Ashlyn glanced up casually, surveying the cliff face. It was very steep on the inner walls, unlike the backside of the mountain, which was slanted enough that she could climb up and down without too much trouble. Although an attack would have been possible with archers at the top of the mountain, there would have been no way for them to get down afterwards without going around the long way. This was an ideal location for an encampment. The only downside that Ashlyn could see was the extreme cold that plagued the southern half of the island in the winter- but of course when the war started, it would have been summertime. Presumably when they’d set up camp here, they hadn’t expected the war to last this long. Ashlyn suppressed a smile. It appeared as though Kou and her father had underestimated Jackson and the rest of FLD, just as her father was underestimating her now.
She was struck by the total silence around her as she wove her way between the tents. In any ordinary camp, even a military camp, there would be snippets of conversation, and she’d been hoping that everyone would be chit-chatting so she could attempt to pick out their dialects and figure out where most of these soldiers were from. But there was no chatting. No conversation, no joking or laughing or even crying. Just a whole lot of nothing, unspoken whispers ringing in her ears with the gentle pad-pad-pad of her own footsteps.
It was, in a word, unnerving.
But she reached the cave entrance without ado, and if they were a bunch of strong, silent types, Ashlyn wasn’t about to fault them for that, just as long as they stayed strong and silent long enough to let her get to Lord Li.
Her eyes took a moment to adjust when she stepped inside, and the first thing she noticed was a torch mounted on the wall opposite her, burning ambitiously but not quite succeeding in chasing away the shadows around it.
The entrance opened into a large cavern, with stalactites hanging down from the ceiling like an angry threat, dripping water on the stone floor. Although the outer edges of the room had dry ground, the floor’s center was swallowed in a large, shallow puddle.
There weren’t many soldiers inside- just four, clustered off to one side and sharpening their weapons. Ashlyn noted with some irritation that one of them was holding an oversized bo shuriken, much like the one she’d lost several years ago. It wasn’t the same one- his was made of some burnished orange metal- but it irked Ashlyn to see anyone using a single large bo shuriken when she had been the one to engineer the technique as a pre-teen. Most ninjas carried several small bo shuriken in place of the small hira throwing stars, but Ashlyn had come up with the idea to forge a larger bo shuriken and use it as both a stabbing and throwing weapon.
And now this little creep had stolen her idea. She frowned, but didn’t move towards him. Her wounded pride wasn’t worth blowing her cover over. Instead, she quickly moved towards the lit corridor at the other end of the cavern, keeping her chin down as she walked.
“You! Scout!” one of the soldiers against the wall called to her in Toryn, and Ashlyn’s next step faltered, but she didn’t stop, ducking into the corridor in the following instant.
She broke into a run, keeping her steps soft and silent, and turned with the corridor as it veered sharply to the left. She collided with another person, coming from the opposite direction, and spun as she fell, landing hard on her butt.
“My apologies, Elder,” she said hurriedly in Toryn, wrinkling her nose to make sure that the mask was still in place. “I trust you bear no…” She trailed off as she looked up, finding herself face-to-face with a man she never thought she’d see again.
What?! Impossible!
She’d watched him fall, watched his body tumble into the ocean below Na Michico.
Kou’s ebony eyes narrowed as he stared at her, and Ashlyn froze, unable to think of any excuse for her presence, any way out of this situation. How was it even possible that he was alive? It wasn’t! Even if he’d survived the fall, even if he’d survived the gunshot wound, how had he gotten out of the ocean alive?
Maybe he didn’t recognize her. The entire lower half of her face was hidden. Ashlyn quickly averted her eyes and murmured another apology in the lowest voice she could manage, inclining her head as she picked up the knapsack she’d dropped in the collision and slowly got to her feet.
“Wait,” he said as she moved to continue down the corridor, and she stopped, heart pounding so loud that she was sure he could hear it.
There was the scuff of his boot against the sandy floor, and she felt his breath on her neck through the fabric of her hood.
“Tomiko Yasu, of the clan Yasu?” he said, a playful lilt to his tone as he repeated back to her the false name she had given him the first day they’d met.
Oh, crap.
Oh, crap.
“Did you really think you’d make it in here without anyone noticing?” he murmured. His lips were close to her ear.
Ashlyn shivered with revulsion, fists clenching at her sides.
“No,” she said through gritted teeth. “That’s why I came prepared.”
She tore the shuriken out of her knapsack and whirled, slicing at his throat. He jumped backwards, the blade missing him by a hairsbreadth, and attempted a punch, which Ashlyn easily blocked. She threw a jab into his stomach, making him cry out, and she followed up with an elbow to the gut. He tried for a leg sweep but she jumped over it, smashing her fist into his face as she came down.
“You dog,” she hissed as he crumpled to the floor. “How dare you make claim to share the blood of the Li clan? How dare you?”
He rolled over onto his back, still gasping for air, and suddenly there was a gun in his hand, one of the old DEMON antiques from her father’s display case. Ashlyn backpedaled, but not quickly enough to escape the noise, and as he squeezed the trigger the BOOM reverberated through the corridor deafeningly, bouncing off the walls and shrilling in her ears. The bullet went wide- thank you Drago- and Ashlyn kicked the gun out of his hand, stomped on his stomach and leapt over him, intent on reaching her father before it was too late.
There were three- no, four soldiers coming down the corridor towards her, blocking the route that would take her deeper into the cave. Ashlyn turned and exasperatedly jumped over Kou again, who was now tenaciously trying to draw a knife from its sheath at his hip.
“Points for effort,” Ashlyn snapped, yanking the knife from his hands and giving him a satisfying kick to the face. She hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. In such cramped quarters, it would be difficult to defeat the four soldiers coming from the opposite direction- on the other hand, if she went back to the cavern, there could be dozens more waiting for her.
Either way, she didn’t want to be trapped in this corridor.
She took off at a dead sprint for the cavern.
Her mind was racing. The ice stane in her shuriken was powerful enough to cause some real damage. She could create a wall of ice across the cave entrance to prevent the army from getting in. If she made it thick, it might hold long enough for her to take out whatever soldiers were already in the cave and then use reveal to find her father.
A masked ninja came running down the corridor towards her, brandishing his katana. Ashlyn didn’t bother slowing down. She brought her shuriken up and wrenched her wrist, catching the blade between the prongs of the weapon. The katana snapped in half. She twisted her hand, still running, and the shuriken caught the soldier in the neck, dragging him with her three paces before he finally fell.
Ashlyn rushed out of the corridor, wielding both Kou’s knife and the shuriken. Two soldiers met her as she came out, and she spun, lashing out with both weapons. The first ninja was caught by surprise and managed a gurgle before collapsing to the floor of the cave, but the second one was quick enough to duck under the blades. Ashlyn glanced over her shoulder, seeing a third ninja just behind her, and danced backwards as the second one advanced, the puddle on the floor soaking her boots uncomfortably. She spun to the side as the third one charged from behind. She landed a swift kick to his back that sent him stumbling
straight into the second soldier’s sword.
She dropped into a crouch to avoid a barrage of tiny shuriken, and flung out her right hand, fingers splayed, using an ice spell to freeze her assailant into a very statuesque ninja-sicle before he could toss anything else in her direction. There were soldiers pouring in from outside, and Ashlyn realized with a sinking feeling that it was much too late to ice over the cave entrance, and that she was outnumbered. As in really, really, really outnumbered.
She took a running start and launched herself at a small, jutting ledge on the cave wall, and latched on with just three fingers as she called up the lightning stane in her shuriken. Ashlyn dangled precariously, holding on for dear life as the bolt of electricity split the room, instantly delivering a not-so-pleasant jolt to the two dozen ninjas milling about in the shallow pool of water at the center of the cavern. Several of them screamed while others simply collapsed in a trembling, steaming heap of limbs, and as the magic died out, Ashlyn dropped back to the floor and delivered an uppercut to the closest soldier.
Kou chose that moment to come stumbling out of the corridor, yelling garbled orders, and Ashlyn paused mid-maiming to look over at the man who was attempting to command his army. The right side of Kou’s face was already swelled up, and blood was dripping from his split lower lip. And- hoo boy, he looked angry.
Ashlyn took several steps back, putting some distance between her and the confused ninjas. Her adrenaline was starting to kick in now, and though she still wasn’t quite at the stage of mindless invincibility yet, there was a plan of action formulating in her wee ninja brain.
She yanked at the mask, tearing it so that it fell away, exposing her face. “Still determined to take control of Toryn, Devlyn?” she snapped at Kou. “Do you honestly think you can defeat the true Elder Heir? I don’t care how many soldiers you send after me. I kicked the crap out of Lord Angelo. Trouncing you to within an inch of your life is going to be a walk in the park!”
The advancing ninjas looked uncertain, following her gaze to Kou, who was looking puffier and more aggravated by the second.
“She’s a fraud!” Kou spat, slurring his words unattractively. “The heir is dead! The Li bloodline has run its course!”
“Dream on, you brain-dead blood junkie!” Ashlyn yelled, and jumped aside as one particularly brave ninja attempted to stab her, dispatching him with a single slash to the torso. “I don’t care what you supposedly envisioned, I know I’m alive and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you take my birthright from me!” She pointed at Kou with the shuriken, eyes flashing. “I challenge you, Koudai Devlyn Lunai! I challenge you to a duel for leadership of the sacred pagoda!”
“I will not duel,” Kou growled.
“Challenge is my right, as Elder Heir. You cannot refuse!”
“You are not the Elder Heir!” he roared, and turned to the soldiers. “What are you waiting for? Kill her!”
Ashlyn grabbed her sleeve and yanked, hard, ripping the fabric at the shoulder. She stripped one sleeve off, and then the other, and held out her arms for inspection. “Do you see any track marks?” she demanded of the soldiers, who were fast surrounding her. “I have none. I have injected nothing. I am able to use the shift magic because the blood of the Li clan flows in my veins naturally. I am Ashlyn Li, Elder Heir of Toryn, and Devlyn cannot refuse my challenge!”
“She cannot use shift! She is lying!”
“I am not!” Ashlyn snapped, and the words were barely out of her mouth before Kou fell to his knees, screaming insults at her as his eyes began to glow green. His cries became more guttural and less coherent as the shape-shifting began, his lips pulling back from elongating teeth, fur sprouting from his suddenly clawed hands.
Obviously he was done talking, and Ashlyn was almost relieved. Kicking his ass would be a welcome reprieve after having to listen to his lies.
As she struggled to focus, the shift stane began to glow in her armlet. Then she was changing, the shuriken and her sword clattering to the floor as the beast took hold. It was fast and painless, and it was only after she’d already shifted that Ashlyn realized, somewhat regretfully, that she would be naked again upon changing back.
Kou was still shifting when Ashlyn plowed through a small group of soldiers and leapt at him, her own transformation into a panther as smooth as glass. His face was still almost human, his body a broad and brawny mass of muscle and fur as she slammed into him from the side. Despite the force of her attack, Kou barely budged, and Ashlyn realized belatedly that he was shifting into a bear, and the size difference between them was considerable.
She snarled and raked her claws across his shoulder, jumping aside when he delivered a half-hearted swipe in her direction. He was desperately trying to complete the shift so he could defend himself. If she had a chance, this was it.
Ashlyn sprang onto his back and sank her teeth into his neck. Kou roared and tried to shake her off, but she held on for dear life, digging her claws in for traction. The metallic tang of blood filled her mouth, and ordinarily it would have been beyond gross, but turning into a panther must have given her that kind of animal instinct too, because for some reason the taste only served to make her angrier. She let go for just a second to get a better grip, trying to bite down closer to his head.
But he took that opportunity to rumble forward, turning his shoulder and rolling, with her beneath him. It knocked the breath out of her as his crushing weight came down on top of her, and Ashlyn heard something snap, like dry, brittle twigs. Only when he rolled off and the pain assaulted her senses did she realize that it was her ribs, undeniably broken and shooting slivers of agony through her entire midsection. She could hardly breathe, but Ashlyn scrambled to her feet and backed away, noting two things- the army was now hanging back, looking both terrified and confused, and her shuriken was just a few feet away.
The heal stane was still in her armlet, right next to shift, but she didn’t even know if she could cast regular magic as a cat, and healing broken bones was a dangerous thing to do, especially on the fly. If one of the broken ends was anywhere near her heart, and tried to mend itself…she didn’t even want to think about that possibility.
Ashlyn breathed shallowly through her mouth, every inhale/exhale combination a stabbing pain in her chest, and made a decision. Screw her impending nakedness, magic would be far more useful against Kou right now than any additional strength that came with the shift spell. She padded sideways, silently, hackles raised as Kou circled, presumably waiting for the right moment to attack.
When he did, she summoned her strength and leaped over him, paws dancing across the top of his head, dodging slashing teeth and claws as her injured ribs screamed bloody murder inside her head. She came down directly on top of the shuriken, and shifted back into herself, naked as the day she was born but too desperately adrenaline-driven to care. She scooped up the shuriken, her sword and her knapsack and ran for the cave entrance as the bear lumbered after her.
She glanced over her shoulder just as he was raising a giant paw, prepared to not-so-gently separate her head from her body. She screamed the spell hoarsely, and the bear snarled and skidded to a stop, smoke pouring from his suddenly blackened paws. Ashlyn ran outside, leaves crunching beneath her bare feet, and ducked into a crevice in the cliff wall as the bear went skidding past. He caught his mistake immediately and turned, much quicker than she would have expected for such a large creature. As he charged towards her, Ashlyn hurriedly used the ice stane to create a solid wall across the crevice’s narrow opening, putting a barrier between her and the bear, and he smashed into it with a force that shook the cliff wall against her back.
His second charge splintered the ice, hairline cracks spiderwebbing out from the point of impact. Ashlyn quickly froze over it, thickening her makeshift barrier, but Kou kept coming. The third time he collided with the ice, he left bloody stains against it. Ashlyn shivered, then nearly cried out from the pain in her chest. If she could keep the wall up long enough, Kou would pr
obably injure himself to the point where a few hits from the fire stane might incapacitate him. But there was no way she could take on the whole army like this.
The bear hesitated during the fourth charge, and turned away, as though he’d been distracted by something. Ashlyn squinted, trying to see through the translucent barrier, and managed to make out a blur in black, flashing silver in the sunlight as the horse he was riding danced beneath him.
Drake!
In the next heartbeat, a wall of flame erupted on the other side of the ice, and her makeshift barrier melted instantly, splattering on the ground and smacking her with a wave of muddy water and dead leaves. Ashlyn was immediately drenched, and sputtered, at once pissed off and grateful for FLD’s sudden appearance.
Skye stepped in front of the crevice, hand outstretched. “I…uh,” he said eloquently, diverting his eyes when he realized her state of undress. He ducked smoothly under the swing of a katana, his own sword making short work of the other man.
Her teeth were chattering so hard she could barely speak. “Sh- sh- your shirt,” she managed to get out, shivering violently and wincing every time the tremors racked her broken ribs.
The blond swordsman gave her an exasperated look as he fought off another soldier. The army was obviously much more willing to fight non-Toryns (or at least people who weren’t claiming to be the Elder Heir), but it was poor timing for bravery when anyone challenged Skye Damien.
A soldier fell right in front of her, and Ashlyn tamped down her disgust and crouched to pull off his torn, blood-stained tunic, wrapping it around herself and tying it loosely with the green leather belt. She tried to pull his boots off, but the pain in her chest had her gasping before she could even get a good grip.
“Drake!” Skye called, cutting down two soldiers with one cleave, then stepping back to block another one who tried to duck into the crevice with Ashlyn. He flung the soldier backward, simultaneously using a lightning stane to electrocute the ninja before the man even hit the ground.
The Lady of Toryn Anthology (Lady of Toryn trilogy) Page 25
