“That’s not acceptable,” Turesobei said.
“Do you wish to bargain with me?”
“We won’t give up easily,” Iniru said.
“Ah, she speaks. How delightful.” He spun to look at them all derisively. “I never thought you would give up easily. But I also don’t think that you can win. You cannot overpower two hundred knobs. And if you think my power is not significant, then you are in for quite a rude surprise. I do have a proposal, however.” He jabbed a finger toward Turesobei, Lu Bei, and Motekeru. “If the three of you will perform a minor quest for me, I will let these others go without eating them. Not the sonoke, though. I simply must eat. No one has wandered in here in over a decade.”
“What quest?” Turesobei asked.
“Long ago I fell in love with a nozakami. We can still sometimes communicate through dreams. She is out there, but she is bound to a statue in her old vine grove, deep in a cave. She has faded to almost nothing, but here she could thrive. Retrieve her and the statue and bring them here. Then I will free you and your companions. However, if you do not return within two weeks, I shall assume you failed or betrayed them and begin to consume them, starting with the mounts, one by one, day by day.”
“What’s the catch?” Iniru asked.
“Ah, clever, aren’t you? I have sent many after her before and none have returned, no matter the enticement. I have no idea why. I presume it is dangerous.”
Chapter 29
“I need more than Motekeru,” Turesobei said. “I need the goronku to guide me. I don’t know this land or how to survive in it. We came through the Winter Gate, from Okoro and —”
“Oh, very well and fine. You may take the younger male goronku with you as a guide. But not the other two.”
“I need two mounts to ride there. I need Iniru as well. She has great skill at thieving.”
Iniru shot him a look but said nothing.
Satsupan tapped his chin thoughtfully. “I think you are trying to save as many as possible and thus reduce your losses.”
“The two amber hounds are bound to my kavaru. Enashoma is my sister. Kurine is … my betrothed. If you do not think that I care for them …”
“Fine. You may take the k’chasan with you.”
“You will not harm any of them for three weeks.”
“Two was what I offered. And you have my word.”
Turesobei pointed at him. “Say it again and recite the Vow of the Ga.”
Satsupan stamped his foot. “I will not!” The limbs of the tree creaked and groaned. Leaves shivered and rattled.
Turesobei strained a smile. The eidakami-ga was not just bound to the tree. He was the tree. What they saw before them was a manifestation of energy made to appear human. This was possible for some ga but impossible for normal eidakami. Satsupan had probably spent centuries mastering the form he now took.
“Then I will not seek the statue for you,” Turesobei said. “I will stay here and you can kill me.”
Satsupan stalked over and stared him in the eyes. “I would not regret that.”
“I would not regret fighting and killing more of your knobs, of unleashing Motekeru’s full power against them. Nor mine. You have no idea what you are dealing with. See this sigil on my cheek? If I become desperate enough, I become the Storm Dragon.”
“Like Naruwakiru?”
“I ate Naruwakiru’s heart. Her power resides in me.”
“That — That is impossible.”
“Touch the mark on my cheek and see.”
Satsupan tentatively touched the mark with his forefinger. He drew back and stepped away. “Why have you not become the dragon already? You could have stopped the knobs from bringing you here.”
“I did become the Storm Dragon once and I nearly became the dragon permanently. I don’t wish to do it again, but I will if I have to, to save my companions. You will wait three weeks. Take the vow.”
His face ashen, Satsupan spun around and faced his tree. Long moments passed without him saying anything.
“You do remember how to make the vow, don’t you?” Turesobei asked.
Satsupan spun and cursed at him. Tears welled in his eyes. “You are the most insolent creature I have ever met.” Satsupan stuck his fingers in his mouth and drew forth a golden cord of energy which he wrapped around his neck. “I hereby vow by Kaiwen Earth Mother to not harm anyone here present nor allow the knobs to harm them, until three weeks have passed or the statue I desire is brought here to me. I reserve the right to harm in self-defense. I swear this on my life.”
Turesobei half-bowed. “Thank you.”
“Leave now!” the eidakami-ga shouted. “Leave the way you entered. A thousand paces past the cavern entrance you will find a blind in the canyon wall. If you take it, you will find a path that climbs up out of the canyon. It is much faster than taking the long way out. Travel due north for two days until you reach the crumbled tower, turn east and travel for a day. You will come to a stone formation the shape of a fan. A thousand paces further north there is a cave entrance behind a stone door. Enter and retrieve the statue.”
Turesobei looked at Enashoma, holding a hand over her broken, bleeding nose. “I must rest a while and see to my friends injuries.”
“I want you gone,” Satsupan said. “I can heal them. I swear that I will. Just go.”
Tears streaked down Kurine’s face as they prepared to leave. Turesobei hugged her. “We’ll be back.”
She squeezed hard and sobbed. “Promise?”
“I promise.” He peeled himself free and kissed Shoma on the cheek. “You’ll be safe, Little Blossom.”
“I know,” she said. “I’ve heard Grandfather talking about the vow before. I’m more worried about you.”
He whispered in her ear. “I know it’s a trap so I’ll be okay. Did you see his face? He’s afraid I might actually be able to succeed. Explain to the others. Be brave.”
The knobs escorted them to the edge of the cave. It was nearly midnight. Only a light, fine snow was falling now. At least his storm had diminished.
“You certainly were antagonistic back there,” Iniru said as Turesobei cast the spell of the moon mirrors.
“I know how to deal with a kagi-ga. Especially one that old and proud. He hasn’t been challenged in ages.”
“And I think that storm sigil on your cheek is giving you a lot of confidence,” she added.
“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.
“Not yet,” Iniru replied.
“I just wish I could’ve done more. If I’d had a prepared strip for banishing spirits, I could’ve gotten us out of the cavern …” He shrugged. “And back into the storm.”
“No spell strips, no white-steel sword, too many enemies,” Motekeru said flatly. “You did the best you could.”
“So this is a trap, right?” Kemsu said.
“There’s a reason no one comes back,” Lu Bei said. He was in fetch form but only had his head sticking out of Turesobei’s pack. And he was wearing his knitted hat. “What I don’t understand is why we’re being sent at all. What purpose does it serve?”
“You don’t think there’s a chance that he’s sincere?” Iniru asked. “Maybe he really does want the statue and is in love with the girl and it’s guarded.”
“Love can make someone do strange things,” Kemsu said distantly, like he was thinking of something entirely different.
“I guess it’s possible,” Turesobei said. “But then why not keep just Enashoma and send all the rest of us? Why not let us go and offer a reward? Maybe he’s sending us to someone who has control over him. As tribute. We’ll be careful and we’ll find out.”
“Why didn’t you just threaten him with the Storm Dragon to begin with?” Kemsu said.
“He would’ve called his bluff,” Motekeru answered.
“How do you know?” Kemsu asked.
“Like Master said, he’s a proud old ga and all his knobs were watching. Bad enough he had to make the vow in front of them. A
nd anyway I think, deep down, at the risk of his own death, Satsupan would have liked to see the Storm Dragon.”
“I don’t know about the last part,” Turesobei said, “but the first part is what I was thinking. I knew if I could get him to make the vow we’d have a chance of getting through this without me turning into the Storm Dragon.” He looked to Iniru. “I promised I would try to avoid doing that.”
It wasn’t easy in the dark, but Iniru spotted the blind. The slope up the steep canyon wall had clearly been cut into it long ago when people still lived here.
“Master,” said Lu Bei, “about you recognizing which Kaiaru’s stone he bore and all that … Were you actually offended by it?”
Turesobei glanced back at the fetch. “I honestly don’t know what came over me or how I knew. I don’t really want to talk about it. And I suspect if I did that I’d just end up passing out.”
Chapter 30
They travelled maybe a league beyond the canyon. Turesobei pulled on his reigns.
“We need to stop. We have three weeks to do this. No reason to run ourselves into the ground. My mount seems irritated to be moving at all. We should sleep until noon, get plenty of rest, then continue on.”
“How can you be so calm about all this?” Kemsu asked as they all dismounted and prepared to set up camp. “I’m too nerve-wracked to sleep.”
Turesobei gave him a half-smile. “This isn’t my first time rushing off to save someone I love with little assurance of how much time I had or whether I could get past the danger I’d face. But this time it’s easier.”
“How so?” Kemsu asked.
“The eidakami-ga cannot violate his vow. So I know they’ll still be alive, if we can return. When I went to rescue Iniru … Well, we figured she would be dead by the time we got there.”
Iniru kissed him on the cheek. “But you came anyway.” He started to smile, but then she shot him a look. “Don’t think that I’ve forgiven you for picking up another betrothed to replace the last one.”
“At least this one’s much nicer,” he said, though he immediately regretted saying it.
Lu Bei slapped Turesobei on the back of the head and turned back into a book. Kemsu shook his head in wonderment.
Iniru sighed. “Sometimes you make me feel so … Oh, never mind. Let’s build the snowhouse.” She looked at both of them. “And if either of you think I’m sleeping in a snowhouse by myself to meet some moral code the people of this land have, you can forget it.”
Motekeru set the final block in place. “I would stay with you, my lady.”
“My lady?” She snorted. “Just call me Iniru. Please.”
“No. It would not be proper to do so.”
Turesobei chuckled silently. Iniru didn’t give up a fight easily, but Motekeru wasn’t easy to argue with. The lack of facial expressions was worse than his intimidating build. He didn’t inflect his voice much either. It was hard to judge his moods.
Iniru eyed Motekeru cautiously and then shrugged. “Oh … Okay. Thank you for the offer, but I’d rather snuggle up for warmth.”
“As you wish,” Motekeru said.
Turesobei smiled, until he noticed Kemsu was smiling, too. Then they both frowned at one another.
With the snowhouse finished, they climbed in. As they did, Turesobei noticed Iniru wince.
“You’re injured,” he said.
“I was about to say,” she replied. “Honestly. Do you have the strength to heal me?”
“I always have strength enough for you,” he said.
Iniru slapped him lightly on the cheek. “Awww, is that why you’re trying to marry another girl?”
They stretched the sleeping furs across the floor of the snowhouse. With the wind blocked out, the star-stones glowing, and their body heat trapped, the warmth inside grew steadily. By morning it would be an almost tolerable cool. Narbenu claimed a proper snowhouse carefully made was almost as warm as their village underground, but Turesobei found that difficult to believe. After a small meal of cheese and dried sonoke strips, Turesobei meditated for an hour, blocking out his worries and drawing in kenja to replenish himself.
“Okay, I’m ready. Who has injuries?”
“Take care of yourself first,” Iniru said. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that you’re indispensable. You can do things no one else can do.”
“Out here,” Turesobei replied, “Kemsu is the indispensable one. I don’t know this land well enough to survive on my own. Not yet, anyway.”
Kemsu bowed his head. “Thank you, but I’m fine. Banged up, some deep bruises, exhausted, scratches. Think they jarred a tooth loose. No big problem.”
Turesobei frowned. “I can fix all of that with a simple spell, but if you were to somehow get seriously injured in the next few days, I wouldn’t be able to help you.”
“I’ll suffer through it then,” Kemsu said. “I’ve been attacked by a snow bear cub before. That was a lot worse than this.”
Iniru snorted. “A cub?”
“Don’t laugh,” Kemsu told her. “The cub was nearly as big as Motekeru.”
She twitched an eyebrow dubiously then shrugged. “If you say so … Sobei, I’ll take the healing. Those knobs cracked three of my ribs. Maybe some torn cartilage, too. That could take weeks to heal on its own and I’d like to be full strength when we face … whatever it is we’ll face this time.”
Turesobei nodded. “I figured as much the way you winced, and I can tell you’re struggling to breathe.”
Kemsu shook his head. “How do you do that, Iniru? I couldn’t even tell something was wrong with you. It’s amazing.”
“It’s really not all that amazing,” she said. “I’ve been training since I was a little girl. One of the first lessons I learned was how to block out pain. And you really don’t want to know how they train that.”
“Sounds terrible,” Kemsu replied.
“I had a choice. I didn’t have to be a qengai.”
“I kind of doubt that,” Turesobei told her.
“You think I’m lying?”
“No. It’s just that I was given a choice to be a wizard. It was a formality. It’s not like I could really say no.”
“Oh, I had a little more choice than that. I mean, it would have cast shame onto my family, but if I didn’t want to or couldn’t handle it once the training started, they would have shipped me off to a peaceful maka centered on farming.” A maka was a k’chasan tribal village.
Motekeru groaned.
“Something wrong?” Turesobei asked him.
The jagged face stared at him. “I do not like discussing choices. I am going to shut down for a while.”
The fires in his eyes dimmed and his head sank until his chin touched his chest.
“What was that about?” Kemsu asked.
Turesobei shrugged. He had no idea.
“Have you ever seen him do that before?” Iniru asked.
“No,” Turesobei said. “But look at him. He’s taken a lot of damage since he came back. He’s tough, but the yomon and the Deadly Twelve, the reitsu, the knobs … He deserves a rest. Lu Bei, have you ever seen him rest before?” The fetch didn’t answer. Turesobei felt the spine of the diary then breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel Lu Bei’s kenja heartbeat. “I think he’s exhausted, too.”
“Well, let’s get to healing me,” Iniru said.
She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and lifted it up slowly, revealing the downy fur that rippled across her muscled abs. She pulled the shirt up further. A deep splotch of purple showed even through the fur on her ribs. She pulled farther, bringing the shirt right up to her small breasts.
“Whoa!” Turesobei’s spun around. He slapped Kemsu on the shoulder, but it wasn’t necessary. He had turned around, too. Of course, Turesobei didn’t want to be turned around. But he should do the right thing. Although, was it the right thing if he was an adult here? And Iniru was considered an adult by her people. No one was here to stop him from looking … she didn’t mind
… surely that made it okay … but still … he couldn’t … could he?
“Turesobei, I’m waiting.”
“You — You didn’t have to … you know … remove your shirt,” he replied.
Iniru sighed. “You’re such prudes. Both of you. You can turn around.”
“But, Iniru, I —”
“I didn’t take my shirt off, dummy.”
Turesobei turned back. Iniru had rolled her shirt up so that it fit tightly against her small breasts, leaving her stomach exposed.
“For starters,” she said, “it’s still way too cold in here for stripping down. For seconds, I know your cultures are weird about topless girls. I only rolled my shirt up because I remembered you saying that healing magic worked better on bare skin … or fur in my case.”
“Well, it does, but it’s not a huge difference.”
“I’ll take what I can get. Now heal me. This hurts really bad and I’m not in the mood for your silliness.”
Nervously, Turesobei slid over to her. “I have to warn you, this healing spell … it’s not pleasant like the other one. Lean back a bit … please.”
Still kneeling, she bent backward, far enough that it made Turesobei’s spine itch. He was certain he’d break if he tried doing that. He chanted the spell of winter healing. A silvery fog formed just under his hands, drifted down onto her fur, and seeped in. Her ribcage glowed. Her eyes turned to saucers and she surged up.
“Kaiwen Earth-Mother!” she shouted. She stuck her claws into his neck, seizing him tight. “That hurts!”
“Ow! So does this,” he said.
She retracted her claws and released him. “Sorry.”
Turesobei, his palms still glowing with some of the magic, slid his hands up along her ribcage. He’d forgotten how soft her fur was. They hadn’t been this close since they’d crowded into a tiny tent in Batsakun while a storm raged over them. He slid his hands up a little further. He caught himself and pulled back.
The Forbidden Library Page 18