by Ryan Kirk
Asa walked out of the archives, her mind lost in thought. She wasn’t interested in politics, but she had never seen a city where the tension was so high. People stayed home, and when they came out, they were angry and scared. It was unsettling to wander the streets. She could feel the people all around her, but she could not see them, hidden behind the walls of their homes.
Even though she hated to draw attention to herself, Asa had started to wear the robes of a nightblade wherever she walked. She couldn’t blend in, but robberies were becoming more and more common, and it was far easier to wear the robes than deal with random attacks.
Though she cared little about politics, she was concerned. If Haven exploded into violence, it would be much harder for her to complete her mission.
Asa was a nightblade, and a patient one. She had waited for cycles, and she had never been closer to her prey. She was a hunter, and Minori couldn’t escape.
Asa sat in a public teahouse, gazing out at the city, considering her next steps. She had been going to the archives for days now, but she wasn’t going to learn anything new there she didn’t already know. She had been going because it gave her something to do, and it provided her with the feeling she was moving forward and accomplishing something.
It wasn’t true, though. Asa was wasting time, lying to herself. Multiple times she fingered her weapons, considering going back to Minori’s home and killing him. But she never went beyond brushing her weapons with her fingertips. Instead, she sat at her table, drinking her tea, her frustration rising.
She told herself she didn’t act because of the challenges facing the Kingdom; her situation was complicated by political events. Asa had heard the news, as it was on everyone’s lips. The king was going to die without an heir, and there was no clear successor. Unless something dramatic unfolded in the next half moon or so, everyone seemed certain the Kingdom was heading for a war of succession. Minori sat on the King’s Council and could prevent the war from becoming reality.
That excuse wasn’t really why she didn’t act, though. Asa tried, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about politics and power struggles. All that mattered was avenging her father’s death, and she didn’t care what ramifications Minori’s death would have.
Asa sipped at her tea, savoring the slight sweetness of the liquid. Teahouses were some of her favorite places to visit, places where people gathered to soak in a calm ambience and talk. Asa enjoyed dressing as a civilian and listening to the discussions. She rarely chimed in. She was reminded of when she had been very young, before her father had donned the white, when guests would come by their house and have long and loud discussions.
Nothing of the sort was happening today. There were a few people in the teahouse, but they stared down into their cups, unwilling to meet the eyes of anyone else. Everyone was afraid. When they walked in and saw Asa in her robes, people stayed even farther away.
Asa knew there were places where blades could go and not be the center of attention, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to bask in the pleasure of a conversation that was pleasant but ultimately meaningless.
She wasn’t going to find it here, not tonight. She finished her tea and paid her bill, moving slowly so as not to startle any of the other patrons. The owner bowed deeply to her, but Asa could tell the old man was glad she was leaving.
Night had fallen, and before Asa went on her way, she looked up to see the moon high above. She smiled as a random thought crossed her mind. If someone lived there, looking down on all of this, what would he think? Would he think that all the actions of humanity were as foolish as Asa felt they were?
She smiled softly at her own thought and began walking to the nightblades’ quarters. Asa didn’t like it there, but the space was free and she didn’t attract attention, which was enough for her.
Asa quickly realized she was being followed. Her sense was always with her, even if she didn’t consciously recognize it. She felt the two men behind her, turning the corners just moments after she did. Asa’s heart started pumping more wildly, but she willed her breath to be calm. Nothing good came from rash decision-making. She turned a corner, breaking from her normal route to the bunks. As she did, she glanced toward the men. They were tall and dressed in dark clothes. From their movement, Asa assumed they were wearing a fair amount of armor underneath. They carried spears, in public, without concern.
Everything about them screamed soldier to Asa’s mind, and she accepted her instincts. She didn’t know why she had attracted their attention, but she suspected there was only one way this ended.
Asa wanted to avoid drawing additional scrutiny and thus didn’t want to fight. She could take two soldiers without any problem. Her sense let her know that despite their intimidating presence, they weren’t blades and had no chance against her. But if she left a trail of bodies behind, she would receive far more attention than she needed. That would interfere with her hunt, an inexcusable possibility.
She considered running, but the soldiers seemed content to follow. Maybe they were supposed to intimidate her? Foolish. A regular soldier could never intimidate a nightblade.
Asa considered her options. She settled on returning to the bunks where the blades slept. Once there, she wouldn’t have to worry about being attacked. In the light of day, perhaps she could find answers about who would send soldiers after her. She altered her course, returning once again to the path to the bunks.
Her sense warned her before she could see them. Down the street, two more soldiers waited, directly in her path. Asa started down a side alley, but paused. Warnings were going off in her mind. This was a trap, and if so, she was being guided in a specific direction. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, expanding her sense.
At any other time, here in the city, she would have been inundated with information, and her mind would have collapsed under the pressure. But now, due to the mild fear that had gripped the city, no one was on the streets. She could push out her sense without worry. At the other end of the alley were two more soldiers, waiting for her. She swore, fear threatening to take her heart. She kept her focus, pushed a little farther, and felt two more, covering an alley heading in another direction. Asa opened her eyes. She was surrounded.
The soldiers weren’t in any rush. They knew she was a nightblade, but she didn’t sense any hesitation in their steps or their bearing. They were willing to give her the choice of battleground.
Normally Asa would have chosen the alley. Against a spear, the narrow walls would favor her short swords, but pieces were starting to fall into place for her. She had heard rumors, but they had never been confirmed. If they had, the blades would have acted, Asa was certain. She was surrounded by a unit of eight, purposefully selected and trained to kill nightblades.
If the warriors’ training was as good as Asa suspected, going into an alley would be a death sentence. They wouldn’t advance one at a time, like enemies did in plays. They’d form two lines, using the greater length of their spears to skewer. The tight space, normally her ally, would doom her.
Asa’s odds didn’t seem much better in the center of the street, but at least she’d have room to move. Their strategy would be simple but effective. They would try to narrow her space, using the spears to keep her at a distance. If they were in pairs, one would likely be in forward position, threatening her with his spear while his partner stood behind him, protecting him with a second deadly shaft.
All of this occurred to Asa in an instant, as did her strategy in return. If they wanted to reduce her space, she needed to stay mobile. And that she was good at.
Asa scanned the area one last time with her sense. No help was coming. No one else was walking the streets. Asa took a deep breath and steadied herself. She drew her short sword and stood her ground.
The four pairs of soldiers converged on her, leaving at least ten paces between themselves and her. Torches flared up all around her as one of each pair lit the lights. They tossed the torches around them, formin
g a circle of light. No shadows would hide Asa or her attacks. She swallowed her fear. She couldn’t sense any hesitation from anyone.
For a moment, the scene was still. Asa spun slowly around, her sense fully alive, waiting for the first move. More to ease her own fear, she spoke loudly. “What, no threats? I’m disappointed.”
Even to Asa’s ears, her attempts at bravado sounded empty. She was no hero. Just a nightblade with one man she wanted to kill.
The thought spiked her focus. Only one person could be responsible for this ambush—the man who knew his secret had been exposed: Minori. She would eliminate his minions and go after him this very night.
She chose a pair that seemed slightly off guard and dashed toward them.
Asa prided herself on her speed, but no matter how fast a person was, it took plenty of time to cover ten paces. As soon as she moved, the circle tightened around her. The pair on either side of her tried to keep pace. They were a little slower, but the extra reach of their spears would make enough of a difference. Asa might shift the shape of the circle a little, but she knew she wasn’t going to escape.
She shifted tactics. In a single smooth motion, practiced hundreds of times, Asa drew one of her throwing knives and hurled it at one of the pair standing right in front of her. At the same time, she slid to a stop and started dashing the other way, trying to break through the pair of soldiers who had been pursuing her first sprint.
She sensed her knife catch the soldier by surprise. The blade embedded itself in him, but she didn’t sense his life force diminish at all. She swore again. She had forgotten the armor they were wearing underneath. Her throwing knives would only be effective as distractions, or she’d have to make really powerful throws.
There wasn’t time to worry. She reached the pair that had been behind her. She slapped away the first spear with the flat of her sword and slid under the second one, her body throwing dust into the air as she hit the ground. Asa ignored the pain and allowed her momentum to bring her back up to her feet, her sword leading the way. She was inside the guards of both soldiers, and the point of her sword stabbed deeply into the chest of a warrior, cutting cleanly through his armor. She twisted and pulled the sword out, drawing plenty of blood in the process. The dying soldier’s partner swung his spear. She was well inside the range of the shaft’s sharp point, and Asa assumed he was trying to strike her upon the head. She sensed the blow coming and got her sword up to block. Her blade cut through wood, slicing the spear in half and sending the point spinning off into the darkness.
Asa had enough time to kick the soldier in the chest, but she couldn’t kill him before the other six were on her.
Four of them went straight at her, but a single pair had the presence of mind to circle instead. Asa thought she saw a window to escape, but was blocked by the point of a spear.
Trapped, all Asa had was her speed and her sense. She dodged underneath a cluster of spears, but the pairs were well trained. She could avoid an attack and get inside the guard of the attacker, but the attacker’s partner was always there, right behind, protecting his comrade. Asa was staying alive, but she wasn’t able to threaten any of her attackers, and soon the battle would be over. Asa raged against her fate. She had always thought that if she was going to die, it was going to be at Osamu’s hand, not by pathetic regular soldiers.
The soldier Asa had kicked returned to his feet and grabbed his dead partner’s spear. He joined the other six, and a flurry of attacks and counters were exchanged. Fortunately for Asa, only half the soldiers ever attacked at any one time, and four spears were marginally easier to manage than seven. But after the strikes were exchanged, Asa was bleeding from half a dozen shallow cuts. She could feel the blood trickling down her arms. Soon she wouldn’t be able to hold on to her sword.
They came in again, and Asa used her sense to predict the strikes. Even so, she could move only so fast, and one of the strikes finally got through her defense. A spear cut through Asa’s side, the first time she’d ever been deeply wounded. The agony brought her to her knees. The soldier pulled out the spear as she fell, readying himself for another strike.
Asa’s sword dropped from her hand. Rage, sorrow, and regret demanded she get to her feet, but she couldn’t summon the energy. There was no chance of winning this fight.
She didn’t know why the soldiers didn’t attack her right away. The battle was over. Perhaps they weren’t certain who should strike the killing blow. Perhaps they were taking a moment to savor their victory over a nightblade. Either way, their short pause saved her life.
Out of the shadows of the alley, a man appeared. It took Asa a moment to realize why the man looked so familiar. It was the same man who had been following her since she had killed Takashi, and possibly even before then. Who knew how long he had been there before she noticed his presence?
Everything clicked into place. He was behind everything. She had been followed by Minori’s minion. The shadow had known all along she was after him, and he had decided she had finally gotten too close. She should have been furious, but she couldn’t summon up any more emotion.
But the man didn’t gloat, and the soldiers didn’t notice him behind them. He drew his sword, the first time Asa had seen him do so. With two smooth cuts, he felled two of the soldiers.
Asa struggled to comprehend what was happening. Her thoughts felt as though they were tumbling over one another, but as the soldiers turned to face this new threat, it dawned on her that she was being rescued.
The battle had turned from seven-on-one to five-on-two, appropriate odds by any nightblade’s estimation. The mysterious nightblade focused on Asa before the fight resumed. “Get up,” he said.
The note of command in the nightblade’s voice sparked something in Asa that had died. She grabbed her sword.
The single soldier, the one who had watched his partner die, tried to stab at her. He was the only one who had kept his focus on Asa as the others turned toward the new threat. She sensed the strike coming and slapped it away with her empty palm. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Asa got to her feet and grasped her sword firmly in both hands. The sight and feel of cold steel gave her strength.
She remembered the words drilled into her so long ago. She couldn’t even remember who had said them. “Be as strong as steel, and flow over obstacles like water.”
Asa sensed the single soldier bringing his spear up for another attack. Although she wasn’t as fast as she had been due to her injury, Asa was easily able to get inside his guard and draw her knife across his neck, the lone soldier no match for a nightblade.
Her attention was drawn to the other fight. The four soldiers had tried to surround the nightblade, but they knew they didn’t have the numbers they needed. They wanted to fight as pairs, but they couldn’t surround a nightblade from only two sides.
Asa was fascinated by the shadow. He was far older than she and not as fast, but he moved with an effortless grace born from cycles and cycles of training. He didn’t move much, but every spear strike missed cleanly. The nightblade was also patient, waiting for opportunities as they presented themselves. In this way, he was able to dispatch another soldier in a move Asa never would have imagined succeeding against a spear, a low cut that sliced through the artery in the inner thigh.
The kill snapped Asa out of her reverie. She drew a throwing blade, and without the pressure of being attacked, she took a moment to aim carefully. She threw, striking a soldier in his back, near the base of his skull. He collapsed, spasms racking his body.
After that, the end was only a matter of time. The two soldiers knew they had no chance, but they still fought. Asa engaged one, but it was the older nightblade who killed them both. The battle done, Asa looked around, processing what had just happened.
Her gaze met that of the older nightblade. The pain in her stomach was returning as the energy from the fight drained away, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to stay on her feet.
“Who are you?”
The nightblade flicked blood off his blade, knelt to the ground, and used a dead soldier’s clothes to wipe off the rest. After a careful but quick examination, the nightblade slid his weapon into its sheath with an easy, practiced motion. Asa couldn’t sense a thing coming from him, even though he was right in front of her. Eerie.
“My name is meaningless. I’m a shadow, assigned to follow you. The time has come for me to take you to my master. He will be able to heal you, and you’ll find some of the answers you’re looking for.”
Questions swirled in Asa’s mind, but she knew, just by looking at the stranger, that he’d never answer them. He’d said as much as he was going to say. She decided to trust him. She also wasn’t sure if there were any dayblades back in her quarters. If she didn’t receive treatment, she might die. He was her best hope.
She sheathed her bloody sword. “One moment.”
Digging through her pockets, she found an unmarked piece of paper she had been using to take notes. She scribbled down a few characters and dropped the paper on one of the bodies. Let it serve as a message.
She fell toward the other nightblade, who caught her with ease. Together they stumbled into the shadows.
Chapter 14
Shin’s gardens, which usually gave Minori the moments of peace he craved, were failing to do so today. It was no fault of the gardens themselves. They were as serene and peaceful as always, untouched by the chaos and uncertainty of the world outside. The failing was Minori’s. Even though he sat in what might be the calmest spot in Haven, he couldn’t get his analytical mind to slow down.
He had gotten Shin’s note that morning, informing him of the loss of the assassination squad but little else. The missive requested a meeting, which was why Minori was here.
Minori didn’t understand. The girl had been right in front of him, and she hadn’t seemed special. The only quality she possessed of any worth, in Minori’s estimation, was her drive for revenge. But revenge didn’t make you any better with a sword.