Vendetta

by James Somers

Dispatched

  Of all the countries Sadie had ever visited, Japan was, perhaps, the smallest and most beautiful. The island nation, created by volcanism, was still shrouded in an ancient refinement. Even as the twentieth century marched on, the Land of the Rising Sun remained anchored firmly in its brutal past and elegant traditions.

  The war in the Pacific was now at its height, even as Germany began to crumble around Hitler. It was expected that the Fuhrer’s days were already numbered. The Allies would march across his doorstep very soon.

  Consequently, Sadie had considered whether she should devote more effort toward killing Adolf before he could be captured. However, captured or not, he wasn’t going anywhere. He was mortal and subject to the world because of it.

  No longer could the spiritual plane be used as a safe haven. The place she had known all of her young life as home was now gone. In its place remained a void. And, while portal constructs could be fixed upon the boundaries for speedy travel beyond human sight, it was home no longer to any Descendants.

  Elves and dwarves, as well as what remained of the trolls and Leprechauns, the Lycans and the vampires and others, all had to reside in the mortal world. The remnants of Descendant clans now kept themselves hidden from humans, their numbers too few to ever hope of fighting for dominance again. In many ways, Sadie understood just how short their time was in the world.

  However, the angel she was tracking might just as easily disappear for decades at a time. It had been that way already several times. Years would go by without any conclusive evidence that the Fallen were actively involved in the world, and then they would suddenly show up.

  Most of those occurrences had caught her and her family and friends completely by surprise. The last surprise had been the worst in Sadie’s opinion. Southresh had come to the court of the Shade King in order to impersonate her father and kill Brian Shade. Her mother had been present, attempting to stop what was happening. Southresh had taken her life also.

  Still, it had been decades since that had happened. The first World War in Europe had only just begun at the time. Now, the second might be drawing near to a close, if all went as was expected.

  Sadie didn’t pretend to care about the war. This was a matter to be decided by humans. They were always at war with one another. Truth be told, she couldn’t find a better record with the Descendants either. But this particular fight was not hers. She only wanted Southresh and Adolf dead for what they had done to her mother and father.

  She had been able to track the angel by way of his human host, the Japanese assassin, Toshima. He had meandered across the country with various military leaders who were part of the ruling oligarchy in Japan. Sometimes he traveled alone, sometimes with others. And, while his movements were not broadcast to the public, Sadie was tapped into a group of healers here.

  Just as they had settled in many other Asian countries like Tibet, because this was the normal human appearance they possessed, so they had also taken residence in Japan. Had it not been for her connections to the healers upon the spiritual plane decades ago when she had trained as a young princess, they would not have given her the time of day now. But she was known and well liked.

  Her mother, Queen Sophia, had once kept strong relations with the healing clans. Even as far back as her grandfather, Lycean, a mutually beneficial trust had been cultivated with healers holding numerous positions in the royal court of the Lycans. All of this despite a naturally healthy regenerative ability in werewolves.

  The healers had never forgotten their ties to the Lycans and the city of Tidus. Only its destruction, along with all of the kingdoms of the spiritual plane, had forced them to make the human world their permanent home. As with all of the remaining Descendants, they were refugees who feared discovery by a population of humans who were growing increasingly dangerous to themselves and others.

  Sadie had now followed Toshima to Horyu-ji in Ikaruga within Japan’s Nara Prefecture. Here stood the Temple of the Flourishing Law, a Buddhist temple laid out among several buildings with their adjoining courtyards. Several of the world’s oldest wooden buildings could be found on this historical site along with a number of Japan’s national treasures.

  She had remained outside the perimeter wall, waiting for night to come. A waning moon peeked from behind drifting low hanging clouds. It was relatively dark, but Sadie had no trouble seeing with her Lycan eyes.

  Toshima had arrived three hours earlier by car. Exiting with two other gentlemen she did not recognize, the angel in disguise accompanied the men inside the squat Kondo with its curving double roof. Behind this structure, the five story Pagoda loomed tall like a big brother threatening any unwelcome guests.

  Sadie decided to not come at the Kondo from the front. She spent the next five minutes rounding the temple compound. She found a spot where she was obscured by shrubbery at the outside of the wall. With night fully upon the temple, she took a few deep breaths, deciding whether she really meant to do this.

  After all, the similarity to Oliver James’ death in China could not be overlooked. What if she was walking into a trap? She thought of her mother, of the mad god in the guise of her father killing her. Her anger kindled afresh.

  So what if she was walking into a trap? She hadn’t come all this way for nothing. No way was she just going to turn around and skulk home like a whipped pup with its tale between its legs. Trap or not, she had Malak-esh with her. She was young and full of fire, but not inexperienced. Even if she faced death, she would not be dissuaded.

  With a push of her legs, Sadie sprang up and over the wall as nimbly as a deer. She landed on the soft grass on the other side with barely a sound. To her surprise, a man was rounding a nearby building smoking a cigarette. She had been so preoccupied with mustering her courage that she had neglected the scent.

  Quick as a flash, Sadie darted out, snatching the man by the head. Before he could utter a sound, she snapped his neck with a sickening crack. His body went instantly rigid and then limp as an old rag. She pulled his body out of plain sight tucking him between the perimeter wall and the small building.

  No one else was presently nearby. Sadie took her werewolf form, creeping low in the darkness, her padded paws making no sound. Steadily she drew nearer to the tall Pagoda.

  She paused. Two monks were walking a path nearby. They had not spotted her. She remained motionless, barely breathing. The men spoke in hushed tones, though not conspiratorially. Just polite conversation. They remained unaware of her presence, and she let them pass on before moving forward again.

  Running now as she neared the Pagoda, Sadie leaped as a wolf, transformed in flight and landed upon the first story roof light as a feather, diminishing her impact as her body folded down to crouch there. No reaction. No one in the courtyard to see her.

  She sprang away again, taking the form of an eagle in flight. A short glide and she landed near the spire on the second tier roof. Here a sliding window allowed her to enter the Kondo.

  In human form again, Sadie made her way cautiously down toward the main floor. She quickly emerged on a landing that overlooked the large open room. A number of diplomats were in the process of watching geisha dancers upon a low square platform around which they all sat. Toshima was seated upon the floor with them.

  Presently, his back was to her. She could not have asked for better circumstances. The men were preoccupied with the women weaving through complex maneuvers before them. Somehow this was meant to be sensual, but Sadie did not understand it. Neither did she care.

  Her quarry was seated before her unaware. His back was like a painted target just begging for her to launch herself away from the balcony, Malak-esh in hand to bury it between his shoulder blades. Only one thing was stopping her. This all seemed too easy.

  The geishas had ended their dance by now. They found their respective diplomats for the evening and sat down with them, pouring Sake rice wine into porcelain cups, fawning over the men as they were paid to do. The scene made Sadie want to
wretch. Deplorable behavior, she thought.

  Was this what normally went on inside of a Buddhist temple? She did not hold with the religion herself, but felt quite sure geisha girls would be considered out of place here. Undoubtedly, a great sum of money had been given in order to have the building for the evening. Either this or the monks feared to displease the leaders of their country for fear of reprisal.

  Onto the square platform came a monk in orange robes. His arms were free of loose hanging garments and he was carrying a bunch of silk handkerchiefs of varying colors. His feet were bare also.

  The monk came to stand in the middle of the platform where all could see. Sadie assumed he must be about to perform for them also, and she was not wrong. The monk took his bunch of handkerchiefs and tossed them as one into the air above his head. A strange new dance had begun.

  Several hand drummers began to play as the colored silks came apart in the air like a flock of brightly plumed birds, revealing a total number of twelve. Sadie had counted them almost instantly, despite the quick and varied movements they made. The monk now whirled around and gesticulated wildly, moving with balletic grace among the silks, snatching them from the grip of gravity to toss them, one by one, back into the air.

  To the casual observer the monk might have appeared to be dancing within an excited swarm of multicolored jellyfish. As each silk handkerchief drifted down toward the floor, he plucked them back to the air, never allowing even one to sink below his waist. Sadie had to admit that it was an impressive display, especially for a human. He knew precisely where each silk was at all times and never made a grasp without finding the exact one he had been reaching for.

  So entrancing was the monk’s whirling silken dance that Sadie almost did not notice the subtle movement which now took place within the Kondo. Men were moving among the shadows, men dressed completely in black. Ninja she realized.

  To the dulled senses of humans these men would have seemed virtually invisible, undetectable. But Sadie heard every gentle breath, every rustling of the black fabric, every soft footfall upon the wooden floor. She saw them also, their ability to meld with shadow lost on her preternatural sight. Even in the darkness of the Kondo’s upper rooms and balcony, she viewed them plain as day.

  Unfortunately, they saw her also. It might have been reasonable to assume, with so many Japanese dignitaries present in the room below, that one or all of them were to be assassinated tonight. But Sadie knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was their target.

  A dozen assassins were closing in. Already weapons had come into their hands. At least four of the twelve, approaching along the catwalk that ringed the open space above the lower floor, had their hands raised above their shoulders, fingers gripping the corded hilts of their swords. Four others had produced bows and were nocking black arrows with fletches made of raven feathers.

  Two others came toward her with bamboo rods in their hands—blowguns with poison tipped darts. They might only incapacitate her, or they might kill. She didn’t want to find out which.

  The last two, which were the closest to her position, brandished handfuls of shuriken. Hurled at frightening velocity, these spiked discs of metal had prongs that could pierce deep enough to reach the heart and might also be covered in a poison residue. At any rate, all of the assassins carried deadly potential. But they would have to catch her first.

  As yet, none of the guests below had noticed anything amiss above them. Toshima’s back was still to her. However, if she didn’t act fast everything would be ruined. She might not get this chance again.

  Still, Sadie waited. She had not yet brought out Malak-esh. Once it was free, the energetic glow of the mercurial blade would draw the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Alerted too soon, Southresh might choose to flee rather than face her. After all, he had been careering all over the island, so far. He surely wasn’t so dense that he did not realize she was pursuing him. She had already drawn the blade on him at two other times over the past six months only to have him evade and escape.

  She made her decision. Southresh must know that she might come for him tonight, even if only the possibility. Why else would these Ninja be waiting for her? She would wait no longer.

  Sadie thrust her hands out to either side. The Ninja had trapped themselves on the catwalk. They had limited choices when it came to fleeing. Of course, they likely saw it from the other side of the things: that she wouldn’t be able to escape them. But they hadn’t known that their quarry could unleash fire upon them.

  Flames burst from her outstretched hands in both directions, flowing toward the oncoming assassins in a wave of searing heat that forced them to back-pedal quickly. But there was nowhere to go.

  Several caught fire and began screaming. Stealth ended there. Sadie leaped from the catwalk as arrows and darts and shurikens were sent after her in pursuit. But she was too quick for them.

  Wings burst from her arms as she took the form of an eagle in flight, sent herself swooping up and sideways and then spun left. Flying projectiles attempted to take her down all along the way, but unsuccessfully. She pulled hard right then tumbled mid-air, becoming an agile lemur.

  Catching a support pillar with her long arms, she spun round it and down to the floor. Another black arrow shaft slammed into the floor next to her foot, quivering in the wood. The lemur sprang toward the company who had, moments ago, been seated upon the floor being entertained.

  Panic had since taken over after the gouts of flame high above them and the screams of dying men. The diplomats, perhaps already fearing assassination, scattered like roaches from light. Only Toshima remained. Everyone else was running for cover.

  Malak-esh appeared in Sadie’s hand as she became human again. In her peripheral vision she saw the half dozen Ninjas who were still willing and able to come after her. They dropped from the catwalk to the ground floor below a bit unsteadily due to the height. But they were still standing and still coming at their master Toshima’s request.

  More projectiles came after her as she ran toward Southresh in his human guise. He was staring sternly at her, waiting, willing her on. This was a trap. She knew it, but she still would not flee this place.

  Sadie shielded herself against attacks coming hurriedly from the Ninja. Her defensive wards dealt easily with the projectiles. Instead of a bubble of energy to repel attacks as her father had learned from Oliver James long ago, she now employed a technique that Cole had picked up from Laish and then taught her.

  Protective wards had been established previous to her coming here. These proximity triggered spells used certain amounts of power either at the time they protected her, or at the time when they were cast. Sadie had utilized both methods. She had placed several very draining wards three days ago when she felt no present danger would force her to fight. She had slept a lot since, trying to replenish her energies.

  However, she had also employed spell wards that took energy right now. Those were meant to deal with magical attacks if Southresh should have any spell casters working for him as bodyguards. Unlikely, but it was best to be safe. Most likely these would not be necessary and would not cost her energy while fighting the angel.

  The other wards—those which used up energy already given—worked now to destroy the Ninja’s arrows and darts and shuriken. These were nicely vaporized when they came within a meter of her person. However, the energy contained within these wards would dwindle to nothing as more attacks came. She was safe from these attacks temporarily, but only temporarily.

  She decided that there was no use drawing out this fight. Sadie had no lectures to give, no witticisms to bandy around, and no threats or conveyances of her deep emotional turmoil over the loss of her mother at Southresh’s hands. She just wanted him dead, which meant his mortal host killed and Southresh banished back to Tartarus.

  Southresh raised his hands as Sadie crossed the floor toward him. Green sparks of energy flowed along and between his fingers. What was he thinking? Did he not realize the weapon s
he held?

  Sadie decided that she might be acting predictably. This was a terrible weakness when facing an intelligence like one of the Fallen. Angels were naturally more powerful and cunning than Descendants or humans.

  If this had been a chess game, Southresh would be thinking ten or twenty moves ahead of her. She couldn’t do what came natural. He would always outwit her. He would always know what a logical course of action was for her. The only way to defeat that intelligence was to do something ludicrous.

  Sadie charged the energies of Malak-esh with her mind. The mercurial blade reacted faithfully to her call, beginning to glow brightly with pent up power. She noted the position of everyone in the room at that moment and then attacked.

  Malak-esh spun away from Sadie’s outstretched hand. Southresh, confused by the move, dodged quickly out of the way. Sadie vanished in that same instant, even as Southresh attempted to lash out with an attack of green lightning. Finding no Sadie, the lightning surged on into the Ninja which had been coming at her with his sword raised over his head to strike.

  The charge hit the man’s sword first, conducted along the blade to his body and blasted him backward off of his feet in the opposite direction. Southresh looked miffed by this. He turned back to find that the sword had cut an arc through the air and struck another of his assassins. The blade then vanished as its victim dropped dead to the wooden floor.

  Sadie and Malak-esh then appeared together near another one of the Ninjas in the room. Surprised by her sudden materialization, the black clad assassin whipped his blade from the scabbard strapped across his back and lunged at her. Angel Fire glowed brightly with power. Sadie cut through his blade and then the man himself, vanishing again before Southresh could mount another attack.

  This was odd. She shouldn’t have abandoned her primary target. She had already proven that her protective wards could defend her from the Ninja’s projectile attacks. All she had to deal with was fighting the angel. Southresh didn’t understand why she wasn’t then doing just that.

  Sadie then appeared where no Ninja was waiting. Exactly where Southresh had not been looking. Logically, since she intended to take down the assassins first, he had expected her to teleport to each and kill them. He had taken the fraction of a second necessary to then focus upon the three who were left only to be disappointed now.

  However, Sadie hurled her blade with deadly position at Southresh again, the blade glowing white hot. He didn’t have time to hit the weapon with an energy attack. It wouldn’t have stopped Malak-esh anyway. All he could do was get out of the way.

  But even as he dodged to safety again, he realized that the girl’s attack had shown a two-fold objective. Either to kill him, or take down another of his henchmen. He had saved himself, but another Ninja had been in the line of fire. This man was hit by the sword before it disappeared yet again.

  Southresh was growing frustrated now, a feeling he did not enjoy in the least. He was the mad god. He was not outwitted by mortals—and yet. He decided to change the game himself.

  His power erupted outward now like a tidal wave, a hurricane’s fury unleashed in one moment. Everything within the Kondo was instantly set ablaze. Then the shockwave of force coming off of Southresh’s mortal host pummeled the structure. The two story Kondo flew apart, splintered shards of burning wood flying in every direction away from the Japanese assassin standing in the midst of its charred parquet floor.

  There were no Ninja left now. Southresh had killed the remaining two with his outburst. The wooden walls of the Kondo had been laid flat all around. The curved double roof and the open upper story had been scattered upward and outward across the entire temple complex. Even the Pagoda behind the Kondo had been set ablaze and its structure damaged by the blast. It was beginning to lean dangerously already as monks came from all directions to investigate the calamity the angel had wrought.

  However, much to his chagrin, the girl was nowhere to be found. Even such a furious attack shouldn’t have killed her so easily. He might have expected her to be caught somewhere in the conflagration and be knocked unconscious or grievously wounded, but not incinerated.

  She appeared suddenly before him, casting several fireballs from her fists as they beat the air furiously. Then she vanished, reappearing to his right, screaming and hurling more fireballs from that direction. She vanished again, appeared behind him and did the same again.

  But Southresh deflected the power of these easily. After all, fire was his particular gift. He had to give her credit for using the ability carried down from her father. It was brazen, and he liked that, but foolish. He laughed.

  The fireballs grew larger and larger as her vanishing, reappearing, and fireball attack continued. But he only grew more amused, deflecting these. It was like a child furiously hurling snowballs at its parent. The effort was inconsequential—a waste of energy. At least, until the last came.

  Southresh had been so amused by her pitiful effort, that he hadn’t expected what was hidden inside her last fireball. The spinning form of Malak-esh had been hurled at him, surrounded by an envelope of fire to disguise it. Southresh scattered this fire like the others. But the blade came on through.

  Toshima stood with Malak-esh buried to the hilt in his chest. His eyes lowered to the weapon, his expression the height of bewilderment. How could this have happened? How could she have outsmarted him?

  Sadie walked around to face the angel, leaving the blade where she had driven it. He sank to his knees amid the burning wreckage of the Kondo building. Monks stood at a distance unsure whether they should risk approaching. They stayed away. The fire spreading at the five story Pagoda building quickly drew their attention away.

  Southresh looked at her until his human host failed in strength and he could no longer stay upright. He fell forward, unable to brace for the impact, and hit the charred boards hard. Sadie did not flinch. She did not remove the sword.

  Instead, she waited, watching Toshima’s body. She saw nothing to indicate that the angel had passed from his host. Saw nothing to indicate that he had been sucked away back into the angelic prison of Tartarus. Malak-esh continued to burn with power in the wound. Sadie simply stood there until Toshima’s entire body had burned to ash around the sword. When the breeze finally began to blow away what was left of him, she vanished. Angel Fire went with her.