Splinter (Trapped Souls Book 1)

by Ricki Delaine

  It was hard, though. Because he wasn’t of Kino’s bloodline, he could never wield Kamiryoku, the true power of the Mamoru. It was ridiculous that he felt lacking because he couldn’t. Protection could come in more than one form, and Theron had trained long and hard to prove that he was worthy of the title. It was just, the gift couldn’t be passed to him.

  Not his fault.

  It didn’t seem to matter, though, because he felt less all the same.

  To succeed, he couldn’t let that show. He doubled his efforts and held himself to the highest standard, if only to repay some measure of the debt he owed to the man who stood before him. Without Kino, without his guidance, Theron’s life would have been different. He likely would already be dead.

  The look he turned to his elder held regret. “I am sorry. I should not have troubled you with this.” The older man’s mouth tightened, worried. Theron looked away, towards the sun, now very low in the sky. They had to get back. “We should go. I have to get her back before the evening meal.”

  Kino nodded shortly, sighing, watching with pensive eyes as Theron collected the lady’s belongings and escorted her out to the horses. As the two were leaving, he called out. “Wait! Wait, son.”

  Theron looked back over his shoulder, pulling back on the reins. Absently he patted Ash’s neck as his hooves danced a moment before he settled. His adopted father started to say, “I …” then he hesitated, remaining silent long enough that Theron wondered if he was going to continue. Finally, the older man offered, “I can’t say it will help, but you could speak to Kitsune.” Kino sighed. “She has seen much more than I and though I don’t know how, has deep ties to the palace and the Imperial family. She might know the truth of this.”

  Glancing quickly at his companion, Theron nodded. The air still shimmered with heat, but the sun was almost touching the horizon. It had been a long day. He knew that Lynea was tired after all of her appointments. Though she didn’t complain, Theron knew their last stop at the monastery to go over the wedding ceremony and spiritual ritual (again) had been particularly draining.

  And it was still a long ride back to the palace. Barely hearing the creak of the wooden back door as Kino went back inside, Theron turned his horse towards the center of town, so they could begin the journey home.

  The ride was peaceful for a time, the steady sound of the hooves on the hard-packed ground soothing the young man’s stretched nerves. Easing the worry that had been in his mind since that morning.

  “Theron.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “You know I enjoy our rare trips to the village.”

  “Yes, my lady.”

  “And you know I enjoy visiting with Master Kino.”

  He was silent, waiting to see where she would go with this.

  “And relaxing in the reading room while you discuss business.” Her eyes crinkled mischievously. “Though I sometimes suspect from the amount of laughter that comes muffled through the walls, that ‘business’ is more like reminiscing about old times over a cup of sake.” He shifted his gaze over to her and held it for a silent moment before she relented with a chuckle. “I am only joking about the alcohol, of course. I would never suspect you of doing such a disreputable thing, Mamoru.”

  Theron’s glare was spoiled by the edges of his mouth turning up. He chuckled. “My reputation is important to me, my lady,” he allowed.

  She paused, her eyes losing their sparkle. “It brings me joy to hear you laugh, but it is too rare. You are always so serious.” He said nothing, watching her teeth bite at her lower lip, absently thinking that her attendants would have a fit if they saw her do something so unladylike. Her voice brought his attention back to what she was saying. “And today was not a happy meeting, I fear.”

  He looked away from her, dark eyes troubled and scanning the country ahead. He had hoped to find answers from his mentor. But the visit had only left him with more questions, and a sense of growing urgency that the time he had left would not nearly be enough.

  The old man was his most trusted adviser and longest friend. His mentor, with connections and ties that spanned the width and breadth of the Emperor’s lands. The only one who might have been able to help. All he had done though, was give him a name. The name of some crazy old woman, known for talking to spirits and rumored to have been the one to trap those very souls to keep her company.

  Kitsune. Theron huffed a breath. Not only was that old woman mad, but she was in Kikino Woods. Superstition aside, enough warnings surrounded that place that he refused to take Lynea there, but it was over an hour’s ride away. So, at least two hours for uncertain advice. If he risked it at all, he would have to make the trip at night when the lady was safely in her chambers. He wouldn’t leave her during the day when there were so many new people milling around the palace.

  He looked over at the young woman, unable to hide the shadow in his expression. She was still waiting for him to respond, but he didn’t know what to say. Theron knew she could not feel the ache in his throat that could not be eased by talking, nor the churning in his stomach.

  Catching his gaze, her frown deepened. With a sad twist to her mouth, she shook the reins and gave a tap to her horse’s withers. She pulled ahead, the light scent of the floral perfume she wore drifting back to the brooding Protector.

  ˜ ˜ ˜

  The activity of the village surrounded Ria. She heard it all, the women chatting and the children playing. She saw the men (those who weren’t working in the mines or farming), making repairs to houses lining the street or working to trim back the encroaching forest. So close to everyone, and she still felt separate from them.

  The people that were out in the oppressive heat glanced toward the girl, recognizing and either choosing to ignore her completely or move away from her path. Which was fine by her, as she made her way back from her (mostly) unintentional eavesdropping at Master Isao’s farm. The dirt along the road that had been so choking on her way to her delivery now went mostly unnoticed by the young woman. She replayed the words of Master Kino and the Protector over and over in her mind, but didn’t understand them any more than when she’d first heard them. Something obviously weighed heavy on the Protector’s mind. It wasn’t any of her business.

  “Filthy thief!!”

  Startled, Ria’s heart stuttered at the shout. It took a moment to realize it hadn’t been directed at her. She quickly saw who had been the target. Ahead, there were several children bunched around another child. From this distance, surrounded by a half-circle of dark brown and black hair, the shock of the boy’s lighter hair marked him an outsider. Just as her auburn hair marked her.

  The little boy cowered away from the angry group of older children. The young woman knew them – they were bullies of the worst sort, always picking on anyone who didn’t fit in. And the really sad thing was that Ria recognized some of them as siblings of the ones who’d tormented her as a child.

  Today, some of that angry crowd of children held sticks, others held rocks. Their victim was holding something, too. It looked like a mountain apple. Ria understood now, what was going on. It was probably from Oishi’s property. She winced. The Oishi’s jealously protected the fruit of their trees. It brought a nice income for the family each week at the market. Looking more closely at the other children, she saw the two Oishi brothers. Taller than most of the others there, they loomed over the little boy and he flinched back as they made as if to throw the stones they held.

  “Hey!” Ria yelled. Setting her final delivery down and stalking over, she planted herself between them. It didn’t intimidate her that they were of a height with her, nor that there were eight of them, bristling and looking ready to start something right there. She knew these kids. Looks were deceiving. She could hear them muttering angrily. The young man in front of her leaned into her space, trying to get her to budge with his size, she tilted her head to one side and said in a clear, cold voice, “You know that’s not okay. Your father will whip your hide.” She watch
ed his mouth open, then close, wanting to say something but then thinking better of it, his eyes going from her to the small child behind her.

  She stood her ground, one eyebrow raised. While she did, she could sense the direction of his attention was shifting, seeing in her a known, easy target. “Get outta my way, outsider,” but when she didn’t cower or pull away, he frowned, hesitating. It had been a while since she’d been in this position. Since then, her mother had passed. She looked after herself now. These kids didn’t frighten her anymore.

  Without any real conscious effort, she made herself seem larger than she was. She didn’t do it often, her life was easier when people didn’t notice her. Normally, she was making herself smaller. But now it served her purpose. As the boy in front of her puffed out his chest, doing his best to make her back down, she gathered the energy surrounding her – the essence of her personality – and mentally gave it a push, forcing it into contact with the boy in front of her. She swept it into the bully’s swirl of confused emotion. It was easier than she expected, to ease his angry bluster into something else, a something that said he had lost this battle. The change in him was almost immediate and a little surprising. She tried not to smile when, biting his lower lip, the boy looked away. Took a step back.

  Yeah. Relaxing, she nodded shortly, stepping back in more ways than one. She let go of the energy she’d pushed, letting it fall back to her normal levels. She turned around to face the young boy behind her. He looked up at her with wide eyes. Eyes the color of the sky. She sucked in a breath. She’d never seen anyone with eyes that color before. They were stunning. But before she could ask any questions, there was business to finish here. Reaching out, she gestured at the fruit he held. Mouth turning down, he handed it over to her and turning around once again, she tossed it to the lead bully-boy. “You head off now. You don’t have any more reason to trouble this boy.” And with that she pointedly turned her back on the other children.

  Noting only that the troublemakers were heading back to their favorite field to muck about in the grass, Ria looked over the boy in front of her. He didn’t appear injured, thankfully. “Where’s your family?” He didn’t answer, but his eyes were trained intently on hers, as though he were greeting a long-lost friend. Or had seen something new and surprising. Hm. But he said nothing and when he continued to watch her with expectant eyes, she felt faintly uneasy. What exactly was that look supposed to mean?

  She’d never seen him around town before (no one from around here had eyes like that). Maybe he was with one of the visiting families, here for the celebration. She took in his appearance. He looked hungry and was very thin. Small boned like a bird. Though a bird would never get quite so dirty. His face was coated heavily with dirt, as was his hair and clothing. Coated enough that she almost wondered if he had a family to care for him. “What are you called?” Again, no answer. That expectant look had faded, replaced with an expression that looked a lot like disappointment. Now, he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Frowning in frustration, but remembering how she felt after being the victim of the town’s “young masters” when she was his age, she decided not to pursue it. Perhaps unwisely, she reached out with her senses again. She felt the brush of his energy, bright and clear. It was what she might expect, except that she also had the oddest sense that he was wiser than he appeared.

  It was an odd contradiction with the boy’s appearance. But he wouldn’t speak, so there really wasn’t much she could do. At least he wasn’t in for a beating, now. He’d made his way here somehow. He’d have to find his way back again. Reaching into the sack she’d set down, she pulled out a pear. Grandma Ohino-san wouldn’t mind. If she missed it, Ria would replace it on the next delivery. “Here. You look starved.” At the gift he reached up, those bright eyes meeting hers and he smiled, just a little. It lit up his whole face and Ria suddenly felt happier than she’d been in a long while.

  Tilting his head to one side, he looked at her appraisingly a moment. And then something in those unusual eyes sharpened. Ria felt the world wobble oddly and there was a pull, in her mind, that caused a momentary flare of panic before it disappeared, as quickly as it came. Balance rocked, she swayed, blinking. What was that? She pushed down the sudden unease. That tug she had felt was a lot like what she imagined it might feel like for others, if they were perceptive, when she did whatever it was she did. Probably. But moving around people’s feelings, energy, whatever – wasn’t something she did often (nor even something she could say she did well). She didn’t even have a name for it. It was just something she could do.

  She only did it when she had to.

  And as she refocused her attention on the boy in front of her, hoping to get answers – she couldn’t believe someone else might be able to do what she could – without a word he darted off, startlingly silent and more quickly than she thought possible. “Wait!” But he didn’t look back and sooner than she could have reached it, he was passing into the tree line at the edge of Eiji Forest.

  If he moved that quickly, no use to chase him. She snorted wryly. “You’re welcome!” She called out, shaking her head. She probably wouldn’t see the boy again. She shook her head. It made sense there’d be others. She wasn’t that special. But, if so, they were rare. As far as she knew, there wasn’t anyone else who could make people feel things, or sense what people were feeling. Was it because she was an outsider (like the little boy), or was it for some other reason?

  Picking up her load again, she started back to the road. She didn’t have the time to worry about it now. It wouldn’t do to be late returning from her deliveries. The shopkeeper gave her enough trouble as it was. Letting her gaze sweep over the children playing in the field, yelling to each other and tossing a home-made ball to each other, she sighed. That whole episode could have been a page taken from her life. Hopefully that child with the remarkable eyes kept out of trouble long enough to make it back to the people who cared about him.

  Chapter 3

  For Theron, the miles passed too quickly and too quickly the palace loomed in the distance. Their horses knew the path so well, it was no effort to follow it up to the stables. As was their custom, they stopped at the entrance nearest to the nobles’ wing and the lady’s quarters. Theron dismounted, moving to assist Lynea. Her hands rested on his shoulders as he helped her down. It impressed him again how small she was. How delicate she was. He saw her to her rooms and nodded goodbye, trying to ignore the pensive look she wore as he turned to leave. They’d gotten back barely in time for the evening meal. She’d have to change quickly to be ready before her attendant came to escort her to her dining room.

  As he walked through the hallways back to the outer entrance, Theron saw the number of guards stationed throughout the palace had been increased. Keeping his expression neutral, he nodded to those he knew well and gave a glance of acknowledgment to those he did not.

  Well, there was no doubt the people within the palace were safe. An intruder would be quickly and painfully apprehended.

  Resisting a yawn as he stepped outside, his thoughts shifted uneasily to the earlier events of the day. He hadn’t been excited about the loss of his position protecting the lady, but he would have stepped out of her life willingly, knowing it was best for her, the country and the Emperor.

  Now, a few whispers of doubt (that rang painfully with truth) from a (trusted) kitchen servant had raised the question: was everything he’d been told a lie? If so, he couldn’t step aside. Not without knowing the truth.

  He let out a growl of frustration. Too many thoughts were spinning through his head. Theron glanced at the sky, purple on the horizon and beginning to twinkle with starlight. At least three hours before he could be certain the lady would have no further need of him and he could leave to see Kitsune. It would be long after the time of day civilized people came to call, but there was no help for it. He hoped the old woman wouldn’t take issue with his visit.

  Until then, he needed something to distract him, calm him, so he could think.<
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  Fortunately, he still had things to do. The long trip to town meant he should spend time on the gear. Horses made long trips easier, but long trips meant a lot of horse sweat, dust and dirty leather to clean up. He could leave it to the stable-hands, but that wasn’t his habit. Anyway, it was later than they normally returned. The stable-boy was nowhere to be seen. The young man was probably enjoying his dinner. Theron should have been heading to find his own evening meal, but he had no appetite for it. Besides. Still simmering with the horrible questions of the morning, Theron knew that good hard labor would help more than food, if only temporarily.

  The horses nickered softly when he walked back to them, moving them over to the stables’ cleaning area and untying the bridles. Removing the gear from them, he rubbed the animals down quickly, removing the sweat from the long journey home. He felt badly. They’d returned so late, the horses must be beyond hungry. Normally they would have been cleaned, fed and bedded down by now.

  Brushing the two steeds’ coats to glistening, he gave them fresh hay, clean water and moved to do a once over on their stalls while they ate. It was hot work, even with the cool evening air. He rolled up his sleeves, long since down to his undershirt. Absentmindedly, he ran a hand through his hair to get it off his face, when he heard a sound behind him. A soft breath of sound unlike anything a horse might make. He smiled knowingly, but didn’t turn from his task.

  “My lady, you should not be here.”

  “And neither should you be.” Her reply had a half-smile on his face. This was just like her to seek him out because she was worried for him, when it was his job to see after her. To have made it into the stables so late in the evening, Lynea must have crept out her window to get past the guards. Otherwise, protocol said that someone would have come to get him rather than let her go unescorted. Wryly, Theron thought that for a noble and one of the protected upper class (who’d spent her life learning how to be a proper lady), Lynea could be frustratingly willful.