by Ryan Kirk
She whispered a goodbye to Keiko, who embraced her tightly. Daisuke walked with her to the rise hiding the house. “You’ll track Mari and join with her?”
“Yes.” Since their return from the village, Asa had thought of little else. If she had to serve someone, she couldn’t think of a better person.
Daisuke bowed to Asa. “It has been an honor having you. You are welcome anytime, and remember to practice the skills you’ve learned. And Asa?”
She looked at him expectantly.
“Whatever you end up doing, just remember to serve. It’s not about you.”
Asa nodded, and before she could change her mind, she turned and walked away, putting Daisuke and his family behind her.
Chapter 18
The snows were melting, and Mari was certain she was now the most wanted person in the entire Kingdom. Shadows from each of the house lands had come to her with posters calling for the capture of the Lady in White. The rewards were becoming enormous, almost enough to feed a city for a full moon.
The irony wasn’t lost on Mari. Her strategy, such as it was, was working. Food and supplies were raided and stolen from the armies and brought back to the cities and villages they had come from. The Lady in White returned the people’s money, but the lords would have to take it back to pay the sum they were promising for her capture.
When she had been a child, she had loved to imagine herself in a different world. She loved the walls of Stonekeep, but there were times when she wanted nothing more than to be on a horse out in the wild. At times, to feed her fancy, she imagined that she was a bandit queen, always on the run from those who would bring her to justice.
What would her childhood self say now if she saw how Mari lived? Her juvenile imagination had become her daily reality, but the reality was nowhere near as romantic as her dreams had been. The ground was wet and cold, and although her party’s spirits were high, their conditions were miserable. They didn’t dare spend more than a day or two in any single place. She traveled with more than fifty blades, always running, always pursued by the armies of Lord Isamu.
Her danger grew as her reputation did. Once, the Lady in White might have received indifference or perhaps a hesitant welcome. Now if she rode into a new place with her white costume, villagers bowed low to her.
Some days she realized that many citizens of the Kingdom had more loyalty to her than to the lords of the lands they lived on. At those moments, she considered shifting her aims and taking the Kingdom for herself. Wouldn’t she be a wise and just queen?
As tempting as the idea often was, Mari never allowed it to linger. The Kingdom had never been ruled by a woman, and while the villagers were happy to hide her and deceive her pursuers, there was a vast difference between that and allowing a woman to rule.
A smaller voice in her head warned her of the temptation of power. Hiromi had been a good man, the type of man who would never consider sending assassins after his own blood. But power was insidious, worming its way under a person’s honor. Her even entertaining the thought of usurping power from the lords who had a legitimate claim was proof enough of that.
Her best path was to stay the course she had originally set. War had been delayed for more than a moon as armies and lords struggled to figure out how to feed and supply their troops while at the same time preventing the rioting of their people. She had received reports that each cadre of blades was being pursued by part of an army, pulling necessary troops off the front lines of the battle.
Skirmishes still erupted between the houses, but Mari’s actions had so far prevented the full war she feared. She wasn’t sure how much longer her forces could continue. As their reputation grew, more troops were assigned to them, and the chase became more intense. Mari’s group had almost been surrounded twice, but each time they had managed to find a way out thanks to the abilities of the gifted.
Mari worried that soon they would need to resort to violence to continue their mission. She dreaded the possibility but did the best she could to steel herself for the inevitable day. Better her blades kill a handful of soldiers than the world fall to war.
Mari’s actions also moderated the attitude of the populace toward the blades. No doubt the fear and hate persisted, but a starving family accepted food no matter the source. The quality of the blades in her service was paramount to their success. If even one blade lashed out at a citizen, the story would be different. But her blades, so far, had answered hate with food supplies. Even if they were jeered, they continued serving.
Mari wasn’t under the illusion that the blades were different than citizens in terms of temperament. There were blades who made wise and caring decisions and those who made rash and arrogant ones. But recently, she had seen the quality of people who came together for a cause. They had been given every opportunity and every reason to strike back in some villages but always held their temper.
Mari specifically remembered a larger village named Highfield. Her forces had brought in food recently liberated from Isamu’s army and were passing it out on the outskirts of the village. From the back, a group of local youths threw heavy stones. The blades sensed the throws but couldn’t dodge all the rocks. One hit a nightblade on the head as he dodged, causing blood to flow rapidly from the wound.
The blade had collapsed, and his son, another nightblade serving next to him, had immediately pushed through the crowd. Everyone started to scatter, afraid of the impending bloodshed. Even Mari feared the reputation she had worked so hard to cultivate would be destroyed.
But when the son reached the young men who had assaulted his father, he knelt in front of them and offered rice.
The incident had turned out well. The father was healed by a dayblade, and the youths were shamed in front of their entire community.
Not every experience was as positive as Highfield. Twice now they had had to leave the food at the edge of a village because no one would come out of their homes when the nightblades were present. The phenomenon was less common but still happened.
The process was agonizingly slow, but piece by piece, the blades were working toward Mari’s goal. She only wondered if it would be enough.
Mari wandered through the camp one evening, completely exhausted. She had never been a warrior, but she had always been active, and this campaign was draining her. Around her, the blades were subdued, a hard day’s ride putting them all in a quiet state.
Even tireless Takahiro was sitting silently around one of the fires they had started, waiting for his dinner to cook. Mari sat down next to him, his only response a small, guttural grunt.
She sighed and eventually stood up again. She was just as fatigued as anyone else, but she was restless, her mind unwilling to settle. Takahiro was in command of this group, but her mind kept racing over the future, trying to see the next step. No matter how she wrestled with the problem, no solution came to her.
When Asa rode into camp, the entire gathering came alive. Some of the blades knew Asa better than others, but she was a change and a welcome one at that.
She pulled her horse to a stop and slid smoothly down from the saddle. Mari frowned and looked at the brand on the mount. It had been stolen from Isamu’s army.
The nightblade followed Mari’s gaze. “I figured the loss of one horse wouldn’t bother them much.”
Another blade came up and offered to take care of the horse. Asa gratefully accepted, and Mari invited Asa to come to her tent. Mari wasn’t sure what it was about Asa that she liked so much, but she was grateful beyond measure to see her face.
Mari prepared some tea, and the women knelt to face each other. Asa, surprisingly, spoke first. “You all look as though you’ve been training all day in the sun. Some of those blades seem ready to pass out where they stand.”
Mari nodded. “We have been on the run for a moon now, and it requires tremendous sacrifice.”
Asa sipped from her cup, giving Mari a slight bow of appreciation for the drink. “Word of your deeds is spreading fast. I passed
no fewer than three villages where the Lady in White was all that was spoken of. To most, you are a hero, but to some, a traitor.”
This wasn’t surprising to Mari, although she did feel a slight pain that some would consider her a traitor.
She didn’t say anything. None of this was for public recognition, and it did no good to complain.
The two women sipped their tea. Mari, as host, had the responsibility to continue the conversation, but she suffered a moment of doubt. Why had she called Asa to her tent? They weren’t that close.
But there was something about Asa that Mari couldn’t put her finger on, a feature even more pronounced now than it had been in the past. Mari decided to plunge forward.
“Asa, I’m frustrated and worried for the blades and for the Kingdom.”
Mari had Asa’s full attention, but the nightblade didn’t respond.
The lady struggled to find the right words. “We’re doing well. We are the dam in the river, but we are weak, and when we break, the war will flood the Kingdom. I need the cooperation of a lord.”
Asa bent her head forward slightly to acknowledge Mari’s problem. “You don’t think your brother would listen to you?”
Mari laughed. Asa had been gone when the attack happened. “He tried to have me assassinated.”
Asa frowned. “So?”
The nightblade’s response startled Mari. She stopped laughing and shook her head, trying to be certain of Asa’s words. It took a few moments to do so, but Asa’s face clearly indicated the question.
“If someone tries to kill you, they aren’t very likely to listen to you.”
“Why not?”
Mari bunched up her face, perplexed by Asa’s attitude.
The blade replied, “I assume your brother found out about your alliance with a group of blades?”
Mari nodded.
“If word of your actions and identity spread, he’d lose the war before it ever began. Ordering your death was a cold but rational action, right?”
Mari exhaled loudly. Yes, she supposed Asa was right.
“Is there another better suited to hear your plans for the Kingdom?”
Mari considered her options, limited as they were. Katashi would never hear her, and Isamu, well, Isamu wasn’t fit to be king. Hiromi already knew what Mari was doing, so if he did ally himself with her, it would be with full knowledge of her secrets. Hiromi was her best option. She shook her head.
“Then it seems to me your choice is clear, even if unpleasant. You must speak with your brother.”
Mari disagreed again. “Even if you’re right, there’s no way I can get to him. He’s one of the most well-defended people in the Kingdom right now, and I am under threat of death.”
Asa smiled. “Then it’s good I decided to come. I will escort you to him.”
Mari’s heart pounded in her chest. To talk and complain was one act. To sneak into an army encampment, possibly kill guards, and meet secretly with her brother was an entirely different act. She couldn’t.
But Asa sat in front of her, calmly sipping tea and looking expectantly as though she was waiting for Mari to tell her when they were going to leave. Mari set down her tea and paced the small tent, regretting she’d let the daring nightblade in.
The worst part was, Asa was right. If Mari’s only hope was speaking to a lord, her brother was the best choice, and if that was true, she would have to try. The alternative was fighting a slowly losing battle until her companions broke and died.
She stopped pacing and knelt again, staring Asa straight in the eye. “Can you get me to him?”
Asa didn’t respond immediately, considering factors she didn’t bother sharing with Mari. “I believe I can. Nothing is certain, of course, but I believe so.”
Mari wasn’t sure why she was listening. Walking into that camp was no different than committing suicide, except suicide was probably quicker and less painful.
But she was already risking her life every day. She didn’t think of the danger when she was protected by one of the largest gatherings of nightblades ever, but the fact remained. Asa was forcing her to live up to her ideals.
Before Mari could stop herself, she said, “Very well. I will need to prepare my commanders for my absence, but we will leave in the next few days.”
Asa bowed as she sipped the last of her tea. “Thank you for the wonderful drink, my lady. I look forward to our time on the road together.”
Chapter 19
Koji watched as their commander, a nightblade named Ikko, sketched out the supply depot the blades were about to attack. Even before Ikko spoke, Koji knew that the strategy they were using now wouldn’t work forever. Here they experienced far more defenses, far more troops, and far better placement than they had encountered before. They might be blades, but their enemies were not fools.
Almost a hundred guards surrounded the supply depot, which itself had been built on a foothill that overlooked the area for a league in every direction. The scouts sent in earlier reported that patrols were regular and alert.
When the campaign, if that was what it could be called, had started, the blades hadn’t fought much in the way of opposition. The supply lines had been guarded, of course, but the troops hadn’t been seasoned or well trained. They were the dregs of the army, so far below the skill of the nightblades as to be a joke.
No longer. Mari’s campaign had brought reinforcements, some of the best from the front. These were men who took pride in being soldiers, who trained every day in the hope of becoming officers.
Individually they posed little threat to the blades, but together, they were a force to be reckoned with. The missions were getting more challenging. If the blades didn’t switch their approach, they would soon be overwhelmed.
Ikko broke down the plan, such as it was. Koji was grateful, again, that Mari had heeded his request not to be put in charge. As he listened, their commander brought up point after point, simple facts that Koji would have forgotten.
Koji occupied a place of honor among the group he traveled with. He was widely recognized as the best sword in the group and practiced diligently so the position wasn’t taken away. Whenever a plan was made, he was in the heart of the battle and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Ikko’s plan was to attack at night with a direct charge up the foothill. It wasn’t a complex plan, which Koji appreciated, but he worried that the blades were starting to attempt more than they could handle. The soldiers at the top would see them coming. They would have archers and some fortifications. Who knew what else was up there?
Worse, Koji and the group didn’t have the time to better strategize. A pursuit troop was hard on their heels, and everyone figured they’d catch up in another day or two. They needed to strike now or risk being cornered.
Koji would lead the main force up the path that wound to the top. Two other small groups would attempt flanking maneuvers, but Koji and his team would handle the brunt of the counteroffensive.
Everything would have been easier if they’d been allowed to kill the guards. Unfortunately that had been one principle Mari had been adamant about. If the nightblades started killing guards, even for a good reason, all the goodwill they had worked so hard to develop would be lost.
So far there hadn’t been any deaths on either side of the combat, but Koji was beginning to believe that was more luck than anything else. As the odds continued to stack against the blades, they would either have to kill or die in their attempts to complete their missions.
The commander looked up at his warriors, his silent expression welcoming questions. There were none.
“Very well,” he said. “Get what rest you can. We will begin our attack soon.”
As had become custom, Koji led the main force up the hill. The supply depot had originally been a collection of four huts that had been reinforced. They were in the mountainous lands of House Kita, and stone was plentiful. Between the terrain and the heavy walls of the huts, the supplies were quite defendable.
<
br /> Koji and his troops discovered that quickly enough. As predicted, they were spotted long before they got to the huts. The alarm was raised, and the guards formed a strong perimeter, using boulders to hide from arrows that never came.
Arrows shot down, though. Koji figured there had to be at least two squads of archers up top, and he was close enough to be able to sense them pulling back their bowstrings. He squatted underneath his short round shield, feeling the impacts as the arrows dug into his protection.
Nightblades rarely carried shields, but after a few assaults, the precaution had been deemed necessary. While the practice was distasteful to many, it was one of the reasons Ikko could claim that none of his blades had been killed.
Their progress was slow, much slower than Koji would have preferred. The path was full of loose rock, and with nothing but the dim light of the moon to guide their footsteps, the blades couldn’t move too quickly. And crouching down to protect themselves while arrows clattered all around didn’t speed up the process.
The team’s challenges were just beginning. Up above, Koji heard a sound that seemed like a giant was groaning. The groan went silent, and then a small trickle of stones became a booming echo. Koji’s mind, used to the sounds of battle, froze, completely unable to comprehend what was happening. Was the world splitting apart above him?
He looked up in time to see a giant shadow, darker than the night, hurtling toward him. Without thought, Koji threw himself to the side, avoiding the shadow and whatever evil it represented.
Behind him, in the space he’d just vacated, a boulder crashed down the hillside, crushing two nightblades behind him, the sounds of their shattering bones echoing in Koji’s ears. A third nightblade, a woman, was spun around like a child’s plaything as the boulder struck her side on its way down the mountain.
More groans and more cracks. Koji looked up to see if any new shadows grew above him.
He was awed, just for a moment, by the sight.