The Dogu trembled and then rushed forward towards the group. There was one Dogu for each of them, but the Creator was still defenseless to do anything against them. As one ran at the Creator, Mathias intervened and fired several rounds of his pistol into the knight’s chest. The bullets cut through the armor but only slowed the Dogu down.

  “Bullet’s can’t kill them?” Mathias shouted. “What’s up with these things?”

  “I’ll tell you what,” Cody said. He had managed to gain the upper hand against his opponent and decapitate it. The body lay on the ground, revealing a hollow shell of armor. “These things aren’t really alive, they’re just possessed.”

  Dee’s eyes flashed with inspiration, and she turned to shout to Adam. “Can you hold off the Dogu with Cody? I know how to stop them.”

  “Are you sure?” Adam asked, cutting through the arm of his attacker and taking off its head.

  “Trust me, I’ve been in a fight like this once before,” Dee said. “The Dogu are being controlled by that guy, so we need to get him.”

  “That’s doable,” Mathias said, aiming his weapon at Abernathy. As he pulled the trigger, Abernathy smiled in victory. The bullet flew through the air and struck the golden disk. Rather than pierce it, the air around it rippled and in a flash of light something shot out just as quickly back at Mathias. He managed to move so that the return fire only nicked his arm and grunted in pain.

  “What just happened?” he asked.

  Abernathy amused himself with the confusion of the others, but didn’t fail to notice Dee rushing towards him. He pointed the disk in her direction and in another flash of light more Dogu appeared. Dee stopped in her tracks, realizing that her theory was correct: Thomas Abernathy was using the disk to summon mindless creatures to fight for him.

  “He uses that disk to summon the Dogu and control them. We have to destroy the disk and then he’ll be powerless,” Dee explained.

  “Good luck, lady,” Abernathy said, calling the newest wave of Dogu to attack Dee. She pointed her wand towards the nearest one and commanded, “Ignis flamma!” Flames flickered at the end of the wand and grew into a ball of fire that shot out at her target. The spell hit its mark and burned through the Dogu’s golden armor. It wasn’t enough, as the damaged minion continued towards her with a sword ready to come down on her.

  The ground rumbled beneath Dee and a small quake moved towards the incoming Dogu. Before they could advance any farther, earthen spikes erupted from beneath the snow and impaled the Dogu. Dee turned and saw Adam behind her.

  “I’ve got you covered, Dee,” he said. “Get that disk away from him.” Dee nodded, and turned her attention back towards Abernathy.

  “Stop your soldiers now,” she ordered. “We’re more than capable of holding them off, and you’re outnumbered.”

  “Outnumbered?” Abernathy parroted. “What are you talking about? I’m a one man army!”

  “If you use others to fight for you, you’re not a one man army,” Adam taunted. “You’re a coward.”

  Abernathy ignored the comment and sent out more Dogu. Dee moved in undeterred as she tried to get within range of Abernathy. Another quake disabled the Dogu in her way and she got within range of casting a spell against Abernathy. He sneered, and held the disk out in anticipation of her attack.

  “Velum speculus!” Abernathy waited, but nothing came towards him. He peered out from behind the disk and saw that Dee had disappeared.

  “What’s this?” he thought. “Where did she go?”

  “Pulsus!” Before he could react, the air in front of Abernathy rippled and he felt himself being thrown back several feet in the air. In his shock, he lost his grip on the disk and it fell into the snow below him while
he slammed against the closed gate. He looked forward to see what had happened, only to be met with another immediate spell. “Sileo!”

  Abernathy’s body tightened up and he slumped over onto the cold ground, able only to watch Dee reappear out of nowhere. She rushed forward and grabbed the disk, hurling it through the air towards Adam with a grunt. Adam saw the reflection of the disk come at him, and swung his sword upwards to slice the disk in two as it passed over him.

  As each half hit the snow, the remaining Dogu shook and then collapsed motionless to the ground. The Creator, standing behind Mathias, breathed a sigh of relief. With the Dogu disabled, the only opponent of the one man army remaining was Abernathy, still paralyzed by Dee’s spell.

  The others approached Dee, who dispelled her cloaking wall with a wave of her wand. Only now did Abernathy understand: she hadn’t disappeared, but hidden herself and thus making her immune from the disk’s reflection. Since her spells were invisible as she was, the disk could not have reflected them even if Abernathy had expected them.

  “That was quick thinking, Ms. Gatti,” the Creator congratulated. She returned a smile to her employer before turning her attention back to Abernathy, who seemed resigned to his defeat.

  “Alright, you got me,” he said. “Do whatever you want now. Just let me go and all of you can go forward without interruption.”

  “You’re a lot more eager to let us pass now,” Adam commented.

  “Look, you destroyed my only weapon. I’ve got nothing else to fight with, and I didn’t even want to fight in the first place. This whole duel business got in the way of my afternoon nap. Just let me go on my way and you can all go straight ahead.”

  “Why should we just let you go free?” asked Adam. “You’re a criminal, just as much as any of the rest of them.”

  “I don’t have a problem with you, Evans,” Abernathy said. “Not like the rest. I just wanted an easy job. I didn’t think I was ever going to have to do any fighting. I don’t even care about those guys!”