Death's Sword Book 1: Finding and Seeking

Chapter 8, part 3: Day 12

A moment after the three ninja had left the roof, a figure borne aloft by two great bat-like wings dropped out of the night sky and landed softly on the roof. It shrugged and the wings folded and crumpled and became like a leather cloak across its shoulders. Silently, moving with an eerie grace, it stepped across to where the pieces of the stone gargoyle lay. There was a tiny sound of metal on metal as it drew a katana and gently touched the blade to a couple of pieces of rock. Each time, there was a tiny flare of light within the blade. The figure hissed, sheathed the weapon and entered the castle after the ninja.

The trio of ninja moved down a corridor, silent as ghosts, sure-footed in the darkness. Ahead lay a junction, with light streaming down the other corridor. "There will be a guard five paces to the left," breathed Da-keimin to Kleymin, "He is yours." The boy sketched a bow, then glided forward. He crouched low, right arm back so that his sword-point was by his foot. He moved smoothly, swiftly around the corner, like a ferret after a rabbit. An armoured guard stood before him, a naked steel blade gleaming in his hands. The guard saw the movement, turned, sword coming up. He sucked air in for a warning shout. The small, black-clad figure jerked its right arm back, twisting. The guard saw the reddened bronze blade slide back out from a joint in his armour. He tried again to call out but no sound came. He toppled forward.

Kleymin caught the man before he hit the ground. The weight of body and armour crushed him to the floor. The boy struggled, then felt the mass lifted from him. Da-keimin gestured to him. Up! Kleymin climbed to his feet as Takata pushed open the heavy wooden door the guard had been defending. Kleymin glanced down at the fallen figure and was suddenly struck by what he had done. The man had been trying to defend his post. Kleymin had struck him down, giving him neither warning nor chance. Why? Who was the man they were to kill and why did he have to die? Kleymin fought against these questions, for his training told him that these were things a ninja should not be concerned with. These further questions piled upon the earlier questions and terror of the night, threatening to overwhelm the boy. He drew on his innermost core of strength to sustain himself, a core untouched by the Clan of the Night.

Moving more swiftly now, aware it was only a matter of minutes before the murdered guard was found, the three intruders found themselves on a gallery overlooking a large room. They froze at the sound of people entering the chamber. "I must speak with the lord Tsaiduko," came a female voice, her tone showing that she was used to receiving instant obedience. "The daiymo cannot be disturbed, lady, for he has given us orders to let none pass," replied a strong male voice from below the gallery. There was the chink and rustle of metal-armoured warriors moving. Kleymin judged there to be four guards there and two, no, three, visitors. Wait. Lord Tsaiduko. "The daiymo cannot be disturbed..." Kleymin's memory was jarred into action by these words. The ninja slid forward on their bellies, to peer through the ornate fretwork of a wooden screen into the main room below.

The woman was speaking again, "...however, I order you to admit us, by the authority invested in me by the Inquisition." She held up one hand, where a gold medallion winked in the torch-light. She wore the red-and-gold robes of a Grand Inquisitor, whilst her two companions wore blue-and-gold. Kleymin sensed Takata stiffen beside him. One of those two must be the judge-mage! Their mission was in even greater peril than before. The boy saw Da-keimin's hand move to the box that held his sha-ken. It hovered there, poised. Kleymin did the same, automatically. Inside his head, he heard again the chirping bird-voice of the tengu, "...to break the warding-spells around Tsaiduko's sleeping-chamber?" At the same time, he saw visions; children too listless to brush away the flies that crawled around their eyes. Other children, laughing, plump and happy. Da-keimin's voice, "The younger brother needs money..." Money to pay the ninja who are to kill the daiymo his brother. The pieces fell together. Kleymin felt a cold fury start to burn within his belly. A sick taste filled his mouth. What was he to do?