“The body follows the mind,” said Devin.
“Correct. She has been within him for some time now as the sliver,” continued Zanshi. “She knows him better than he knows himself at this point. She will use that against him and if he fails or shows weakness, she will exploit that weakness and attack where he is most vulnerable.”
“If he makes it past that?” asked Devin.
“If he manages to overcome the second part of the ritual, then he must join with Shadowstrike,” said Sylk. “I understand the pain is so extreme it has driven many of the past wielders of the sliver to kill themselves in search of relief.”
Devin sat down in silence.
“Can Dante do this?” he asked. “This sounds impossible.”
“I don’t know,” said Sylk. “He survived a searing, which usually leaves most victims incoherent.”
“I still don’t know how he did that,” said Devin. “I thought that was impossible.”
“He isn’t alone,” said Mariko. “Lady Ono, my mother is a fearsome warrior, and his guardian, your sister, is a warrior in her own right.”
“She is there because I forced her to be,” said Devin. “I made her give me her word no harm would come to him.”
“You did no such thing,” said Zanshi. “If she gave her word she did so of her own free will. She made a choice and now she is honoring it.”
Devin didn’t answer.
Zanshi turned to Mariko. “What of this incursion?” he asked. “Have we found those responsible for making the clan react with such an uproar?”
“Father, the defenses were breached by force,” said Mariko. “Did you expect a different reaction?”
“You would think they were babes sucking on their mother’s teat, not hardened warriors, from their reaction,” said Zanshi.
“Our scouts found them in the north woods,” she said. “They are on their way. One is the word wielder Samir, but the other is unknown to us. She is quite the puzzle.”
“Samir?” said Sylk. “That is good to hear. I thought he was lost in the Records. It will be good to see him again.”
“We will move to the planning room and wait for Ono,” said Zanshi. “Have them bring our…guests…from the woods there.”
“Yes, father,” said Mariko, and left the room with the five Mikai trailing behind her.
“I thought she was the clan leader?” said Devin. “It seems like you are still quite active in clan business. I mean no disrespect. I am new to the inner workings of the Mikai.”
“Your question is without guile, so I will answer with truth,” said Zanshi. “You wish to know the inner workings of the Mikai?”
“Yes, as far as I am allowed to know,” said Devin.
“Then I will speak plainly,” said Zanshi. “She is the clan leader. Any who question that must do so in a formal challenge. Mariko is a fearsome warrior. She is alive because she has not lost a challenge, and there were many.”
“The challenges are to the death?” asked Devin. “And the clan accepts her leadership?”
Zanshi nodded. “She is an excellent leader,” he said. “There is no question on that point. The difference between our clan and the other eight lies in this: while I still breathe, I am the clan head and father to all in my clan, not a figurehead or puppet.”
“And the other eight clan elders?” asked Devin. “They don’t feel the same way?”
“The other eight?” said Zanshi. “They would rather bow and retain riches than stand and lead.”
THIRTY-FOUR
WHEN THE WORLD came back into focus, I realized we were back at the East Watch. We stood in the same circle where I first met Shadowstrike.
“Welcome back, vessel.” I recognized the voice.
“Shadowstrike,” I said. Beside me stood Lady Ono and Meja.
“You are here to complete the ritual,” said Shadowstrike now from behind me. I turned as she pushed her red hair to one side. It wasn’t a question. As she sat there on the stone bench, I could imagine that she had waited for me to come back. She was dressed in a simple white slip. Her bare feet grazed the stones beneath the bench she sat on. She looked ageless. Her beauty was unlike any other: it possessed a hard edge. It was the beauty of a sword. In her, I saw the dichotomy personified. She could take a life or save it. Her blue eyes took us in. I saw no emotion in them except for a mild curiosity.
“There is no circle here for you to complete the ritual,” she said. “Or have you come here to lay down your life?”
“Show her,” said Ono.
I focused my chi and let it run through my body. The glyphs Ono had inscribed on my body flared to life in violet. Shadowstrike looked amused.
“And the rest?” she asked. “This is the beginning. Where is the end?”
The rest? What rest? I stood there, confused.
“Your arms,” said Ono. “Turn them.”
I turned my arms, exposing my forearms. They glowed a deep violet to match the rest of my designs. I looked down in surprise.
“What the hell?” I said.
Intricate designs, circles containing glyphs connected to other circles with lines and inside of even larger circles, interlaced with the glyphs from the suppressors. The designs started at my wrists and covered my both of my forearms up to my biceps. I tried but couldn’t remember when Ono had done them.
Shadowstrike stepped close to me and grabbed my arms, inspecting the designs. She looked at Ono. “This is your hand?” asked Shadowstrike. “It is exquisite.”
Ono nodded. “This should be sufficient to complete the ritual,” said Ono.
“Sufficient to commence the ritual, yes,” said Shadowstrike. “Completion is another matter entirely and depends on him.”
Ono nodded her head and stepped back out of the circle. Shadowstrike turned to Meja. “And you are?” she asked.
“Here to make sure the ritual is not disturbed,” said Meja.
“You cannot fulfill your function from inside the circle,” said Shadowstrike. “Any interference will cause his death. Once we begin, I will not cease. Is that understood?”
Meja stepped outside the circle and manifested her weapon. Her weapon filled the space with its blue light.
“Truth has always been a worthy opponent,” said Shadowstrike, looking at me. “You have chosen well, vessel.”
Shadowstrike extended her arm and a three-foot sword manifested. The blade was transparent and the hilt was made of red-tinged steel, the only difference in our swords. She stepped into the center of the circle and waited. I focused my chi and the circle beneath me flared to life. Every glyph around the edge of the circle pulsed from red to violet to white. I extended my arm and manifested an identical sword with a gray hilt.
Do you really think you are worthy to stand before me, coward? How many have you let die because of your inability to act?
The thought came at me with such force that I barely had time to react to the sword slash. Ono had warned me of the mental attack, but nothing prepared me for its intensity. I parried the attack with a sloppy dodge and shift.
Pathetic. I am doing you a favor by killing you here.
She closed the distance and feinted with a left lunge. I took the bait and felt my world explode in agony as she smashed the right side of my head with a circular elbow strike. My vision blurred as I stumbled back several steps.
Have you told her your feelings yet? Should I? What do you think she will say when you lie in this circle dying? Do you think she could love someone like you? Does she know why she risks her life?
Another elbow strike came at me. This time it was a downward strike aimed at the top of my head. I managed to step back out of the way and brought up my sword. I felt slow and sluggish. My sword took seconds, hours, to get to the target. She danced back out of range and smacked the side of my face with the flat of her blade.
Isn’t this where you get angry and let that rage loose? It worked so well with Maelstrom. Everything depends on you. Are you going to disap
point everyone, again?
I felt the rage inside me and swung at her. She ducked under my swing and laughed at me. She took one step and slammed her leg into my thigh. It was a crushing blow and my leg crumpled beneath me. Only my grip on the sliver kept me upright. Using it as a cane, I backpedaled away from her.
Fear, that is what drives you. Useless, spineless, worthless is what you are. That sword is not a weapon in your hands, it is a crutch made for you to hobble to your death.
I was at the edge of the circle when it happened. I felt the weight of the burden on my shoulders, the rage that screamed inside of me and the frustration of my incompetence. I felt my lack of skill and ability, and how unfair I thought this all was. It all rose up at once, a wave that threatened to drown me. In one crystalline moment, I gasped for breath and I saw my death. Shadowstrike was going to kill me in this circle in the middle of nowhere, away from everything. Everything would be destroyed because I couldn’t do what I needed to do. What needed to be done. Her words washed over me. I was weak. She was right.
She was right, and then it clicked. Before we began, she had given me the key. ‘Truth is always a worthy opponent.’ Everything she had said was true, but I couldn’t and didn’t accept it. I knew I had to. No more false pretenses. I wasn’t scared of death—I was scared to live.
The next moment it all surged and vanished. Something snapped and my rage flat-lined. She came at me with a direct attack and lunged at my heart. I slipped to the side, avoiding her thrust. She lunged again and I rolled to the side out of a downward slash.
Just like a coward—run away, that is all you are good for. Why not just surrender and let me end you?
“I’m not running,” I said. “But you are right, I am weak. That is why I’m here. I need you.”
I jumped forward with a quick step and slashed across her midsection. She leaped back, but I closed the distance and grabbed her wrist. She was pinned close to me. She buried her sword in my stomach as I did the same to her. The blade entered my body, but I felt no pain. I looked down and saw her sword buried to the hilt in my stomach.
Now you are ready: you have accepted death as an outcome. It is time to rejoin the sliver to the whole.
My sword vanished as her body absorbed it, and her sword disappeared as I absorbed it. When I looked up, she was gone and then my world ended.
“You must endure it, warrior.” I heard Ono’s voice from miles away as hot spikes of pain punctured my body. Everything was on fire. I felt my skin melt away from my bones. I felt every bone break, mend and break again repeatedly. My chest was tight—I couldn’t breathe, and I gasped for every breath. Each breath that I managed felt like swallowed glass had ripped my throat to shreds. I tried to scream only to discover a new level of agony when my own voice set off a new level of pain as hot nails of sound shoved themselves into my ears.
“If I wanted to disrupt this ritual,” said Ono, her voice was near and far as I writhed in mind-numbing pain, “I would attack now when he is vulnerable, guardian.”
Ono caressed my head in her hands. Each caress was a handful of razor blades as they flayed my skin.
“Kill me,” I croaked to her.
“I cannot,” she whispered as her words cut through me sending me into another paroxysm of pain.
I heard a rumble behind me and I must have blacked out for a moment because when I regained consciousness, Meja was gone and I sensed it was only Ono next to me.
Where did she go? I thought as the pain drilled into my teeth and exposed every nerve. The tears that streamed out of my eyes were acid. They burned valleys of torture on their way down my face. I was blind even though my eyes were open. The light made my eyes two beacons of suffering.
“How much longer?” It was Meja. Her voice crashed over me and caused my body to spasm. There was no response from Ono.
Only a few moments more, vessel. A lifetime of agony. Remember this pain. Remember every second of this. You will not experience anything that can compare to this again in your life.
It was Shadowstrike.
You have succeeded where many have failed, vessel. You still have much work before you, but know that the worst of this ordeal is past.
The pain unclenched its grip and released me. I fell limp against Ono and lost consciousness.
**********
“Is he dead?” asked Meja. “I don’t know what those things were. I do know that I don’t want to face them again, ever. One of them managed to enter the circle, but I stopped it before it could reach him.”
“He is alive and should recover from this,” said Ono. “Those things are kindred to the Watchers you have encountered.”
“They are related to Watchers?” said Meja. “Thankfully on a smaller scale.”
“Yes, Watchers are the plane guardians that expel what they consider foreign to the plane they guard. These appeared to be under control by someone or something.”
“I’m glad it was only two,” said Meja. “Any more and it would have ended for us. Who could control those things?”
“Sending more than one requires an immense amount of power,” said Ono. “The fact that two were sent speaks to how serious his adversaries are. One should have been enough to complete their purpose, had Dante been here alone,” said Ono. “If he had been, they would have succeeded in killing him in the third part of the ritual. Fortunately for him, and us, he was not alone.”
Ono opened a portal beside them. “We must return before they are missed,” she said. They picked up Dante’s prone body and entered the portal.
**********
“The third focus has found a vessel, Master,” said a voice.
In a circle sat Master Wheel. Wearing only pants, the glyphs across his upper body pulsed with color as he remained with his eyes closed.
“You witnessed this,” said Wheel. “And the two I sent?”
“Yes, Master, he was close to perishing and we attacked at the time you appointed,” said the voice. “The two were destroyed by his guardian, but not before the taint could be placed.”
“Excellent. Everything is proceeding according to my design,” said Wheel. “Return and do not let them discover you.”
“Yes, Master,” said the voice.
Wheel remained motionless for several minutes more before standing and putting on a robe. As he tied his belt, he looked to his side. In the dark stood Kono, silent and watchful.
“Your part will begin soon. Are you ready?” he said as he walked out of the circle.
“Always, Master,” she said. “I live to serve and die.”
BOOK 5
THE MASTER WARRIOR
ONE
THE FIRST THING I felt was the power. My entire body pulsed with a barely contained energy. The second thing that I felt was the pain and with it came the memory of what I had gone through. Every part of me ached, making any sudden movement a vivid reminder of my ordeal. All of my senses were heightened. The too bright sunlight filtered in through the windows and blinded me as the room came into focus.
I moved my head slowly and took in the room. An earthy scent filled my nostrils, like wet grass after a rain. The bed I lay in held me tight, convincing me that the best course of action was to remain in it indefinitely. I was in a Mikai home. Deep browns and reds made up the colors of the simple furniture. Beneath it all, I could see the glyphs floating just beneath the surface. I felt the power, a lazy cushion of energy that enveloped the entire space.
I could sense others close by. I tried to focus and the pain crashed into me, snatching my breath. Drops of sweat formed on my forehead as I tried to sit up.
Seems like I survived the bonding.
Indeed. It has been some time since I bonded to a vessel.
Shadowstrike.
Were you expecting another? a female voice responded.
Dante—my name is Dante, not vessel.
Don’t ask me how I knew, but I could sense her smiling.
Dante, then. You must leave this place. By re
maining here, you place yourself and those you care about in danger.
The voices of the others reached me.
How can I hear them?
Your abilities have been enhanced. There is still much for you to learn.
“Is he dead?”
I recognized the voice but couldn’t place it. The throbbing in my head kept a steady pace with the promise of continued moments of agony. I closed my eyes again to shut out some of the discomfort, hoping it would allow me to focus. Then it clicked. Devin was wondering if I was dead.
“Not yet,” answered a voice I knew to be Mariko. “But it’s still early.”
“How long before we know if the bonding was successful?” It was another familiar voice, different from the first.
Sylk. I heard the inflections and subtle nuances. He was worried.
“Well, he isn’t dead and that is a good indicator. We don’t know if the bonding was accomplished or if we have another threat before us—a greater threat than any of us could comprehend.”
Lady Ono. She was the one who had walked me through the agony of Shadowstrike. I remembered wanting to die and begging for it. The funny thing about pain is that it’s never as vivid in recollection. I knew the scars were there, invisible to the eye but etched into my psyche. Every part of me protested as I moved. It was a sharp reminder of what I had just gone through.
You do not have the luxury of rest. Time is our common enemy and we have precious little of it.
What are you talking about? You almost killed me.
Yet here you lie. What are you waiting for? The pain has subsided by now and you have full use of your faculties. Those around you cannot help you to achieve the mastery required.
What do you mean?
In order to wield me fully you must learn two very important skills. You must learn to wavedance and timeskip—skills that take time to learn. None of those surrounding you now is equipped to teach you these skills. We must leave this place.
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