The Initiate Brother Duology (126 page)

There was a second’s silence and then Hojo pointed. “There.”

In the rear of the army the gold and crimson banners fluttered in the cool north wind.

“He made no offer to accept a surrender,” Jaku said bitterly.

Shonto nodded, turning to Hojo. “Send guards to warn Kamu and our household. They must leave everything and move as quickly as possible.”

Shonto wheeled his horse to the south and set off at a gallop, the sounds of battle growing dim as they descended the long slope of the hill. A different scene faced them as they broke out of the trees: the army of Lord Taiki was formed up, ready to march, but was not on the move, and the army of the Emperor was forming ranks to the west. Over the crest of the hill upon which the earthworks had been established men poured in disarray.

Pointing toward the Imperial Army, Jaku said, “They do not even realize what has happened.”

“The barbarians will crest the hill soon enough,” Hojo said, “then all will know.”

“The Emperor’s army will break and run,” Shonto said. “Our own forces will take the blow. We must do what we are able. General Jaku, General Hojo, you will organize the rearguard action and we will march south and take our losses.” He waved them forward and the small group set off at speed.

A shout went up from Lord Taiki’s army before Shonto’s party reached them, and men turned to the north where the vanguard of the barbarian army appeared. On the crest of the hill the army of the desert hesitated, banners fluttering, the men of Wa in flight before them. The soldiers of the Imperial Army stood looking back as the Khan’s army grew, crimson riders appearing under a cloud of gold silk banners.

The Khan had taken the field and was, for the first time, seeing the distant Imperial Capital rising up above the mist. Barbarian warriors collected below the banners of their chieftain like the dark crest of a wave forming on the hillside. Like a wave crest it gathered weight and grew in size until it
must rush down and spread itself across the shore. The din of horns assaulted the ears three times, and each time the barbarians answered the call with a shout and a clash of arms.

With a final shout the army of the desert surged down the hillside. The men of the Imperial Army stood looking on for a few seconds and then they broke and ran, the panic washing through the unformed ranks like wind through wheat.

Shonto’s party closed with Taiki’s army, standing its ground still, and a guard raised the blue silk and shinta blossom on a staff to a shout of elation from the men. A rider in Komawara blue raced along the edge of the troops, pulling open his face mask-as he came.

Hojo waved a hand at this rider. “The mystery of Lord Komawara…he stayed to fight with his men.”

Shonto’s guard met the rider with drawn swords, but Shonto waved them aside and Komawara pulled up his horse before the lord.

“The barbarians split their force to attack, Lord Shonto. My men are ready to ride out to meet them. Lord Butto will join me.”

Shonto looked up the slope to the charging army and nodded to Komawara. “Their force is large, Lord Komawara. You may slow them, but be prepared to fall back quickly. General Hojo will prepare our defense. Where is Lord Taiki?”

Komawara waved a gloved hand to the south. “At the head of the army, Sire.”

“May Botahara protect you,” Shonto said and waved his guard to follow, setting out toward the south.

Komawara spun his mount and raced off, closing his face-mask as he went and tightening his helmet cord.

The crest of the barbarian wave broke upon the rear of the fleeing Imperial Army first, riding down the foot-soldiers. A conch sounded in the rear of Lord Shonto’s force and the Komawara banner shook free in the breeze, fluttered for an instant and then the north wind faltered and died. The conch sounded again and riders in darkest blue and riders in purple set off with a shout to meet the charging barbarian cavalry.

With the dying of the north wind the cloud of fog halted in its southern retreat, reformed its ghostly ranks, and began to creep north, devouring the heads of the two armies of Wa, then drawing in the bodies.

*   *   *

Lady Nishima turned to Shuyun who stared off at the hilltop. Dark banners waved on the crest and men massed there in growing numbers.

“Those are the banners of the Khan, Lady Nishima. It would appear that the barbarians have attacked the retreating Imperial Army.”

Dark stains on the green fields marked the distant armies of Wa. Horns sounded, their metallic voices borne across the land on the north wind.

Nishima looked back toward the hill they had recently departed. “Where is my father?” she said, keeping panic from her voice with an effort.

Kitsura rode up then, one hand on the reins and the other holding tight to the saddle.

“Can you see, Brother?” she asked. “What occurs?”

Rolling across the green land, the shout of the barbarian army struck like the first breath of winter.

“Botahara save us,” Kitsura whispered.

The dark mass of the army of the desert poured down the slope of the hill. Nishima tore her eyes away, looking back the way they had come, searching for the signs of blue.

Near at hand a single rider jumped a low stone wall, coming toward them at a gallop from the direction of Lord Taiki’s army.

“A messenger,” Shuyun said.

Kamu appeared, galloping his horse down the line of Shonto retainers, his empty sleeve blowing in the wind like a banner. He stopped beside Lady Nishima, staring out toward the beginning battle.

“We cannot tarry, Lady Nishima, Brother. We must make haste,” he said.

Nishima nodded. “What has become of Lord Shonto?”

The rider who came toward them waved then and no one made a move to make haste as Kamu had suggested. They waited, transfixed by the terrible scene unfolding before them.

His horse in a lather, the rider, a Shonto House Guard, reined in before Kamu, pulling open his face-mask as he did so. “I come from Lord Shonto. Our lord orders that you leave everything and flee with all haste. The barbarians have carried the attack to us.”

“Where is he?” Nishima said, the fear she felt breaking through. “Where is Lord Shonto?”

“He has joined the army, Lady Nishima, to direct the defense.”

Nishima turned her face away, covering her eyes with her hand.

Shuyun pointed to the north, east of the hill that had been the Shonto
encampment. Barbarian riders were emerging from behind a stand of trees not far off. Turning in his saddle, Shuyun surveyed the field in all directions, then he reached over and took the reins from Kitsura’s hands, pulling them over the head of her mount.

“The north wind is dying,” Shuyun said, “The fog will hold for some time now. Lady Nishima?” he said with some gentleness. “Lord Shonto is a capable man surrounded by able warriors. We must look to ourselves.” He tugged at the reins of Kitsura’s mare. “Steward Kamu, the fog clears first in the east. May Botahara protect you.”

“You must have guards, Brother,” Kamu protested. “I cannot let the Ladies Nishima and Kitsura go off unprotected.”

“We will be more likely to slip away undetected the fewer we are.”

“I will go with Brother Shuyun, Kamu-sum,” Nishima said. “Do not be concerned. In the fog Brother Shuyun can see where others are blind. Brother.”

The monk turned his horse and led the two ladies south, disappearing into the cloud of white.

*   *   *

Lord Komawara elected to charge the barbarians, knowing from his experience that they could be thrown into confusion by a direct attack. To his left he could see the small form of Butto Joda, riding a massive stallion and outdistancing his apprehensive guard. Jaku Katta held a position to the lord’s right. Arrows whistled overhead, passing both north and south.

The opposing armies met with a clash of steel that rang across the field. Komawara took his first man from the saddle with a blow from his pommel. He caught a fleeting glimpse of Jaku Katta, his sword flashing and barbarian riders falling back before the great warrior.

He fought another, one of his Hajiwara guards knee to knee with him as they both battled forward. It soon became obvious to Komawara that the momentum of their charge was being overcome. The Hajiwara guard toppled from the saddle and he saw two barbarians on foot pounce on him.

A shout came from Komawara’s left and he saw Lord Butto spur toward him. “We must fall back while there are enough of us to win through.”

Komawara looked around quickly and realized that, among the fallen barbarians, the field was strewn with men in Komawara colors and the Butto purple. He tore his conch from his saddle as Lord Butto fought to protect him. Sounding the retreat, he dropped the conch to the ground and went to
the aid of Butto Joda. Lieutenant Narihira appeared at Lord Butto’s side, unhorsing a barbarian and disarming another who retreated.

The three fell back, more barbarian raiders appearing with each passing moment.

“There is no end of them,” Butto shouted.

“They are like the swarming of the Butto across my lord’s fief,” Narihira answered.

Butto Joda almost fell from his horse as he aimed a blow at the Komawara guard who wore the green lacing on his sleeve, but Narihira turned this aside. Komawara drove his horse between the two men as the first tongue of mist drifted past them. In a moment they were completely enveloped, the sounds of swords ringing came out of the mist around them, but they could see no others. Barbarians appeared before them, charging immediately. They were separated in the ensuing fight and lost their way, no longer certain which direction was a retreat, which a futile charge.

*   *   *

Despite the number of his guards the Emperor of Wa kept his hand on his sword hilt. His army was in retreat before a vastly superior force and at the crest of the hill that his army had recently abandoned he could see the gold banners of the Great Khan waving in the fitful breeze. The banners slowly descended the hill which told the Emperor more about what happened in the battle than any number of reports. The Khan had a perfect view of the situation—the scene of his triumph.

Colonel Jaku Tadamoto rode through the Emperor’s guard, bowing from the saddle.

“Colonel?”

“Lord Taiki’s army is holding ranks thus far, Sire, though they are cut off from us now. Our troops have broken rank, Emperor, the barbarian army sweeps all before it.”

The Emperor nodded, his reaction unreadable behind the frozen features of his black face-mask. “Gather what troops remain and retreat toward the capital. If we can slip out across the lake, we may yet save some part of this frightened army. What direction does Lord Taiki go?”

“It is difficult to know, Emperor: south, generally.”

The Emperor reached up and tightened his helmet cord. “Offer what resistance you can to cover our retreat, Colonel.” The Emperor turned and spurred his horse toward the canal where his boat waited.

Tadamoto sat his horse watching the Emperor go. I did not tell him that many say they saw the Shonto banner at the head of Lord Taiki’s army, Tadamoto thought—no doubt he will find out soon enough.

*   *   *

It was quickly obvious to Lord Taiki that they could not be certain of their direction in the fog and the relief he had felt at returning command of the army to Lord Shonto quickly gave way to apprehension. The knowledge that they would face a barbarian army of one hundred thousand if they were still on the field when the fog cleared kept them moving all the same.

In council with Lord Taiki, Shonto had decided to go what they hoped was southwest to meet the canal which would take them to the capital—perhaps the only destination they could be certain of.

The sounds of battle surrounded them and companies of riders would appear and disappear like apparitions. Neither General Hojo, nor the Lords Butto and Komawara, nor Jaku Katta had been heard from since the fog returned and not one member of their party found their way back to the main body of Shonto’s army. The worst was feared, though no one would give voice to this, but Lord Taiki became more pessimistic about their fate by the moment.

Despite moving across level ground the army progressed at the pace of an old man on foot, a result of their uncertainty of direction, no doubt.

“This fog is both a blessing and a curse, Lord Shonto,” Taiki said. Like everyone else, he found himself constantly searching the mist around him, looking for signs of the enemy or for a landmark that might tell them where they were. Patrols could not be sent out, for they would never find the army again and this made the commanders doubly blind.

“It is a blessing, do not doubt it. We should have been swept from the field, but the Khan has lost us as we have lost him. Pray it holds until we are beyond his reach. We will march by night. If we can find our way across the river, we may escape, Lord Taiki. It is the most we can hope for.”

The ringing of steel sounded before them where Shonto had placed his strongest swordsmen. A rider in blue pushed through toward Lord Shonto and Taiki.

“We have met a barbarian party, Sire,” he shouted as he came. “Reinforcements are being called for.”

“What numbers? How large a party?”

The man rode up then, bowing from his saddle. “Large, Sire. It is impossible to tell.”

Shonto turned and gave orders to an officer and there was a flurry of movement around them. Horns blared to their right, sounding far too close. Riders appeared suddenly and Taiki drew his sword at the same time as Shonto.

“They are Lord Komawara’s men!” someone shouted and Taiki heard a voice thank Botahara—his voice. But then he realized these men fought barbarians.

Shonto cursed beside him. “We have ridden into the heart of the battle, Lord Taiki. Fall back in that direction.” The lord waved his sword. “We must hold our force together.” His words were lost in the chaos. Arrows whistled and fell among the men near him. Like any lord of Seh, Taiki did not flinch or try to cover himself.

Barbarian warriors engaged the guards around the two lords. Butto purple could be seen in the mist now, riders hard pressed and few. Taiki saw Shonto cross swords with a barbarian. The lord of the Shonto fighting like a common warrior, Taiki thought, and then he, too, was fighting for his life. More arrows fell, shot by which side Taiki could not tell. Lord Toshaki Yoshihira unseated a man to Taiki’s left, shouting that he had seen the canal bank. Arrows flew and men fell around him.