The Initiate Brother Duology (122 page)

The barbarian encampment was a vast, teeming sprawl, dark against the new green, like a bloodsucker Tadamoto had once found undulating on a rush beside a pond.

“I am not a traitor, Tadamoto-sum,” the Prince said as calmly as he was able, as though the sanity of his tone would make the young guard realize how mad this entire situation was. “I described this army in detail in a letter to my father. I have tried to warn him of this for some weeks. I have committed no act of treason.”

Tadamoto stood staring for a moment longer. “I will speak to the Son of Heaven.” He turned and hurried off, leaving the Prince to struggle against a fit of shaking that suddenly racked him.

Tadamoto made his way quickly down the path to the Emperor’s pavilion. Bowing to the guard, he gave a password reserved for dire emergencies that would allow him immediately into the Emperor’s presence. A guard announced his commander and Tadamoto was brought forward.

The Emperor sat in the same place under the small pavilion of crimson silk. Like everyone else, he stared out at the clearing plain as though transfixed. After a moment he spoke to Tadamoto though he did not take his eyes off the sight before him.

“Did he die well, Tadamoto-sum?”

Jaku cleared his throat. “I allowed him time to make his preparations, Sire. And then this…” The young officer waved a hand toward the barbarian army. “Prince Wakaro wrote the truth, Sire….”

The Emperor turned to Tadamoto, his face suddenly drained of blood. “He aided a rebel lord. I will have no traitors in my House, Colonel Jaku. Carry out your orders.” And with that he returned his attention to the north.

Tadamoto stood for an awkward second, then, despite being entirely ignored, bowed stiffly and retreated.
This is a murder,
Tadamoto thought, a coldhearted murder.

T
HE ARMY OF the barbarians and the two armies of Wa faced each other across the open fields in chilling silence. The men on either side stared out over the green grass and wondered if their death was somehow, mysteriously, taking form among the indistinguishable faces of the enemy.

After the shock of seeing the barbarian army for the first time, Akantsu II sent an embassy to speak with the representatives of Lord Shonto. Appointed to speak for the Emperor, Jaku Tadamoto rode out on a gray horse accompanied by two guards. The Son of Heaven demanded that Jaku Katta, former commander of the Imperial Guard, come forward for Lord Shonto and made it known that no other would be acceptable.

Having already helped an Imperial Prince to die that morning, Tadamoto felt like a man being slowly torn apart, for there was no doubt in his mind that Katta was also on the Emperor’s list of those who would fall upon their own swords.

To Tadamoto’s left the barbarian army prepared for battle at a pace that could almost be described as leisurely and this did not raise the young colonel’s confidence. The Emperor would not discuss the barbarian army, and when Tadamoto dared to push him the Son of Heaven finally answered; “I am well aware that the army is larger than previously reported, Colonel.” Beyond that the Son of Heaven would say nothing, knowing full well who had assured him that the barbarian force was small.

How had he been so misinformed? Tadamoto asked himself again, realizing
he would quite possibly never know. But what had happened with those fools he had sent north? Katta had told the truth, he reminded himself for the thousandth time that day. Katta had told the truth and his own brother had not listened.

Jaku Katta and his two guards appeared now, coming down the last run-out of the slope that protected the Shonto position. Neither party displayed flags of truce nor did they carry banners, as would have been common under the circumstances. It was still hoped that the barbarians did not realize the armies of Wa acted separately.

The two groups rode slowly forward, like two patrols meeting and pausing to speak for a time. Katta stopped his horse first and made Tadamoto approach him. The younger brother shook his head at this tactic. With his tongue Tadamoto tried to work some moisture into his mouth. So much depended on this one conversation…. And Tadamoto was still not certain why the Emperor had demanded that Katta should speak for the Shonto. All of the Emperor’s choices seemed to be selected to cause Tadamoto confusion and test his loyalty.

The evening before Tadamoto had played gii with Shonto’s vassal-merchant, Tanaka, a practice he had taken up in the last few days. The old merchant had played a wily game, forcing the distracted Tadamoto into a foolish mistake. When the game was surely won, the old man had surrendered and pushed back from the board. Tanaka had answered the colonel’s expression of surprise with a shrug. “I can see a course that will win you the game, Colonel, so I have surrendered my force to you, hoping thereby to gain your good will. In the days when I played this game with Lord Shonto, I often did the same. He is a gii master of some reputation, as you know. My alternative was to risk losing everything.” The old man spread his hands in a gesture that seemed to say:
the choice is yours.

The brothers motioned for their respective guards to stop and rode forward, Katta waiting for Tadamoto to bow and when he did not the elder brother smirked. No one dismounted.

“Brother,” Katta said, and Tadamoto answered his brother’s nod with the same gesture.

A moment of silence. Tadamoto thought his brother looked much the same as when they had parted months before, though now Katta had some color on his face from time in the sun, making Tadamoto wonder what things had passed in his brother’s life since they had last spoken.

“Lord Shonto has asked me to inquire after Prince Wakaro. The Prince has not returned to us.”

“The Prince is the concern of the Emperor only,” Tadamoto said, the half-lie coming with difficulty. “Lord Shonto should not trouble himself.”

Katta looked into his younger brother’s eyes then, and Tadamoto found himself looking down at the leather reins in his hands, adjusting his grip on them.

Katta shook his head with some sadness. “The Emperor demands much of his servants, Tadamoto-sum. It is a sad thing. I will inform Lord Shonto.”

Tadamoto swallowed. Perhaps this ability to look into the souls of others was a characteristic of all opportunists, and womanizers, too, for that matter, the young colonel thought.

Katta cocked his head to the barbarian army. “I did not lie, Tadamoto-sum. The Emperor thinks I have betrayed him, but I have merely put the safety of Wa first. There lies the end of our Empire as we have known it. We must not allow this to happen, Tadamoto-sum, don’t you agree?”

Tadamoto looked into his brother’s gray eyes then, wondering if there was truly some shred of honor behind the words or if this was merely part of another elaborate plot. “I have come with a message from the Son of Heaven.” Tadamoto almost referred to his brother as
General Jaku,
for he still wore his Imperial Guard uniform and insignia. “You may tell Lord Shonto that the Emperor will accept the surrender of the lord’s army immediately. There will be no pardons for rebels. If Lord Shonto wishes to show his great loyalty to the Empire, he will resign his command upon receiving this message. We will speak only to those who come to arrange the surrender. No other emissaries will be recognized.” Tadamoto reached into his sash and removed a letter, thrusting it toward his brother. “This is the message, inscribed so that there shall be no misunderstanding. Please, deliver it to your lord.”

Katta looked down at the paper in his brother’s hand but made no move to accept it. “The Emperor assumes that Lord Shonto will surrender his life to the Emperor rather than allow Wa to fall. Hear me, Tado-sum, Lord Shonto will retreat in the darkness and leave you to face the barbarians alone. We will retreat toward Yankura and raise the army needed to oust these barbarian chieftains.

“This Khan, you know who he is. The Emperor paid him gold to help bring down the Shonto. He is a half-caste—born in the desert to a woman
of Seh. But he is more than that. His mother was born to the House of Tokiko. He has Imperial blood in his veins, this Khan. For many years he lived in Wa, after his mother was rescued from the tribe that had abducted her. If this man takes the throne, his claim could be recognized. The barbarians think that they come to make Wa their own, but I do not believe it is to be so. This Khan does not care for their prophesies or claims or vendettas. He will make himself Emperor with the barbarian army at his back, but he will be an Emperor of Wa. The barbarian army will be split and spread across the Empire, made ineffectual, and this Khan will become a man of Wa.

“But he does not love us, Tadamoto-sum. The half-castes are barbarians to the men of Seh. His life before he returned to the desert was not such that he has gained respect for the men of Wa. He would be a danger on our throne and I cannot say what his reign would bring.”

Katta stopped, glancing up for a second at his brother’s eyes. Whatever he saw there seemed to give him hope. “Tado-sum. Akantsu is not a man of honor. You know this. What befell Prince Wakaro? Was it just?” Softly Katta pounded his fist on his armored thigh. “Lord Shonto has spent the last months slowing the barbarians’ advance, allowing the Emperor to build an army. And yet Lord Shonto knew of the Emperor’s plot against him. Knew that the Emperor would be unlikely to make peace with him even in the face of an invasion. Look at this!” Katta waved a hand at the army of the desert. “We can save the Empire, Tado-sum. The Jaku name can go down in history as the Shonto name did in the past—as saviors of Wa.” Katta lowered his voice. “Exchange guards with me. Tell them it is the Emperor’s wish. Return to your master with my men as though they were your own. Take them into the presence of the Emperor as witness of what was spoken here. They are the best swordsmen I have, and utterly loyal. They will not fail. Surrender the Imperial Army to Lord Shonto and there will still be a chance that we can win against this Khan.”

Tadamoto still held out the Emperor’s letter. It was an impossible scheme. Tadamoto knew he was being watched with great interest by the Emperor’s officers. There was no chance that he and his brother could simply exchange guards—it would not go unnoticed. And even if it were possible, these guards would not be allowed, armed, into the Emperor’s presence. Tadamoto knew that he was the only one who was allowed near to the Emperor wearing a sword. Yet he was loyal—loyal to the Emperor even while he had grown to hate Yamaku Akantsu.

“Brother,” Katta said, reaching out and taking the letter. “Motion your guards forward. It is worth any risk to save the Empire.”

Tadamoto shook his head. “Even in time of war they will not be allowed into the Emperor’s presence carrying weapons of any sort.”

“You carry a sword, brother. It can be snatched from your sash at the correct moment. These men understand what needs to be done. They have made their peace with Botahara. Once the Emperor falls, you must take control of the army. I know you have many loyal men in the guard, Tado-sum. They will support you. Tomorrow the Khan will have prepared his forces for the battle. There is no time, Tadamoto-sum.”

Shaking his head, the younger brother reined his horse back, his gaze fixed on his brother’s gray eyes. “You do not understand loyalty, Katta-sum. You think it is something one owes to another, but it is not so. Loyalty to principles is the essence of all honor.” Tadamoto looked down at the reins in his hands again. “It is this difference that has led to this—meeting across the field of battle as we do. What you ask…it is impossible. I do not believe the Emperor will waver in his position. If you think Lord Shonto can save the Empire by retreating to raise an army, then it is a course you must recommend. But if the Khan pursues you…?” Tadamoto looked into his brother’s face a last time, shook his head, and turned his horse back toward the Emperor’s position.