by Noah Ward
And the girl, Kaz?
So consumed by the battle with Hanza and its aftermath, Shay’s mere existence had dwindled to near-infinitesimal. Shogens knew she still hoped the girl came through with her promise, especially with other’s fervent, renewed interest in sending her to the afterlife. But she would be putting the girl in danger. Could she do that? Was this somehow tied to those strange things in the stalkers, with Goro’s betrayal? Who knew… Who cared? Only one thing was for certain: it was a fucking mess.
Before Kaz had time to contemplate it any further, with the first rays of dawn’s light piercing the massive effigy of Minori, she finally relented to exhaustion and collapsed.
16
The Bonded Blade
Strange dreams. Shay would see her mother’s face. The girl was crying and her mother was trying to console her, but every time she neared, stretched out a limb to bring her close, it was severed as if by invisible blades. Shay would bawl out her eyes, attempt to blurt apologies, but could do nothing to save her from dying. But with her dying breaths, her mother would curse Shay’s name. Then the woman, Shay’s village, her old life, would travel further and further away until they became pinpricks of light in a void.
After suffering with this recurring nightmare for what seemed like a lifetime, she mercifully awoke. She stank of stale sweat, and though her brow was sodden, it was from the damp cloth that had been draped over her forehead. Mouth dry, with a peculiar aftertaste of herbs and spices her head was too muddled to decipher, she opened her eyes.
Water. She needed water.
Her drowsy eyes focused on a small cup on a table next to her bed roll. She practically inhaled the liquid, kept chill by the breeze rolling in from an open window. Taking a moment to orientate herself, she surveyed the room. The multiple wicker mats meant that other people stayed here, but there appeared to be no sign of them. And the whole place was silent save for the errant chirps of cicadas.
Where was she? Where was Kaz? How long had she been out?
Shay tried to piece together what had transpired. They were travelling in a bamboo forest… she’d felt tired, sick, and then...falling. Darkness. A blank slate. Now she was here. At least she felt more herself.
She cast off the thin blanket which had been covering her, surprised to find she was just wearing a shift. Her heart jumped for a moment, until she spotted her folded clothes on a nearby mat. She dressed quickly and finished tying off the fabric belt while nudging open the sliding door.
This was a shrine. A shrine to Minori. The massive wooden effigy left little to the imagination. Strange. A tickle at the back of her mind told her that Kaz had mentioned a place like this. And speaking of the woman--
“Shogens…” Shay gasped.
Kaz lay prostrate on the floor beneath Minori. Herbs, bandages, and other healing accoutrement lay scattered around her. Had she been in a fight?
Don’t stand there thinking, Shay. Do something!
Shay sprinted over to Kaz and turned the woman over onto her back. Pressing a hand to her neck, she sighed, “Thank the shogens she’s still breathing.” She hooked her hands under Kaz’s armpits--damn she was heavier than she looked--and began to drag her towards the room she’d come from. Shay thought about yelling for help, but there simply wasn’t enough information to make a decision. Why was Kaz out here? Who’d she been fighting with?
A few huffs and curses later, Shay practically tossed the woman on a mat. It was clear from the few bandaged wounds that it had definitely been quite a battle.
And is that person dead, Shay?
Her stomach flipped. Maybe it was a disgruntled animal? Shouldn’t this shrine have monks tending to it? The place didn’t appear too abandoned. Shit. Nothing was making any damn sense.
Weapons. She could use a weapon right now…
Kaz had a small blade still at her hip, but the katana she wielded must be back by the effigy. Shay dashed out the room to retrieve it and then slid the door shut. Straining her ears, she listened for signs of life outside the room.
Still nothing. Shogens she was on edge. But what else could she do? Nothing. So had to wait...to possibly die.
Her eyes were locked on the door, imagining it would be broken down any moment. The culprit? Whomever attacked Kaz? That weird thing from the river?
But no one arrived. Time passed without incident. An hour, perhaps? Her adrenaline petered out. Her stomach rumbled. Did she dare venture out for food? Maybe that’s exactly what they wanted.
Shay shook her head and relaxed her grip on Kaz’s katana. This was the closest she had been to it. It was a rather plain-looking scabbard. Just lacquered black wood from honoki, a magnolia hardwood. But when she drew the blade--that was something else.
It was bonded.
The folded steel slipped soundlessly out of the scabbard. While one may take a look at the blade and dismiss it as regular, a closer inspection toward the light described the minute krystallis dust folded in during the smithing process. They said blades like this were not only inordinately rare and expensive, but tied to their very owner’s soul and capable of destroying krystallis. How then, had Kaz come across it if she was hardup for money?
Of its own volition, the blade drove itself into the scabbard and snapped shut. She tried to draw it again but it appeared fused to the wood.
“Some people would kill for that,” Kaz mumbled.
Shay’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest. “It is bonded…” she breathed. She spun to face Kaz. “How--where did you get it? Why do you have it? Oh, are you okay? What happened? Are we safe? Do you have any food?”
“Shogens, girl, be quiet,” Kaz snapped, placing a hand on her forehead. She rose and held out her right palm. The sword leapt into her open hand.
Shay opened her mouth to unleash another barrage of questions. Her head was spinning.
“Just...silence, for a moment,” said the woman. Kaz took a deep breath and tentatively checked her wounds, wincing. Then her eyes widened. “How long have I been out?”
“I don’t know. I found you out there a little after dawn.” Shay pointed beyond the doors.
Kaz seemed to calculate something in her head. “You haven’t seen anyone?”
Shay’s head flitted around like an inquisitive dog. “Seen anyone? Like who?”
“Anyone that isn’t you or me.”
She shook her head: no.
Kaz groaned as she levered herself off the floor. When Shay offered a hand, she ignored it.
“I need to leave,” the woman said, already shuffling towards the door.
Shay was up on her feet, too. “We’re still going to Akimaru, right? How far is it?”
Kaz stopped just as she was sliding the door open. Her shoulders sunk and she turned to the girl. “Our contract--verbal agreement--is terminated. You’re on your own, girl.” Then she left the room. Just like that.
What in the name of all the shogens--
Shay raced out after her. “What are you talking about? We had a deal! You have my necklace! Wait! STOP!”
Her various injuries meant that, while shuffling with determination, Kaz was still shuffling.
Shay crossed the polished wooden floor and grabbed her arm. Kaz brushed her hand off with ease and snatched a handful of her robe. Her whole body tensed and she seemed ready to rage at the girl. But it passed just as quickly as it manifested.
“This is for you own good, Shay,” said Kaz, rescinding her grip. “It’s not safe. You’re a smart girl. You can make it Akimaru. You made it this far. Just...please, I can’t…”
Shay swallowed and looked up into the woman’s eyes. Though she had not known the woman long, she spotted something for the first time: fear. Kaz didn’t seem like someone who could get frightened. She killed those bandits, Retsudan’s soldiers, the ones who had hunted them in the strange vehicles.
“Why?” Shay said weakly.
Kaz said nothing, but drew her hand across her weary face. “There was a bosan here. He had killed t
he other monks. He would have killed me.”
“But he didn’t. You defeated him, right?”
A scoff echoed through the hall. “He’s dead, yes, but--”
“Why was he trying to kill you?”
“I don’t know. Probably because of what happened at the crossroads.”
Shay’s brow furrowed. “So...the strange woman without the mouth or Retusdan’s--”
“I don’t know and I don’t care. All it means is that more are surely coming and I can’t waste my time or risk my life further by running your errands.” Kaz dug into between her armour and withdrew the necklace. Her eyes practically devoured the dark krystallis. She averted her gaze and held it out to Shay. “Take it.”
Shay’s hand slowly reached out but stopped short. “Someone is hunting you?”
“Yes. Probably. I don’t know. Now take the damn thing.”
The obsidian krystallis twinkled in daylight. It dangled in front of them. Yes, it had been her mother’s, the only trinket Shay had to remind her of the woman, and she had given it away. If she took it back, then where was she supposed to go? Kaz was right: Shay had made it this far. Granted, jumping on the odd carriage or boat when she’d had money was not the most perilous outing in the more civilised south, but Zenitia was untamed and still feared by many. She had no money. Nothing. And giving that necklace away wasn’t a sign of desperation. It was her resolve. That she’d do anything to reach Akiamru. It was all she had.
“No,” said Shay. “No. I won’t.” Her hands clenched into tight fists. “You’re going to take me to Akimaru.” She locked eyes with Kaz. “I have to get there. You don’t understand...”
Kaz stood in silence. She relaxed her hand, the necklace jingling. “I may not even reach Akimaru, you know.”
“But you’ll be trying to, right?”
“There may be others like him,” said Kaz, nodding towards the effigy like it meant something. “More like the stalkers. Other...things.”
Shay straightened. “I don’t care. I know I can’t get there by myself--”
Kaz took a step forward. Even though she was only several inches taller than Shay, the woman seemed to tower over her in that moment. “And what will you do, if these people stand in your way?”
“I’ll fight,” she said, not even thinking through the response.
Kaz chewed over her answer. Shay felt like this was some kind of test. Had she passed?
“You’ll need a weapon, then.”
17
Kirral
Sometimes, being a kamen was the most glamorous occupation in all the land. There were times Gin had infiltrated high society banquets, languished in hot springs to glean top secret information, even ridden on an airship once and flung someone off the side (which had been determined as accidental from too much rice wine). But sometimes, he was in the dirt and cold. Like now.
You could always go back home, Gin.
He shuddered. That notion shook off any regrets. Gin shuffled around in the snow, lying on his stomach in a copse of trees, waiting for the thin man who’d nearly flung him to his death to resume his journey.
Since leaving the bandit encampment, Gin had been busy pursuing his target for the past couple of nights. The man had received no further communication. He had just bolted to the west on his keval, seemingly mindless in his task. The previous night, Gin had kept his distance. It was not that he did not trust in his sworn ability, but, given his quarry had his own abilities, you could never be sure if a form of detection was among them.
Figuratively and literally following in the man’s shadow did not paint a picture of him. He seldom rested--only a few hours at best--which meant Gin subsisted on little sleep. No problem. It came with the territory. But so far, the man had skirted towns and villages in favour of somewhere else. Gin didn’t fancy keeping up this blind chase forever--he may well be being played for a fool. He huffed and rose to his feet.
The thin man had made his camp a short distance away, in a small cave by a river, down a gradually sloping hill. A fire burned, throwing dancing light onto the pebbles by the sand. Gin slunk into the shadows and was at the entrance in moments. The keval, thankfully, did not sense him. He was tempted to slink out of the shadows and check its bulging saddlebags, but didn’t want to risk spooking the animal.
A series of unintelligible grunts bled into the night.
Ugh…
Gin strengthened his resolve and entered the cave. The man was hunched close to the fire, eating. Well, “eating” felt a tad generous. What few teeth remained gnawed and tore and ripped at the hunk of...meat? The scent of charred flesh filled his nostrils. A familiar stench, but one he could not place right now.
Focusing, he found no indicators of the man’s intentions around the cave. Not even a bedroll. He was about to call the whole thing quits when the man threw the meat over his shoulder. It landed a inches away from Gin’s incorporeal state. He examined the remnants. Mentally gagged.
An arm.
He recalled the bulging bag. Could have easily thrown up if he materialised. Managed to hold himself.
Shogens have mercy. What was this thing? He’d never known of a sworn having to eat flesh before. None of this made any damn sense.
He knew he should have left, but couldn’t help being morbidly fascinated by this emaciated enigma of a man. Stranger still, the camp light illuminated a peculiar glint on the back of his hand. Was that...krystallis? Crimson krystallis? Mudan’s krystallis…
Gin had never seen anything like it before. He’d heard of it, of Retsudan’s supposed experiments during the war of unification, but there was no hard proof, even in his circles, just rumours.
His head was spinning. Did this point to Saito’s sworn, was this Retsudan, or something or someone else entirely?
There had to be something here.
Gin exited the cave and returned close to the keval. In his ethereal form, he could not physically interact with anything, so was forced to materialise from the shadows. Lucky for him, the keval was busy nibbling at patches of grass that poked through the snow. Slowly, Gin crept up on the beast undetected--he was still a kamen after all.
His fingers deftly unravelled the cords tying up the saddlebag.
This time, he did gag. More body parts.
After sealing it up as quietly as he could, he checked the other satchel. Success...hopefully. There was a rectangular letter. He pinched its side and drew it out, silently unfolding the parchment.
A declaration for a right of passage.
“Akimaru…” he whispered to himself.
The keval didn’t like that. It neighed and whirled on him, mouth foaming.
Shogens, it was as mad as its owner. The only solace was that the beast was on a short leash. It tried to take a chunk out of him but he sidestepped the bite.
Scrambling in the cave. The man’s shadow shortened.
Gin was already gone.
The man stared around. Looked in Gin’s general direction but surely couldn’t see him. He uttered something to the keval and then struck the beast across his hairy flank. The beast quietened. The man’s face scrunched up. He inspected the open saddlebag. Pulled out the letter. Glanced around before putting it back. Took a piece of flesh from the other bag.
Gin thanked and cursed the shogens in equal measure before making his escape. Akimaru was not far.
◆◆◆
Kaz and Shay were on the back of the keval, trotting along a path that would finally take them out of the accursed Sea of Spears. With every undulation of the saddle, one of her injuries from the battle with Hanza introduced itself once again. Kaz’s eyes struggled to stay open; her body rocked and slunk forward. In her palm she held the girl’s necklace, its obsidian surface refracted the shafts of bamboo, turning its many faces into dozens of miniature prisons.
There had been blessed silence for some time, but Kaz knew it was too good to last. However, when Shay finally spoke, she couldn’t really blame her. Maybe because she was
just too knackered to put up much of a front any more.
“Where are we going?” Shay asked. Her head attempted to peek around Kaz’s slumped shoulder.
Kaz inhaled a lungful of air to try and wake herself. When that failed, she slapped herself across the cheek.
Shay eeped.
It was worth a try.
“Kirral,” Kaz said. Her finger lazily pointed ahead of them. “It’s a village, north of where we’ll exit.” She swallowed. “It’s out of the way. Retsudan’s soldiers don’t reach there. We just… We’ll just follow the river a little way…”
“Oh.. Okay.”
Kaz could tell she had more questions in her ready to burst like overripe fruit.
“Just say it, girl.”
She felt Shay shuffle behind her. “Will you tell me what happened? Who you fought? Why they want you dead?”
“He was one of Restudan’s soldiers. I don’t know how he found me. Retribution for what happened with the carriage. I don’t know. Can’t think.”
“Will there be more?” Shay’s voice was tight.
Kaz shrugged. “Knowing them. Yes. And they won’t stop until I’m dead.”
That was the moment exhaustion finally won and Kaz shut her eyes.
◆◆◆
Shay had thought the woman had died when she’d nodded off, her declaration being a foreboding portent just before Kagen’s fingers closed to snuff out her life. However, the slight rise and fall of Kaz’s shoulders told her that she was very much still tethered with the living. The problem now was how she was supposed to navigate the damn keval to their destination. The feat required her to slowly and carefully shimmy the woman back on the saddle so that Shay could scramble around and take her place.
With the reins in her hand while supporting Kaz behind her, a rush of pride overran Shay. Here she was, navigating a keval through a bamboo forest, the wilderness all around her.
Then came the shame and guilt to dampen the whole thing.
Was the fact Kaz nearly died her fault? Had she brought someone to that shrine to kill her? By acting like a child, refusing to let the woman go, had she just damned Kaz to death?