Iniru nodded along with her. “I can hardly stand.”
Turesobei counted to thirty, and then said, “We can't wait any longer. Let's go.”
Awasa helped Kurine up, and they all moved forward again, if slowly. Just when Turesobei was about to tell the Storm Dragon to stop circling and attack, a blue-white energy blast struck her.
The dragon tumbled backward, wailing in agony. Pain erupted in Turesobei’s chest, and on his face it felt as if someone had stabbed a knife into the Mark of the Storm Dragon.
He collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain.
“Wizard!” Motekeru shouted.
A willowy figure in robes, ghostly pale and barely visible against the backdrop of steam clouds, stood just beyond the twelve invisible warriors. The wizard had a spell strip in his fingers. The spell strip crumbled away, but the wizard instantly drew another out of thin air. Based on the pale blue kavaru he saw on the wizard’s throat, Turesobei feared this was a simulacrum of Lord Bokaga himself. It would not be as powerful as that great Kaiaru, but it was probably equal to any average Kaiaru wizard and Turesobei's match.
Unfortunately, Zaiporo’s lifeless body lay just beyond the wizard. They were going to have to go through the twelve invisible warriors, all of whom remained unharmed, and the wizard in order to get to their friend.
As Turesobei’s companions engaged the warriors, the Storm Dragon blasted lightning at the simulacrum, but the wizard held up his spell strip, and all the blast went into it. The wizard then used that strip to fire a blast back, but the Storm Dragon managed to dodge that one. The strip crumbled, and another immediately took its place.
His friends were outnumbered more than two to one, and even with Motekeru, their odds of winning looked slim. After a brief, violent exchange, Motekeru had killed one of the invisible warriors by ripping out its heart.
The others were having a tough time, though, and just barely holding their ground. Only Iniru had managed to injure one, while Kurine had cracked another’s breastplate.
Awasa had sustained a nasty cut on her left knee. It was harder to fight with the sword in one hand while holding a complicated mudra with the other.
The hounds were completely unable to injure the warriors. All they could do was run interference, which was what Lu Bei was doing.
As soon as the wizard held up a spell strip to absorb another blast from the Storm Dragon, Turesobei cast a fire-blast spell, figuring at least one of the shots would hit. The wizard’s spell strip absorbed both blasts, but instead of the strip merely crumbling in his fingers as before, it exploded. The shockwave knocked the wizard stumbling backward.
As he saw Lu Bei streaking up into the sky, in the way he always did before employing a dive bomb maneuver from high above, Turesobei had an idea.
“Iniru!” Turesobei called. As she moved into a defensive posture, he rushed up and said, as quietly as possible, knowing her sensitive ears would pick up his words over the fighting, “I need you to attack the wizard.” He enchanted her with the spell of prodigious leaping. “Get ready to leap.”
Horns sparking and claws extended, the Storm Dragon zoomed toward the dazed wizard. But before she could hit him, the wizard formed mudras with both hands. A shimmering force field appeared suddenly, and the Storm Dragon slammed into it with a thundering boom. She bounced off the force field and crashed into a hot spring.
The wizard dropped his mudras, thereby lowering his force field, and drew another spell strip. He never saw what was coming for him. Blasting sparks, Storm Dragon Lu Bei crashed onto the simulacrum's back and knocked him down.
Turesobei darted in with his sword, taking on Iniru’s current invisible opponent. “Now!”
Iniru sprang up into the air.
Snarling, Lu Bei viciously raked his claws into the wizard's back. Bits of ghostly cloth and blood flew through the air. But Lu Bei didn’t have a chance to do more serious damage. The incredibly strong wizard rolled over and hurled him aside.
Just as the wizard stood, Iniru landed and plunged Sumada into his chest. With a burst of steam, the wizard disappeared.
Iniru had exposed her back to an invisible warrior who was charging toward her. Turesobei shouted a warning, but she wasn’t going to be able to turn around in time. His breath caught. If she died, the Blood King couldn’t bring her back.
But just before the warrior struck her, the Storm Dragon burst out of the hot spring and obliterated it with a lightning bolt.
Eight invisible warriors still remained, but with the Storm Dragon’s help, they had no trouble taking them out. Apparently, the wizard had been protecting them from the dragon all along.
“Is that it, Sobei?” Awasa asked, wiping blood from her cheek where a sword had nicked her.
He glanced around. “If there's a source generating more, I don’t see it anywhere.”
The pedestal and the cylinder reappeared.
Iniru rushed over to Zaiporo. In a small voice, she said, “He's dead.”
Clenching a hand over a wound on her shoulder, Kurine scooped up a pebble with a white spiral pattern and said, “Get the cylinder, and let’s go!”
“There's something wrong here,” Turesobei said as he examined the pedestal. “That was too easy, and the trick was not that clever.”
“Maybe some of the Shogakami aren't as strong as the others,” Kurine said.
“Perhaps, but Bokaga is known for being one of the most powerful.”
He stepped up near the pedestal. Again, there was no force field protecting it. Using his kenja-sight, he could tell something was wrong. He just couldn't figure out what it was.
“Everyone gather close. Be ready for…be ready for anything.”
Motekeru brought over Zaiporo and set him down nearby.
Turesobei reached out. His hand passed through the cylinder, then it disappeared again.
“Trouble,” Awasa said.
Turesobei spun around. “Oh, crap.”
The twelve invisible warriors and the simulacrum wizard had reappeared. He ordered the Storm Dragon to shield them.
“I guess I should’ve recalled the Storm Dragon, so that I could teleport us out of here.”
“You think?” Iniru asked.
“Let’s go,” Awasa said.
“Not just yet,” Turesobei replied.
Kurine grabbed his arm. “Zaiporo needs to get back!”
“I know that! But I don’t want to go back ignorant. I want to know what we’re dealing with so we’re prepared next time.”
Turesobei knelt and took a closer look at the spot where the pedestal had been. “The fake image of the pedestal is a trap, and it's the generator for the guardians.”
“So how do we defeat this?” Iniru asked.
He studied it closely with his kenja-sight. “The problem…the problem is the illusion is the trigger to regenerate the guardians, and the generator is the force field itself, but the real thing didn't appear because…because we didn't actually defeat all the guardians, which is what you have to do with this one.”
“So there’s another guardian out there?” Iniru asked.
“If so, why didn't it attack us?” Awasa asked.
“It doesn't have to,” Motekeru responded. “It could be hiding from us.”
“Why would it do that?” Kurine asked.
“So we can’t win,” Turesobei said with a grimace. “Bokaga could be using that as a trick to counter someone who knows how the guardian system works and is powerful enough to defeat the guardians and destroy the force field.”
“Lady Hannya did warn us that he was tricky,” Awasa said.
Kurine tugged at his sleeve. “We should retreat now.”
“The longer we wait, the greater the risk of not being able to bring Zaiporo back,” Iniru said urgently.
“And maybe Lady Hannya or the Blood King will have some idea about how to defeat this,” Awasa added.
“Just give me a few more moments to analyze the situation,” Turesobei said. “You guys think of a plan tha
t will keep the guardians away long enough, without help from the Storm Dragon, for me to cast the teleportation spell.”
Turesobei focused on the energy of the Cloud Realm heart stone, which he now knew from having studied its mate in the Inner Sanctum. Then he cast the spell of locating that which is hidden, attuning the spell to an energy signature all the force fields and guardians had so far possessed.
The spell immediately detected the twelve warriors and the simulacrum wizard…then it picked up something else. It was faint, but he had a bead on it.
“There's another guardian flying away from us and fast, heading due north. Storm Dragon, on my mark, fly toward the wizard to distract him, then head north and find that guardian.” Turesobei placed onto Motekeru the spell of prodigious leaping. “Motekeru, you are going to leap on the wizard like Iniru did before.”
“Shouldn’t we leave now?” Kurine urged.
Turesobei shook his head and prepared a weak fire-blast spell. He only needed it for a distraction. “Go now!”
The Storm Dragon flew toward the wizard, blasting it with lightning. The wizard reflected the blast, which clipped the Storm Dragon on the tail, causing her to roll wildly. But she righted herself and sped off toward the north.
The wizard barely got a spell strip out in time to absorb Turesobei’s fire blast, which he had unleashed just as the wizard was reflecting the Storm Dragon’s lightning bolt. Motekeru’s leap coincided with Turesobei’s attack. Motekeru fell on top of the wizard and ripped through him with his claws. Again, the wizard turned into a puff of steam and disappeared.
Then they fought the twelve invisible guardians. Turesobei used his sword and an array of minor spells. He didn't want to use any difficult ones, because he might have to risk complete kenja depletion, and thus death, to teleport them back so they could save Zaiporo.
After a desperate battle that left them all with new cuts, scrapes, and bruises, they defeated the invisible warriors. A minute later, a flash appeared on the horizon, followed a few seconds later by a deep boom.
The cylinder and the pedestal reappeared. Turesobei recalled the Storm Dragon. “Let's try this one more time.”
He reached his hand out—and it struck a force field. “It's the real thing this time. Let's take it down and get out of here.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“My training?” Enashoma asked.
“Yes,” Nāa said. “If you and your friends are to survive, you are probably going to need my help to counter the Blood King.”
“So you are going to train me to be a wizard?”
“Hardly. The Blood King can do that better than I can. I was never much of a spell-caster.”
“Wait, I thought all Kaiaru were wizards.”
He looked at her, puzzled. “We are forgotten in your time, aren’t we? All Kaiaru are magical and possess special abilities, and most do eventually become wizards, as part of their pursuit of power and esoteric knowledge. But not all do. Seshalla, for example, never cast a single spell that I know of, having preferred to devote her time to martial and spiritual pursuits. Myself, I am a poor wizard, but I did master other arts.”
“Like using your brush.”
“Indeed.”
“Why is the Maker’s Brush so powerful?”
“Is it not obvious?” he asked. “Think about the brush. It seems a simple object, yes? There are no runes carved upon its surface, nor is it made from special materials. It is but a brush.”
“There is dark iron in the core of the handle,” she said. “I detected it when I started studying kenja currents with Lady Hannya.”
“Okay, that part is special. But not exceedingly so.”
Enashoma twirled a strand of hair. “Oh! It’s special because you used it so much. It soaked up some of your power.”
He stared at her expectantly.
A thought came to her unbidden. “You were so familiar to me when I first saw you, though I’d never encountered your kavaru before. Because it’s not simply a portion of your power that resides in the brush. It holds part of your soul, as Fangthorn once held Lady Hannya.”
“I gave myself to my art, figuratively and literally.”
“No wonder it’s so powerful,” she said.
“It is actually more than merely a part of my soul that powers the brush. Not only does it make things come alive, it absorbs a tiny portion of their essence in return. The more the brush is used, the more powerful it grows.”
“And otherwise it’s just a simple brush with a dark iron core and bristles that never wear away?”
He nodded. “One that I was using as far back as my earliest memories. I do not know its origin anymore than I can understand its true nature. Even Chonda Lu could not figure it out.”
“What can I make with it?” she asked.
“Much more than origami creatures, that is for certain.”
Nāa swept out a hand, and a man-sized boulder appeared. He stepped up to it and summoned an exact copy of the Maker’s Brush. He squatted in front of the boulder and began drawing seemingly-crude characters on it. She watched him carefully.
Half an hour later, he drew the activating mark on the stone. The boulder melted into a molten pile of rock then reshaped itself into a humanlike form, with a thick chest, stubby legs, long arms, and a head without a neck.
“A stone warrior,” Nāa said. “At your command.”
Enashoma staggered back in awe. “I could make that with the brush?”
“Easily enough, once you know how. You are limited only by your skill with the pictograms I shall teach you, your imagination, and the power you can draw upon using my kavaru.
“Naturally, you are also limited by the materials you are working with. The better you understand your materials, the more you can do with them. It is simple enough to make an origami creature live for a few minutes. But if you learn the true nature of paper, you can create origami creatures that last for many years. And if you understood the true nature of stone and knew the proper marks, you could make a powerful warrior like this one.
“I cannot stress enough how important imagination is. More than anything, your vision of what you will create is key. Aside from that, you are limited only by the amount of energy you can summon.”
“So instead of a rock warrior…I could make a big stone cat?”
“Precisely.”
Nāa spoke a command, and the rock warrior obeyed by jumping up and down, then twirling in place.
“You can create warriors or animals out of trees, rocks, or wooden planks. You can make statues come to life. Anything you desire, you can make…even things that should never be made.”
“Like Motekeru.”
“And if you—”
A voice called out to Enashoma. A voice in the real world.
She resisted it. She wanted desperately to know more.
“You need to go,” Nāa said. “We will talk again soon.”
Enashoma exited the dream state. A dead-eyed servant stood at the entrance to the Canvas. “My lord wishes you to know that the gate from the Cloud Realm is now active.”
Enashoma rushed from the Canvas, out to the courtyard, and up the steps to the platform. The gate closed right after Hannya stepped out from it. Everyone was safely through.
Except—Zaiporo, lying in Motekeru’s arms—his eyes open but lifeless. Blood flowed from two gaping wounds in his chest.
Enashoma rushed to him, took his limp hand, and cried out.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Turesobei cringed as Enashoma cried. “No…no…he can’t be….”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “Shoma, it will be okay.”
She batted his hand away and wrapped her arms around Zaiporo.
Lord Gyoroe gazed upon the cylinder in Turesobei’s hands with satisfaction, then nodded at Zaiporo.
“How long has he been dead?”
“Twenty-two minutes,” Lu Bei said.
The fetch had a precise sense of time. He claimed it was n
ecessary for the proper brewing of tea.
Iniru pulled Enashoma away, and Motekeru set Zaiporo down on the platform. Enashoma broke free from Iniru, rushed over, and knelt beside Zaiporo. She kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to Lord Gyoroe.
“Restore him,” she commanded.
The Blood King cocked an eyebrow at her, and his lips nearly twitched into a smile. “Back away then. I need space to work.”
Turesobei led them all down into the courtyard.
Enashoma rounded suddenly on Turesobei and pointed a finger at him. “You were supposed to keep him safe.”
“Shoma, I did my best.” He grabbed her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. “We all do our best to keep each other alive. But it's incredibly dangerous. You know that. This time, the enemy was invisible, and they hit us out of nowhere. He never had a chance.”
“You have magic senses and a dragon made out of storm, so there’s no excuse for—”
“Don't take this out on me. Zaiporo is my friend.”
Kurine frowned at him, and he could feel Iniru’s burning gaze.
“I would never do anything to jeopardize his life.”
Enashoma started to make a retort, but tears welled in her eyes, and she couldn't speak.
“Lord Gyoroe will restore him, just like he restored me,” Iniru said.
“But what if he's damaged from it, like you were?” Enashoma asked.
“Huh?” Iniru responded. “I–I wasn't—”
“Oh, come on, Niru.” Tears ran down Enashoma’s face. “You weren’t the same for weeks afterward, and for a while, you even gave up on Turesobei.”
“Okay, yes, I had some emotional troubles. But Kurine didn’t. So why don't you wait and see how it all turns out? Zaiporo’s tough, and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
“But what if…” Enashoma sobbed “…what if he comes back like you did, and he doesn't love me anymore? We were already having problems because of Nāa.”
Lu Bei flew down and patted her shoulder. “There, there, Lady Shoma. It will all be okay.”
Enashoma narrowed her eyes at the fetch. “And what were you doing during the battle?”
The First Kaiaru Page 15