“Tell me what?” she asked as she and the others entered the hallway. “That Kurine woke up? Iniru just told us.”
Turesobei shook his head and gestured to his room. “Come in here, all of you. We have a lot to discuss.”
“We can’t see Kurine?” Enashoma asked.
“The Blood King’s still with her.”
Enashoma, Zaiporo and Iniru joined him in his room. Lu Bei made jasmine green tea for them. Turesobei told them everything. When he was done, they all sat there with stunned expressions. Enashoma looked at him as if he’d just told her the sky was orange instead of blue.
“I—I can learn a forgotten secret magic?” she stuttered. “Me?”
“Of course you can, Lady Shoma,” Lu Bei said. “I think you knew that already.”
“But without a kavaru or my—”
Lu Bei, with an alarmed expression on his face, rushed over, put a finger on her lips and shook his head. Turesobei raised an eyebrow. Enashoma bent over and swiftly mimed folding an origami creature. Ah, her special brush passed down to her by their grandmother. Lu Bei didn’t want the Blood King to know about Enashoma’s brush. That meant the brush was more important than Turesobei had realized. He mentally kicked himself again. Of course Lu Bei would know more about the brush. He probably knew exactly what it was. Why had he never thought to ask him? And now he couldn’t.
Zaiporo patted Enashoma on the back and smiled. “Now you get to do cool stuff too! I knew you had it in you.”
Turesobei frowned. Poor Zai. It was going to occur to him in a short while that he was now the only one lacking special powers or training.
“So I won’t be doing anything flashy or dangerous?” Enashoma asked.
Turesobei shook his head. “Abjurations are primarily defensive magic. It’s all basic but very useful stuff.”
“Like what?”
“You’ll learn commands to ward away demons,” Lu Bei said. “Techniques to blend into the shadows. Maybe a protective energy shield strong enough to stop an arrow. Honestly I’m not sure what kind of techniques Hannya can teach you. Master did not practice the art, so I never saw it used firsthand.”
The door opened and the Blood King stepped in. He never bothered to knock, but then, it was his realm. His yellow eyes burned into Enashoma, as if this were the first time he’d ever really seen her, as if she might be dangerous. “Have you decided to take up Hannya’s generous offer to teach you the noble art of Pawanaré Mudra Abjuration?”
Turesobei hadn’t had the chance yet to actually ask her if she wanted to. Trembling, Enashoma nodded. “Yes, though I fear I won’t be any good at it, no matter how hard I work at it.”
The Blood King’s eyes shifted to emerald. She’d said the right thing. “There is no shame in hard work and passionate study, even if the results are inferior. The effort of an art is its own reward.”
“Thank you for allowing her to teach me.” Enashoma bowed. “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity.”
That seemed to please him. He turned to Turesobei. “Kurine is improving. She has many more days of rest ahead and may not wake again for a while. I will see you tomorrow, one hour after first light. Bring your spell books and the fetch. Be prepared to study until you fear your brain will melt.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Turesobei stood on a narrow gravel path lined by statues of frolicking nature deities and moss-draped boulders. Pink cherry blossoms rained onto him. And onto the incredibly tall man standing thirty paces away.
Turesobei drew Yomifano. “Swords only?”
The tall man wore a dazzling blue cape that matched his darker blue skin. Shock white hair fell into his golden, catlike eyes and across the sparkling yellow gem embedded in his right cheek. “That is exceedingly fair of you, Chonda Lu, since I am the better swordsman and you the better wizard.”
“I want you to know that I have nothing personal against you, Alkuri.”
“Then why must we do this?”
“Because your Council of Nine went too far and uncovered too much. In time, you would have learned things better left unknown. I cannot allow that.”
“You of all people should value our search for knowledge. Or is that not your life’s work?”
“Knowledge without understanding or purpose is useless.”
“But we do have a purpose! With an understanding of our origins, we could shape the future and restore our primacy over the world.”
“We have already shaped much, but to what end? The world did not prosper under our guidance, and now the Age of the Kaiaru has ended and our time draws to a close. We had our chance. It is time for the humans to have theirs.”
“Humans! With a restoration of Kaiaru virility, we could cure this ennui that poisons you and so many of our kind.”
“I do understand your point of view, even if I disagree with it. But I tell you: no good can come from delving so far into our past.”
Alkuri’s eyes narrowed then flared like miniature suns. “You have already uncovered our origins!”
Turesobei sighed. “You were ever perceptive, Alkuri.”
“So it is okay for the great Chonda Lu to know but no one else?”
He shook his head. “It was not for me to know, either. I used the spell of permanent memory corruption to burn the knowledge from my brain. I do not remember my method of discovery or why I chose to destroy the knowledge. I remember only my emotions at the time were of equal parts wonderment and terror.”
Alkuri drew his curved, white-steel sword. “You fool!”
“You know I would not do such a thing lightly.”
“I know only that our race is dying and you discarded the knowledge needed to restore us.” His eyes narrowed again. “How did you even find out what we were doing? I cannot believe one of our own would reveal our secrets to you.”
“Nalsyrra told me. How she knew, I have no idea.”
“Nalsyrra is…an anomaly. We researched her origins and failed to uncover anything. I am not even certain she is a Kaiaru. Zokendi thinks she is unique, perhaps a predecessor to all of us.”
“Perhaps she is. Perhaps I once knew.” Turesobei glanced up into the sky. It was getting late and there was no point in talking further. He would not have talked at all, except it seemed unfair to kill a fellow Kaiaru without first telling him why. “Shall we finish this?”
Alkuri half bowed. “If you defeat me, the others will avenge me.”
Turesobei lifted his sword and smiled wryly. “I am not worried about that. The Council of Nine is now but one.”
“You’re lying!”
Turesobei drew a pouch from his belt and dumped its contents. Eight kavaru rolled across the blossom-covered stones.
Alkuri staggered. “How?”
“Fairly. Over the course of the last eight days.”
Alkuri sighed heavily then nodded. “Nalsyrra will betray you.”
“I know. But I must act on this.”
Alkuri took a deep breath then sprang into a charge.
Turesobei met him. Their white-steel swords clashed. He had long wondered how he, a more than competent swordsman, would fare against Tengba Ren’s greatest sword master. It took only moments to discover how inferior his skills were.
With each exchange, Alkuri drove Turesobei back. Like every other who had dared, he was no match for Alkuri. Each stroke of the master’s sword was but a blur and a whisper. Diced cherry blossoms landed around them. The few counterattacks he managed were deftly knocked aside, as if Alkuri were swatting aside the attacks of a child. Alkuri’s deft array of feints, thrusts and slashes intensified.
Alkuri’s sword flashed through a complex figure-eight pattern. Turesobei blocked two strikes but two more slipped by him. One cut deep into his right shoulder. The other sliced into his thigh. Without his warded armor, he would have lost both limbs. A smile spread across Alkuri’s face. He was certain he had won. And he had, as far as swords were concerned.
Turesobei faked a tired, clumsy fei
nt.
Alkuri easily parried the follow up attack and sneered. “I will see my brothers reborn. Then our great research will continue.”
“Spear,” Turesobei said.
With natural speed beyond any Turesobei had ever witnessed, Alkuri lunged in with a masterful sword-stroke. He never saw the spear of flaming gold plummet from the sky. It struck him between the shoulder blades and skewered him onto the mossy path. There was no blood. The spear had cauterized the wound. The tip of his sword had stopped an inch away from Turesobei’s heart. He swallowed hard and hid his surprise.
Alkuri gasped. Blood sprayed onto his lips.
Turesobei frowned. “I cast the spell long before you arrived. Does that make it fair and honorable? It is a gray area, is it not? If it is any consolation to you, as far as swords go, you had me easily and honestly beat. You were a true master of the art.”
Alkuri struggled but couldn’t get his body off the spear, or the spear out of the ground. He locked his eyes on Turesobei and gurgled the initial phrase of a spell. He only managed to cough up blood. Alkuri’s sword slid out of his grasp.
Turesobei should finish him now. But he hated killing other Kaiaru. They were all siblings, in a manner, and to kill another Kaiaru was beyond distasteful. That was why he tried so hard to avoid such encounters.
He sighed and spoke a name. “Motekeru.”
With a golden-red flash, Motekeru appeared at his side. To an onlooker it would seem he had teleported there. In truth, Motekeru, cloaked in a spell of invisibility, had been there the entire time, to aid his master should something go wrong.
Turesobei waved a hand and the golden spear vanished. “Finish him. Mercifully. Before he kills himself trying to cast a spell.”
“Master, the Gawo Clan will be enraged when they learn you have killed their patriarch. Perhaps you should—”
“I care not about the Gawo. And you would do well to mind your own business, slave.”
Motekeru bowed. “Yes, master.”
He gestured to the pouch on the ground. “Gather his stone and put it with the others. Gather his sword, as well. Such a fine white-steel blade should not go to waste. Leave the body, however, so that his family may bury it as they see fit.”
Motekeru gave him what he delightfully imagined was a seething, hateful look, though of course Motekeru had no expressions to give. “Yes, master.”
He turned away. “Has Lu Bei prepared my afternoon tea?”
Two sudden, sharp cracks and a crunching noise sounded behind him.
“Yes, master.”
A ripping sound followed.
“Excellent. I’m glad this went so quickly. I hate to miss my afternoon tea. It just ruins the day.” He began to walk away, then remembered something and paused. “You may eat his heart, Motekeru.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Turesobei woke with a start, heart pounding, sweat dripping from his brow. The last sounds from the dream echoed in his head like the baying of hell hounds. And the images…the words exchanged…the actions…. His mind raced trying to take it all in before it slipped away like just another dream.
Chonda Lu had killed all the members of the Council of Nine. He had in fact known the secrets the Blood King sought. And he had thought the knowledge so terrible that he had burned it from his brain, not even trusting himself with it. That reinforced Turesobei’s desire not to let the Blood King find out what he wanted, if he could help it.
No doubt the Blood King saw it as poetic justice that the heir of Chonda Lu would be his avenue to uncovering the secrets so long denied him. But poetic justice would never lead to the Blood King sparing Turesobei’s life once he got what he wanted. Unless the entity that was the Blood King felt no connection to his past lives. And maybe he didn’t. The ninth personality, the unknown host, might not even be Kaiaru.
Iniru sat up. “Sobei, are you okay?” She took his hand. “Was it a bad dream?”
He nodded then wiped sweat from his eyes. Lu Bei stood at the foot of the sleeping platform with an anxious expression on his face.
Alkuri, the one with the yellow cat eyes, was the patriarch of the Gawo Clan! Had his murder started the centuries-long war between their clans, ultimately leading to Chonda Lu’s demise and now potentially the end of the entire Chonda Clan? Despite lengthy chronicles detailing atrocities, betrayals and wars, no one in either clan knew when and where their deadly rivalry had begun.
“I had a disturbing dream about Chonda Lu and Lord Gawo.”
“Oh, I can see how that would be bad,” Iniru said, not understanding.
He could tell from the look in Lu Bei’s eyes that the fetch understood his meaning. Could Lu Bei see into the dreams that came from Chonda Lu? He’d never thought to ask.
The sound of Motekeru cracking Alkuri’s spine echoed in his mind.
“You know, Chonda Lu was a bastard.”
Lu Bei frowned and shifted uncomfortably. “Master was a good Kaiaru and a fine man. If a little flawed. But who isn’t, right?”
“I’m glad I’m not a Kaiaru. Every single one of them is warped.”
“But master….” Lu Bei sighed. “Never mind.”
“Do you often have dreams about Chonda Lu’s past?” Iniru asked.
“I’ve had a few. I think they’re echoes from within the kavaru. In them I relive some random moment from Chonda Lu’s life. It would be useful if I had some sort of control over which ones I see, but I don’t.”
“So it wasn’t anything that can help us now?” Iniru asked.
“Unfortunately, no,” Turesobei lied. He closed his eyes. The images of the dream were still there, haunting him. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep after that.”
“I’ll get you a cup of tea, master.”
“Why don’t you try kissing me instead?” Iniru said. “I bet that would clear your mind.”
He smiled. “I don’t guess it would hurt to try.”
Lu Bei rolled his eyes. “I’m going to take a nap while you waste your time.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Still haunted by the dream, Turesobei sat down for breakfast with the others. He ate three roasted sweet potatoes the size of his thumb and a few berries then pushed his plate away.
“I can’t eat.”
Enashoma pushed her plate aside. “I can’t either.”
Zaiporo glanced up at them and with a mouthful of potato said, “What?”
Enashoma rolled her eyes. “Just keep stuffing your face.”
Zaiporo shrugged. “Okay!”
Iniru popped a strawberry into her mouth and stifled a laugh. The brightness in her eyes faded moments later. Turesobei smiled nonetheless. It was good to see a glimmer of the old Iniru, no matter how fleeting. Hopefully the depression caused by the Shadowland was starting to lift.
Awasa swept into the room with Motekeru in her wake. She wore a stunning robe of deep burgundy with a pale pink inner robe. Fangthorn rested in a scabbard strapped to her back. She clutched a bundle of folded letters in her hands.
The others tensed. This was the first time they had seen her since she had collapsed in the Kitchen. Until now, she hadn’t wanted to see anyone except Turesobei.
“Hello,” she muttered awkwardly. She lifted the bundle of letters. “I have notes detailing the wrongs I’ve done to each of you.” The words choked in her throat. “I can’t make amends. And I can’t promise I won’t offend you again. I’m struggling with a terrible darkness that makes empathy difficult. But know that as much as I can be, I am sorry.”
She handed a letter to Enashoma. “For you.”
Eyes wide, Enashoma took the folded letter, removed the pink ribbon, unfolded the pages and started reading.
“Where’s the fetch?” Awasa asked.
Lu Bei zoomed up. “Ooh, do I get one too?”
Awasa’s jaw tightened, her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed. She shoved a letter bound in blue ribbon into his tiny hands. “I don’t know why I bothered with you.”
<
br /> Lu Bei shrugged and zipped away.
Awasa hesitantly stepped up to Iniru. “I did you the fewest wrongs, but I also tried to kill you.” She handed her a letter bounded with a crimson ribbon. “Sorry.”
Next she gave one to Turesobei. “It’s likely there were times I hurt you without realizing it,” Awasa said. “I’m sorry for those, too.”
Turesobei took the letter. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I did.”
With her head bowed, Awasa shuffled over to Zaiporo. She handed him a thick letter bound with a yellow ribbon. It had to be at least fifteen pages long.
“Zaiporo, I hurt you the most of anyone. That I remember so many of the hurts is proof of how petty and spoiled I was. Of course, I could never record every slight, so I listed the general ones that I did frequently and as many of the larger, specific incidents as I could remember.”
Turesobei tugged the green ribbon free and unfolded his five-page letter. He scanned over a thorough list of insults, snubs and mean tricks. He was shocked she remembered so many, including some he’d forgotten until now. The last page was devoted to apologizing for having left Ekaran to follow him.
Enashoma finished reading hers and wiped away a tear. With her arms opening wide, she stepped forward. “Awasa…I forgive you.”
Awasa held up a hand and backed away. “I don’t want hugs. Or forgiveness. I would rather redeem myself through my actions.”
Enashoma paused and nodded.
“Now,” Awasa said, “I believe some of us have lessons to attend.”
Lu Bei snipped the blue ribbon on his note with a claw, unfolded the page and scowled. “Hey! Mine’s blank! What gives?”
Awasa’s lips curled into a devilish smile. “I will see all of you later.”
Lu Bei huffed, tossed his letter onto the floor then stuck his tongue out at her.
She strolled out of the room. Motekeru started to leave as well. He was going to stay with Kurine while Awasa trained with Hannya.
Turesobei stopped him. “Can I speak to you a moment?”
The Blood King’s Apprentice Page 11