She gave him a deep kiss, which he returned half-heartedly. “Just wish me luck.”
Enashoma sprinted down the hallway and out across the courtyard. She didn’t run into anyone along the way, which was fortunate since she didn’t have time for explanations. She sped into the Throne Room and up the steps to the dais.
“How long do you think we have?” she asked Nāa.
“No idea,” he replied.
She realized suddenly that she had accessed his presence without mudras, spells, or meditation. But maybe it was working easily because they had just been in contact while exploring Zaiporo’s mind.
The image of Hannya bowing before Mekazi Keshuno flashed through her memories, and she shivered. No, she couldn’t think about that. The embedded message was a problem for another day. She had to block it out and focus on the task at hand: stealing control of the jade throne from the Blood King.
“Will you be able to sense their return?”
“I cannot guarantee it,” Nāa replied. “But there should be a dramatic shift in the energies when they do. Right now, the power is still building up, so I do not think they have yet reached their destination.”
Enashoma unwrapped the brush and settled her fingers around the polished wood handle. Though she had practiced with a copy of it in the spirit world, using the real thing was different. Now that she’d trained in the magical arts, she could feel the power coursing through it more than ever before. It did have the same familiar energy as Nāa’s kavaru, and now that she thought about it, Lu Bei as well.
She had spent nearly every free moment over the last week rehearsing this procedure on a spirit copy of the throne. She knew the pictograms well enough. The tricky part would be keeping her focus and doing them fast enough while still being precise. Most importantly, she had to make the masking mark after every ten pictograms so that all the symbols would disappear when she finished.
She knelt behind the back of the throne, dipped the Maker’s Brush into the pot of ink, and began drawing….
She had covered the entire back of the throne when Nāa said, “The energy fields within the Inner Sanctum have stabilized. I believe they have reached their destination.”
She wasn’t even halfway done, and she had no idea how long it would take the Blood King to discover what he wished to know. She took a deep breath. Nothing to do but carry on. Scripting the pictograms as fast as she could, she returned to work….
“The energies have shifted again,” Nāa said. “I think they are returning.”
Having lost herself in the work, Enashoma had no idea how much time had passed. She rocked back on her heels and studied her output. Nearly all the throne was covered in pictograms now. All she had left was the seat. She nodded her acknowledgement of Nāa’s warning and continued. Several minutes later, she drew the last pictogram with a flourish, then made the activation mark.
One-by-one in sequence, the pictograms flared then winked out, like a chain of flickering fireflies. After the last one flashed, all the marks disappeared. Even if everything else failed, the Blood King wouldn’t know what she’d done. Only someone who had used the brush could see them, and only if they were using kenja sight.
Panting for breath, she wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled.
“Looks like I got it.”
“If anything, your artistry improved during the attempt,” Nāa said. “Now, we can—”
A muffled voice rumbled from deep within the Workshop, perhaps coming from the Inner Sanctum. She recognized the tone. The Blood King was angry.
“They are back,” Nāa said. “Go quickly!”
Enashoma wrapped the Maker’s Brush up and hid it within her inner robe. “Here goes!”
She ran behind the throne, focused her mind on the kavaru vault, then leapt through the wall. Worst case scenario, she would end up tumbling down the stairs into the Workshop, which was always open to them. And she had an excuse for being caught there. She had purposefully left one of her spell books behind during her last training session. The Blood King, who was preoccupied with ghosting into the past, hadn’t even noticed that she’d done so.
She stumbled into a pitch-dark room and caught her balance.
“Where are we?”
“The vault,” Nāa said. “Though I meant for you to runaway.”
“I know, but I was afraid we wouldn’t get another chance.”
She summoned a simple fire globe, which was hard enough for her. She didn’t have much practice with the spell, and she had already spent most of her internal kenja drawing the pictograms.
Enashoma raced along the wall and quickly found the second version of Chonda Lu’s kavaru in one of the storage cubes. Thousands of stones glinted beneath the light of her fire globe.
“Should I get more than one? Perhaps a kavaru for Awasa?”
“The more you take, the more likely the Blood King will realize one is missing.”
“You’re probably right. Just seems like a shame to leave them all here—with him.”
Enashoma pulled the top of her inner robe outward and dropped the kavaru into her cleavage.
She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves. “Here we go.”
Thinking of the Throne Room, she darted out through the door.
Chapter Seventy
A strong hand pulled Turesobei up onto his feet. The pain and vertigo eased immediately. He looked up into Gyoroe’s smiling face. They were still in the ancient past with the wreckage of the star ship scattered around them.
“You were out of phase,” Lord Gyoroe said.
Turesobei’s breath caught, and his heart skipped a beat.
“I should have warned you not to wander too far away.”
Turesobei breathed again.
Lord Gyoroe sighed. “Alas, we can stay no longer.”
“Did you find the knowledge you sought?”
“Indeed, I did!” Lord Gyoroe replied triumphantly. “And so much more. Not only do I now know how to restore the Kaiaru, I can also bring forth a new Golden Age, one far grander than the last.”
Turesobei barely refrained from flinching. This close to the end, he couldn’t let Gyoroe suspect anything. In fact, it would probably be best to pretend that he had begun to believe in Gyoroe’s vision of the future, having been inspired by the sight of Korooka. Of course, he’d have to be careful not to oversell that, or Gyoroe would become suspicious.
“I look forward to seeing a new Korooka, master.”
“See it you will, apprentice,” Lord Gyoroe said. “For you will be my top lieutenant, one step below Hannya.” His voice dropped an octave. “Provided you continue to serve me well.”
“Will it be difficult to achieve, master?”
“Not as difficult as I had thought, but my understanding is not yet complete. There are techniques I must practice and master. Decisions I must make; plans I must outline. To make any real progress, however, I must first escape this prison and return to Okoro—as soon as possible.”
The world shifted around them as they sped forward through the time stream. Turesobei again blocked out the vertigo and nausea, finding it easier to do so this time.
The wreckage faded from view, replaced by an expanse of crude huts. Then a village formed…then a town…then a city growing larger and larger, until a wave of disasters brought it low and erased it from the earth.
They sped toward the present, but Turesobei struggled, instinctively, to keep them in the past. He didn’t want to go back, knowing how difficult and how dangerous the next few days would be.
“Apprentice, let go.”
Turesobei breathed in deeply, then exhaled and released his energy from the ritual. The past became nothing but a continuous blur, until his ghostly form slammed back into his body in the present.
With his consciousness restored to his physical body, Turesobei collapsed onto the floor, his heart pounding. Sweat soaked his clothing, and his muscles ached. If he hadn’t known better, he would’ve sworn he’d just
finished an all-day sparring session. When his consciousness had been in the past, he’d had no idea how much strain his body was enduring.
Suddenly, stabbing pains shot through his chest and down his arms while waves of heat crashed up his neck into his head. Then he began to convulse.
Stumbling, Hannya rushed over to him. “Beloved, he’s going into shock.”
With leaden steps, Lord Gyoroe closed in. “Move aside.”
Gyoroe placed a hand on Turesobei’s head and cast a healing spell. Cool energy flowed down through his body. His breathing and heart rate slowed to normal. His muscles, still fatigued, relaxed. But despite the spell, he remained utterly exhausted.
As Hannya breathed a sigh of relief and fell to her knees, Turesobei noticed that she and Gyoroe were both drenched in sweat as well. She, in particular, appeared exhausted.
While Gyoroe was no doubt equally fatigued, it was obvious based on his wild-eyed expression that he was enthused by his success. Unlike Turesobei and Hannya, he faced a future that promised to give him everything he desired.
Lu Bei lay in diary form beside Turesobei. It was likely he had reverted to that state when Turesobei’s energy had run low.
Gyoroe removed the circlets and wires from Turesobei and Hannya, then sat cross-legged nearby. “Rest a few minutes.”
While Gyoroe meditated, Turesobei avoided meeting Hannya’s gaze. Did she know anything about what he and Nalsyrra had discussed, since they had used her connection to him? He should have asked Nalsyrra about that. It would be best if Hannya knew about the plan, and the consequences of failure.
After fifteen minutes, a violet-eyed Gyoroe stood, with a victorious smile still plastered on his face. “You have both rested enough. Now you shall help me break free of this prison. Get up. We have work to do. I must return to the world.”
“No,” Turesobei groaned.
Scarlet flaring into his eyes, Lord Gyoroe stomped over to him. “Did you just tell me no?”
“Master, I want to help you, but I can’t do it now.”
Gyoroe grabbed him around the neck, lifted him high, and slammed him against the glass wall of the dome. “Do not play games with me, or those you love will suffer greatly!”
“I barely made it…through that,” Turesobei choked. “I need rest.”
Lord Gyoroe snarled. “Find a way to keep going.”
“Beloved,” Hannya pleaded, “let the boy rest. He is not a Kaiaru, and he does not have your strength. For that matter, neither do I. You have spent centuries striving for this knowledge…for this opportunity. A few days of waiting will not hurt. I fear that if we tried now, I would disappoint you as well.”
Gyoroe glared at her a few moments, then his eyes shifted back to violet. He released Turesobei, who hit the floor, struggling to breathe.
“You have one day to rest, apprentice. Hannya, get him out of here.” He knelt in the protective circle. “And do not disturb me again today. I have much to think on.”
Hannya helped Turesobei to his feet, and he leaned his weight on her as he still gasped for air. They left the Inner Sanctum and headed up the stairs out of the Workshop.
“How do you feel?” she asked.
“I’ll be okay.”
As he said those words, he met her eyes and directed his thoughts toward her, hoping there was still some connection between them.
“I don’t know if you heard any of my discussion with Nalsyrra, but this is far worse than we could've imagined. Lord Gyoroe can’t go free under any circumstance. I have a plan, but it’s not likely to work. Be ready.”
They stepped through the wall and appeared behind the jade throne. A split second later, something barreled into them from behind. Hannya stumbled, and Turesobei crashed into the throne. He staggered to his feet, and Hannya held him up. They turned around.
Enashoma gave them a flustered smile. “Oh, Sobei. There you are! I…was looking everywhere…for you,” she panted. “I was hoping you could…help me with a few spells that are…giving me trouble.”
As her eyes locked onto Enashoma, Hannya snarled. “Watch where you are going.”
Enashoma bowed. “Sorry, Lady Hannya. I didn’t mean to…run into you like that. I thought I…was just surprising Turesobei…as he came out of the Workshop.”
“This is not a place for games,” Hannya snapped. Then she shoved Turesobei into Enashoma’s arms.
“If you need anything further, then ask the servants.”
As she stepped back into the Workshop, Turesobei raised an eyebrow at Enashoma. But she wouldn’t meet his gaze. He felt a strong, familiar magic in the Throne Room, one he had not felt in some time, but he couldn’t quite identify it.
And there was something else…something even more familiar…intimate even. He sensed its presence coming from Enashoma’s chest.
“Are you okay, Sobei?” She wrapped an arm around him and helped him down the steps. “You look absolutely exhausted.”
He closed his eyes and listened. As the energies of the room brushed past, he realized what he had sensed. How or why she had the other version of Chonda Lu’s kavaru, he had no idea. But he knew better than to ask.
Chapter Seventy-One
Enashoma sat beside Turesobei, sharing a plate of berries, while Kurine drew a bath for him. Enashoma was trying to hide it, but he could tell she was tired, too. And she reeked of magic. It was a good thing she wasn’t anywhere near the Blood King right now, or he’d know something was up. It was also a good thing he’d been distracted while Enashoma was stealing the copy of Chonda Lu’s kavaru.
Lu Bei popped back into fetch form. He started to smile at Enashoma—then sputtered a hello, his eyes wide with surprise. He gathered his composure, taking some effort to mask his expressions and control his trembling, then cleared his throat.
“Why don’t I make some tea?” He flew up to his nest. “I think I have the perfect blend for this occasion.”
At Kurine’s prompting, Turesobei recounted his journey. He focused on the great city of Korooka and the experience of moving back through time, while keeping the Kaiaru origins vague. He wasn’t sure anyone should ever know about what he had seen.
While brewing, Lu Bei trembled so much he sloshed tea everywhere. Three times, he had to stop and wipe off the table. As he brought a bowl to Turesobei, he spilled half the contents onto the floor.
“So sorry, master.”
Turesobei had wondered if the fetch could record what his master had seen in the distant past. Lu Bei’s nervousness answered that question. Enashoma unexpectedly bearing the extra kavaru had doubtlessly increased the tension. The fetch’s eyes met Turesobei’s. If the truth of the past had shocked Turesobei, it had clearly affected Lu Bei even more.
Frowning, Lu Bei again apologized for his clumsiness.
“Are you okay, little demon?” Kurine asked.
“Yes, mistress, I’m fine. Master’s struggles have merely fatigued me. In fact, I think I shall turn into a book now and nap for a while.”
“Mistress?” Enashoma asked, draining her tea bowl.
“Oh that,” Kurine said. “It’s…it’s because I bested him in a dare.”
Enashoma raised an eyebrow, glanced between Kurine and Turesobei, then pressed her lips tightly together. She stood up. “I’ll let you get your bath now, Sobei. Good night.”
After a long, quiet bath, Kurine massaged Turesobei’s sore muscles while humming a goronku lullaby. When he woke ten hours later, he bathed again. With a week of sleep, he thought he might feel rested. He considered having food brought to the room, then decided against it. He wasn’t going to avoid his companions when they seemed to have so few days left to be together.
At lunch he recounted the tale to everyone and tried to avoid talking about the origins of the Kaiaru. But they kept asking, until he responded by saying, “There were swirling energies and strange noises…shapes and forms I could not decipher. I think it’s something only a Kaiaru would understand, because it made little sense to me.
”
As he stood, he placed a hand on Awasa’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”
She smiled and said out loud, “It was just a bit of torture. Honestly, I was glad I could help things proceed.” But what she said to him telepathically was: “You look haunted. Was the experience in the past that bad?”
“The Kaiaru origin is fascinating. But what the Blood King learned was truly terrible. We cannot free him under any circumstance. The stakes are far higher than we ever imagined.”
He hugged her tight. “I really am sorry.”
“Is there anything I can do?” she asked.
“At this point? Not really. Even if you were to kill me and everyone else here, it would only delay him.”
“So we’re doomed?”
“Not quite. There’s a chance, however slight, that I might be able to stop him.”
“Will we survive it?”
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’m glad we became such good friends, Wasa. I can’t imagine not having you in my life.”
Chapter Seventy-Two
After a soothing night with Iniru, Turesobei headed off to the Inner Sanctum. He took a deep breath, then entered the Workshop. Gyoroe and Hannya were waiting in front of the door to the Inner Sanctum.
“You are late,” a violet-eyed Lord Gyoroe said.
“Sorry, master, I overslept.”
Lord Gyoroe growled and opened the door.
The truth was Turesobei had dawdled. He’d been afraid to come, afraid to face this day. It had been so hard to leave Iniru, knowing the danger today held. They entered the Inner Sanctum, and Turesobei knelt beside Hannya, across from the emerald-eyed Gyoroe. Lu Bei settled down in front of Turesobei and reverted to his diary form.
“Because of the spells the Shogakami placed upon the Nexus,” Lord Gyoroe said, “I cannot readily, even with the power at hand, do this on my own. To do it without you might take me…weeks…months…maybe even a year.” The eyes shifted to flickering violet and scarlet. “And neither of us wants that.”
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