Valley of Shields

by Duncan Lay

  ‘Rhiannon to be trained properly, by one of your best —’ Sendatsu began.

  ‘By Asami,’ Rhiannon put in.

  ‘By Asami,’ Sendatsu amended. ‘Huw and the Velsh receive elven protection from the Forlish. A few hundred elven warriors and a score of Magic-weavers should be enough. The secrets of Dokuzen need to be opened up as well — those Magic-weavers need to travel around the villages, finding human children with magical potential who can be trained. Priests of Aroaril should also travel through Vales and beyond, teaching all humans how to worship Him. Finally, I want to know how you can give me my old life back — and my children.’

  ‘Is that all?’ Sumiko asked sardonically. ‘Perhaps every gaijin child would like a ride on a dragon as well?’

  ‘Just what I said,’ Sendatsu said levelly.

  Sumiko leaned back, her face blank, although Sendatsu imagined he could see her thinking furiously behind that mask. ‘Here is what I offer,’ she said finally. ‘Rhiannon can train with Asami. The Border Patrol can help your human friends against their enemies. But any other humans found with magic must swear loyalty to me, not to their kings. I must control the magic.’

  Rhiannon and Huw were about to angrily refuse when Sendatsu waved them down.

  ‘And my children?’

  ‘Once Jaken is in my custody, along with the other clan leaders, obviously it will be easy for you to get your children back. Your crimes from earlier will be forgotten. And, of course, you will be free to live a life without responsibility. There will be no more clan leaders.’

  ‘And you will seal this magically? Give us your word, bound by your magic?’ Sendatsu pressed.

  ‘What about the humans swearing fealty?’ Huw blurted.

  But Sumiko and Sendatsu were staring only at each other.

  ‘A magical promise is possible. But not in the time we have to act. I need to take that book with me now —’

  ‘You don’t get the book until we have a deal from you, sealed with magic, that promises everything I asked for,’ Sendatsu said coldly. ‘Everything. Not your offer. What I said.’

  Sumiko stormed to her feet. ‘You dare to throw that in my face?’ she spat. ‘I could take that book and give you nothing!’

  Everyone but Huw could feel the magic being drawn in and instinctively began to gather it themselves.

  ‘If you want to rule Dokuzen, that is the price you must pay. No book without your promise,’ Sendatsu stated, staring her in the eye. ‘You can try to take the book but the price will be too great for you then.’

  Sumiko seemed about to burst then glanced across at Asami and Rhiannon. Abruptly she deflated.

  ‘You will have it. But I need several turns of the hourglass,’ she said.

  ‘Better hurry then. For we must give our answer to my father by dawn.’

  ‘You will get it before then,’ Sumiko promised, then swept towards the doorway. ‘I can find my own way out of here.’

  Asami came to her feet but Sumiko was already gone. She was not even making any noise on the tiled floor as she walked away.

  The other four stared at Sendatsu.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Is this the same Sendatsu?’ Asami asked after a moment.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Last time, you allowed Sumiko to order you around. You actually stood up to her this time.’

  ‘I thought you would give in and let her have what she wanted,’ Huw said.

  Sendatsu smiled. ‘Not you as well!’ He turned to Rhiannon. ‘What do you think of me?’

  ‘You haven’t been someone to stand up to the likes of Sumiko since I met you,’ she offered.

  ‘In some ways you reminded me of Jaken. That is how he would have acted,’ Gaibun added.

  ‘Don’t say that! I am not my father!’ Sendatsu snarled.

  ‘I never said you were. I just said what you did reminded me of him,’ Gaibun said mildly.

  ‘Talking of Jaken, what message do we send him?’ Asami asked hastily, as Sendatsu’s face darkened. ‘After all, if we are to ally ourselves with Sumiko …’

  ‘He is expecting our answer by dawn. And he has my children,’ Sendatsu said. ‘We need Sumiko to help me take Mai and Cheijun back tonight.’

  Asami nodded. ‘I’d better send her another message. She will be long gone by now.’

  ‘And are we really going to get everything we want?’ Rhiannon asked. ‘I didn’t like the things she wasn’t telling us.’

  ‘And what does that mean?’ Gaibun said.

  ‘She’s right. Sumiko wasn’t reading everything out of the book. She saw something in there she didn’t like,’ Sendatsu said.

  ‘Well, do we trust her or not?’ Huw asked.

  ‘If we get a promise sealed with magic, then she cannot get out of it,’ Asami said soothingly.

  ‘So what do we do now?’ Huw asked.

  ‘Well, get some sleep, I suppose. Once we have her promise, then she can have the book and set her plans in motion —’ Asami said.

  ‘First we need to send a message to my father, telling him we agree with him,’ Sendatsu interrupted her. ‘Gaibun will have to take that. We cannot alert him to what we are doing with Sumiko.’

  Asami showed Huw and Rhiannon to a pair of guest rooms, simply furnished but still amazing to them. The beds, with cotton mattresses, cotton pillows and woollen blankets, were a particular fascination.

  ‘I could get used to this,’ Huw admitted, after trying it out.

  ‘We’ll wake you if we hear anything,’ Asami promised.

  After seeing Huw and Rhiannon to their rooms, Asami went to send the message to Sumiko, and Sendatsu took quill and parchment and quickly wrote to his father, sealing it with wax.

  ‘Why are you sealing it?’ Gaibun asked. ‘Why even write it at all? I can tell your father —’

  ‘He asked for it to be done this way,’ Sendatsu said shortly.

  ‘Sealed? He wanted your message sealed?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Sendatsu handed it to him but Gaibun made no move towards the door.

  ‘So is it Jaken who does not trust me — or you?’

  ‘How can you say that?’

  ‘Tell me the truth. I deserve that.’

  Sendatsu shook his head. ‘I cannot believe we are talking about this now.’

  ‘Just tell me, for Aroaril’s sake!’

  ‘Fine! My father said you were either playing him, playing me or playing your own game. But just because he said it does not mean I believe it.’

  ‘Yet you question me,’ Gaibun said flatly.

  ‘I know you are honourable. But you cannot play both sides without lying to one. And then there are the lovers you take, insulting Asami —’

  ‘Asami! I knew it would be Asami. It all comes down to her, in the end, doesn’t it?’

  ‘I’m not saying I believe him. I know the games he has played in the past,’ Sendatsu said.

  Gaibun stared at him. ‘You have no idea what it is like. You think it was hard having to marry Kayiko?’

  ‘It was difficult! I never loved her and she deserved more —’

  ‘That was nothing,’ Gaibun spat. ‘I loved Asami from the start, just as you did. Only she never loved me back. When we were told to marry I rejoiced, for I thought she would recognise she could never have you, and eventually learn to love me. But she cannot. I am a friend and nothing more. Can you imagine what that is like? Your dream has come true, everything you ever wanted is within your grasp — only you cannot touch it. It is but a finger’s breadth away from you but might as well be on the moon.’

  ‘I can imagine that,’ Sendatsu said hoarsely.

  ‘At first we slept apart because I wanted her to grow to love me, accept me. But then I could take it no longer and went to her —’

  ‘I don’t want to hear this!’

  ‘There is nothing to hear. She used magic to stop me, told me never to come into her bedroom again,’ Gaibun said brokenly. ‘I spent a moon apologising to h
er, begging forgiveness, but her heart was locked away from me. All she thought about was you. So I looked for comfort elsewhere, for fear I would go mad. I am not proud of it, I hate myself every time it happens — yet I cannot stop. Can you understand that?’

  Sendatsu was reminded of Rhiannon, and how he had seduced her. ‘I think I can,’ he admitted.

  ‘I know Jaken seeks to use me, to corrupt me, because that amuses him. He used my father’s honour against him to win the leadership of clan Tadayoshi. He seeks ways to show his cleverness, prove he is the best at everything. Destroying his rival’s son would be the perfect way. But I have already told Asami everything.’

  Sendatsu nodded solemnly. ‘I don’t want anything to come between our friendship. Remember the time you told Father Hiroka that my bruises were from you, rather than from my father?’

  Gaibun smiled briefly. ‘He made me polish every seat in his church! Although you sneaked in to help me.’

  ‘It was the least I could do. You saved me from a worse beating from my father. If a priest had come around asking questions … But even a priest of Aroaril believed you, because all knew of your father’s honour, and how he had raised his son.’

  ‘It does have its uses,’ Gaibun agreed. ‘Now, give me that scroll and let me take it to Jaken. I want to get back home before dawn. Drag a mattress into my room, down the hall from Asami’s, and we can pretend we are seven again, sleeping over at each other’s home.’

  Wordlessly, Sendatsu handed the scroll to him and Gaibun walked to the door.

  ‘Wait!’ He raced after him. ‘I need to tell you something.’

  ‘Be quick!’

  ‘You are more than a friend, you are a brother to me. And I shall trust you always.’

  Gaibun smiled. ‘I was wrong. You are not your father.’ He patted Sendatsu on the shoulder. ‘I shall be back soon.’

  Sendatsu watched him go. He did not want to cause Gaibun pain — but he could not walk away from Asami either. And he still lacked the courage to say so to Gaibun. He had been horrified by Gaibun’s story — but equally excited by the thought Asami had held true to him, even though he had married Kayiko. It also left him feeling ashamed. She had displayed honour and commitment far greater than his own, for he had not let a lack of love stop him from going to Kayiko’s bed — nor had he been strong enough to walk away from Rhiannon.

  He sighed. Put like that, he did not deserve Asami. And yet he could not stay away from her. He went to find her.

  Captain Edmund urged the troops on. This was the first time many of them had been to the north of Forland — and it was certainly the first time these villages had seen Forlish regiments on the march, men in perfect ranks, banners waving proudly. The south of the country was used to men marching off to war but the north had only heard about this. At every village and town, hundreds, if not thousands, turned out to wave and cheer, to offer food and drink to the passing soldiers.

  ‘No time to waste!’ he ordered his sergeants. ‘No man is to fall out of line!’

  He knew his beloved King Ward was sick, and getting worse. The king’s sons were less than useless, imagining only how they could celebrate taking power from their father. It was up to him to see the king’s dream come true.

  ‘Move it! Do you think the elves will wait for us?’ he bellowed. ‘We march through the night!’

  Down the column, Caelin marched with Ruttyn and Harald. He had decided the pair of them were his lucky charm. Edmund had rewarded him well for the work he had done scouting the barrier and, best of all, thanks to Ruttyn and Harald, he was alive to enjoy it.

  ‘Will we all live forever, when we have taken Dokuzen?’ Ruttyn asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Caelin admitted. ‘But we shall all have more gold than we can carry home.’

  ‘I wouldn’t like us to live forever,’ Harald said thoughtfully.

  Caelin nodded. ‘You mean life would lose all sensation, become a meaningless search for amusement?’

  ‘No.’ Harald snorted. ‘If we all lived forever, then the wife’s mother would be able to torment me until the end of time. The thought of that old trout finally dying is all that keeps me going!’

  Ruttyn roared with laughter, while Caelin also chuckled ruefully at walking into such a practised line.

  ‘Why did you marry her daughter then?’

  ‘Well, she came with a dowry of two pigs. And that’s a pretty good deal around Dunholm. Sadly I didn’t see the two pigs came with a bitter old cow!’

  ‘I should turn you two loose on the elves,’ Caelin said. ‘After a moon of this, they’d be begging to surrender!’

  11

  Their families grew larger and larger, as their Nipponese wives grew old and died and they married again and again, their children growing and marrying as well. But one thing was different about these Elfaran children — they all had magic.

  Sendatsu’s song

  Asami was still in the garden when Sendatsu found her.

  The night was warm and the fragrance from the gorgeous garden beds washed over him.

  ‘I love being out here, feeling the magic of my plants.’ She smiled, running gentle fingers across the many different flowers.

  He joined her, the perfume from the blooms making him feel a little light-headed; so different from the smells in the human world. Or was it Asami having that effect on him?

  ‘Has Gaibun left with the message for your father?’ she asked.

  ‘He has. Any reply from Sumiko?’ he said, stopping himself from leaning in to inhale the gentle fragrance of her hair.

  ‘Nothing yet. I cannot imagine she will be happy about it,’ Asami warned.

  ‘She does not have to be happy. She just has to do it.’

  Asami looked at him sideways. ‘This is definitely a new Sendatsu,’ she said. ‘What happened to you out there?’

  ‘Sit down and I shall tell you about it, while we wait.’ Sendatsu gestured towards one of the many garden seats.

  She paused for a moment and then sat.

  He told her about his time in the human world, how he had met Huw and Rhiannon, the fight against the Forlish, the things he had seen and finally the discovery of Rhiannon’s magic.

  ‘If you and Gaibun could see things out there, you would understand better. The way they live is so crude but, in some ways, it is better than what we have here.’

  ‘To live in filth and die young is better than this? Is this the same Sendatsu who was shovelling rice into his mouth and could not wait to have a bath?’ She grinned at him.

  ‘Even your cooking is better than what they eat out there,’ he said with a wink.

  ‘My cooking?’

  ‘Well, you always manage to ruin the rice. You can make fire with a click of your fingers and water boil with a wink but your rice always tastes like you added Gaibun’s old footcloths to it. It is magical in itself!’

  ‘That’s the last time I cook for you, you ungrateful lump!’ She whacked him on the arm with a laugh. ‘And how do you know how Gaibun’s old footcloths taste like anyway?’

  Sendatsu blocked another half-hearted blow. ‘Well, from your cooking, obviously!’

  ‘That’s it. I am going to send you back to Vales and I am going to leave you there this time.’ She grabbed his arm and tugged but he was able to pull her back easily and she fell onto his lap. Their laughter died and they looked at each other for a long moment.

  ‘We should be careful,’ she said shakily, moving from his lap to the bench. ‘Did I tell you about the work I am doing with the Magic-weavers? I think Sumiko is going to make me one of her deputies soon — already I have surpassed Oroku and Jimai.’

  ‘Do we really have to talk about that right now?’ Sendatsu asked, easing closer to her.

  ‘Gaibun is always happy to hear me talk about my magic, how much I love working with it.’

  ‘Then forgive me, and tell me more,’ Sendatsu said.

  She placed a hand on his chest and glanced around. ‘I have the feeli
ng there are eyes on us.’

  ‘Gaibun won’t be back yet,’ Sendatsu said gently.

  ‘That reminds me. What were you and Gaibun talking about?’ she asked. ‘Did he tell you much about us?’

  Sendatsu thought about lying but she had always been able to read him.

  ‘My father told me not to trust Gaibun —’

  ‘He has already told me of going to meet with Jaken,’ Asami interrupted.

  ‘I know. My father always has a motive behind what he says. But I cannot see what he is up to,’ Sendatsu admitted.

  ‘He seeks discord. It is what he has always thrived on.’

  Sendatsu nodded. ‘He was strange when we spoke. He seemed happy that I was back and safe. Then he comes up with that comment about Gaibun. I walked into the room ready to sink a blade into his heart for what he has done to me — now I don’t know what to think.’

  ‘Which is exactly what he wanted!’ Asami snorted. ‘He has always been the master manipulator. Right from when you were a child —’

  ‘I don’t want to think about that,’ Sendatsu muttered.

  ‘Then what do you want to talk about? More of your time in the human world?’

  ‘How about us — and what happens once the clan system is overthrown by Sumiko? I know you long for that day.’

  Asami sighed. ‘Yes, I hate what we have now. Apart from what happened to us, I look around and cannot see fairness anywhere. It was what drew me to Sumiko and her insistence we can make a better Dokuzen. We should have more freedom and I, for one, am willing to fight for it.’ She looked away. ‘I long for it and yet I fear it as well, for what it will bring. It is easy to dream and hope but harder to live with. You are asking if I will leave Gaibun and be with you.’

  ‘Yes,’ Sendatsu said. ‘I faced death out in the human world, fought in battles and held dying children in my arms. I swore to myself that I would not make the same mistake of not sacrificing everything for you again. I even planned to bring a force of humans here, to seize you and my children, so we could live together in the human world.’

  Asami gasped. ‘You thought I would come with you into the human world?’

  ‘Why not? You were the one who suggested we renounce our position and go and live up north, among the esemono.’