Quillblade

by Ben Chandler

  He could hear the others running towards him.

  ‘Master Clemens, what is wrong?’ someone called.

  Suddenly Lenis was on his knees, squeezing his sides. He could barely feel the floor beneath him, or the wall he was leaning against.

  And then she was gone. Lenis fell over to his side, feeling empty. Slowly, he returned to himself. Tears were running down his face.

  ‘Master Clemens!’ Captain Shishi kneeled and pulled Lenis’s head and shoulders up into his lap.

  ‘What’s wrong with the boy?’ Arthur demanded.

  ‘She’s dead!’ Lenis wailed.

  ‘What? Who? Not his sister.’

  ‘Shhh,’ the captain soothed, holding Lenis to him. ‘What has happened?’

  ‘Apsilla,’ Lenis began, clutching at the captain’s robes. ‘Seisui. The Blue Dragon. She’s dead.’

  ‘Dead?’ Tenjin asked. ‘How can you –’

  ‘I’ve been dreaming about her,’ Lenis broke in. He didn’t want them to ask questions. He wanted them to take him back to the Hiryû so they could ... go ... somewhere ... anywhere, as long as it was closer to her daughter. There was no doubt now that Apsilla and Seisui were one and the same. Lenis needed to do something. He didn’t know and didn’t care if this urgency was his own or a remnant of the dying dragon’s desperation.

  ‘A dream?’ Tenjin said something to Captain Shishi in Shinzôn and the captain nodded in reply. ‘What did Seisui say to you in these dreams?’

  ‘She’s been asking me to help her daughter. I didn’t know she was a Totem. Please. Please! We have to save her!’

  ‘Her daughter?’ Tenjin asked.

  The captain nodded. ‘The egg. Seisui’s egg. We must go north to Ost and consult this manuscript. Now that Seisui has fallen there is nothing to stand between humanity and the Demons. If she truly has left behind an egg, a daughter to inherit her powers, then she is our last hope.’

  Captain Shishi sounded so sure of himself, so sure that Lenis was speaking the truth, that Lenis looked up at him in a daze. As his senses returned, he became aware that his head was nestled in the captain’s lap. Was this what being held by a parent felt like? He couldn’t be sure of what he was feeling. Was it something left over from his link with Apsilla? It was strange, and exhilarating, and frightening, and he wasn’t ready for it. He wanted to feel his captain’s trust, wanted to take comfort from it, but he couldn’t. He was still numb from Seisui’s death cry. Without being able to sense it, Lenis couldn’t believe in the captain’s faith in him.

  ‘Captain?’ Arthur knelt down next to them. Lenis shied away, convinced that the first officer would demand some greater proof than a slave-boy’s dream.

  The captain turned to the first officer. ‘Yes, Lord Knyght?’

  ‘Have you forgotten Chûritsu and Karasu? If there was a dragon egg here, I’d say they just took it.’

  ‘Do we follow him or return to the Hiryû?’ Arthur asked.

  Lenis pulled himself awkwardly out of Captain Shishi’s lap as the captain replied to Arthur’s question. ‘They will be too far ahead of us by now. Even if we could catch up to them, they have an airship full of Shôgo soldiers at their disposal, and the Demons may return at any moment. We must return to the Hiryû as soon as possible. We do not want the Warlord to guess at what we have just discovered.’

  Tenjin hid his arms in his sleeves and nodded in agreement. ‘It seems strange that the Warlord would send a mercenary like Karasu on such a mission. If he knows what we now suspect and is seeking Seisui’s power, why send a mercenary?’

  ‘It is stranger still that he would send Chûritsu,’ the captain said. ‘He is a member of the imperial academy and so the Emperor’s agent, but there are rumours he is not above corruption.’ The captain stood. ‘Two enemies can still cross the same river. We do not know what Lord Shôgo’s intentions are regarding Seisui or the other Totem. We shall return to the Hiryû. We can do no more here and the longer we stay, the greater the risk that the Demons will return.’

  They remained silent as they boarded their landcraft and started back to Gesshoku. Suddenly the threat of Demons was not the only thing hovering over them, and Lenis half-expected to hear the roar of an airship’s engines through the miasma above. He couldn’t stop thinking about the dragon’s anguish as she perished. He had felt it as if it had been his own. Only two things mattered now. He had to help his sister and he had to find Seisui’s daughter. But how could he do either?

  Worrying accomplished nothing, but it was easier than dealing with the emotions Captain Shishi’s act of kindness had woken in him. Had Lenis’s mother ever held him like that? He couldn’t remember. He knew his father never had. The only memory Lenis had of his father’s touch was the shackle-like hold on his wrist as the man dragged him to the slave auction. Lenis blinked. No, that wasn’t right, was it? His father hadn’t taken them to the auction. He hadn’t wanted to see them go ... no, he hadn’t wanted to be seen with them ... Then who had taken them? Try as he might, Lenis couldn’t recall the man’s face. Funny, the things you remembered, and those you forgot.

  The Wastelands, as though enjoying his turmoil, started moulding demonic shapes out of its greenish fog. The air seemed harder to breathe as well, and Lenis felt as though he were about to suffocate behind his scarf. His head was aching, but his mind kept alternating between thoughts of his sister, lying unconscious in the half-crazed doctor’s cabin, and images of a broken eggshell.

  Engrossed in his own thoughts, it took Lenis a few moments to realise that the red spectre rising up before them wasn’t an apparition at all. With a high-pitched scream, Lenis brought the landcraft to a stop.

  A Demon with blood-red skin and shaggy white hair stood before them. Its stomach was as wide as the landcraft and protruded far beyond its muscled torso. Two large eyes burned a horrid green to match the fog out of which it came, and its nose was wide and hooked. A single horn rose out of the middle of its forehead and, though there was no direct light in the eerie twilight of the Wastelands, the horn somehow seemed to glint like sharpened metal. With a repulsive laugh the Demon opened its mouth to reveal a row of crooked teeth and two long fangs.

  Lenis stared, mouth agape. Captain Shishi kept his eyes focused on this denizen of the Wastelands while Arthur’s gaze roamed as if searching for signs of other threats. Lenis’s skin tingled unpleasantly as wave after wave of the Demon’s malice swept over him, and his mind went blank. Terra was a quivering ball inside the landcraft’s engine block. His fear mingled with and fed Lenis’s own.

  As the Demon breathed, small puffs of smoke came out of its nostrils. ‘I am Akamusaborikû, Demon of the Western Marches.’

  The captain leapt down from the landcraft and faced the creature. ‘I am Captain Mayonaka Shishi of the Uchû no Shinpan-ryû. Break off your horn and surrender to me.’

  As the creature threw back its head and laughed again, its stomach bounced up and down in a way that might have been comical in other circumstances. The tension inside the landcraft was almost unbearable. Lenis found himself wishing the others would follow the captain’s example and put themselves between him and the Demon.

  ‘Very well.’ Captain Shishi crouched into a battle stance, his right hand going to the hilt of his sword. In one motion the captain leapt forward, drew his blade, and sliced through the Demon’s neck. The head bounced once before rolling off into the miasmic mist that surrounded them. As the captain wiped his sword and sheathed it, the hideous red body fell to the ground.

  A small laugh escaped Lenis’s lips, and relief washed through him, loosening tightly clenched muscles and taking with it the tension that had been building all day. Grinning broadly, he looked around at the others. They were gazing into the haze around them, their bodies still taut, eyes roving.

  ‘What is –’

  Lenis was cut off by a horrible scream from behind the wall of vapour. Flames erupted out of the Wastelands’ mias
ma and overwhelmed the captain. Lenis cried out as Akamusaborikû’s severed head floated out of the fog, spewing fire on the captain. Somehow it had survived decapitation. Arthur leapt down from the landcraft and impaled the Demon head with his great sword. Dark blood spurted out of the wound and dripped from the creature’s neck, staining the Kystian’s clothing and the ground beneath his feet.

  Small tendrils of smoke drifted out of Akamusaborikû’s gaping mouth to hang in the still air. Arthur placed his boot against the head and tugged on his sword’s hilt, drawing his blade free slowly. It made a squelching sound, and Lenis gagged. In his imagination the oppressive walls of mist now hid a swarm of flying heads, all fangs and flame.

  Tenjin dismounted from the landcraft and hurried over to the captain. Captain Shishi’s clothes were scorched and his hair was singed, but he seemed otherwise unhurt. Lenis fell out of the landcraft and staggered away from it. His legs were barely able to support him. He reached up to his scarf. The vomit was almost in his mouth and his throat was twitching.

  Tenjin’s voice pulled him up short. ‘Lenis, don’t! You may die if you breathe in the tainted air. You must keep your scarf on until we reach the safety of Gesshoku.’

  Lenis looked at the old man and nodded, forcing himself to swallow. The taste of bile filled his mouth and he cringed. It wasn’t until he stumbled back to the landcraft that he felt the wetness in his breeches and his face flushed. At least the stench of the Wastelands would hide his shame from his crewmates, but what if one of them looked over? Lenis hurried into his seat and bent over with his legs pressed together.

  If the journey had been tense and uncomfortable before, it was like torture now. Lenis tried not to think of the humiliation that awaited him on his return to the Hiryû, when the others would notice that he had soiled himself. Although Captain Shishi made no complaint and showed no signs of having sustained any injury, Lenis could tell from the way he drew his eyebrows together that he was in at least some pain. Lenis turned to worrying about his sister next, though that was hardly better than his injured captain or his wet trousers.

  When Lenis finally saw the walls of Gesshoku rising up out of the haze he almost sobbed. Still, it was not until they were safely back behind those walls that he ripped the strip of cloth from around his face and gulped in the crisp, fresh air. It was only then that he realised that night had fallen and the vapours of the Wastelands were glowing eerily through the darkness.

  The old woman, Dango, greeted them on their arrival, and Lenis was spared some measure of embarrassment when it became obvious that the entire party was in a wretched state. Arthur was covered in blood, the captain’s robes were charred, and they all stank of the Wasteland taint. The village spokeswoman led them to a shed where they were able to bathe and rinse out their clothing. Lenis scrubbed at his soiled breeches until all traces of his accident were removed, and then gratefully pulled them back on, damp but not dripping. When he was clean, Lenis took Terra into the shed. The poor creature had pushed himself well beyond his limits and lay quivering on a bench as Lenis rinsed his fur with water. It took a long time for the water to run clean. When it finally did, Lenis fetched a rough towel from a peg on the wall and rubbed Terra all over. The Bestia nuzzled Lenis’s hand as he dried his face, but there was little energy in the movement.

  The others had waited for Lenis to finish with Terra. As they made to return to the Hiryû, Dango handed them a basket filled with large balls of rice partially wrapped in seaweed. She left them without asking why they had ventured into the Wastelands.

  Captain Shishi and Arthur took one look at Terra and decided to push the landcraft the rest of the way back to the Hiryû. Lenis handed the Bestia to Tenjin, who sat in the pilot seat, and then disengaged the drive shaft. He showed Tenjin how to steer their course before lending his weight to shifting the vehicle. It was a heavy piece of machinery, but with three of them pushing they were able to get it going.

  After the landcraft was safely stowed away on board the Hiryû, all Lenis wanted to do was see his sister. Instead he took Terra to his hutch and brought him water. Terra lapped at it half-heartedly before curling up to sleep between Ignis and Aqua, his damp fur steaming from Ignis’s warmth. That was one thing about Bestia; they took care of one another. He left Terra some food, knowing the others wouldn’t eat it, and went to check on Missy.

  He found her in the same condition as he had left her. Long Liu was napping on a stool by her bedside and Lenis moved carefully to ensure he didn’t wake the doctor. The last thing he wanted was another bizarre encounter with the man.

  ‘I watched her while you were gone.’ Yami’s voice startled him. ‘The doctor is taking good care of her.’

  Lenis looked at Yami and suddenly realised they had something in common. They were both sort of separate from the rest of the crew. No one had seemed too happy about having the swordsman on board in the first place, and since the nature of his curse had been made public the others had shown open hostility to his presence, but it had been Yami who had gotten Missy to the doctor and watched over her while Lenis was gone. At the moment, that was enough to earn Lenis’s trust. Yami might not have been able to do anything about his sister’s condition, but at least he seemed willing to listen. It was a relief to have someone to talk to.

  A thought suddenly occurred to him and, before he could think better of it, he asked, ‘Do you believe someone’s soul can be taken away?’

  The usually sombre swordsman chuckled. ‘A strange question to ask someone in my position.’

  ‘The doctor said that’s what happened to Missy, that Lord Raikô took her soul.’

  ‘Lord Raikô?’

  Lenis picked up his sister’s hand and placed a finger on the beaded bracelet Long Liu had given her. ‘It was Missy who summoned Lord Raikô during the battle. Tenjin made her do it. Master Long told me Raikô was very sick, and angry, and that was why he took her soul. He said I would have to ask the World Tree how to get it back.’

  Yami was silent for a time and then said, ‘The World Tree.’

  Lenis couldn’t tell if it was a question or an acknowledgement. ‘Do you know where it is, or what it is?’

  ‘The World Tree is the mother of all things. Beasts, birds, humans, Bestia and Demons. We were all born from the buds that sprouted on her branches. Her roots reach deep into the earth and connect every living thing. She resides in the heart of our greatest hopes, and gives birth to our deepest fears.’

  Lenis shuddered, suddenly feeling cold and overwhelmingly tired. ‘Where can I find her?’

  ‘She doesn’t exist.’ Yami paused. ‘Or she does, but she is everywhere and everyone and everything, which is the same as not existing at all, as being nothing. The World Tree is just a symbol of the interconnectedness of existence. Some have worshipped her as a goddess, but she is not like the Totem. If she exists at all then she is in everything, she is everything. Do you understand?’

  Lenis shook his head and placed Missy’s hand gently across her breast. He felt tears come into his eyes and prayed desperately that they would not fall in front of the swordsman. He felt helpless enough. He didn’t want Yami to think of him as a child.

  ‘If your sister’s soul has been stolen, we will find it and return it to her. This I vow to you.’ Yami went down on his knees and bowed his forehead to the floor. ‘I cannot lead you to the World Tree, but I do know of a Lilim who has the power to transmigrate souls.’

  ‘A Lilim?’ Lenis remembered Tenjin’s explanation of how Wasteland sickness transformed creatures into Demons after the Great War. ‘Weren’t they all turned into Demons?’

  ‘Not all of them. A few escaped the Wasteland taint. Bakeneko is one of the few remaining uncorrupted Lilim.’

  ‘Bakeneko?’

  ‘She is the one who cursed me.’

  Lenis shivered. ‘How can she help?’

  Yami stood. ‘The Lilim share their power with humans through pacts. To gain something from them, something else must be given up.
I will leave you to think on it.’ The swordsman turned and left.

  Lenis gave in to his headache and returned to his bunk. As he lay on his back staring up at the pipes of the engine room, he tried to recall every detail of the dragon dream in case Seisui, or Apsilla as she had called herself, had left him some clue as to how he could help her daughter.

  The terrible images of the past day slowly receded. Tomorrow they would be setting off for Ost. He had never been to the northern kingdoms before, but he knew all about them. The settlers who had founded Pure Land had come from the north, mostly from Kyst, but there were also Ellian, Lahmonian, Heiliglander, Ostian, and even a small group of Garsian settlers. Their cultural differences had been diluted from centuries spent living together in one country, but there were some nuances that would never be completely lost.

  Thinking of Pure Land made Lenis feel homesick. It was not that his life had been anything special as a child in Pure Land – he and his sister had been sold into slavery when they were four – but he still experienced flashes of memory that made him yearn for the place of his birth: open, green fields covered in wildflowers; snow-covered mountains that appeared purple on the far horizon; and a deep, blue lake he and his sister would swim in during the summer. The town took its name from Blue Lake. They hadn’t been born there, but the slave pens on the lake’s shore were the first solid place in Lenis’s memory. They were home.

  He had met Aeris on the shores of that lake. She had been stalking butterflies. The twins had been six. The moment Lenis had looked into her eyes he had known he loved her, and that she loved him. The memory of that feeling was liquid, melding with half-imagined fancies of his pre-slave days, nestled with his sister in his mother’s arms.

  ‘She says these are her butterflies,’ Missy had said, ‘but we can help her catch them if we like.’