The Twilight War (13 page)

As the guards approached, Snowhawk launched into her most subtle trick, slowing her breathing and heart rate, glazing her eyes as if barely conscious. While the leaner guard kept watch, hands on his weapons, his stocky companion dropped to one knee and carefully stretched open Snowhawk's right eye with his thumb. He pressed the side of her neck, observing her breathing. ‘Still heavily drugged,' he said. ‘She'll give us no trouble.'

Both guards returned to their posts near the chamber door. Soon they started whispering. Taking great care not to show it, Snowhawk strained to listen.

The leaner guard sounded excited. ‘No, it's true. I heard Fuma Kotaro himself confirm it: the scout we sent west, to Bizen, has discovered that Lord Ukita isn't there –'

‘What about his bodyguard?' his partner cut in. ‘What about Koga Danjo?'

‘The scout learned they're together, but far away, with part of Ukita's army. I heard Master Kotaro tell his brother that he expects to learn the location very soon.'

‘Well, once we know that,' the stocky guard said, ‘it's straightforward, isn't it? We kill Danjo, then Ukita. Silver Wolf topples the Shogun … then rewards us. And what a reward that will be. I would never have imagined such a future –'

The lean guard grunted. ‘I wouldn't get excited until it actually happens. And what's this
we
? Could
you
slay a bodyguard like Koga Danjo, a man who can't be cut? A man said to live forever?' The other man sighed. ‘No, nor I. So who will?'

‘It's impossible then, a suicide mission. None of us juniors would be sent, it'd be pointless. But would a master or senior volunteer instead? Even
they
say Danjo has unlocked a grand array of dark sciences, making him invincible. The man's a wizard.'

Even more intrigued, Snowhawk weighed it all up. She and Moonshadow already knew the secret of Koga Danjo and The Deathless's darkest battle science: immunity to blades. Or did they? What if the powers of master and student worked differently? Whoever faced Danjo should assume nothing!

Snowhawk sensed rising shinobi energy, then the door opened from without and Kagero strode in. Snowhawk watched her approach through nearly closed eyes. Dressed in a lavish green kimono, a single fan tucked in her belt, Kagero stood over her. The kunoichi kicked one of her feet.

‘Stop faking,' Kagero said knowingly. ‘We have to talk.'

‘Come closer, then.' Snowhawk fluttered her eyes open and gave a sweet smile. ‘Sit down, let's talk.'

Kagero snorted, then returned a wry smirk.
‘Not a chance. I haven't forgotten your best trick!' She inclined her head thoughtfully, adopting a maternal tone. ‘Let's forget that I am your enemy for a moment, shall we? Let's even forget our roles as interrogator and prisoner. I wish to give you some useful advice, about the value of
flexible thinking
–'

‘You're insane!' Snowhawk snapped. ‘You're a mad old witch! I don't care if you think you have some wisdom gift, or even if you
do
have one! You expect me to just overlook that fan in your belt, the scheming hate in your eyes, and … and
what
? Open my heart to hear your spiritual wisdom?'

Kagero blinked several times, looking quite hurt. ‘What are you saying, child?'

Snowhawk held up her head defiantly. ‘Words are cheap, sages are everywhere. But our
acts
show who we truly are. They weave our karma, for glory or destruction.'

The veteran kunoichi shook her head. ‘I see that nauseating Mantis has bred yet another lamp-head disciple. Very well! Rebuff my wisdom if you like, but hear well these
cheap words
of both threat and promise. You
will
start talking about the Grey Light Order: their allies, their next missions, their outlying bases. And their inventions, too!'

Rolling amused eyes as if unconcerned, Snowhawk said, ‘Or?'

Kagero drew her fan with blinding speed, shrieking as she plunged down to hold its poisoned tips to Snowhawk's throat. Snowhawk shuddered and even the guards flinched. Kagero's eyes glowed red, her face contorted with fury and her shinobi disguise powers exaggerated its lines horribly until Kagero indeed looked like a mad, murderous witch.

‘Or?' Kagero growled in a deep, otherworldly voice. ‘
Or
?'

Open-mouthed and pale, Snowhawk pressed herself back into the rocky wall.

‘Or when I return,' Kagero yelled, ‘I'll
make
you talk, the Old Fuma way! With fire, ice and iron!' The veteran kunoichi stood and paced away, then looked back over her shoulder. Her face was her own again. She smiled. ‘Please, little squirrel,
make me
.' She stalked to the entrance, both guards avoiding her eyes.

As the door slammed shut behind Kagero, Snowhawk realised she was trembling.

After studying the map intensively, Groundspider led the mission team off the ledge. Moonshadow gave the Fuma's incredible training area a final admiring glance, then followed Rikichi back to the natural chamber they had roped into. The trio stood
between the rotting tatami mats and the stack of boxes, studying the two remaining tunnel mouths.

Moonshadow tapped his finger on his arm as he watched Groundspider check the map yet again. Then the big shinobi chose a tunnel and padded straight for it.

‘Sorry I'm so vague from here on in,' Rikichi said uncomfortably as he followed. ‘Of course I
saw
that lower gallery level back when I infiltrated the Fuma, but I went there only once, briefly, and it was all some time ago.'

‘Don't worry about it,' Groundspider said, ducking his head to enter the passage. ‘These tunnels are just broken lines on Badger's map, but I think we'll still get there.'

‘Think?' Moonshadow frowned. ‘Great.' He moved behind Rikichi and they entered a maze of small, dim, cramped tunnels. Groundspider had apparently memorised the route, and at every fork he led the turns quickly, confident even when they moved through patches of total darkness, relying solely on their shinobi night-sight to navigate.

Moonshadow knew their goal: to follow these meandering minor tunnels down to the gallery they had seen below The Sifter. The aim was to exit on the heavily shadowed side, at an opening just east of, and almost facing, the mysterious reinforced door.

The door from behind which those horrible cries had come.

He chewed his bottom lip as they shuffled in single file through a cramped section of tunnel. What was behind that door? Were the Fuma breeding monsters now? At least it was on the same level as Snowhawk's interrogation chamber. He nodded resolutely.

Rikichi's breathing was the only sound in the dim passage ahead. He'd found no opportunity yet to tell Groundspider about Rikichi's suspected lie. Had the big oaf sensed it for himself? The freelancer seemed a bit nervous now, but that in itself proved nothing. They had left the area he knew well, and if he had escaped only narrowly the last time he was here, going deeper into this base would be understandably frightening for him.

Moonshadow scowled. But he
had
known something about that cry.
What?

Suddenly the cramped passage flared into a chamber. It was roughly square, aglow with box lanterns, the best-lit wall lined entirely with shelves. Moonshadow's heart started pounding. Every shelf was covered with neat rows of ribbontied scrolls.

‘I've never been in here,' Rikichi said, ‘but obviously this is their library.'

‘We thinking the same?' Groundspider stared at Moonshadow, who nodded fast.

After rifling through shelves of scrolls, Moonshadow held one up. Its label read
poisons, antidotes
. ‘For Brother Eagle!' he said staunchly, working it into his jacket.

As they left the library and moved off down the next passage, Moonshadow savoured the bittersweet victory of completing
that
objective. A lump rose in his throat as he considered the unpleasant truth.
If
they made it out alive, and
if
the right antidote was even in this scroll, it remained likely that its secret would reach Edo too late.

Moonshadow chided himself: if Eagle was to be saved, he had to stubbornly attempt the impossible and hang on to defiant hope. He forced all the
ifs
from his mind.

The winding tunnel took them downhill into another chamber. This one was a storeroom, cut out of the rock and lit only with a single, mesh-protected candle. At the opposite end of the chamber sat rows of wooden kegs.

Where the kegs ended, a wide, low, natural window opened in the western face of The Sifter. It overlooked The Octagon and below that, the gallery that was their objective. Moonshadow scanned the chamber then pointed in disbelief. ‘These kegs … they're
all
labelled
gunpowder
.'

‘This is the Fuma's explosives magazine,' Rikichi said. ‘One of them, at least.'

Moonshadow nodded. Their guide sounded sure of himself again, and in a way that Moonshadow didn't like. Was he more familiar with these tunnels than he admitted?

Groundspider suddenly grinned wickedly, his eyes locking on Rikichi. ‘You know, once we've dealt with Snowhawk, we could double back this way and … let the bear's own claws tear it apart.' He shrugged at Moonshadow. ‘After all, we're at war now, right? And we just stumbled on a chance to destroy our enemy in
one
action.'

Moonshadow looked at Groundspider. The giant hid it well, but he was studying Rikichi carefully. Moonshadow kept his own face neutral. So Groundspider
did
also suspect their guide of lying about that strange cry. Perhaps about the real extent of his local knowledge, too! This sudden, wild gunpowder plot was a bluff, the best test of Rikichi's loyalties yet. If Rikichi said anything to discourage the plan, conveniently protecting the Fuma, they'd know instantly that he was a trickster.

Groundspider asked casually, ‘So Rikichi,
you
any good with slow knot-fuses?'

‘A specialty,' the freelancer said with convincing enthusiasm. ‘Ask the fuse kit in my sack.' He reached for his gear. ‘I could give us a long delay … plenty of time.'

‘Then on our way out –' Groundspider filled his chest – ‘we'll rig it to blow. All of it! We'll collapse
the core of this mountain. They can rename it The Shinobi's Graveyard.'

‘Yes!' Rikichi chuckled and rubbed his hands together. ‘Making
that
happen will be my pleasure.' The freelancer's whole face glowed. Moonshadow was daunted. Either that delight was real or this man was simply the best actor he had ever seen in his life.

As the trio moved on, Groundspider flashed Moonshadow a sneaky glance, unseen by Rikichi. Moonshadow knew at once exactly what it meant.

I just pushed him, Groundspider's eyes said. So look sharp! If he's
not
really on our side, he'll turn on us
very soon
.

The cramped, twisting downhill tunnel finally widened. It turned a sharp corner and ended in a lantern-lit opening. In a huddle, the three intruders peeped around its last shadowy corner. Groundspider had done it: he had steered them right to the gallery floor.

Moonshadow grinned. This tunnel's mouth afforded a view of the debris field below The Sifter and more! To his left, further along the gallery, he could finally see the interrogation chamber's door and guards. Snowhawk. They were so close now!

Groundspider made a hand sign to Moonshadow that meant
stay right behind me
.

Moonshadow nodded and passed the same instruction back to Rikichi. The freelancer nodded with nervous energy. Moonshadow eyed him: now he looked
scared
.

Not a good sign from the only team member that had been here before!

Keeping in shadow, Groundspider leaned out of the tunnel mouth to check the surrounding area. He signalled that the chamber's guards were facing away, then darted out into the long, deep shadow that lay against the gallery wall. Moonshadow followed quickly. Rikichi caught up and the three began to creep along, hunched close to the dusty gallery floor. Weaving in and out of scattered rocks, they headed for the stretch of shadowed wall that lay directly opposite the guards.

‘Look, there are larger fallen boulders ahead, good cover,' Groundspider whispered. Moonshadow nodded.

Suddenly voices echoed through the gallery, from somewhere beyond the chamber door. The two guards turned at the sound of it.

Further ahead, figures took shape. Moonshadow counted six fit-looking youths; Fuma trainees carrying archery equipment and bokken. He tensed. Once past that guarded door, the group would pass
them
, and far too closely for comfort.

‘They'll see us,' he muttered. ‘If they head on by, shadow or not, they'll –'

Groundspider's hand glided to his back-mounted sword. ‘No choice, then.'

Grit crunched under the feet of the approaching six. Each one appeared strong.

Moonshadow's eyes lit up. ‘There is a choice,' he whispered. ‘The rock cloak.'

Groundspider gave a single, subtle nod and together they deployed their cloaks, just as they had in the garden before Badger and the Order's animal warriors.

As Moonshadow drew the camouflaging fabric over himself, he heard the Fuma trainees reach the chamber door and exchange pleasantries with its guards. In just moments they would come striding past, perfectly in line with him.

What if the two
odd
rocks here in the shadows caught someone's eye?

‘Hope these things really work,' he heard Groundspider murmur.

Exactly, Moonshadow thought. He almost gasped.
What about Rikichi?
He had no cloak! Would his purple-blue night suit hide him in this shadow at such close range? There was still time to warn the freelancer to get behind a big rock or quickly go back.

Turning smoothly, Moonshadow peeked out from under the hem of his cloak.

The breath froze in his mouth. Rikichi was gone. He rotated back, keeping low, twitching his cloak into shape. Sweat ran down his spine. Had his movement been noticed? The crunch of sandals on grit grew louder. They were just
paces
away now.

‘Look,' one of the passing trainees called out. ‘Those two rocks … there …'

Groundspider heard it too. ‘Not yet,' he whispered. ‘Wait for my order.'

Folded up inside his cloak, motionless and barely breathing, Moonshadow listened with desperate concentration.

‘What
now
?' One of the Fuma apprentices demanded. ‘I'm worn out, let's go get washed up. I don't care about your rocks.'

‘
These
are rocks we should all care about.' The
youth who had first spoken sounded suspicious and very sure of himself. ‘Just yesterday, these two were not here.'

The detractor grumbled under his breath, then said, ‘Let's say I agree.
So what?
'

Moonshadow steadied his breathing. Any moment, battle would commence –

‘So there's been another rock fall in a so-called stable area,' the observant Fuma said. ‘And I'm going to report it to the watch officer. Don't you care about safety?'

‘No,' one of his colleagues put in, ‘and neither do you. You're trying to impress!'

Bickering half-heartedly, the group turned and drifted away down the gallery.

Moonshadow and Groundspider flipped their cloaks and refolded and stowed them, helping one another to reset the back pouches.

Groundspider leaned in close. ‘Rikichi?' Moonshadow shrugged and watched the big shinobi scowl with dark suspicion. ‘Let's hope,' Groundspider murmured, ‘it's just cowardice and he's hiding back in that tunnel shaking like a bamboo leaf in a storm. We'll look for him on our way back. No time now for more delays.'

Together they shuffled on, staying low and in shadow, closing with their target.

All at once they were directly opposite the guarded door.

‘Get ready,' Groundspider said. ‘We need to rush them before any more traffic appears. It looks like the day's training just finished, so more apprentices are bound –'

Moonshadow pointed. ‘Bound to come along? Like them …?' He cursed the small crowd that had just entered the gallery from the west. ‘This time, there's over
twenty
.'

Groundspider hung his head for a moment, then turned to Moonshadow with a frustrated expression. ‘We stowed our cloaks too soon. Re-deploy,
quick
.'

They did, and in nervous silence Moonshadow listened as the group drifted by. This time, nobody noticed the two freshly fallen rocks. A handful of the Fuma apprentices were too busy complaining about their instructor's harsh attitude. Wisely, they kept their voices low.

Once the group had passed, the duo stowed their cloaks again, and Moonshadow glanced back the way they had come.

‘Still no sign of Rikichi. What if he's been captured or killed?' he whispered.

Groundspider eyed him coolly. ‘Maybe he has. Or maybe he's just busy, rounding up a squad of his real friends the Fuma, before they come looking for us.'

‘If he
is
Fuma,' Moonshadow murmured thoughtfully, ‘he must have killed our real freelance
supporter before replacing him.' He gave his head a tiny shake. ‘But the rice code … and knowing so much about Brother Eagle …'

‘That code was old, and
could
have been cracked. And just because he knew things about Eagle's hair or personality doesn't mean his entire story was true. Remember what Badger taught us? The most convincing lies are the ones with a dash of truth in them.' Groundspider glanced in all directions. ‘And Rikichi sure is convincing.'

‘But if he's truly of Fuma, then why lead us down here? We come to snatch a prisoner from
his
people, so he guides us right to her? That makes no sense.'

Groundspider nodded bleakly. ‘It does if he was acting under orders from the Fuma. Orders to get us here so
we
could be captured too. If that's the case, you may actually be right about Snowhawk. If she is in fact on our side, then their crafty goal is probably to wind up with
three
Grey Light agents to interrogate, instead of just one.'

Moonshadow sighed. ‘But what if he's loyal and just lost his nerve, like you said earlier? Surely, if Rikichi
was
Fuma, he'd be leading a hunt for us by now.' He showed the palm of a gauntleted hand. ‘Well, where is it?'

The sounds of fast, sharp footfall made them turn towards the very tunnel they had used to enter the gallery. A figure flashed from it, then another, and another.

Moonshadow groaned. ‘Don't say
anything
. I take it all back.'

A single line of Fuma ninja poured from the entry tunnel, dressed in training clothes but carrying steel swords. One man led them, sword brandished, face purposeful.

Rikichi.

Startled by the abrupt commotion, the guards flanking the wooden door bristled, glanced in all directions and raised their spears. One of them realised where Rikichi's group was heading and started forward, hunching as he peered across the gallery floor and into the shadows at the base of the rock wall opposite his post.

He shuddered, then pointed straight at Groundspider. ‘Intruder!' he bellowed.

‘Which way?' Moonshadow's eyes darted left and right. ‘The wind tunnel?'

‘Not if we want to try for Snowhawk again.' Groundspider seized his arm. ‘Make for the
other
wooden door – there, to the east, near the wind tunnel. Pick its lock –'

Rikichi, a line of Fuma at his back, came charging at them. Groundspider vaulted over a boulder, turning in the air. Catching Rikichi by surprise, he struck him hard in the chest with a flying sidekick, sending the double agent reeling backwards to the gallery floor. ‘Go!' he yelled to Moonshadow, ‘I'll delay them!'

Moonshadow shoulder-rolled through the darkened field of boulders at the foot of the wall. Rising to his feet, he saw the last Fuma in line notice him and turn to attack. He skipped forward, deftly elbowed the man between the eyes and saw him drop like a rice sack. Moonshadow dashed around the outside of the horde converging on Groundspider.

A group of seven swordsmen, including Rikichi, plus two guards armed with spears! Moonshadow scowled as he ran. The big lout could hold them without getting cut, but not for long. His plan to try this man-made tunnel was a smart one: beyond the wooden door, it only had to fork once, anywhere, to give them a chance at doubling back.

They could vanish down a side-tunnel, consult the map, work their way around.

Moonshadow skidded onto his knees and slid up to the door in a small cloud of dust. Behind him he heard the
clangs
of Groundspider taking on the Fuma, dull
thunks
from the giant blocking attacks with his leg armour and gauntlets.

Moonshadow quickly retrieved his lock-picking kit from a pouch in his leggings and attacked the lock. A gaggle of cries behind him made him turn even as he probed the mechanism with a thin iron hook. It seemed the foreign-formula Toledo armour
had
given Groundspider a surprising advantage. Still uncut and dominating
the fight, the big shinobi had just snatched up a lightweight Fuma trainee. As Moonshadow watched, the giant hurled his victim like a log into a cluster of attackers, felling them. Idiot Fuma, Moonshadow grinned, they hadn't learned yet not to bunch up when fighting together!

With a click, the lock gave way and Moonshadow pressed on the door with his palm. It creaked loudly and opened a fraction. He stood up, turning on the spot as fresh cries echoed through the gallery.

Groundspider had just evaded his bedraggled foes and rolled away. He was heading for Moonshadow, scattering tetsubishi in his wake.

The impulsive trainees chasing Groundspider soon started to shriek and fall to the floor, clutching at their punctured, bleeding feet. Rikichi, who had only just recovered from Groundspider's kick, leapt the tetsubishi and his prone comrades with ease. His face was contorted with rage.

Behind the hapless trainees, the two chamber guards acted with more restraint. Exchanging nods, they fell back together to block the way east and at the same time watch their allocated post.

Groundspider, drenched with sweat and sporting dents in his thigh armour, reached Moonshadow at the door. Three men, one of them Rikichi, still pursued him.

‘Go!' The giant grunted and together they pushed the door open wide.

The sound of its creaking hinges, along with every other noise in the gallery, was instantly drowned out by a long, furious roar that blasted from the man-made tunnel. The cry was incredibly loud, stomach-knotting, and it died away with a sorrowful throb.

Moonshadow recalled what he had somehow forgotten in the wild, distracting melee of the chase: this was
that
tunnel.

He cursed. There was no going back. They were committed now to flee to where something huge and nasty was waiting for them.

After trading a glance, the pair ran into the dark tunnel, the enemy close behind.