by Duncan Lay
‘Dawn is breaking,’ he announced. ‘We shall need to get ready for the Council meeting at noon. After that we can rest.’
‘It will be a new dawn for Dokuzen,’ Asami predicted. ‘Finally the truth will come out.’
Sendatsu rolled away, expecting to feel the bite of Gaibun’s sword at any moment and crying out inside for his children. But nothing came.
He flipped onto his back and looked up, to see Gaibun frozen, plants covering him from head to toe, only his face clear, his eyes blazing as he struggled in vain against the magic that bound him.
‘Sendatsu, what in the name of the stars above is going on?’ Rhiannon was on her knees, holding her head in one hand. In her other she was fumbling in her belt pouch, bringing out a honeyed oatcake wrapped in linen and cramming it into her mouth.
Sendatsu grabbed his sword before answering. After all, Rhiannon had just brought them through an oaken gateway, then been hit on the head. Who knew how long her magic would last?
‘Sumiko has got to Gaibun somehow, bewitched him into thinking Asami is pregnant and it is mine, that we plan to trick him and kill him.’ Sendatsu stepped cautiously closer to Gaibun. His erstwhile friend struggled and thrashed but the plants held him firm.
‘She told me the truth! She showed me Asami’s maid, who has helped the two of you put cuckold’s horns on my head for the last few years!’ Gaibun snarled.
‘I have never been with Asami,’ Sendatsu told him, feeling the ache of those words. ‘How could I, when I was never apart from my children. What did we do with them, eh?’
Gaibun paused for a moment in his struggles.
‘We have just returned from your house. We learned Sumiko plotted to kill Asami and arrived just in time to save both Asami and your father. Sumiko wanted them dead.’
‘You lie!’
‘Think, Gaibun! Why would Sumiko help you? What would happen if you learned Asami was dead? Who would you have blamed?’
Gaibun said nothing, only wrestled with his green bonds a little more.
Rhiannon finished her last mouthful and gingerly touched a lump on her head.
‘Give me a hand.’ She waved to Sendatsu, who helped her up. ‘I don’t know whether it was the blow or the magic, but my legs have no strength right now.’
‘Well, sit down, I can handle this,’ Sendatsu said firmly, looking at an enraged Gaibun.
‘Your words are not getting through to him. Sumiko has used magic on him, sent him down a path he was already considering but now he cannot return until I remove that from him,’ Rhiannon said. ‘I just wish he had not hit me first!’
With Sendatsu’s help, she walked over to Gaibun.
‘What do we need to do?’
‘I’m not sure. Asami mentioned this but we never practised it. Sumiko learned it was possible to inflame people’s thoughts and feelings. You cannot put things into people’s minds that do not already exist but you can take a spark of what is already there and turn it into a raging fire. I think she has done that to Gaibun. If we are lucky, I can put that out. He will listen to reason then.’
She closed her eyes and reached out to press her fingers through the grasses holding Gaibun tight, brushing her fingers against his face.
‘Don’t touch me, gaijin!’ Gaibun snarled but she pushed against his forehead and he rocked back, his eyes staring widely at her.
‘Did you do it?’ Sendatsu asked.
Rhiannon wobbled and Sendatsu had to help her stay upright.
‘I think so. Talk to him. Otherwise we’ll have to open a gateway and send him to Asami, for we cannot keep him here.’
Sendatsu helped her sit down and turned back to Gaibun, whose frenzied attempts to escape had died down. He picked up a torch that someone — presumably Gaibun — had rammed into the soft earth around the clearing and held it close to his face. Gaibun looked back at him warily.
‘If Asami is pregnant, the child is yours,’ Sendatsu told him softly.
‘What?’
Sendatsu stepped closer. ‘You always said you could tell when I was lying, that I was no good at it. Here’s the truth. Asami told me to leave Dokuzen without her. She refused to come with me. I didn’t know why but now I see. She knew you would never let her leave with your child. If the baby was mine, do you think for one moment I would have left her behind? That my idea was to somehow kill you in secret? You heard all this from Sumiko, for Aroaril’s sake! She tried to kill us all not once but twice, and she has just sent another pack of killers to get not just Asami but your father as well!’
‘But the maid …’ Gaibun croaked.
‘What happened after she told you the story? Did she return the maid to Dokuzen?’
Gaibun tried to shrug but such a thing was impossible when bound so tight. ‘She sent me through an oaken gateway … I don’t know after that.’
‘Well, we can send you through an oaken gateway right now, show you the wreckage of your home, the bodies of Sumiko’s attackers that we left behind. You can talk to your father and Asami, hear how they nearly died and would now be dead without our help. But I think you will find you are a wanted man in Dokuzen. I think I know where your maid is now — and that is dead in your tent. Sumiko wants you out of the way, knows you would come for her as soon as you learned Asami was dead. This way, she gets rid of Asami, gets rid of me and then gets rid of you.’
Gaibun’s eyes darted from Rhiannon to Sendatsu and back again.
‘It is time for you to decide. Rhiannon will release you in a moment …’
‘I will?’
‘Yes, you will. Gaibun, if you think Sumiko really has your best interests at heart, then we shall face each other with swords one last time. Or we can work together to stop Sumiko.’
He signalled to Rhiannon and hefted his sword. Rhiannon did nothing for a long moment then, when Sendatsu glared at her, she sighed and released the magic.
Gaibun staggered a little as the plants dropped away, gone as if they had never been there. Sendatsu tensed as Gaibun brought his sword up.
‘If you are telling me the truth, why do you threaten me?’ Gaibun asked defiantly.
Sendatsu smiled. ‘True.’ He slammed his sword into the ground and held up his empty hands, stepping away from the hilt. ‘I have no sword. Now, who do you believe?’
For a long moment he held his breath, but relaxed as Gaibun thrust his own sword deep into the ground.
‘I am sorry,’ he said hoarsely. ‘I don’t know what I was thinking … I know Sumiko is our enemy. I had been following her, trying to catch her with Jaken to prove she was plotting something, then found her in my tent and it all became so clear: you were to blame for everything and I was so sure that killing you would make everything better.’
‘Indeed. For Sumiko!’ Rhiannon muttered.
Gaibun fell to his knees. ‘She will pay for this, I promise you. She must have done something to me.’
Rhiannon glanced at Sendatsu, eyebrows raised, but Sendatsu shook his head. He knew those thoughts had been there already, knew it better than she did, but now was not the time to remind Gaibun of it.
‘Sumiko has much to answer for. She tried to kill us all, this night. But we have survived and we shall pay her back.’
Gaibun pushed himself to his feet and held out his arms. ‘Brother, I am so sorry. I would have killed you. It was not me though, I promise. I shall repay this debt!’
Sendatsu embraced his friend. ‘There is no debt,’ he assured him.
‘Let me be the judge of that,’ Gaibun sighed, patting Sendatsu on the back. ‘I know I have no right to ask anything but I would dearly like to see Asami, make sure she is all right.’
‘Well, it’s not going to happen tonight,’ Rhiannon groaned, holding her head. ‘I need something to eat and then at least a day’s sleep before I open another oaken gateway.’
‘Of course. Rhiannon, I am so sorry about hitting you.’ Gaibun turned to her, concern writ large across his face. ‘I am so glad I didn’t just stab
you from behind.’
‘Not as glad as I,’ Rhiannon said ruefully.
‘Well, we have survived. Sumiko has tried and failed. Retsu and Asami will take the attackers we captured before the Council later today and she will be in chains by nightfall,’ Sendatsu said.
‘Don’t you mean tomorrow?’ Rhiannon asked.
Sendatsu pointed to where the dawn was lighting the eastern sky. ‘It is already today. This has been a busy night.’
‘But what if Jaken refuses to act? What if he is under her spell, as I was?’ Gaibun warned.
Sendatsu sighed. ‘Then we shall have to find a new Elder Elf. Your father will take over when I force mine to step down. Retsu may not be a friend of the Velsh but he can be trusted to keep his word. I thought Dokuzen needed my father but he has proved to be a pawn of Sumiko.’
‘Sorry — I know I was just hit on the head but I could have sworn you said you’re going to force your father to give up the power he has wanted all his life,’ Rhiannon said.
‘You heard right. He will stop Sumiko or I will stop him.’
This time it was Rhiannon and Gaibun who exchanged looks.
‘Are we to keep going through your leaders until we find one we like?’ Rhiannon asked.
Sendatsu shook his head. ‘Retsu is our hope, if my father will not listen to reason.’
‘How are you going to do that?’ Gaibun asked cautiously. ‘I know Jaken almost as well as you and he will not leave easily.’
Sendatsu pulled his sword out of the ground again. ‘With this, if necessary,’ he said flatly. ‘Now, if you have nothing more, we need to get these cuts we gave each other looked at.’
Mildrith looked over the reports her sons had sent. The pigeon handlers used a code so that long messages could be sent in a few strokes of the pen. She knew her sons would never have learned how to do that — they could barely write their own names. The beauty of this was, even if Ward discovered one of the messages, the handlers were the only ones who could translate it — and they were hardly likely to admit their own treachery. At this end she had to rely on another handler to translate it for her but she had spent days reading how their code was used and now checked the reports from the north with the translations the handler had provided. It never hurt to be careful; for all she knew, Ward had paid the handlers even more to betray her.
But the messages tallied and she digested the news thoughtfully. Despite her bold words to her sons, she was not sure how any of this could be turned to their advantage. She was days away from where the action was taking place and her list of allies was thin indeed. Her determination to stop Ward from giving her sons’ crown to Edmund was undiminished by these obstacles. She was a firm believer in the old saying, ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend’. The elves, of course, were out of the question. Not only was it impossible to reach them but she had no idea who to approach. That left the Velsh. She decided to send a message to them immediately. She could give them a little information about Ward’s actions so that, when it came true, they would trust her.
She liked that idea. The Velsh had outwitted her husband once. With her help, they could certainly do so again.
12
Our history always talks about great leaders and great warriors. But did they achieve greatness on their own, I wonder. They are supposed to be the ones with all the power but often it is the ladies behind them, or in the shadows, that hold much of it. Yet history never mentions them. It should.
Noriko dressed carefully. She was used to her husband, Jaken, being away and, in truth, she preferred it that way. She missed Sendatsu and wished he could be here but his presence would have made things awkward today. He would have wanted to know why she had received the invitation from Lord Retsu and why he wanted her to be his guest at the Council. She had never got over the regret of losing Retsu and being forced to marry Jaken. They were coming to the end of their lives but perhaps there was still hope for them. If Jaken was away campaigning for seasons, or even years, subduing the human lands, surely there was time for them. Noriko would have been ecstatic with just a few stolen moons of happiness. In exchange for that, she would happily open her veins and remove any shame.
She brushed her hair out carefully and called for her servants to escort her to the Council Chamber. Retsu’s invitation surely indicated that he was finally willing to put aside his sense of honour to pursue personal happiness. It was about time. Perhaps their example could inspire Sendatsu and Asami.
‘I swear that Sumiko will pay for wrecking my home not once but twice,’ Asami said as she stood on the edge of Dokuzen’s park. ‘I doubt we shall ever get the stench out of the house, while the floors and walls have to be replaced.’
‘Let us worry about opening Jaken’s eyes to her treachery first,’ Retsu replied.
‘We are ready,’ Asami judged.
‘I hope so. Do you think we have enough Council Guards around the park?’
Asami smiled. ‘The only ones left in Dokuzen not hiding in the park are the four who watch the doors of the Council Chamber. If we remove them, then people will ask questions and word might get back to Sumiko.’
Retsu nodded. That had been their concern through the early morning of hard work. First the remaining Council Guard officers had to be found, then warriors secreted through the park. Asami suspected that Sumiko would have one or more Magic-weavers who would give Oroku the signal that it was safe to come through. They wanted to catch Oroku in the act of bringing Forlish soldiers into the city but advance notice would allow them to concentrate the thin cordon of warriors around the tree Oroku was going to use.
‘Do you understand what needs to be done?’ he asked the senior Council Guard officer.
‘Yes, lord. We watch and wait — and capture as many gaijin as we can.’ He saluted.
‘Excellent. We do not know when they are coming through, so keep a sharp watch.’ Retsu looked around the park one more time and nodded in approval. There were more than sixty warriors hidden in the bushes, every one of them an expert with the longbow. The Forlish would not know what hit them.
‘Come, we need to get to the Council Chamber and have something to eat before the meeting begins. It would not do for one or both of us to fall over while addressing the Council,’ Asami said.
‘Indeed. But we shall need to take it slowly. I hate to say it, but Hiroka was right. I feel like I could eat a cauldron of rice and then sleep for a day and a night.’
‘Something to look forward to later.’ Asami smiled. ‘Will Jaken listen to the Council?’
‘Faced with proof of Sumiko attacking both you and me, as well as bringing Forlish into the city, he will have no choice. The Council, indeed the people, will not stand for that.’
‘Well, if he does not listen, we shall make you Elder Elf,’ Asami suggested.
Retsu sniffed. ‘Do not joke about such things. The overthrow of a second Elder Elf, after what happened with Daichi, might be an event Dokuzen never recovers from. Of more certainty is the need for you to take over the Magic-weavers again. With both Sumiko and Oroku as traitors, there is no other. I just hope it will allow you to enjoy the child you and Gaibun are about to bring into this world.’
‘Yes,’ Asami agreed carefully. Taking over the Magic-weavers was one thing, becoming a mother was something else. At least it was a problem for another day.
‘What are we waiting for?’ Edmund demanded.
‘I am supposed to receive a signal that all is clear and I can bring you all through,’ Oroku said irritably. ‘You do not understand the power of magic. Opening the gateway will leave me weakened and unable to do much to help you.’
‘We never expected your help, we know what we must do,’ Edmund said with a confidence he did not entirely feel.
Oroku had sketched the route they must take to the Elven Council for Edmund and his sergeants, as well as highlighting landmarks they could use to get themselves back once they had set the building on fire. That was all well and good but Edmund
would have been far happier to have scouted it thoroughly himself. Trusting a traitor was never easy.
Edmund glanced over his shoulder at the fifty men he would be bringing through. All carried crossbows, tinder and flint, and small casks of Breconian brandy; not to drink but to help set a fire deep in the Elven Council building. Most sat silently, wrapped in their own thoughts as well as the long, grey, hooded cloaks Oroku had suggested they use to disguise themselves. No sense in fighting until they had to. He noticed three talking together, the eccentric scouts he had used several times before. They always seemed to come back from these things, which was why Edmund had wanted them along.
‘We cannot wait any longer,’ he judged. ‘Take us through now.’
‘But we could be walking into a trap! Without the signal, I don’t know what is happening on the other side. Don’t forget, I only just escaped from one of my enemies,’ Oroku argued.
‘It doesn’t matter. We have to go now,’ Edmund insisted. ‘I shall go first.’
‘On your own head be it,’ Oroku muttered.
Edmund stared at him and Oroku looked away.
‘Tell your men. They must hold tight to the staff or they will become lost …’
‘We have been through that a dozen times already. Stop wasting time. We go now!’
Edmund waved to his sergeants and instantly the men came to their feet, forming a neat line behind him.
Oroku sighed, then closed his eyes for a few moments before thrusting his staff deep into the tree.
‘Go!’
Taking a deep breath, Edmund hefted his sword and stepped through.
Despite Father Hiroka’s attentions, both Asami and Retsu were exhausted by the time they reached the Council Chamber. The combination of no sleep, little food and blood loss had them both reeling.
‘After this, I am going to go home and sleep for a moon,’ Retsu said, sitting down and beckoning for a servant to bring him food and tea.
‘At least you have a home to go back to. I have a slaughterhouse filled with the bodies of Sumiko’s killers.’