by Ryan Kirk
His letter from Akira opened many doors. At the border of the Northern and Southern Kingdom they were given fresh horses, and they pushed them as hard as the beasts could go. Ryuu wasn’t familiar with the eastern side of the Southern Kingdom, but the paths were worn and well marked. Ryuu worried they might run into some western troops, but none had made it that far yet.
When they reached the main encampment they were directed to a supply tent near Akira’s command tent. Ryuu was becoming familiar with the routine. Akira would see them at night. He was the ruler of an entire kingdom at war. Ryuu had to remind himself he was fortunate to see Akira with the ease he did.
Ryuu took the time to relax. Rei was fascinated by everything around her, and he could feel her throwing out her sense in an effort to learn more of what was happening. There were more people here than on the whole of the island. He smiled to himself and laid his head down on the ground, intending only to rest his eyes. Instead, he fell asleep.
He awoke to Rei moving towards him. Despite his time of relative safety on the island, Ryuu never lost his ability to use the sense while he was sleeping. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was much better than sleeping without knowing what was happening around him. Rei startled at how quickly he came awake.
“I’m sorry. The sun has gone down, and I figured you would want to be awake to go meet the Lord of the Southern Kingdom.”
Ryuu shook the sleep from his eyes. “You’re probably right. I should clean up.” His eyes took in Rei, her dirty hair and face and clothes. It was remarkable you could still see her beauty through all the grime. “You probably should too, although we’ll have to have water brought here. Akira won’t want us wandering around camp.”
Rei raised an eyebrow. “I’m not shy.”
Ryuu poked his head outside the tent and asked the guard to bring them water. Ryuu could never fault the efficiency of Akira’s troops. Water was in their tent almost as soon as Ryuu stepped back into the tent. There wasn’t any doubt Akira had some of the best trained troops in the Three Kingdoms.
Rei shed her clothes without hesitation, and Ryuu couldn’t help but let his eyes be drawn to her. Like Moriko, she was lithe and strong, but unlike Moriko, her body wasn’t covered in scars. It was a work of flawless perfection. It didn’t help that Rei seemed to be flaunting it at him. A fierce desire awoke in him, and it occurred to him that Moriko was a very long ways away. He knew Rei liked him, but he believed she liked the power he represented more than she liked him.
He pushed the thoughts out of his mind and splashed water over his face, scrubbing away the dirt that he could. He soaked his hair and wiped every nook and cranny he could find. It was cold, but he felt better than he had in almost half a moon. Being clean made the rest of life much more bearable.
The summons came just as they were finishing. They both dried themselves, changed into cleaner clothes, and followed their escort to Akira’s tent. It wasn’t hard to find, being the largest tent in the center of the ring.
The first thing Ryuu noticed in the tent was Akira. When he had left the Lord, Akira had looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Now, Akira stood tall and straight, determined. His kingdom was on the brink of annihilation, but he stood firm. Akira looked noble. Ryuu felt a surge of respect for the man. Akira was a leader, a man who would inspire others. Ryuu might defeat him in combat, but Ryuu wasn’t sure that made him the stronger person.
Rei drew up short in a deep bow, catching the eye of Akira. Ryuu stifled the urge to laugh. He had been deliberate about not showing Akira too much respect, no matter how he felt. He wanted his position to be clear.
A hint of a grin broke out on Akira’s face. “Ryuu, every time I see you, you seem to be in the company of some new beautiful woman. My father warned me I would be cursed with beautiful women as the Lord of the Kingdom, but I think your gifts have brought you better women than I had ever dreamed of.”
Rei blushed, and Ryuu could see she was pleased by the compliment.
A quick thought passed through Ryuu’s mind. He hadn’t ever heard of Akira with any women, or any men for that matter. His life seemed dedicated to the kingdom. Ryuu glanced over at Rei and extended his sense. It only took him a moment to understand. She liked him.
“Akira.”
Rei looked shocked at the cavalier attitude with which Ryuu dealt with the Lord.
Akira saw her discomfort and waved it away. “You can stop bowing. Do not worry. Ryuu and I have a unique relationship, and I don’t hold to titles with him, though I don’t think I’m bold enough to call him my friend yet.”
Ryuu provided the introductions. “Akira, this is Rei, Rei, Akira.”
Rei jaw almost dropped. It was obvious she didn’t believe either of them.
Akira couldn’t help but poke more fun at her. “Didn’t he tell you that the first time we met he held my own blade to my throat and threatened to kill me?”
Rei’s eyes seemed to roll back in her head, and Akira just laughed.
“Thank you, Ryuu, for if nothing else, you have brought me a little joy today.”
Ryuu nodded. “How goes the campaign?”
Akira looked down at the maps spread below him. Ryuu could see the figurines representing troops scattered across the maps, but they did nothing but confirm what he already knew through his sense. The final battle would be upon them soon. Probably within a quarter moon, depending on how fast the troops reached their position.
“Tanak’s forces move in for the kill. We have the high ground and much better position, but they outnumber us almost two to one at this point. It will be a bloody battle.”
Akira looked up. “I have many questions for you, Ryuu. I suspect from the way Rei holds herself, she is every bit as dangerous as she is gorgeous. Someday I would like to hear your story, but for now my only question is why you are here.”
“I’ve come to help.”
Akira almost leapt with excitement. “Does that mean you’ll fight for us?”
Ryuu shook his head. “Not in the way you hope. If I was to enter the battle, dozens, if not hundreds, would fall to my blade. I don’t know if I could live with that decision, and I won’t do it.”
“Then how will you help, if not to lend me your steel?”
Ryuu held up two fingers. “I’ll do two things for you. The first is that I can use the sense to tell where people are.” He pointed at Akira’s map. “Between your intelligence and my sense, I can give you the most accurate information about enemy troop movements. It will give you a distinct advantage. Second, there is a nightblade in Tanak’s camp. His name is Renzo.”
Akira laughed, and Ryuu stopped, surprised.
“Renzo is not a nightblade. Trust me on that one. The monks tested him right in front of me.”
Ryuu glanced at Rei quizzically. Rei spoke up. “We grew up together, my Lord, and I can assure you, he is a nightblade.”
Ryuu and Akira both paused as they considered the implications. Either Renzo had fooled the monks somehow, or the monks were involved. It opened up doors that Ryuu was afraid to open, worried he’d find nightmares on the other side. He pushed the thoughts aside. Whatever had happened, it didn’t change Ryuu’s attitude.
Ryuu spoke into the silence. “Don’t worry, Akira. I’ll kill him for you.”
Chapter 28
When Moriko woke up, she was tied to a horse, so tight there was no chance of her moving, much less falling off. It was enough to rekindle Moriko’s dislike of the beasts. She tested her movement, and the answer was disappointing. Her bindings had no slack at all. The final hunter wasn’t taking any chances.
Moriko hurt. The cuts she’d received from the battle had crusted over. She’d hoped to clean them. Her head throbbed where she’d been struck. She’d seen the hunter’s fist, but it felt like she’d been hit by a tree. Every jostle of the horse made her want to both throw up and kill someone.
They were traveling east, much to Moriko’s surprise. By her reckoning, they were actually
getting closer to the Three Sisters. All she had to do was escape, but that was going to be impossible. Even after she awoke, the hunter didn’t untie her. He’d stop every couple of watches to give her some water and check that her bindings were still tight. The one evening they camped, he staked her to the ground so she still couldn’t move a muscle. He had watched her kill his brethren and wasn’t going to give her a chance to move.
She sensed him before she could see him, tied to the horse as she was. There were several of them, but he stood out among them all. Nameless. His power was beyond belief. There wasn’t any mistaking him. She went limp as they got closer.
When they entered camp, the hunter who had captured Moriko cut her bindings. She didn’t entertain any thoughts of escaping. She counted ten hunters in the circle around them, plus Nameless.
Nameless stood in front of her, and once again Moriko was surprised by the effortless strength and grace with which he carried himself. It was the first time she had seen the chief of the Azarians in full daylight, and she was impressed by what she saw. In the heat of the day he wore only a loose tunic and leggings. He was a tall man, a head and more above Moriko. At first glance he appeared heavy-set, but Moriko realized it was an illusion. He was a large man, but there wasn’t any fat on his body. His arms were bigger than Moriko’s thighs.
In a way, Nameless reminded her a bit of Orochi. Both of them were intimidating, both larger than average. But Orochi had been possessed by a calm Nameless did not possess. Orochi had been focused on control. Nameless was focused on strength and power, barely contained in his massive body. He paced up and down, and even when he stood still he was tapping his foot and scanning the horizon. Nameless would never know peace, but he knew power.
The hunter who had captured her gave what Moriko assumed was a short report. They spoke in Azarian, and Moriko couldn’t pick up a hint of what they were saying. She stood as still as possible, focusing on her breathing, trying to get her mind to think of any way to get as far away from Nameless as possible. Try as she might, she couldn’t get coherent thoughts through her mind.
Nameless turned to her after he had finished speaking with the hunter. “This man claims you fought with a skill they were not prepared for. He says you killed four of the young men who were sent to retrieve you and their mentor. They were young, but they were blooded. I am not one to doubt my men, but his story defies belief. Is it true?”
Moriko nodded. She saw no reason to deny what had happened. She was also too afraid to speak. His power was awesome, burning into her sense like she was standing too close to a fire.
Nameless paced back and forth, and if Moriko could guess, she figured he was deciding what to do. He spoke. “I did not know the Three Kingdoms had warriors of your skill. Let me tell you a story. Once, some time ago, I sent two of our hunters to kill two warriors in the Three Kingdoms. Hunters, you see, always hunt in pairs. One to track and one to kill. I sent only two, because why would I have need to send four? Four of my men could destroy an army of yours. Even two seemed too many, but it was the fewest I could send, and I knew that by killing these two warriors, no one would have the slightest chance of standing in my way. And then one of them appears at my Gathering with an offer of peace.”
Nameless paused, and Moriko wondered where this was going. “They all said that of the two, it was the man who was stronger, the one who can cut the wind with his blade. But now I think they lied, or were deceived. I think it is you who is the dangerous one.”
Moriko felt a perverse pride at being honored by her enemy. But she didn’t know how to respond.
He smiled. “You are a brave warrior, and I will grant you a warrior’s end. Tomorrow morning we shall duel.” His judgment pronounced, he turned to go back into his tent. There were looks of shock around the circle of hunters.
Moriko was also surprised. “Why not just kill me?”
“You are the strongest warrior of the Southern Kingdom. I am the strongest warrior of my people. When we meet tomorrow morning, it will be as though the war has already begun. If you win, you can save the Three Kingdoms. If you lose, it will be a good omen for my army. It is the way a warrior should die.”
Moriko understood then he was honoring her. She bowed slightly to him in response to his offer.
He turned his head as he was lifting the flap of his tent. “Tonight, all your bindings will be cut. No one will guard your tent. You are welcome to try to escape. But if you do, my hunters will pursue you with a fury you haven’t yet experienced. You will die a coward. No more boys, now that I know your skill. If you stay, you will be fed and well rested. You must be at your best tomorrow. When the sun rises, you will fall before me in battle and I will take your head in one clean cut. You should be honored. I have not drawn my sword for some time in combat.”
Nameless went into his tent without another word. Moriko’s mind was racing. Neither option sounded appealing. Either way, it sounded like tomorrow morning was the last sunrise she would ever see.
The evening crawled along, content to take its time. Moriko was fine with it. She was convinced she was going to die the next day. She’d give him everything she got, but his power was beyond her comprehension. It was more than anyone should possess. It was too much. She knew she was going to die, and there was a lot to think about.
There was a part of her that was angry. She and Ryuu had never asked to be brought into this conflict. If they’d been left alone, they would have stayed away from it all. Moriko didn’t want any part of politics or war. All she wanted was to live and be left alone, but fate kept wrapping her in its cruel embrace. As fascinating as Azaria was, it wasn’t anything compared to a quiet night looking at the stars with Ryuu.
She was angry at him too. She knew they had made the decision together, but how could he have let her go? What happened to him after they separated? She wondered if he’d ever made it to the island, and if he did, what he had found there.
With the thoughts of Ryuu came sorrow. She’d never get to find out what he had discovered on the island, or if the island existed at all. She’d never be held by him again.
But she was strong. Stronger than she’d ever been. Maybe even stronger than Ryuu. She had killed five hunters on her own in the prairie. Perhaps the Azarians were right. Maybe it was all about strength. Strength was the ability to exert your will on the world.
Moriko sat through the evening, thoughts rushing through her head. Every time she tried to hold one, it slipped away, draining through her mental grasp. But as the evening began to fade, she felt at ease. Her life had been far from perfect, but it had held beautiful moments too. Tomorrow she would fight with everything she had, and if she lost, so be it. She was ready.
Stepping from the tent, Moriko was greeted by a blood-red morning sky. She shook her head gently. It seemed appropriate, considering what lay in store. She would miss Ryuu.
Moriko went through her morning routine, holding herself back. It was the first time she practiced since she had met Kalden over a moon ago. It was freeing. The muscles in her body remembered every move, every strike, and she moved with a practiced grace. Her shoulder was sore where it had been cut, but it was functional. She ached in a dozen different places. It had been a hard moon. But she was as ready as she’d get.
She sensed Nameless behind her, but she paid him no mind until she was finished. When she was done, she turned around to look at him. The appreciation was evident in his eyes.
“Among our people, women fight as our men do, but never have I seen a woman with such skill. Your practice is beautiful.”
Moriko lowered her eyes at the comment. She wished she wasn’t so proud of the approval she received. “Thank you.”
“Are you prepared?”
A simple question, but one that spelled her death. She nodded, not trusting herself to speak with dignity. The fear was catching in her throat.
“Very well.” Nameless barked something out in Azarian, and all the hunters gathered around her, forming a loo
se circle about twenty paces wide. They were evenly spaced out, and although Moriko knew they were only observers in this battle, they were alert and ready to prevent her escape.
Moriko drew her sword and took in a deep breath. As Nameless drew his own blade, Moriko felt her mind settle. Cycles of training took over. Everything external fell away, her focus on his body and the point of his blade. She was terrified, but she no longer felt it. Her fear had been locked in a cage, an observer like the hunters around her. She didn’t suppress her presence. Although she knew Nameless would be aware of her ability, if she could utilize it in a key moment of their battle, it might turn the tide in her favor.
Nameless, confident, didn’t hesitate to come in for the first cuts. Moriko deflected them easily, knowing they were tests. Nameless wanted to know her strength. She feinted, but Nameless didn’t buy it. He slapped it away almost carelessly.
They retreated a pace. Nameless judged her for a moment and leapt to the attack. This time he wasn’t testing. His cuts were true and fast, and it took Moriko all her skill to block them. She was moving backwards, giving him ground, approaching the edge of the circle. Moriko focused her thoughts and snapped, Nameless’ blade slowed down, her own cuts came faster. The tide of the battle turned, and Moriko dared to hope that she could win this fight. Back and back they moved, passing each other with speed Moriko had once only dreamed of.
Nameless unleashed a flurry of cuts that drove Moriko backwards, but as soon as she had a moment of freedom she launched herself at him, low. She was much smaller than him, and although he was fast, she wanted to bring the fight down to the ground. Her blade flashed at his shins, ankles, and thighs, and Nameless was forced to give up ground, even faster than Moriko had lost it. His blocks were awkward as he tried to protect parts of his body he wasn’t used to having attacked.
Moriko drove Nameless to the edge of the circle with her low cuts. Without room to maneuver, he leapt in the air, and Moriko’s heart leapt with joy. Once you committed to an attack in the air, you were easy to defeat. Once committed, it was hard to change your angle of attack, and a quick opponent would make short work of you.