Siinji - Or, Ankūro and the City of the Golden Boughs

22

22

Not only demons,
Cause fear through reputation.
Fear the true terrors.
- Rasakūn.

A silence fell upon the entire area. Tuccé held back the whimpers of pain that he wished to let out. He wasn't a proud man, he didn't think putting on a brave face in any situation ever helped, yet he didn't want to give Drellis the satisfaction of hearing his pain. Or, was it so that Yurivno did not hear him? Think less of him? No, that couldn't be it.

The Kannai girl kneeled with her head bowed. She looked unharmed and at least there was that to thank the Patrons for. How long that would last, Tuccé couldn't know. Drellis could show great cruelty when he needed to. The fact that Yurivno was female would mean little to the man who now stood, searching around this flat area between the forest and the buildings at the foot of the penis shaped mountain.

"Akemio. Organise the soldiers and send Sakicho back to me." His eyes narrowed, Drellis bounced the tip of the knife, sending droplets of blood to fall to the grass. "I need my best man by my side."

Akemio ran towards the lines of soldiers, hand resting upon the hilt of the Kinishima sword given to him by Drellis. Bowing to a young man at the front of the lines, the two spoke and the younger man began to stride back towards Drellis. Tuccé couldn't tell one warrior from another, as far as skills were ever concerned, but that boy had a confidence about him, an aura that Tuccé found familiar. He reminded Tuccé of White Eye.

As the boy, Sakicho, came to stand beside Drellis, they both began to search their surroundings. The silence had fallen to eerie levels, now. Wind passed across the open space, sending the rain into flurries, causing almost everyone to squint against the droplets splashing into faces. The scarred warrior, Akemio, drew the Kinishima sword, falling back into a stance.

As he did so, a scream erupted from the far end of the clearing, the soldiers in that area almost jumping as one in surprise. Some regained their senses faster than others, turning in the direction of the scream, bringing weapons to bear, but there was no-one there to fight. As those soldiers milled about, Tuccé caught sight of a body upon the ground, a crude wooden spear protruding from their chest.

That was one. Only a near two dozen left to go.

Tuccé tried to shift his weight, to try and catch a better look at the events occurring at the other end of the clearing, and almost collapsed. The pain from the wounds in his shoulder and leg almost made him black out again and he felt Yurivno's shoulder against him, trying to keep him upright.

"Now, now. No dying on me just yet." With that infuriating friendliness, Drellis crouched once again before Tuccé, placing a hand upon his chest. "Bait is worthless if it's dead."

A feeling of comfort and warmth began to flood through Tuccé. The pain began to recede and, as he looked down towards his thigh, he could see the blood that flowed from the wound become a trickle and then stop. He felt confused, looking into those smiling eyes of the grey haired man.

"You're a healer?" Shocked, Yurivno's voice almost echoed around the flat, short grass plain. Heads of the nearest soldiers twisted towards her at the sound. "How can a healer be so cruel?"

"Ah, my powers are paltry." Waving a dismissive hand as though brushing off a compliment, Drellis smiled and rose to his feet. "Cruelty has nothing to do with being a healer and everything to do with getting what I want. Sakicho ..."

Before Drellis could finish, another scream erupted from the ranks of the soldiers and then another. Frantic shouts, the rattling of swords and other weaponry drifted across the plain and Tuccé could see one section of the soldiers falling out of formation, drifting apart from each other. Two more lay dead upon the ground.