“Yes, that too.”
“It’s a little awkward,” Kurine confessed.
“You think so?” Awasa asked with a hint of irony.
“What makes it really awkward is that his girlfriend is here, too,” Kurine said.
“I do feel left out,” Iniru said.
Kurine grinned. “Sobei, when are you going to do the right thing and ask Iniru to marry you?”
While everyone laughed, Turesobei grumbled. “I hope you all still find this amusing tomorrow or next week.”
“We probably won’t,” Kurine said. “Let’s eat. What do they have here?”
“Everything we have in our Okoro,” Enashoma said. “It’s a lot more variety than what you’re used to.”
“That’s exciting.” She took Turesobei’s hand. “So you’re doing magic practice pretty much all day, every day.”
“Except today. I made the Blood King give me today off so I could spend time with you.”
She clapped her hands. “Yay!”
“Although I thought I’d be spending the whole day at your bedside.”
“Ugh, thank goodness that’s a no. I’ve had enough of that. My body’s more than well enough for me to be up and about. The Blood King told me so when I was briefly awake during his last visit. It was something in my brain that he still had to fix, so I’d be able to think clearly and remember what I did.”
“After breakfast,” Turesobei said, “I will give you a tour of the Nexus.”
“Great!” She half-skipped along beside him. “So if you’re studying magic and Awasa and Enashoma are training to do hand gesture magic, what am I going to be doing?”
“You’ll be training in combat with me and Zaiporo,” Iniru said. “You can get back in fighting shape and learn some new moves.”
“And once I’ve mastered the first set of mudras,” Enashoma said, “I’ll be spending half my time in combat training too, while Awasa learns the Second Circle mudras.”
“Sounds good to me,” Kurine said. “I’ve never had any combat training.”
They stared at her, dumbfounded. Kurine had more than held her own against the knobs they had fought. It was unimaginable that she’d never been trained to fight.
“You’ve never had any training?” Iniru asked.
“Daddy taught me a few moves over the years. Otherwise, I’m just a goronku. We’re tough and strong. And we play very rough as kids.”
“It’s—it’s very impressive,” Iniru stuttered. “For you to have had no training and be able to do what you can do, it’s…it’s just awe-inspiring.”
“Coming from you, I’ll take that as a huge compliment. But really, all you’ve seen me do is swing my hammer at some knobs.”
“That’s…that’s true,” Iniru said. “I haven’t seen you fight anything else.” Strangely, she used the same distant tone she always used when talking about the Shadowland. “But I guess…I guess I’ll see what you’re really made of soon.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to go on missions with us,” Turesobei said, “to fight some very deadly enemies. I tried to get you out of it, but the Blood King insists.”
Kurine shrugged. “S’okay. I don’t mind.”
Turesobei frowned. Kurine was naturally cheerful and positive, but she seemed almost too cheerful. He was starting to worry something had gone wrong, or that she was hiding how she really felt. He certainly wouldn’t blame her for being overwhelmed.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Three dead-eyed servants brought in their pre-dawn breakfast feast: eggs scrambled into rice. (“Is this brains?” Kurine asked.) Spinach and onions fried together. (“Fried brains?” Kurine guessed.) Steamed fish. (“Why are they pink?”) A loaf of bread. (“What the heck is this stuff?”) Goat’s milk butter. (“I know this is butter, but why does it taste so weak?”) Strawberry jam. (“Chopped hearts?” she ventured. “Demon brains?”)
Everyone laughed until they were grabbing their stomachs. Turesobei snorted tea out of his nose and Zaiporo turned so red in the face he looked like he was choking. Kurine shrugged sheepishly.
“Kurine,” Enashoma gasped. “None of that is brains.”
She poked at the jam. “This has to be the crushed heart of some creature.”
“It’s fruit,” Zaiporo said, still chuckling.
“Fruit? Like berries? Ugh. I don’t want any.”
“You don’t like berries?” Enashoma asked incredulously.
“They’re so bitter,” Kurine said. “We only eat them as medicine. And you can’t eat too many or they’ll make you sick.”
“We have those kinds of berries too,” Turesobei said. “But these are sweet, and you can eat as many as you like.”
“So none of this is organ meat?”
“None,” Enashoma said. “Though I’m sure the cooks can bring you some if you want. And none of it’s sonoke. I’m not sure if they can get you stuff that’s not from our Okoro.”
“You don’t eat any organ meats?” Kurine asked.
“We do,” Zaiporo said. “But not hearts. And brains are eaten as a delicacy or for certain medical conditions.”
“Where we’re from, unless you’re poor or there’s a famine, you can be selective in what you eat,” Turesobei said. “We consume most of each slaughtered animal, but not all of the animal the way your people do.”
“That seems wasteful.”
“It is,” Iniru said. “My people consume almost as much from kills as your people do.”
Kurine stuck her finger in the jelly then licked it off. She made a funny face. “Ugh, it’s all tangy and…uh…there’s something weird about it.”
“It’s sweet,” Turesobei said. “You don’t really have sweet in your world, so that may take some getting used to.”
“How can you stand to eat so much of this?”
“Keep trying it, and I bet soon you won’t be able to get enough.”
Enashoma scooted in close to Kurine and explained the different food types and where they all came from. “Unlike in your world, not everything we eat is spicy. Some of it is, but some of it is also sweet.”
Kurine tentatively tried everything. She liked the eggs but thought the rice was bland. Until she tried the bread. “Ugh, it’s so tasteless and mushy.”
“Not to us,” Enashoma said. “Put butter on it. That helps.”
Kurine liked that better. But adding jam made it worse. “I’ll never get used to that.”
“We don’t eat bread much,” Turesobei said. “Maybe once each week. It’s more common in southern Okoro. We mostly eat rice.”
“What part of Okoro does the Ancient Cold and Deep come from?”
“Northern Okoro,” Zaiporo said. “That region is known for growing the best rice.”
“What do your people eat, Iniru?” Kurine asked.
“Most of my people live in the rainforests to the west of Zangaiden. So we eat more fish and wild game. Berries and greens and yams. We trade for rice and eat a tiny amount with each meal.”
“Sounds closer to my style.”
Turesobei started to worry. If they got back, it was going to be incredibly difficult for Kurine to adapt to new foods and ways of doing things. And once they were out of the realms, there would be no magic to help her speak and understand his language. Where could she go? He was going to have to force his people to accept Iniru and allow Enashoma and Zaiporo back, assuming that was even what the two of them wanted. But now with Awasa like she was and Kurine…. If they made it back before the war with the Gawo, he could make them accept whatever he wanted. But after the war, assuming Turesobei could save them, would his people honor the deal? And would he, or the others, even be interested in staying there once it was saved?
He looked at everyone around him. This table, right now, was his home. Wherever these people were, that was his true home. He loved his clan and respected how they were fairer and more advanced than other baojendari. He would fight to defend them. But after that, he needed to make
a new home of his own, in a new place where his true family could thrive without persecution. Perhaps in the far western city of Dogo Daiyen, where people of all types were generally accepted. But these worries were for a future they were unlikely to reach.
The others were all laughing at a joke he had missed. For the moment, they were happy, but that wouldn’t last. Once their missions started, the fun would end. As soon as his day off with Kurine was over, he was going to throw himself into magical studies like he’d never done before. He was going to protect his chosen family somehow, no matter the cost. Failure wasn’t an option.
“Sobei, you okay?” Enashoma asked.
“What? Oh…yeah, I’m fine.”
“Awasa and I have got to go,” Enashoma said. “Hannya didn’t give us the day off.”
“We could spend time with you two, though,” Zaiporo said, nodding toward Iniru as everyone stood.
Iniru grabbed Zaiporo by the shoulder and turned him toward the door. “I think we should do our training like normal. We can catch up with Turesobei and Kurine at dinner, maybe.”
Zaiporo eyed Iniru with confusion. “Oh. Right. Course we should.”
Turesobei knew what Zaiporo was thinking. It made no sense for Iniru to let Turesobei spend the day with her rival, even if they were still engaged. Turesobei didn’t understand it either, though it did seem fair after all that Kurine had been through.
Maybe Iniru expected him to spend a nice day with Kurine and then break off the engagement tomorrow. On the other hand, Iniru had said that he needed to decide who he wanted. Not that he needed to think on it. Or maybe she thought it was only fair for him to make his decision after spending some time with Kurine again.
It would be so much easier if Iniru would just tell him what to do. Motekeru’s advice sounded solid, but he didn’t even know how to begin figuring out girls. Magic was easy. Girls were hard.
Iniru smiled and winked at Turesobei.
That was a perfect example of his problem. He had no idea what that gesture meant.
As Iniru sauntered off through the door, Zaiporo watched her backside. Then he followed her out. Enashoma noticed. Zaiporo was lucky that her eyes weren’t able to cause burns at a distance, because based on her glare, there would be hell to pay later. She wasn't confident enough to see that his admiration of Iniru was harmless. He was so obviously in love with Enashoma.
Huh. Maybe Turesobei wasn't the only clueless one in the family. Besides, while Enashoma was stuck all day with Awasa and Hannya, which couldn’t be enjoyable, Zaiporo was working out with Iniru. Sparring, practicing choke holds and takedowns…. Turesobei frowned. He didn’t think there was anything between Iniru and Zaiporo… unless something was starting.
It was suddenly hard to breathe, and he felt lost.
He shook his head. That was ridiculous. Iniru slept with him every night. There was nothing going on between Iniru and Zaiporo.
“Hello,” Kurine said. “You still with me?”
“What? Yes. Sorry I zoned out.”
“What should we do now?”
Turesobei noted the sunlight pouring from the Courtyard into the hallway. “I’m taking you on a tour. You are going to love the gardens. You’ve never seen anything like them before.”
Kurine took his hand. “Lead on.”
In the hallway, he explained the basic layout of the octagonal structure. “Okay, now close your eyes. No peeking. I want this to be a complete surprise.”
Kurine closed her eyes and Turesobei held a hand over them to be sure. Then he slid back the paneled door and led her outside as Lu Bei fluttered off.
“Okay, now open your eyes.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Kurine opened her eyes and gasped. Then she put a hand over her mouth and suppressed a sound that fell somewhere between a giggle and a squeal. Her village’s hot spring hosted only a few dozen plants, and the only moving water she had ever seen had been the trickles of meltwater that ran near the oasis.
She spun around in complete awe, staring at the trees, shrubs, flowers, streams and ponds. Then her eyes locked onto the fountain where water sprayed up into the air. Finally, she looked up. “The sun here is so bright. And look at the sky! It’s not red but a faint purple.”
“It’s much brighter than your world’s sun, but the color of it and the sky are both off. It’s a fake sun.”
“Looks awesome to me. Is it okay if I take off my outer robe?” She was wearing pale green robes of silk with a dragonfly pattern.
“It would be a faux-pas in my world but it’s fine here.”
“Good, cause I’m getting hot already.”
She laid it across a bench and stepped out onto the mossy path.
“You should take your sandals off, too.”
She did, and as she walked along the path, she laughed. She bent down and ran her fingers across the moss. “It’s so soft and springy.” She reached out and touched a flower.
“That’s a chrysanthemum. They’re cherished in our gardens.”
“It’s the same design that’s on my other set of robes.” She ran her hands along the fabric she was wearing. “I’ve never felt anything like this before.” She had been training with her mother to be a seamstress, an important job in her world.
“It would be impossible to find finer cloth than this in my Okoro,” Turesobei said.
She bent down and smelled the flowers. “All the air here is filled with so many scents. It’s overwhelming. No wonder you can’t track anything by smell.”
“Iniru can.”
“I don’t see how.” She moved to a bush covered in bright red blossoms. “What’s this?”
“An azalea.”
She ran forward along the path and did a pirouette. “And these absolutely beautiful trees with the pink blossoms falling like snowflakes, what are they?”
“Cherry trees. The trees over there with the purple fruit, those are plums. The ones with the crimson leaves are maples. These tall spindly ones over here are pines.”
Kurine stepped up to a maple, touched its trunk and stared up into its branches. “Our trees are so spare and few. Your world really looks like this?”
“You will see these plants and more all around, but this is a magical garden. You are seeing a selection of plants at their best time of the year in various seasons. Cherries bloom like this at the end of winter. Chrysanthemums bloom in the fall. The white lilies in the pond, those bloom in late spring. The maple leaves turn that color in autumn when the summer’s heat has faded. And the plums fruit during the summer.”
“And you only have snow during the winter, right?”
“And snow doesn’t cover the ground the entire winter.”
“I really can’t imagine seasons.”
“At least now you have an idea of what to expect in late spring.”
“Wait, the temperature here is like what you have in late spring?”
He nodded. “That’s why it’s so comfortable.”
“I’m burning up! How would I ever survive summers?”
“Um…you’ll get used to it?”
She pointed at a thick stand of thin trees with segmented trunks. “What are those?”
“Bamboo. And the vines with the purple blooms climbing up the oak over there, that’s wisteria.”
“Do you know every plant out here?”
“I don’t know all the plants in the world. But these are all common ones that you see in the best parks and gardens.”
“You must teach me their names.”
Kurine skipped over to an artificial stream where water flowed down a stack of rocks. She put her hand under the running water and giggled. “It’s not cold!”
“To you, maybe.” He put his hand in. “It’s cold to me.”
“Where’s the water coming from?”
“The pond. It cycles back through a tube underground and out from a bamboo pipe carefully hidden amongst the rocks. A wizard mark powers the system.”
She went to a st
ill pond and gazed at her reflection. Then she practically danced through the garden admiring flowers, trees and grasses. She picked a plum, took a big bite, then, with a scowl on her face, gave him the rest.
Two hours of wonderment passed for her and Turesobei would’ve been bored, except seeing Kurine this happy after all that she had been through filled him with joy. And hope. Maybe somehow, everything would turn out okay.
Lu Bei, with a tiny basket in hand, fluttered over. “Madam Kurine, today we shall be on good terms, yes?”
“Of course, little demon.”
He scowled at her shrewdly. “Ahem. Allow me to direct your attention over here to the herb garden, from which I gather the finest herbs to add to my brews, giving each batch of tea a unique flavor.”
She followed him. “Oh, I saw these earlier.”
“You may have seen them, but I’m sure you didn’t properly appreciate them. Herbs are beautiful. This lavender, for example. But they are often subtler in appearance. Their beauty lies in their taste and smell. Take this mint leaf.” He plucked a leaf and handed it to her. “The leaf is a dull, uninspiring green, but the smell….”
Kurine sniffed it. “Mm.”
“Squish it between your fingers.”
She sniffed it again. “It’s strong now!”
“Now this rosemary. It’s not great for tea, though a tiny amount can add a little kick or balance when mixed with other herbs. However, it is known to taste great on meats and breads, and it’s supposed to improve one’s memory and focus. It’s my favorite herb to smell simply for its own sake.”
Kurine picked a sprig of rosemary. “Ooh, I like this one.” She popped a leaf in her mouth and chewed it. “Tastes good.”
“That wasn’t too strong?” Turesobei asked as he sat on a patch of moss and leaned back to enjoy the artificial sunlight.
“I like strong flavors and spices.”
“Try the mint, then.”
She did and she liked it, too.
“This, madam, is lemongrass.”
Lu Bei gave her a full tour of the herb garden and then showed her the jasmine and honeysuckle vines, which were essential to many of his brews. Eventually, she sat beside Turesobei and placed her head on his shoulder.
The Blood King’s Apprentice Page 15