Two days after they rode into Kerala Castle, Ashinji and Gran prepared to ride out again, this time mounted on swift Kerala-bred horses.
The morning of their departure, Gendan and Iruka, Kerala’s seneschal, met them at the main gates. Kami came with her husband and she brought along their son.
“I don’t know when my parents or my brother will return,” Ashinji said, bouncing the little boy in his arms. “You will have to continue to run things as best you can. Kerala is in a perilous position, lying so close to the Soldaran border. You may have to flee at a moment’s notice.”
“We’ll do whatever we have to, my lord,” Gendan answered. He reached out to caress his son’s wheaten head. “Don’t forget the troops that fought at the Saihama fords last fall are still billeted here.”
“Thessalina Preseren has no doubt taken her forces west to Tono to join the main Imperial Army,” Ashinji said. “I’m still worried, though. The Soldarans could still decide to march a division east to attack through Kerala as well.”
“You can rest assured we won’t allow Kerala to be taken by the humans, not while there’s one of us left standing and hale enough to hold a weapon,” Gendan vowed.
“My main concern is for the safety of Kerala’s folk,” Ashinji responded. “Protect them first, Gendan, even if it means abandoning Kerala to the Soldarans. If the worst happens, we have to survive as a people if we’re to win back our land some day.” He gently kissed the child’s cheek and returned him to his mother.
A small crowd of castle folk turned out to see them off. Many wept, some coming forward to clutch at Ashinji’s hand so they might press it to their foreheads in obeisance. He realized they were afraid, yet Ashinji could see their collective resolve in their faces. He knew that if they had to, his people would master their fear to defend themselves.
He and Gran climbed aboard their mounts then rode through the gates, Gendan, Kami, and Iruka keeping pace beside them.
At the far side of the bridge linking the castle to the mainland, Ashinji drew rein and turned to look back at the whitewashed walls of his birthplace. He wondered if he would ever see it again.
Gendan, his young son in his arms, Kami by his side, and Iruka stood in the shade beneath the guardhouse, watching. Ashinji raised a hand in farewell and Gendan raised his in salute. High overhead, a pair of hawks soared in the early summer sky, black shapes against azure. Their mating screams drifted on the warm air; the sound struck a melancholy chord in Ashinji’s heart.
When this summer is over and the hawks’ chicks have fledged, will my home still stand, or will it lie in ruins?
He sighed and pointed his horse’s head west toward Sendai.
***
“Did you reach her? Did you speak to my mother?” Ashinji burned with impatience.
Gran’s eyes fluttered open and she took a deep breath before answering. “Yes, Ashi, and I’m quite surprised I was able to. At such a distance, mindspeech without an amplifier is very difficult. We are still at least a week’s ride from Sendai, after all.”
After pushing their mounts hard for most of the day, the two travelers had stopped for the night at a small manor house set atop a low hill, surrounded by tidy parklands. The manor had been left in the care of its steward; the lord and his adult children had ridden south with the main army while the lady had fled north with her little ones. When Ashinji and Gran had arrived and introduced themselves, the steward willingly extended the hospitality of the manor in the name of his absent master. After serving them a meal of poached fish and salad in the sitting room, the steward had left them to themselves.
“Naturally, your mother was shocked to hear from me after so many years.” Gran relaxed into the comfortable embrace of the yellow silk-upholstered couch that served as the centerpiece of the room. “I couldn’t hold the link for very long,” she continued, “but I did manage to tell her I was on my way to Sendai and that you were with me.”
“Now that she knows I’m alive…she’ll…she’ll tell Jelena…” Ashinji’s voice trailed off as he swallowed a sudden spate of tears.
I should be delirious with joy , he thought. My wife knows I’m not dead!
And yet…
“I’m sorry for your pain, my son,” Gran murmured.
Weariness bent his shoulders and dragged at his eyelids. “I’m going to bed,” he announced. He departed the sitting room, leaving Gran alone with her thoughts.
***
“Captain Sakehera! You sure look good for a dead man,” the city guardsman observed.
“I’ve heard that a lot, lately.” Ashinji and Gran had just been admitted into the city through the smallest of its four gates and now found themselves surrounded by a clutch of curious guards. Ashinji’s gelding snorted, prancing in place, tail lashing. He patted the animal’s neck to calm it, but his own anxiety only fueled its fractiousness.
“A lot’s happened since you’ve been gone, sir,” the guard said. “The army’s already marched south.”
“I expected as much.” Near desperate to ride on toward the castle, Ashinji had to force himself not to scream for the guards to get out of his way. “Please. I need to go to my wife now.”
“The king’s deathly ill, Captain.” The other guards nodded in somber confirmation. “We hear it’s the plague. The princess has hardly left his side for days.”
“Ai, Goddess,” Gran sighed. “This is a catastrophe.”
“We must go now. Please let us through!” Fear turned Ashinji’s request into a harsh command. The guards melted aside. Ashinji drummed his heels against his horse’s flanks and the gelding broke into a ground-eating lope. With Gran’s mount close behind, the horse pounded up the avenue toward Sendai Castle.
An eerie stillness reigned over a city that had once bustled with sound and motion. Only the clatter of hoofbeats broke the quiet. Shop fronts turned blank, shuttered faces to the street; the few people abroad in the lanes and alleys scurried like scared rabbits seeking sanctuary. All of Sendai had battened down, as if awaiting the arrival of a massive storm.
At the summit of the avenue, as its feet touched the sand of the parade ground, Ashinji whipped the horse into a gallop then bent low over its neck as the gelding hurtled straight for the open gates.
When the horse barreled through, scattering the guards who had come to investigate, Ashinji paid no heed to their cries. He fixed his gaze on the massive iron-banded doors, and like a thrown knife, the horse shot toward them. Gran’s mare had fallen far behind, but Ashinji remained heedless to all but his goal.
A heartbeat shy of disaster, he hauled back on the reins and the gelding slid to a stop amid a shower of gravel, tossing its head in distress. Ashinji vaulted from the saddle as the horse pirouetted away with a snort, then sprinted toward the broad, shallow steps leading up to the entrance.
Close, so close!
He called to her, with his voice and with mindspeech.
She answered…
…and he saw her running toward him, arms outstretched, crying his name.
She fell into his arms, sobbing.
His own tears mingled with hers as he covered her face and throat with kisses, whispering her name each time his lips touched her skin.
Nothing else mattered, except her.
Part II
***
The Lie is Revealed
Ashi, is it really you?” Jelena whispered.
“Yes, it’s really me. I’ve come back to you, my love.” He clung to her with such strength, she could barely breathe, and yet she wished he could hold her even closer.
Cries of astonishment echoed against the whitewashed stone façade of the castle as a small crowd of guards formed about them.
“Ashinji! My son!” The guards fell back, bowing in respect, as Amara swept through them. Jelena shifted in Ashinji’s arms so he could see his mother. For a few heartbeats, mother and son gazed at each other, and then Jelena relinquished her hold so Ashinji might go to her.
“My child,”
Amara sighed as she pulled him against her breast. “My son is returned to me.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” Ashinji whispered. He laid his head on his mother’s shoulder and wept as Jelena looked on, her heart full to bursting. Amara murmured words of comfort, stroking Ashinji’s face and hair until he regained control of his emotions. As he stepped out of her embrace, Amara gasped.
“Son, your Talent…” Her hand lifted to her mouth, then fluttered back to her side. “You are no longer blocked! How is this possible?”
Ashinji shook his head. “Never mind about that now, Mother.”
“Greetings, Amara. It is good to see you again.”
An elderly woman stepped from the circle of onlookers. She carried herself with the unmistakable air of an aristocrat, and yet Jelena sensed no arrogance in her. She wore a simple blue cotton robe and split leather riding skirt, her silver-blond hair held back by a braided leather cord.
“It is good to see you as well, Chiana,” Amara replied, smiling. “The news of your return is already the talk of Sendai’s magical community. We are in sore need of your help.” The two women clasped hands and stared into each other’s eyes. They stood thus for several heartbeats, then both nodded and released their hold.
Ashinji had taken Jelena back into his arms again. “Jelena, this is Lady Chiana Hiraino, my friend and companion,” he said. “If not for her, I wouldn’t be here now.”
“Then I owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid, Lady Chiana,” Jelena said.
“Please, child, call me Gran,” the old woman instructed, “and you owe me nothing.” She turned to Ashinji. “She is every bit as beautiful as you’ve described, Ashi.” Jelena ducked her head, blushing with embarrassment, still uncomfortable with high praise, even now. “Look at me, Jelena,” Gran commanded softly. Jelena raised her eyes to meet the other woman’s. They were ice-pale, yet they shone with warmth and kindness. “Your husband says that were it not for me, he wouldn’t be here now, but he’s wrong. You are the reason Ashi fought so hard to survive.”
Gran turned to Amara. “We have much to discuss,” she stated.
Amara nodded. “Yes, but all that can wait. You must be exhausted from your long journey.”
“We came as quickly as we could,” Gran replied. “Right now, I’d love a cup of tea and a nap.”
“I’ll see to it you get both,” Jelena promised. A familiar touch, light as a cobweb, brushed her mind. Hatora had awakened and wanted her mother.
“There’s someone you need to meet, love,” Jelena said, squeezing Ashinji’s forearm. A tiny needle of pain stabbed her heart as she noticed the network of fine white scars lacing his skin, scars that had not been there before he had gone away. Fresh tears blurred her vision.
“Come with me to my…to our quarters,” she urged.
Two guards stepped forward and saluted, presenting themselves as escorts. Jelena took Ashinji’s hand and, together with Amara and Gran, they followed the guards into the castle.
Eikko waited in the entryway to Jelena’s apartments, little Hatora riding her ample hip. When the baby saw her mother, she burbled with delight.
Jelena plucked the child from the hikui girl’s arms. “Here is your daughter,” she said.
Ashinji stood gazing at the baby as if trying to memorize every detail of her, then gathered Hatora into his arms and laid his cheek against her tawny curls. The baby settled into her father’s embrace, relaxed and calm, as if she already knew who held her.
When Ashinji could finally speak, his voice emerged in a hoarse and broken whisper. “She…she’s…beautiful!”
Jelena took Ashinji’s arm and gently steered him into the sitting room toward the couch, where he sat, clinging to Hatora as if he feared to let her go. Jelena stood for a moment just watching. She wanted to etch this memory indelibly in her mind, so that she could recall it with perfect clarity in the years to come.
I’ve always believed our daughter had more of Ashi’s looks than mine , she thought. I’m so glad I was right!
Father and daughter each stared into the eyes of the other. In a sudden flash of understanding, Jelena realized their minds had joined in a link.
“You see, Ashi? I told you so,” Gran said.
Smiling, the baby reached out and laid a finger on Ashinji’s chin. “Gran told me that as soon as I saw my child, it would be as if we had been together from the beginning,” he explained in response to Jelena’s questioning look. Hatora continued to stare at him, as if at this moment, no one else existed in her universe except her father.
After a few more heartbeats, Jelena sat on the couch beside her husband and daughter while Amara and Gran settled into chairs opposite. Eikko brought in a tray and poured tea.
For a time, no one spoke. So many questions clamored, demanding answers, but Ashinji needed to gather his strength first. Jelena waited patiently, content just to have him close to her again. She thought back to that day a week ago, when Sonoe had come to her with the news. She had not believed it at first, thinking someone or something-the Nameless One, perhaps-aimed to perpetrate a monstrous hoax upon all of them as a distraction, but when Amara had confirmed it, she had collapsed in shock.
The last few days had passed in a fog of exquisite torture. Jelena suffered through emotional swings that left her exhausted and feeling like a twisted rag. Delirious with joy one moment, she had been wracked with guilt the next, for had not she given Ashi up for dead, abandoned him, sought comfort in another man’s arms?
How could she be a real wife to Ashinji again with such a stain of betrayal on her soul?
And what of that other man? Loyal, kind, steadfast Mai?
Mai had been there to give her comfort, support, friendship and love. His courtship of her had been gentle, patient, and above all, considerate of her grief. He had offered marriage and the promise to raise Hatora as his own, even though he knew the woman who had claimed his heart did not feel the same way about him.
Jelena gazed at Ashinji’s profile and felt the heat of desire warm her body, a unique fire only he could kindle in her. She had felt desire for Mai, yes, but it had never been the deep, flesh-searing passion she had felt for Ashinji.
I do love Mai , she thought, but Ashi is the love of my life. I just hope that both of them can forgive me!
“There’s so much to tell,” Ashinji began, at long last breaking the silence. Hatora lay in his arms in perfect contentment, sucking her tiny fist.
“It all began at the battle of the Saihama Fords,” he continued. “The human army lay across the river, but they sent raiding parties to fire the meadow where our army camped. It was a stupid mistake for us to be caught like that! Within moments, the fire had us hemmed in on three sides. I managed to break through and I rode toward the river, hoping to stop anything else from happening.” He shook his head.
“It was a foolish thing to do, riding out alone like that. My sergeant tried to stop me, but I wouldn’t listen. I rode straight into an ambush. One of the raiding parties lay in wait on the riverbank. They gutted my horse and when I fell to the ground, they attacked me.” Ashinji fell silent and closed his eyes, hands clinched into fists.
“Ashi, what’s wrong?” Jelena whispered.
“What is it, my son?” Amara leaned forward in her chair.
Ashinji drew in a deep, shaky breath. “There were too many of them for me to have any chance,” he continued. “I knew I was going to die, but still…I tried. I fought as hard as I could and just when I thought it was finished, I saw someone, an elven horseman, riding toward me. I called out for help, but he just stopped and…and watched.”
“One of our people refused to help you?” Jelena exclaimed. “I don’t understand! How could an elf stand by and watch a gang of humans kill another elf?”
“I didn’t understand either, not at first.” Ashinji’s voice began to fade. “Not until I caught a glimpse of the man’s armor did I realize his identity.” Now, he spoke in a whisper. “It… he …was…�
�� Ashinji’s head dropped and his voice failed.
Amara stiffened as if beneath an unseen blow and her hands flew to her mouth. “No,” she moaned.
“Who was that man?” Jelena gripped Ashinji’s arm and squeezed it.
He looked at her with haunted eyes. “Sadaiyo,” he replied.
***
The hazy afternoon sunlight had given way to evening’s purple shadows by the time Ashinji had finished his tale. Eikko ghosted around the sitting room, lighting the lamps. The warm glow cast by their tiny flames beat back the encroaching darkness. Hatora sprawled in her father’s lap, sleeping.
“Your father and I failed you, Son.”
Amara had listened in silence to Ashinji’s narrative, a soft shimmer of tears in her eyes the only clue to her inner turmoil. “We failed both you and your brother,” she whispered. “It caused your father such anguish that he could not love Sadaiyo as he loved…loves you, Ashi,” she continued. “Both of us were guilty of turning a blind eye to Sadaiyo’s jealousy, and by doing so, we ultimately set this terrible thing in motion.”
“No, Mother. I beg you, do not blame yourself or Father for any of this,” Ashinji pleaded. “My brother made his choice long ago. What I don’t understand is how he hid the truth from you, of all people.”
Amara dropped her face in her hands, and after a moment’s hesitation, Jelena stood and put her arms around her mother-in-law.
“He most certainly had magical help,” Gran said. “Some kind of memory-altering spell. Such magic doesn’t come cheap.”
Amara looked up and nodded. “Sadaiyo has the financial means to purchase such a spell.” She pulled a small square of yellow silk from her sleeve and dried her eyes. “I will find out exactly how he did it.” The grim look on her face made Jelena shiver.
Hatora stirred and whimpered, catching her thumb in her mouth. Sucking contentedly, she lapsed back into sleep. Ashinji’s face lit with joy, but then he sighed and the light faded.
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