by Rick Scott
Kenji took note of the river branch running south. It did indeed look to be flowing much stronger and faster than the branch they were now on. His stomach grew unsettled as the boat began to rock and sway with the rising rapids.
“Is this normal, Waru?” Kenji asked, taking hold of the side of the boat.
“For this time of year, I suppose. Spring rains have caused the river to swell. Come, lad, to the oars.”
Kenji took his place opposite Waru as the old man began rowing upriver. Chet Fai and Shinoto did the same, sitting across from one other as they pressed their palms to the Qi stone box. The sloop rocked up and down as it fought against the strong current, the bow popping up out of the water.
“Steady on,” Waru said, glancing over his shoulder as he guided the boat towards the middle of the fork. The waves crashed against the hull stronger and stronger, until water began splashing into the boat. Kenji feared for the Xjian woman who lay unconscious on the bottom. Too much and she’d drown before they ever reached Amatsu.
Waru kept them on a steady bearing as the rocking and swaying increased and then with a turn of the jib he started rowing in a fervor.
“Now, lad!” he cried. “Give it all you’ve got!”
Kenji plunged the oar deep into the water and pulled with all his might. His back strained with the effort and his heart rate jumped as he performed the movement in rapid succession. The rear oar kicked and bucked as Shinoto and Chet Fai fed the Qi stones with their internal power.
More water filled the bottom of the boat.
“Keep going!” Waru shouted. “Nearly past the throat now!”
Suddenly Chet Fai cried out and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
“Chet Fai!” Shinoto shouted.
The youngster fell backwards, slamming into the side of the boat, seemingly unconscious. What in the hells…? Had he drained all his Qi?
But then Kenji saw that the exact opposite was true.
“He’s ascending!” Shinoto cried.
“By the nine hells!” Waru cursed. “At a time like this?”
Chet Fai groaned in his semi-conscious state, sweat beading on his brow as steam jetted from his body. The boat began to list with the loss of power from the rear.
“I can’t hold it!” Shinoto cried.
“Kenji, row harder,” Waru said. “Keep the boat straight or we’ll capsize.”
But the more Kenji rowed, the more the boat only seemed to list further. They began drifting towards the south. This isn’t going to work. He eyed the shoreline and the thick trees lining the riverbank. They needed another way out of this. “Waru, take both oars!”
“What?”
Kenji didn’t wait for the old man to comply. He’d have only seconds to try this. If there was one thing being a rebirthing apprentice had taught him, it was how to use a rope. He grabbed the small anchor at the bow and spun it like a sling. Aiming for the nearest tree branch, he let the anchor sail into the sky. His aim flew true and as soon as it latched around a thick branch, he braced his heels against the side of the boat and pulled.
“Hold on!” he cried.
The full strain of the river shot through his legs and back as the rope drew taut. He grunted with exertion and pain as the boat corrected with the flow of the river, the tree branch bending with the force.
“Kenji, what are you doing?” Shinoto screamed over the sound of the rushing water.
“Giving him time!”
Hurry up, Chet Fai…
Kenji had seen ascension before—a sudden loss of consciousness, like a fever setting in but then a recovery would take place, seeing the newly ascended person restored to full health and in a new state of being. He’d just have to hold on until that happened. But what Chet Fai seemed to be going through was far more violent than any ascension he’d seen before.
Kenji’s thighs and arms burned with exertion and his heart pumped within his chest. As time went on, Chet Fai’s thrashing became worse. Something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong with him?”
“It’s the fruit,” Waru said. “I think he’s ascending perhaps several tiers at once.”
The tree branch creaked and suddenly snapped.
Curse the fates!
The rope slackened as the boat turned with the flow of the river.
“No!” Waru shouted. “Don’t let us go sideways!”
The boat pitched dangerously to one side, but then abruptly stopped as a massive pulse of Qi came from behind. When Kenji looked, he saw Chet Fai now out of his trance, thrusting his palm against the Qi stone box. The oar thrashed like a fish’s tail as it sped with a power like never before. The boat righted itself and then pushed against the force of the river again.
“Don’t just stand there, you cripple!” Chet Fai shouted at him. “Row the damn boat!”
Kenji fumed, but he wasn’t about to sacrifice logic for pride. He tucked in next to Waru and rowed forcefully again. The boat inched forward through the narrow channel, barely moving from a standstill. To the side of the boat Kenji glimpsed the large shadow of a fish seemingly doing the same as they were, struggling to make it upstream.
After what seemed like an eon, the boat finally moved past the choke point of the river. The flow decreased as the river widened and grew more shallow; the water itself shifted from muddy to crystal clear. When they finally got far enough to be driven by the power of the sail alone, they all collapsed from exhaustion.
“Good work,” Waru said and then he looked to Chet Fai. “Hells of a time for you to ascend.”
“Lucky I did,” he said with a smirk and then glanced down at his sister. “Clearly one of us needed to be stronger to make this happen.”
Kenji groaned inwardly at the thinly veiled jab.
“Well you can thank Kenji for keeping us all from drowning while you went on your little spirit walk,” Shinoto said. “What tier did you achieve?”
Chet Fai grinned. “I saw blue.”
Kenji had never experienced it for himself, of course, but when one ascended, visions occurred. While they were personal and often involved what some considered glimpses into the celestial plane, the one thing in common was that the final hue one would see upon emersion would denote their new strength. It was what gave the tiers their colors. Off White to Jade. And when one saw Off White again, it meant they had risen in Dan for the cycle to start over again.
Chet Fai had seen blue… which meant he’d skipped four entire tiers.
“Well done,” Kenji said. “Congratulations.”
There was no ire to his words, but there wasn’t much mirth either. By the smirk Chet Fai gave him however, he was certain the boy took it as pure sarcasm. No matter. He was too tired to be worried about what Chet Fai thought at the moment.
“Congratulations, brother!” Shinoto smiled at him excitedly. “I think the favor of the heavens is with you. Four whole tiers!”
Chet Fai laughed, performing a little pose. Despite his cockiness, it was indeed a great accomplishment by any means—a true testament to the power held within the rebirthed fruits. Fruits that would now no longer exist.
He’d have to give greater consideration to just how valuable they were now.
“Must have been from all the exertion,” Shinoto said. “Maybe what you did forced the materia absorption to become faster. More concentrated even.”
Materia. Kenji hadn’t heard that word in a long time. It was a general term used to reference any food or medicine that might aid in expanding one’s doma towards ascension.
“Perhaps,” Chet Fai said, feeling his lower abdomen. “I can barely sense the fruit there anymore. Perhaps I have absorbed most of it already.”
“Or maybe it was that that helped you!” Shinoto said pointed over the side of the boat. “Look!”
Kenji craned his neck to see where she was pointing. There in the crystal-clear waters of the river, was a fish at least five feet long—its body silky white with bright-orange spots. Long whiskers protruded from its mouth and s
craped over the shallow river bottom.
It had to be the fish he’d seen before, the one struggling to make it upstream. It was only a shadow then, shrouded by the muddy waters of the turbulent river fork, but now it was revealed in all its pristine beauty.
A giant river carp.
“I think your favor with the gods has changed, Chet Fai,” Waru said, smiling over the side of the boat. “A fish that size is a lucky sign indeed.”
“Could it be a spirit animal?” Shinoto asked. “Kenji, look to see if it’s in that book of yours.”
There was indeed a whole section devoted to various species of fish and other water-dwelling creatures. Kenji released the oar to stand within the boat for a better look. As he came to the side, the fish abruptly turned his way. Its eyes met his and they shifted, becoming red like hot coals.
Kenji’s blood froze as a sickness entered his stomach.
Dark Qi… Kenji backed away. “Keep us away from it! That’s no fish!”
The creature opened its mouth with an enormous gape, big enough to swallow a man whole. With a powerful thrash of its tail, it charged towards the boat.
“Grab onto something!” he shouted, but failed to do so himself. The fish slammed into the side of the boat. It hit with the force of a raging bull and Kenji cried out as he was launched into the air along with half the boat’s contents.
He saw sky and then water, before crashing headfirst into the river.
Chapter 21 - River Monster
Kenji swallowed water as he fought to bring himself upright. His feet touched the shallow river bottom and he finally stood in the chest-deep water. Coughing up fluid, he snapped to his senses. The giant fish was still ramming the boat, pushing it faster than even Chet Fai had propelled it. The sloop slammed into the riverbank, sending everyone, including the giant Xjian woman, flying ashore. Shinoto crashed hard onto the sandy bank next to her brother, followed by Waru.
“Shinoto!”
Kenji pushed against the force of the current and the weight of the water itself as he attempted to run along the bottom, aiding himself with his arms.
The fish turned about, sensing him again.
He froze helpless as the giant carp lined him up, its mouth opening wide. It paused as if relishing the moment, its crimson eyes penetrating him with fear. Shouts came from the shore, but he dared not take his eyes off the creature. It then jetted towards him like an arrow, flicking its massive tail. Kenji thrust his palms towards it reflexively, attempting to shield himself from the attack. It got within five feet when a spear landed upon its back, piercing it through. Kenji looked ashore to see Waru wrestling with a rope tied to the end of the spear.
“Move, lad!” he shouted. “Run ashore now!”
Kenji wasted no time, pushing as fast as he could through the water and away from the giant fish. It swam and nipped at him, its red eyes blaring. The water turned inky black as something oozed from out of its skin. The bright-orange scales turned blood red and its white flesh became a sickly grey.
It’s transforming.
“Run!” Kenji shouted as he finally reached the shore. “It’s the demon!”
The rope grew slack in Waru’s hands as the fish followed Kenji towards the shore. He barely got out of the water before it crashed onto the sand behind him. The fish opened its mouth, and two more sets of red eyes peered from within the carp’s throat. Waru pulled on the rope and the spear tore easily out of the now-decayed flesh. The smell was horrible, like a fish market in the heat of summer.
Something black and spiderlike scuttled out of the fish’s mouth. The skulldemon, now the size of a small pig, hissed and sprang towards him.
“Kenji!” Shinoto shouted and he turned just in time to catch one of the oars as she tossed it to him. He braced the oar lengthwise across the demon’s open jaws as it slammed into him, knocking him to the ground. The sound of snapping wood was loud in his ears as the spider-demon bit straight through the oar, one of its fangs grazing his shoulder.
Kenji cried out as a pain like fire spread from the wound and travelled down his arm.
“Fight me, demon!” Waru shouted as he jabbed the beast several times with his spear. The monster finally paid him heed and leapt from Kenji to the quick-footed old man. Waru assumed a martial stance as he faced off against the hissing beast.
Kenji struggled to his feet, grabbing half of the oar. He plunged the splintered end into its huge furry abdomen from behind. Despite the force behind it, the wood barely broke its thick hide. Kenji continued to stab at it, releasing a cry of desperation.
“Out of the way!” Chet Fai shouted.
The ten-year-old wielded the other oar in his hands, spinning it above his head. It was one of the martial forms Kenji had seen him practicing earlier, applicable to both staff and spear. Releasing a Qi-charged yell, he struck the beast across its skull-like head and it flew backwards perhaps ten feet.
By the heavens…
Kenji marveled at how much strength and power could come from so small a frame—the power of a blue-tiered practitioner now rebirthed in child form. Chet Fai continued to strike the demon, slapping it to and fro. It flipped onto its back and with a sickly sound, ejected a stream of white film from the tip of its abdomen. It expanded like a mist as it engulfed Chet Fai and the boy screamed.
“Get it off me!” he cried. “Get it off!”
He fell to the ground, the oar falling with him. He rolled and the sticky mist seemed to only grow thicker and heavier the more he moved. The spider flipped back onto its feet and scuttled towards the now-prone Chet Fai.
Kenji dashed forward, blocking the beast’s path and swung at it with his half-an-oar like a club. He managed to hit its stony head and it immediately spun towards him, ignoring Chet Fai. It reared up on its back legs, about to pounce on him again, but then the demon squealed as a spear tip came thrusting through its abdomen from behind.
“Kill it, Kenji!” Waru shouted, lifting the beast of the ground, its spiked legs stabbing air. “Kill it now!”
Kenji battered the monster with all his strength, yelling with a battle cry. Even without being tiered, he was as strong as an ox. With each recurring hit, the beast reeled and finally began to spill dark blood.
Die, you fiend!
The demon tried to scurry backwards and when it couldn’t find purchase with its legs, it lifted its abdomen and shot a stream of silky mist behind itself, covering Waru.
“Foul beast!”
Waru fought to keep hold of the spear as the beast gained momentary control, yanking it out of his grasp. It spun about with it still lodged inside of it and then in an act like vengeance, it leapt atop of Waru.
The old man cried out as the beast sunk its jaws deep into his left thigh. A tearing sound filled the air, accompanied by Waru’s wild screams as it tore free a chunk of flesh, blood soaking the sand like spilled wine.
“Waru!” Kenji battered the monster from behind, but it seemed to have gone into some kind of bloodlust, tearing into Waru’s stomach in a frenzy. “No!”
“Kenji, get back!” Shinoto shouted from behind him.
He turned to see the small girl poised a few feet away, the Soul Mastery tome in one hand, her other hand held aloft, palm first. She looked back and forth between the book and the monster, her eyes closing every now and then in concentration.
She finally released a yell and a wave of blue energy emitted from her palm.
It struck the beast, sending it flying off of Waru.
“Keep going, Shinoto!” Kenji yelled to her, rushing to aid Waru. “Do it again!”
She did so, yelling each time with the force of her Qi. The demon struggled to regain its footing, but before it could leap forward Shinoto blasted it again, sending it reeling towards the forest. Finally it stopped trying to come towards them altogether and ran the opposite way. It scurried into the forest, disappearing with the spear still stuck through its back.
Kenji fell to his knees as he reached Waru. The old man coughed
blood, trembling as he looked down at his ravaged leg and abdomen. The sight was enough to make his flesh crawl.
“Well…this don’t look good…does it, lad?”
Shinoto quickly freed her brother from the webbing before rushing to the old man’s side. “Waru…!”
“Save your strength,” Kenji said, tearing off a part of his robe to wrap the old man’s wounds. “We’ll get you to the village. They’ll heal you there.”
In truth he had no idea what they could do for him, or even how far away the village lay ahead. But he had to give him hope. Even now his blood seeped deep into the wet sand. Shinoto rushed to help him, tearing the cloth into strips. “Let me do this. You two get the boat afloat.”
Kenji nodded and looked to Chet Fai. When he saw the look in his eyes, Kenji paused. Chet Fai didn’t say anything, merely stared at him with a deeply furrowed brow.
“What?” Kenji said.
The boy smirked. “Nothing.”
Whatever this was, he didn’t have time for it.
“Get the sloop in the water,” Kenji said, scooping up what was left of the oar. “We need to reach Amatsu quickly.”
Chapter 22 – Amatsu
Kenji dashed across the riverbank, collecting whatever items he could find, buried within the sand. Several had been flung out of the boat when the demon crashed it ashore. He looked to the river and prayed nothing else had been tossed into the water as well, but there was no way or time to determine that now.
It took all three of them to push the sloop back into the river, before he and Chet Fai manhandled Olja aboard, followed by Waru whom they carried gingerly. The old man was slipping in and out of consciousness, mumbling about wine.
“He doesn’t look good,” Shinoto whispered nervously.
“He said we would reach Amatsu by nightfall,” Kenji said, looking to the slowly darkening sky. “We must be close by now.”
They clambered aboard and Kenji set the sail while Chet Fai and Shinoto worked the Qi stones. Their speed was fast against the slow-moving current and with every turn of the river, Kenji prayed they would see the village emerge soon. He worked the jib, guiding the boat as he navigated from the bow.
