Takeo's Chronicles, page 78
“Takeo!” he heard, the voice strong and angelic. “Takeo, what are you doing up here?”
“The komainu,” Takeo mumbled. “They can jump up here. We have to be ready.”
“We are.” Gavin's handsome face and golden hair shimmered into view. Takeo realized the knight was holding him up. “They're cutting spears now. Did you come here for that? You need to lie down.”
Takeo was getting lightheaded. He wasn't breathing so well. Everything looked red.
“Emy?” Takeo gasped.
“She's inside the fort,” Gavin said. “Krunk made sure of that. Wait!”
A chorus of shouts and pointing made Gavin pause, and Takeo turned to look to the opposite side of the fort. He had to blink several times until he could focus on anything in the distance.
Out of the sea of green surrounding the fort, Takeo honed in on a small purple figure running for the tree line.
“She jumped!” someone shouted.
“I can’t believe it,” came another voice.
“Her legs didn’t break?”
“She’s not going to make it!”
Emy had only just started her sprint, but already she was a quarter of the way toward the forest. A few komainu troops on the ground who had been circling the fort caught sight of the quick moving target, and a full five of the beasts and their riders peeled off to pursue her. Gavin adjusted his grip on Takeo and dragged them both through the throng of samurai choking the parapet. Many were shouting words of encouragement or warning, but many more held their breath as Emy ran for all she was worth.
“Emy!” came Krunk’s voice from somewhere below. Takeo turned to see the ogre climbing up one of the ladders, looking frantically about. “Where’s Emy?”
Nicholas ran up and grabbed the ladder Krunk was trying to climb, making the ogre pause.
“Have you seen Emy?” the ogre asked.
“I’m sorry, Krunk,” Nicholas said. “Can’t risk you following her,” and then shoved the ladder away. The ogre roared and crashed to the ground, his weight crushing the ladder along with it.
Good thing we have more than one ladder, thought Takeo.
Nicholas bolted upright and yanked a sharpened pole out of the nearest samurai’s hands.
“Clear the way!” he boomed, and a thin line parted in the crowd.
Nicholas hefted the pole like a javelin and extended his free arm. He looked out then up, then out again, and then took measured but quick steps toward the edge. With a heavy yell, he flung the pole into the air, and Takeo watched it sail straight and true in a way he’d never thought possible of something so long and awkward.
The lead komainu, so near Emy at this point that it was certain she would die, stopped dead in its tracks as the pole impaled both rider and beast, and nailed them to the dirt. The whole of the parapet cheered as Emy sprinted on and into the forest, despite the four other komainu darting into the woods after her.
Blood dripped into Takeo’s eyes again, and as he shook his head, his vision blurred once more. Gavin said something, but he didn’t catch it over all the cheering. Then someone shouted a warning and a huge shadow filled the parapet, one of fur, teeth, and fury, and sharpened poles jabbed toward it. Another one leapt from the ground to perch precariously on the ledge just in front of Takeo, and Gavin summarily tossed the samurai to the stone floor. Takeo heard shouting, swords being drawn, roars, howls, and screams, but he couldn’t do anything but lie there. He couldn’t even keep his eyes open, and in the end, decided it wasn’t worth the effort. He lids fell and the world went silent.
Chapter 16
Of all the people Takeo expected to see when he came to, Yeira was not one of them. He couldn’t rightly explain why, but he’d forgotten she was with their little group, or really that she existed at all. In the deep realm of hemorrhage-induced sleep, Takeo’s subconscious had been able to shrink his life down to simpler times, when it had just been him, Gavin, Nicholas, and Krunk, roaming the world as free entities, unattached to duty or responsibility. He hadn’t realized at the time that there would come a day when he’d miss that freedom, mostly because he’d still been neck deep in anguish over Emily’s death, but lo and behold that day was now. As usual, he’d been in too much of a rush to reach the future to stop and smell the roses while they were blooming. The good times had passed, and it was too late to enjoy them.
He realized all of this at once as he blinked his eyes open, and Yeira’s stunning beauty hit him with full force. She was one knee, propping him against a wall with one hand while she ran her fingers through his hair with the other. Her large, luscious lips that could warm a vampire’s blood were just a hand’s width away from Takeo’s own, and try as he might, he couldn’t stop his lips from parting. It dawned on him just how long it had been since he’d kissed a woman, that that woman had been Emily, and he couldn’t decide if this was a good or bad thing—perhaps both. All he knew was that the sensual smell of Yeira’s dark hair was tugging at parts of him long laid dormant.
Takeo pushed her away.
“Oh good,” Gavin’s voice echoed from an ethereal realm. “He’s awake.”
Yeira leaned back, but her footing was too solid to be toppled so easily. She batted Takeo’s arm away and put her hand through his hair again, getting a strong grip this time and making him wince.
“Stop, Takeo. I’m trying to help,” she said. “This shouldn’t scar too badly now.”
Yeira was looking carefully at his head wound, and he felt something sticky and wet brush from her palm and into his hair. He tried to pull away, but her other hand held him firm, and he didn’t have the energy to fight her.
“What are you doing?” he muttered. “What happened?”
His vision cleared enough that he could see past Yeira, and he realized he was sitting on the stone floor inside the fort. A large crowd had gathered around him, and he recognized Gavin nearby, and Kuniko, Ping, even Eun, and then there was Krunk. Takeo only glanced at Krunk, though. The ogre looked furious.
“You passed out when the first komainu leapt onto the walls,” Gavin explained. “We only lost one before we downed two of the beasts, though. The spears saved our lives. The third ran for it. We’re stripping the beasts for their meat as we speak. We’ll probably need it.”
Yeira pulled her hand away and wiped the rest of a white putty on her clothes. “And I’m putting a poultice on your wound that will make it heal faster. Something the kshatriya taught me.”
She stood up and left the room, gaze cast to the ground. Gavin watched her go, his jaw twisting with unsaid words. Takeo looked elsewhere but soon realized all other eyes were on him. The whole damned army seemed to be down on the main floor. He looked from one face to the next, unsure of what was expected of him.
After a long and awkward silence, Eun coughed. Takeo turned his head slowly to meet the old man’s gaze, and judging by the scowl on that wrinkled face, Takeo had fallen out of favor.
“I hope you have a plan for getting us out of here,” Eun said in a damning tone. “I assume it involves that little ogre child, but for now we’re trapped and surrounded on all sides. We don’t even know if the ogre escaped. The komainu that went after her haven’t returned.”
And then Takeo’s head swiveled to Krunk, and he could see veins bulging along every inch of the ogre’s skin.
“I told you,” Krunk grumbled, voice deeper than Borota’s. “I told you no. She’s too young.”
“She’s our only chance,” Takeo replied. “You have to know that. If she had stayed, she’d have died.”
Krunk huffed. “And I’d kill you now if we weren’t going to die soon anyway.”
A statement like that might drip with sarcasm coming from anyone else, but Krunk wasn’t capable of such wordplay. He said it with all the cold, hard seriousness of the very stone that kept Takeo from falling flat. Takeo looked from Krunk to the other samurai, and he saw nothing but grave despair. His eyes settled on Kuniko and stayed there. The girl straightened and looked ahead into nothingness.
“You were amazing out there, sir,” she said, and the care in her voice spoke of concern for Takeo’s feelings, which sickened him. “I’ve never seen anything like that. That was quick thinking getting us in this fort, away from the komainu. And fighting two on your own? You’re as legendary as they say—”
“Enough,” Takeo cut her off, teeth clenched. He couldn’t stand compliments. “How long have I been out? How bad off are we?”
“It’s been hours,” Kuniko replied swiftly, tone switching to that of a normal rank and file soldier. “Night is falling. More komainu troops have arrived, and they are nearing one hundred strong. It’s hard to tell in the fading light.”
Takeo sighed and dropped his hands to the ground. He pushed himself up by sliding along the wall.
“It’s like I said,” Eun spoke up. “You might have stalled our death temporarily, but you doomed us by putting us in here. When you burned our camp, you sent a signal we were close. You’re relentless push has only locked us into this fort with few supplies. We should have brought more, or gone—”
“Or what?” Takeo snapped. “Let me guess what you were going to say. You would have suggested we flee along the beaches or deep into the woods, am I right? You think we could have hid from the komainu or set up an ambush. Sure, a good half our forces would perish, but at least we’d be free to limp away. You don’t think I thought of that, old man? I’m through listening to your whining and trying to undermine my command. I’ll bet the entire time I was out, all you did was complain about how doomed we were.”
Lord Eun’s jaw clamped shut. The sudden stillness in the air spoke volumes. Takeo decided to press the point home, just to ensure Eun understood how readable he was.
“I’ll bet you even pressured Gavin here, and Nicholas, perhaps even Krunk to explain my actions,” Takeo continued. “You tried to get them to defend me when there was no way they could, because they don’t live in my head or know this land or how Katsu forces act. You used this time while I was unconscious to try and poison my own samurai against me, like a coward. You utter fool. If these concerns had been brought up privately, I could have saved you the embarrassment, but no. I’ll have to shame you in front of everyone. You wanted this, remember that.
“I thought through exactly what you’re thinking. In a heartbeat, on that beach, I’d already weighed all the pros and cons while you were still wetting yourself in fear. The best chance to escape would have been to head into the forest going north with a western tilt, not exactly following the beach but close. This would have given us plenty of streams to hide our scent, waterfalls to hide altogether, or perhaps caves or choke points to slow the komainu down. We wouldn’t have reached another village for at least a few weeks—the vikings saw sure to that—but when we did, we could hide there and conscript some locals. At worst, we’d lose half our forces, but the main bulk of the enemy wasn’t coming that way, and thus in a month or two, we’d be free to leave unharassed once the invaders had moved onto their target. And you know exactly what their target is, don’t you, Eun? This force is heading for the Hanu keep to cut off Lady Zhenzhen’s head, and they were going to succeed, too.”
Takeo turned from Eun and gestured to the rest of the crowd, his eyes narrowing.
“Think about it, all of you,” he said. “Do you know where the nearest Hanu army is? One large enough to challenge a Katsu force this size? Because I do. I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I didn’t know. It’s in Nguyen land, trying to take advantage of Lady Xuan’s death. Our only other sizable force is spread out along the Katsu border. Any rescue effort from either would take more than a month, and that’s after they discovered there was a Katsu force surrounding the Hanu keep. This invading army isn’t here to starve the Hanu out. They’ve got the equipment and the men to storm it, and they will have their target leveled and looted long before help arrives.
“And what happens after that? Do you think we’d survive much longer? Do you think they’d just forget about us? No, they’d come to finish the job, if for nothing more than to capture and hold us for ransom. Sure, some of us might have extended our miserable lives, but we would be defeated. Worse, we would have been defeated after running. After an event like that, I wouldn’t be the only ronin in this room.”
Takeo paused, just to see if anyone had the gall to deny him. Despite the aches and pains in his body, a fiery anger welled inside him. Takeo limped along the inner edge of the half circle, taking time to stare every individual down. He searched for any lingering doubt, any hesitation or resistance to the hard reality of what he’d long accepted; another enemy to vanquish in his eyes.
Eun cleared his throat. “That still doesn’t explain—”
“I’m not finished,” Takeo said, after intentionally waited for Eun to speak up. “That was just my first thought on that beach. I formulated a plan a half second half later. If any of you had a shred of intelligence, you’d have already figured out that the viking invaders weren’t sent to steal. They were paid by the Katsu’s to clear this land of people so that the true invaders could land and advance in secret. Not even the ninjas will know of this until it’s too late. The Hanu family has only one chance to get out this alive, and that’s time. Every moment this invading army is delayed is time for defenses to be fortified, troops to be rallied, and food to be stocked. It’s also more time for reinforcements to arrive, bad weather to strike, or a rift in enemy politics to throw everything off kilter. There are countless things that can go wrong with a large invasion, and ten times that for one done in secret. I would know. I’ve been that invading force more often than not.
“So yes, I burnt our camp to the ground knowing it would inform the invaders we were here, and yes, I led us to this fort knowing it was in the invaders’ path. I did these things on purpose, with solid intent, because it was our only chance to delay them. If the Katsu army wants to get to the Hanu keep, they’ll have to go through us.”
Takeo ended his speech by standing up straight, as much as it pained him. He wished he could appear more regal in that moment, but he knew that would be difficult what with his armor in shambles and white cream rubbed into his dark hair. That didn’t stop him from resting a hand on his sword’s pommel and using the enchantments there to draw strength. He leveled a gaze on the congregation, watching how his words affected them. Kuniko was among those to meet Takeo’s gaze and give him a slight nod. Takeo turned from her to focus on Lord Eun.
The old man just shook his head. “Well, here I thought you were a fool,” he said, “but now I know you’re just insane. How typical for a ronin to suffer from illusions of grandeur. Let me ask you something, Takeo Karaoshi. If this invading army has brought the men and equipment to storm the heavily fortified and manned Hanu keep, how, in all the world, do you plan to stall them with just fifty men in a crumbling old fort?”
Takeo nodded, because that was a fair question. He wished he had an answer.
“I’m working on that,” he said.
* * *
Komainu trickled in all night long, rising to somewhere just over one hundred strong by morning. Takeo did his best to count them accurately, but it was difficult as the beasts were always moving. Their riders kept them in constant patrol, circling the fort in a methodic pattern so that no one area was out of sight.
They still kept their distance from the fort, though, which surprised Takeo. Not one of the enemy had come forward to introduce him or herself as the commander of the komainu troops, nor did they seem interested in who was commanding the fort. His best guess was that he’d been recognized, and the enemy commander didn’t want to soil his or her reputation by talking to such ronin scum. Either that or the commander was intimidated by Nicholas’ throw.
Takeo passed the time by keeping his soldiers busy and trying to formulate a plan. He had a full survey of the fort done, which revealed a buried well in the center of the structure. He set some samurai to task digging it out, and they found an ample water supply. There was also plenty of timber left over from some repair attempts that were never finished. Other than, though, there was little else but dust and darkness. The only other things in the fort were what they brought, and the two komainu bodies that were being butchered and cured for consumption.
Meanwhile, the live komainu troops outside hadn’t attempted to assault the walls again despite their superior strength and numbers. The spears were to thank for that. Once it had been demonstrated how long, sharp poles could be used to keep the big creatures away, Nicholas had gone crazy. He made spear-cutting a fulltime career for one group of samurai whom churned out sharpened sticks at an alarming rate. Nicholas then lashed those crude spears to every exterior wall and surface he could, turning the entire rooftop into a prickling mess. No komainu would dare jump on to the fort now, not unless it wanted to die on impact.
It was a good first step, and Takeo was determined to do more.
He personally walked the fort’s inner walls and took note of those stones most damaged by time. He ordered those sections fortified with whatever could be found, including fallen rocks from the ceiling, stones from the floor, and then dirt from beneath that floor. The fort was alive with the sounds of grunting, digging, and pushing. More stones were pulled up and lifted to the roof, stacked along the parapet to be thrown on any invaders. Takeo considered the possibility that the ladders leading up to the roof might break, so he had ropes installed for ease of sliding down or ascending when nothing else worked. Backpacks were emptied and food collected, consolidated, and counted. Takeo put Ping in charge of that and used an interior stone room as the storehouse, furthest point away from any siege or fire that might start. And then Takeo remembered the possibility of fire, and so had water buckets filled and distributed throughout.
