"I hope that they still ain't pissed at us,” Mason said seriously.
I laughed. “The only one who you will have to worry about is Yatsufusa. I think that he isn't too upset with you. You were a noble knight and protected his wife."
"But there's something going on besides that,” Mason repeated, not distracted by my comments.
I looked up at him. Helga was too interested in what we were talking about, so I wasn't going to tell him anything right now. I didn't need that woman knowing my business!
Mason saw where I was looking and nodded. “I get it. I don't want to give the bitch any more ammunition, either. But you're eventually going to have to tell me, or us, what has you and Keno so nervous. And it ain't just because were on this fun Love Boat cruise."
"I do wish that I did understand some of your references,” I said wryly, changing the topic of conversation. “I did have to ask McGann what a wet T-shirt contest was."
Mason got this strange look on his face. “Shit!” he cursed.
I laughed. “I'm not angry. She was amused, as I was, about the comment. And she did defend you by pointing out that she didn't think you could be polite to someone for too long without hurting yourself. She also told me that you would have made the same comment if you had seen her that day too."
Mason relaxed at my comment. “Still willing to take you salsa dancing and drink mojitos if you want to."
"I'll think about that,” I promised him gravely. I would have to ask McGann what they were first.
He laughed and slipped an arm around me for a hug. “I don't think that you still need to do that.” I pointed out, wondering why I was letting him.
"Yes, I do,” he said seriously. “If I don't, I'm worried that Helga the Horrible is going to make a move on me. I think that she finally realizes that Wolf isn't willing to play with her. So I'm doing this because I want your protection. I see that she ain't givin’ you too much shit."
I laughed at that, even though something felt off. I was, for some reason, slightly upset that Mason wasn't serious.
* * * *
Mason
I wasn't much help sailing the ship. I didn't think that I would be, but I hate to say I was happy Tholf was there. I guessed he wasn't as dumb as I thought he was. He had gotten out of a dead-end place, and in his mind this was a step up from herding goats or whatever it was that he had done there.
"So you have allies in Nippon?” Tholf practically bellowed at me when I brought him something to eat. The man even loved the MREs we'd originally had for supplies and were now eating since we were away from the village. I sure as hell wasn't touching the food here. I liked my stomach where it was.
"Talk to the boss about that,” I said.
"McGann?” He grinned at me.
I wasn't buying the act, though. He wasn't as dumb and happy as he wanted us to believe that he was. I just didn't know why he was putting on the act. Did he think he could hook up with us because Logan was gone? Shit, I was going to have to see if Tamazusa could find someplace for him with her posse. If he went with us, his ass would be toast the moment we got back to the real world. I wouldn't even wish that on Helga. Tamazusa would take care of him. There must be some place on that spread for him. Shit, I bet she even knew she'd have to take Helga back with her too, as annoying as that woman was.
"Last time that I checked, Wolf was the man in charge,” I corrected.
"He seeks her counsel,” Tholf pointed out. “And he seems to know the boy very well also, for all that he doesn't care for his sister."
"We've known the kid for a while,” I said. “And his sister isn't bad once you get to know her."
He laughed at that. “You seem to know her very well."
"Don't fucking talk trash about her,” I growled. If he started that shit around Keno, he'd kill the both of us. I wasn't going to tell him who Tamazusa really was, because I didn't know what he might do. I wasn't going to give that secret away yet.
"She is a formidable woman,” Tholf complimented, looking at me as if he knew why I was acting this way and thought it was funny as all hell. “Fearless, since she is willing to deal with Helga."
"Keeps her occupied,” I muttered.
Not that there was a hell of a lot to do on the ship that didn't center on keeping the damn thing going. I was fucking thankful it hadn't done more than sprinkle the days we had been sailing. If a storm blew up, even if it wasn't as nasty as the one that drove Keno and Tamazusa onto that island, we were toast. I knew that there weren't enough of us to make sure we could ride out the storm on this thing. I was really appreciating airplanes right now and wishing my ass was on one.
"We're close to the barrier,” Tholf said, getting serious. “She's going to have to tell us how we're going through it."
"How can you tell?” I asked, feeling like a dumb fuck.
"The water is getting lighter,” he explained, and he managed not to sound like I was a dumbass for not knowing this. Tholf understood that I knew two things about boats: jack and shit. “Around the barriers it does that. The sea is rough, because it keeps hitting something that shouldn't be there. It isn't even like this when the serpent is stirring,” he continued. “There's a shimmer to the air where the barrier is. Sometimes the air is colder or warmer than it should be, depending on what's on the other side of the barrier. You need a powerful shaman to cross it. I don't see that you have one."
"And if we don't have a shaman? What then?"
"Then you need to bargain with a merchant for space on his ship.” Tholf frowned. “You would not like the price that they would want.” He was silent for a moment before adding almost delicately. “And I think that you know what it would be. I'd ask Tamazusa what she is plotting."
"How do you know that she's plotting anything?” I asked, not liking what he was hinting at. And shit, I knew it was true too. But even if we couldn't get through the barrier, I wouldn't ask someone to do that to cover my ass.
He grunted and adjusted the tiller. “I should say that she is a woman and they do nothing but plot, but that is not the truth.” He stared at her for a minute. Tamazusa turned around and looked at the two of us, almost sensing that we were talking about her. I grinned and waved at her. Tholf continued to study her, a thoughtful look on his face. “She, out of all of you, is a leader,” he pronounced. “Odin would be proud of her."
I had no clue what he was talking about. I thought that it showed on my face, because he roared with laughter. “You really don't know about One-Eye? She would be a match for him."
"Don't know shit,” I told him truthfully. “Learning wasn't something that I did a lot of."
With that I wandered off to talk to Tamazusa, because I really did want to know what she was plotting. I managed to sort of corner her alone, or at least away from everyone else in the ship. Keno was being useful and running interference with Helga. I could tell that he liked being able to give Tamazusa a break from having to ride herd on her.
"Tholf wants to know what you have planned,” I told her bluntly.
She looked at me with a cool smile, “I knew the man wasn't as stupid as he pretended to be. Sort of like another man of my acquaintance."
"It happens,” I admitted. “You got a shaman up your sleeve to get us back to your place?'
"You know what I do and do not have,” she said bitterly.
It frosted her cookies that she had to depend on us. And you know what, I didn't fucking blame her for hating that. But there was also a hint in what she said, something she expected me to get. I stared at her for a long minute before I blurted out, “Keno!"
She nodded. “He doesn't know that he has done this before. And I don't know how to tell him."
I tried to wrap my mind around the fact that Keno was the person who saved their asses. Don't get me wrong, I know that the kid can fight and had a set of balls—really big ones—underneath the girly dress-up he had been doing. But I just couldn't see him doing something like magic. Shit, how did it really work?
Could he make it work again?
"Clicking his heels together three times sounds really stupid, but, shit, it might work,” I said. “He's got the Judy Garland drag queen act down perfect."
"I really do wish that I did understand more of what you are telling me,” Tamazusa told me crossly.
I laughed. “Sorry, honey, it's too hard to explain. Shit, ask McGann about it. She knows all sorts of cool stuff like this. But fuck, Keno wants to go home. I think that's all he needs with this kind of hoodoo."
"Hoodoo?” she asked. “I think that I've heard you use this word before, but I don't know what it means."
"Magic,” I told her shortly. “We tend to use a lot of different terms for it. Hoodoo's either casual stuff or something really nasty. What Collins and Fairinox were doing was nasty, so it was hoodoo. Same with the spell that gets us here.” Something tickled at the back of my mind when I said that, but I ignored it. I'd try and think about it when I got some time. “Magic, shit, it's like what fairies do. Spell casting, which is also magic, is something where a human needs to say shit or do shit to make it work. I know that there is a lot more to it than that, but, fuck, that's what I know. I've always said that I ain't the brightest bulb in the pencil box."
"It is too confusing to even try and coax the truth out of that tangled mess,” she said. “But I think that I know how to approach the issue now."
"Glad to be of use,” I said, even though I had no clue what I had just told her. “Does the kid know that he can do something like that?"
She smiled at me. “Keno is aware that I took him under my protection because I sensed that he had some sort of power."
"Really?” I asked her sarcastically. “Not because he was a present for the boy toy?"
She flushed but then smiled. It was wistful somehow, and it made me sad for some reason. “I see the two of them together, and I think that it's wonderful."
"Well, I sort of figured that Keno had it for him bad when he hugged Samojirou horns, claws, and whatever,” I agreed. “So I really don't think that this barrier shit is going to keep them apart."
She nodded. “Excuse me, then. We are close to it."
I could tell now, since Tholf had told me what to look for. The sea was rough, and I guessed that McGann was going to be hanging her head over the side soon. There was a faint shimmer about a half mile off, if I was guessing the distance right. My stomach twisted, and I wondered how we were supposed to get through that.
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Chapter Eight
Keno
We were tired and dirty by the end of the journey. Tamazusa had decided to sail right up to Shino's castle, which was part of the capital for his territory and right on the ocean. It helped that his territory was next to Sousuke's and they shared their power equally. Between the two of them, they controlled an area that was huge, almost twice as big as Tamazusa's and a lot more populated. There were a lot of castle towns scattered around their territory, while Tamazusa's had one or two of them, because she preferred a leisurely rural life to the busyness of a city. It also helped that she had resources they didn't. I didn't know exactly how she made her money or whatever you want to call it, but I knew she and Samojirou were rich.
We sailed into the town's harbor to get to Shino's castle. It was going to be annoying, trying to pass through all their defenses, knowing there were archers on the wall who were watching our every move as we disembarked off the longboat.
"Who goes there?” one of the guards called out.
Tamazusa and I looked at each other. I didn't want anyone to know she was with us. “Tell Inusuka-sama that one of his brothers is here to see him,” I called back.
The man disappeared off the wall almost immediately, even though he had no reason to believe that claim. I also noticed that the tenshu was closed up, as if they expected an army to march up at any moment.
"It looks like you're not welcomed here,” Helga said nastily, even if she didn't understand Japanese.
"Can you trust this lord?” McGann asked, looking tired and put out. I figured she wanted to be clean more than anything and was willing to risk the wrath of my family to do it.
"He is my brother,” I said. “I trust him. If I didn't, then we wouldn't be here."
"Those mean fuckers weren't too happy to see us last time,” Mason said. He was about to say something else when the castle gate was raised. A dozen samurai spilled out of the gate and surrounded us.
"You will come with us,” one of them said. He was big, and I knew that he was a good fighter, but I couldn't remember his name. We had met the last time I was here, and he did seem to recognize me, even if I was dressed in modern clothing. And I was pretty sure he knew who Tamazusa was.
The rest of the party tensed up, but I wasn't worried. I didn't think there was any danger here, but I knew something strange was going on. Everyone in the castle was too tense, more so than if Tamazusa and I had simply gone missing. Something else had happened, probably to do with whatever Iida's plot had been.
"Big sister?” I asked Tamazusa respectfully, wanting to know what she thought of this.
She shrugged but didn't look too worried. I strode forward, trying not to show how uneasy I was, because this could be a trap. We were all inside the walls when the gate came crashing down. I'm not ashamed to admit that I jumped a mile when I heard that. But before anyone could say anything, a woman came running toward us.
"Keno!” she screamed and practically threw herself in my arms, hugging me and crying. It was Inusuka Hamaji, Shino's wife. My arms automatically went around her. She held me close for a minute before drawing back to look at me. “You look terrible,” she exclaimed unthinkingly. “That clothing is awful on you. And you smell! What happened to you?"
I laughed, because Hamaji was infamous in the family for her tactlessness. She didn't give me a chance to answer her, though. She turned and snapped at her master-at-arms. I remembered his name: Farusawa. “Send birds to my husband. Tell him that the blossoms have returned to Nippon."
"What has happened?” Tamazusa demanded.
Hamaji looked at her and the rest of us. “That news can wait until you have bathed and rested."
"Samojirou-sama?” I asked, trying to keep the quiver out of my voice.
She hugged me again. “Mother has had such a time with him! Even Father's trying to be nice to him. He... he was very upset about what happened, but Dousetsu managed to keep him from doing something stupid."
"How?” Tamazusa asked in an overly calm tone.
Hamaji looked to be at a loss. Even she wasn't brave enough to give Tamazusa a hug like she was family. “He's spent most of the time drugged, because he thinks that you're both dead. He's throwing himself into battle, because no one's agreed to be his second. Unfortunately, your kuni is in chaos, between the monsters and Iida-sama's invasion. I don't have all the details. My karo can tell you more, after you've bathed and eaten."
I sagged in shock and then looked at Hamaji. “Get me a fast horse."
"You can't,” she told me, even as I wrenched myself out of her arms. I needed to leave here now! “It's complicated. But—"
"Nippon is at war, since it is spreading, since the lords of Nippon are taking advantage of the chaos,” Tamazusa said flatly. “Because I was a fool and underestimated Iida."
"What the fuck's going on?” Mason asked, because we were all talking in Japanese.
"Tell them, Wolf,” Tamazusa said coolly. “I know that you speak the language. I've known for a while."
Wolf looked startled, flushing under the looks that Tamazusa and Hamaji gave him, like he had been caught stealing sweets. “Nippon's at war,” he said in English so the others could understand what was going on. “Who's Iida?"
"A southern Nipponese lord,” Tamazusa said in English. “It was his ship that Keno and I had been on when it was driven into the Northlands. A good move on his part. No one would suspect we were there, if we survived, since his land is off the southern tip
of Nippon."
"He almost fuckin’ kills you, and you're admiring him?” Mason burst out.
"Aside from the grief that he is causing Aboshi, I can admire Iida's skill in the Game. I was overconfident, and I.... many other people are suffering for it,” Tamazusa said sadly.
"And is ‘Aboshi’ your husband?” Helga asked her.
It wasn't a nice question, not the way she asked it. She had seen that Tamazusa was still being nice to Mason. Or maybe that Mason was being nice to her, looking after her and teasing her. I couldn't believe she was still trying to stir up trouble, seeing that she was in a foreign country, didn't know the language, and had no friends here. But then, Helga wasn't too intelligent, from what I had seen on the ship. Even Hamaji stared at her in amazement for her rudeness.
Tamazusa looked down her nose at Helga. “He is my karo, and my consort. Also Keno's lover."
Helga gaped at her while Tholf grimaced at the news. He knew what that word meant, and he wasn't too happy about finding out that I was gay.
"And what are these two doing with you?” Hamaji asked us in Japanese. “That woman... I wouldn't trust her."
I shook my head. “After we were driven into the Northlands by a storm and maybe other things, we met the others on a small farm on someplace called the Faroe Islands. Helga and Tholf are from the Northern Lands, while Wolf, Mason, and McGann are from the real world. They... I knew them before I came here."
Hamaji nodded, signaling to her samurai and the maids. “A bath and then food. We can discuss things then.” She hesitated for a second. “Do you want to include the outsiders?"
"They are my allies at this time,” Tamazusa said. “It would be rude not to."
Hamaji blushed, looking very young and innocent. She didn't play the Game, instead still acting like the carefree girl. I thought that was how she played her part in the Game most of the time. “Including the Northerners?"
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