by C. J. Anaya
“General Li, you have already met my daughter,” my father said. He turned his eyes on the other soldier. “However, you, young Ojin, have not had the opportunity to benefit from The Healer’s ministrations. Let us start with you first since your wound is more serious than Li’s.”
The two men bowed their heads in acknowledgment, and my father released me. I kept my head and eyes lowered as I made my way to the younger man. All the while, I could feel the older general’s eyes staring at me. I knelt on one of the gold floor mats in front of the soldier, and without acknowledging him, placed both hands on either side of his head and closed my eyes.
His injury was painful to be sure, but in no way life threatening. Usually the men my father brought here for me to heal were fatally wounded or their injury prevented them from fighting ever again. I couldn’t understand why I’d been summoned to heal something as minimal as a cracked rib and a dislocated shoulder. It wouldn’t afford me much time to search the man’s memories, but I started the process anyway, transferring memories from a few months back until now, absorbing the information and then returning them quickly as I healed the man’s injuries. I made certain to draw the healing process out for as long as I possibly could without raising any kind of suspicion from my father.
Not only was it strange to be summoned for a healing of this nature, but as I attended to the soldier’s cracked rib, I encountered another curiosity. The man’s blood contained foreign entities attempting to bond with the blood cells. They looked harmless, and upon further examination, appeared to have their own healing properties. The entities lit with the touch of my ki and began bonding to the blood cells, strengthening them in a way my ki failed to recognize. I looked at the rest of the entities that had not yet bonded and searched for more answers.
The tiny lights within them circled around my ki and the intelligences attempted to impart the information I was seeking.
“What is taking so long, Daughter?” my father growled.
I startled, sending a pulse of emotion through the man’s body and with that emotion the rest of the entities and intelligences bonded to the blood cells, pulsating with life and strengthening the organs.
I pulled away from the man. “I…Father, I sensed some abnormalities within his blood stream. It doesn’t appear to be a threat, but I wanted to ascertain what must be done with it.”
“Yes, yes,” my father replied, flicking his hand in the air as if this were old news to him. “We are experimenting with some new herbs, a tonic to fortify the body. That is all.” He paused in his explanation, and I wondered that he had actually condescended to answer my question. Usually he ignored me. “Anything else?” He shifted nervously, allowing his control to come crumbling down around him. His apprehension rushed over me, leaving me to wonder what he was up to. He was obviously lying, but why? I felt wholly confused by this strange turn of events.
“He had a cracked rib and injured shoulder, which I easily dealt with.”
“Very good.” He nodded. “Now to the general.”
Very good? Had he just paid me a compliment? I felt unbalanced by his unusual behavior.
He impatiently nodded and motioned for me to move to my left. I swallowed as my stomach churned. I did not like touching General Li or his ki. Both felt slimy and corrupt. I reluctantly moved toward him and then closed my eyes to avoid becoming trapped within his dirty glance.
Once again the injuries were slight, almost superficial. A fractured left wrist. The general was right handed. He could have easily fought without the use of his left wrist. His injury would not buy me much time. I rushed to absorb the last few months of his memories and managed to do so even faster than I had with the first man.
Just as I prepared to break the connection, I sensed the same types of abnormalities within his blood. I hoped that maybe the intelligences present would be able to impart whatever information their existence represented, but the minute I moved to touch them and explore the situation further, they lit with a blinding light, coursing throughout his entire body, and then immediately bonded to the blood cells. It was as if my ki triggered some kind of chemical reaction.
I felt uneasy at the thought. I released the general and rose from the floor, moving to my father’s side as my mind spun with question after question, not to mention an enormous amount of information. It would take me a moment to form the memories into an appropriate time-line and spot the details, if any, that might be of use to Akane. Fortunately, the amount of memories I absorbed were less than what I was used to. I gave my father a quiet acknowledgment without feeling the usual heaviness of absorbing someone’s entire lifespan.
The matter of the foreign entities within the soldiers’ blood streams was a mystery I would certainly share with Akane. Though the entities were friendly, almost familiar even, I had a terrible feeling they were meant for some darker purpose. I highly doubted my father was concerned with developing tonics to help strengthen his soldiers. He simply wasn’t a thoughtful, caring deity.
No. This was something different.
“That will be all, Daughter. I will escort you out.”
I bowed to the men and exited behind my father. He gave me no explanation, and I asked for none. Asking him questions at this point would only raise his ire and suspicion, and the less curiosity I exhibited the less attention I drew to myself.
Yao and Chan were waiting for me outside the double doors. After my father dismissed me, they took me speedily to my room. I beckoned one guard to enter, while the other stayed outside.
“Yao, I need to meet with Akane as soon as possible. I have much to share with her, and feel it important that she receive this information as quickly as possible. Can you get a message to her and let her know it is vital she meet me at the ruins about thirty minutes before my training with Musubi this afternoon?”
“Absolutely, Princess.”
I nodded and then bowed at the waist in response to his bow. He turned swiftly and left the room. I heard him murmuring something soft to Chan and then said more loudly, “The Princess wishes to eat in her rooms this afternoon. I shall send for her maid immediately.”
I figured that louder part was for the benefit of any spies lurking about, and to explain the guard’s absence.
It was still early morning, and my “educational veil training” wasn’t scheduled until mid-afternoon. I needed to organize my thoughts and sift through the information I had received. I lay down upon my bed, closed my eyes and reviewed the first man’s memories. Most of the information was unimportant, though the maps with markings I viewed might be valuable. I wondered if the markings on the maps indicated where various troops were stationed. If so, I would need to share all of those locations with Akane.
One particular memory held some appeal, however. From the young commander’s point of view, I watched a man with a commanding presence approach him and the group of highly ranked officers. He held a large glass container filled with a dark, red liquid. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him and decided to worry about it later so I could focus on the memories flashing before me. He poured the contents of the container into several cups at the table and handed one to each of the men in the room.
“To your health, gentlemen. Let us hope this concoction works as well as His Imperial Highness claims it will.”
From the commander’s point of view I recognized General Li in the room, and four other men of varying stations, each draining their cups and lowering them to the table.
“When will the bonding take place?” Li asked.
“As soon as the king can send for you, though there will need to be some reason for your audience with The Healer. Who wishes to be summoned first?”
I felt the commander’s hand rise like it was my own. I saw Li volunteering out of the corner of the commander’s eye.
“Excellent,” the strange man said.
He moved quickly, faster than the young man’s eyes could follow. The commander doubled over in pain as
his rib was cracked and his shoulder dislocated.
I pushed myself out of the memory, not interested in feeling the commander’s injuries any longer. I knew I would see the same scene played out from the general’s point of view if I decided to skim over his memories. I couldn’t imagine why the men had injured themselves on purpose to force a healing, but it didn’t bode well for the future.
My meeting with Akane couldn’t arrive fast enough.
A firm knock at the door startled me from my thoughts.
“You may enter,” I distractedly responded. I fully expected one of the guards to peek their head through the door, letting me know my message to Akane had been dispatched. I was a bit startled to see Katsu walk in and shut the door behind him. The silence that followed his entrance felt a trifle awkward. He looked at me as if he wanted something, but his emotions let me know he was uncertain and, more surprisingly, a bit uncomfortable in my presence.
I studied him intently, trying to puzzle through the source of his awkwardness by reading his face, but his handsome features refused to give up their secrets. The firm lines of his jaw and high set of his cheek bones were pleasant to look at. I hadn’t developed strong feelings for Katsu, but even I could appreciate how handsome he looked.
“Was there something you needed?” I finally posed.
My voice effectively ended the strange staring match we were engaged in. Katsu blinked a few times as if to pull himself together, and then he tentatively approached me.
“I recognize it is quite unusual for me to enter your rooms without a chaperon,” he stated.
I quirked an eyebrow, wondering what he would have thought about my unchaperoned trainings with Musubi.
Oh, by the gods, why couldn’t I stop thinking about that man?
“Katsu, I’m certain my virtue is safe in your presence, whether we have a chaperon or not.”
The light smile that raised the corners of his lips was quite breathtaking. It made me wish that I could give this man a chance. Perhaps I could convince him that our union would be best served here, taking care of the empire and traveling when needed. If Katsu understood how badly the empire had been neglected, and the importance of the rebels’ noble cause, he might be persuaded to join us and overthrow my father’s reign.
My thoughts returned to Musubi, and my heart sank. Even if I succeeded in convincing Katsu to join our side and followed through with the union, I would always be miserable, wondering what kind of future I might have shared with Musubi if I hadn’t already been betrothed to someone else.
“You place an unhealthy amount of faith in my willpower. Why, I could close the distance between us,” he took a few steps forward, arriving directly in front of me, “take you in my arms,” he stunned me by reaching forward and lightly wrapping an arm around my waist, “and do exactly what I wanted to do when I saved you in the woods almost a month ago.”
I might have become nervous and pulled myself away, if I hadn’t noticed the mischievous look on his face. I gave him a shy smile as I realized he merely teased. His emotions were completely blocked off, so I only had his countenance to go by.
“You’re just being playful,” I said, though his arm around my waist felt warm and secure.
His small smile slowly left his face as he placed his other arm around me. “Am I?”
I couldn’t tell if he posed the question to me or himself. A sharp sense of longing slipped through the wall he usually held tight. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his as I watched his thoughts play across his face. He seemed to be battling some conflicting emotions that centered solely around me.
I didn’t know for certain how Katsu truly felt about me. I didn’t know if he had resigned himself to his fate and sometimes forced himself to pay more attention to me, as if to give the idea of our union a chance, a strange need to fulfill his duty and play his role to perfection. Or perhaps he actually felt something more than just a sense of duty. Maybe he longed to find a sense of belonging and acceptance much the same way I did despite our union remaining an order and not simply a choice.
He leaned his head forward a little, and I nearly panicked. I had never been kissed before. I had no idea if I wanted to be kissed. My inexperience was something Katsu expected, but I was certain over his lifespan he had been with many women. I couldn’t imagine he would have remained alone, waiting for the moment when we could be together. How could I compare to those other women when I was so terribly naïve?
He rested his forehead against mine, giving me a brief respite as I tried to come to terms with our physical contact, his close proximity, and the way my heart raced even though I didn’t want to feel anything for him.
He breathed in deeply, and then placed a lingering kiss on my cheek. “You’re trembling.” His voice sounded gruff. “Do I frighten you, Mikomi?” He pulled back. His eyebrows furrowed with worry.
I looked at the floor. “No, I’m not frightened. I’m simply not used to…to being touched by a man…I mean, I don’t know how to react…I…” Why couldn’t I form one coherent sentence at the moment? I didn’t love him. I knew I didn’t, but his presence affected me nonetheless.
He lifted a hand and brushed back strands of hair from the side of my face, tucking them behind my ear. I felt a warm tingle at his touch and used all my will power not to shiver in front of him.
“Mikomi, please look at me.”
I did as I was told and raised my eyes to his.
“I know this is all very new to you, but I wonder if you would allow me to—”
There was a knock at the door and the guard said, “Your meal has arrived, Princess.”
Whatever Katsu had been about to ask, and whatever courage he seemed to have gathered was interrupted. He pulled away from me and walked to the door. Opening it, he beckoned the servants to set up the food in the center of the room where a table low to the ground stood surrounded by a few red cushions.
I was relieved that our conversation had been cut short. His intensity had been overwhelming.
“May I eat with you, Princess?” Katsu asked. My stomach tightened further, wondering if I would be able to handle more alone time with him, but I nodded my consent. I knew it really hadn’t been a question anyway. He had come to my quarters for a reason. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy his company, but I felt hopelessly confused as to how I was supposed to respond to his hot and cold behavior.
I needn’t have worried about the intensely charged atmosphere. Once the meal had been set and Katsu and I began eating, it seemed that whatever question he had wished to ask, and whatever moment we had been about to share, would not be brought up again.
The moment was gone.
“I wondered if we might train a little today before your outing with Kenji,” he said after serving me some roasted fish. “You’ve never actually trained with my sword, and it is going to be important for you to become familiar with its energy and how it relates to your own healing powers.”
I nodded. “Of course, I am certainly happy to learn more.”
“What do you know about the sword thus far?” he asked.
I searched my memory, attempting to dredge up the few lessons Kenji had forced upon me before giving up once he realized that I was steadfastly in denial about my prophesied future.
“The only thing I am positive of is it is used to strengthen weak areas within the veil.”
I could tell Katsu was not happy with my ignorance on the matter. “In order to understand how the sword strengthens the veil, you must learn what its powers are.” He shifted on his cushion. “The sword is directly connected to the health of the veil. Our First Parents knew the veil would eventually weaken against the never ending onslaught of the demon god, requiring a massive amount of energy to sustain the line between the world of those who have passed on and those who are living.”
“How did they find that kind of energy?”
“That question pertains to your healing powers. When you connect to someone’s ki you’re connecting dir
ectly to the life force or essence of that individual. What do you sense during these connections?”
I thought about it for a moment and could come up with only one answer.
“Intelligence.”
Katsu smiled and nodded. “Correct. Everything, down to the smallest particles of life have intelligence and can function to create some of the world’s most magnificent creatures with the right amount of guidance. Within these intelligences you have unlimited amounts of power and energy, and a person’s ki is the purest source of energy available. And where does their ki go when an individual passes on?”
My eyes widened as I realized where this conversation was going. “Their spirits move through the veil to the other side. In other words, on the other side of the veil are millions of spirits, life forces that continue to progress and grow with power due to their increase in intelligence.”
Katsu smiled. “Exactly. Their energy is what sustains the strength of the veil, but in order to harness that energy and help pinpoint it to where it is most needed, there has to be a conductor of sorts, something that can penetrate the veil, absorb the energy and channel it into the fabric of the veil, thereby strengthening it.”
“So those we have lost to the other side of this veil, they are literally all around us, just participating in a different way and on a different plane than we are.” I thought about this new information and felt certain I wasn’t going to be happy to receive an answer to the question I posed next. “If this sword is able to channel power to heal the veil, why am I needed?”
“With every new recruit, the demon god receives power from their ki as well, and the balance between a life force that has chosen good over that of one who has chosen evil is quickly tipping. There are no longer merely one or two places that the veil is weakened at any given times. Amatsu plans his attacks all at once in several locations. The sword alerts me to these breaches when it lets off a bright golden glow, and I am led to them through the power of the sword, but I can only fix one weakened area at a time due to the fact that the sword cannot handle more power than it was made to.” He reached a hand across the table and softly touched mine. “Your ability to take a person’s ki and guide them into healing themselves is exactly the kind of procedure you would use with the veil, but you would be doing it on a much grander scale with thousands of individual ki available for you to guide.”