Although he was breathing shallowly, Jesse nodded. Standing up, Ialu grabbed the satchel from the corner and threw it on his back. Then he opened the window and, without a moment’s hesitation, leaped like a cat over the sill and landed almost silently on the ground below.
Jesse stared after him, his lips parted, but when Ialu waved for him to jump, his face paled. Leaning out of the window, the height rushed up at him, and his knees began to shake. Ialu looked up, his face fierce, and gestured again. Jesse crouched on the sill, but could not bring himself to let go.
One, two … One, two …
He counted in his mind and tried to push off with his legs. But each time he failed.
I can’t, I can’t, I can’t …
The thud of footsteps rushing up the stairs disturbed his thoughts.
They’ll catch me! Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. Jump as if you were jumping into a river.
He pictured water below him, saw the light sparkling on the surface in his mind’s eye, and pushed off with his feet. He clenched his teeth, anticipating the shock of impact, only to find himself in his father’s arms.
Holding Jesse close, Ialu ran along the wall and ducked behind a cart parked beside it. There was no horse in sight, just a cart with a large cargo box that was full of sacks stuffed with clothes. The students’ laundry, Ialu realized, guessing that it was collected and placed here until the launderer came and took it to town. Lowering Jesse to the ground, he slapped several of the bags with his hands, making dents in their shape.
“Are we going to hide in the cart?” Jesse asked.
“No,” Ialu said. He pulled Jesse down lower and pointed to a space under the building. “Crawl in there. As far as you can.”
Obediently, Jesse got on all fours and crawled into the space under the dormitory. Feeling the cool, damp earth against his palms, he moved cautiously into the darkness. There was more room than expected, and his head never scraped against the wood above, but still he was afraid. It seemed a likely place to run into mice, bugs, or snakes. He could hear his father crawling in after him, and the darkness grew deeper.
“That’s far enough,” his father whispered. “Stay there.”
Jesse stopped and turned around, still on all fours. In the sliver of the outside world visible from under the floor, he could see the wheels of the cart.
Jesse’s father crawled up beside him. “We’re going to be here for quite a while. You can sleep if you want, but don’t make any noise.”
Jesse nodded. He cringed at the thought of pressing his belly against the clammy ground, but his arms and legs were already cramped from crouching. Once he gave up and lay down, it was much easier. Wrapped in the smell of damp earth, he stayed motionless beside his father. Gradually the tension in his body eased.
Perhaps he had nodded off a little. His eyes flicked open at the sound of voices. He could see feet near the cart. Metal gleamed. Soldiers’ boots. Tensing himself for flight, he listened intently.
“—here?”
“Could be. The sacks have been disturbed. Someone might have jumped down onto the cart. But it could have been the students playing around.”
He couldn’t see their faces, but he could tell from their feet and voices what they were doing.
“See anyone inside?”
“No. Just sacks of laundry.”
“Right, then. I’ll check under the building.” One of the men dropped to his hands and knees and peered inside. Jesse froze, staring at the black shape of the man’s head backlit by the outside light. He was sure that they had been discovered, but the soldier rose, wiping his hands on his thighs. “Can’t see a thing,” he said. “But there’re no marks of someone crawling underneath.”
Jesse’s brows rose. He cast a quick glance at his father, but his father just stared ahead without moving a muscle.
They must have left tracks on the ground when they crawled in here. When had they disappeared?
Dad must have erased them while I was sleeping.
Jesse felt as though he were in a dream. His quiet, gentle father, the cabinetmaker, simply didn’t fit with this man who flattened thugs with a single blow, sprang like a cat from windows, and fooled their trackers.
A distant memory floated into Jesse’s mind. Once, when he had gone to the baths with his father, an older boy had climbed onto the roof on a dare and accidentally broken the skylight. Light had poured through the opening onto Jesse’s father. The man beside him had looked at him in surprise. “Quite the body you’ve got,” he had said. “You’re a soldier, are you?”
It was the first time Jesse had seen his father in such a bright light. His body was lean and powerful. Here and there Jesse noticed lumps and white lines that looked like scars from old wounds. His father had just laughed and said he’d done a lot of stupid things in his youth. Jesse hadn’t paid much attention. Now that he thought about it, though, since then his father only went to the bath after dark.
Jesse glanced at him. Maybe his father sensed it, because he gestured for him to stay still and sleep. Jesse nodded and relaxed. Somewhere along the way, his fear had left him.
* * *
Jesse felt someone shaking him and opened his eyes in surprise. For a moment, he wondered where he was, then remembered he was under the school.
“Are you awake?” his father asked.
Jesse nodded.
“Follow me, then. Don’t make a sound, no matter what happens.” With these words, his father crawled outside. Jesse scrambled after him. For a moment, he was blinded by the light. He felt hands slip under his armpits, and then he was lifted into the air and pressed in between rough cloth. His father climbed in beside him, and after covering Jesse with laundry bags, buried himself under them, too.
Although it was stuffy inside, Jesse smiled, feeling a thrill of excitement. Soon, however, he began to worry. He wondered how long they would have to stay under these dusty bags. Unlike when they were hiding under the building, he was afraid that someone might be able to spot them.
Time dragged on forever. When the lunch bell rang, he heard the sound of approaching hooves. “Whoa, there. That’s a girl,” a gruff voice called out. The cart tilted, and Jesse clutched the bags. There was a loud rattling noise. Someone had connected the cart to the horse’s harness. He waited anxiously, afraid that the extra weight might give them away, but the launderer cracked his whip, and the horse began to plod.
The cart jerked forward, swaying back and forth. Jesse tracked their progress along the wall and felt the cart turn a corner. We’re almost at the gate.
At that moment, a voice called out, ordering the driver to stop, and the cart lurched to a halt.
“Let me check inside,” the voice said.
Jesse tensed and curled into a tiny ball, squeezing his eyes shut. Don’t look! Don’t look! he begged silently.
Footsteps approached. Someone began patting the sacks. Hands grasped the one over Jesse.
“Hey!” another voice called out. “I already checked in there. It’s all right.”
The hands grasping the sack let go. “You did? Okay, then. You can go.”
The driver called out to his horse, and the cart began to roll. Jesse let out a long, slow breath. As the tension left his body, he began to tremble and felt a strong urge to pee. The cart lurched, and he knew they had passed through the gate. Then they began the slow descent down the hill.
“Dad,” Jesse whispered. “I need to pee.”
“Can’t you wait?”
“A little bit.”
“Then wait. We’ll get off at the corner of Takalu Street.”
At this, Jesse grimaced. “I can’t wait that long.”
His father groaned. After a pause, he said, “If you can’t hold it, pee in one of the laundry sacks.”
“Are you serious?” Jesse scowled.
“Don’t worry,” his father said. “I’m sure they’re used to it. Kids wet their beds sometimes, you know.”
Jesse felt his father
’s hand on his head. The warmth of it made his nose sting, and tears welled in his eyes. He sniffed. “Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Where’re we going?”
His father’s face softened. “To see your mother.”
6
CAGED
For a long time, Elin sat in the chair by the window and gazed outside.
The Yojeh’s palace was located deep in the woods. When Seimiya married Shunan, she had a hall built within the same forest for Shunan to carry out his duties as the Aluhan. This, not the palace, was where his servants lived and worked. Elin and Yohalu had reached the hall the night before. Even though it had been quite late, Yohalu had gone to see the Aluhan as soon as they arrived, and Elin had not seen him since. The servants had given her some supper and then brought her to this room to rest. No one came to see her except the maidservants who brought her breakfast and lunch, and there was nothing for her to do but sit and wait.
She was on the second floor where she could look out at the forest and feel the refreshing breeze from the window. But the scenery brought her no rest, because among the trees, she could see soldiers standing guard.
The rain that had fallen all morning lifted by noon, but heavy clouds still hung low in the sky. A white speck appeared against the clouds. A pigeon, most likely carrying a message. Many pigeons had winged their way to the hall that morning, but this one came from a different direction. Elin’s face clouded, and anxiety filled her breast. That way lay Kazalumu. The bird flew through the branches and disappeared into the hall.
Just as dusk began seeping into the room, there came a knock at her door. She opened it to see Yohalu. He glanced around the room, and his brow furrowed. “It’s so small. You must feel quite shut in.”
Elin’s mouth crooked. “I didn’t realize it was small.”
She stepped aside to let him in, and he sat down in a chair by the fireplace. Fatigue etched his face.
“I told the Aluhan everything,” he said. “Including what was in the diary. We’ve spent hours talking about what to do and have finally reached a conclusion. He’ll be here soon to tell you himself. But there’s something I wanted to say to you first.”
As she listened to him speak, Elin suddenly realized that he had dropped the deferential tone he’d used before. When had he first begun talking to her so familiarly, as though she were his niece?
Rubbing his burly hands together, Yohalu said, “I met with the leader of the Sai Gamulu last night.”
“You what?”
“Many men in this hall are members, a few of whom once wanted you killed. After I met with the Aluhan, I went to see the leader. I let him know that a Toda Steward was abducted eight years ago.” A bitter smile touched his eyes. “He’s sharp. He understood immediately how that would change things. I can’t promise anything in the distant future, but for the time being, the Sai Gamulu won’t try to harm you or your family.”
Elin gazed at him unblinking. She felt neither joy nor relief at this news. Her only thought was that now even the Sai Gamulu saw her as a pawn they needed to keep alive. At least for now. She opened her mouth to speak but at that moment, there was a noise outside the door.
“The Aluhan,” Yohalu said. Before he could rise from his chair, Elin moved swiftly to the door and opened it.
Shunan was walking down the hall, flanked by soldiers. He smiled faintly when he saw her. Telling his men to remain outside, he stepped into the room. Elin dropped to one knee and bowed. He nodded, then sat on the chair Yohalu had just vacated.
“Elin, first I must thank you,” Shunan said. “You’re a clever woman to have solved the mystery of the Kiba deaths so brilliantly.”
Head bowed, Elin said nothing. When he finished speaking, silence spread through the room. There was a small sigh, and Elin looked up to find Shunan gazing at her. “It’s not possible,” he said quietly, “to develop a Toda troop in a short period of time. But if they’ve had eight whole years, they could have made an army of considerable size.”
Kneading the base of his thumb, he sighed again. “It seems we were careless. We thought we had covered every possibility, but we never really believed another country could develop their own Toda force. The Lahza, however, press forward with their plans far more audaciously than we do.”
Pain flickered in his eyes. “We received news from our men in Kazalumu a short while ago.”
Elin’s heart raced, and her face froze as she waited.
“Your husband and son were attacked by robbers.”
“What?!”
Her face paled, but Shunan swiftly raised his hand. “It’s all right. Trust your husband, the swift-footed Ialu. He beat them off. Despite all those years living as a commoner, it seems he never lost his touch.”
Shunan’s words, however, did nothing to ease the chill that ran through Elin’s body. She gripped her wrist with a trembling hand. “Ialu and Jesse. Are they all right?”
Shunan’s mouth crooked. “I don’t know. By the time my men went to find them, they’d already escaped.”
Elin stared at him blankly.
“The two who attacked him,” Shunan continued, “were bowmen discharged from our forces. Considering that it was also one of our soldiers who led the men who attacked you and Yohalu, it seems clear that corruption has taken root among our troops.”
His face twisted, and he glanced at Yohalu.
“There will always be some who aren’t satisfied with their pay,” Yohalu said. “When soldiers are posted far away, such as in the eastern protectorates, they start mingling with foreign merchants and are more likely to lose their discipline. Lahza must be targeting and recruiting men like that.”
Shunan nodded and shifted his gaze to Elin. “They were probably hired with gold to attack Ialu and Jesse. If so, that raises a frightening possibility.”
A strong light kindled in his eyes. Elin’s breath came shallowly, as if an invisible net was drawing inexorably tighter around her.
“Someone is after you,” Shunan said. “If it’s the Lahza, it means they already know Royal Beasts can decimate Toda troops. And that you can control them.”
The sun had sunk completely, and the light had faded from the room. They could not see each other’s faces clearly, but no one moved to light a lamp. “When I think of it,” Shunan said huskily, “it was foolish to assume we could keep these secrets. Not when thousands of soldiers witnessed what happened on Tahai Azeh.”
Trees brushed against the window. The wind must have picked up because the branches kept grating against the windowpane.
“I won’t let them catch me off guard again,” Shunan said. He rose slowly. “Just as my ancestor Yaman Hasalu once called upon the Toga mi Lyo, I have called upon Yohalu to help me build the greatest Toda army ever seen. As for you, Elin, I command you to aid Her Majesty, the Yojeh. Like your ancestors who rescued the Yojeh in the past, save our kingdom from this crisis.”
Elin kept her eyes fixed on his face. “What is it that you are asking me to do?” she whispered.
Shunan took a step closer. “Breed the Royal Beasts and train them. Create a Royal Beast corps. Royal Beasts are only found in the Afon Noah, the sacred mountains of this kingdom. Our enemies may be able to smuggle Toda eggs out of the country, but they can’t possibly steal Royal Beast cubs without being detected. As long as we make sure we’re ready, the Lahza can never make their own Royal Beast corps.”
A steady light burned in his eyes. “Now I finally see what I failed to understand before. This is what I was meant to do. Seimiya of the Royal Beasts and I of the Toda. We must join hands and, through the power of these sacred creatures, protect this land. That is the shape this country was meant to take. Just as the Royal Beasts soared through the sky and the Toda opened the way for our Royal Ancestor to descend upon Tahai Azeh.”
Elin trembled. The needle of fate, which until now had been wavering, would soon be set. “Her Majesty, the Yojeh,” Elin said desperately. “Did she truly say this is what
should be done?”
Shunan did not answer right away. Gambling on what slim ray of hope might lie behind his hesitation, Elin plowed on. “I know it is not my place to say such a thing, and I humbly beg your pardon for asking, but would not the creation of a Royal Beast corps itself endanger the political affairs of this country?”
Shunan’s brows drew together. “What do you mean?”
“The Royal Beasts are the symbol of Her Majesty, the Yojeh,” Elin explained carefully. “The Toda are the symbol of Your Majesty, the Aluhan. If the Royal Beasts, with stunning force, should rescue this kingdom from defeat by a Toda army created and led by our enemies…”
The light in Shunan’s eyes turned hard. “You are saying that it will seem as if I am merely the Yojeh’s lowly subject who must rely upon her power as the True Ruler.”
Silence subdued the small room. Feeling that the tension hanging between them would snap at a touch, Elin gazed wordlessly at Shunan.
A wry smile touched his lips. “Elin, you have misjudged me. The fact that I am a subject of Her Majesty, the Yojeh, is something in which I take great pride. No matter what crass conjectures the foolish nobility may dream up, not a single speck of doubt clouds that sentiment. Even though I am her husband, I remain her loyal subject.
“Besides,” he added calmly, “you know nothing about the subtleties of politics. A man who grasps these can change a minus into a plus. Thanks to you, we now know the secret of the Toda and can make larger and stronger Toda troops. If the Yojeh should create a corps of Royal Beasts to aid her husband, it will demonstrate the strength of our bond.”
The moment he spoke those words, Elin knew. Nothing she could say would change his mind.
Shunan’s smile had vanished. For a long time he remained silent, looking at Elin’s pale face. “Do you know why the Lahza, who have no hope of ever capturing Royal Beasts, tried to take your family?” he asked suddenly.
Elin said nothing.
“Because they knew we have you in our hands. That’s how deeply they have penetrated our midst. But they are not trying to kidnap you and use you like the Toda Steward. To capture you would be meaningless because they can never get any Royal Beasts. There is only one reason they targeted you. Because they want to wipe you from the face of the earth. Before you raise up a Royal Beast corps. Before we can obtain this decisive weapon.”
The Beast Warrior Page 19
