Samurai Son (29 page)

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Kasumi sat in Tenko’s hut and dug carefully through her things.
 
After Tenko had told her the story of how she had succumbed to demon-sickness and how he had begged Kuan Yin to heal her, she felt confused.
 
The kitsune she had known had been wily and treacherous kami, more likely to harm than help humans and other kami.

But Tenko was different.
 
He appeared to care about her, but why?
 
She discounted anything sexual; she saw nothing in his eyes or demeanor that suggested his interest in her physically.
 
So it came down to what she was and why he thought it was important for her to live.

Odd that a kitsune would recognize demon-sickness,
she thought.
 
She didn’t know a lot about the kitsune, but she suspected they had little knowledge of killing oni.

The door to the hut opened, and Tenko came in.
 
Kasumi stood up and gave him a small head bow in response to his kindness.
 
He bowed lower and smiled at her, closed lipped.
 
“I see you are doing better, Neko-sama,” he said.
 
“This is very good.”

“I want to thank you, Tenko-san, but I am at a loss as to how to do it.”
 
Kasumi tied her obi and swords around her waist.
 
“I do not know why you showed me such kindness.”

Tenko shrugged.
 
“Now you must finish your journey and find both Takeshi.
 
Takeshi daimyo has returned to his home if you wish to meet with him.”

Kasumi chewed her lip.
 
“What could I say that could help him?
 
He knows the situation.
 
I had Jiro fill him in on the kidnapping.
 
Without either his wife or son, I won’t have any way to ask for his help.”

Tenko cocked his head.
 
“You wish the daimyo’s help?
 
But why?
 
You are from a rival daimyo.”

“It’s complicated.”
 
Kasumi admonished herself for revealing this much.
 
Tenko could be a spy or say something to the wrong person.
 
Kitsune were known troublemakers.
 
“Let’s just say I can’t do anything without finding either of them.”

“Very well, Neko-sama,” Tenko said softly.
 
“I will help you find them.
 
Wait for me here.
 
I will look for someone who can help us.”

With that, Tenko turned into a fox and slipped out the front door, leaving Kasumi bemused.

#

Akira lay stunned in a pit, mud mixed with the coppery taste of blood filling his mouth.
 
What had he done this time?
 
He closed his eyes against the cold dirt and felt queasy.
 
His hawk-like, raptor wings were broken again, and the flight feathers were askew and torn.
 
A bo, covered with slime and muck, rested beside him.

The wind picked up, and freezing raindrops splattered along his bare back.
 
The rivulets of water mixed with his own blood and ran down his face, arms, and legs.
 
He shivered; the tattered silk tunic and trousers were no protection from the cold.

How long he lay there, freezing and soaked, he didn’t know.
 
He faded in and out of consciousness several times until at last he felt a hard nudge against his side.
 
At first, he thought he was dreaming again.
 
He was back at his father’s estate, training with the bo against Rokuro, who admonished him once again for his laxness.
 
He could see Rokuro’s face, even though his eyes were closed, and smell the cherry blossoms and chrysanthemums on the light sea breeze.
 
His sensei prodded him with the bo.

Get up, boy.

The nudge was harder, more insistent.
 
Akira groaned softly but did not move.
 
Surely Rokuro knew he was hurt?
 
The old sensei would make him practice with bruises and sore muscles, but he never forced Akira to fight with broken bones or a serious gash without being attended to first.

Akira’s muscles were numb, and he knew that moving them would be hot agony.
 
He was sure his ribs were broken at least as badly as his shattered wings.

Get up, Stormhammer.

The name brought him around.
 
As Akira opened his eyes, Rokuro faded, only to be replaced by the hawk-like creature before him.
 
The Tengu stood there, his eyes bright yellow, and his bo ready as he clacked his beak in disapproval.
 
Akira moved his fingers, and they numbly came to life; frozen pinpricks of agony danced along his skin.
 
Through the dirt and the blood, Akira spit the name out.

“Windcatcher!”

Akira grasped the bo beside him and hauled himself to his feet, stumbling once but catching balance against the staff before he collapsed again.
 
Pulling himself up, he could see only his hated enemy.
 
Akira swung the bo at the Tengu with such force, it would’ve thrown a man backward.
 
Windcatcher parried the blow with ease and swung his own bo effortlessly, catching Akira in the ribs and throwing him to the ground.

Akira coughed and bright red blood mixed with spittle hit the dark mud.
 
Before the Tengu could speak, Akira straightened up and swung the bo at Windcatcher again.
 
Windcatcher parried it, catching the tip of the bo and driving both into the ground.

The council has decided.
 
You will not remain with us any longer.

It took a moment before the words made sense to Akira’s addled brain.
 
He hesitated, shivering violently in the rain as his realization of the Tengu’s words sank in.
 
“You are here to kill me?”

No.

Akira swallowed hard, tasting the grime and blood in his mouth.
 
He stood up in ready position and did not lower his weapon.
 
“Then, what?”

The council has decided you are not Tengu, but nor are you human.
 
You have the blood of the kami in you, and yet you follow bushido, the way of the warrior.
 
You did not choose what you are, and so while many believe you should die, many more think you deserve a chance.
 
So the Tengu are prepared to offer you life.

“Life?
 
You’re not going to kill me?”

Not yet.

Akira stared into the implacable golden eyes.
 
“What then?”

You must choose your path now: human or Tengu.

Akira laughed but it held a bitter edge.
 
“That’s what I wanted all along.”

Is it, Stormhammer?
 
Think about this, my brother.
 
For if you choose to be human, you will forfeit your right to use Tengu magic.
 
You can never transform into a Tengu, call up the storms and the weather, or disappear into nothingness.
 
Yes, you will always be faster and stronger than most humans; your senses will always be sharper.
 
But you cannot call upon the Tengu magic to win a victory in battle or even save your life.
 
To do so will mean that you must return to us, or it will mean your certain death.
 
Do you understand?

Akira lowered his bo.
 
To return to the world of men, to be human once more—was this worth the price Windcatcher asked?
 
Akira sank down, rocking back on his heels.
 
Would he be able to do without the magic now that he had learned so much?

“What about Ikumi?”

Windcatcher’s eyes became pinpoint dots.
 
Stormdancer made her decision when she chose to lie with a human.
 
Her punishment is just.

Akira chewed his lower lip.
 
“You said that if I became Tengu, you’d free Ikumi.”

I said the council would consider it.
 
They have…. and rejected it.

Akira’s grip tightened on the bo.
 
He wanted to charge and swing the staff into his half brother, but even as he desired it, his hand loosened on the smooth wood.
 
He could not defeat Windcatcher, even if he summoned all his powers.
 
Even if he did, what then?
 
He would have the other kami to fight.
 
“You’re liars; you promised.”

We promised nothing.
 
Stormdancer made her choice long ago.
 
Perhaps, in time, the council will see fit to restore her to her former shape.
 
But at this time, she must learn the consequences of her actions.
 
Now make your choice.

“And if I make my choice, how do I know you won’t renege?”

Don’t give us cause to.

Despite the pain, Akira Stormhammer raised his head and stood up.
 
“I am Takeshi Akira, son of Takeshi Isao daimyo.
 
I am a samurai’s son.”

That is your choice?

“Yes.”

Windcatcher clacked his beak.
 
Then so be it.
 
The Tengu disappeared.

Akira dropped to his knees, his breath ragged.
 
The pain of his injuries hadn’t left, but he wasn’t willing to call back Windcatcher.
 
He let the bo drop from his fingers, and as the staff clattered to the ground, he, too, collapsed.

Chapter Sixty

Akira awoke on a soft futon nestled beneath the boughs of the big, sweeping conifers.
 
He could see the blue sky above the branches and the forest floor dappled with sunlight.
 
The ground was dry, suggesting he had been asleep a long time.
 
Or perhaps the Tengu had moved him again.
 
He could be anywhere in the archipelago.

He sat up slowly and found that his ribs no longer hurt.
 
Looking down and running his hands along the skin, he found his wounds completely healed.
 
He twisted around to look at his wings; they were no longer there.

Akira took a long breath in and exhaled slowly, enjoying the sensation of true feeling again.
 
He was no longer the half-Tengu monster, but human, as he had been before they had captured him and taken him prisoner.
 
He closed his eyes and lowered his head, murmuring thanks to whatever gods had listened to his prayers.

But was he
really
human?
 
Deep inside, he felt the spark of the Tengu magic.
 
It tickled at his consciousness like an itch he couldn’t ignore.
 
Even as he looked around the empty forest canopy, he could sense the Tengu presence.
 
It hung around him, cloying, like the sweet scent of spring flowers.
 
They were waiting, watching him, wondering what he would do in his new skin and new form.

Yet it was his old form, the one he had grown to accept for seventeen years before being taken by them.
 
He slid from the futon, finding himself naked and shivering in the light breeze.
 
Undergarments, tunic, trousers, and kamishimo hung from the branches of nearby conifers.
 
He pulled them down and dressed and found tabi socks and sandals lying within reach.
 
Akira heard a soft noise and turned around; his katana and wakizashi now lay on the futon along with an obi.
 
Beside them was another sword: a no-dachi with a shoulder scabbard.

He stared at it a long time.
 
He had done everything they had required to earn this weapon except become Tengu.
 
He forced himself to look at the markings on the sheath.
 
The dark scabbard held intricate carvings of the Tengu.
 
The hilt displayed a stylized form of Tengu feathers and a dragon.
 
The Tengu presence deepened and became overwhelming to his kami senses, forcing him to turn his attention to them.
 
He looked up at the nearly invisible creatures who watched from their perches.

You can yet change your mind…
 
Their mental voices came to him, thin and reedy on the wind.

Akira smiled bitterly.
 
“No.”
 
He took the long sword and strapped it across his back.

The enticing aroma of hot tea and rice cakes wafted to his nostrils, and he turned to see a tray of mochi, tea, and sushi lying on the futon.
 
Despite his anger, his stomach rumbled and he sat down and ate.
 
The food was good, but he hardly noticed the taste.
 
He drank several cups of tea before Windcatcher appeared in front of him.

“Where am I?” Akira demanded.

Where do you think you are?

“Not Tsuitori-jima,” he said, grimacing.
 
“The sun is too high in the sky for the season.”

You
have
learned something,
Windcatcher remarked.
 
The others were afraid you would not have learned anything.

Akira laughed.
 
“I have learned I want to be as far away from you as possible.
 
Why have you taken me from Tsuitori-jima?”

Because your destiny lies here, Stormhammer.

Akira paused at the use of his Tengu name.
 
“You still want me to return to you?”

Yes, because in your heart, you are still one of us.

“You’re wrong.”
 
He finished his tea and slammed down the cup.
 
“Where are we?”

We are on what the humans used to call the Imperial Island.

“Kyotori-jima?”
 
Akira’s gaze narrowed.
 
Why would they send me there?

You will have business here.

“What am I to do?”

Windcatcher imitated a human shrug.
 
I do not see the full future.
 
A naginata appeared in his hands.
 
Take this; it will keep you safe.

“Safe?”
 
Akira stood up and approached his half brother.
 
He looked into the kami’s emotionless face, trying to gauge the Tengu’s thoughts.
 
It proved unrewarding because even Windcatcher’s eyes betrayed nothing.
 
Akira grasped the pole arm and tugged it free from the Tengu’s hand.
 
It felt heavy and awkward after having trained with practice weapons for so long.

We are far outside of the city.
 
Ninja scour the countryside.
 
It is very dangerous.

“And I am to go to Kyo?”

You will go where your path takes you.
 
Remember, you will be watched.
 
With that, Windcatcher vanished.