Without going anywhere near Kiku’s parting gift, Toshi turned and went back to the main chamber.
Hidetsugu was waiting for him with the Taken One propped up on his shoulder. He showed no signs of strain, but he was grinning evilly.
“You have changed, ochimusha. A year ago you would have stolen her shoes while she slept and left an insulting note pinned to her clothing.”
“We’ve all changed,” Toshi said brusquely. “A year ago, I was much less weary.” He produced the axe he had taken from Kiku’s belt.
Hidetsugu must have smelled the freshly sharpened metal, or at least the residual blood that the axe had tasted. “You are going to do your duty by the nezumi?”
“I am. If he can’t be saved, I can’t just leave him to suffer.”
“Careful, my friend,” Hidetsugu said, his voice unkind. “You are dancing on the precipice of nobility.”
Toshi did not reply.
“When you’ve done your duty,” Hidetsugu said, “find my tetsubo and bring it along, will you?”
“Of course.” Toshi turned to Marrow-Gnawer, still smoking and twitching as the curse held him fast.
“You were the best vermin thug I ever knew,” Toshi said. “And a loyal reckoner. The hyozan salutes you, Marrow-Gnawer.” The axe went up and came down with a terrible, terminal thump.
Hidetsugu waited until Toshi turned to face him once more.
“Are you ready, blood-brother?”
“I am.” Toshi looked around at the wreckage he’d helped create. He shook his head and then shrugged. “To the roof.”
The last of the oni had either fled or been cut down. The battle belonged to Konda and his ghost army, and O-Kagachi was still crawling across the horizon, slowly but inevitably headed for Minamo.
His moth-riders now circled the academy, concentrating on a large hole in the exterior south wall. Konda’s eyes had fixed on the same spot, and he knew that total victory was within his grasp.
“Forward!” he shouted. “For Eiganjo! For Towabara! For the glory of all Kamigawa!”
“Konda!” his army replied. “Konda!”
Two moth-riders swept down on each side of the daimyo’s horse. The grotesque hybrids of man and beast extended their glowing auras to surround Konda, and they now carried him and his steed into the air over Lake Kamitaki.
Though the lake and the shore alike were strewn with wreckage and fallen bodies, Konda had never seen such a beautiful view. Borne aloft on his retainer’s wings, he felt more than a general, more than a daimyo. He felt like a conquering god. This was his true destiny, and that of the world-to be victorious and triumphant over all enemies.
The moths guided him to the south wall and tacked back and forth outside the hole in the wall. Though he was only a short leap from the building’s interior, Konda sensed something was wrong. His eyes were no longer glued to this level of the school. The Taken One had been moved.
Anger and panic bubbled up through his euphoria. His wandering eyes darted across and around his face like maddened hornets in a jar. Disoriented, Konda could only sit and fume until he located his prize.
Overhead, thunder rolled down from the academy roof and a great flash of black lightning snaked across the cloudy evening sky. Even from this great distance, Konda caught the scent of sulfur and saw a ghostly vision of a vortex filled with sharp teeth and slavering jaws. A huge, vaguely man-shaped figure was falling into the vortex, howling in rage and waving a heavy spiked club. Then the vortex closed, swallowing the brutish figure and vanishing from sight.
Konda’s eyes found their target. There, he thought. He craned his head up and saw a single living battle-moth ascending from Minamo into the clouds above. The Taken One, the great stone disk that Konda had risked so much and fought so hard for, was lashed securely to the colorful creature’s back.
Without a word or a gesture, his moth-riders turned and gave chase. The two escorting Konda were the first to move and the fastest in flight. Even with their burden, the ghostly moths rapidly closed the distance between the daimyo and his prize.
Konda saw a single man on the moth’s back, and while the distance was still too great to identify him, the Daimyo’s eyes would not be fooled. This was the thief Toshi Umezawa and he was once again stealing Konda’s treasure. The daimyo urged his bearers forward, willing them to go ever faster.
The sky ahead of the thief was growing darker even though it was closer to the setting sun. The ochimusha steered his moth into the blacker mass of clouds and air ahead, and then he and the Taken One were gone. Not even Konda’s eyes could find them, even after the daimyo himself had plunged into the wall of darkness. Seconds later, he emerged from the other side to find an empty sky stretching out before him.
This was intolerable. He had both thief and treasure within his grasp, but now they were both gone without a trace. Was Night itself the ochimusha’s ally?
To the south, O-Kagachi let out an anguished roar. Its thrashing coils became quiescent and the giant serpent heads paused, fixing their star-eyes on the patch of sky where Konda raged. Then the dread guardian of the kakuriyo turned away and cast its eyes east, the direction the ochimusha had gone. Like a typhoon, the serpent ponderously changed course, ignoring the academy and the waterfall.
Daimyo Konda bellowed in frustration. Victory would not be his today.
With a thought, Konda summoned his army and directed them to follow. The Taken One had gone east. O-Kagachi would follow, but the serpent was not as quick as the daimyo’s ghost army. Once he could lock his gaze upon his prize, Konda would ride down upon the ochimusha and crucify him. The prize would be back in Eiganjo before O-Kagachi ever came close.
The daimyo gripped his horse’s reins and clenched his teeth. The next time he came this close to his goal, he would die before he let it slip though his fingers.
Toshi willed himself and his moth solid as soon as they were clear of the falls. He had chosen his steed well. The live moth had so far proved fast enough to keep him out of Konda’s clutches, provided he maintained the lead his myojin had given him.
Night’s Reach had been pleased with Toshi’s success in keeping the Taken One from Konda and O-Kagachi, so she was extremely accommodating in the matter of escaping the daimyo’s pursuit. In addition to hiding Toshi as he flew, she had also delayed Konda’s progress. She had also been unexpectedly enthusiastic about sending Hidetsugu to confront the All-Consuming. Night’s face was literally an unchanging mask, but Toshi thought he saw joy and excitement in his myojin’s demeanor.
He tried not to dwell on the cost of pleasing his patron. Hidetsugu was gone, Marrow was dead, and if Kiku remained herself she would still be forever changed. He hoped the rough stone disk was worth it, but it would take someone else to convince him.
thank you
Toshi started at the sound of a voice in his head. The most powerful mages and spirits could speak mind-to-mind, but this voice was unfamiliar to him. That’s all I need right now, he thought, another interested party.
saved me
Toshi shivered in the cold night air. I’m not hearing this, he insisted to himself. I’m not listening to any new voices.
release me
Slowly, Toshi turned in the saddle. Behind him, the Taken One was still securely bound to the moth’s harness. The serpent’s face peeked out between leather straps.
To his mounting terror, the etched image of the Taken One moved, stretching like a cat after a long nap. It turned to face Toshi directly, and, though its line-drawn mouth did not move, its voice came clearly to Toshi’s ears even as the rushing wind filled them with its roar.
thank you
saved me
release me
NOW
Toshi struggled for words. He had thought his recent success had come from the Myojin of Night’s Reach, but now he wasn’t so sure. His mind was choked with questions. The stone disk was talking to him. Had it talked to Konda? What else could it do?