Quillblade

by Ben Chandler

  Missy nodded again and took a step away from the records keeper. She drew the Quillblade from under her cloak and held the limp feather above her head in both hands.

  ‘No!’ Lenis cried.

  Too late.

  Missy was already shouting, ‘Raikô! Lord of Storms! Totem of Thunder and Lightning and Wind, I summon you!’

  The Quillblade stiffened and a spark of lightning arced from its tip to the roiling mass of cloud that Tenjin had created. There was a crack of thunder and the air itself seemed to shake. A fearsome avian shriek pierced the field.

  Lenis clamped his hands over his ears, focusing all of his attention, all of his special gift, on Missy. Something was draining out of her, being sucked up through the Quillblade and channelled into the looming cloudbank. What was happening to her? Lenis had never sensed anything like this before.

  Suddenly Missy cried out and fell back. The Quillblade wilted in her hands.

  ‘Missy!’ Lenis crouched beside his sister. Her eyelids fluttered closed. Something was terribly wrong. Lenis felt nothing from her, as if she were dead. ‘Missy!’

  Thunder pealed and a bright flash lit the sky. Lightning struck the Demon Lord. Shamutar cried out again. Lenis could feel his pain and outrage.

  He didn’t care. He pushed it away. ‘Missy!’ He pulled her into his arms.

  A droning noise covered the field. Lenis felt tears on his cheek. Too many. Not tears. Rain. Hard rain. The droplets stung his skin, soaked him through in a moment. The water plastered Missy’s hair to her face and turned her lips blue, her cheeks almost white. The earth shook, and then there was silence. The rain stopped. The sun shone again.

  ‘Forgive me, Master Clemens.’ Tenjin slumped down on top of the wall. ‘Your sister was not ready for such a summoning.’

  ‘You’ve killed her!’ Lenis threw back his head, sending water flying from his hair and shoulders. His shrill cry carried through the now still air.

  The old man knelt next to him and pressed a finger to her throat. ‘She still lives. We must get her back to the Hiryû so Long Liu can look at her.’

  Lenis shook his head. It didn’t make sense. How could she still be alive? She was ... empty.

  ‘The Demons are running away!’ Namei cried. ‘It’s like the sun is melting the miasma. The Demon Lord’s gone, too.’

  Lenis couldn’t feel Shamutar’s presence any longer, but what did it matter? He held his sister’s body close to him and cried.

  ‘Master Clemens?’ He could feel Tenjin’s confusion, but Lenis didn’t care. The old man had killed his sister. ‘We must get her back to the Hiryû.’

  Tenjin’s words made no sense. No matter how hard Lenis tried, no matter how deep he sent his strange awareness, he could feel nothing from his sister. She simply wasn’t there. How could she be alive?

  Lenis felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. It was Namei. ‘Let me help you carry her back to the airship, Lenis.’

  If Namei hadn’t spoken his name, he would have refused, but somehow the sound of it drained away his defiance. He nodded.

  Namei lifted Missy’s feet and Lenis took her shoulders. Together they manoeuvred her awkwardly down the ladder, Tenjin following. By the time they reached the ground the villagers had opened the gates and the fighters were returning. Yami moved through the crowd quickly, his head bowed, his eyes staring out from behind his dishevelled hair.

  He stopped when he saw them carrying Missy, and then hurried towards them. ‘What happened?’

  The other crewmembers came up, and Lenis took a moment to notice they were soaked in blood and mud before turning his attention back to his sister.

  ‘I don’t know.’ Lenis bit his lip to keep from saying more, or crying out.

  Namei went on for him. ‘We have to get her to Master Long.’

  Yami nodded. He took Missy out of their arms and draped her over his shoulder before running off towards the airdock.

  The captain placed a hand on Lenis’s shoulder. ‘What happened, Master Clemens? How is it your sister was injured when she did not take part in the fighting?’

  Didn’t take part? Lenis seethed. The captain drew his hand back quickly, as if Lenis had physically struck him. He wanted to, too. If Missy had stayed out of the fighting, she wouldn’t be in the state she was now, whatever that was. The captain should know exactly what Missy had done for him and the rest of the crew, for the whole of Gesshoku! Lenis almost choked on his anger and frustration. He couldn’t say anything. This wasn’t some stunt Missy had pulled. She’d somehow summoned something more powerful than a Demon Lord. This wasn’t even about the captain selling them. Who knew what these people would do to a slave who had the power to do what Missy had just done? They might make her try to do it again, to use her power to do horrible things, or they might decide she was too dangerous to keep around and too dangerous to sell off, which would only leave one option ...

  Lenis ignored the captain’s question and hurried back to the Hiryû with the rest of the crew, no longer caring what the captain did to him. He had to make sure Missy was all right, had to know what had happened to her. Yami had far outstripped them, but they soon reached the airdock and boarded the airship.

  Yami was waiting for them on deck. The swordsman had smoothed his hair into its tail and now stood in front of the hatch leading below decks. ‘The doctor is caring for her. He asks that you leave him in peace for the moment. He will call us when he has seen to Miss Clemens.’

  Shin strode up to the swordsman, stopping with her face only inches from his. ‘It is true what they say about you. I saw you change on the battlefield. You really are cursed!’

  Lenis’s top lip quivered. She seemed far more interested in Yami than in Missy.

  The swordsman avoided her gaze. ‘It is true.’

  Hiroshi spat over the railing. ‘I knew it!’

  ‘What are you all gabbling about?’ Kenji demanded.

  ‘Yûrei no Gôshi Yami is a cursed man, Mister Jackson.’ Shin’s eyes never left the swordsman’s face. ‘Surely you have heard the rumours of the man with two souls?’

  ‘No, I haven’t.’

  ‘Everyone has heard the tale of Sir Yami the Cursed.’

  ‘Well, why doesn’t everyone just tell me what it is?’ Kenji snapped.

  The captain motioned Shin to move back and then placed himself between Yami and the rest of the crew. ‘I will tell you the tale, Mister Jackson. Forty years ago, the Yûrei clan sided with the Shôgo clan during the Divine Restoration. The two clans had long been allies, so it was not surprising the Yûrei supported the Warlord’s claim that he only wielded his power to defend Shinzô from the Demon threat. The rebels of the Divine Restoration movement demanded the Warlord relinquish that power back to the Emperor. Their first act of open aggression was the attempted assassination of the Warlord’s young cousin, Shôgo no Assen Chi, the woman responsible for assembling the Hiryû’s crew. Chi was saved by a man named Yûrei Hikari, who died defending her. Gôshi Yami was also present during the attack and later attempted to commit ritual suicide to atone for his failure to protect Hikari, the heir to his clan. Somehow, Sir Yami survived the ordeal and rumours spread that ever after he had been cursed.’

  ‘Demon cursed,’ Hiroshi said.

  ‘I was cursed, but not by a demon,’ Yami said softly. ‘The restless soul of a long dead Kystian warrior was sealed within my breast. Gawayn. He thwarts any attempt to end my life.’

  ‘Suicide is forbidden in Kyst,’ Arthur told them. ‘Ancient warrior tradition holds that it is a cowardly and unholy act. It leaves the soul trapped in the body after death, or so they say.’

  ‘And this Gawayn can take control of your body?’ Shin took a step towards him.

  Yami nodded. ‘He has no notion of true Shinzôn honour, and so he will not let me die. I can control him most of the time.’

  ‘Most of the time?’ Kenji asked dryly.

  ‘Gawayn’s spirit not only seeks to preserve my life, but has an unquenchab
le desire to slay Demons. At times their presence is enough to rouse him.’

  Arthur crossed his arms over his chest and managed to look sterner than ever. ‘Complications.’

  ‘I will not allow Gawayn to prevent me from fulfilling my duty,’ Yami said.

  During the exchange Lenis had made his way to the forward hatch. He tried not to make any noise as he lifted the wooden latch and entered the galley. Long Liu’s cabin was below the foredeck, with its door leading into the galley. Lenis raised his hand.

  ‘Come in, patient-brother,’ the doctor called before he had a chance to knock.

  Lenis squared his shoulders and opened the door. His sister lay on a thin bunk in the centre of the cabin. The walls were lined with shelves full of vials with wispy gases and strange liquids in them. There were also silver instruments with unfathomable uses, a mortar and pestle, a series of earthenware jugs, numerous leather-bound books and a small, portable stove. On the rear wall was another bunk, covered in straw.

  His sister’s labouring breath filled the cluttered infirmary. Missy’s chest rose and fell in an unsteady rhythm, but still Lenis felt nothing from her. Her eyes were closed.

  Lenis took her limp hand. ‘What’s wrong with her?’

  ‘Mm, very grave.’ Long Liu shook his untidy mane. ‘Raikô Lord take soul.’

  ‘What?’ Lenis looked sharply at the old man. He had heard enough of captive souls for one day!

  ‘She summon Raikô Lord.’ How did he know that? The doctor ground the marble pestle into its mortar. ‘Raikô Lord not himself. Very sick. Very angry. Very sad. Take sister-patient soul.’

  ‘How?’

  The old man shrugged. ‘Totem powerful.’

  ‘Will she be all right?’

  Long Liu lifted Missy’s other arm from where it lay on her chest. ‘Bracelet keep her here for time. Not all time, but time still. Bestia-speakers only talk. Good Bestia-speakers can go. Best Bestia-speaker go for long time. But must come back. Patient-brother must go and get sister-patient soul back from Raikô Lord.’

  ‘Get her soul back? From where? How?’

  The doctor laughed and capered around the room. ‘Sister-patient sleep-go but can’t return. Raikô Lord has her! Raikô Lord has her!’ When he came back to stand beside Missy’s prone form, his face was serious. ‘You are full of questions, Lenis Clemens.’ All traces of his accent were gone. ‘That is a good thing. You must go and speak to the World Tree. There you will get answers.’

  Lenis stared at the old man. ‘World Tree?’

  ‘Out you go! Patient-brother leave sister-patient to rest.’ The old man grabbed Lenis by the wrist and hurried him to the door.

  ‘Wait, what –’

  ‘No time! No time!’ Long Liu thrust Lenis out into the galley and slammed the door shut.

  The galley was full. Lenis’s first thought was to turn around and bang on the door, but he couldn’t do it with everyone watching him.

  The captain looked up from a conversation he was having with Arthur. ‘How is your sister, Master Clemens?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ he stammered. ‘Master Long just mumbled some nonsense and kicked me out!’

  ‘Master Long is a very good doctor. You should trust he knows what he’s doing.’

  Lenis didn’t want to trust some crazy doctor to look after his sister. What made the captain think he had any idea what Master Long was doing in there? He was probably brewing some potion or chanting some stupid spell. But what could Lenis do about it? The others didn’t seem to think Missy’s condition was a priority.

  ‘What happened out there?’ Andrea pushed herself away from the wall and strode around the galley, clearly agitated. ‘That was more like a staged battle than a rout. Those Demons were organised.’

  Hiroshi cleared his throat. ‘Demons don’t have the mental capacity to act together. They’re worse than beasts, I tell you!’

  ‘Well, they all seemed to be working together today,’ Andrea countered. ‘And what was that ... thing?’

  Tenjin rubbed his eyes. ‘I think I can explain that.’ The captain nodded for him to proceed. ‘It is true that most Demons do not have the mental capacity to function in an organised manner. They are creatures of instinct only. But there are a few Demons in the Wastelands that are clearly something more. They have a cold intelligence, a cruel disposition. We call them Onishu in Shinzô, which translates as “Demon Lord” in the common tongue, but “Jinn” was what they were once called. Totem are the only ones strong enough to fight the Jinn.’

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Kenji waved his hand in the air. ‘All this talk of Totem and Jinn and Lords – they don’t teach this stuff in Puritan schools. What’s going on?’

  Tenjin turned to him. ‘You have seen Bestia. They are elemental creatures descended from beings known as Totem. There are nine Totem, guardians sent to protect our world from harm. Before the Wastelands appeared, however, there were also creatures known as the Lilim – spirits with physical forms who gain power by forming pacts with humans. They are capable of great mischief, even evil. In the same way that the Bestia descended from the Totem, the Lilim descended from the Jinn, a race of creatures who were equal in power to the Totem. The Jinn guarded the spirit world, and like the Totem were nine in number.’

  ‘What do you mean were?’ Kenji asked. ‘I thought we just saw one of these Jinn.’

  The old records keeper sighed and seemed to fold in on himself. When he spoke again his voice was husky, as though his throat was tight. ‘Three hundred years ago, after the Great War, a miasma began to spread throughout the world. Wherever it spread, the Wastelands grew and Demons appeared. Any creature that remains in the Wastelands for too long becomes infected by its taint. The Demons that first appeared were just ordinary beasts, driven mad by the sickness. They were ferocious, but they lacked true power. The Wastelands only began to spread when the Lilim were corrupted. Now it seems that the Jinn have also fallen, which means the Wastelands have penetrated deep into the spirit realm and will only spread further.’

  Lenis shivered. Kenji was right. They didn’t teach such things in Pure Land, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t have bothered teaching them to a slave. How lucky the Puritans were to live in a land with no Demons and no Wastelands!

  ‘So the Demon Jinn can get the lesser Demons to work together?’ Arthur asked.

  ‘It seems so.’

  ‘What happened with Raikô?’ Lenis didn’t care about Jinn or Lilim. All he wanted was to help his sister. ‘If he’s supposed to be a guardian, why did he do that to Missy?’

  There were startled gasps from the other crewmembers. So, Tenjin hadn’t told them what Missy had done.

  The old man hid his arms in his robe. ‘I believe Raikô has been attacked by Demons. He was not himself when he appeared above the battlefield. That is why he took her soul.’

  Tenjin looked right into Lenis’s eyes. Lenis could feel the old man’s guilt, and he knew Tenjin hadn’t known what would happen to his sister, but that didn’t mean Lenis had to forgive him. Neither did the fact he hadn’t told anyone it was Missy who had summoned Lord Raikô. Just because they shared a secret didn’t make things all right between them.

  The captain stood abruptly. ‘The Demons are attacking the Totem. They are growing stronger. We must make haste.’

  ‘Finally!’ Kenji also leapt to his feet. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

  ‘No, Mister Jackson. We are not leaving Gesshoku just yet.’

  ‘Then where are we hurrying off to?’ the navigator asked.

  ‘We must go into the Wastelands.’

  Missy crouched on the stone floor. She knew that at any moment the slave traders would come and drag her out into the light again. She savoured the darkness. It was calm, quiet, safe. No one could buy her if she hid in the dark with her brother.

  ... brother ...

  Where was Lenis? He was never more than a few feet away. Always there. Always close. She groped after him in the dark but
couldn’t find him. Missy curled into a ball and wept.

  She felt something soft settle over her shoulders and looked up. The darkness was empty, but the cloak blocked out the chill of the stone. She pulled the strange fabric closer to her and continued to cry.

  ‘Calm yourself, Misericordia Clemens.’ The rasping voice echoed all around her.

  Missy screamed and buried her face in her hands. This isn’t a slave pen. Think! I was in Gesshoku. With Lenis. Then the Demons came. Then I tried to summon –

  ‘I have need of you.’

  Lord Raikô’s words thundered in her ears and shook her body, forcing her teeth to chatter together. Missy tried to cast off the cloak and run, but she could not. The fabric settled over her, suffocating her, holding her down. She was trapped.

  Arthur raised his hand until the crew fell silent. ‘Captain Shishi, this is madness! What possible reason could there be to go into the Wastelands?’

  The captain’s lip curled upwards. ‘Curiosity, Lord Knyght.’

  The Kystian noble stared at the captain with his arms crossed over his chest. ‘We should leave Gesshoku now, Captain.’

  ‘Do you not wonder why a Shôgo airship would fly into the Wastelands just before a Demon attack, leaving Gesshoku apparently undefended? It is the Warlord’s duty to repel Demon attacks, yet that airship did not stop to help defend the village when the warning bells sounded. If we had not been here the Demon Lord and his minions might have overrun Gesshoku and invaded Shinzô. What could have been more important to the Shôgo? The only thing out there is the ruin of a Totem’s temple.’

  Arthur opened his mouth to answer and then pressed it into a thin line.

  ‘Captain,’ Shin began, ‘even if the Shôgo are interested in Seisui’s temple, that doesn’t mean –’

  ‘Lord Tenjin is correct.’ The captain rose from his chair. ‘The Demons have been attacking the Totem. They have been systematically eliminating our defences. There is only one Totem remaining. Seisui.’