L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix (13 page)

As he lay amid the timbers, the sun arced west behind the mountains. Stars peeked out in the sky.

Tonight, Tomo thought, I will sail back to Kyuden Isawa. If it takes all night, I will not rest until this damnable scroll is safe in the Isawa library.

Then tomorrow, he thought, I will laugh with children once more. I will build castles in the sand and fly kites on the beach. I will swim with the dolphins until I can swim no longer. Then I will watch the sun set over the mountains and wait for it to rise again out of the sea, like a Phoenix reborn.

Tomo sat up and chanted until the water did his bidding. Using the stars as his guide, he set course for home and family.

THE BLACK EARTH

Tadaka peered at the woman across the short distance that separated them. The manner of her dress told him she was a Kuni witch hunter. The question remained, though: was she a live witch hunter, or one of Fu Leng's undead minions?

Her mask gave him the answer. Looking closely, he saw that it was made entirely of jade. True, the green stone was pockmarked and scarred with darkness, but it had not yet been destroyed by the Shadowlands taint. No creature of Fu Leng could bear to wear such a mask. The witch hunter remained human.

Tadaka took his hand from the hilt of his katana.

"I am Isawa Tadaka," he said. "I mean you no harm."

"How can I be sure you're not an illusion, or a demon in disguise?" the witch hunter asked.

Tadaka reached around his neck and pulled out his jade amulet. He touched the green

stone with his fingers. "The same way," he said, "I can be sure you are what you seem."

The witch hunter lowered her forked spear. "My pardon, Tadaka-san," she said. "I have journeyed long in shadow, pursuing our enemies. Even with all my skills, it is sometimes difficult to tell truth from deception."

"You're tired," Tadaka said.

The face behind the mask nodded.

"I have pure food and drink if you'd like."

"Thank you, Tadaka-san," she said. "My provisions ran out yesterday. That is why I abandoned my hunt. It burns my heart to let the creatures escape, but I must return to my own lands for rest and provision."

"I cannot resupply you, for my own journey may be long," Tadaka said, "but I can offer you this small amount."

The witch hunter walked toward him. "Any amount is a blessing. Thank you, Tadaka-san."

The Master of Earth nodded. She, like many Crabs, disdained the formality of refusing a gift three times before accepting it. He reached into his robes and removed a vial of water and a portion of dried fish. He handed them to the woman.

She took them and lifted the front of her mask, exposing her mouth to partake. Tadaka wondered what she looked like beneath the scarred jade. Her pale, thin lips and pointed chin gave him little hint. Tadaka gestured that they should sit on a flat rock nearby. She nodded, and the two of them sat.

"Have you been away from home long?" he asked.

"Short? Long?" she said. "Who can tell? What does time matter in this accursed place? When I left, my son was taking his first steps. By now, he may be helping his grandfather in the rice paddies."

"The boy's father?"

She shook her head. "Dead. Killed in our constant war against the Evil One."

Tadaka nodded in understanding. "The rest of the world does not understand the price the Crab pay every day."

"It is our honor and duty," the witch hunter said. She adjusted her grip on her double spear. A blackened, fist-sized stone fell from her sleeve and rolled across the dead earth, settling near her sandaled feet.

"What's that?" Tadaka asked, raising his eyebrows.

The Kuni picked up the sphere and showed it to him. "Jade lire," she said. "Nearly destroyed by my time in the gray mists. I need my shugenja to replenish its magic before it crumbles to dust. It's a powerful weapon against the Evil One's minions."

Tadaka nodded. Though he'd never seen the sphere's like before, he understood its purpose.

"I should go," the witch hunter said. She stood and handed the jade water vial back to Tadaka.

He took it, tucked it inside his kimono, and stood as well. "Will you return to this cursed place soon?" he asked.

"As soon as I am able, until the beast I seek is dead."

"And after that?"

"I shall join my fellows in the border patrols. Only vigilance can protect the empire." She turned to go.

A massive form leapt at her out of the fog.

The witch hunter turned and brought up her spear only just in time. She forced aside the snapping jaws with the shaft of her weapon, but the beast's body struck hers, and the witch hunter toppled to the ground.

She hit hard, raising clouds of acrid-smelling yellow dust. The beast landed softly on the pads of its six, catlike feet. It spun to face the samurai, its jaws slavering. Tadaka quickly sized up the creature; he had never seen an oni like this before.

It was bigger than a lion, with the face of a wolf and six spotted legs like those of a leopard. A thick turtlelike carapace covered its body. It had three tails, each of which ended in a ball of thorny barbs. Green, glowing slime dripped from its razor-sharp teeth. The creature made a hideous cackling sound as it crouched, preparing to spring once more.

Tadaka drew his sword and ran forward. The witch hunter lay on the ground, momentarily stunned. Her left hand groped for her spear, which had been knocked from her hand in the fall. Sensing a new threat, the creature turned from its prey toward Tadaka. It sprang.

The monster's claws raked at Tadaka's eyes and midsection.

He parried the blows with his katana. Spinning, he slashed at the back of the creature's neck. His katana hit the creature's shell and skidded off harmlessly.

The oni wheeled and snapped with its wolf jaws. Tadaka stepped back and brought the pommel of his katana down on the monster's snout. The creature yelped and backed off. It arched its carapaced back, and three barbed tails darted toward Tadaka.

The Master of Earth leapt back only just in time. Tails raked the fog-shrouded air inches from Tadaka's chest. The creature opened its jaws and cackled.

The Kuni witch hunter regained her feet. As she came up behind Tadaka, she said, "It seems I have become the prey rather than the predator." She assumed a defensive stance, trying not to hinder his movements.

"This is the creature you sought?" Tadaka asked. He stepped back beside her so that they could better protect each other.

"The only one I didn't kill," she said, nodding.

"We'll rectify that now," he replied grimly.

The oni circled them. Its padded feet made almost no sound on the hard earth. Its three tails twitched through the air like nervous sickles.

"I'll take its head," the witch hunter said. "You take the tails. Watch out for its claws—they're tainted." The witch hunter dashed forward, aiming her forked spear at the monster's eyes. The monster reared up, batting at her weapon with its forepaws. For a moment, the two jousted with each other.

Tadaka sheathed his weapon and ran to the rock where they had sat. It was an arm wide, and as thick as Tadaka's waist. Chanting, he put one hand on each side of it and lifted. Earth power flowed through him, and the rock became light in his hands. He pulled it effortlessly from the ground.

The oni batted the witch hunter's spear aside, nearly forcing the weapon from her hands. The witch hunter tumbled to her right and regained her grip. She landed on her feet and warded off the monster's claws as it whirled to press its advantage.

Tadaka ran toward the battle, chanting, holding the rock before him like a shield. Seeing him, the creature lashed out with its three tails. Tadaka interposed the rock between them. The creature's spikes hit the stone, but the stone had become soft, pliant. The barbs stuck in it.

Before the monster could react, Tadaka dropped the rock, ending his enchantment. The stone returned to its usual weight and consistency. The oni howled as the rock crashed to the ground, tugging on the barbs. It thrashed its tails, but the stone held them fast.

Tadaka drew his katana and brought the blade down with sudden, deadly force. The weapon cut through the tails, just behind the monster's shell. Dark blood spouted from the wounds. The earth smoked where the blood landed.

The creature turned to bite the Master of Earth. The Kuni witch hunter charged forward, jabbing her forked spear into the monster's neck. The weapon was not jade and couldn't kill the creature, but the barb stuck.

The oni wheeled, pushing the long spear deeper into its neck. The witch hunter thrust the haft of the spear into the ground, raising the monster off its front legs. Tadaka ran forward, his blade flashing.

Howling in pain and fury, the monster slashed at him with its claws. The talons found the silk of his red kimono, but not the man beneath. The witch hunter drew her sword; its green blade sparkled in the gloom.

She thrust at the oni's left eye. With a hideous popping sound, the sword penetrated the orb. She thrust on, through the creature's brain and out the other side. The oni howled, but it did not die.

Instead, it jerked its head to the right, pulling the blade from the witch hunter's hand. The move toppled the monster off the spear that had impaled it. The great body crashed to the earth. Tadaka saw his chance.

Swinging his blade in a wide arc, he brought it down on the monster's neck, just behind the head. His katana bit deeply once ... twice. The oni's head fell away. Its body flopped about like a beached fish and then moved no more.

Tadaka and the witch hunter stood panting. The woman regained her weapons and shook the blood from them. Tadaka cleaned his blade on the monster's furry legs.

Seeing the cuts on his kimono, she asked, "Are you injured?" Her voice held a tone of wariness.

He shook his head. "No. It didn't touch my skin, just slashed my clothing."

She nodded. "Good. Even a scratch in this hellish place can become a festering, taint-infected wound."

"I know," Tadaka said. "I've brought precautions with me, but I'll be careful nonetheless."

"I'm glad to hear it," the witch hunter said. "I'd hate to have to track you down later—especially after what I've seen you do."

Tadaka couldn't tell whether she was smiling behind her jade mask or not. "Does this end your mission, then?"

She took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Yes. For now. I'll be back patrolling the border as soon as I've rested."

"I wish you a safe journey, then," he said, "Perhaps we'll meet again, under better circumstances."

She nodded. "Perhaps. I hope so, anyway. May the Fortunes guide your steps."

"And yours."

She turned and walked off into the mist. Only after she'd vanished did Tadaka remember that he'd never asked her name. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, determining the path he should take.

"Some girl," said a familiar voice.

Tadaka opened his eyes. Ob the mujina hovered before him, just out of arm's reach.

Tadaka frowned. "I hoped that you had gone," he said.

"And miss the excitement? Not likely. Do you know how tedious this place is without you? Nothing but evil for days in every direction. Nothing to see. No mischief to make. How's a mujina supposed to ply his trade? No wonder my family moved north long ago. Demons don't make good neighbors."

"I'm surprised you didn't go with your family, imp."

Ob's round face split into a toothy grin. "I surprise myself sometimes, too."

"Why don't you surprise us
both
and leave."

"Oh, no. I'm not about to fly back to my cave and play knucklebones solitaire. I'm with you to the end, Rude-sama—or at least

I'm with you until you do something that's likely to get us both killed."

"Everything I'm doing is likely to get us both killed," Tadaka said.

Ob shook his head. "You, maybe, but not me. I'm pretty hard lo hurt."

"Shall I test that, mujina?"

"Now, Rude-sama, you're not the type of person to harm someone if you don't have a pretty good reason."

"Stop calling me Rude-sama."

"Why? You haven't told me your name, yet—though I noticed you spilled it to that girl quick enough. What's she got that I don't? Never mind. Stupid question. She was kind of cute, eh? For a killer warrior type, I mean."

"I hadn't noticed. And my name's Tadaka. You can use it— sparingly—if you'll stop calling me Rude-sama."

"Hmm, Tadaka, Ta-da-ka ... Not very melodious, but you're not the musical type. Tell you what, I'll call you Tadaka if you call me Ob."

Stepping around the monster's body, Tadaka began walking again. The mists quickly swallowed him.

"Hey! Wait up!" Ob called, flitting after him.

The two of them traveled in silence for a while. Luminous fog swirled around them. Everything took on a drab sameness. In his hones, though, Tadaka's mission called to him.

Spiky black trees sprouted from the blasted soil. They reached their boughs in every direction, as if trying to drink nourishment from the glowing mist. Though the trees had no leaves, strips of flayed meat hung from their branches. No sign remained of whom the flesh belonged to.