The Last Stormdancer (the lotus war )

by Jay Kristoff

  “What is it you wish to know, Lady?”

  “Let us begin with how a blind painter comes to wield a blade with more skill than most masters.”

  “In painting and swordplay, there is no end of parallels. Form and flow and surrender of control. To cease to feel and become one with the implement—blade or brush, it matters not.”

  “But you had a teacher, surely.”

  “My father studied under the sword-saint Kitsune Yoshinobu. He trained me also, before my sight began to fail.”

  “Kitsune Yoshinobu? The Laughing Fox?” A frown in the Lady’s voice. “But he served in my father’s halls. In the court of the Kitsune Daimyo.”

  “As did my father, Lady. For a time. Before my mother bid us move north for the sake of my sight. My father was a demon hunter, like his father before him. As I would have been. A sworn swordsman of your father’s house.”

  “But, wait … that would mean…”

  A smile on his lips. “You remember at last, Lady.”

  “Gods, you were the huntmaster’s son!” the Lady breathed. “I remember you! That little light-fingered hellion who would steal my sister’s clothes while she bathed…”

  “As I recall correctly, Lady, it was your idea to steal her clothes.” Jun inclined his head. “You simply roped me in to help you. And to catch all hells when things went sour.”

  “Oh, gods,” Ami laughed. “I remember now! We would hunt imaginary beasts through my father’s gardens. And you would hide in the wisteria and frighten the maidservants. Gods, you were just a slip of a thing. You couldn’t have been more than eight or nine when you left?”

  “Ten, Lady. As I said.”

  “Maker’s breath, but you have changed Jun-san,” she sighed. “I would never have recognized you. Long years have treated you kind.”

  Jun smiled, sightless gaze fixed on the flames. “No more than you, Lady.”

  “And here you are, years later. Handsome as a fistful of devils. A master swordsman. A Stormdancer, no less. Blind as midnight, and still rescuing noble ladies from murderous assassins. Quite a change from the little boy I charged to do my evil bidding.”

  Smoke in her voice. Wistful.

  Hungry?

  Jun cleared his throat. “I was not truly blind during the attack, Lady. I could see through the eyes of your cats. Even then, if not for Koh, if I were not intended to save this world, I would have fallen.”

  “I am less certain. Prophecy or no, I sense the remarkable in you, young Stormdancer.”

  Jun fell silent, heat rising in his cheeks.

  “And yet he blushes!” Ami laughed, pausing in her ministrations. “Oh, you are a sweet one. Did the girls of your village not pay you such compliments as you grew up?”

  Jun fought the flush in his cheeks to no avail, feeling again like a clumsy, provincial child. “In truth, the girls paid me little heed, Lady.”

  “Then they were foolish.”

  “A blind man does not a good husband make.”

  “Not all trysts end in vows of forever. Some exist for their own sake.”

  Jun felt her move closer, hand falling still at his cheek.

  “… Surely there was someone?”

  Jun stood quickly, stepping back, a nervous smile twisting upon his face. Hands outstretched before him as if to ward her away. What did she want? What was she doing? No matter what lay in their pasts, she was a married woman. The wife of a would-be Shōgun.

  This was madness.

  “There was no one, my Lady. If you will forgive me, I’d not speak of it further.”

  “No one at all?” A smile in her voice. “The beautiful Stormdancer, yet unplucked?”

  “Lady—”

  He heard her rise, felt her fingers touch his, drawing away as if scalded. Blind there in the dark, he stepped back farther, snagging his heel on their pile of firewood. The Lady was swift, catching his hands, holding tight, preventing his fall. Fingers wrapped in his now, pulling him in, feeling her burning gaze searching his face.

  “Surely you know you are beautiful, Jun?” she said. “Strong and fierce and proud and young. Surely you know how you must look, to someone like me?”

  “I fear you see a trinket, Lady. A plaything, perhaps. One to be used and discarded.”

  “Used? You think I do not see the want in you, too?”

  “Your husband…” he floundered. “Your vows…”

  “My husband has not touched me in three years, Jun-san.” Bitterness crept into her voice. The anger grown in the wake of a long-dead sorrow. “And in the two years before that, there was never anything of love in it. Our marriage was arranged by our parents. You are older now than I was when they made me a bride. And as for my Lord Tatsuya’s vows … well, he breaks those nightly with my ladies. Under my very nose.”

  “Lady, you do not think clearly. You see a childhood friend and think it more than what it is. Simple shock. Relief after a day of trauma. You are beautiful, surely. But I do not know you.”

  “You do not need to know me to love me, Stormdancer.” Jun felt the gentle touch of her fingertips across his cheek. “I do not ask for forever.”

  He felt her close, lips brushing against his with every word. He could feel warmth radiating from her body. Her fingertips trailing static electricity across his skin. Down his throat. Along his chest. His breath trembling, quick as hummingbirds as she pressed her body against him, melting all that was left of his will.

  “Only tonight,” she breathed.

  She stepped away from him, back toward the fire, soft footsteps and the sound of her gown falling layer by layer to the ground. Her voice calling to him in the dark, the oldest, deepest tune, barely audible over the bloodrush of his pulse in his ears.

  “Come here, Stormdancer.”

  “I cannot see you, Lady…”

  “You have hands, do you not? Let them find your way.”

  * * *

  I returned as the Lady Sun cleared the horizon, turning all to blood and fire. The blooms in the fields below unfurling, slow and soft, turning their heads toward the light and opening wide. Jun was waiting for me outside the silo, standing there in the brightening light with his face upturned toward me. I felt his touch in my mind, the strange sensation of returning home, though in truth I had just left the place of my birth.

  You returned, friend Koh.

  SAID I WOULD.

  Still, it gladdens me. How did your travels fare?

  SKYMEET DECIDE TODAY. MUST BE SWIFT.

  I will rouse the Lady. We will fly north, quick as you may.

  SAW MONKEY-CHILDREN ON MY RETURN. SOLDIERS CAMPED NEAR FOUR SISTERS. MANY. RIDING FROM SOUTH. OTHERS FROM NORTHEAST. TWO ARMIES GATHERING. READY TO CLASH.

  The Lady Ami emerged from the silo, hair mussed by sleep, the faint remnants of paint upon her face. She looked at the boy, smiling, her eyes shining. The boy saw her stare through mine, smiling broader still, the tremblings of new affection in his thoughts.

  “Good morning to you, Lady Ami,” he said, bowing.

  “And to you, Stormdancer Jun,” she replied. “The mighty Koh has returned, I see.”

  “She spied two armies on her flight back here, Lady. Gathering at the feet of the Four Sisters. It seems your husband and his brother clash there today.”

  The smile faded from her face, the color beside it. Whatever peace their brief respite had bought now evaporated in the light of the waking day.

  “Then let us waste no time. The fate of our nation is decided this day.”

  Jun climbed aboard my back, offered his hand to Ami. Her smile returned—only a brief glimmer, yet enough to set the boy’s heart racing. As their fingers touched, I felt electricity arcing across his skin, the press of warm and sweet summer winds. The Lady climbed onto my shoulders, sitting in front of the boy now, I noted with interest, his arms about her waist.

  No time to wonder. No time to ponder.

  Fly, friend Koh.

  And fly we did.

  * * *
>
  Lord Tatsuya stood atop a rugged foothill, surveying the forces arrayed against him. His brother’s armies were arranged in orderly phalanxes, Tiger banners blowing in the breeze, tabards dipped in the same bloody hues; seeming for all the world like a lotus field in bloom. It briefly occurred to the Bull that either he or his brother should have changed their colors so their armies might tell each other apart. Some few of Riku’s men had painted their banners with the sigil of the Bear alongside the Tiger clan, but as it stood, almost every one of the rank-and-file troopers on either side was arrayed in the traditional clan scarlet, roaring Tigers emblazoned on their chests.

  Tatsuya’s reserves had arrived from the south, bolstering his numbers, but from the look, Riku still outnumbered him two to one. The high ground would normally offer advantage, but those accursed Guild sky-ships hovering in smoke-stained skies above Riku’s army all but neutralized their gains. The Bear’s attack would almost certainly commence with another aerial bombardment, so Tatsuya had his men sheltering in the caves around him. Yet sooner or later, they would have to venture out to meet Riku’s charge or be hemmed inside the caves.

  “And then those bastard ships will blast us to pieces…” Tatsuya muttered.

  The Bull looked at the majestic mountains rising up behind him, snow-clad and beautiful. A spring storm was gathering at their summits; cruel Raijin no doubt watching the proceedings from above, the Thunder God delighting in the thought of the slaughter to come. The hills about him were old and strong, roots running deep, the surrounding fields rippling with the chill press of mountain winds. Cool in his lungs. Gentle kisses on his eyelids.

  A good place to die, Tatsuya thought.

  A cry went up from his men, fingers pointed skyward. Tatsuya looked up and saw the silhouette of an arashitora circling above; wingspan of twenty feet, silvered and graceful. Raijin had sent one of his children to give his blessing on the battle to come, it seemed. The Bull raised his hand, palm upturned, asking fortune from the beast and its father—fortune he might live long enough to meet his brother in single—

  Wait …

  Soldiers emerged from the caves, murmurs of wonder and astonishment sweeping through their number. Tatsuya blinked, jaw slackening as the beast circled lower, and he finally caught sight of the figures on the arashitora’s back.

  Impossible …

  “Lady Ami!” came the cry amongst the men.

  Tatsuya hurried down his hill, shale and pebbles skittering about his feet, watching the arashitora sweep in to land. Dust and pollen stung his eyes, thunder cracking overhead as the beast touched down, wings pounding, talons spread and gleaming. He saw a boy seated behind his wife, hands upon her waist. As the thunder tiger touched down, the lad leaped off the beast’s back, covered his fist and bowed low to Tatsuya. He looked a scrawny peasant-child; dirty black cloth and ragged shoes, a thin cane of polished pinewood in his hands, milk-white eyes. But Tatsuya spared him only a moment’s glace, instead focused on the wife he had left in Kigen city. Her hair flowing free, wind-tossed and knotted. Her face bereft of paint, her dress torn. Anger flared in his chest along with the disbelief, a frown darkening his brow.

  “Ami-chan, what in the Maker’s name goes on here?”

  Ami climbed down off the thunder tiger’s back, bowed from the knees.

  “I am pleased to see you also, my husband.”

  “Hang the pleasantries, woman. What are you doing here? Who is this scrap of a boy who dares lay hands upon you? I should have his head!”

  I glared at the Tiger Lord, his words spilling through Jun’s head into mine. A growl seethed in my chest, wings spread in challenge. I did not care who he was, what title he claimed among his kind—it was not his place to threaten Jun.

  “The Stormdancer’s name is Kitsune Jun,” Lady Ami said. “And though I beg your forgiveness at saying so, beloved husband, he may be deserving of somewhat more courtesy considering he saved the life of your bride yesterday morn.”

  “Saved your life?” The Bull blinked. “What madness is this? This boy is clearly blind!”

  “My maidservant betrayed me. Assassins struck the palace in your absence. Almost a dozen, armed with weapons I had never seen. Shuriken spitters and growling swords. They slaughtered my guards. Blind or no, Jun-san’s blade struck true and swift. If he were not—”

  “Growling swords?” Tatsuya breathed. “Like the chainblades used to clearfell forests?”

  “The same,” Ami nodded. “They would have killed me, if not for the Stormdancer’s intervention.”

  “Honorless Guild dogs,” he whispered, fingers curling to fists. “They will pay for this treachery in blood, I vow it.”

  The Bull turned away, rage flooding his face, teeth gritted and bared. It took a few moments for the Tiger Lord to compose himself, breathing deep, eyes closed. After a long, suffocating silence, he turned to Jun, covered his fist and bowed low.

  “Humble apologies, Stormdancer Jun,” he said. “I beg forgiveness for hasty words. It is not often I see another man place his hands upon my wife. Yet, for saving her life, I and all this country owes you a debt. For burying the Guild’s assassins, thwarting their treachery, I grant you tribute. Ask anything and it will be yours.”

  “Noble Lord.” Jun spoke with hesitant voice, eyes drifting to the Lady Ami. “It was my pleasure and duty to assist the Lady in her trials. And I ask only what you have already vowed. The Lotus Guild is responsible for a spreading sickness. Afflicting not only the people of Shima, but the beasts of the land and sky, also.” Here he gestured to me. “My friend, the great and fearsome Koh has lost her own kin to this illness. That you declare the Guild your enemy, that you agree to purge them from Shima once this war with your brother is done, is all I ask.”

  “I have so vowed. For them to betray me on the field is bad enough. For them to strike at my hearth and home is insult that cannot be forgiven.”

  A smile brightened Jun’s face, spilling over into me. I could see the thoughts in his head—his grandmother’s prophecy now one step closer to fulfillment. Providence had brought him the Tiger Lord and his armies. But the Skymeet spoke, even as we stood there. Every second bringing us closer to the moment the Khan would render his judgment.

  “Then you must excuse me, Lord Tatsuya,” Jun said. “But my friend Koh and I have business in the skies above our heads.”

  “Will you not stay and do battle alongside us, Stormdancer?” Tatsuya said. “The Guild has ships that sear the skies with fire, blast my men to pieces. You and your thunder tiger could do much to even the scales when the Bear moves against me.”

  Jun was already astride my back, my wings spread and crackling.

  “I can do better than a single arashitora, great Lord. Give me an hour, and I will give you an army.”

  Jun bowed deep to the Lady Ami, palm covering fist. And before the Bull could give his reply, we took to the air, my muscles humming, tearing through the frostbitten skies and circling up the mountainside. The earth fell away beneath our feet, exhilaration filling the boy’s belly, filling my own, his teeth gritted in my skull, my fingers digging into his feathers. That oneness again, adrenaline and hope dragging us together—we two who were so different, and yet so much the same. His grin infectious, making me wish for a brief and gleaming moment I had lips with which to smile.

  Do you believe now, friend Koh? Do you see how close we are?

  MILES AWAY BY MY RECKONING, MONKEY-CHILD. MY KHAN NOT BE SO EASILY SWAYED AS YOURS.

  The gods themselves ride with us this day, friend Koh. Nothing can stop us now.

  Up the face of the first sister, black crags and jagged teeth, snow thrashing and curling and twisting beneath my wings. Chill bearing down, pressing him tight to my back, my warmth, his arms about my neck. This little boy, who only a few days ago walked unbidden into my life, and now, had changed it forever. And did I believe, you ask? Believe as he did? In gods and destinies and things undone already sewn in the tapestry of fate?

  I c
onfess I did not.

  But also, that I wanted to.

  A fierce cry spilling from the scouts in the skies above. The eyes of the Skymeet upturned as we pierced mist and cloud, lightning cracking above our heads. I roared, Rahh answered, the Khan bellowing louder still as I skidded in to land, snow swirling about me, young Jun leaping from my back and bowing low, feeling about the Skymeet for any threat. Steam rising from my flanks, shaking head to tail to rid myself of the snow and ice crusted upon fur and feather, dipping my head in respect before my Khan.

  “Grandfather,” I said.

  “What this?” The Khan growled in response. “Where been, young Koh? Why returned now, with boy who should have flown to his death days past?”

  “Have flown far, great Khan. Seeking truth of sickness. Seeking monkey-children who would fight it. Found them. Just below us. Enemies of our enemies. This Guild and their poison machines. They fight alongside—”

  A roar, cutting off my words, chilling me to silence, the Khan’s eyes alight with rage.

  “Defy our ways, granddaughter. Defy your Khan.”

  “I sought only truth—”

  “Not female’s place to seek truth. Nor fly free. Such is our way.”

  “Then is BROKEN way,” I snarled. “Blind way. Old and foolish way. And old and foolish Khan who bids us cleave to it.”

  Outrage amongst the elders. Snarls amongst the bucks. But in the eyes of the other females lurking about the Skymeet’s edges, I saw a gleaming. A pride.

  “You DARE,” my grandfather snarled. “Too much I gave, when your kin die. Too much love. Too much softness. There, I foolish. THERE, I blind.”

  “This place our home. Monkey-children fight for it. Why not—”

  “ENOUGH.”

  The great Khan stepped forward, hackles raised, his growl rumbling louder than the thunder above our heads. Lightning flickering in his eyes, along the curling tips of his mighty wings. A snarl spilling from the depths of him, making me quail despite myself.