World's Edge

by Ryan Kirk

  Moriko slept soundly that night as well, rejoining Toro for another day of interviews. They went almost through the entire day, ending just before the sun set. When they were done, Toro dismissed her quickly, needing to get back to the work of commanding his army. Moriko knew that somehow her story was changing how he was managing his defenses.

  In the privacy of her tent, Moriko watched the moon come up over the horizon. She had returned a different person than when she had left. More different than she had expected. She thought about Ryuu and about the world they were caught in. She thought about what was next.

  War was coming to the Three Kingdoms. Not the petty civil war that was currently tearing the land apart, but a war that would destroy the very identity of the Three Kingdoms. There was a part of her that admired the brutal traditions of the Azarians, but she recognized it was because of her own strength. She was accepted among them. But they would bring destruction upon the kingdoms, not because they were power hungry or because they sought to cause destruction. They would destroy because they were weeding out the weak. They would consider it a favor. If they would barely lift a finger to save their own kind, how much less would they do to save the lives of the average citizen of the Three Kingdoms?

  Moriko saw all this. It wasn’t a vision, from her perspective, it was simple inevitability. There wasn’t any force in the Three Kingdoms prepared to face what was coming their way. The problem was, Moriko didn’t care. She could hear Ryuu’s voice in her head, telling her they had to protect the weak, but Moriko didn’t agree. She had spent her life confined within the monastery walls. After Ryuu had rescued her and reached a truce with Akira, they’d had freedom for a time. The reason Moriko had gone south was to regain that freedom, but with the Azarians coming north, there wouldn’t be any safety in the Three Kingdoms. They would be hunted until Nameless was sure they were dead. The Three Kingdoms wouldn’t be home, not for long. If she elected to serve Akira, or any Lord, she would be bound by chains as confining as the monastery walls she’d grown up in.

  She was saddened, but she also knew she was right. She wouldn’t be able to go back to Akira and wait for Ryuu. If she did, fate would embrace her again, and she’d be brought into the battle. It was time for her to leave the Three Kingdoms.

  That evening Moriko sat down to write a letter to Ryuu. She told him that she was heading back to their hut and would wait there until spring. She figured it was the longest she could stay before the Azarian invasion made it too dangerous to travel. Every word was slow to come, but she persevered. He had to know, had to understand why she was making this decision. She explained why she wouldn’t serve any of the Lords, and she asked Ryuu to join her. He had until spring. She sealed the letter and took it to Toro. It was addressed to Ryuu, in care of Lord Akira. It would reach him.

  Toro begged her to stay. He wanted her strength, but it wasn’t his to command. She almost found it amusing that when in danger, he wanted a nightblade at his side, where a few moons ago he would have been just as happy to kill her. Danger made for strange partners.

  Toro offered her a horse, but she refused. They would need every horse for their defense, and Moriko felt like a long walk would do her good. Toro wrote her passes to get her past any checkpoints. Moriko left the fort the next day, heading north. She took one last glance at Azaria. She wouldn’t, couldn’t forget her time there, but she was glad it was behind her.

  Moriko turned and started walking home, the home she would soon be leaving forever.

  Chapter 34

  Akira stood on the ridge, Ryuu standing well back in the crowd. Moving was hard, but this he had to see. Ryuu had to admit, Akira was a true Lord. He had turned a surrender into a victory among the men. Celebrations had broken out yesterday, and today he assembled them for a speech. Ultimately, the men were overjoyed today wasn’t their day to die. Akira had never seemed more the leader. It seemed that by losing his power, he had found his center. He had come to the pinnacle after walking through the assembled troops, bowing and congratulating them.

  The sun was beginning to set, and the sun illuminated Akira as he spoke. Ryuu imagined Akira’s armor could be seen all the way down the hills to Tanak’s armies, breaking camp below. Despite the crushing hits the Southern Kingdom had taken this cycle, the men still looked up to him. Ryuu was impressed.

  Akira spoke softly, but his voice was penetrating and carried well in the crisp autumn air.

  “Men of the Southern Kingdom.”

  Akira paused for effect, looking out over all the men assembled. He looked like a proud parent as he looked on his men. Ryuu knew it wasn’t an act he put on. He was genuinely proud of his men.

  “We have reached a truce with the Western Kingdom. The treaty is not yet official, but the basics are already settled. The Western Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom will become one Kingdom, one people once again.”

  There was an excited murmur that ran through the crowd, one barely silenced by Akira’s call. He waited for the excitement to die down.

  “Each of us, every single man here, has dreamed we might see the day where the glory of the one Kingdom may be restored. Gentlemen, I believe that day will soon be upon us.”

  He paused again and his face turned from one of pride to one of sorrow.

  “But, while I celebrate this merging of our kingdoms, our fight is far from over, for news of an even greater threat has reached my ears. An invasion from the Three Sisters is imminent. I have heard word of it from General Toro directly. All of Azaria is coming to the entryway of our kingdom, and they bring with them a type of warrior we call hunters, warriors who have skills similar to our nightblades of old.”

  The former Lord of the Southern Kingdom looked over his men. “I know that many here consider the nightblades to be nothing more than a myth. We have trained to hunt them, but all of us hold that speck of doubt, that doubt that we have created a phantom that doesn’t really exist. We doubt their skills can truly be all the legends speak of.”

  “I stand before you today to tell you that nightblades do exist, as do the Azarian hunters, and they are more dangerous than any of us can imagine. I fear for our kingdom, so newly unified.”

  There was one last pause.

  “This war is over. You may all go back to your homes and set your affairs in order. Help with the harvest and save all the food you can. Prepare for war, for I fear you will be called back before the winter is over. And this time we don’t fight among ourselves. We fight instead for our very survival, because the Azarians want our land, and they don’t need us to be on it when they arrive.”

  “My men, my friends, I wish you all the blessings of a bountiful harvest, but the Great Cycle continues to turn, and we must go to war again soon. Don’t let the rust get to your swords.”

  There was a low murmur running throughout the crowd. Akira bowed deeply to his men, kneeling and putting his face to the ground, and Ryuu was sure the gesture moved many to tears. These men would die for him. Of that Ryuu had little doubt. Ryuu was certain they would have their chance soon enough.

  Akira came to Ryuu that night as he sat by Rei’s side. Ryuu wished he had the power of the dayblades, the power to heal her arm and her body. He wanted to take her back to the island so she could rest and heal. But he couldn’t move her until she was stronger.

  Akira bent over Rei and brushed the hair out of her face. Ryuu had never known Akira as anything other than a Lord. Seeing him as a lover was disconcerting. Akira turned to Ryuu. “This came for you today.”

  Ryuu snatched the letter out of Akira’s outstretched hand. He recognized Moriko’s handwriting at once. He read through the letter and then read it again, not believing what he was reading. She had survived! And she was leaving.

  He knelt to the ground as the information sank in. She was planning on leaving the Three Kingdoms, their home, for good. It felt like a betrayal to him, like she was turning her back on everything they had built together. He had sensed, from a distance, that she had become di
fferent, but he had never imagined she would reject their lives like this. He saw her invitation to come with her, but Ryuu wasn’t sure he could. The Three Kingdoms were his home. They were her home.

  Something broke in Ryuu then. He couldn’t take the loss of Moriko. She grounded him, held him together. She understood him in a way no one else could. First Takako, now Moriko. Great, heaving sobs wracked his body, but his eyes were dry. No tears would come. He wanted to dig a hole and hide from the world forever.

  “I’m sorry, Ryuu.”

  Ryuu turned to the sound of a sword being drawn. Ryuu expected his sense to warn him of an attack, but it was gone. He suddenly realized he couldn’t sense anything at all. He turned to see Akira assume a fighting stance and move to cut him.

  Ryuu dove out of the way, feeling his back open up again as he rolled on it. He cursed loudly as he came to his feet.

  “What are you doing?”

  Akira stepped and cut again, and Ryuu stepped out of the way. He couldn’t sense Akira’s attacks, but he had still trained in swordsmanship every day of his life since he was five. Even without the sense, he was a strong fighter, but he couldn’t figure out why Akira was attacking him.

  “This was the final condition of the treaty. That I bring Tanak the head of the nightblade who killed Renzo.” Akira thrust wildly, and Ryuu saw the desperation in his eyes.

  He saw something else too, something he’d been too distracted to notice earlier. Akira’s eyes were red, his body broken. Something clicked in Ryuu’s mind and he knew Akira had given up hope.

  Ryuu drew his blade and deflected a cut. Akira slashed again, not caring how slow or how obvious his attacks were. Ryuu stepped inside his guard and hit him with the side of his blade, knocking Akira backwards. He came back to his feet, a wild grin on his face, and Ryuu saw Akira had lost everything that mattered to him.

  Akira charged, sword raised high above him. Ryuu stepped in and sliced, causing a sliver of scarlet to open up from his shoulder to his stomach. Ryuu cut twice more, each cut a perfect strike. He finished with a kick to Akira’s chest, knocking him backwards.

  Akira started to get up, but Ryuu brought the tip of his sword to Akira’s neck. “No.”

  Akira looked like he was about to move, but Ryuu pushed the tip closer, drawing blood. He worried Akira would try to impale himself if he got the chance. “I know what you’re trying to do, but I won’t kill you. You haven’t failed, and your people need you. They’ll need you more than ever in the next few moons.”

  Akira broke down, his manic state gone. The tears fell, mingling with his blood on the ground. “End it, please.”

  Ryuu shook his head, snapped the blood off his blade, and sheathed it. He looked around the tent, focusing on Rei. “What about her?”

  “He doesn’t know about her.”

  “Good. When she comes to, tell her I said thank you.” He turned to leave.

  “Ryuu, wait.”

  Ryuu turned at the door.

  “Where will you go? What if I need you?”

  “I don’t know, Akira. I’ll become an outlaw to save your treaty. Hunt me if you must. I’m not sure where I’ll go. I’m not sure there’s any place left for me. But you can’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

  Without another word, Ryuu left the tent. He still couldn’t use his sense, and the fear in his gut was that somehow he had lost it for good. He walked into the night, hunted by the Azarians and the soldiers of the Three Kingdoms.

  Before you go, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for reading. If you liked the story, please take a moment to go over to Amazon and review this book. Small independent authors like me rely on reviews to help spread the word about our work.

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  With Gratitude,

  Ryan

  Thanks for reading!

  The Nightblade Trilogy will finish with the third book in the first quarter of 2016.

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