Michiko moaned slightly and slumped back against Toshi's chest. He tightened his arms around her, keeping the reins clear of her fluttering robe, and rested his chin on her shoulder.
As they soared through the moonlight, Toshi huddled against Michiko for warmth and took in the cold, stark splendor of the nighttime sky.
*****
The snakes stayed on the incline until the moon was low over the horizon. Pearl-Ear and her party had followed Toshi's well-hidden tracks this far, but the agitated mass of orochi-bito kept them from climbing higher. Sharp-Ear observed that at least everyone was looking for Michiko and not guarding them, but Pearl-Ear took no comfort from this.
Now the orochi were slithering back down the incline, heading for their ritual clearing. Pearl-Ear, Riko, and Choryu sat huddled under a camouflage of twigs and wet leaves. It was uncomfortable, but it kept them safe from the orochi. Dawn-Tail was hidden nearby in case they were discovered, but Sharp-Ear, Frost-Tail, and Blade-Tail had all stolen off to reconnoiter.
They waited until the last orochi came down, then for another long stretch to make sure there were no more. Then, Frost-Tail returned from the crest.
"The trail dies all at once," he said. "Michiko is definitely with him, and she's very much alive."
Riko closed her eyes. "At least there's that."
Pearl-Ear was less encouraged. "Which way did they go?"
"No idea. The trail stops cold. It just disappears. You think that ochimusha knows teleportation?"
"I don't know what he knows," Pearl-Ear said in frustration. "That's what makes him dangerous."
Blade-Tail materialized out of the shadows. "The orochi are performing the ritual anyway. There's several hundred of them, all hissing and chanting to the Myojin of Life's Web." The kitsune warrior scowled. "Such a grand name makes me nervous."
"The spirit's followers concern me more," Pearl-Ear said.
Sharp-Ear emerged from the woods a few moments later. He had lost some of his vivacious spark.
"I found something," he said. "Come with me."
"Is it safe?" Choryu was holding Riko's hand in the gloom.
"Everyone but us is at the ritual," Sharp-Ear said. "I think they've written us off. If they were ever interested in the first place."
The group collected themselves and followed Sharp-Ear back toward the pen that had held them. As they drew closer, he veered off and led them up a short, rocky ridge.
From the summit, Pearl-Ear looked down. "Who is that?"
"That," Sharp-Ear said, "is Toshi's friend. The big lad with the studded club."
"They killed him," Riko said. "Choryu saw it."
"I saw what you're seeing right now," the wizard added quickly. "I haven't been any closer than this, but I assumed he was dead."
"He's dead all right," Sharp-Ear agreed. "I'd offer to let you stay here, Michiko-hime, but the situation does not allow it. Don't look if the body upsets you."
Sharp-Ear motioned with his head. "Come on. You all need to see this."
They went down into the glen silently. At the foot of the soil platform, Pearl-Ear took in the wretched site.
"I believe," Sharp-Ear said, "they were trying to keep him immobile. That's why he was separated from us and brought here. They were afraid he might know enough forest magic to escape."
"There's not a mark on him," Blade-Tail said. "Except for that bruise around his chest. You think they smothered him?"
"That's one way to kill a giant," Sharp-Ear said.
From the edge of the clearing, Choryu stepped away from Riko and peered at the marks on the trees. "What do those mean?"
Sharp-Ear leaped up and landed next to one of the trees.
"This," he said, "is the same symbol our thug friend had tattooed on his hand. The giant has the same symbol branded on his chest."
"It says, 'hyozan,"' Riko called. "Iceberg."
Blade-Tail looked at Frost-Tail. "Reckoners?"
His brother nodded.
Choryu came to the edge of the platform. "What's that, then?"
"Vendetta gangs from the Takenuma Swamp," Blade-Tail said. "Tightly knit, fiercely loyal. They mark themselves so their enemies will know: strike at one, and the entire group responds."
Choryu's brow wrinkled. "Didn't do much good as a deterrent, did it?"
Dawn-Tail shook his head. "Most reckoners would rather avenge than deter. They're like fighting dogs without an arena."
Choryu nodded to the second tree. "And that? What do those symbols mean?"
Sharp-Ear cocked his head, his mouth working as he tried to sound out the words. "Not entirely sure," he said. "It's some kind of a poem, or a warning."
"A poem? How is that supposed to frighten people?"
"'The iceberg travels upstream,"' Riko intoned. She was squinting in the moonlight and reciting the words as she read them. '"Choking it off at its source. The river runs dry, dead and forsaken, yet the iceberg endures. The river has made a terrible mistake, and the hyozan now rises to destroy it."'
'"We will kill you,"' Riko said quietly. She was staring intently at the characters on the tree, taking longer pauses between phrases as she translated in her head.
'"We will burn your fields, steal your treasure, destroy your house, and enslave your children. We will murder your spouse, poison your pets, and… blaspheme on the graves of your ancestors. We will do all this, and the only way to avoid it is if we never find you."
Riko swallowed. She looked at the group, her wide, frightened eyes moving from face to face.
"We've already found you," she concluded.
They all stood silent and daunted as the rain began anew.
"Who's that meant for?" Choryu asked. "The snakes?"
Frost-Tail replied. "It's meant for whoever killed the giant."
"Yes, but what's the point? Is he trying to intimidate them?"
"In part. But it's more like a minor charm, or hex," Dawn-Tail said. "The power of suggestion plays on the mind of the person responsible. If you tell someone they're being hunted, it distracts them, makes them easier prey."
"Especially if they're guilty," Blade-Tail said. "The thugs and brigands in the marsh have a terrible fear of revenge magic. Part of it's superstition and part of it's experience… they know how far some reckoners will take these vendettas. Sometimes all it takes to make your enemy disappear is to scare them off."
Choryu nodded. "So he's just trying to rattle the orochi-bito."
"No," the three kitsune brother said together.
Blade-Tail went on. "I've never seen a reckoner's warning as complex as this. I think he earnestly means to get even."
"Very well," Pearl-Ear said. "We could wait here for the ochimusha to come back and exact his revenge, but I submit we must pursue him. Whatever else is true and whomever he has sworn to kill, he has Michiko."
"But how do we know where he went?"
"He is from the Takenuma Swamp. The marsh lies almost due west from here, but Towabara lies in between. He will not take the Daimyo's captive daughter anywhere near the Daimyo's tower. Nor will he go north, nor east, because those only lead to more forest."
Sharp-Ear nodded. "South, then? To the edge of the Sokenzan Mountains, on to Numai?"
"South," Pearl-Ear said. "You and Riko will have to keep up, Choryu. Once we are clear of orochi territory, we kitsune will move with all available speed. We cannot wait for you." "We will not lag far behind."
"Good. We are unarmed and traveling through hostile country. When we reach our goal, we will face a powerful and ruthless mage. And we will strike him down. Princess Michiko must be recovered safely."
"How do we know she's still alive?" Riko asked. "He might have killed her already."
"If he has," Pearl-Ear felt real steel in her voice, and it both frightened and fortified her. "Then he will face our reckoning, and it will be more terrible than any even he can imagine."
CHAPTER 21
Michiko awoke from a dream about flying, laughing a little.
She was flying, soaring high above the clouds on a moonlit night. She was on a beautiful tour of Kamigawa on the back of one of her father's exquisite battle moths.
The cold wind fluttered her hair across her face, and Michiko frowned behind it. Her hands were bound. Her right shoulder was one massive ache. What had she been doing before the dream?
"Lady Pearl-Ear," she sat upright, but a pair of lean, strong arms clamped around her, holding her in place.
"Careful, Princess." The ochimusha's smooth, warm voice felt good in her ear. "We're too high up to risk a fall."
"Lady Pearl-Ear," Michiko said. She tossed her head to clear the hair from her face. "Where is my sensei? Where are my friends?"
"Safe, Princess, safe. We had to get you out of there in a hurry. You might say this moth owed me a favor. He rescued us on my request." The tough tugged gently on the reins, easing the moth down. "Now you owe me a favor."
"I appreciate your help and your kindness," Michiko said. "But I must see the other members of my party. Where are they?"
He hooked his thumb back over his shoulder, almost brushing Michiko's cheek. "About a thousand yards back and a hundred feet down."
Michiko stiffened in his embrace, pushing away with her elbows. "I saw them fall," she said. "I watched the orochi-bito bite them." She turned her head as far as she could, but still only caught a glimpse of Toshi's face. "I saw them bite you, too."
"We were all bit," Toshi said. "Some of us just recovered faster."
The moth continued to descend, bringing them through a thick layer of white clouds.
"Where are we?" Michiko said. "Where are you taking me?"
"To a safe place."
"Where?" she persisted. "Where is this safe place?"
"Near Towabara."
"Everything is near Towabara. It lies at the center of Kamigawa."
"Quiet, now, Princess," Toshi said. "I need to steer the moth."
Michiko's eyes narrowed as she watched the clouds flow by. "Who told you I was a princess?"
Toshi paused, then chuckled. "Oddly enough, it was the orochi-bito. But I don't think they meant to."
"Land this animal at once," Michiko said. "Or take me to my father. I will not go any further with you."
"I'm afraid that's not up to you, Princess." Toshi's soothing voice hardened. "My partner was murdered tonight. Do you remember Kobo? Large fellow, bald, build like a mountain? He was younger than you, and now he's dead. I am oath-bound to avenge him."
"I am sorry about your friend. But why do you need me?" Michiko asked. "What has any of this to do with me?"
"I knew you'd ask that. I've been working on a succinct answer. Ready?"
Michiko huffed in exasperation. "Yes, yes, just answer my question."
"Whoever killed my partner also wants you. I need to keep you close until they catch up. When they do, I'll be ready."
"You're a liar," Michiko said evenly. "You intend to ransom me for profit."
"Absolutely. But that doesn't make me a liar."
Michiko decided to say no more. She worked her wrists inside her bonds, straining to create some slack. The sturdy vines were cinched tight, however, and she accomplished nothing.
A hilly section of dense forest below was quickly rising to meet them. She could see some of the tallest Sokenzan peaks in the distance.
Lady Pearl-Ear will find me, she thought. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer to the white myojin, for her salvation, and to the Sun, that she might be found quickly under its all-seeing eye.
Her prayers finished, Michiko began working the bonds on her wrist once more, just in case.
*****
The main gates to the Daimyo's castle in Eiganjo were flung wide. Mere days ago, General Takeno had ordered a mixed punitive force of infantry and cavalry north to the Jukai border to engage the akki army that was raiding there. He had heard nothing from Captain Nagao or the kitsune village since the riders came bearing news of an akki-bandit incursion into the Jukai.
From his position at one of the highest chambers in the tower, Takeno looked down on the courtyard. Things were coming apart, just as had been predicted just as the Daimyo had warned. It was a taxing time for the nation and their people, but Konda had not unified a nation by wilting in the face of hard decisions. The Daimyo believed true victory was in sight, if they only had the strength to endure the journey. If he had purity of purpose to earn it.
The general turned back to face Daimyo Konda, who was staring up at his beloved statue. It still sizzled and smoked as it had on the night it had come. The proof of Konda's divine right to rule, the essence of his power made manifest. So long as it was his, neither he nor his kingdom could be diminished.
The surface of the statue seethed, throwing off waves of heat distortion. Konda grinned, but Takeno was worried. The Daimyo loved to be close by when the stone figure showed signs of life. In his more lucid and talkative moments, Konda likened it to basking in the light of a perfect sunset-the light improved him, inside and out.
The statue suddenly blinked out, light and radiant motion alike severed in mid-revel. The temperature in the room plummeted, and to Takeno's horror, the statue toppled onto its face.
The Daimyo cried out incoherently as he ran to the stone pedestal. He called for Takeno to come help him reposition the stone.
But the general was old, and unlike his lord, Takeno was feeling the effects of his age. He was able to ride and shoot a bow better than any of his subordinates, but his knees ached and he had trouble walking quickly.
Impatiently, Konda crouched and wrapped his fingers around the statue. The Daimyo tensed, and then Konda's body began to glow. Pale white light surrounded his body, creating a barrier between the ruler's hands and the statue's surface. To Takeno, it seemed as if the glow was doing the work while the Daimyo controlled it from within the envelope of light.
Alone, Konda hauled the rough chunk of stone onto its side. He dropped to his knees and inspected the statue's face. It was undamaged, the markings still sharp, crisp, and unbroken. The Daimyo hung his head for a moment, whispered a prayer of thanks to himself, and then climbed to his feet.
Takeno stood where he was, hesitant to draw the Daimyo's attention. Konda's rapture-fueled strength came infrequently, but always when the ruler had been communing with his stone. Takeno had seen Konda accidentally crush the bones and stave in the armor of his own soldiers, unaware or unconcerned about his surges of devastating strength.
Now, the Daimyo bent his back once more and guided the great stone up. Again, he seemed to be lifting it, but the glow grew brighter and more distinct as it actually did the work.
When Konda was done, the monarch slumped to the floor with his back to the pedestal. He tilted his head back, allowed his eyes to wander across the ceiling, and then slowly lowered his eyelids.
As if in a dream, Takeno saw clear flashes of Princess Michiko. She was riding on the back of a battle moth, she was being led into a sheltered cave in the woods. Her hands were bound. Her face was anxious.
Konda roared and bolted upright. "My daughter!" he boomed. "Has she been returned to the tower?"
"No, my lord. She is still missing."
"Unacceptable! Where is Captain Nagao?"
"He was sent to retrieve the princess. He is also missing."
The Daimyo's wandering eyes drifted past the boundaries of their own sockets. A swirl of wind lifted Konda's hair and mustache as a strange, liquid light gathered around his head.
"Where is Michiko? Is she truly being held prisoner in the hinterlands as my vision portrayed?"
Takeno bowed. "I do not understand the power of your vision, my lord. But I saw it, too. I believe it is worth exploring."
"This will not do!" The Daimyo leaped to his feet and stormed to the chamber door. He opened it and bellowed, "Takeno! Bring me General Takeno!"
"I am here, my lord."
Konda closed the door and pressed his back against it. He stared at the statue,
looking right past the general. Takeno followed Konda's eyes, to where the stone disk floated, smoking and steaming once more as strange lights played across its surface.
"Takeno is here, my lord. What do you require of me?"
"Stay where you are." Konda pulled the door open just enough to squeeze through, then descended the stairs slowly, regally. Takeno hurried as fast as he could, catching up with Konda on the second stair down.
"My lord." The old soldier kept his head bowed as they continued down the stairs.
"My daughter," Konda said. "Has been taken hostage."
They had come to the bottom of the stairs. Takeno straightened and placed his hand on his sword. "What must I do, my lord?"
Konda took him by the shoulders. "Gather a cavalry division. Gather two. In fact, General, assemble three full divisions of mounted retainers. The gates are open. I want them riding out at dawn tomorrow."
"It will be done, my lord. Where is the battle?"
Konda snapped his fingers and called, "Map." Takeno's aide stepped forward from the corner of the room and unfurled a long paper tube, kneeling as he held it up for the Daimyo to read.
"There," Konda pointed to a spot in the hinterlands. "She's being held there. Whoever has her will probably ransom her to bandits rather than deal with us directly. I want those divisions to be very visible, General. Anyone who dares meet with her abductors will see the full force of Towabara's rage poised to come down on them like lightning from the sky.
"Search every inch of this quadrant until you find her. Check every cave; open every rotted log; drag every pond. There will be no trial for her captors. Bring me their heads and bring me my daughter. That is what you must do."
"I shall, my lord."
"You have all my trust, General. Do as I have bid you."
Takeno saluted again and marched from the room, his aides trailing behind.
*****
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