Quillblade

by Ben Chandler

  Lord Raikô. He had called himself Adad during that one brief flash of perfect clarity when he had ordered Missy to find a cure. Lenis had told her the Blue Dragon Apsilla was the same as the Blue Dragon Seisui, so it made sense that Raikô was just Adad’s Shinzôn name. She wondered if Adad was his true name, if shouting it had somehow solidified his sense of self, pushing back the sickness that plagued him so that he could give Missy her mission.

  He had told her the sickness was making him hollow, sapping away his will, what made him who and what he was. If that was the case, it was having no effect on his power. She had hoped he would eventually weaken, allowing her to slip her bonds and return to her body, but he was still strong enough to keep Missy shackled to him. Ever so gently, she tried tugging on the golden cloak draped over her spirit-self. There came an immediate answering pull from the tether line so she backed off, hoping he wouldn’t yank her back to his temple.

  Every hour the sickness devoured a little more of Lord Raikô but somehow left him strong. Soon he would be an empty shell devoid of any sense of who or what he was, but his husk would still be the Thunder Bird. It would still possess the power of the Lord of Storms. What once was Raikô would become a powerful Demon Lord, perhaps one even stronger than Shamutar. Missy tried not to worry about what would happen to the world when the last Totem succumbed to the Wasteland taint. She didn’t want to think about what it would be like to have her soul bound to a Demon.

  Lenis stumbled under the mast-shaft and into the galley.

  Luckily, it was empty. He entered the doctor’s infirmary and pulled the door closed behind him. Missy lay where he had last seen her, on the bunk in the middle of Long Liu’s cabin. The doctor himself was curled up on the bunk set against the far wall, snoring loudly and mumbling in his own language.

  Lenis took his sister’s limp hand. It was warm, and he let his tears fall onto it. He felt like an idiot. How could he have thought Namei was like him? How could he have forgotten everything he had learnt since he first entered the slave pens? Never show any initiative. Never show any power. And never, ever forget your place.

  What had he been thinking? He had done all of those things. It would serve him right if the captain did separate him from his sister and sell him to someone in Yukitoshi who would hand him over to the Warlord and then –

  ‘Find the World Tree ...’ Long Liu slurred in the common tongue. Lenis started and looked over at the doctor, but he still seemed to be asleep.

  ‘If you wish to ask for Bakeneko’s help, we must do so before we leave Shinzô.’

  This time Lenis actually jumped and dropped his sister’s hand. He hadn’t noticed Yami kneeling in the corner. ‘What?’ His heart was beating fast from both shame and surprise. He tried to brush away his tears.

  ‘If you wish to ask Bakeneko to help your sister, it must be before we leave Shinzô. I do not know if I will be able to summon her beyond the borders of this country. We must ask her now.’

  Lenis considered. Was it possible? Could this Lilim save his sister’s soul? Should he even ask? What would be the cost of striking such a pact? And in the end, what did it matter if it meant he could see his sister again? At least Yami wanted to help him.

  Lenis squared his shoulders, feeling anything but brave. ‘What do we have to do?’

  ‘We will go up on deck and summon Bakeneko.’ Yami stood. ‘We will ask her to help return your sister’s soul. If she is able, she will ask for something in return. If you agree to the price she demands, a pact will be formed and your sister will be restored.’

  ‘What price will she ask?’ Lenis’s throat had gone suddenly tight and fear rose up in him, battling against waves of excitement.

  ‘Who can say what will please a Lilim? We won’t know until we speak with her.’

  ‘Is it safe?’ Lenis’s voice was small.

  ‘I will protect you and your sister.’ Yami opened the door and stepped out of the doctor’s cabin. Lenis took one last look at Missy before following.

  The swordsman led him to the forward hatch. The blast of cold air that slammed into them as he opened it filled the hallway with billowing white and the rushing noise of hard winds. The air bit deeply into Lenis’s face, freezing the remnants of his tears to his eyelashes and cheeks. He was still wearing his Shôgo uniform, the only one on board to do so because he owned no other clothes and no one had anything that would fit him that wasn’t a Shôgo uniform. Though thick, the black robe wasn’t up to this kind of weather.

  Yami pushed forward and Lenis followed as best he could, using the older man’s body as a shield against the worst of the storm. Together they moved to the forecastle, where the dragon figurehead gave them at least some shelter from the blizzard. Yami pointed at the deck and the two of them did their best to sweep the forecastle free of the snow that had piled there. It was a difficult task, made more so by the unrelenting flurries that swept over them. When they could see the brown of the deck again, Yami nodded and pulled Lenis behind him. Then the swordsman bent down, shielding his actions from Lenis. After a few moments, during which Lenis shivered and stamped his feet against the cold, the man began chanting. Softly at first, then louder. Try as he might, Lenis couldn’t make out a word of what he said.

  Yami fell silent, then clapped his hands together. Lenis jumped. A dim light appeared in front of the swordsman’s face and a voice suddenly cut through the storm, colder than the icy hail. ‘Why have you brought me out in this weather?’

  ‘I wish to make a pact with you, Lady Bakeneko,’ Yami shouted over the blizzard’s cry.

  The eerie, disembodied voice laughed. ‘I have told you already, seeker of death, there is nothing I want from you. I will not lift my curse.’

  ‘That is not why I have called you. This young man’s sister lies below decks.’ He dragged Lenis forward and Lenis stared directly into the sphere of light hovering before them. ‘Her soul has been taken and he wishes for it to be returned.’

  ‘Now that is interesting.’

  A moment later a small figure appeared out of the light. She was only as tall as Lenis’s waist and was shrouded in a dark cloak. All Lenis could see was the tip of her feline nose and her whiskers, which twitched about in the wind. The Lilim looked up at him suddenly and he was mesmerised by her green cat eyes.

  ‘A handsome boy.’ Bakeneko purred and then looked at Yami. ‘His sister, you say? Tell me what happened.’

  Yami told her what had happened in Gesshoku. Bakeneko listened intently. As the swordsman spoke, she seemed to retreat deeper into her hood until Lenis could no longer see the ends of her whiskers.

  When he had finished, she tilted back her head and her eyes again transfixed Lenis from deep within her hood. ‘I cannot help you save your sister-soul. The price of a pact would be too high. It is not worth the risk.’ She turned back to Yami and as her gaze released Lenis’s, he felt disappointment flow through him. ‘Guard this one well, my creature. His sister-soul was not taken for naught. The corruption spreads. The last of the Totem has fallen to it. If the boy is taken as well, all hope is lost.’ With that, the Lilim’s figure wavered and disappeared, leaving in its place the bright ball of light that had marked her entrance into the world.

  Lenis lunged forwards and fell to his knees. He reached a hand out to the ball of light. ‘Wait! What about Raikô?’

  Bakeneko’s voice came out of the light, but all she said was, ‘Guard the boy, death-seeker.’ Then the light vanished and the darkness of the storm overwhelmed them again.

  ‘What about Raikô?’ Lenis rounded on the swordsman. ‘He has my sister! If the Demons –’

  ‘I do not know.’ Yami’s expression was unreadable. ‘I am sorry I can be of no more help.’

  The swordsman turned and made his way to the deck. Lenis followed, feeling worse than he had when he had left Namei. Could you confirm uncertainty? It seemed as if Bakeneko had just confirmed his. Everything seemed to be pointing towards finding Seisui’s egg, while Lenis wante
d to run in the opposite direction, towards the World Tree and his sister’s salvation.

  A scowling Hiroshi was waiting for them just inside the forward hatch. ‘What were you two doing up there?’

  Yami walked past him. ‘Nothing that would in any way endanger this vessel or its crew.’

  Hiroshi turned to stare at Lenis. He shrugged and hoped the cook would assume he was shaking from the cold.

  ‘Watch that one, boy. Cursed men can’t be trusted, I tell you.’

  Lenis nodded as he passed. All the way down the hallway he could feel the cook’s gaze boring into his back.

  In the galley he found the crew gathered and feared they had all guessed what he and Yami had been up to. As far as Lenis knew, they had broken no laws, but he hardly needed to give the captain another reason to put him off the airship.

  ‘Ah, Master Clemens,’ Captain Shishi said when he saw him, ‘you have joined us. We have been discussing our next course of action. Miss Florona has spotted Shôgo troops in Yukitoshi.’

  Lenis glanced at the lookout. Snow clung to her fur-lined hood and cuffs.

  Tenjin cleared his throat. ‘We must reach Ost as soon as possible. If the Warlord’s agents have Seisui’s egg, then they will also be on their way to the Ostian capital to look for the manuscript.’

  Arthur leant against the far wall. ‘Why, if they already have the egg?’

  Captain Shishi turned to him. ‘If what they took from Seisui’s temple was truly a dragon egg, it had been sitting there for at least three hundred years without hatching. We need to know why, and so will they. The only document we know of that may contain the information we all need is the Ostian manuscript.’

  Yami had positioned himself beside Lenis. ‘It is strange that Lord Shôgo has sent troops to Sora domain. It is stranger still that they did not arrive via airship. Lord Shôgo must have sent troops up from the south via the eastern coast so that they would not be seen.’

  Andrea was brushing snow from her hood. ‘Seen by us, presumably. I say we get out of here. I don’t care where we go – Ost, Kyst, Garsia. Demon’s wings, I’ll even chase after this Karasu guy if you want. Anywhere is better than sitting here waiting for the Warlord to find us.’

  The captain smiled. ‘This is true, though I believe our best course is still to journey on to Ost. How, then, can we do this?’

  Kenji raised his hand and the captain nodded at him. ‘There are only two ways to cross the northern ocean. We can either fly over it, or sail through it.’

  Shin snorted. The helmswoman was sitting just in front of Arthur. ‘We cannot fly. Even if the storm passes, we may run into worse once we’re out to sea. We’ve left it too late in the year. If we hit rough weather out over the ocean, we’ll lose the balloons and crash.’

  Kenji shrugged. ‘Then that just leaves sailing.’

  For a moment everyone was silent. Then they all started talking at once. Lenis sat on a stool in the corner and cupped his chin in his hand, resolutely ignoring Namei, who was trying to get his attention. The voices of the crew battled with each other to be heard and emotions rose with their tones. Lenis felt raw and exposed as they debated furiously around him. Only Yami and Kenji remained calm. The first was comforting, but the second was disturbing. Lenis found himself staring at the navigator and dropped his gaze to the floor.

  ‘With all due respect, sir,’ Shin called out over the din. She stood and the others quietened. ‘To attempt sailing the oceans at this time of year is madness. I’ve steered vessels through the roughest weather on Mayonaka business, but never for such a distance with winter chasing me the whole way. Anything could happen. We might run aground, or off course, or be sunk by Demons.’

  ‘We won’t run off course,’ Kenji scoffed. ‘I’ve never led a ship astray yet.’

  Shin looked anything but convinced. ‘Captain, this is madness. I say we wait here and take our chances with the Warlord. I’m sure the Yûgata clan would come to our aid if Shôgo airships showed up around Yukitoshi.’

  ‘Perhaps,’ the captain said, ‘but there are the Shôgo troops already here to consider. The Yûgata may not tell them anything, but who are we to them? There are merchants enough in Yukitoshi with an eye for profit who would sell us out before they sacrificed themselves for our cause.’ He turned to Lenis. ‘Tell me, Master Clemens, can the Hiryû survive such a voyage?’

  Shin sat down. If she felt anything about how the captain had dismissed her concerns, Lenis was too dumbstruck to register it. The atmosphere of the galley seemed to grow more stifled. A part of Lenis remembered how the captain had made him feel back in Seisui’s temple, but another part was wary of his kindness. Why hadn’t the captain said anything about Lenis’s powers? Was he trying to make Lenis trust him so that he could use him, or did Captain Shishi think Lenis didn’t suspect he would be left behind when the others left Shinzô? Lenis wasn’t sure he trusted himself to answer the captain’s question. Should he tell the captain the truth or lie out of spite? If he was going to be left behind anyway, why shouldn’t he tell them it was impossible? Perhaps the Warlord would prove lenient if Lenis helped him recover his airship. He was only a slave, after all, and hadn’t wanted to help steal the Hiryû in the first place. Lord Shôgo might even help his sister ...

  ‘Lenis?’ Namei prompted, and he turned to glare at her.

  He suddenly felt reckless. He would show them what a slave could do. ‘It can be done. Aqua can power the engines, and Lucis can light the waters around us. If Mister Jackson can plot the course, the Hiryû can make the passage. We can escape.’ He paused, gauging their response.

  Captain Shishi nodded. ‘Good, then –’

  ‘Excuse me, sir, I wasn’t finished. The airship’s hull is watertight, but the weather is another matter. No one will be able to cross the deck during the journey.’

  ‘We can string up ropes across the deck, Master Clemens, and use them to secure ourselves,’ the captain said. ‘Though I do not see that we will need to traverse the deck on a regular basis, so –’

  Lenis interrupted him again. ‘There’s also the bridge, sir. There’s no way to know if the crystal dome is strong enough to withstand extreme weather for prolonged periods. And then there’s the question of how we’re going to reach the ocean from this airdock. We’re pretty high up the mountain, and I don’t know how far away the ocean is. In this weather the balloons won’t last long enough to –’

  Andrea’s voice cut him off. ‘I think we just lost the luxury of debate.’

  Lenis hadn’t noticed the lookout slip out while everyone was arguing, but there was fresh snow on her hood. ‘The Shôgo’s forces have surrounded the base of the airdock. Either someone told them we’re here or they didn’t wait for the snow to stop before searching the airdock.’

  Arthur pushed himself away from the wall. ‘And the airdock authorities?’

  ‘No sign of them. It could just be the weather keeping them indoors, but I’d say the Yûgata are leaving us to fend for ourselves. The Warlord’s forces aren’t doing anything yet, but there’s no way to tell when they’ll move.’

  The captain rose to his feet. ‘It appears we are to become sailors for a while! Despite our misgivings, we must do the best we can. Lord Knyght, I want you to take Miss Florona and ready the balloons for deployment. Namei, secure ropes leading between the balloon bays and the bridge and from the bridge to the rear hatch. Miss Shin and Mister Jackson, to your posts. We’ll need a course to Heiligland.’

  Shin moved to obey but asked, ‘Heiligland?’

  Kenji followed her out of the galley. ‘It’s still the closest landmass to the north. It’s a long way to Ost and we don’t want to be in the water any longer than we have to.’

  Their voices faded as they moved out of earshot.

  The captain went on, ‘Mister Hiroshi, please prepare some rations for the bridge so we do not need to return to the galley during our trip.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ Hiroshi boomed. ‘For how
many?’

  ‘Three. I will join Mister Jackson and Miss Shin.’

  ‘Four,’ Andrea countered. ‘We’re going to need to keep a lookout for Demons. I’ll remain in the crow’s nest for the journey.’

  The captain turned to her. ‘The crossing will be worse in the crow’s nest.’

  The lookout shrugged. ‘We’re going to be lit up like a beacon for any Demons in the area. I’d rather be uncomfortable and see them coming than sit back at ease while they sink the ship out from under me.’

  ‘Very well.’ The captain turned to Lenis. ‘Master Clemens, ready the Bestia as well as you can. We leave within the hour. Anyone without an assigned task may help the others with the balloons.’

  ‘Yes, sir,’ the crew replied in unison and stepped to their orders.

  Lenis remained seated, too stunned to move. After all his anxiety, it appeared the captain had harboured no intention of selling him off in Shinzô after all. Of course, he could always do it later, in some other country, when the Warlord’s forces weren’t waiting to attack them, but even if he did it was doubtful Lenis would ever find his way back into Lord Shôgo’s hands now.

  Lenis returned to the engine room in a daze. What if the captain had no intention of selling him at all? What if he didn’t mind what Lenis could do? Didn’t fear it? What if he wanted a slave around who could think for himself? For the first time since Lenis had left Itsû, he actually felt his spirits rising.

  Namei was waiting for him by the Bestia hutch. ‘Lenis,’ she said before he had a chance to speak, ‘I’m sorry about before. I didn’t mean anything by it, it’s just –’

  His thoughts were elsewhere. ‘I’m a slave and you’re a warrior.’

  ‘No, it’s not that. Look –’

  Arthur’s voice came echoing down the hallway. ‘Namei!’