Shinobi (A Katana Novel)

by Cole Gibsen

  The flap to the tent was pushed aside, and three men entered. Two of them Chiyo recognized as the men who’d killed her servant and best friend before abducting her. The third man wore a gray silk robe and his hair was neatly tied on the back of his head. He had a scar that ran at a diagonal across his face, starting at his left eyebrow, crossing his nose, and ending at his chin. He glanced at her disinterestedly. “This is the girl?”

  The man with the katana nodded. “Yes, Ryuu. Chiyo Sa-

  saki. As you requested.”

  Ryuu frowned. “And how many men did we lose retrieving her?”

  The two men exchanged nervous glances before the man with the katana answered. “Four.”

  Ryuu spit on the ground, inches from where Chiyo huddled. “Do you hear that, girl?” He sneered at her. “You cost me four men. Now I will have to double the price of your ransom. Do you think you are worth it?”

  Chiyo tried to scoot away, but her back met with the tent wall, leaving her no escape.

  Ryuu’s eyes flew wide and he lunged for her, grabbing a fistful of her robes and yanking her to her feet. “Answer me! Do you think you are worth it?”

  Chiyo’s heart pounded furiously against her chest. She opened her mouth, but her words tangled in her throat. Only a whimper escaped.

  Behind him, the two men chuckled. Ryuu, however, stared at her with unblinking eyes. “I understand. You think you are too good to answer me because I am a lowly bandit, is that it?”

  “No!” Chiyo shook her head. Despite her earlier vow to remain strong, tears once again sprang from her eyes.

  Ryuu jerked his head back. “If it is not because I am a bandit—perhaps it is my scar you do not care for?”

  She gasped and shook her head harder. “No!”

  “Oh, but I think it is.” Still holding her with one hand, he used his other to withdraw a dagger from his obi. He caressed her cheek with the edge. “You see, most people look at scars in disgust. But not me. I find each gash, each tear, beautiful. Pain is art, and I am the artist.”

  Chiyo’s pulse thrashed inside her ears. Where was her samurai? When would he come to save her from this madman?

  Ryuu clamped his hand around her neck and pulled her roughly against him. “I can make you beautiful in a way you have never imagined.”

  “No, please, no!” Chiyo’s whimpers turned to sobs. If the bandit disfigured her, would her samurai still want her or turn away in disgust?

  But the bandit didn’t listen. He pressed the blade against her cheek and pain like fire erupted beneath her skin. Chiyo screamed and tried to break free, but the bandit only tightened his grip.

  Blood, hot and sticky, ran down her face and then fell to the ground in fat drops. She screamed until her voice broke and all that remained were ragged gasps. Burst of white light spotted her vision, and Chiyo was sure she would pass out from the pain—she prayed for it.

  But awake she remained. Enduring every agonizing moment until she was sure every inch of her face had been carved. Only then did Ryuu pull away the dagger.

  “There.” He threw her to the ground and she buried her face in her hands. Her bloodied flesh burned fire hot beneath her fingers. “Now,” Ryuu said, “you truly are a thing of beauty.”

  Already the blinding pain had ebbed to a numb throb. Maybe she really was going to pass out. Please, Chiyo thought. Because she couldn’t endure anymore. “Just kill me,” she whimpered through her closed fingers. There was no way her samurai would want her now. And with all of her loved ones dead, what else did she have? “Just be done with it,” she whispered.

  Ryuu laughed. “And lose my ransom? Not a chance. When I offer your life in exchange for money, they will get just that—your life. So alive you must remain.” His footsteps drew near. “Look at me, girl. I wish to see the beauty of my art.”

  That was the last thing Chiyo wanted to do. But she also knew if she didn’t obey, Ryuu would make her suffer—and she couldn’t bear anymore. She pulled her shaking fingers from her face and dropped them onto the grass. She blinked several times to clear her eyes of the blood before she dared to look up.

  Ryuu gasped and took a step back. “How—I do not understand.”

  The archer’s mouth dropped, and the man with the katana clutched his own throat.

  Chiyo frowned. She’d done nothing more than look at them—so what would make them so afraid? Perhaps her face was worse than she could have imagined. Terror squeezed her chest as she brought her hands to her face to explore the damage for herself. But instead of finding torn flesh, she was met with only smooth skin.

  She blinked several times, certain she’d felt wrong. She ran her hands across her cheeks over and over again, searching for a cut, a scratch, or even a nick. But there was nothing to be found.

  The man with the katana pointed a shaking finger at her. “She is a s-s-sorceress!” he stammered.

  “No.” A slow grin unfolded on Ryuu’s lips. “She is a healer. And she is all mine. Finally, I have found a canvas worthy of my art.”

  Horror dug sharpened claws into Chiyo’s chest. Surely she’d heard him wrong. “B-but my ransom! If you do not sell me, you will not get your money.”

  Ryuu knelt down and cupped a hand against Chiyo’s face. She flinched when their skin touched. “My dear,” he said, “one does not sell their prize possession.”

  Acid burned up her throat. “But my future husband is a samurai. He will come looking for me!”

  “Hmm.” Ryuu frowned and placed his hand against his chin. “You are right. He will come looking for you. Unless … ” His eyes lit up. “Unless he thinks you are dead!”

  Dead? A whimper escaped her throat. Was Ryuu right? Would Yoshido give up the search if he thought her to be dead?

  Before she could move, Ryuu reached out and plucked the kanzashi from her head—the same kanzashi Miku had placed in her hair what felt like a lifetime ago. “Here.” Ryuu tossed her hairpin to the man with the katana. “Take a girl from a nearby village and burn her body. Make sure this hairpin is found on it. We want the samurai to have no doubts that his lovely bride-to-be is dead.”

  The man nodded. Together with the archer, the two of them left the tent.

  “No!” Chiyo begged. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life with a monster. “Sell me, please! They will pay anything you want. I am sure of it.”

  Ignoring her begging, Ryuu wiped the blood off his dagger with the edge of his robe until it gleamed. When he finished, he turned to her with a grin. “Now, where were we?”

  10

  After Drew and Kim left the condo, I shut the door behind them and sagged against it. The exhaustion from a night without sleeping, along with the stress of Sumi being back, slammed into me with the force of a Metrobus. My head pounded, and every muscle in my body screamed for me to climb into bed and pull the covers over my head.

  Quentin dropped onto the couch. “You look exhausted. Why don’t you take a quick nap until everyone gets back? I can keep up with the texting.”

  “Thanks for the offer, but there’s no way I could sleep knowing Sumi is out there, probably planning our deaths as we speak.” I rubbed my burning eyes. “But I would love some coffee.” I pushed off the door and started for the kitchen when Q jumped up.

  “Let me.” He darted in front of me. “I can’t keep sitting around doing nothing.”

  I didn’t have the strength to stop him. “You remember where the coffee is?”

  “First cabinet next to the refrigerator.” He stepped be-hind the bar dividing the living room from the kitchen and snatched the coffeepot.

  “Great. I’m going to head to my room and grab my cell phone.” I plodded down the hallway, each footstep heavier than the one before as exhaustion threatened to topple me over. I really hoped Sumi didn’t attack before I had my caffeine fix. Unless she wanted a nap-off. In which case I’d total
ly kick her ass.

  But after I’d had my coffee, now that was different story. I cracked my knuckles against my palm. I was actually looking forward to our eventual encounter. After everything she’d done to Kim and me, I had more than a little thirst for revenge. Not to mention I was tired of her trying to come between Kim and me. I wanted this score settled once and for all so Kim and I could finally get on with our lives.

  I only hoped it would be that easy. What was it about Kim and me that attracted opposition? No matter the years gone by or the battles fought, why did the ghosts of our past continue to resurrect?

  I opened the door to my bedroom and flipped on the light only to jerk back, my hands flying to the handle of my sword. “Oh, son of hibachi!”

  From his perch on my bed, Whitley continued to browse the screen of my phone in his hands. “Is that any way to greet an old friend?”

  “You’re not a friend,” I snarled. I released my sword, marched up to him, and snatched my phone out of his hands. “What are you doing here?”

  He yawned. “Well, I was reading the most boring emails ever written. Seriously, don’t you have a life?”

  I switched the GPS on before tucking the phone inside my pocket. I was not going to take any chances. “The only one without a life will be you if you don’t tell me what you’re really doing here.”

  Whitley rolled his eyes and sat up. “Always so dramatic. I’m not here to start any fights with you—that would be stupid considering we’re inyodo. Just like it’s stupid for you to threaten me. Then again, if my life was as boring as yours, I’d be suicidal too. ”

  “What. Do. You. Want?” I growled between clenched teeth.

  Whitley smiled and clasped his hands. “There’s that famous Rileigh Martin hospitality I’ve grown to love. So glad you asked. I’m here for your help.”

  “I already told you I’m not going to help you kill Sumi. I won’t do anything to put Kim’s life in danger.”

  The smile melted from his face. “No. Of course you wouldn’t.” He waved a hand in the air. “But I’m not going to ask you to do that. Rumor has it Sumi regained her memory and she’s out for blood—your blood specifically.”

  A sour taste burned the back of my throat, and my fingers reflexively grasped the handle of my sword. “How do you know that?”

  He laughed. “Because I’m not stupid. I’m not content to go about my life oblivious to the threat of potential danger like some people I know.” He gave me a pointed look.

  “I’m not oblivious—”

  He held up his hand to silence me. “Doesn’t matter. What does matter is I know Sumi has her memory back, I know she killed her parents, and I know she’s coming after you next. And since we’re connected by this annoying inyodo, any attempt she makes on your life would be an attempt on mine. I just can’t have that.”

  I dropped my sword’s handle. “We’re taking care of it. We’re working on finding Sumi as we speak. And once we do, we’re going to transport her to the Network security office in New York where she’ll be locked up for good.”

  He cocked his head to the side. “And just how are you going to find her? In her last life, she was one of the most powerful ninjas to ever live. She pretty much wrote the book on evading capture.”

  I frowned. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it like that.

  Whitley’s grin widened. “And remind me, how did you fare against her in your last life? Oh yeah, I remember—you all died.”

  Angry heat burned through my body. “It would be wise of you not to bring that up. Because if I remember correctly, Sumi had help.” Sumi had hired Whitley to betray us and lead an army of ninja over our walls. It was by Whitley’s hands that Kim had died trying to save me. My Yoshido’s sightless eyes staring up at me as he lay on the ground still haunted my nightmares.

  “Now, now.” He lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t come here to get you all riled up. Quite the opposite, actually.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. “I’m here to offer my help.”

  It was my turn to laugh. “Just what makes you think I need your help?”

  “You don’t know where Sumi is,” he said simply. “And I do.”

  I jerked back as a sudden chill settled into my core. If Whitley wasn’t lying and he really knew where Sumi was, we could sneak up on her undetected. That would mean our mission just became a lot simpler as well as safer. Still, Whitley was my sworn enemy. I had a hard time believing he’d want to help me out of the goodness of his heart. “What’s the catch?”

  He pressed a hand against his chest and feigned shock. “Rileigh Martin, I’m hurt you think there’d be one. Haven’t we moved beyond our petty differences? We’re connected, you and I. The sooner we dispose of this little threat, the sooner we can go back to living our lives.”

  “What’s the catch?” I repeated.

  He laughed. “Well, since you asked. There is one tiny thing.”

  “Spit it out.”

  He smiled widely. “I want to go.”

  “You?” I laughed loudly. “You’re the biggest coward I know. Why on earth would you want to go anywhere you might be put in harm’s way?”

  His face darkened. “Because I’m tired of running. I’m tired of looking over my shoulder, wondering if every shadow that falls across my path is her coming to kill me. I want my life back.” He clenched his hands into fists. “And I will take it by force if necessary.”

  Maybe it was because I was overly tired, but Whitley made a lot of sense. And considering I felt the same way, I couldn’t help but feel a tad sympathetic toward him.

  “Besides,” he continued, “we have your healer friend now, and he’s proven himself to be very formidable. I think the odds are greatly in our favor.”

  “True. But Kim has his memory back too. He doesn’t know you helped us defeat Sumi before. And since you helped her kill all of us in the past, I don’t think he’s going to take too kindly to your presence—let alone your help.”

  “Which is why you aren’t going to tell him.”

  “Tell him what?” Q asked, walking into my room with two steaming mugs of coffee. If he was surprised to find me chatting it up with Whitley, he didn’t show it. After handing me a mug, he sipped his own coffee, keeping his eyes on Whitley.

  Whitley smirked. “She’s not going to tell Kim the three of us are teaming up again!” He rubbed his hands together. “Isn’t it exciting?”

  Q looked at me with raised eyebrows. “That’s not exactly the word I would use to describe it.”

  “I have a few choice words myself,” I agreed. “But Whitley here says he knows where Sumi is hiding. He’ll tell us only if we take him and don’t tell Kim where we’re going.”

  Q snorted. “Do we look like idiots?”

  “Fine.” Whitley shrugged. “Then I guess you can hunt down Sumi on your own.” He walked to the door. “Hopefully you’ll find her before she finds you.”

  Son of hibachi. If Whitley was telling the truth, having him lead us to Sumi would save us a lot of time and trouble. If we could add the element of surprise to our attack, it just might give us the edge needed to defeat her. “Wait!” I called out before Whitley passed through the doorway.

  He turned around with a smile. “Yes?”

  “What are you doing?” Q hissed into my ear. “You can’t be seriously thinking about going with Whitley and not telling Kim?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m thinking about doing.” But for an entirely different reason. As long as I didn’t call Kim, he would know something was up and come looking for me. With the GPS enabled on my phone, he’d also know exactly where I was. I gave Q a pointed look. “No one is going to call Kim.”

  Q blinked several times before his eyes lit up. “Oh. Oh. We’re not going to call him.”

  “Nope.”

  Whitley crossed
his arms and leaned against the door frame. “But what if he calls you?”

  “I won’t answer it.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and set it to vibrate before exchanging a quick glance with Q. It had almost been fifteen minutes since Kim walked out the door, which meant he would be calling at any minute. When I didn’t answer, he was sure to come looking for me. So he wouldn’t be far behind us, wherever Whitley planned to take us.

  “Good.” Whitley narrowed his eyes. “I just know if we invited your little boyfriend along, he’d want to imprison me along with Sumi.”

  I dropped my phone into my back pocket. “What makes you think I don’t?”

  He laughed. “Oh please. You wouldn’t do that. You need me.”

  I snorted. “Yeah, like I need a shuriken to the head.”

  He shook his head. “When are you going to admit that we make a great team?”

  “Uh, never.”

  “That’s a little unfair, don’t you think?” he asked.

  “Is it?” I took a step toward him. “I let my guard down once. Once! And you led a group of ninja over our castle walls. You killed our Lord Toyotomi. You killed Yoshido. In order to be a team with someone, you have to trust them, and I don’t trust you. I will never trust you.”

  He grinned. “Fair enough. But if you don’t trust me as much as you say you do, why agree to go with me in the first place?”

  I stepped up to him with my hands balled into fists. “Because if you screw me over, so help me Whitley, I’m going to have Q alter your mind so you’ll never hurt anyone again. The only thing you’ll be able to do is stare out the window and drool. Do you understand?”

  A flicker of fear passed through his eyes. “He can do that?”

  Q shrugged and flexed his fingers. “Never tried before, but I’m willing to give it a shot.”

  Whitley swallowed, his eyes darting nervously between me and Q. “All right, point taken. So let’s put the brain damage on hold for right now. We should probably get going before Sumi makes her move.”

  I glanced at Q to make sure one last time he was on board with the plan. Any situation involving Sumi was a dangerous one. And throwing Whitley into the mix didn’t make it any better. By going along with me, I was asking Q to risk his life. But instead of hesitating or showing any signs of doubt, Q locked eyes with me and gave a curt nod.