Takeo's Chronicles, page 59
“We’re coming, my lady,” the guard grunted. He pulled his arm back and shouted at another to try. That one’s arm didn’t reach either, and it was yanked back through. Then she heard counting.
A heavy slam against the door echoed throughout the chamber. The iron bar twisted in its support.
“Again!” the guard yelled.
Another slam, yet the bar didn’t move. Neither stone nor iron gave, and the ninja’s eyes narrowed with a smile. It stepped into the shadows, and Zhenzhen pressed into the bars of the nearest cage.
“You won’t get out of here alive,” she said. “Let me live, and I’ll extend the favor.”
It didn’t stop.
“Whatever you’re being paid, I’ll double it,” she begged.
It continued.
“Triple!” she screeched.
It lunged.
Zhenzhen leapt to the side, falling to the stone floor, narrowly avoiding the dagger as it scrapped against the iron bars. From the other side, Oiu whimpered and jumped at the violence.
“At least it won’t be your son,” Oiu whispered.
“Help!” Zhenzhen screamed and scrambled across the floor, her red kimono turning black from the shins down. “Help!”
“We’re trying, my lady,” the guard yelled in reply. “Harder, men!”
They grunted and slammed against the door. It clanged against the bar, but it seemed perfectly wedged into the stone. If anything, they were tightening it in place.
The ninja lunged down with its knife, slicing open Zhenzhen’s leg as she kicked away. She rolled and then crawled on all fours, popping up with the help from the dirty iron bars. She tried to sprint away, but there was nowhere to go. The ninja walked casually towards her, tossing the dagger from one hand to the next. It paced towards the center of the room, narrowing her paths of escape.
“Won’t you at least tell me who sent you?” she asked.
The ninja lunged for her. She screamed and tried to run, but it caught her hair with one hand and yanked her back, snapping her neck with the force. Her feet slipped on the dark stone, and she clattered to the ground.
The ninja dragged her by the hair toward the drainage hole, ignoring her subtle cries of “No, please no.” The ninja forced her over hole, face down, and sat on her back. With one had still firmly gripping her hair, it lifted her head, exposing her neck.
“Move!” A young, female voice echoed to Zhenzhen’s ears. It came from the viewing slot. “All of you move.”
“Qing,” Zhenzhen whispered, tears falling from her cheeks. “Please, protect my son.”
The ninja’s dagger pressed to Zhenzhen’s neck, and she took her last breath and held it. She closed her eyes so as not to see her own blood pouring down into the darkness below and prayed that Nobu would find strength in her death.
The ninja kicked, and Zhenzhen whimpered, yet the blade didn’t slice through her skin. She took tiny, quivering gasps until the knife fell away, and the ninja dropped it down the hole. She gasped and opened her eyes, unsure of what was happening. The ninja slumped on top of her, wavered, and then fell over, its black-wrapped figure collapsing into a heap at her side.
In the back of its neck was a thrown dagger.
Zhenzhen looked up to see Qing’s entire arm still extended through the viewing hole, her fingers outstretched at the exact moment of the dagger’s release. Her eyes could be seen through the slit, unblinking and focused.
“My lady,” Qing whispered. “Are you okay?”
Zhenzhen looked down the hole and wept.
Chapter 1
“I’d have to say, above all else, I miss the people,” Gavin said. “It’s hard to describe, but in Lucifan, you could walk down the street shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers and know you were in good company. More than that, you felt like you were a part of something larger than yourself, a single cog in the wheel of a great movement. Every day you saw people working, living, and thriving in a city of order and stability. It was a living testament to the wonders of kindness. Or at least that’s how I saw it.”
He paused to hold a branch back for Yeira. The dark beauty stepped by and flashed her knight a loving smile. He let it go, took her in his arms, and planted a kiss on her luscious lips. Takeo sighed and ducked under the branch, and then the next, as this part of Juatwa’s forest was particularly dense.
“I think your stability had less to do with kindness and more to do with strict enforcement,” Takeo said. “And the kindness towards the knights had less to do with their pleasant smiles and more to do with their swords and armor.”
Their conversation paused as the trio hoped over a stream, using the moss-covered rocks as stepping stones. Behind them, a second trio took no such precautions and trudged through the stream, loosing dirt and rocks aplenty.
“I think Takeo’s got the right of this one,” Nicholas said loudly, stepping out of the water and directing into the next branch, snapping it in half with his wide chest. “The line between respect and fear is subjective as far as vikings are concerned. Ah, damn it!”
Nicholas tried to walk through the next branch, but it proved more pliable than the last, stretching across his leather armor and across his arm, then wiping up, scrapping his shoulder, and then flying up to smack the massive ogre behind him in the face.
Krunk sputtered and snorted. Then pushed past the branch as well, making it creak and then snap back, striking the huge oni just behind Krunk square in the chest, who didn’t so much as flinch.
“Borota,” Gavin called from the front to the back. “Are you sure you don’t want to lead the way?”
“No,” replied the oni, flat as lake water.
Nicholas sighed and shook his head, his thick brown beard waving. “Can I just say it’s the dumbest idea in the world to have the oni in the back of the party? I mean, he’s the only one who knows where we’re going. Or she. Or it. Sorry Borota, but you’re even uglier than Krunk, so for all I know, you’re just an over intelligent mushroom.”
Borota grumbled and continued to walk, snapping branches in half with his bare skin.
“Nicholas, stop trying to pick a fight with the oni,” Takeo said.
“Oh, come on. Can’t we just go at it once?” the viking whined. “You got to fight him. Why not me? The legend of Nicholas Stout needs at least one good oni fight. That would really put me over the top, guaranteed entry into Valhalla. No other viking legend has an oni fight in it.”
“For good reason. Think about it, Nicholas. You can hardly beat Krunk,” Takeo replied. “Oni are bigger, stronger, and smarter—no offense Krunk.”
The ogre just grinned. “Yeah, but I’m nicer,” he said.
“Well, we can agree on that,” Takeo replied, then whispered, “unfortunately.”
Nicholas shook his head and let his shoulders drop. His tall figure didn’t appear so menacing with an ogre and an oni directly behind him, but Takeo still had to look up to the man. “It’s not the same anymore,” Nicholas said. “Krunk is getting old. He’s like—what are you, Krunk? A decade old by now?”
Krunk held up his fingers and started to count, but stopped at eight because that was all the fingers he had. Then he shrugged.
“Anyway, he’s halfway to dying of old age,” Nicholas said. “He’s like, forty in human years. He is, in a way, our village elder. You can’t expect me to continue beating up the old man of the group, right? I need a new log to punch.”
“Nonsense,” Gavin replied. “Ogres are like orcs, and you know it. Their strength never fades, only their mind. Krunk will continue to beat you into the ground for years to come.”
“And I promise to do my best, too,” Krunk said proudly.
Nicholas let the argument drop as their path was interrupted by an army of shrubs. They stopped and Gavin looked left and right, wondering the proper way to head, when Borota strode directly through the shrubs, crushing all beneath his feet.
“This way,” the oni grumbled, and it occurred to Takeo the creature had never stopped in the first place.
The others shared a glance. Gavin shrugged and said, “at least he’s decisive.”
Takeo took the lead behind Borota. It was horrible to admit, but they were at the oni’s mercy. Borota was taking them directly to the Hanu keep, by way of a shortcut through the forest, or so he claimed. Although Takeo was a Juatwa native, he’d never seen this portion of the land without a map, the very heart of Hanu territory in the southwest was a nest of swamps and forests only broken by deep canyons and rivers of all sizes, which ran rampant. For most of Takeo’s life, he’d only thought of this portion of Juatwa as enemy territory, and somewhere amongst this overgrown verdant landscape lay the massive Hanu keep that was to be Takeo’s and his companions’ new home for the foreseeable future.
Assuming he wasn’t betrayed again.
“So, I have a question,” Yeira said.
The silence deaden as everyone paused to hear her words. Yeira’s voice was as pleasing to the ears as her body was to eyes.
“I hope it’s not too late to ask,” she started.
“Never, my dear,” Gavin said, cutting in to wrap a strong arm around her waist. She smiled at him, and only Takeo caught Nicholas rolling his eyes and pretending to gag.
“This one is for you, Takeo.” She paused as the samurai tensed, then spoke carefully. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but something seems off to me. Everything that I know about Juatwa and its culture tells me we won’t be welcome here. By we, I mean all of us except you. Juatwa is notoriously hostile to outsiders. Maybe this Zhenzhen Hanu will accept you into her army, but what about us? Gavin said you explained it once, but I think you did so when I wasn’t around. Can you tell me directly?”
Ah yes, I did do that. Takeo looked to Gavin, but the knight kept unusually quiet. He stared right back, and Takeo sighed. Oh fine. I knew this day would come. I couldn’t ignore her forever, no matter how hard I tried.
“If you’ll look directly ahead,” Takeo said, every word hesitating. “You see that red slab of meat just ahead of us?”
“Borota?” Yeira replied.
“Yes, but more specifically, the oni,” Takeo said. “What do you know about oni?”
“I thought they were like the rakshasa of Savara, a race at odds with humanity.”
“Correct.” He spoke more confidently now, finding his voice. “If you want proof that Lady Zhenzhen will take you all us in, look to that thing. The oni and their akki underlings have long been considered the scourge of Juatwa. They are hated and feared, and as far as I know, have never fought alongside humans in any war. Yet, somehow someway, the Hanu family has got these red, immortal brutes to kill for them. What I’m trying to say is that the Hanu family has a reputation for being, eh . . . multicultural when it suites them. They won’t accept just anyone, but they will accept mercenaries or creatures that are exceptional enough. And since Lady Zhenzhen can’t have me without you, she will take you, too.”
“Doesn’t that give them an edge?” Yeira pressed. “If these Hanu warlords—”
“Shogun,” Takeo interrupted. “She’s a shogun. Call them lords or ladies, but don’t ever call a daimyo a warlord. They’ll take great offense to that, as they aren’t fond of the truth.”
Yeira nodded and then continued. “So shogun then. If the Hanu’s are willing to take on additional fighters that the others aren’t, shouldn’t they be winning this war? Numbers must count for something.”
“In truth, it helps as much as it hinders,” Takeo answered. “By working with the oni and other mercenaries, the Hanu family has alienated daimyo that might have been sympathetic. Daimyo who could have been bargained with now have to be conquered. Yet, the Hanu continue to recruit outsiders anyway, so they must find the tradeoff worth it.”
Takeo hesitated, wondering if Yeira would press for more. She huffed as a sign of understanding, however, and then went silent. Takeo took in a deep breath and let it out. That was by far the most he’d ever said to Yeira in all the time he’d known her, perhaps even combined. He looked back at Gavin, and the knight favored him with a wink.
Well, at least I made him happy.
Takeo couldn’t quite express what it was about Yeira that put him off. It wasn’t her striking beauty. He’d seen beautiful women before and had not been tongue-tied around them, even women more beautiful than her, like Heliena. He couldn’t even say it was due to her attraction to Gavin, as nearly all women lingered their eyes on that man’s chiseled chin decorated with golden scruff. Nor could he say it was Gavin’s attraction to her, because as much as women loved Gavin, he loved them even more.
A part of him wanted to believe it was because she was an invader in his eyes. Takeo, in spite of his raising, had grown close to the Gavin, Nicholas, and Krunk over the years. They’d become a fraternity of sorts, one he’d never had before. They were other men his own age who didn’t fear or despise him, which was something he thought so rare in this world he’d long given up hope of finding it. Yet now here was this woman, this novice from a land of sand and blood, who had broken into their group with nothing more than a pretty smile. It seemed to cheapen how hard Takeo had worked to earn the friendship of the others.
Such an argument sounded promising, but therein laid the problem. Takeo wasn’t the jealous type.
Maybe it was how she ended up with them, he’d once considered. Yeira once had two close friends she’d tried to save, but they’d fallen into a trap meant for Takeo and the others. She’d lost the people she’d cared for most and had only joined with them out of necessity, and also Gavin’s loving embrace. It could be that Takeo felt somewhat responsible for her predicament. Perhaps he carried the burden of Yeira’s dead sister’s on his shoulders.
But that just wasn’t true either. Guilt was a feeling he expressed less often than jealousy, and when he did feel it, the pain was unbearable.
Unfortunately, Takeo would just have to admit he didn’t know what kept his tongue tied. Yeira was an enigma.
As Borota trudged through the forest, snapping branches with ease, one too malleable for the oni’s girth bent and then whipped back towards Takeo’s face. In a flash, the samurai drew his sword and severed the branch in the same motion, killing its momentum and sending the harmless wood spiraling toward the ground. Sparks flew, and the wood the blade had touched charred with the strike. A thin trail of smoke wafted into the air.
Borota turned and raised an eyebrow.
“Please, be more careful,” Takeo asked, then sheathed his blade.
The oni flared its nostrils with the lightest laugh.
“Wait,” Krunk said. “Wait!”
The group whirled to see Krunk looking frantic, arms wide and yellow eyes shifting. He whipped his head side to side, sending drool from his tusks splattering to the ground.
“Where’s Emy?” he shouted. “Emy! Where are you?”
Everyone went tense, and all heads scanned the forest in shock.
“Ah, damn it,” Nicholas said through clenched teeth. “Wasn’t anyone watching her?”
“Weren’t you? Gavin, did you lose her?” Takeo demanded.
“I thought she was right behind Krunk,” Gavin said. “Damn! How long has she been gone?”
Takeo marched up towards Krunk but stopped in front of Nicholas. He grabbed the viking by his beard and hauled him down to eye level. “You told me you’d watch,” he said.
“Hey, you said you would, too!” Nicholas replied. “Stop yelling and start looking.”
Takeo let go of Nicholas and pulled his katana free again. “Damn it, where is she?”
“Woah, hey,” the viking replied, rubbing his chin and throwing up his arms. “Put the sword away. You know how much she adores Krunk. She’ll come back.”
Takeo glared at him. “This is not the place or time to lose anyone. No one saw her leave, no one heard her. There could be ninjas all around. It’s a guarantee some clan is looking for her right now. Qadir will stop at nothing until he has her.”
Krunk went wide-eyed at Takeo’s words and then howled to the sky. “Emy! EMY!”
“Father, over here!” came a frantic shout in the distance.
Takeo dashed into the woods at full sprint, his body a blur to the human eye. He sliced branches in his way, already several paces beyond before they hit the ground. He heard a chorus of heavy footsteps behind him, but they were nothing compared to his speed. He was far ahead of the others in moments, a path of destruction in his wake. He took deep breathes, preparing for a battle, and burst into a small clearing with a stream running through it. His sword was held high and ready to deliver death.
At the water’s edge sat what appeared to be an ogre child. She had purple skin and yellow eyes, and matched Takeo’s waist in height, yet he knew better. That was a rakshasa in disguise, and he treated her as such. She was on her knees, her whole body dripping water, and at her feet lay a creature as big as her and strange in sight to the unfamiliar. It had scaly, green skin, four webbed limbs, and a hairy head that stuck out of a brown shell with a yellow underbelly. The creature stunk to the sky and back, but Takeo was used to the smell and didn’t flinch. It was dead with teeth marks in its neck, blood running down its shell and back into the stream. Takeo quickly scanned the area, inspecting every tree and leaf, sword still poised for battle.
The rakshasa cub gasped and crouched behind her fresh kill. She stared at him, unblinking, until Takeo sighed and sheathed his katana.
Krunk, Gavin, and Yeira burst through the woods like Takeo, and all them let loose their own sigh of relief. The cub shook in place, eyes darting between them all, and Krunk came forward to kneel in front of her.
“Emy,” he whispered. “Why did you run off?”
“I’m sorry, I,” she begged, bottom lip trembling. “I thought you were hungry. I smelt this and wanted to catch it for you.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Krunk asked.
“I,” she paused, tears welling in her large eyes. “I wanted to surprise you, father.”
Krunk made shushing sounds and pulled her into his massive chest. “Next time, tell me. It’s not safe to be alone.”
