L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix (33 page)

Passing through the tall portal in the main hall, Kaede blinked back tears.

"What's wrong?" Ishikawa asked.

"I doubt I will ever see these doors again," she said.

"I'm sure you will," he said, "in time." Nevertheless, he turned and looked back with her. The proud doors stood shut, the guards having closed them after Kaede and Ishikawa passed through. The carved kanji and spells glimmered in the darkness—whispering the strength of the Isawa.

"I'll get us horses," Ishikawa said.

"No need," replied a familiar voice. "I already have them."

Kaede and Ishikawa turned to see Shiba Ujimitsu standing at the castle's main entrance. He held the reins of three fine Unicorn-bred steeds. Kaede and her friend approached the Phoenix Champion.

"I cannot finish the trip with you," Ujimitsu said, "but I would be remiss if I did not see you safely on your way."

Kaede bowed and said, "Thank you, Ujimitsu."

"It would be an honor to ride with you, Ujimitsu-san," Ishikawa said. He, too, bowed. He and Ujimitsu helped Kaede into the saddle. Then they mounted their own horses.

"I packed what provisions I thought we might need," Ujimitsu said.

Kaede nodded.

"How did you know?" Ishikawa asked.

A slight grin tugged at the corners of the Phoenix Champion's mouth. "The Soul of Shiba came to me in a dream and told me to prepare for a journey." He tugged on the reins, and his horse moved forward.

Kaede and Ishikawa did the same.

"Did the dream tell you what the outcome of the journey would be?" Ishikawa asked.

Ujimitsu shook his head.

"One seldom knows the true destination during the beginning of a trip," Kaede said. Her dark eyes held a far-off, dreamlike quality. "And though I wish you could both finish this journey with me, in the end I must travel alone."

Ishikawa looked at her and smiled, admiring her beauty in the predawn light. "I'll go with you as far as the Fortunes allow." "As will I," said Ujimitsu.

Kaede smiled warmly at her brave samurai. Then all three of them turned their faces to the road ahead of them.

the way of the phoenix

In the council garden atop the highest tower of Kyuden Isawa, Tadaka and the three other Elemental Masters sat on their platforms. They had removed Kaede's platform and repositioned the others so that there would be no gap in the circle—no avenue for the demon to escape once they summoned him.

Again, Tadaka had spoken the words of the rituals that transformed an open-air garden into a sacred place. This time, though, he went further. "I call on the wind, the fire, the water, the earth to be our shield," he said, his voice like thunder in the mountains. Normally, he would have also said, "and the Void to be our guide," but with Kaede absent, they all felt it best to omit this part.

The garden shook. The wind blew. The sky darkened, blotting out all stars. Forces within the bowls of each Elemental Master bubbled high into the air. Bamboo planted around the perimeter of the chamber grew.

Green shoots arched high overhead, forming first a cage and then an impenetrable dome. The barrier closed out the world beyond, encompassing the River of Awakening and the island where the Elemental Masters sat. Shadows filled the newly grown chamber, their darkness broken only by Tsuke's orange fire and a sickly glow from the wizened silk set on Tadaka's left. The wan light emanated from the Black Scroll the Master of Earth had stolen from Junzo's castle. Its connections—so recently sundered—to the dark lands of Fu Leng would help the masters summon the oni they required.

Before them, in the center of the grassy area, the masters had traced a ring of white ash mixed with salt. The circle was three times as wide as a man is tall, and a black lacquer bowl of pure white rice sat in the middle of it—an offering to entice a demon. Small rivulets of blood stained the rice red to add flavor to the sacrifice. The blood belonged to Tadaka.

Concentrating on the circle, the Elemental Masters began to chant. They swayed slightly as they sang, keeping time with the rhythm of the magic. Their eerie harmonies filled the bamboo-domed room.

The kanji on the Black Scroll flared brightly, and the scroll lifted itself off the grassy floor of the chamber. As it floated, its green aura leaked into the ashen circle scribed on the grass. The circle grew bright, scintillating with hues of white, green, and purple.

Tadaka raised his scarred and tainted hands upward, and the circle's light rose, too. The Master of Earth's palm burned where he'd slashed it to provide blood for the oni. He gritted his teeth and continued his chant.

The power formed a shimmering wall around the circle. It was nearly as tall as a man, and the energies swirled and howled like a whirlwind of lost souls. The wall grew taller, stretching up toward the bamboo ceiling. Tadaka thought he saw shapes within the arcane barrier—spirit forms or minor demons—but perhaps it was only a trick of his eyes.

He summoned all the power he could muster to his voice. The chanting of the other masters built to a crescendo. Tadaka touched his fingers over his head and laced them together. The magical wall arched over into a dome more than three times as tall as a man. The barrier wailed and scintillated. It turned green, then purple, then sickly white, then red.

Suddenly, a tentacle of crimson energy lashed out and struck Tadaka in the head. The Master of Earth jerked back, his chant faltering. The red energy seared into his brain, making his body shake like a leaf. Tadaka tried to call out, but he couldn't.

Between Tadaka and the shimmering wall, a mystic portal opened. Through it stepped the corrupt form of Junzo.

Before the others could react, Junzo swept his hands toward them. Iron snakes sprang up around Uona, encircling the Mistress of Air and crushing her before she could utter a word.

Tsuke looked at his arms, only to discover a pustulant disease spreading there. Horror painted his stern face white. He tried to scrape the crawling pestilence off, but that only spread the plague further. It ran up his body, turning his fine silks to sludge, clinging to his skin. His scream became a strangled cry as the disease engulfed him.

Tomo rose to his feet, terror in his clear brown eyes. He pointed his hands at Junzo and changed his chant.

Junzo gestured toward the Master of Water. A ball of scarlet fire sprang from the sorcerer's fingertips. Tomo raised his arms in a warding gesture, too late.

The flames engulfed him, burning the flesh from his bones, turning his sinews to ashes.

In moments, three Elemental Masters were no more. Their bodies vanished, consumed by Junzo's evil spells. The echoes of their deaths hung in the air.

Tadaka leapt to his feet. Junzo turned toward him. Red energy linked them like shackles fastened around their waists. A smile played across the evil shugenja's face. He gestured at the Master of Earth—the same gesture he'd used against Tomo.

But Tadaka was faster. He drew a fresh jade fan from his sleeve and flicked it open. The fireball burst against it and rebounded toward its maker. Junzo lifted his hands, completing the ward barely in time. The fire blackened the sorcerer's white hair, turning it into ashen clumps. Junzo's skull-like countenance smiled.

"Join me," he said, the words creaking out of his mouth like a door slowly opening. "Together, we will rule the world."

"Never!" Tadaka cried. He threw the fan, its razor edges spinning through the air toward the dark shugenja.

Junzo held up a hand, and the fan shattered against it. He grabbed the red energy that bound them together and snapped it. The crimson aura wrapped nooselike around Tadaka's neck.

Tadaka's hands went to his throat. Energy seared his palms. Thrusting his fingers between neck and coil, he pushed outward and chanted a sundering spell. The ruby aura shattered but remade itself into the shackles that bound Tadaka to Junzo.

Junzo's rotting face drew into a smile. "You are the only one worthy to join me," he said. "All the others are but dust."

The pain of loss welled up in Tadaka's breast. He saw his friends dying again and again at the sorcerer's hands. He howled his agony and blasted it forth with every part of his being.

The spell crashed against Junzo like a swarm of tiny rocks. The shugenja's crimson kimono shredded, and small bits of flesh and bone blew off his body. Holes gaped in his arms and legs. Junzo didn't seem to mind.

Instead, he gathered the bits of himself together in a whirlwind. Chanting, he threw them back against Tadaka. The Master of Earth made warding gestures as bits of Junzo flew around him like a cyclone. The evil shugenja had transformed the pieces of his flesh into tiny scorpions.

Even through his protective magic, the arachnids' tails flailed at Tadaka. Their stings burned as they penetrated first silk and then flesh.

"Our master will be good to you," Junzo said, "just as he is good to me."

Tadaka summoned a spell to shunt the creatures upward. They flew into the enchanted bamboo ceiling and burst into a shower of sparks and ash.

"Your master will destroy the world," Tadaka replied, almost spitting the words.

"Only a world already doomed to death and war," Junzo said. "Why not remake it again, better than it is now?"

Sweat dripped into Tadaka's eyes. He felt his strength ebbing away. His will was waning, too. Why not remake the world? Surely there was not that much worth saving. The clans fought endlessly among themselves. The land was stripped bare of wealth and fertility. The peasants were little more than ants digging in the soil.

"You have the will, Tadaka," Junzo said. "Join me!"

Tadaka staggered forward, crimson energy binding him to the undead shugenja. His mind felt numb, confused. Junzo's blazing red eyes bored holes into the Master of Earth's brain. Tadaka's hands fell to his sides. His arms felt heavy, as if stones were tied to them. His mouth was parched, his lips cracked. A trickle of blood ran from his lower lip onto his tongue.

Junzo was smiling now, holding his arms out to welcome the Master of Earth like a long-lost brother.

Yes, Tadaka thought. The world is corrupt. Why not wash it clean?

In the sleeve of his kimono, Tadaka's right hand found something cold, hard, and smooth.

Jade.

The green gemstone burned in his mind like a sun.

Tadaka chanted under his breath as he walked slowly toward Junzo. The jade in his sleeve became pliant, soft. It spread over his palm and then the rest of his hand. Soon, it covered the hand completely in a jade gauntlet.

Tadaka stopped, almost touching the evil shugenja.

"Welcome," Junzo said. His rotted teeth gleamed in the red light of the magic. The radiance of the swirling barrier behind him lit his burnt hair like a dark halo. He reached out with worm-eaten arms to encircle the Master of Earth.

Tadaka brought his fist forward with all the strength he could muster. The jade gauntlet slammed into Junzo's breastbone, but it didn't stop there. With a thought, the Master of Earth shattered Junzo's ribs, pushed aside sinews, nerves, and veins—until the jade-gloved hand held his enemy's beating heart.

Tadaka pulled back, ripping the flesh from Junzo's body. Junzo staggered, and his eyes went wide. Tadaka held up the

sorcerer's still-beating heart and crushed it. Black blood flowed down the Master of Earth's arm. A smile crept over Tadaka's hooded lips. Junzo laughed.

the summoning

The sound struck the Master of Earth like a poisoned shuriken.

Junzo flung his arms wide and said, "You are powerless against me, Tadaka! Join my master and this same power can be yours!" The blood-red aura still bound the two of them together. The scintillating demon-cage behind Junzo painted the sorcerer in hideous pallor.

Fear and rage welled up within the Master of Earth's breast. "Never!" he cried. He ran forward, his hands outstretched. He put his palms on Junzo's shattered chest and shoved with all his remaining might.

Junzo's footing gave way. He staggered back, clutching vainly for Tadaka's arms. The sorcerer's rotting body struck the shimmering barrier. There was a sound like thunder, and Junzo's form splintered into a million fragments.

Still he laughed. The barrier flared as white as the sun, consuming everything in the chamber. Tadaka raised his arms to shield his face as the

world around him exploded. Junzo's laughter turned into a high-pitched wail, like the wind of a typhoon. When the light dimmed, only one sound remained—the sound of voices chanting.

Tadaka opened his eyes and found that he was chanting, too. Sweat poured down his brow and ran across his parched lips, stinging them. He looked up and saw his hands, still clasped over his head.

With shock, he realized that the chanting voices belonged to the other Elemental Masters. Tomo, Uona, and Tsuke were not dead. He glanced down at them out of the corner of his eyes. They sat serenely on their platforms, unaware of the trials Tadaka had endured.

The battle with Junzo was in my mind alone, Tadaka thought. But was it
real?

His body ached with combat fatigue. His mind felt weary and confused. Veins of taint burned his body with renewed fury. He summoned his strength and continued the spell.