The Forbidden Library
Page 20
A beautiful woman, identical to the statue, leapt down from the vines and landed on the shore. She looked like a counterpart to Satsupan, except where he appeared to be baojendari, she possessed zaboko features. Turesobei activated the strength and leaping spells on Iniru. She charged the nozakami-ga. Two spider kagi crept out of the vines and blasted webs at Iniru, but she leapt over the shots. She stabbed downward. The nozakami-ga dodged, but Iniru knocked her down and landed on her.
Lu Bei attempted to blast the webs off Motekeru, but webs struck him and took him down. A blast of webs came for Turesobei. He dodged to the side. He tried to cast a spell, but as he did, he began to lose control of the creature in the tunnel. He couldn’t let that happen. They were in bad enough shape as it was.
The nozakami-ga wrestled out from under Iniru. With her increased strength and jumping ability, Iniru leapt over the ga’s head, spinning in midair, attempting to land behind her. But she never even hit the ground. A mass of the nozakami-ga’s vines shot down and caught her. Turesobei had watched Iniru’s actions for too long. A strand of webbing slapped him in the chest, pinned his arms, and knocked him flat.
Iniru couldn’t break free of the vines, despite the strength boost he’d given her, and Turesobei couldn’t even budge his arms. The nozakami-ga planted a foot on his chest and smiled.
“You’re mine now,” she said. “And what a delectable catch you are.”
Chapter 33
The spider-kagi hung them all from the ceiling, above the pool, except Iniru who was already hanging from the vines. Kemsu hung limply, but his chest heaved with breath. Turesobei kept his focus invested in the kagi beast he’d charmed in the tunnel. The nozakami-ga hadn’t said anything about the creature yet.
The nozakami-ga paced the pool’s edge. Turesobei studied the white orb in the bottom of the pool.
Iniru whispered to him, “Is that a moon —”
He shook his head.
“So, my love has sent me a lot this time,” the ga said at last. “Though I confess I do not know what to do with the machine man. I cannot eat him. Maybe I can dominate him and replace my slain beast.”
So she thought they’d killed it. That was perfect.
“We don’t even know your name,” Turesobei said.
“Is it important?” she replied.
“I would prefer,” said Lu Bei, “to know the name of the one who eats me, lady.”
Her lips curled into a self-satisfied smile. “Utotsu. Now, you can be happy when I eat you.”
“It’s a nice game you have worked out between you and Satsupan,” Turesobei said. “But what does he get out of it?”
“Nothing, save my everlasting love. There was a time when I could visit him … millennia ago. The world was different then. But alas, we have only shared dreams now. And gifts between us.”
Turesobei mentally commanded the beast in the hallway to come to him and attack her at full speed. Had to do it fast or she’d reassert her dominance over it.
“Ah, I can see that you are about to ask me another question, but unlike my love, I find talking to my food tedious. I mean, what question could possibly matter when I’m about to eat —”
The beast charged into the room. Utotsu spun, but too late. The beast slammed into her and with its horns tossed her to the other side of the pool where she struck the cave wall and slumped … dazed but not dead.
“Motekeru!” Turesobei said. “Her heart’s the glowing moon-orb at the bottom of the pool. She’s my enemy. You know what to do.”
He cast the spell of unbinding the bound. The webbing peeled off Motekeru who dropped into the water and plunged underneath before the spider-kagi could hit him with new webs.
Lu Bei turned into a book and fell into the pool. Amidst a column of bubbles, he transformed back into a fetch and shot upward, firing sparks at the spider-kagi, drawing their fire as he darted around the room.
Motekeru grabbed onto the moon-orb with his claws.
“No!” Utotsu screamed, climbing to her feet and reaching out. “I’ll let you go. I’ll give you anything you want. I swear.”
Gazing up at Turesobei, Motekeru paused.
“Banish your kagi,” Turesobei said. “Then we can bargain.”
Utotsu scowled at him. Motekeru scraped his claws against the orb.
“Aaaaaa!” She fell to her knees. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
She chanted. The spider-kagi disappeared. The lizard-ram-beast melted into the floor. Turesobei scanned with his kenja-sight, putting as much internal kenja into it as he could muster. Four fine threads of energy flowed out from the nozakami-ga and into the either. The creatures weren’t completely banished back into the nether reaches of the Shadowland from whence they had come. She had only pushed them into the first layer of the Shadowland. She could easily pull them back as soon as she wished.
“Take what you want from the bottom of the pool,” Utotsu said. “There are riches. Copper, jade, pearl. Take the treasure, but please, leave my heart alone.”
Turesobei shook his head. “How many you must have eaten over the years.”
“I did what I had to to stay alive,” she replied.
“There was a better choice. You could have faded away like many others of your kind. You didn’t have to murder innocent people. And you’re going to attack us as soon as we let down our guard. Motekeru, end her.”
Motekeru swallowed the white glowing stone. The nozakami-ga screamed. Her body shattered into tiny pieces. Some of these kenja pieces dispersed, others flowed down into the water and into Motekeru. The vines released them and they fell into the pool of icy water.
The chamber went dark as the energies flowed into Motekeru, leaving only his dimly glowing eyes to light the room. Turesobei swam to the shore fast, terrified by the near pitch-black room and the icy water that sucked the air from his lungs.
He scrambled onto the shore, shivering violently, and cast the spell of the moon mirrors. The spell failed. He focused harder and the second cast summoned half as many mirrors as normal, dim ones at that, but it was enough light to manage.
“That … was … cold,” Iniru said, crawling over to collapse beside him, shivering violently like he was.
“It’s ice water,” Lu Bei said. “What did you expect?” He had pulled Kemsu to the surface and was dragging him to the shore. The cold had woken Kemsu but he was confused.
Iniru scowled at Lu Bei. “I meant killing the nozakami-ga.”
Turesobei replied, “She could bring those creatures back whenever she wanted. She would’ve betrayed us. And she got what she deserved. Besides, Motekeru looked like he could use a meal.”
“I’m not saying you didn’t do the right thing,” Iniru said. “Just that it seemed cold.”
“This coming from an assassin,” Lu Bei said.
Iniru frowned but made no reply. Turesobei felt certain Iniru had never assassinated anyone before. He was fairly certain the Winter Child was only her second mission ever, and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to kill the girl. It turned out that killing her hadn’t even been possible. Which meant the Sacred Codex of the qengai had been wrong or it had known this would happen but didn’t want Iniru to know beforehand. That was the thing about prophecy. You could never really know for certain.
Kemsu crawled along the shore and joined them. He looked around, still dazed. “I’m guessing we won.”
“Yes,” Iniru replied, “though I think we’re going to freeze to death now.”
Turesobei tried a fire spell but as cold as he was and with the energies there, he managed nothing.
Motekeru stalked out of the pool with strong, heavy steps that didn’t lead to the least creaking in his joints. His body gleamed as if newly polished. The injuries that had piled up on him were healed. The nicks in the wood of his frame had disappeared. The dents were gone from his bronze head, his flattened nose had been restored. The fire in his eyes burned brighter. Even his claws looked refreshed, as if they’d been sharpened.
Motekeru flexed. “That was the best meal I’ve ever had.” He pointed at Lu Bei. “You just said something nice, and you have not snarked at me in weeks. We understand one another now, yes?”
Lu Bei looked at Turesobei and said, “We are good now, Motekeru. Because everything is different now.”
Motekeru nodded. “Yes, I like him … I like the way things are now. And I do not wish to see anything change.”
“I don’t really know what you two are discussing,” Turesobei said, teeth chattering, “but it doesn’t matter because we are going to freeze to death soon.”
Motekeru drew a ball of fire from his mouth as he’d done in the Lair of the Deadly Twelve. “Use this. I have more than enough now.”
Motekeru placed the flaming orb on the floor and Turesobei cast the fire spell onto it with the barest whisper. Soon they had a roaring fire to heat and light the room. Motekeru went outside and brought their sonoke in.
Lu Bei examined Kemsu. He held up a finger and asked him to track it with his eyes. Kemsu managed that. Lu Bei sparked him.
“Ow! What’d you do that for?”
“Reflexes are normal,” Lu Bei pronounced. He turned to Turesobei. “He’s fine, master. Just a sleep spell. Doesn’t seem to have improved him though. Unfortunate that. I’m going to take a rest now.”
Turesobei sighed. Apparently Lu Bei didn’t like Kemsu now, probably because his master didn’t anymore. Lu Bei placed himself near the fire and turned into a book. Not that he was close enough that Turesobei was worried about it, but could Lu Bei catch fire? He was waterproof, so maybe he was fireproof, too. Turesobei would have to ask.
“Why doesn’t he like me?” Kemsu asked, still shivering.
“The fetch hates everyone,” Iniru said, “except his master and Enashoma.”
Smiling, Turesobei told Iniru to take the first turn stripping down to warm herself and dry out her clothes.
She drew her spare shirt from the pack on her sonoke. “That’s a stupid idea.” She pulled out one of the blankets. “We strip down and lay on the blankets, on opposite sides of the fire from one another. You two can face away from the fire while I face it, then we’ll switch. Once we’re dry, we can wrap up in the furs while our clothes dry. Don’t know how long that will take.”
“Good plan,” Turesobei said.
“Clothes are water-resistant and we were only in a short time,” Kemsu said. “They’ll dry pretty fast with all this heat.”
“We can spend the night here,” Motekeru said. “It’s safe. Clothes will be dry by morning, then we can return.”
Iniru let them face the fire first since Kemsu was the coldest. A few more minutes and he might have died. Turesobei stared longingly at the supple muscles and ripples of fur on her back, the smooth curve of her spine. Her hair fanned out across her shoulders. It was only when they rotated and faced the wall that he could think straight again.
“I have a plan,” he announced.
“I was hoping you would,” Iniru said.
“It’s risky, but I’m pretty sure it’ll work. Motekeru and I will need to rehearse.”
Motekeru climbed out of the pool with his large hands full of copper, jade, and ivory coins as well as rubies and emeralds. He piled them on the bank with the rest that he had brought up. It was an incredible fortune. Whatever money they didn’t need along their way, they would send back to the goronku tribe if they could, to repay them for what they had done for them.
“I am ready for anything now, master,” Motekeru said.
Chapter 34
As they rode back toward the canyon, bitterly cold winds battered them. Wild sonoke and demon-beasts chased them, but they managed to avoid getting attacked. On one afternoon, with Lu Bei as a high-flying spotter, they hunted a pack of kotooto beasts, blubbery blue-furred creatures with five legs, antennae, and non-functional wings. Turesobei hated wasting valuable time, but if they didn’t replenish their food stores, they would starve. Of course, the raw kotooto meat from their two kills smelled like a chamber pot and made him contemplate starvation. Surely rotting sonoke meat would taste better. After a few bites they vowed to dump the kotooto meat if they crossed the path of anything more tolerable.
When they reached the edge of the canyon, they didn’t ride down into it. Instead Turesobei led them to a spot that, by Iniru’s estimation, was roughly located above the eidakami-ga’s cavern. Turesobei knelt on the ice and activated his kenja-sight. Traces of forest, earth, and fire energy seeped up from the ground around him. Focusing, he tapped his internal kenja and boosted his kenja-sight. Deep in the ground beneath him, below the layer of snow and ice and below the permafrost layer, stretched a network of roots pulsing with viridian forest kenja. The roots here were thin. Crawling on the ice, he followed them inward until he reached a mass of entangled roots and kenja so bright he had to dim his kenja-sight.
“This is it,” Turesobei announced. “Directly below me lies the root-cluster of Satsupan’s tree.”
“His heart?” Iniru asked.
“Based on my reading of the currents the heart itself is locked within the tree’s rootball which is buried deep within to keep it safe. It would take a lot of time and effort to reach it.”
“So we can’t kill him?” Kemsu asked.
Turesobei shrugged. “We might could, if we damaged enough roots and left them exposed them to the cold, but that would take weeks, months, maybe years. And his knobs would live on after him as long as the sun-stone remained.”
“Motekeru could eat the sun-stone and take away his light source,” Kemsu said. “He couldn’t survive without it.”
“Too much energy,” Motekeru replied. “I would melt. Couldn’t even hold it.”
Turesobei nodded. “Satsupan wasn’t bragging. That is a shard of the sun itself.”
“So what do we do?” Iniru asked.
“We cause him enough pain that he’ll agree to our demands,” Turesobei said. “We’ll have to dig down far enough to expose some of the dense root mass. Motekeru, I’ll need you to do that. I never learned the spell of the shoveling ghost.”
“My pleasure,” Motekeru said. “Tell me where to start.”
Turesobei pointed and Motekeru immediately plunged his clawed hands into the ice, cutting out blocks as if building a snowhouse.
“What, you don’t have all the spells memorized?” Kemsu said, testily.
“It’s harder than you think,” Turesobei said.
Kemsu shrugged. “Just seems like you usually have a spell to do everything for you.”
“Learning a complicated spell is like memorizing an epic poem with several thousand lines,” Lu Bei explained. “And there are many more things that go into it.” Lu Bei crossed his arms and stared at Kemsu. “Now, would you like to continue being snarky about stuff that can save your life?”
Kemsu looked down at his feet. “Sorry.”
“Don’t you think Satsupan’s going to notice when you start tearing through even his smaller roots near the top?” Iniru asked.
“I’m counting on it,” Turesobei replied. “I need him to already know we mean business when we get there. Motekeru, I will need you to do a lot of damage to the roots when we begin bargaining with him.”
“Not a problem.” Motekeru bent his head back to the sky and belched out a blast of crackling flames.
Everyone, Turesobei included, stumbled back in awe. Lu Bei yipped and clapped and danced with glee.
“Since when could you do that?!” Turesobei said.
“Yeah, that would’ve been useful against the Twelve,” Iniru added.
“I was built to do it,” Motekeru replied, “but I can only manage it when I’m at full strength with a surplus of fire within me. It runs out if I don’t eat, and I had not eaten in a very long time. The nozakami’s heart held a lo
t of power. I think I could probably take out several yomon now.”
“Good to know.” Turesobei patted him on the back. “I’m going to link you to me with a simple signal spell that uses two responses: stop and go. When we start to bargain with Satsupan, I will signal you to do some serious damage to get his attention.”
“Can you make the signal go that far, through earth and rock?” Motekeru asked.
“Bound as we are by the kavaru, I think so. It’s an air kenja spell, so I shouldn’t have much trouble here, and I’m keeping it simple with just two responses.”
After two hours of digging, Motekeru reached a core of thickly knotted roots. “If I keep ripping, I’m betting he’s really going to start to feel it.”
“That’s deep enough then,” Turesobei said. “Expand the hole across to expose more of the roots to the cold air.”
“You can’t make Satsupan feel too desperate,” Iniru cautioned. “If he thinks he’s going to die, he’ll lash out and kill us for revenge.”
That should’ve occurred to Turesobei, but it hadn’t. “We’ll have to play it carefully then. It’s all we’ve got.”
*****
The big knob, rocking side-to-side nervously, and dozens of small knobs met them at the start of the cave and escorted them to the cavern. This time without chanting. Instead the little knobs chittered amongst themselves. Once in the cavern, the knobs led them to the shoreline and massed around them, waiting. Satsupan was nowhere to be seen.
As soon as Turesobei dismounted, Enashoma nearly tackled him. Kurine was a step behind her. Turesobei looked them over and saw no sign of injuries. Satsupan had kept his word about healing them.
“Told you I’d be back,” Turesobei said. “You okay?”
“Peachy,” Shoma replied. “Better than Satsupan.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Until this morning he was a lot of taunting and bluster,” Narbenu said, thumping Kemsu on the shoulder approvingly.
Kurine stepped in and lifted him with a hug. “About time,” she said. “I was getting bored listening to the tree prattle on about himself hour after hour.”