Takeo's Chronicles, page 175
“I envy their sacrifice already. And what will you do?”
“I’ll head to the Phan fortress and collect up the soldiers there. I’ll bring them with me and meet you in the Ngo lands.”
“No one will stay behind to guard the Phan fortress?” Kuniko asked.
Takeo shook his head.
“There won’t be anything left to guard.”
Kuniko nodded, enough to make it a small bow, which was the best she could do in her state. Takeo left the tent and made for his next destination. His guards followed him, and he was glad there would be witnesses. There was one more thing to do before Takeo headed off to the Phan fortress, and his nerves sat on edge at the mere thought of it.
Tokhta and the rest of the oni, now returned to full strength, had made their own camp apart from the humans. It wasn’t much of a camp, though. The oni didn’t need shelter or sleep like mortals did, or even food as far as Takeo knew. Sometimes he wondered if they only ate for flavor and entertainment because, by all rights, he’d never heard of an oni going hungry.
Regardless, they were easy to find. Tokhta strolled out ahead of the others to greet their new lord. A wicked grin of triumph stained his hideous face.
“You’re back,” the oni said.
Takeo stopped just shy of the creature, uncomfortably close in comparison to the normal distance he held between them. The intense gaze Takeo put on Tokhta was a dead giveaway that not all was well in the world. Tokhta’s grin slipped away.
Takeo drew his sword and held it out.
“Explain this,” he demanded.
“Ah, it has returned to you,” Tokhta replied. “I thought you’d be pleased.”
“How?” Takeo went on. “I watched this thing get swallowed into the ground. Wasn’t that the deal? This sword for your servitude?”
“Well, that was the original deal, yes. Specifically, it was your soul for our servitude. The sword was merely supposed to be the medium. We couldn’t care less about it, really. However, there was a problem. The current contract on your life wouldn’t be broken. So, we had to alter the deal. Your soul stays with the sword for now, and we will take you after its task is complete.”
Takeo paused, trying to unravel the jumble of words Tokhta had thrown at him. It was getting harder to think as images of Gavin’s mangled face began to surface in his mind.
“What are you saying?” Takeo replied. “That you extended a line of credit on my soul?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Tokhta said, nodding. “But, well, we couldn’t just take the jinni’s word for it. We needed some sort of payment now, and the jinni was happy to settle on another. So, we altered the deal, and everything went better than expected. I thought you’d be happy to keep your sword.”
“You. . . you mean,” Takeo started, mouth dry, cogs turning slowly in his head. “You mean you took another soul? I agreed to give up my sword, and instead you took . . . him?”
“That was the jinni's offer. It seemed a bargain at the time. Is that a problem?”
Until this point, Takeo had been trying hard to keep himself hollow. Through decades of training, he had worked out the ability to keep himself numb to emotion, mostly. It didn’t always work, and lately he’d had to rely on the fiery magic of his sword to block out his feelings, just to continue thinking straight. He was holding his sword right now, too, and by all accounts, he should have felt nothing.
Yet, as the realization washed over him that he’d traded Gavin’s life for an oni warband, there was nothing powerful enough to contain his rage.
Takeo screamed and lunged at Tokhta, slicing the oni across the belly in a flash. Black blood and guts spilled out onto the grass, the flesh hissing as the enchanted blade burned where it struck. Tokhta moaned his shock and pain, thrusting a hand up in defense, only to have it severed in one strike. The hand went flying, twisting in the air and sending spirals of black blood all around. Tokhta went to his knees, losing strength as Takeo made two more cuts in rapid fashion, ripping the blade down the oni’s other arm and then cutting him across the chest. Takeo roared and drove his blade into the oni’s neck, and the creature’s throat filled with blood.
The oni toppled over, spilling blackness over the field, and Takeo leapt onto the creature’s mass. Again and again and again Takeo stabbed down, perforating Tokhta’s corpse and screaming his rage, soaking himself with oni blood. Smoke wafted from his blade, burning and hissing with the deluge of black liquid.
On either side, the oni and the humans watched in stunned silence. The oni shared confused glances, seemingly unsure if they should intervene. The humans did similar, only they watched the remaining oni, too, ready to protect their lord with their lives if the need arose.
When finally Takeo was finished, he breathed heavily and snarled at the mutilated corpse. He tried to take in this betrayal and all it had cost him, but he couldn't do it. The pain was too great, and his heart had no more room for torment. He stared at Tokhta’s corpse and felt nothing at all.
Yet his gaze was so full of ire that when he looked up to the surviving oni, those closest took a step back.
Takeo thought about it, but there was no use in killing them all. That wouldn’t bring Gavin back. Plus, they had stayed put and watched as they were supposed to do. Takeo was their lord, and he could do whatever he liked with the lives of those beneath him, including kill them in cold blood.
“Follow me,” he demanded.
He stepped off Tokhta’s corpse and strode off, his human and oni guards in his wake.
Chapter 19
Takeo and the other humans rode to the Phan fortress, while the oni traveled by foot. Despite being slower, the oni could travel day and night, disregarding sleep, so they weren’t long in arriving after Takeo.
A messenger pixiu had been sent ahead, foretelling the general’s arrival, so things were prepared for the ronin. Lady Anagarika had a special tent set up for all the superior officers and remaining daimyo, plus all the soldiers lined up and ready to be inspected if need be.
Not that Takeo bothered with such things. He always saw inspections as a superficial display of interest. He remembered standing in a line, at the ready, all cleaned and trim and proper, waiting for his lord to walk by and give him nothing but a glance, as if a mere stare like that could have any bearing on Takeo’s ability to operate as a soldier. No, the only thing that mattered was results, so that’s all Takeo wanted to see the moment he arrived.
He’d left specific instructions that the lone Phan tower be tunneled under. It was difficult work, what with the ground being more rock than dirt in this area, but Lady Anagarika had had time and labor in abundance. She’d worked her soldiers day and night in rotating shifts, just as Takeo had suggested, and they’d more than completed the task.
They’d selected a tunnel site as close to the tower as possible, just out of bow range, to minimize the amount of digging, and had excavated. They’d tunneled under all sides, supporting the place with heavy timbers and even re-purposed stone rubble. Unfortunately, what they were meant to find did not exist. Unlike most towers, this one did not have a basement, so there went Takeo’s plan to break into the tower from below.
All this was explained to Takeo as he toured the mines alongside Anagarika and the head officer in charge of mapping their progress.
“As you can see, my lord,” the man said, rotating his map. “We’re now directly underneath the tower, and we’ve excavated completely under it. I’ve had to use every wooden beam you’ve sent me to keep our progress up. We haven't found a single weak point. We’ve even experimented with the floor—the tower’s floor—but the stones they used there are just as thick as the walls.”
“Yes,” Takeo replied, looking about the place, illuminated only by candlelight. “They’d have to be, to hold up a place like this. Lady Anagarika.”
“Yes, my lord?”
“When you returned here, I had a prisoner sent with you. Do you remember him?”
She blinked, thought some more, then quietly shook her head.
“Wait,” she piped up. “Yes, I do seem to recall now. That strange man I always seem to forget.”
“His name is Aiguo Mein. Have this officer go fetch the man and meet us outside the tunnel.”
The officer dashed off, while Takeo and Anagarika strolled to the entrance. She had the good sense to look solemn as they walked, understanding that even though she’d done everything Takeo had asked, Lord Seiji Nguyen was still alive, and that meant she had failed in her duty.
Well, almost.
Back out in the fresh air, Takeo found he’d allowed the officer sufficient time to fulfill his request. Aiguo Mein, arms and ankles still shackled, awaited the ronin’s arrival on his knees, already bowed low.
“Ah, my lord,” Aiguo began.
The officer delivered a swift kick to Aiguo’s side.
“You will wait until you are spoken to, thief,” the officer swore.
“Thief?” Takeo said. “Do you know this man’s crime?”
The officer paused, then shook his head.
“Um, no, my lord,” he said. “I’ve never seen this man before in my life. I just assumed he was a thief, either in the literal sense or the figurative. If he’s not stolen an item, then he’s robbed you of honor by disobedience. Either way, the word thief applies.”
“I like that perspective. Now release him.”
The officer hesitated, but only for a fraction of a second, then quickly barked an order to the other soldiers. Without a key, the shackles had to be broken, but fortunately there were plenty of tools nearby.
“Stand,” Takeo ordered.
Aiguo rose, shaking and rubbing his wrists. He bowed low.
“Against all odds,” Takeo began, “I have to admit that you told the truth. You were tricked into freeing Qadir, and you’ve done all you can on your end to help me. I made a promise that so long as you were useful to me, I’d spare you, right?”
“I do recall those words, my lord,” Aiguo replied. “However, my life is yours to do with as you wish.”
“Brave to say that, knowing what I think of you. Or perhaps not brave, but simply calculated, knowing that if I wanted you dead, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
Aiguo kept silent, head bowed, shielding his forgettable face from Takeo’s probing gaze, yet displaying the image of a most docile servant.
“Let’s continue the bargain, then,” Takeo said. “I have plans for you, plans that will require you to operate independently, far from my reach. Specifically, I have a rakshasa that needs to be hunted down. You know their kind well, so you understand that you’ll need to be smart, even wicked. So, prove your worth. How would you bring this tower down by the end of the day?”
The officer quickly shared the information about the tunnel with Aiguo, who mulled over and studied the entrance. The stakes were high because Aiguo knew that Takeo had already deduced the answer to this puzzle, perhaps long ago, and if Aiguo couldn’t keep up, he would be left behind—as a corpse.
“I see you were excessive with the timber supports,” Aiguo said.
“That’s ridiculous,” the officer replied. “The ground is heavy here, and the tower heavier. If I’d used less, the place would collapse.”
“And what’s wrong with that?”
The officer blinked, then raised his eyebrows, taking a moment to calculate the implications.
“But,” he ventured, cautiously, “what about the men who’d be assigned to collapse it? We’d lose them. And we’d have to collapse the entire place at once. I don’t know if it can be done. You’re clearly not an engineer.”
“Engineer, bah! Do you think Qadir had engineers disperse barrels of oil about this place to burn it down? No, because you don’t need to be an engineer to realize wood burns. Did you find any?”
“I’m sorry?”
“The oil that Seiji used to burn the city. Surely you’ve searched the city and found a few barrels that survived the fire.”
Again, a pause ensued as the officer caught up.
“Well, yes,” the man said. “Yes, that . . . that could work.”
Aiguo glanced at Takeo, this time raising his chin triumphantly. Takeo gave a short nod in response.
“You’ve escaped death once more,” Takeo replied. “Stay with the officer and see that everything goes well.”
“Thy will be done, my lord,” Aiguo replied with a bow.
Takeo and Lady Anagarika returned to the main camp, which had been moved to inside the city. This was a wise decision, as now the camp had the Phan city walls as added protection in case a Nguyen army came to lift the siege. News spreading that no Nguyen threat remained, as Takeo had crushed their main fortress in a single day, in a single hour, and the once untouchable Lord Xianliang Nguyen was dead. Ever since that news had arrived, Anagarika had sent messages to the lone Phan tower, begging Seiji to give up the fight and submit himself and his family to Takeo’s will.
Takeo put a stop to that. No mercy would be shown here. Seiji’s chance to surrender had passed.
If Gavin didn’t get to live, then none of them did.
To pass the time, Takeo strode up to the Phan city walls and took up a place to watch what was to come. He chose a spot with a clear view of the tower and the Hanu army. The camp was a hive of activity in their lord’s presence. When last Takeo had left, they’d suffered a terrible defeat, but now he was back and on the heels of a marvelous victory. Now rumors were spreading that barrels of oil were being drug down into the mines, and soldiers began to vie for their own vantage points.
The best part, however, was when a special escort arrived, which Takeo had not expected to see so soon. Young Pleiades Shaw, still wrapped in bandages and limping, had been brought to the camp and presented to Takeo.
“My lord,” the escort officer said, bowing. “The doctor said she needed more time to rest, but you demanded this child be brought to you the moment she could walk.”
Takeo nodded as he examined Pleiades. He’d forgotten how literally his orders were taken these days.
Her left arm was completely wrapped, more so than his. Each finger had been set back into place, presumably, and it would be some time before she could begin training with a weapon. She’d been wrapped in a full-length kimono, which covered most of her bruises and fresh scars, except for the thick ring around her neck and the gash along her forehead. That had been unfortunate, really, but he had warned her to stay still. Thankfully, as young as she was, most of these would heal and fade over time. Takeo had done his best to prevent the scars from showing with age. He didn’t want the marks to stay, just the memory of the pain.
And it seemed what he’d done had worked. The girl, once so full of entitlement and weakness, now looked far more watchful and stoic. She did not look directly at Takeo anymore in defiance. She looked at his feet, or at his hands, and flinched when he moved. Her eyes were purposeful now, mistrusting. The illusion of protection that had once sheltered her, that had made her believe the world was a warm and welcoming place, was shattered. She understood now, as Takeo understood, that reality was not forgiving. Pleasure was a gift; pain a certainty.
He raised his good arm towards her. She drew away.
“Come,” he commanded.
Pleiades blinked. Even at such a young age, the beauty of her parents was beginning to shine through. It was easy for an adult to look at her and see nothing but innocence and, in return, treat her with a gentle hand. She’d been used to that, too, until now. Her eyes bore down on the hand Takeo held out, and memories came.
But she was also smart. Smart enough to know the consequences of disobedience.
Pleiades inched forward until Takeo could catch her shoulder and draw her close to him. He knelt down and met her eye to eye. His pitch black versus her soft hazel.
“Who am I?” he asked.
Pleiades sniffled and trembled slightly in his grip.
“Takeo Karaoshi,” she said. “The Dark Lord.”
“Hm, been listening to the soldiers, have you?” he said, smiling. “Good. It pays to be observant. But I want you to call me something else. From now on, you can call me Uncle, okay?”
She stood motionless.
“Your father and I, we were close,” Takeo went on. “I know you don’t understand, or maybe believe that, but I’m the closest thing to family you have left. You and I, we’ve had a rough start, and you don’t realize what I’m doing is for your own good. Your life was so important to your father that he sacrificed himself to save you. That means you’re important to me, too, because if you die, then he’ll have died for nothing. And we can’t have that now, can we?”
Mentioning Gavin brought fresh tears to Pleiades eyes. Takeo brushed one away.
“Daddy?” she asked.
“He’s gone now,” Takeo said, “and he won’t be coming back. There’s only you and me and the future. It’s going to be a bright future, you’ll see, but not yet. For now, it will be dark and brutal, and I’ll need you to survive to see the end of it. I see now that my dream for your father can live on through you, but I’ll need you to be stronger than your parents were. Perhaps you'll need to be stronger than me. Life for you will be a series of lessons. The first of which you’ve already survived, admirably. The second is waiting just ahead in that tower. Look.”
Takeo turned her towards the Phan tower and pointed.
“Some lessons can only be learned firsthand, but wise people learn equally well from the mistakes of others. You see, in that tower is a family of people who chose to defy me. That is a mistake, perhaps the worst one can make these days. You see those men there? See the torchlight? Watch what happens.”
Takeo had pointed out the tunnel officer and a small group of men around the tunnel’s entrance. The oil had finished being distributed, and all that was left was to start the fire. A bright torch was lit and then tossed into the tunnel’s mouth. Orange flames sprang to life, burning the oil first, and then slowly but surely catching onto the wooden supports. The flames disappeared into the ground.
