Takeo's Chronicles, page 74
“Are you okay?” Takeo asked. “You don’t seem your usual self.”
“I’m fine” Gavin snapped, and then paused as he saw Takeo withdraw a hair. Gavin dropped his head. “It’s . . . it’s Yeira. I don’t know what to say. She told me something this morning.”
Takeo went still, his heart stopping. He turned to see Gavin sink low and press a knee into the dirt. Takeo prepared himself.
What should I do? Hug him? That’s what Gavin would do. Is that what people normally do? Oh forget it. I’d botch it for sure. No hugging. Just act surprised.
“She pulled me aside and,” Gavin paused to suck in some air. He seemed to have trouble speaking. “She said she needs some time alone.”
Takeo’s jaw fell open. “What?” he said again, though in a different tone.
“She wants space,” Gavin lamented. “Time apart. I don’t know what’s happening. She didn’t tell me why. She was crying as she said it, like this hurt her more than it hurt me, but damn if I’ll believe that. I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest. I don’t know what I did wrong, or if I did anything wrong at all. She wouldn’t say, no matter how many times I asked.” Gavin swallowed hard and turned to Takeo, but the samurai was too stunned for words. Gavin shook his head. “Well, at least it’s not just me then,” he said. “I know, I’m shocked, too. It came out of nowhere. She won’t even let me hug her now, Takeo, let alone kiss. I don’t know what’s wrong. I don’t know what to do.”
“She wouldn’t tell you why?” Takeo stammered, finally regaining his voice.
“No! I would have pressed, but that business with you catching Emy interrupted us, and then we had to leave for the village, and now we’re here. I haven’t had the chance to sit down with her in private. I’m still in shock, I think. It’s all just hitting me now. By the angels, my chest hurts.”
Gavin had to stop as his breathing went deep and tears collected in his eyes. He covered his face and took deep breaths, while Takeo crouched helplessly beside him. Takeo reached out a hand to touch Gavin’s shoulder, but then withdrew without making contact. The knight didn’t notice; his efforts still focused on fighting back rejection.
Tell him, a tiny voice whispered in the back of Takeo’s mind, but he immediately shoved the voice aside. He’d never forgive me, or Yeira. I can’t do that. Besides, what if she’s going to tell him soon? Perhaps this is part of her plan to reveal to him? He’ll find out soon enough, one way or another. At a certain point, she won’t be able to hide, no matter her armor’s thickness. Patience is best here.
“I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” Gavin said. “It’s not like you care. I know you disapprove of our relationship, that you distrust her, but I have to tell someone.”
“Hey, stop,” Takeo cut in. “You’re telling me because we’re friends. The same reason I come to you when I have troubles, right? That’s what friends do, isn’t it?”
Takeo was asking honestly, and Gavin nodded when he realized the question wasn’t rhetorical.
“Exactly,” the samurai continued. “And you don’t need my approval to be in love, Gavin. You know that, and I know that. We’ll get you through this. We’ll figure it out. Yeira isn’t going anywhere. Maybe there’s something bothering her that isn’t directly about you but—”
A chorus of cries rose from across the forest, cutting Takeo off mid-sentence. Both he and Gavin snapped their attention to a small band of dark yet huge figures bursting forth from the treeline opposite the caravan. The polished steel of axes, swords, and hammers reflected the moonlight, and even from this distance Takeo could see the plethora of thick beards and wild hair on the massive figures charging across the small valley.
“Now!” Takeo yelled, and leapt to his feet, taking off at a mad dash that left all others behind.
He heard his small army shuffle and charge, their gear bouncing and grinding whilst their arms and legs beat aside branches and shrubs. They didn’t yell, as Takeo had forewarned them, and the vikings’ battlecries masked their approach.
The vikings reached the caravan first and began the butchery. Takeo heard screams and the sound of heavy slices digging into flesh, and his mind inserted the succeeding sounds of blood splattering on the ground followed by the dead thumps of lifeless bodies falling into shallow, red pools. Smaller figures of more modest shape broke from the caravan’s circle and ran towards for the cover of the forests, with larger, viking-like figures pursuing them. One pair seemed to heading straight for Takeo. A woman he guessed, judging by the high-pitched screams and whimpers, with another female-viking just behind her, judging by the womanly curves silhouetted in the moonlight. Takeo ripped his sword free and doubled his pace.
The would-be-victim wept as she broke into the treeline and then spotted Takeo’s figure dashing toward her. Mistaking him for another attacker, she screamed and turned right, ducking under a branch and then tripping over a root. She cried out as she struck the ground, and the viking broke into the trees to see her prey prone and seemingly helpless. The raider raised her battleaxe but then caught Takeo’s movements out of the corner of her eye. She turned and lowered her axe for a parry.
Takeo never paused.
He dashed by the viking, slicing his katana with supreme accuracy just below the axe, directly across the woman’s lower belly. His sword was a blur indistinguishable to the human eye, and such horrid power had an equally terrifying effect, ripping open the viking’s flesh from one end to the next. Blood and guts poured out, yet before the viking could even gasp, Takeo swung backwards and torn a line open along the woman’s spine. She hit the ground in spams, and yet Takeo never noticed for he was already several paces away running for the next hunter-turned-prey.
His next two victims were standing over a girl not much younger than Kuniko. She was screaming and crying as one large man held her down with a heavy heel pressed to her chest while the other was trying to undue the straps that held up his pants. In the moonlight, their grins were wicked cruel and crazed with lust. As Takeo burst from the treeline and came at them, the one holding the girl down noticed first. His grin dropped when he saw the katana in Takeo’s hands, streaming blood in the wind. The viking leapt off the girl and hefted a hammer, elbowing his partner, who looked up just as Takeo reached them.
The first viking lashed out with his weapon, attempting to use his extended reach to end the fight soon, but he was hopelessly outmatched. Takeo ducked under the swing and sliced low with his katana, severing the man’s shin in half with such force that he tumbled in the air, howling. As he flipped, Takeo raked his katana up, slitting the man’s throat and cutting his scream short. He crashed to the ground a bloody mess, gurgling as his throat filled with blood and his dead weight snapped his own neck. Takeo’s katana felt hot as the sun in his hands.
He turned on the other viking who was gasping and retreating with an axe in hand. The young girl was still crying and screaming, only now because she was half pinned by a massive corpse and wallowing in a sticky, warm pool of blood. Takeo stepped over her and approached.
Run, yell, do something, he willed the man.
The viking was clearly terrified. Between his quivering lips and stark white eyes, Takeo could see he was stunned. They seemed to be alone in this clearing at the moment. Screams all around, yelling, dark figures moving in the night; as Takeo was no longer charging and yet still alone, the other vikings hadn’t taken notice of him. Only this one did, and he wasn’t saying anything, to Takeo’s dismay. Perhaps the dead one had been his best friend or mentor? Maybe he couldn’t truly believe someone had disposed of his fellow so quickly. Whatever, the reason, Takeo had little patience for such hesitation. He flicked his katana, spraying a thin line of blood on the grass, and advanced.
Someone other than that damned girl had better start screaming.
And then a rumble caught Takeo’s attention. He risked a glance over his shoulder and saw his army had finally caught up. They burst through the treeline ten at a time, led by the tall and impressive figures of Gavin, Nicholas, Krunk, and Ping. As they broke into sight, some could no longer contain themselves and yelled their approach, encouraging others until suddenly the entire forest shook with the sounds of renewed battlecries.
The vikings looting the caravans, killing men and raping women, paused at last to look up and across the valley. They froze, some just now returning from other areas of tracking down fleeing merchants, their weapons bloody and faces smug. The pause didn’t last, though, as any fool could count the number of dark figures charging towards them. The vikings broke.
The one Takeo was facing yelped and turned to run. Takeo dashed forward and sliced open his hamstring, tripping the man and sending him crashing to the ground. Takeo leapt on the man’s back and drove his sword tip down into the back of the viking’s neck, severing the spine. He died instantly, and Takeo wretched his sword out, which belched flames from the blood like a blacksmith withdrawing a fresh blade from oil.
“You had your chance,” he muttered, and wiped the blade on the man’s clothes.
Takeo sheathed his katana as his army barreled past him, chasing the fleeing vikings into the dark forest. Their warcries echoed amongst the trees, and Takeo heard the accompanying screams of agony as those vikings too slow were caught and summarily butchered on the spot. He could picture every scene by sound alone, so intrinsic was his association with the sounds of battle. Here a man let loose a blood-curdling howl, and Takeo knew he’d been stabbed in a non-vital limb, likely one of his legs. He heard a whimper and a thud, followed by a triumphant roar, and Takeo recognized the sign of Nicholas felling some poor soul with his maul. The fact that shouts and yelling continued, fading into the distance, told Takeo the chase had only just begun. He surveyed the scene, content to let the others carry out his butchery.
The young girl had stopped her screaming. She struggled free from the dead viking and gapped at the army of samurai, and then at the two dead men who’d almost had their way with her. The first woman that Takeo had seen emerged from the forest and ran to the girl. A muttering of thanks fell his way, but he wasn’t listening. He was looking over the wagons, which were tipped over with contents spilled. A dead man lay over one wheel. The chained komainu were sniffing and yowling at the smell of blood, extending their claws for a corpse. Under one wagon huddled a young boy, rocking back and forth, head pressed to his knees. Somewhere amongst the carnage, Takeo heard the slow rasping of someone dying, their lungs slowly filling with blood. He considered wandering over there and ending their suffering, but then he heard someone whispering with it, and he knew the dying soul was not alone. Best those two spend their last moments alone.
The thankful whisperings ended abruptly, and the rhythmic thump of something heavy came walking up behind Takeo. He didn’t turn to look. He’d come to recognize that ominous sound.
“Interesting tactic,” Borota said, sauntering up to Takeo’s side. “Very . . . oni-like of you.”
“Charging and killing?” Takeo replied.
“No, no. Before that.” The oni could have been speaking with his stomach, so deep was his tone. It reminded Takeo of a behemoth taking a step. “When you sacrificed your own to make progress,” Borota explained. “We do the same with akki.”
“If you’re talking about the merchants, then you can save it,” Takeo said. “They would all be dead were it not for me. I saved those I could, and I’ll save more by stopping these vikings.”
“And what will you do with those you saved, hm?”
Takeo sighed and glanced at the oni. “What else? Send them back to the city. This warzone is no place for them. Besides, we won’t need any more supplies. The vikings are as good as dead.”
Borota chuckled, and Takeo turned back to the circled wagons. The rasping had stopped and only sobbing remained. The valkyries had another recruit to consider, assuming one believed in that sort of stuff. Takeo certainly did; he’d seen them.
“Interesting sword you have there,” Borota said.
“How so?” Takeo replied, his tone clearly not a question.
The oni looked to Takeo now, grinning. “I’ve never seen a sword that left burn marks.”
“Want to see it up close?”
That stopped the oni’s chuckles. He grumbled but went quiet, and Takeo grew tired of entertaining the beast. He walked off toward the wagons, assessing more damage as he went.
“You won’t catch them all,” Borota warned. “Some will escape.”
Takeo paused and looked back.
“That’s the plan,” he said.
Chapter 13
They camped in the clearing for the night. After a long day, much of it spent running, combined with the brief combat, clearing the dead, and corralling the surviving merchants, the samurai army had a large meal from what was left unsoiled in the wagons by the vikings, and then collapsed from exhaustion. Takeo gave them no orders and set no watch. There was no need for anything but sleep.
And subterfuge, of course.
Takeo pulled Gavin aside, which was easy to do now that he wasn’t attached to Yeira at the hip, and under the faint glow of a small candle, they opened the letter.
“I’m noticing a lot less grumbling from the troops,” Gavin said as they both scanned the written words.
“That’s because a tired soldier is a good soldier,” Takeo replied.
“It’s more than that. I think you made quite the impression, giving this group their first victory. I can see it in the way they look at you. They realize they’ve underestimated you.”
“I’m just getting started.”
“Takeo?”
“Hm?” the samurai mumbled.
“Was there another way to stop these vikings? One that didn’t involve getting innocent civilians killed?”
Takeo shook his head. “Not without more troops, and if you’d have heard Lady Zhenzhen, you’d have known those were never coming. No shogun sends more samurai to an area than its given population. They’d rather sacrifice the people.”
Gavin sighed. “Damn, and I thought Savara was brutal. I’m beginning to hate this place.”
“It’s why we fight, my friend. Remember that. We’ll change the rules when we win.”
They finished the rest of the letter in silence. Takeo briefly contemplated setting it on fire but realized he didn’t know enough to safely do that.
The letter had been depressingly vague.
“No names,” Gavin echoed Takeo’s thoughts. “Not even yours. No places, no people, no events.”
“Just one title,” the samurai whispered.
In summary, the letter was one long rant filled with all the complaints and criticisms Lord Eun had leveled at Takeo personally, plus a few colorful embellishments. Eun had poured his heart and soul into this letter, lamenting Takeo’s ignorance and incompetence, describing everything from his refusal to see reason to his lack of decorum. However, it had all been done in a casual and subtle style, without names or specifics, like two old friends swapping a story they both knew. As Takeo read over the letter again, he saw nothing traitorous to his eyes. Rude? Sure. Critical? Absolutely. Yet, nothing was suggested in the way of assassinating or going around authority. There was little indication that anything should be done about Takeo’s ineptitude either. As far as Takeo could tell, this whole letter was the equivalent of an old man shouting on his front porch at passing youth.
“Well, this was a waste of time,” Takeo muttered. “Looks like Virote sent me to investigate the wrong man.”
Gavin snatched the letter out of the samurai’s hands and held it closer to the light. “I wouldn’t say that. You’re not looking at this correctly. What’s the matter, Takeo? I thought you were good at politics.”
“I’m good at dealing with royalty,” he said.
“You mean you’re good at kissing powdered arses?” Gavin smiled. “Let me tell you about the politics of being a knight. There is no assassination game in Lucifan, or at least there wasn’t when I was there. If you wanted a fellow knight removed, you couldn’t just pay someone to slit the person’s throat and have nothing come about it. Murder was taken seriously, uncovered, and the conspirators punished to the full extent of the angels’ law. That meant we knights had to develop new tools to discredit foes in our ranks.”
“I assume you’re getting to the point?”
“Not even close, but I’ll cut it short just for you. We knights did many things very well, and one of those things was properly complaining about people we wanted gone. To do that, you have to make it official, impartial, like you’re just a helpless witness. You write an official report, clearly stating when, where, and how so-and-so screwed up, and you mention all others who witnessed it, too. You don’t look like a whiny nobody then. You look like a tried and true ambassador of the law. Who could ever deny you?” Gavin paused and tapped the letter, directing Takeo’s eyes to it. “If this letter was leaked,” the knight continued, “there’d be no way to knowing who or what was going on. That’s precisely opposite what any good complainer would want. You see, Lord Eun wrote this for a specific audience. He was trying to be secretive and keep this hidden. We don’t even know who this would be delivered to. Isn’t that strange? Lord Eun went through a great deal to conceal this letter, yet its contents appear to be nothing worth hiding. Thusly, I say, it’s not the content he’s hiding all, but the receiver.”
Takeo stared at the letter, though only as a focal point as his head spun around Gavin’s words. The more he thought about them, the more they made sense, and he looked over the letter once more.
“Well damn,” the samurai said. “If I had known that, I would have just had the messenger followed. I wonder if there’s still time?”
Gavin scoffed. “I doubt the messenger will hand the letter over directly. Like I said, with no secret content or fear of this falling into the wrong hands, it will probably go through several people. Not to mention that since you’ve swapped it with a blank, there’s a fair chance it will be opened before it reaches the top. I would know. In my time with the Knights’ Order, I intercepted more than a few damning letters about my lack of chivalry.”
