Griffin's Shadow (22 page)

“Pass the word along, Homan. We’re moving out,” Ashinji ordered. Homan nodded once in acknowledgement, then turned and began to shout out the order to mount up. His words echoed down the line and the army quickly rose up and fell in. On Sadaiyo’s signal, they resumed the march.

The sun hung low in a hazy sky when they finally reached Enzan Estate. The estate was large and prosperous, and the road leading to the manor wound through fields planted with row upon row of grapevines. Fruit hung heavy in plump, purple clusters on the gnarled vines, awaiting the harvest.

A figure stood in the road ahead of them, waving. As they drew closer, Ashinji recognized the man who had been sent to meet them several hours earlier. Sadaiyo held his arm up, signaling the column to stop.

The man approached and bowed low. “If it please you, my lords, my lady has bid me lead you to the ground where the army is to camp tonight.” Sadaiyo waved impatiently, indicating that the man should proceed. The servant bowed again and trotted off, leading them down a side road that curved away deeper into the vineyards.

Dusk had fallen by the time they left the vineyards and entered a large, open meadow. A single, massive oak tree stood near the center, like a well- armored sentry on guard duty. The manor house stood at the far edge of the grassy expanse, windows gleaming a soft gold from the light of many lamps. Sadaiyo reined his horse to a halt and dismounted. He handed off the stallion to his aide and turned around in a circle, surveying the ground. Ashinji waited, still mounted, for his brother’s command.

“Give the order to set up camp, and I want you and the other senior officers to assemble under that tree as soon as everything’s settled,” Sadaiyo directed. “I don’t intend to keep our hostess waiting any longer than necessary.”

The camp sprang up quickly. By the time Ashinji had passed the word to those officers who ranked high enough to dine at the lady’s table, most of the common troops had shed their armor and now attended to evening duties—grooming horses, starting small cooking fires, cleaning tack, laying out bedrolls.

Ashinji checked in with Peregrine Company before leaving to join the other senior officers.

“I feel sorry for you, Cap’n,” Homan drawled. “While you’re up at the manor eatin’ whatever poor fare the lady can scrape together, we’ll all be out here feasting on dried fish and journeycake!” A gale of laughter erupted all around. Ashinji grinned and for a brief moment, he felt the ease he had known with his people before he had been lifted so high above them by circumstance.

“I’ll try not to feel too envious,” he replied. “I’ll be back after dinner, so save some beer for me.”

“And a little something stronger, my lord?” Homan winked and held up a small metal flask. Ashinji recalled, with wistful clarity, the night he had shared a flask of muato with Magnes Preseren.

I wonder where Jelena’s cousin is now,
he thought.
Will we have the misfortune to come face to face on the field of battle? If I’m forced, can I fight, to the death, a man I call ‘friend’?

Goddess! Maybe the face I saw in my vision…belonged to Magnes! Can it be possible that my friend—my kinsman—will be the instrument of my death?

“My lord…Are you all right?”

Homan’s question broke Ashinji’s melancholy reverie.

“Yes, Sergeant, I’m fine…just thinking, is all.”

“We’ll see you later, then, Cap’n.”

“You surely will,” Ashinji replied. He waved in farewell and strode off into the darkness toward the great oak tree.

“There you are!” Sadaiyo called out as Ashinji arrived at the meeting place beneath the spreading branches of the old tree. “You’ve kept all of us waiting!”

“Sorry,” Ashinji murmured, glancing around at the six men and two women who made up Sadaiyo’s senior command. Like Ashinji, they all held the rank of captain, and, with the exception of Gendan, had served in the regular army for many years, two as far back as the reign of Keizo the Elder.

Gendan nodded in greeting. “My lord,” he said.

“Are the king’s officers treating you well, Gendan?” Ashinji asked quietly.

“Errrr…yes, Lord Ashinji, well enough, I reckon, though some of the troops are a little snotty to my guards. Guess they figure army regulars rate above a lowly provincial guard unit.” Gendan sniffed, clearly indignant.

“The Kerala Guard is far from lowly, and soon, the regulars will know your true worth, as I do,” Ashinji replied.

Gendan scuffed his boot in the litter of dried leaves and last year’s acorns.

“Thank you, my lord. Means a lot t’hear you say that,” he said.

A liveried servant arrived to escort the group of officers to the manor. As they proceeded across the meadow, now trampled down by the passage of hundreds of boots and hooves, Sadaiyo fell in beside Ashinji. “Why so broody, Little Brother?” he inquired. “Could it be that, like me, you miss the sweet company of your wife?”

Ashinji regarded his brother with surprise. Though he couldn’t discern Sadaiyo’s expression in the darkness, he thought he detected a note of sympathy in his brother’s normally sardonic voice.

“I miss Jelena very much,” he replied, careful to keep his own voice neutral. He didn’t trust Sadaiyo not to use any of his tender emotions against him, and he would never divulge the true reason for his bleak mood.

“Well, a fine meal, good wine, and a willing girl will lift your spirits!” Sadaiyo chuckled. “But, of course, you’d rather sleep alone, outside, on the hard ground.” He laughed again.

Ashinji slowed his pace in order to allow Sadaiyo to walk ahead, determined to avoid his brother’s direct company as much as possible tonight.

When they reached the manor, the lady herself greeted them at the door. Lady Kara was an elderly widow, and still attractive even though age had left its inevitable traces upon her face. A knee-length tunic and wide trousers of fine white cotton enhanced her graceful figure, and she wore her hair in a towering, old-fashioned coiffure. Three middle-aged women flanked her on either side, and by the close resemblances of all their faces, Ashinji deduced they were Lady Kara’s daughters.

“Welcome to Enzan, my lords,” the lady greeted them in a warm, melodious voice, inclining her head. For a moment, Ashinji caught a glimpse of the beautiful young woman she had once been. “My humble home is honored by your presence.”

“Lady Kara, it is we who are honored by your gracious hospitality,” Sadaiyo replied, taking the lady’s hand and pressing it to his lips. Lady Kara smiled, a look of satisfaction on her face, clearly taken in by Sadaiyo’s courtly gesture.

“Please, come inside. I’ve had a meal prepared for all of you. Nothing fancy, mind. We’re simple country folk, after all, but there’s plenty of food and it’s hot.” She turned and led the way into the house, her daughters falling in beside her.

The meal proved to be anything but simple. The long trestle table creaked beneath platters of roasted ducks in citrus sauce, rabbit pie, and tureens of baked trout from the local stream. Pots of boiled fennel root, a fresh salad of greens grown in Lady Kara’s own garden, and baskets of bread complemented the meats, and to wash it all down, several fine varietals produced at the estate’s own winery.

Despite the splendid quality of the food, Ashinji found it impossible to summon up much interest. He ate just enough to avoid offending their hostess, and allowed himself a single goblet of wine, steadfastly refusing any refills.

Two of Lady Kara’s three daughters had managed to position themselves on either side of him, and now gazed at him like hungry cats contemplating a nest of baby mice. Their sister had ensconced herself between Sadaiyo and her mother, where she now conducted a not-so-subtle seduction campaign. Sadaiyo basked in her attentions, clearly enjoying himself.

Ashinji wondered why the three women, despite passable looks and a decent fortune, had yet to find husbands.

“You’ve hardly touched your food, Lord Ashinji. Is it not to your liking?” asked the sister on his left. She regarded him from a heart-shaped face graced with full lips and sparkling blue eyes.

“Everything is delicious, Lady Tamina,” he replied. “I’m just not very hungry.” He lifted his wine goblet to his lips and took a small sip. Tamina leaned in close and the scent of roses caressed Ashinji’s nose.

“You seem sad, my lord. Such a handsome young face should never look so mournful.” She reached up to coquettishly twirl a loose strand of black hair between her thumb and forefinger.

“I miss my wife,” Ashinji replied, and though he tried, he failed to disguise the pain in his voice.

The sister to his right boldly caressed his forearm. “You must love her very much, my lord,” she murmured. “But a wife who is far away can’t keep her husband warm at night, can she? It’s perfectly understandable that a man, even one who loves his wife, would wish to take some comfort where he could… Ease the loneliness of the road.”

“My sister Shuzen is right,” Tamina purred in agreement.

A woman’s throaty laugh momentarily distracted him. Ashinji looked away from Shuzen in time to observe Sadaiyo engage Lady Kara’s oldest daughter in a firm kiss. He turned away in faint disgust, only to be skillfully ambushed by Tamina, who slipped one hand between his knees and grabbed his chin with the other. Boldly, she pulled his face to hers and kissed him. He grunted in surprise, and tried to push her away but she held fast. From the corner of his eye, he could see Lady Kara smiling in approval.

“Lady Tamina, please!” Ashinji gasped, after he managed to disengage his lips from hers.

Tamina smiled. “Oh come, now. Why so shy? You’re wife’s not here. You’re free to play, and you can have both of us.”

“Our sister Uebaru gets your brother, of course, because he is the eldest and so is she, but Tamina and I are much better lovers than she is,” Shuzen purred. She tweaked Ashinji’s ear.

This is all too much,
he thought.
I’ve got to get out of here before I explode!

Ashinji rose from his seat. Conversation halted and all eyes fastened on him. “Lady Kara, I humbly apologize but I’m not feeling very well. I think I should leave now.”

He could see that Lady Kara saw through his feeble excuse, but he didn’t care. For an instant, intense regret and annoyance flashed across her lined face, but she quickly recovered.

“Of course, Lord Ashinji,” she replied, the gracious hostess once more. “I am so sorry you are…indisposed.”

“My lord, d’you want me to come with you?” Gendan asked, half-rising from his seat, a look of concern on his weathered face.

Ashinji shook his head. “No, Captain. Stay and enjoy yourself.”

Neither Tamina nor Shuzen bothered to disguise their anger at being rejected. Both raked him with withering looks, then turned their backs.

Ashinji bowed to Lady Kara and fled the room.

As he escaped out into the crisp, smoke-scented air of the fall night, the sound of renewed revelry followed him, mocking him with unbridled gaiety.

The moon rode high and full, bathing the countryside in quicksilver light. Fine gravel gave way to packed earth as he walked along the path toward the meadow where the army camped. He could hear the sounds of the camp off in the distance—the skirl of a flute, raucous laughter, the neigh of restless horses, voices raised in song. It filled him with intense longing and regret; never had he been more acutely aware of his own mortality than at this moment.

He paused on the moonlit path to drink in the sweet air. Closing his eyes, he visualized Jelena, standing before him, arms raised in love and welcome. In his mind’s eye, he reached out to embrace her.

If only I could hold you one last time,
he thought.
If only we could share one last kiss...

I could go to my death a happy man.

Raging To The Heavens

Sadaiyo returned to camp at sunrise, looking a little haggard, but well pleased. Ashinji had been awake and working for some time already, supervising the distribution of rations to his company.

Sadaiyo sauntered up and greeted him with a cheerful grin. “Good morning, Little Brother. Sleep well?”

“Yes, I did,” Ashinji lied.

“Well, I hate to brag, but I didn’t get much sleep,” Sadaiyo replied. “I didn’t think I could possibly keep up with three…but somehow, I managed to… rise to the occasion.” He chuckled lasciviously. “You know, you really hurt Tamina and Shuzen’s feelings, not to mention Lady Kara’s. You ought to have better manners.” He raised a hand as if to forestall a protest. “But don’t worry! I was able to, ah, smooth their ruffled feathers and sweeten their tempers.”

“Sex has never been a blood sport for me, like it is for you, Brother,” Ashinji retorted. He stared at Sadaiyo with weary eyes, wanting only to be left alone.

“Oh, Lady Kara and her daughters weren’t interested in sport, my naïve little brother. They were deadly serious.” Sadaiyo grinned again.

“What are you talking about?” Ashinji demanded, irritation and fatigue roughening his voice. He hated Sadaiyo’s word and mind games.

“Blood, Ashi. Heirs. In case you didn’t notice, none of Lady Kara’s daughters is exactly in the bloom of youth anymore. Enzan needs heirs or it will pass to the Crown upon the deaths of all the good ladies. I just stepped in and, uh, performed a little service for Lady Kara. With any luck, Enzan can stay in the possession of the family.”