Fire (Buryoku Book 5)

by Aaron Oster

  It wasn’t all that deep here, perhaps four feet around the edges, but as he rose to the surface and began walking toward the actual falls, he could feel the bank sloping deeper. What he didn’t see, though, was Aika. He called her name, having to fight to be heard over the sound of rushing water, but no answer was forthcoming.

  He stretched his Spirit Sense outward, trying to see if he could feel something, but shockingly enough, he got absolutely nothing at all.

  His eyes flicked momentarily to the exit, wondering if she had gone ahead for some reason.

  But why would she do that?

  Aika had been looking forward to diving into the water. She would have no reason to keep moving.

  Unless someone else is here.

  Roy tensed up, his eyes flicking around the cavern and looking for any signs of the enemy. He was exhausted but would fight if he had to, especially if someone had grabbed Aika.

  There was a loud splash from behind him, and Roy suddenly felt someone latch onto him, a pair of hands moving to cover his eyes. Roy reacted quite violently, his hands flashing back to try and grab the person who was trying to attack him.

  “Woah, take it easy!”

  Roy felt the hands slide from his eyes and whirled to see Aika, submerged up to her shoulders in the water and grinning at him.

  “You scared the hell out of me!” Roy exclaimed as she laughed at his expense.

  “Oh, calm down,” she said, splashing him. “It was just a harmless joke.”

  It was only then that Roy noticed that Aika’s shoulders were very distinctly bare. He whirled around, his face going red and covering his eyes.

  “You should have told me!” he said, feeling panic threatening.

  “What are you—?”

  “Why are you not wearing any clothes?” Roy exclaimed, still keeping his eyes covered.

  Instead of getting an angry rebuke as he’d expected, Aika just started to laugh again.

  “I don’t see how this is funny,” Rou muttered.

  He felt her hand on his shoulder right before she tugged, forcing him back around.

  “See,” she said, standing up fully – which, seeing as the water was around five feet now, didn’t reveal too much more.

  This, however, allowed Roy to see the top of the soaked wraps binding her chest, and while this would still be considered very immodest, it was better than the alternative.

  “Your face is red as a beet,” Aika said with a sly grin. “Are you really that uncomfortable?”

  “Yes,” Roy said plainly, already turning to get out of the water.

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Aika called after him. “I just wanted to feel the water on my skin after nearly a week without a bath.”

  “Just tell me when you’re done,” Roy called back, making his way out of the pool as quickly as he could.

  He had not been prepared for that, and seeing Aika in such a state of undress was…

  Is what? Roy asked himself as he got out of the pool, his soaked robes streaming water.

  Did he not like what he’d seen? Because he would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t. What had surprised him was how brash she’d been about it. Aika had always taken care to be modest, so why act this way now, and around him of all people?

  They were just friends, right?

  Roy wanted to look back, but he controlled himself. This wasn’t something that friends did. They respected one another and he would respect Aika’s privacy, even if – for some odd reason – she was acting strangely about it now.

  Perhaps she’d been so happy about the water that she wasn’t thinking straight?

  That could be it, Roy thought.

  It was probably a momentary lapse in judgment, and by the time she got out and started winding down, she would be grateful he’d gotten out when he did.

  He needed a distraction, though, to keep his mind – or eyes – from wandering. Thankfully, there was a gigantic stone chest just waiting to be opened, and seeing as he’d just fought for his life, seeing what rewards they’d earned was more than enough to keep him busy.

  33

  Herald Duncan heard a knock on the door to the suite where he’d been staying for nearly a week. After the near-war in the meeting room, the various Sovereigns had retreated to their separate rooms to reconvene when everyone cooled off. Unfortunately, with them being Sovereigns and never having their decisions or words challenged, it was taking quite a bit of time for that to happen.

  Currently, there were only two people holding up the meeting from reconvening — him and that blasted Itachi woman.

  “Why are you here? Duncan asked as the door swung open.

  “Because while you and my sister continue to sulk, the Beast’s influence is spreading. Scouts at the borders have confirmed that the first settlement has been swallowed by fire, and Beasts are already beginning to roam hundreds of miles into the Windblight. We’re losing valuable time.”

  Duncan looked back at Itachi Hermit, the man who’d prevented him from becoming a Scion.

  “I will not make peace with that devil you call a sister, not after she insulted my son,” he said, returning to look out the open window.

  “I’m not asking you to,” Hermit said, closing the door behind him. “All I’m asking is that you show up, so that we can decide on a course of action. The Sanshoo clan is gone. The Inu will be next, and after the Windblight is taken, the Beast’s influence will be able to spread in three directions at once.”

  “Mountain Moore, the Lighted Fields, and the Nev Caldera,” Duncan said with a sigh. “In all honesty, I wouldn’t mind in the slightest if your entire clan was wiped off the face of Buryoku. But you saved my son’s life and took him under your wing. Even when you knew his name was Herald. If your sister can keep her mouth shut, I’ll agree to return.”

  “Well, that’s one down then,” Hermit said. “Now I just need to convince her, which will be much harder.”

  “You two don’t seem to get along very well,” Duncan said.

  “Let’s just say we have our differences,” Hermit replied.

  “Which are?”

  “Mainly involving the survival of the clan and the care for those within. Technically, I’m an outsider after what I did to all the Itachi fighters she sent after me for an imagined slight. But one day, maybe in the distant future, I’ll be able to return to set things right.”

  “You should be leading your clan,” Duncan said, finally turning to look at him. “Your sister is not suited to the role. Additionally, it seems as though you’ve been holding out on everyone.”

  “It was a bluff, and you know it,” Hermit replied. “Sure, I could have stepped into that test and passed, but my Path would have ended shortly after. I still need more time to shore up my foundation. You, on the other hand, are more than ready.”

  “Ready I may be,” Duncan said. “But doing so will assure that no one will work with me. Not willingly anyway. I trust the others will continue looking after their own self-interests, so long as they believe the status quo will remain. As soon as there’s a viable threat to their power, they’ll dissolve into bickering and squabbling like children.”

  “Well, there’s that, and the fact that the last time a Scion was born, she abandoned her clan and allowed them to fall into obscurity.”

  “There’s that as well,” Duncan replied. “But if all goes well, the future of my clan will be secured by the time I leave.”

  He looked over to the closed door and could sense Marrie on the other side, training as usual.

  “What plans do you have for that girl?” Hermit asked. “I’m assuming you wouldn’t just adopt someone after all this time for no reason.”

  “She was with my son in the Inu Arena,” Duncan replied, watching Marrie train through the door. “As you can probably already tell, she’s going to be quite something by the time she grows up. When she marries Leroy, I’ll be confident that the Herald clan will thrive.”

  “I wouldn’t count on
him marrying that girl,” Hermit said with a half-smile.

  “Oh, and why would that be?” Duncan asked.

  “Because he’s already in love with someone else.”

  “Damn,” Duncan cursed. “That’s inconvenient. This girl…Who is she exactly, and is she strong?”

  “Her name is Aika. She’s from a clan located in the Crater, and yes, she’s quite strong.”

  “Have they been courting for long?”

  “They haven’t courted at all,” Hermit replied.

  “Then how do you know?” Duncan asked.

  “I spent enough time around the two of them to know. One of them will work up the courage before too long, of that I’m sure.”

  Duncan sighed, looking back to Marrie, watching her sweep through a series of movements and land slightly off-balance.

  “I suppose I’ll need to find her another match then,” Duncan said. “Which means adopting yet another person into my immediate family.”

  “You’re not going to try and force a union?” Hermit asked.

  “Why the hell would I do that?” Duncan replied. “I was once in love. I wouldn’t deprive my only son of that. If what you say is true, then this Aika will do just as well…” he trailed off, a half-smile quirking his lips.

  “Just a few months ago, I had no children at all. Now I have two, with at least one more in the near future.”

  “I’m sure the celebrations will be spectacular,” Hermit said. “But first, we need to survive.”

  They lapsed into silence, only looking up once Marrie – sweat-drenched and red-faced – emerged from the other room. As soon as she saw the two of them, she froze, clearly unsure of what to do.

  “Let me know when your sister agrees to come back,” Duncan said in the way of a dismissal.

  “Trust me, you’ll be the first to know,” Hermit said, giving Marrie a warm smile. “Until then…”

  The man left, leaving the two of them alone.

  “What was that all about?” she asked, still looking uncertain.

  “That man was my son’s teacher for quite some time,” Duncan said. “According to him, Leroy has his heart set on someone else, so it seems like the marriage won’t be happening after all.”

  He watched the girl carefully, seeing fear threaten to take hold.

  “What does that mean for me then?” she asked, unable to hide the tremor in her voice.

  “That you’ll just have to marry someone else when you come of age,” Duncan said with a shrug. “And that Leroy will be your brother instead of your husband.”

  Marrie blinked.

  “Wait, you’re not going to kick me out?”

  “Why would I?”

  “Because I’m not going to marry your son,” Marrie said, sounding confused.

  “You agreed to the marriage. Just because he’s already chosen someone else doesn’t mean that you’re the one at fault,” Duncan said. “I adopted you as my daughter, and that’s how it’s going to stay. Having an extra family member whom he can trust will be a boon.”

  “Are you still going to be picking who I marry?” Marrie asked.

  “I will,” Duncan replied. “But you’ll have a say as well. If you don’t like a match, we can just find another one.”

  Marrie relaxed at that, the tension going out of her shoulders. It was evident that she’d been worried he would force her to marry some stranger without giving her any choice. She’d agreed to marry Roy because she’d spent time with him and knew what he was like. But marrying anyone else wasn’t part of their arrangement.

  Truthfully, she could have refused outright, and he couldn’t have challenged her, but it seemed that so long as the final say was hers, she was satisfied. Not marrying Leroy also meant that she wouldn’t be in charge one day. However, being in the head family would mean a lofty position by her brother’s right hand.

  “I think I’m going to go bathe then,” Marrie said. “Can we eat together?”

  Duncan gave her a smile and nodded, shooing her off to go wash up.

  This situation was entirely unexpected. It meant he would need to draw up new papers, giving her full family rights and privileges, and, in the case of Leroy’s death, the leadership of the clan.

  He wasn’t worried about Marrie trying to kill him and steal power. She was a good and earnest girl, but more than that, she was brilliant. She was talented in the Martial Arts, but her mind was what had intrigued him so. He would need to find out more about this Aika, however. If she was going to be part of his family one day, let alone the wife of the clan head, he needed to make sure she was worthy, regardless of what Hermit said.

  Reaching into his robes, he pulled a small, circular construct made of forged Earth Chakra, interwoven with strands of Wind. It was a communicator, one that would stretch over vast distances.

  He knew someone in his very clan who had once called the Crater his home. If anyone could find information on this Aika girl, it was him.

  “Doragon,” he said, flicking a small switch on the side of the construct.

  He didn’t need to wait long, only a few seconds before he answered.

  “Yes, Sovereign?” the man asked.

  “I need you to find information on a girl named Aika who came from your old home in the Crater.”

  There was a pause, something which Duncan took note of.

  “Would you happen to have a clan name?” Doragon asked, his voice sounding oddly tense.

  “No,” Duncan replied. Hermit had purposefully left that bit out. “All I know is that she’s in the company of my son.”

  There was another pause, then Doragon answered.

  “I will see what I can find.”

  The communication cut off then, leaving Duncan to stare at the construct, wondering at the strange behavior.

  If he were going off action alone, he would assure Doragon was lying to him, but the man had never lied in all the time they knew each other.

  But he didn’t lie, Duncan thought as he played the man’s exact wording back in his mind.

  ‘I will see what I can find out’ wasn’t an outright lie, just an omission of information.

  Duncan briefly debated flying back to his home to speak with Doragon in person, but at that moment, Marrie returned, hair still wet and dressed in a lighter robe.

  “I didn’t want to keep you waiting, so I washed as quickly as I could,” she said, still holding a towel and rubbing at her hair.

  Duncan surreptitiously tucked the construct away, deciding he could think on this more at a later time. If Doragon knew something now, he would still have the same information later. For now, Duncan motioned to the next room over, where the cooks had already sent up dinner.

  Marrie would still be unsure about her place now that her marriage had been called off, so he would need to make sure to ease her worries.

  It was a parent’s job, after all.

  34

  The stone lid of the chest ground aside as Roy pushed it back, revealing that it was stuffed to the brim with items. Seeing as it was well over four feet deep and more than half as wide, Roy’s excitement redoubled at the prospects of what lay within.

  The first thing he saw was a neatly folded set of robes, which surprised him at first. Reaching down, Roy felt them and immediately understood why a Dungeon would be providing something like this. The material was soft and silky, but he could feel how tough it really was.

  Pulling the first set of robes from the top, he allowed them to unfold, seeing how nice they were. Colored a deep purple and containing not so much as a single stitch, Roy slowly turned the fabric in his fingers.

  These were clearly made for him, and just by a cursory examination, he was quite sure they would fit him perfectly. He grabbed both sides of the sleeveless outer robe and tugged, just to be sure. The material flexed and stretched, but no matter how much pressure Roy exerted, they did not tear.

  He grinned, realizing that his days of having to constantly replace his clothes with inferior produ
cts were a thing of the past. He debated changing on the spot, then looked down at himself.

  Although he’d taken a dip in the water, he hadn’t used any soap and still smelled quite bad. He neatly folded the robes and placed them to the side of the chest to wear once he’d properly cleaned off.

  Another set of robes sat right beneath his, this one black with white accents, and once again, no seams or stitches could be seen. These were clearly for Aika, judging by the cut, so Roy placed them next to his own and continued looking. What came next was surprising.

  “Meat? Why would there be meat in a Dungeon chest?” he asked, lifting two packages of meat wrapped in rice paper.

  “If there’s meat in there, it’s probably the best you’ll ever eat,” Geon said. “Both in taste and for your spirit.”

  Roy grunted in reply, setting the meat down and reaching back in. A large box came next, and when Roy flipped it open, he was greeted by a dazzling array of colors and smells. He didn’t recognize a single Pill in here, but from what he could see, there were twelve different types. Two gave off the distinct feel of Power, and another two glowed with Light.

  Snapping the lid closed, Roy pulled a small leather satchel from the chest next, pulling the neck open to reveal several glass flasks padded by wool. Pulling one filled with a greenish liquid out, Roy examined it, wondering what it could be. He swirled the small flask and could see small motes of blue sparkle as he did.

  “Any idea what these are?” Roy asked, holding it closer to his eye.

  “Ooh! I’ve only ever seen a few of those!” Geon said excitedly. “They’re Liquid Supplements!”

  “I take it that’s a good thing?” Roy asked, having never even heard of these things.

  “Obviously,” Geon replied. “Why else would I be so excited?”

  “What exactly do they do then?”

  “They’re like Pills, but so much better,” Geon said. “Pills need to be broken down and cycled, and it can take weeks to months to see any results. This, on the other hand, will do all the work for you, and it will do so in just minutes! Not to mention that they’re far more potent as a result, as none of the power is lost in the process.”