by M. H. Bonham
“Yes, but I believed it before the tests.”
Akira stared at her. “What? I risked my life and killed a woman—for what purpose?”
“To prove to me that you are indeed the son of a Tengu.” Shigeko raised her hand, and to Akira’s surprise, they were surrounded by ninja.
What now? Windspirit grumbled.
Quiet, Akira whispered in a low voice. He looked at the sea of brown and black that stood all around him. He doubted he could possibly fight his way out.
Shigeko smiled. “There is one more thing you must do, Akira Stormhammer.”
“What is that?”
“You must speak to the lord of the isle.”
“The lord of the isle?” Akira blinked. He had thought Shigeko was in charge here, but perhaps he had been mistaken.
“Yes, the nameless one who guards our island,” Shigeko said. “He will have the information you seek.”
Akira glanced around at the ninja faces. “Who is this lord? Where is he?”
Shigeko nodded. “He lives in the mountain at our island’s center. He is the great dragon of the Shinobi.”
Chapter Seventy-Three
“A dragon?” Akira could not mask his disbelief. Certainly the ninja knew that Tengu and dragon were ancient enemies. Certainly they had heard of his fight with the dragon on his father’s island. He clenched his hands and stared at the Shinobi shonin in shock. “This can’t be. I can’t do that.”
“Why? What is the problem?” Shigeko asked. She looked genuinely puzzled at his outburst.
You should know what you are sending him to, Windspirit spoke up.
Akira glanced at the sword, still bloody in his hands.
“I should?” Shigeko asked. She tilted her head. What makes you so fearful, Stormhammer?
Akira took a slow breath. The Tengu and dragons are enemies.
Not here, Shigeko said. The dragon will not harm you while you are a guest of the Shinobi.
I have killed a dragon before, Akira said.
Shigeko arched an eyebrow. Is that so?
That is how the Tengu found me. He paused and looked down at the bloody no-dachi. “Shigeko-shonin, I must ask your forgiveness, but I cannot meet with the dragon.” He drew a small rag and wiped the edge of the no-dachi before sheathing it.
Shigeko shook her head. “I’m sorry, Takeshi-sama, but you have no choice. You will go to the dragon and speak to him or you die now.”
You cannot take on the entire Shinobi clan, Windspirit whispered in his mind. Accept her request.
But the dragon...
Accept, Windspirit’s voice hissed in his mind. Trust me.
Akira bowed, keeping his eyes carefully on the ninja. “I will do as you say.”
“Then, follow me,” Shigeko said. She began walking across the practice lawn towards the forest.
Akira frowned and noticed that the ninja were watching him carefully. Shigeko turned around expectantly.
“You will lead me there?” Akira asked.
“It appears so,” Shigeko said. “Please come quickly. I do not have all day.”
#
Shigeko led Akira into the forest. Dark, foreboding evergreens like those in the Tengu forest rose up from the ninja stronghold. He noted that on this side of the forest, there was no walls protecting the Shinobi castle. He wondered if the dragon afforded some sort of protection to the Shinobi. But in exchange for what?
Shigeko walked slowly and silently and Akira fell into silence as well. He watched her as she strode a pace ahead of him. Now that she had her mask and hood pulled away, he could see her face fully in the filtered light of the evergreens. Her face was ageless, almost flawless in the way he had seen with the kami, although he suspected she was older than many of the ninja present. Only a shock of white around her temples betrayed her age. She reminded him of the Tengu women. Looking at each of the ninja reminded him of the kami and the Tengu. Were these people no longer fully human?
It’s likely they’ve intermarried with kami to keep from inbreeding, Windspirit said softly in his mind.
What was the ninja shonin thinking? Was she planning his death in some sort of terrible fashion?
If she wanted to kill you, she would’ve done so already, the sword responded. By its tone, Akira recognized it as being guarded. There is no way you could possibly take on all the ninja without killing yourself.
But a dragon? Akira thought back.
You have slain dragons before, albeit as a Tengu, the sword said. You may not be able to fly, but you have me, and you have skill.
Akira smiled slightly at his old sensei’s vote of confidence.
The path continued its way through the dark forest. When the broke free of the trees, Akira studied the lay of the land carefully. The path wound upward in a series of switchbacks that wended its way up the side of a ridge. This ridge was one of several that went up to the volcano.
Shinobi-jima was a typical island with a single volcanic peak. The dragons loved to live in volcanic mountains because of the warmth and the closeness to their element, fire. By the looks of the vegetation and the apparent softening of the ridges, the volcano had been dormant for some time. He paused and knelt, letting Shigeko continue ahead as he picked up a handful of loose dirt his foot had scuffed and rubbed it between his thumb and forefingers. At one time, he wouldn’t have even noticed the dirt, but something within him told him to pay attention to this.
Shigeko paused and watched him as he sniffed the soil. “The soil is good for crops, but we have few farmers to clear the forests or plant the fields.”
He looked up, puzzled by her admission. “How long has it been since you’ve had an eruption?”
She tilted her head. “Not for thousands of years. Why?”
“Is the mountain alive?”
“Yes, but it sleeps.”
Akira nodded as he stood up and rubbed the dirt from his hands. “It is a shame that such a fertile island is not used.”
She shrugged. “Here there are only ninja. Even our farmers and laborers are ninja. Who would come to this island to work alongside us?” She paused. “Come, we tarry too long. The lord of the isle is restless.”
Akira followed her as Shigeko picked up the pace. He wondered how she would know that the dragon was impatient but decided to not ask. She knew somehow, no doubt a type of ninja magic.
Akira wondered if the dragon would know who he was. He thought it unlikely, for while killing a dragon was no mean feat, certainly the dragon here was far enough away from Tsuitori-jima.
Shigeko led him up several switchbacks. For once, Akira was grateful for all the physical training he had done with the Tengu. Even as a samurai, he had learned neither how to pace himself properly nor how to breathe. The hike up this ridge would’ve left him breathless.
After five switchbacks, the path narrowed further. Akira found himself following a single track as Shigeko was forced to put one foot directly in front of the other. The path turned sharply upward and, to his amazement, stopped at a sheer cliff face. Shigeko stood before the rock wall and raised her hands before it. She curled her fingers and snaked them up and down the stone. As she did, lines formed in the rock face and a door appeared. It swung inward and Shigeko motioned for Akira to follow her.
Akira peered in. The doorway opened to a tunnel hewn from stone. He placed his hand on the wall and found it smooth as though highly polished. He looked at Shigeko in awe. “How was this done?”
She shook her head. “I do not know.” She stepped in and Akira followed her into the warm room. He expected it to be completely dark, but he could see light ahead and smell the sulfurous smoke.
The tunnel expanded outward into a huge chamber, glittering brightly with thousands of gems in its ceiling and walls, casting a rainbow of colors throughout. But Akira had no time to admire the size or the magnificent gems. Shigeko knelt before a huge blue dragon.
Welcome, Takeshi Akira Stormhammer, the dragon said. It has been a while since we last met.<
br />
Chapter Seventy-Four
Akira stared at the lord of the Shinobi. The blue dragon was much as Akira expected, with iridescent blue scales and sharp claws, but much larger than the dragon over Tsuitori, filling the cavern with its enormous coils. It lifted its great head and opened its mouth in a ferocious grin as it looked on Akira with slit, catlike eyes.
Shigeko stood up slowly and glanced at Akira. “You know him, my lord?”
Oh, yes. Stormhammer and I met once over the seas of Tsuitori.
“You’re the dragon that attacked Yutsui?” Akira said. “But you are bigger than that dragon, and I... killed it.”
The dragon laughed, its roar nearly deafening in the cavern. You can’t kill me, boy. I am an immortal creature.
Akira frowned. In truth, he hadn’t thought much about the dragon since the Tengu attack. Everything had happened so fast, he didn’t have time to consider that maybe the dragon attack had been orchestrated. He had found it odd that the dragon attacked Tsuitori when none ever had before, but now he began to wonder. Had the Tengu sent the dragon? He doubted that two enemies would work together unless there was a common goal.
A common goal, indeed, said Windspirit softly in his mind. Dragons can be as treacherous as the Tengu. Do not trust him.
Akira made a mental nod to the sword. He knew Rokuro would have a better understanding of dragons. Perhaps the dragon and the Tengu were not such awful enemies.
“Why did the Tengu send you to Tsuitori?”
I see you’re not quite as dull witted as the samurai you’ve professed to be, the dragon said. In fact, you have the wit of my children, the Shinobi.
Akira ignored the insult. “They are your children?”
Some. You’ve already noticed my daughter, Shigeko, isn’t quite human.
Akira broke the gaze to glance at Shigeko. She was smiling at Akira. “And now you know our secret, my young samurai. The dragon blood makes us very old and very powerful.”
“But you were samurai at one time.”
“We were ronin—disgraced samurai. We had nowhere to turn except to the kami who chose us. That is why the Tengu brought you here.”
That explains a lot, said Windspirit. The ninja who chose Tengu mates are part kami already.
“So you came to Tsuitori to find me,” Akira mused, “because I am part Tengu?”
Yes, because you are one of the half-breed kami who is not part of the Shinobi.
“Why such interest? I’m not special. The Shinobi have kami blood. I’m sure any one of them could best me given the time.”
It is not they I am concerned about. They are under my watchful eye, the dragon replied. But you, Stormhammer, are outside all. You will not be Tengu. You will never be samurai. The Tengu have now forbidden your use of magic, but…
Akira waited.
I can change that, the dragon said. I am more powerful than any Tengu. Come and join the ninja here on Shinobi-jima. Here you will be among your own kind and learn the way of the Shinobi. You can take whatever form you choose, Tengu or human. You can be among your people and have a home.
Silence ensued and Akira felt the power behind the dragon’s gaze. Humans, he knew, succumbed to the dragon’s magic, but he was immune thanks to his Tengu blood. The dragon was right; he was an outsider now, neither Tengu nor human. He could choose to become ronin and join the ninja, thus giving him a place once more in the human world, and still be able to use his powers without fear of the Tengu death sentence.
The offer was tempting. He could be free to use the Tengu magic and without being beholden to the Tengu. He could be human again among the Shinobi, and while he would become ninja, he would have power beyond anything he would as samurai.
Yet something niggled at him. Maybe it was Windspirit’s silence. Maybe it was something else.
“My lord, you are most gracious in your offer,” Akira said. “I need some time to think about it. Perhaps a day or two?”
A low growl of displeasure rumbled from the dragon’s throat. It is not an offer, Stormhammer.
Akira’s eyes widened and he glanced at Shigeko, who smiled wanly. “But you promised my father…” he began.
“My lord does not make offers to the highest bidder, Akira,” she said. “You must join the ninja or die. That is your only choice.”
Chapter Seventy-Five
Akira let Shigeko lead him back to the ninja compound. His mind roiled. If he took the dragon’s offer, wouldn’t he exchange one form of slavery for another? He was samurai, not ninja, not Tengu. He did not want to spend his entire life living with the Shinobi or following their rules. He would be ronin, and his father would never know what became of him.
He looked at Shigeko and wondered how old she really was. Dragons were immortal, but she was likely only half dragon, just as he was half Tengu. Yet the Tengu had told him he could be immortal if he chose to be Tengu. He wondered if Shigeko had made a similar choice with the dragon. He thought about his mother, Ikumi, and what she had sacrificed for him to be samurai. He thought about his father, Takeshi, and what he would think of a son who had become Shinobi. Could Akira bring such disgrace to his family’s household?
Your father would not be able to bear the shame, Windspirit said. Your father would commit seppuku. And so would end the house of Takeshi. The sword spoke very softly so Shigeko would not overhear their conversation.
I know, Akira replied. He knew what joining the Shinobi would do to Takeshi. But what could he do?
You could leave tonight, Windspirit whispered in his mind.
Akira tried to look ahead instead of at the no-dachi’s pommel. Shigeko glanced sideways and Akira forced himself to wipe his mind blank. The sword was silent for several minutes while Akira followed Shigeko down the mountain path. When he finally dared to think again, Akira heard Windspirit again in his mind.
The Shinobi are tricky, the sword said. And they are masters at magic. But you are part Tengu. They do not know everything you can do.
But I do not want to use my Tengu powers, Akira objected. If I do, the Tengu will take me.
The sword made a sound like a snort. Don’t you think I know that? I’m not talking about magic. I’m talking about your skill as a warrior.
Akira said nothing. He didn’t hold the confidence in his strength and prowess as a fighter that Windspirit did. Perhaps the sword actually had confidence in itself, in the spirit of Rokuro inside. Akira had already seen how the sword could control his arms and his fighting style. As good a fighter as he was, he doubted he would’ve survived the ninja fight with any other sword.
You would have defeated the ninja without me, Windspirit said. You are a good fighter; you just lack confidence.
Akira snorted. He had never known his old master to exaggerate his prowess as a fighter or try to build up his confidence. He didn’t know what the sword’s game was or why he should even listen to Rokuro any longer. After all, his old sensei was dead.
Akira let Shigeko lead him to the ninja compound and said nothing when she sent him with one of the genin. He felt the South Wind tug against him as he walked into the main building where he would sleep. He followed the genin to his room, bowed once, and entered his room.
Once certain he was alone, he searched the walls and floor for any trapdoors or magical devices. He knew an accomplished ninja could come and go in a puff of smoke. But he had felt the South Wind, and she had reassured him that she was there for him if need be. But how could he call the winds when he had little access to the outside?
The winds, he knew, were capricious. The South Wind remembered him today but might forget him tomorrow. Then there was the issue of the dragon. The dragon here was the lord of Shinobi-jima, and dragons controlled the winds, just as the Tengu did. Akira was certain that the dragon had magic that far preempted anything Akira could muster.
“Well, tomorrow I will start on figuring a way out of here,” Akira said to Windspirit softly. “I’m tired.”
When I was your age, I h
ad twice your energy, Windspirit chided, but the sword’s tone was light. Akira suspected his old sensei knew the value of rest. This exhausted, Akira would probably make a mistake, and here on Ninja Island, a mistake would most likely cost him his life.
His tiredness outweighed his hunger, and since there was no food, he decided to simply sleep. He blew out the oil lamps, lay down on the pallet, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
#
Kasumi sat impatiently at the table in her room. She had met Shigeko and spoken briefly with her about Akira, but little had come of it. Shigeko promised her that she would see Akira very soon. So far, she had been a houseguest of the Shinobi but had not been allowed outside her room or the little courtyard her room opened to. The Shinobi were attentive to her needs, providing her with as much food, tea, and diversions as she would like, but she felt as if she were a trapped tiger in a cage—a pleasant cage, to be sure, but still a cage.
She’d met Shigeko the first day here on Shinobi-jima. The shonin had been polite and listened to her petition but had said little. Kasumi knew that if she had not been from the Neko clan, the Shinobi would have killed her immediately. She wondered why they would let Takeshi Akira live, especially since he came from one of the oldest samurai clans. Then again, the ninja could be toying with her, just as a cat toys with a mouse. Akira could be dead, and they might be stalling for time to decide what to do with her.
The shadows grew very long, and she would soon need to light the oil lamps. Even if she hadn’t access to the outside, she would know the time. The tiger within her told her that night was falling and it was time to hunt. Being kami, she had the instincts of both human and tiger. She knew that if she waited any longer, it would be too long. Her people would be murdered by Nanashi’s samurai, and there would be no one left of the Neko clan.
She had to escape and find out what happened to Akira now. She thought about Tenko, the little kitsune, and wondered what would become of him if she left. She stared at the serving tray filled with sashimi, rice, and rice cakes. She wasn’t hungry, but if she were going to make her escape, she would have to eat. She picked up the cup of lukewarm tea and drained it. Then she ate all the sashimi and rice. She wrapped up the rice cakes and slid them in her bundle. Slipping off her clothes, she folded them and put both them and her swords in the pack. She tied them up as tightly as she could with string from her bag then put them into the pack. She blew out the oil lamps, loosely shouldered the bundle, and changed into her tiger form.