Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son

by Richard Parks

  I had to admit there was a simple elegance to the plan. If each and every fort were under siege, there would be no possibility of any of them coming to the others’ aid. Lord Sadato alone would be free to move and in so doing risk an open field battle against a still formidable army or face the possibility of losing the better part of his forces when the forts were reduced. The danger was two-fold: splitting the Minamoto forces meant any one contingent was more vulnerable to an attack from the Abe main force, assuming it managed to evade Lord Yoshiie’s reserve. The second was the forts in question might prove strong enough to withstand our separate assaults and delay the Minamoto advance until winter, when the weather itself would force our withdrawal.

  “I am no strategist,” I said, “but I certainly see the advantages.”

  “And the disadvantages?” he asked.

  I told him what had occurred to me, and he nodded with satisfaction. “You are more of a strategist than you admit, Lord Yamada. Yes, I would judge a possible delay as our greatest danger. All three forts must fall and quickly. If we achieve this, then there is nothing save hard fighting between ourselves and Kuriya Castle, where open battles will be to our advantage. This is where I require your assistance.”

  “What can I do?” I asked.

  “I want you to lead the attack on the northernmost fortress.”

  For a moment or two I was too stunned to speak. “My lord . . . I am willing to do whatever you need of me, but surely there are men under your command with much more experience in these matters?”

  “Oh, many indeed. Akimasa for one. He will be accompanying you as your second in command, and I would strongly advise you to listen to him, but he is not of sufficient rank to command such a force on his own. While you are—to be blunt—barely acceptable, acceptable you are. You will be in nominal command, but I expect Akimasa to take care of the details, one of which is the eventual surrender or destruction of the fortress. Now, if you were one of my bushi, that would rightly be the end of our discussion, as you have your orders. But I do understand you’re going to wonder about this arrangement, yes?”

  “The question did cross my mind, my lord,” I said.

  “It is simple—after my father and I had chosen among our generals to lead the assaults on the central and the southern fortress, we were left with two—the heir to the Shibata Clan and the heir to the Kiyohara. Both are green and a bit headstrong, but even allowing for that, to give the command to one of them is to slight the other, which I cannot afford to do. A joint command would be a disaster, as I do not believe them capable of working together. So instead they will have the ‘honor’ of remaining with me as personal counselors, and I will pretend to listen to them while you and my other generals go do what really needs to be done.”

  “I understand your dilemma,” I said, “but you did say this concerns Kenji as well?”

  “Say rather his special talents, in addition to your own. We know a considerable number of Emishi were involved in the massacre at the temple. Their presence suggests the northernmost fortress, which is in closer proximity to the barbarians’ allotted territories, was used as a recruitment and staging site. Therefore, if my information is correct, this fortress was the base from which the attack on Yahiko-ji originated.”

  “You believe the onmyoji involved were once based there?” I asked.

  “Not ‘once.’ I believe they still are,” he said. “Which very much includes Lord Tenshin.”

  My expression must have been clear to read, because this time Lord Yoshiie did smile. “Yes, Lord Yamada. I knew this would get your attention. I believe my information to be reliable, though you must discover this for yourself. If he is captured alive, Lord Tenshin belongs to you, as I have said, so do as you see fit. As for the other onmyoji, if any are present, they are already guilty of disobeying the Emperor. Akimasa has my orders concerning them.”

  After we were dismissed, Kenji and I walked back to our encampment. Taro had built a fire for us and arranged for bedding, which was fortunate because such practical matters as where we were going to sleep that night hadn’t had a chance to cross my notice.

  “Thank you,” I said, but Taro just shrugged.

  “Prince Kanemore was explicit that I look after you gentlemen to the best of my ability—after the horses, no offense meant. I am only carrying out his wishes.”

  “As are we, Taro-san. And, none taken.”

  I had already resolved to have a very serious discussion with Prince Kanemore about this very matter upon our return to the capital, assuming we did return. For now there was little more to do save to try to survive as we saw our mission to its end.

  “I don’t like this,” Kenji said as we settled in for the night.

  “What part?” I asked. “I’m not very fond of this entire enterprise, considering what it has cost me so far.”

  “Fate is what has already happened, so clearly it was meant to be so,” Kenji said, “which is not to diminish your loss, Lord Yamada. My concern now is for what is to come. You do know the onmyoji loyal to Lord Sadato are to be summarily executed?”

  “That was my assumption,” I said

  “This does not bother you?”

  “Does it bother you? You said yourself you wanted revenge for Yahiko-ji, whereas I think of Rie and my cup of empathy is quite drained. I also think of the innocents who will inevitably suffer in war regardless of what happens at the north fort. At least the onmyoji have the advantage of deserving death, and I daresay a great many more will have death whether they deserve it or not. Let us change what we can change, Kenji-san, and leave the rest to whatever gods or Buddhas seem inclined to help. Frankly, both have been rather scarce lately.”

  “I hear what you say, Lord Yamada. Next I will see what you do. Good night.”

  Kenji rolled over and that was the end of the conversation. I must have sensed I had somehow not suffered enough during the day’s events, so I went to talk to Rie. I found Taro nearby. His blankets were unrolled under the cart itself, but he was not in them. Rather, he was standing some distance from the cart, a look of fear and confusion on his face.

  “Lord Yamada! I was just about to come for you.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I don’t know, but something is wrong with Lady Rie . . . I mean, something new. She said some things to me, but it was different this time—none of it made any sense, and her face was strange-looking.”

  I followed Taro to where my sister was confined. She sat in the middle of her cart, her shackles in place, looking exactly as I would have expected her to look.

  “I want to die, but we have already discussed that,” she said. “So, brother, what have you come to talk about instead?”

  Taro looked puzzled, but I had my suspicions and merely waited. We did not have to wait for very long. Suddenly the corners of Rie’s mouth began to twitch, and when she spoke again she neither looked nor sounded like the Rie I knew.

  “Insufferable!” she said, in a voice both thick and hoarse. “Free me at once!”

  “You know that is not going to happen,” I said.

  She frowned. “Who are you?”

  “I am a friend of Lady Rie’s. Who are you?” I asked. “No, don’t bother—you are Lord Otomo no Tenshin, yes?” I didn’t need the confirmation by this point, but the stunned look on what should have been my sister’s face was validation enough.

  “Who are you? What have you done to me?”

  “Far less than you have done to me and mine, Lord Tenshin.”

  “Where am I?” the creature asked.

  “That is a good question. Where do you think you are?”

  “Do not trifle with me! I am an onmyoji of great power!”

  “I know what you are, Lord Tenshin. I know what you have done and can do. Answer my question, if you know the answer.”

  “I—I am dreaming. I must be dreaming!”

  “Then it’s time to wake up,” I said.

  There was no way for me to be certain
, but I believe he did just that, for in a few more seconds the strangeness left my sister’s face, and she was Rie again, or as close to Rie as was possible under the circumstances. “Brother? Where did you go?”

  “I have not moved from this place, sister. I think you were the one who left us for a while. Where did you go? Do you remember?”

  She frowned. “All I can remember is a prison. A little larger than this one, but only a little. Was it a vision of hell?”

  “I do not think so. Listen to me very carefully, sister—I believe Lord Tenshin is beginning to lose control of the link between you, and rather than simply manipulating you like a puppet, his will is actually manifesting within this constructed body. This time it happened while he slept, but if I am correct, it may begin to happen when he is awake. When—if—that happens, he will take control of you, speak from your tongue, see what you see, possibly without even meaning to do so. When that happens, you may, as just now, see through his eyes, be where he is. I need you to let me know what Lord Tenshin sees.”

  “How can you trust me to relate it? Is he not still in control of me?”

  “I’m not even certain he is in control of himself at this time, and the issue of trust I will leave to whatever judgment remains to me. I know you have no reason to do so, but despite what I must do to you when the time comes, I would like your help.”

  She shook her head, looking disgusted. “Certainly there’s a reason, you dolt! You are my brother. Even as I am, whatever karma has brought us to this, you remain my brother.”

  “I know, but thank you.”

  “Whatever for?”

  “For helping me remember. When the time comes, I will need you to remember as well.”

  “What do you mean? Of course I will,” Rie said.

  I wish I could be as certain as you are, sister. But we shall see.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Kenji was right.

  But then, so was I. We crossed the Kitakami River in good order, and by the time our forces reached the northern Abe stronghold from the eastern side, the periods when the spirit I knew as Lord Tenshin took over Rie’s constructed body had become more and more frequent and, as was quickly apparent, beyond his control. Fortunately, Akimasa took charge of arraying our forces to conduct the siege itself, for even if I had possessed the skill, my mind was focused on a separate problem: the increasingly erratic link between my sister and Lord Tenshin. If I was present during one such interlude, he would appear to gloat, but I saw the fear in his eyes—and it was his eyes, not my sister’s, looking at me then, and I had no doubt I was looking into a soul which was not that of my sister. The difference was subtle but beyond mistaking. When the manifestation ended and Rie returned, she always spoke of being confined, and there were others there, but she could relate little beyond that.

  Kenji, never one to accept validation—or anything else—at face value, remained skeptical. “Even if Rie isn’t lying to you under Lord Tenshin’s direction—which is still quite possible—how do we know Lord Tenshin and the other onmyoji are confined here? Their prison could be anywhere.”

  “In our last conversation, Rie spoke of much confusion and noise beyond the place where she—I mean he—is being held. That is likely our siege.”

  “Or the siege of either of the other two Abe strongholds,” Kenji pointed out.

  “Very true. We won’t know for sure if Lord Yoshiie’s information is correct until this castle falls,” I said.

  As the nominal leader of the siege, my accommodations had changed somewhat since the Minamoto had forced their way into Mutsu. Kenji, myself, and Akimasa shared a camp maku bearing the Minamoto crest, as Lord Yoshiie had directed. There was to be no question as to who was responsible for its downfall when the fort did fall. Also, so far as the defenders knew, Lord Yoshiie himself was present, and so I gathered it was at the other two sieges as well.

  The Abe fortress was solidly built, with a foundation of stone that raised it several feet above the banks of the river. There was higher ground nearby, which had made me wonder why the fort had not been built there instead, but Akimasa had the answer.

  “There is only one decent crossing point on this part of the river, and the fortress commands it. Any further away from the river and they would be out of bowshot and unable to contest an enemy’s crossing. Here, they can thwart any attempt to cross the river.”

  Which explained why we actually crossed the river at a point not too far from the central fortress with the forces assigned to its destruction, then immediately separated to ride north so we could approach our own goal from the land side. Even so, the fortress was strong, and so far we had been able to do little save exchange arrows with the defenders. Akimasa had said nothing on the matter as of yet, but I could tell that he was worried.

  “Time,” he muttered.

  “Eventually we must win,” I said. “And I am guessing this is the problem?”

  “You heard Lord Yoshiie,” he said. “We can wait them out, since Lord Yoshiie has the men he needs to hamper any relief, but they would have been expecting us. If they don’t have sufficient supplies to last at least two months, Lord Sadato is a fool. And I happen to know the Abe Clan chief is not a fool. There’s glory in a direct assault—”

  “And a lot of men will die,” I said.

  Akimasa smiled. “What I was about to say, was pretty much the same thing. Lord Yamada, I am here to do whatever it takes, and if a direct assault is our only option, it will be costly and possibly futile, but we will attempt it. I would like another option, but I—that is, we—cannot wait forever to find one.”

  What Akimasa said was no more than sense, for which I was grateful. Not every general in the field, by all accounts, was as careful with the lives under his command. While it was true I did not have a great deal of experience at this sort of thing, it was not true I had none. I had once been part of a force consisting only of myself, Kenji, a master demon queller, and a handful of bushi who had managed to root out a mountain fortress full of oni. The main difference, so far as I could see, was that, in the previous case, we had been able to break through the main gate with relative ease. Here, this would be a lot harder.

  “Suppose we manage to open their gate?”

  “The fort has a lot of manpower,” Akimasa said, “but once we can bring our own force to bear against them, I have no doubt of the outcome. We will have to break through the gate to do that. My idea is to find a suitable tree and make a battering ram, which would be part of a direct assault and also quite costly, even assuming we succeed. How do you propose to break their gate?”

  “I said ‘open,’ not break. At the moment, I don’t have a notion. I would like a little time to consider the matter.”

  “That is fortunate,” Akimasa said. “For a little time is all we have.”

  I left Akimasa making his plans for the direct assault he believed would be necessary. I was hoping it would not, or at least not in the way he expected. While I was not overly concerned about the safety of the Abe Clan bushi, I had become somewhat fond of Akimasa himself and many of the men I had come to know within our own forces. More, I was worried, in the chaos of such an attack, something might happen to Lord Tenshin before I had my reckoning with him, and this was simply not acceptable. We did need an alternative strategy, but just then I was completely in the dark as to what the alternative might be. I needed to take a look at our situation, and, while I was still used to walking, I had too much ground to cover in a short time. I had Taro get Shiroirei ready to ride, and I made a circuit around the fortress, being careful to stay out of bowshot. Which is not to say that now and again an archer on the walls wouldn’t try his luck, but I had judged accurately, and the few arrows loosed at me fell short.

  On the inland side of the fortress, I didn’t see anything I didn’t already know about. Our forces were deployed in a ring, with improvised wooden walls and portable woven bamboo shields as protection against the arrows. There was one very formidable-looking gate o
n the south side of the compound, covered by archer towers and in a position where defenders could also rain stones or anything else down on any attackers from the walls themselves. Akimasa knew his business, and if he thought the gate could be breached, then it probably could be. But the price would be very high.

  The design of the fortress didn’t vary until I was past the south gate and looking at the west side of the fortress, facing the river.

  What is that?

  I rode as close as I dared, almost to the point where I had to be more concerned about the Abe archers’ accuracy than their range, but on the river side I saw a gap in the foundation, about ten feet across, where the water flowed into the fort itself. There appeared to be some sort of piercework gate there; it would have blocked a person or a boat from entering, but was no barrier to the water. As I turned back, I noticed a dark shape under the water near shore. I judged its size and shape and how it moved and quickly ruled out the creature being a fish. I rode back to our camp, surrendered Shiroirei to Taro, and went to see Akimasa.