by I. J. Parker
“Come and see,” Kaoru gruntedand opened one of the shutters a crack.
When Akitada joined him, helooked through a loophole from which an archer could shoot arrows into thelower entrance courtyard. Armed soldiers sat about in small groups.Black-and-white Uesugi banners were everywhere. One man carried equipment tothe tower above the gate. Akitada’s heart sank. They could not reach the gatewithout being cut down in the attempt. Even if the men in the courtyard couldbe distracted long enough, the watchtower above bristled with archers.
Kaoru closed the shutter andwent to put the grate back into place. “We cannot stay here,” he said softly. “Someonemight come any moment. Follow me, but remember the place in case you have torun for your life.” They ran down the corridor away from the main house.Akitada chafed at this and at the fact that Kaoru had taken over and was givingthe orders, but he submitted. He felt badly out of his depth.
The gallery adjoined another,equally empty, and this led to one of the service areas. Kaoru peered outcautiously. It was the kitchen yard, and deserted. No smoke came from thekitchen hearth. The cooking fires had been extinguished prior to battle. Kaorucrossed the yard, headed for a storage shed. They followed, slipped in behindhim, and he closed the door.
“You’ll be safe here for themoment,” he said.
They stood in a small spacefilled with baskets and brooms, kettles and pails, faggots and oil jars, allthe paraphernalia to keep a large household stocked. Akitada’s heart waspounding. He said, “The gate. We must reach that gate. How many men does ittake to open it?”
“One, at the most two.”
Kaoru still sounded confident,but Akitada had become all too aware of his own lack of planning. “You’re sure?”he persisted, wondering if two of them could engage the soldiers he had seen,some fifteen or twenty, long enough to let the other two slip past to the gate.With the archers above, it wasn’t likely.
“There’s a counterweight. I cando it by myself.”
“We need to draw some of thesoldiers away. What about that fire Koreburo was to start?”
Kaoru opened the shed door andpeered out. He closed it again. “No sign of it. He should have done so already.If you’ll wait here, I’ll try to find him.” Before Akitada could protest, Kaoruhad slipped out.
Akitada suppressed a suddenpanic and motioned to the other two to sit down. They sat, each caught in hisown thoughts, and waited in the murky semidarkness of the small shed. The smellof wood and dried grasses hung in the chill air.
Tora’s eyes were wide open andhis hands twitched occasionally with suppressed excitement. Hitomaro leanedback against the wall, perfectly still, his eyes closed, his chin on his chest.Looking at them, Akitada reflected how close these two men were to him, and howdanger affected them all differently. He remembered Takesuke’s fervent wishthat Uesugi would attack the tribunal, while he himself had been weighed downwith fears for his family and his people. Takesuke’s high spirits had struckhim as irresponsible and bloodthirsty then. Now he wondered if he was the onewho was inadequate to his duty. Takesuke, Tora, and Hitomaro were all trainedsoldiers, while he was an official. What did he know of war? Yet, by acceptingthis appointment, he had also accepted the possibility of having to fight.
Here he was, in unaccustomedarmor and uncomfortable, feeling ambivalent about the violence he was about toface and-worse-to commit. They had gained entrance to the stronghold withoutbeing discovered, but the real test still lay ahead, and Akitada doubted thathe could pass it.
If Kaoru was caught, he wouldbe questioned under torture. Whether he revealed their presence or not, asubsequent search would find them, and then they would die ignobly here,slaughtered among brooms and braziers. There was no defense against the odds,even if it were possible to swing a sword in these cramped quarters.
It wasn’t going to be easy atall.
* * * *
TWENTY-ONE
TO THE DEATH
A
kitadadid not want to wait for death.
Neither did the others. Torabroke into his thoughts impatiently. “Where in hell is Kaoru? He has nerve,telling us to sit here and wait for him. Who does he think he is? I don’t likeit. We’re stuck here like rats in a box.” He stood up and walked to the door,opening it a crack.
Hitomaro went to join him. “It’stoo quiet,” he said.
Tora asked, “What if it’s atrap, sir? To my mind the fellow’s just too well informed about this place fora mere woodsman.”
Akitada hated the inactivity,but he shook his head. “No, we must trust Kaoru. He’ll be back any moment.”
Hitomaro closed the door andpaced. Tora grunted and sat down.
Akitada thought he could findthe way to the gate from what he remembered of his earlier visits. They hadbeen taken from the gate to an inner courtyard. From there, Akitada had goneinto the main house. The trouble was, he was not sure where they were now. Heclosed his eyes and pictured Kaoru’s sketch of the secret entrance. He mustsomehow get back to the main house. The gallery from which he had seen thenorth pavilion had been on the west side, but they had gone there throughanother gallery that served as an armory.
Never mind. They were notheaded to the north pavilion but to the gate. They had to open the gate to letTakesuke in before they did anything else. The problem was how to get therefrom here. He had spoken to the servants in a courtyard not unlike the one theywere in. For that matter, where were the servants? Some must be in the kitchen,even with the fires out. Had they all been pressed into defending the manor?
“Tora,” he said, opening hiseyes, “where did they take you during the banquet?”
“One of their barracks. Theyfed me. Seemed decent fellows.” Tora grimaced.
Akitada guessed that Tora didnot like the thought of killing such hospitable men, or being killed by them. “Butwhere were the barracks? In relation to the gate and the main house?”
“Between the house and thegate. Why?”
That accounted for one of thecourtyards. “I’m wondering if we can find our way to the gate without Kaoru.Takesuke’s men are preparing to attack. We cannot wait much longer.”
“Then let’s go, sir.” Hitomarowas on his feet. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Akitada sighed and rose. “Yes.Something must have gone wrong. We have waited long enough. Take another look outsideand tell me if you see any smoke anywhere in the compound.”
Hitomaro reported, “Nothing,sir. They must’ve caught both of them.”
Akitada looked around the shed.“Very well. Since the materials are at hand, we’ll make the fire here. Pile upall the baskets, brooms, and kindling against that wall over there. Then we’llpour the lamp oil over it and light it.”
Tora grinned. “Good idea. Thekitchen next door has a thatched roof. That should get their attention.”
Hitomaro nodded, and they fellto work. Akitada emptied baskets and tossed them on the pile. “We are goingback the way we came,” he said as he worked. “That gallery should take us tothe main house, and from there we’ll get to the gate.”
“They’ll be coming that waywhen they see the fire,” Hitomaro muttered.
“We’ll just have to be fast,”said Tora happily.
Akitada thought it likely that theywould be seen even before the smoke attracted notice. He dragged one of thehuge earthenware jars full of oil across the dirt floor. Hitomaro came to givehim a hand. Together they lifted and emptied the dark, viscous liquid over thepile. Their enemies had thoughtfully supplied an assortment of flints, wicks,and spills to keep the manor’s oil lamps lit, and in a moment eager flameslicked upward, joining others with a cheerful crackle, and cast a flickeringred light on their faces. Smoke rose.
They looked at each other. Tora’sgrin looked more like a demon’s snarl in the firelight. Akitada tried to shedthe image of hell, and said, “Good. Let’s go.”
Just as they burst from theshed, Akitada in front, a woman cried out. The kitchen door stood open, and twomaids goggled at them and at the inferno behind them. Ignoring the
maids, theycrossed the courtyard at a run and entered the enclosed gallery. Miraculously,it was still empty. Midway, Akitada checked his speed and opened one of theloophole shutters. The scene below had changed. The watchtower, almost on alevel with the gallery, now bristled with archers and the men in the courtyardwere on their feet, swords and halberds at the ready. Judging from the soundsof high-pitched whinnies and scuffling of hooves, there were horses, too.Akitada estimated thirty men below and twenty on the tower, and more wereprobably out of sight or waiting in other courtyards. Those he could see hadtheir backs to him, their attention on what was going on outside the gate. Andnow he heard it, the sound of approaching battle drums.
Takesuke had arrived, and theymust move, but attempting to open the gate would be certain suicide. When wouldthe enemy notice the fire? And would they care enough about a fire in a kitchenyard to abandon their watch on the gate? But fires spread. They could notignore this. At least some of the men in the courtyard would rush to put itout.
One of the archers on thewatchtower finally turned his head and saw it. “Fire!” he screamed, and again, “Fire!”his arm pointing. Akitada stepped back from the shutter. The men in thecourtyard turned, cried out, and after a moment’s consternation, an officershouted orders, and they began to run in all directions. Tora came to look andlaughed out loud.
Akitada slammed the shutter. “Comeon.”
They ran to the end of thecorridor and into an open gallery crossing a walled interior garden. Sleet haddriven in to gather against the walls and whiten the few shrubs and rocks. Agate led from the garden. Akitada found the stairs, and they ran down. Just asthey reached the small gate, it burst open and a warrior came rushing through.He saw them, cried, “Tell his Lordship there’s a big fire in the kitchens.Lieutenant Imazu has gone to put it out.” He turned, then paused and swungback, puzzled. “Who are you?”
Hitomaro’s blade flashed. Therewas a sickening sound, and the man’s head rolled into the shrubbery, his bloodspurting over Hitomaro and Akitada as the body sagged at the knees and fellacross their path. Hitomaro stepped over it to the gate. Akitada gulped andwiped at the warm wetness on his face.
“Go on, sir,” urged Tora behindhim, and Akitada gripped his sword, stepped over the fallen man, and followedHitomaro through the gate and down more steps. He saw that they were in thebarracks courtyard now and no longer alone. Soldiers ran this way and that,shouting to each other. Nobody paid attention to three armed men coming fromthe direction of the main house.
They moved quickly andpurposefully and passed unhindered through the inner gate, down more steps andinto the gate courtyard.
Here there were fewer soldiersthan before, though the watchtower was still fully manned with archers who sentvolley after volley of arrows down at Takesuke’s men outside. The arrows foundtheir targets. Screams came from outside, and triumphant shouts from above.Akitada thought of the narrow space outside and how any attempt on the closedgate meant almost certain death.
He hurried, trying to rememberwhat Kaoru had said about the gate-something about its being counterbalanced sothat one man could open it. There was another bloodcurdling scream, and hebroke into a run. Tora and Hitomaro followed. Someone shouted at them, but allthree made it under the gateway, and there, in the shadows, Akitada saw theropes and pulleys. Huge stones hung suspended by ropes that ran over wheels.The gate itself was massive, iron-studded, and barred with an enormoushorizontal timber. He could faintly hear the sound of battle-axes against themany layers of wood-Takesuke’s brave men dying in a shower of arrows fromabove-and felt defeated by the massiveness of the structure. Where was Kaoru?Tora was already pushing at the bar, and Hitomaro ran to give him a hand. Thebar did not budge. Akitada turned to look up at the ropes and stones, trying totrace their path, hoping to understand the crude but effective mechanism. Threeof Uesugi’s men rushed in, shouting questions. Akitada grunted something inanswer, but it was no good. They had realized the truth and attacked. One ofthem, a big, bearded man, ran at Akitada with the wicked steel blade of thehalberd aimed at his belly. Akitada moved aside, felt the blade slice throughhis trousers, took his sword in both hands and swung down, severing the halberd’swooden handle-a foolish move, because his attacker simply dropped it and drew ashort sword instead. For a moment they grappled. The other was bigger andstronger and forced Akitada back against the wall. Another soldier appeared behindhim, grinning too soon, because suddenly Kaoru was there beside Akitada andslashed at the man’s legs. As he fell screaming, Akitada managed to break freeand shove his sword into the man’s chest with such force that it disappearednearly to the hilt. An almost comical expression of surprise passed over thebearded face, then he sagged, skewered, a dead weight on the sword. Akitada hadto put his foot on the dead man’s body to pull out his weapon. He turned away,dazed by the violence.
“Get back, sir. Get outside!”Kaoru shouted to him and jumped for the largest of the suspended stones.
“Where have you been?” demandedAkitada.
Kaoru missed and jumped again. “Notnow,” he gasped. This time he grasped the stone and brought it down with him.The wheels spun, ropes creaked-
“Sir!” shouted Tora.
Akitada swung around and lookedinto another halberd coming at his chest. Uesugi’s people had finally graspedwhat was happening, and the fight was on. Akitada brought up his swordinstinctively and deflected the halberd. Equally instinctively- for nowhere hadhis past training involved fighting with swords against these viciouslong-handled weapons carried by most foot soldiers-he drove forward and wasmildly astonished how easily his blade slid into the other man’s belly.
“Sir-watch out!”
Tora again, and Akitada jerkedback, bringing the sword with him followed by a gush of blood and his victim’sscream. The gate enclosure had filled with men. There was no time to think,just to fend off the attack and kill. His lessons forgotten, Akitada slashedand swung, two-handed, at wild-eyed shouting men, making a path to the outside,dimly aware of Tora’s curses and Hitomaro’s broad shoulders and flashing blade.They beat them back, one by one, into the courtyard.
Others came running, but a loudclanking and grinding signaled the opening of the gate, and then came thetriumphant din of shouting men as Takesuke’s soldiers streamed into Takatamanor. They carried the Sugawara insignia of the white plum blossom on their redbanners, and Akitada felt a moment’s dizzy pride-until the slaughter began.
The passage was narrow, and asthe men emerged in groups of three or four at a time, a hail of arrows fromabove greeted them. The archers felled every second man. Akitada saw one of thearrows pass through a banner and into the man’s unprotected skull. As hewatched the soldier topple forward, another arrow glanced off his own helmet,making his ears ring, and Hitomaro pulled him into the shadow of the wall.
“Stay here, sir. Tora and I aregoing up.”
Akitada gulped some air andglanced up. Stairs led to the tower platform above him. From there, the Uesugi’sarchers were taking out Takesuke’s men as easily as the courtiers back in thecapital used to shoot the deer driven into an enclosure by beaters. He cried, “Comeon!” and made for the stairs.
“Wait, sir.” Tora caught hissleeve.
Akitada wanted to tear awayangrily, but then he remembered his place and stepped aside. A retainer’s dutywas to protect his master. Shame attached to him if he failed to do so.Hitomaro was already running up the steps, Tora at his heels, when Akitadafollowed.
The first steps were of stonebut where the tower began, they changed to wood and the space narrowed so thatonly one man could climb. Akitada could see the gray sky ahead. Then a faceappeared against it. Tora flung himself against the wall, and Hitomaro ducked.An arrow hissed past Akitada’s ear, hit the wooden wall behind him with a sharpthwack. The shaft hummed as it vibrated from the impact.
Tora jumped forward. With aroar, he seized the archer’s leg and pulled him down through the opening. Asthe man fell, Hitomaro ran his sword through him, pulled it out, and pushed thebody down to
ward Akitada.
Akitada ducked aside, then ranup the rest of the steps. The top of the watchtower was becoming a scene ofcarnage. In the dreary light of the winter day, Tora and Hitomaro slashed rightand left at the archers who dropped their bows but had only short swordsagainst their long ones.
He took a deep breath, gaggedon the smell of fresh blood in his nostrils, and flung himself into the fray ofclashing blades and grunting, screaming men. He lunged and slashed, lungedagain, parried, felt his sword bite, and dove under a raised weapon. Hepartially decapitated one man who was about to stab Tora in the back, thenturned and slashed at another who was coming at him. With his longer blade, hecaught him across the belly, laying open pale intestines quickly covered withblood. The man dropped his sword and clutched at himself, his eyes wide withpleading. But Akitada was already moving past him, pursuing another man, hismouth opened in terror as he backed away. Before Akitada could kill him, theman screamed and flung himself over the railing to his death below.
It became quiet on thewatchtower. Outside the clouds moved slowly in the wind and gusts of sleet blewin. A few of the archers had escaped down the stairs, another had jumped, therest lay dead or wounded. The wooden boards were slick with blood. Only thethree of them were left standing. Tora wiped blood from his face and bellowed acheer. Then he grinned at Akitada. “We got them, sir.”
Akitada grinned back, feelingan enormous surge of exultation. He had fought and survived. One of the woundedwept noisily. Akitada slipped in a puddle of blood oozing from a dead man. Thiswas war and it was more exciting than anything he had ever done before. Hewanted more of it. Leaning over the side of the tower, he looked down into thecourtyard. Frightened horses ran among the scattered bodies. Here and there, awounded man was dragging himself to safety. Takesuke’s soldiers wereeverywhere, their red banners with the Sugawara crest fluttering where Uesugi’sblack and white ones had been before. From the barracks courtyard he could hearmore sounds of fierce fighting-screaming men and clashing metal. To the east,the dense cloud of smoke over the kitchen area had doubled in size and flameslicked through the blackness.