Enashoma frowned thoughtfully. “This is the last day of the week.”
“Yeah, so?”
“I thought Iniru had the odd days.” Enashoma threw a hand over her mouth. “Crap! I wasn’t supposed to say that.”
“I’d already figured out they were alternating days. I’m a bright boy.”
“To be fair, it’s not the sort of thing you normally figure out. Does it bother you?”
“Nah. I’m just happy they’re not fighting.”
“Well, they’re not exactly getting along either.”
“As long as it keeps them civil.”
“And you get what you want.” She slapped his shoulder. “Wipe that silly grin off your face. You don’t deserve either one of them.”
“You don’t think I know that?”
“You should enjoy their company while you can, master,” Lu Bei said. “One day this dream of dating two beautiful, intelligent girls will end, and you’ll wake up beside a goat.”
Lu Bei and Enashoma giggled.
Turesobei rolled his eyes. “Funny. Very funny.”
“Thanks for talking to Zai,” Enashoma said. “It helped a lot.”
“He wasn’t supposed to tell you we talked.”
“He didn’t. But I could tell.”
Lu Bei turned on the tap to fill the bathtub. “I’m starting your bath, master.”
Turesobei almost asked why, but then figured out the fetch’s plan. The running water would provide background noise in case the Blood King was listening in.
“There’s something I’m going to have to do with everyone,” he whispered. “And it’s very dangerous, especially for you, since you’ll be the first.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t tell you.”
She frowned. “I don’t like the sound of this.”
“Don’t you trust me?”
“You’re my big brother—so of course I don’t.”
He activated his kenja-sight. “Stand straight. I’ve got to find your kenja heart.”
“It’s at my navel. Lady Hannya told me.”
“I have to be certain and I have to connect with it.”
Her kenja currents radiated outward from a spot a few inches lower than her navel. “Actually, it’s further down.” He winced. “Sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
He placed his palm on the spot and closed his eyes.
She squirmed and batted his hand away. “Eew!”
“I said I was sorry.” He put his hand back on the spot. “Stop squirming.”
“But it’s awkward.”
“I can’t help that.”
He focused on the rhythm and tenor of her kenja heart until he knew it perfectly. Being related and close to one another made it easier. She was actually a good choice for his first try.
“You’re going to hate this part.” Turesobei stepped behind Enashoma, wrapped an arm around her and placed one palm over her kenja heart.
“So gross.” She tried to squirm away but he held tight. “Whatever you’re trying to do, find another guinea pig.”
“You have to be the first.”
With his other hand, he drew the scroll with the teleporting spell from his belt. He didn’t need the scroll, but there was a tiny amount of energy bound within the characters, and he wanted all the help he could get to make sure he didn’t screw this up.
Enashoma’s eyes locked onto the scroll. “Is that what I think it is?”
“You know, Lady Shoma,” Lu Bei said, “the position of your kenja heart suggests your base personality is grounded with a tendency toward passion.”
“Really?”
Turesobei cast the spell. They were jerked forward through space and reappeared in the Workshop. Enashoma staggered out of Turesobei’s grasp, fell to her knees and vomited.
She wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “I hate you.”
“At least we didn’t end up stuck inside a rose vine or a tree or cast out into empty space.”
“That’s not funny.”
Footsteps rang out on the staircase. Gyoroe approached, carrying something silvery in his hands. “So you chose your sister as your first test subject, even though she will never be teleporting on any missions?”
Gyoroe’s eyes were languid green. Perfect. He could deal honestly with the pragmatic and laid-back one.
“Master, we both know that if I ever have a chance to defeat you or escape, I’ll take it. And in such a scenario, I might need to teleport my sister. Besides, I figured she would be the easiest since we’re related.”
“The easiest would be Motekeru or the hounds, since they are bound to your kavaru. But I understand why you chose her first. We do have different agendas and, for now at least, are allies only out of necessity. It is my fault that I did not think to forbid you from teleporting your sister.”
Gyoroe held out a rune-carved circlet with a slender chain several feet long attached to it.
“Your desire to break free is why I made this collar. With this, I can keep your sister here as long as I wish. So when you journey to the realms, you will have two options: You can return here, or you can leave your dear sister here with me forever, to do with as I see fit. If you try to remove the collar or take your sister out through one of the gates she will die instantly.”
Turesobei glared at Gyoroe. His jaw tightened. His fists clenched. Words formed on his lips—then died. Arguing was futile. There was nothing he could do about it.
“Do not pretend this surprises you, apprentice. Our understanding works both ways. Come here, girl.”
Trembling, she walked toward him. “I figured he would do something like this, Sobei. I’ll be okay.”
Gyoroe smiled and his eyes shifted to pale blue. “Look on the bright side, girl. This is much better than me locking you away in a room. This way, you will be absolutely free to walk about the Nexus and engage in normal activities. You will only encounter a problem if you attempt to leave. I assure you, the device does not let me control you in any fashion. I do not compel people. It is crude and makes for dullards you can neither teach nor employ effectively.”
“What must I do?” Enashoma asked.
He held the circlet out. “Take off your robes. The chain fits along your spine.”
She blushed and nodded. She let her outer robe fall to her feet then loosened her inner robe. Turesobei looked away as the supple silk cloth fell. Then he braced himself. No, he had to watch. To ever have a chance at removing the device, he needed to see precisely how the Blood King attached it. He turned back. And was relieved to find Enashoma clutching her inner robes around her body so only a little more than the ivory skin of her back was bare.
She stood frozen, like a deer that knew it was about to fall to a hunter’s arrow. The Blood King locked the silver collar around her neck. The chain whipped around and with a crimson flash snapped flat down her back, along the length of her spine. The silver chain turned to liquid, like mercury, and seeped into her skin. The chain disappeared, leaving only the collar visible. Enashoma drew in a sharp breath, jerked erect and held perfectly still.
“I suspect that tingles,” Gyoroe said. “As if every part of you is waking up, like a limb after it has fallen asleep. The sensation will pass in a few minutes. Then you will be able to move normally. Apprentice, I will see you on the gate platform in one hour.”
Gyoroe disappeared up the steps and Turesobei rushed to Enashoma.
She was trembling now. “Can you help me with my clothes?”
“Hold on.” With his kenja-sight activated, he examined the collar and trailed his hand down her back to the base of her spine.
“Sobei, what are you doing?”
“Working.”
“You’re rubbing down my back and I’m half-naked. It’s weird.”
“I know, but it’s necessary.” He studied the device a few minutes. “Okay, as far as I can tell he’s not lying.” He dropped his kenja sight. “If I were to cut the collar, the chain would br
eak your spine. If I were to try to extract the chain, the collar would snap your neck.”
“Well, that’s just great.” Enashoma moved an arm and started to bend over. “Ah! Can’t move yet. Pins and needles all over. And I’m freezing. The metal on the collar is cold.”
She lost her hold on her inner robe. Turesobei surged forward as it slipped down her, caught the peony silk and slid it up over her shoulders.
“Sobei, when we tell the others what happened—”
“We’ll leave this part out.”
“Madam, will you allow me to help you dress?” Lu Bei said.
“Most certainly not,” Enashoma said.
“I’ve seen many people in a state of undress over the years, Lady Shoma. I’m a fetch, a servant, it’s hardly something to—”
“No,” she said firmly.
“As you wish, madam.”
With clumsy fingers, she gripped her inner robe on the shoulder with one hand. She moved the other hand into a sleeve and winced. “So I’m stuck in the Nexus indefinitely now.”
“I’ll find a way to get you out of this,” Turesobei said. “Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried about me right now. I’m worried about you.”
“Why?”
“Because if he’s locking me up, that means your missions are going to start soon.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
At dinner, most of their conversation centered on Enashoma’s collar.
“At least it looks cute on you,” Kurine said.
“It does look good,” Enashoma said. “It’s just what it does that’s the problem.”
“Could be worse,” Lu Bei said. “I’ve been bound to master for an age and I didn’t get a smart-looking collar.”
“Yeah, but your master is Turesobei,” Zaiporo said. “Shoma is—”
Hannya entered the Dining Hall, interrupting his thought. Her expression was distant and calculating and made Turesobei uneasy. Everyone went silent.
“Dress in your training gear immediately and come to the Throne Room.”
Then she turned and swept out of the room.
* * *
Turesobei and his companions walked across the Throne Room and bowed at the foot of the dais. They had worn their training outfits as instructed. And as far as Turesobei knew, none of them had done anything wrong, so he was expecting another test battle. But as soon as he saw the Blood King’s orange eyes, he groaned inwardly. This was Gyoroe’s cruelest personality. With this one in charge, Turesobei had no idea what lay in store for them.
Hannya bowed before ascending the steps to stand beside Lord Gyoroe. She gave him more space than normal.
One side of Gyoroe's mouth turned upward in a sneer. “For the next four weeks you will undergo a rigorous conditioning program to prepare you for venturing into the realms. This program is more intensive than anything you have ever done before.”
Another month…. That would give the Gawo Clan yet more time to move against his people. At this rate, he was never going to make it home in time to make a difference. Turesobei noted the orange eyes and stifled a complaint. There was no point in arguing with even the scholarly, emerald-eyed Blood King. To argue with the orange-eyed one…. He might as well ask to be tortured. And if they were going to be facing deadly guardians, he honestly could use some brushing up on his combat skills and conditioning. He and his companions would need to be in the best shape possible to survive. And he couldn’t worry about getting home now, anyway. He had much bigger problems.
“This regimen is brutal and some who attempted it in the past….” Gyoroe smiled. “Let us simply say that not everyone can handle it. I expect all of you to do so, however. The consequences of failing will be severe. And rest assured, even if it takes a decade, I will see that you are prepared before I send you into the realms.”
Gyoroe marched down the steps and paused before Iniru. “I see the smug look on your face. You think because you are a qengai you are prepared for this training. But you will soon find that I demand more of my servants than Notasami did.”
He swept past them.
“Wait!” Iniru said bravely.
Gyoroe paused, eyes simmering. “Yes?”
“You knew Lord Notasami?”
“I killed Notasami, girl. Along with thirteen other Kaiaru who massed against me. He brought a whole army of prophecy-worshiping qengai warriors like you with him. Three qengai died for every one of mine. Think on that.”
Her shoulders sagged.
Gyoroe smiled broadly. “You should be thankful. You are about to become unique.”
“How so?” she asked wearily.
“You will be the first warrior ever to train in both Notasami's system and mine.”
He chuckled and continued on. Hannya followed in his wake.
Turesobei patted Iniru on the back. “You okay?” he whispered.
She took in a deep breath and nodded. “I should've known Lord Notasami was just another Kaiaru. And this will absolutely make it much easier to get past my guilt over quitting.”
“How so?”
“I know better than to trust a Kaiaru's vision of what the future should be.”
The others had already followed Hannya and the Blood King out of the Throne Room.
“Come on. We’d better hurry.”
They caught up to Gyoroe, Hannya and the others at the end of the hallway.
The octagon section between the Throne Hall and the Bath Hall had remained off limits and unknown. It didn't even have a door. Until now. The Blood King touched the wall and a doorway shimmered into existence.
“I call this space the Canvas, because it is a blank slate I can shape into whatever I need. In this case, I have shaped it into a training course.”
They followed Gyoroe and Hannya through the door. The room they entered took Turesobei’s breath away, and for a moment his head swam. He hadn’t expected anything like this. The dimensions of the space were all wrong. The room was easily four times larger on the inside than on the outside and shaped differently. The domed ceiling high above glowed with a flickering light, as if it were a giant lantern. It gave the room an eerie cast reminiscent of a dense forest lit by a scarlet sunset.
They walked out onto a narrow wooden bridge. The floor of the room lay twenty feet below them. On the other side of the bridge, a set of steps led to a viewing platform above the center of the room. From this vantage point, they could see down into every section of the maze that covered the floor. Each passage held a variety of obstacles. Hurdles, climbing walls, rope swings, pools, mud pits and other traps he couldn't identify from a distance filled the maze.
In one section, between two climbing walls, a set of stones floated in the air. Beneath them was…he couldn't tell what lay beneath them. He saw only darkness. Apparently, the point was to leap from one stone to the next as if crossing a stream without trying to get wet.
Two planks stretched out from the platform, one to his left and the other to his right. A climbing rope from the end of each plank dangled into different parts of the course. The one to his left lowered into a passage that held four bales of hay and, in the center, a rack with three weapons: a spear, a sword and a hammer. That must be where you started the maze. A short, straight passage that appeared empty of obstacles led to the rope on the right. They would probably climb back out of the maze there.
* * *
“Each day, you will participate in three training sessions,” Gyoroe said, snapping Turesobei's attention away from the course. “You will have six hours to rest between each session. The first two sessions will consist of running an obstacle course. In the third you will fight, as a group, against a set of conjured opponents. Motekeru, Lu Bei and the hounds do not need to run the course, so their presence here is not required.”
“Will they join us for the battle sessions?” Zaiporo asked.
“No,” Hannya said. “While these battles will no doubt improve your teamwork, their primary purpose is for honing your fig
hting skills.”
Gyoroe’s orange eyes narrowed dangerously at the interruption, but he continued. “The course will rearrange itself each time someone runs it. And both the course and the opponents you face will get steadily tougher as you go.”
Gyoroe snapped his fingers. A haze engulfed the course, hiding it from view. When the mist dissipated, only the passages connected to the platform via the climbing ropes remained the same.
He lifted a metal rod engraved from top to bottom with tiny, evenly spaced symbols. “This device will measure the time it takes for you to complete the course.”
He tapped the rod and it tinged like a bell. The first symbol just barely lit up, but as they watched, it brightened steadily. A few moments later, the next symbol began to glow dimly.
“Hannya will record your times. I expect them to improve each day. If even one of you fails to equal or reduce your previous time, then you will all train for an additional day. By the end of the allotted month, you must each be able to finish the course in less than four minutes. If any of you fail to do so, then all of you continue training until everyone can. Failing to defeat your opponents in a mock battle will also result in one additional week of training.”
“Enashoma, you may run the course with them if you desire,” Hannya said. “Your times, however, will not be counted against the others.”
“I would like that,” she said. “Thank you.”
Gyoroe paced around the platform. “No tricks or shortcuts of any kind are allowed. You may shout encouragements to your companions, but you cannot advise them as they run the course. Turesobei, you are not allowed to use spells or your kenja-sight to aid yourself. Awasa, no mudras, and Fangthorn must remain strapped to your back.” Gyoroe pointed at Lu Bei. “You cannot advise them either.”
Lu Bei put his hands on his hips. “I would never, sir!”
Gyoroe visibly restrained his irritation.
“When do we begin?” Turesobei asked, though the answer was obvious given the attire they were told to wear.
“Today, and you will go first, apprentice.” Gyoroe pointed at the rope hanging down from the plank to Turesobei’s right. “Take your place.”
The Blood King’s Apprentice Page 29