Echoes of a Shattered Age

by R. J. Terrell

  “That is because he possesses some tracking skills,” Kita answered just flatly.

  The smirk deepened. “If that be the case, the world must be a much safer place with him around, for I know of children who could tell that this road has not been used in years.”

  Kita narrowed his eyes.

  “It would be even safer,” Kenyatta interrupted from a few paces away, “if these children could tell that this road was traveled last night, and by a score of unfamiliar creatures if these odd impressions in the ground are any indication. Something is wrong here, and I have a feeling the wrong will do as it always does.” Kenyatta looked over his shoulder as he and Kita stated in unison, “Multiply.”

  Akemi’s looked past Kita to the trail. She then looked over her shoulder at her brother and nodded. “He is right. At least a score of Kalistyi passed through here. Now that I am focusing on it, I can sense it.” She frowned. “And there’s something else that I cannot identify.”

  Kenyatta moved to join her, all apparent sarcasm aside. “What is strange is that the trail is moist, but only here.” He glanced to the left and right of the dirt road. Nothing showed a hint of moisture. Plants were dry, not a blade of grass shimmered in the sun. “There has been no rain in this area, and the trail carries the stench of … wrongness.”

  Akemi met Kenyatta’s gaze. “Ren,” she breathed.

  Kenyatta thought he detected a bit of glimmer in the woman’s eyes at the discovery.

  “If I may ask,” Kita said while eyeing the ninja, “what are Kalistyi and Ren?”

  “Kalistyi,” Akemi answered, “are from the dark world. They are not as powerful as many other denizens of the abyss, but they can still be formidable. They have the ability to shift the shape of their arms …”

  “Into long blades,” Kita interrupted.

  “And they look like walking shadows that regenerate as soon as they’re injured,” Kenyatta finished.

  “So you have met them,” Akemi said with a bit of surprise. She glanced at Kenjiro, but the samurai was busy studying the surroundings without much interest in their conversation.

  “Yes, we have,” Kita replied. “We were ambushed in a forest at the edge of Pusan Beach in Korea. We found out the hard way that these things can’t be defeated by conventional weapons.”

  “And what about this Ren you spoke of?” Kenyatta asked.

  “It’s short for Renkosheznieran. Demon of the Red Fire.” She grimaced at speaking its full name. “You are fortunate that you did not meet this fiend with the shadow demons. If you had any difficulty in dealing with them without the spirit charge,” she noticed Kenjiro looking over at them with mild interest, “you would not have survived an encounter with a Ren.”

  “You called that thing ‘Demon of the Red Fire,’” Kita said. “That word is not Japanese.”

  “It is an ancient language that deals with creatures from the different planes of existence. There are books, forgotten tomes that describe these monsters.”

  “Actually,” Kenyatta said, latching on to their previous conversation, “this spirit charge that you spoke of is why we travel to Kyokoza.”

  “We are less than a day away,” Kenjiro stated.

  Kita looked at the samurai and then back to the ninja. “It would seem that we have a common destination, and enemies who wish us not to reach it. Although my friend and I do not possess the spirit charge you speak of, we can still aid each other in our journey.” Kenjiro looked Kita squarely in the eyes while Akemi did the same with Kenyatta. They were trying to decide whether or not to trust them, and the two islanders politely endured the dissections. Finally, they relaxed.

  “I am Akemi, ninja of the Azuma.” She inclined her head politely.

  “I am Kenjiro, ronin samurai.” He stood erect with his hand on the hilt of his sword and bowed slightly at the waist. The two islanders glanced at each other before responding.

  “Our service in this country has landed us a place among the Shikata clan,” Kita said. “Although our services generally have been nomadic, we served the Shikata for a few years and thus were adopted.”

  The siblings glanced at each other. “Shikata,” Akemi echoed. “The Shikata are a scattered band of vagabonds who take miscellaneous missions for the right price. Sellswords.” She eyed them warily.

  “Unfortunately,” Kita replied, “the Shikata have acquired a partially inaccurate reputation.” He motioned to the road. “We would happily tell you the story, but I think we should get to the road before those things find us.”

  “We should get moving,” Kenyatta said. “We already know they’re after us. No need to provide a sitting target.”

  The samurai raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think they are looking for all of us and not just the two of you?”

  Kenyatta frowned at the ever wary samurai. “When I discovered their trail, you didn’t appear to be surprised. You can let go the suspicion, samurai. We’re all being hunted and you know it. Our best bet is to work together.”

  Akemi gave Kenjiro a slap on the back. “They are right, brother.”

  With that, the four warriors mounted and set a hard pace for the grand city of Kyokoza. The trail in the woods was fairly smooth, with ruts on both sides from frequent use by carts in the past. Grass carpeted the trail now, and the group of travelers had to keep an eye on the road so as not to veer off course. Towering evergreen trees lined their passage, while scattered oaks embraced the heavens with bright, leafy limbs.

  They rode close together at a fast canter, with Kenjiro in the lead. Kenyatta and Kita looked over their shoulders, then at each other. Whatever was hunting them was on their trail, and they would have a better chance of a strong defense if they could clear the foliage and fight on open ground.

  Akemi looked back at them and offered a slanted smile. “Kalistyi prefer to fight where there is cover. Their existence almost solely depends on the shadows they inhabit.”

  “What about that Renkoshi … Ren?” Kenyatta asked.

  “The Ren was sent to lead the Kalistyi,” came the response. “The presence of the red demon strengthens the weaker ones.”

  The samurai called over his shoulder, “We are close to the end of the forest.” An unspoken need for silence passed between the group at that announcement. They lowered themselves in the saddle and rode on, the only sound being the thud of the horses’ hooves upon the grass-covered ground.

  Kita felt the tiny hairs on his neck stand on edge. He looked over at Kenyatta, who looked uneasy. Danger was near and everyone could feel it. The question was if they could reach open ground before the fiends were upon them. The forest was eerily quiet, even the trees seemed to be stiff in anxiety.

  Kenjiro signaled Akemi to take the lead and then fell back with Kenyatta and Kita. “How well-trained are the horses you ride?”

  “The best stock and most well-trained the stableman had to offer,” Kita responded.

  “Hope that they follow our horses out of the forest,” the samurai stated. Kita and Kenyatta exchanged confused looks but nodded. Kenjiro sped up to catch his sister. Whatever they talked about, neither of the two friends could hear.

  * * *

  Kenyatta looked at Kita. “Dem right on us,” he said in a low voice, using the western tongue. Kita nodded glancing over his shoulder from time to time. The horses, too, must have sensed the danger, for they increased their pace unbidden by their riders.

  Akemi continued to scan the surroundings, wrapping her fingers around Sekimaru’s hilt as her horse thundered up and down the snaking trail.

  When she glanced back at them, Kenyatta saw the excitement in her eyes, as if they were glowing. He also noticed the samurai, who had moved one of his hands from the reins to the hilt of the sword. Kita was crouched low in the saddle, and Kenyatta realized that he himself had taken a similar position. The horses clearly sensed the danger and were now in a full run, and the riders let them have their heads.

  Kenjiro’s arms and legs tensed with his agit
ation, and the horse underneath him, sensing his tension, snorted and stretched its neck out, pounding down the trail.

  The wind rushing across her face was invigorating, and Akemi’s blood started to run hot as the demons neared. Her lips parted in a smile.

  Kita stared at her. He barely had enough time to wonder at the crazed look on her face when they rounded a bend and the ninja shot straight out of her saddle like an arrow, and in that same instant a hand the size of Kita and his horse combined, burst from the ground, pulling up a tree in its massive grip.

  The horses, including the one with no rider, sat down on their heels as they skidded to a stop. The terrified animals reared and whinnied, the whites of their eyes showing their terror as their riders struggled to bring them under control. Kenjiro and the two islanders abandoned their saddles and found refuge in the foliage.

  The horses scattered as the ground lifted and broke apart. Hidden in the brush, Kita searched but couldn’t see the others. He looked back to the road and could hardly believe what he saw.

  The ground burst open to reveal an arm as wide as an oak tree, covered with white speckles and pulsating blue and green veins. A bulky shoulder rose from the hole, followed by a head that was half the size of Kita’s body.

  Its eyes were as black as night and the warrior could not tell if they were two big black orbs with no irises, or if they were just two empty sockets. It finally climbed out of the ground and rose to its full height, which looked to be halfway past a dozen feet. The veins in its body pulsated, and its chest heaved as its deep, ragged breaths fouled the air. Steam crept from its body, then they heard what sounded like a spark, and the monster’s body lit aflame. Kita could feel the heat emitting from the towering fiend, and he wished they had exited the forest in time. Nearby trees and bushes began to whither. He was unsure if it was from the heat that the beast emitted, or the foul presence of the thing.

  It made a growling sound, its tongue darted in and out of its mouth like a snake. Those pitch black eyes made it difficult for Kita to tell if it was looking at him or the others.

  Was this just a minion? If this was a glimpse of what was to come, what would their true foe be like? He felt a sense of dread, yet excitement at the same time. Although the demon unlike anything he had ever seen, something inside him quickened, and anxiety gave way to a spark inside.

  * * *

  From overhead, Kenyatta watched in disbelief as the fiend climbed out of the ground and burst into flame. I guess all the talk about ‘the devil’s going to getcha’ wasn’t jyas to get me to be good when I was little, he thought. Movement from above caught his attention and saw what looked like two pieces of a shadow falling to the ground. Both pieces dissolved before they hit the ground.

  Akemi descended from the sky toward the fiery demon, who stomped aside to avoid the stroke of the ninja’s sword. With each footfall, the ground cracked and broke. The demon hunter landed in a crouch, studying the slow-moving demon.

  “I’m guessin’ the time for hiding has passed,” Kenyatta said when he saw Kita leap onto a branch above Akemi’s right side. He focused back on the ninja, who seemed unaffected by the stifling heat and evil that the demon emitted.

  “You look as if you have done this before,” Kita remarked from overhead. If the ninja had heard him, she gave no indication as she circled the demon and kept turning to face her.

  Once the fiend’s back was to him, Kenyatta started to attack, then ducked as a horizontal swipe that came from the shadow of the trunk of the tree next to him.

  A shadow demon slid from the tree and swiped at him again. Cursing, Kenyatta dodged, then retreated to a branch not far from where the shadow now stood. His instincts saved him once again, and he dove from the branch as five more Kalistyi fell upon him from above.

  He rolled to his feet, then dropped to one knee and deflected a one-two attack from yet another Kalistyi that leapt from a shadow in the ground. After parrying the strikes, he thrust his hips back and twisted around a stab at his midsection.

  The shadow demon swiped high, then low, and Kenyatta ducked and jumped into a backward flip to avoid the lower sweep while simultaneously delivering a kick to the shadow’s head. The kick did little more than buy him a couple seconds to recover before the demon was on him again.

  The five other shadows were closing in, and he would be hard-pressed to survive the onslaught. From the corner of his eye, Kenyatta saw three shadows falling in half and dissipating.

  Kenjiro appeared beside him and met the other two. With a surge of exhilaration, Kenyatta came at the remaining Kalistyi, but somehow it seemed to be stronger and faster than those he had fought before.

  It swiped low with one sword arm, then stabbed with the other. Kenyatta hopped to avoid the low strike and stopped the stab with a crisscross block of his blades, lowering the stabbing sword arm. He then ducked to avoid a horizontal swipe at his head, bringing one of his swords up to block another stab while simultaneously delivering a successful stab of his own to its midsection. It hesitated for an instant at the blow, and in that time Kenyatta stabbed it with the other blade, and then ripped to both sides, cutting the demon in half.

  All of this happened in little more than a few seconds, but he wasn’t finished. Before the severed body could land, he spun and struck horizontally, sweeping the head clean from its shoulders. Kenyatta stood and watched, chuckling mirthlessly as dark, smoky tendrils began reconnecting the body.

  * * *

  The demon threw its head back and let out an unearthly roar. Akemi charged, then darted to the side and attacked at an angle. Kita was about to spring forward, but he stopped. He needed to study the thing, yet he did not want to leave the ninja unaided.

  Akemi came in close and brought forth Sekimaru. She could feel a hunger within the blade. The ninja swiped and slashed while the lumbering demon grabbed at her. Thin claws as long as sword slid from its fingers as it slapped and slashed its burning hands at her. Akemi ducked, then rolled to the side to avoid its pounding fist.

  Seeing how it moved and the patterns it used, Kita finally joined the fight. He jumped from his perch, spinning the staff above his head, and brought it around. To his surprise, the demon actually avoided the attack. Only a moment ago it moved like a slow and lumbering thing. Now, the beast retreated and lunged, slashing at him whenever he missed an attack.

  Even the demon-hunter had to take note of the sudden speed of it. She rushed in and the two warriors teamed on the flaming demon. Kita swiped horizontally at its midsection, and as it stepped back, Akemi glided over Kita’s head and struck down, slicing into its arm. That drew a wail of pain and the demon exhaled a gust of hot wind that blew Kita into a tree and Akemi out of sight.

  Kita came to his feet and shook away the haziness in his mind. The ninja was nowhere to be found and the fiery demon was stomping toward him. It drew its arm back, lining up its claws for a killing stroke.

  Kita’s first instinct was to bring his weapon up to block, but at the last second, he rolled aside instead. The demon’s claw drove into the ground down to its shoulder, then ripped its arm out of the ground with little effort and slashed in Kita’s direction.

  He had already gotten to his feet and leaped into the air while once again spinning his staff above his head. The demon looked up just in time to see the blade of the staff driven between its eyes.

  * * *

  Kenjiro ducked and parried as the two remaining Kalistyi came on him in a team effort. The samurai was surprised with the improvement of the shadow demon’s tactics. Only days ago they were hardly much of a challenge. What had changed?

  One shadow leaped completely over his head and delivered a downward strike from above. The other shadow swiped horizontally with both sword arms at the same time as the overhead strike. A well-seasoned fighter would have fallen to such a well-coordinated attack. Kenjiro was more than a seasoned fighter.

  The samurai parried the double swipe while spinning toward it to avoid the downward strike and pu
tting his back to the demon. His whipped his hand out and sent two throwing knives spinning through the air and into the airborne Kalistyi’s torso. He ducked to avoid yet another swipe as the shadow behind him hopped back and attacked.

  Kenjiro spun away, avoiding the sword and the other falling shadow demon. It fell in front of the other, and before it could recover, Kenjiro stepped in and took its head with a clean swipe of his sword, turning with the motion and stabbing backward into the other Kalistyi’s abdomen. He turned as he pulled the sword free, and brought it around in one motion to lop of the head of the remaining fiend.

  With the shadowy bodies dissipating around him, the samurai turned his attention to the larger confrontation. A shower of sparks lit area, a howl rent the air, and Kenjiro broke into a run.

  * * *

  Having the misfortune of landing in the trees, Akemi was immediately set upon by a group of Kalistyi. A Kalistyi attempted a sweep of its sword at her neck, then stabbed low as she ducked. She spun sideways and down to avoid the sweep ending the motion on her back.

  She kicked up and out, using the muscles in her stomach and thighs to flip back to her feet and simultaneously avoid three blades that stabbed the ground where her head and chest had been. As Akemi landed on her feet, she slashed upward, driving one of the demons back. In the same motion, she spun in a circle back to the ground while cutting outward, and severed the legs of one of the shadow fiends. As it fell sideways she brought Sekimaru around to finish it.

  * * *

  The fiery demon’s head had snapped back from the force of the staff that Kita had driven into its head. Slowly it recovered and Kita could see its eyes focus on him from his position, hanging from the embedded weapon. It opened its mouth to reveal not teeth, but dancing flames within. Realizing the dangerous position he was in, Kita flipped himself onto the top of the shaft and leaped upward, barely escaping a thin stream of fire the monster spat at him.

  As soon he landed back on the shaft his feet slipped, and he was barely able to grab hold of his weapon to avoid a high drop. Fortune was with him, for his descending body weight was enough to yank the weapon upward, slicing through the top of the demon’s head. As he fell, Kita brought the staff back around and thrust backward with all his strength, driving the blade home into the monster’s abdomen. He grunted through the pain as his arm snapped straight from the wait of his falling body.