The Druid's Spear (Ascent of the Gem Bearers Book 1) (26 page)

Rin drew back at the sly, knowing gaze in Kaluwa’s damaged face.

“What do you mean?”

Kaluwa coughed. “Exactly as I said. You should be worried about your friends. The mountain side can be very…slippery.”

Staring into the blank eyes of the Druman, all the heat drained from Rin’s body. Her men were in trouble.

“How could you—”

“Time’s running out…very fast.”

Rin released the bone, gaining small satisfaction in the way Kaluwa flinched in pain. “If anything happens to them—”

A guttural sound erupted from the pit of her stomach. It was either save the men or question Kaluwa.

She wasted no more time dealing with the female. “Ken, let’s go!” He scrambled up to her side and grabbed her arm.

The flurries of snow swirled around them, eventually forming another orb, one that encompassed them. Without another glance, they lifted into the air, and the blue shield emitted from the blood gems protected them from the elements of the harsh wind.

“Why are you leaving her?” Ken’s face scowled.

“Something’s wrong. We have to get to the Elder and the others.”

She stopped the orb from flying. The group was making their way down the mountain, Odin carrying the Elder like sack of potatoes while the others tramped on. Several hundred feet in front of them, a ripple flowed under the snow covered ground. Chunks of rocks fell over the side, falling into the forest below. More and more fell, and soon it turned into a mudslide that inched closer and closer to her men.

“We can’t reach them in time!” Rin yelled smacking the inside of the orb. What could she do?

Ken pointed downward. “The trees!”

It took less than a second for the plan to formulate in her mind. Rin uprooted several trees from below, pulling in the air as if she were weeding them with her bare hands instead of the wind. Motioning with her hands, she landed the trees in front several feet in front on the group, forming a barricade a few seconds before the mudslide reached their position. With nowhere to go, the mudslide ended and Rin collapsed to her knees.

“That was close.” Ken breathed in a relieved sigh, clasping his hand to her shoulder.

Yet, Rin couldn’t escape the feeling they were too late.

The trail leading to the cave greeted his eyes and Ken looked forward to resting. Hopefully a few of the
juusha
women would pamper him, just a little, to ease the ache from his mind and body. A perceptible eagerness had grown the closer the group came closer to home. It would be hard to tell them the Elder’s son had died, even more difficult to tell them the Vessel, which had been in their possession, was lost to Ludovicus.

Just a few more feet and then they would be home.

Ken sensed it the moment the entrance of the cave came into their field of vision The corners of his mouth curved down. Something was wrong.

.“Something’s happened.” Odin echoed his thoughts as he hefted the Elder higher up on his back. The old man had hardly spoken during the return journey. But even he raised his head and gazed toward the cave.

Nearing the cave, Ken’s eyebrows came together in a V between his eyes. The guards who protected the cave from intruders were missing.

“What’s wrong here?” Luke went forward into the mouth of the cave. A second later, his anguished cry sent Ken and the others rushing after him.

They all skidded to a stop.

“
Iie
!
Iie
!” Uchida—
sensei
yelled, clutching her stomach as if in great agony, falling to her knees on the ground.

Bodies littered the floor like refuse. Young and old, male and female, they lay about like a macabre version of animal rugs. The steady drip of water echoed eerily throughout.

“Tambo! Where’s Tambo?” She got up weakly, staggering under an invisible. “Tambo, he’d never let anything happen to Rhychard—
sama’s juusha
. Where is he?” Her voice took on a hysterical note, golden eyes darting about wildly. “Tambo!
Kitte da
! Tambo!”

“My people,” came the gravelly whisper of the leader of
juusha
of Rhychard—
sama
.

“Rin—” Ken grabbed her, trying to calm her down.

“Tambo!” She tugged away from his grip. “No one is that powerful! Tambo!”

Uchida—
sensei
headed for the corridor to go search. Ken followed after her, but a dark spot drew his attention and he stopped. He stooped down and studied it. Sweat broke out over his forehead and he said, “Rin.”

“I have to find Tambo.”

“Rin!” he yelled. Something in his voice must have transmitted to her brain. She stopped midstride and spun around. “What is it?”

Ken swallowed and croaked out. “You must see.”

When she didn’t move but stood rooted to the spot, he straightened and headed over to her. “Come and see,” he repeated. After all, he could be wrong. He could be completely wrong.

But he knew he wasn’t.

Uncharacteristically, she shook her head. “
Iie
. I don’t want to see.” Her lips trembled and he knew she was at her breaking point.

“But you must,
sensei
.” His eyes bore into hers. “You must.”

Haltingly she made her way over to where he had knelt. “Is it what I think it is, Rin?”

Uchida—
sensei
gasped, covering her mouth. “
Iie
!” She collapsed to the ground. “
Iie
!”

Tambo’s severed thumbs lay on the ground, dried blood dark around the bases. It needed no more explanation than that. Uchida—
sensei
cracked, sobbing great, gulping wails that penetrated through the walls. Ken glanced around, seeing the rest of the group in total and abject dejection.

“My people,” the Elder said again. Odin squatted down and allowed the man to alight. However, as the Elder took in the surroundings, it became evident he was about to buckle. Donvar came forward with the Elder’s staff and the leader leaned heavily against it.

The muffled sobs of Uchida—
sensei
’s cries mixed with the contiguous drip of the water.

“Who could have done this?” Luke went over and knelt by the prone bodies of one of the guards. “His throat’s been slashed,” he announced. Ken winced, eyes drifting shut. A baseball grew like a rock in this throat, soaking away all the moisture.

It was odd to hear his
sensei
cry. Her strength had carried her far, but this decimation, violation even, of her people, of her friend, was the last straw.

“Is anyone back there?” Odin called out as he made his way over to the unlit corridor.

“No, don’t go.” Luke raised his hand. “Whoever did this could still be here.”

“I doubt that.” Donvar vetoed. “They would have already found us.”

Uchida—
sensei
still cried. Her men looked at her, their faces mirror images of the sorrow she exhibited. Ken longed for her to stop crying, if only to ease the ache in his heart. The tears flowing from those amber gold eyes lacerated his insides and perforated his guts. Women like her did not cry. To make them cry, it had to be pain not easy to contain.

He glanced up to see Luke, Odin, and Donvar standing about uncomfortable. They looked to Uchida—
sensei
to order them about. Now they floundered like a ship without a sail. They needed something to do.

Ken took charge. “Odin, go down and see if there is anyone alive. If there are, bring them here or if they are injured let us know. Luke, do you know what the Vessel looks like? See if, by some happenstance, if the Vessel is still here. Donvar, watch over the Elder.”

A few seconds went by as they studied him. Would they accept his leadership? Then, with a curt nod, Odin went to do as he was bidden. Luke followed after him, and Donvar went to stand by the Elder.

“Ludovicus,” Uchida—
sensei
garbled out past the tears. “He is the only one who would do something like this.”

Ken reached out to her. His hands hovered uncertainly in the air. . What he really desired to do was take her in his arms and hold tight. But in the end, he settled for patting her shoulder. It was safer that way.

Her cries continued to fill the void. Ludovicus did not have to harm anyone. He could have simply retrieved the Vessel and left.

A child lay to his right, a few feet away. Her eyes were open, locked forever in an expression of fear. His vision blurred. The loss of a life so young.

These people had taken him in, nursed him back to health. They revered and honored him as the Descendant of Rhychard—
sama
, the Dragon King. They brought him into their world, and in a short time, they had become a surrogate family.

And now, his family was dead. Just like
Okasan
. Just like John.

A painful knot tightened inside his chest. Their deaths lay on his head.

Had he not lied for Kaluwa—
no kimi
, this carnage could have been avoided. Those visions of dragon hood had tainted his perspective, revealed a hunger for a life completely alien of his own. Ken’s head sank to his chest as he continued to kneel beside Uchida—
sensei
. He had allowed this event to occur because of his greed.

A scuffling noise drew his attention back to the main corridor entranceway. Odin’s arms were clasped around Michel’s waist as he helped the man walk.

“He’s hurt but alive.”

Relief flooding through his system, Ken and Uchida—
sensei
rose and came running to Odin. Gently they took hold of Michel and carried him over to where the Elder sat in silence. Laying him down, Uchida—
sensei
began to assess his body for injuries. Tears still lingered on her face, but the abject misery that had dominated it was gone.

“
Senpai
, Uchida-san
, Kenzo—
sama
, I never thought I’d see your faces again,” Michel breathed, wincing violently as Uchida—
sensei
pressed a hand against his side. A weak smile graced his lips.

“It is good to see your face,” the Elder declared. Ken discerned a hint of vitality had entered into the man’s frame.

Uchida—
sensei
bent over him, studying the wound. “How long ago did this happen?”

“Less than a day ago.” Michel lifted his eyes to the Elder. “Alderic—
san
?”

The old man simply shook his head.

“It was Ludovicus, wasn’t it?” Ken asked, his hands fisting once more in inept fury.

“
Hai
. He, Kaluwa—
no kimi,
and…Callen.” Michel’s eyes drifted down in shame.

“We are aware of Callen’s treachery.” A fierce scowl accompanied Donvar’s words.

“Ken, hand me the medical supplies.”

Wordlessly, he drew the backpack off his shoulder and removed a medium size sack which contained various herbs and plants used for binding up wounds. He handed it over to Uchida—
sensei
.

“Donvar, the water.”

She poured it on the wound. Michel hissed as if it burned, but he made no more complaint as she began to mix up the herbs and plants to pack it.

“How did it happen?” Ken asked.

Michel stared at the ceiling but his eyes had a faraway expression in them. “We felt the ground shaking and first, and supposing it was an earthquake, we started down toward the entrance. But then, it stopped.”

“Was Tambo on guard?” Uchida—
sensei
asked.

“
Hai,
but he had left momentarily for some reason or other. No one thought anything of it.” His eyes drifted downward. “Why would we?”

Ken cast a leisurely eye over Michel’s body. “You seem relatively unharmed. Where were you?”