“But perhaps you didn’t try hard enough. If you had taken as much effort to heal him as you did to kill me, he’d still be alive.”
Ken wondered what the Druman would say to such an accusation. The words were not that far off from his analysis of the situation. Instead, Dericote shrugged and then turned away.
“Uchida—chan,” the Elder croaked out of thin, dry lips.
Ken stepped aside to let Uchida—sensei pass as she went to kneel before him. “Hai, Senpai.”
“Dericote did what he could. Please do not accuse him in such a way again.”
Her even white teeth bit down on her lips but she nodded curtly. “Hai, Senpai.”
“We must give Alderic a proper burial.”
Going about the motions of burying Alderic brought back the memories of Okasan and John. Standing about the stack of stones and rocks they eventually built around the grave they dug, Ken fought hard to keep his emotions in check.
Keep moving.
No matter how hard it was, he had to do just that. There would be time later to grieve, but right now, they had to get back to the juusha and find out how to stop Ludovicus.
As they started the trek back toward home, Ken stole a glance at Uchida—sensei. Through her it all, she remained quiet but her eyes mirrored the grief and turmoil inside. The others were just as subdued and stoic. Dericote hadn’t taken a second look when they carried Alderic away. When his door shut, Ken knew it would be the last time they’d see him.
The Elder seemed to have lost the ability to move or to walk. Without a saying a word, Odin bent and lifted the old man to carry piggy back down the mountain. Even though he’d offered to take a turn carrying the man, Odin declined. They all needed something to distract them from the pain of losing Alderic.
Though he and the man had hardly been close, Ken had no wish to see him dead.
His fist clenched. He longed for a chance to talk to the Druman about his ancestry. To know about this dragon grandfather of his but that was not going to happen. Kaluwa—no kimi had given him a taste of his true nature and he hungered for more.
It didn’t take long to return to the campsite from the previous night. In fact, the trip back was far quicker than the trip going up.
Uchida—sensei took the first watch as they all bedded down for the night. Her silhouette against the backdrop of night was one he carried into his sleep. The wind blowing her long hair as her head bent down made a desolate picture as the night sky teemed with glittering stars.
The next day, they traveled onward down the mountain. The snow had picked up in both density and speed, blinding them at times while dissipating at others. By some unspoken agreement Ken and Uchida—sensei had drifted farther ahead of the others. They walked side by side, not talking but still in silent communication with each other. Ken felt good just knowing she was by his side.
He glanced up and saw something in the distance. “What is that?”
Uchida—sensei looked up from her contemplation of the ground. “What?”
“Look ahead.”
She followed his finger pointing in the distance. A shadow was moving toward them at a sedate pace.
“Is that a person?” Ken squinted, trying to make out exactly what the figure was.
They both stared. “It’s coming directly towards us.” Uchida—sensei murmured. Gusts of snow blurred the view but the dark figure was definitely drawing closer.
A thread of alarm skittered along his back as the shadow came closer. Then a bolt of recognition hit him like lightning.
Uchida—sensei gasped. “That’s—”
“Kaluwa—no kimi,” he finished.
The snow-covered ground began to shift and then crumble under their feet. They jumped back as a hole appeared like a giant pit. No sooner had they dodged that one than another one appeared. Uchida—sensei swore as she avoided that one as well.
“Run!” she called out.
Ken didn’t have to be told twice. The wind whipped past him as they ran, snow flowing around them in swirls. More holes opened, dotting the ground like mines in a mine field.
Still Kaluwa-no kimi walked steadily on. Her laughter, which they should not have heard because of the fierce winds, reached their ears.
“Ken, hold on to my hand.” He latched on and the snow whirled about them. A pale blue light from the wrist bracelets glowed. They rose into the air. From his aerial positon, Ken saw the landscape pitted with dozens of holes.
“That was—”
Something hard and sharp slammed into his right shoulder and he yelped. Uchida—sensei cried out as well an instant later. The orb vanished and they both fell to the ground.
Grimacing and groaning, Ken clutched his shoulder as he sat up. Warm liquid dribbled from the wound. Whatever it was tumbled down the ground and he picked it up. It was a crudely shaped stone shuriken.
Throwing the offensive weapon away he crawled a few inches over to Uchida—sensei, but she had already risen. Standing he asked, “Are you all right?”
She didn’t answer the question but said, “We have to stop her.”
More shuriken flew at them and they both jerked to avoid them. With a growl, Uchida—sensei lifted her hands into the air and sent the next wave swirling harmlessly away from them.
And still Kaluwa-no kimi’s laughter reached their ears.
Uchida—sensei’s blood dripped from her fingers to land it bright red dots in the snow. “We have to combine our powers again like before. That’s the only way to stop her.”
Ken nodded and flexed his fingers. The pain in his shoulder throbbed away as the adrenaline coursed through.
“When I give the signal, I’m going to heat up the temperature of the wind.”
“Can you do that?” Ken interrupted, more than impressed.
“Focus,” she demanded. “When I do that, the snow around her will melt and I want you to use your lightening to and strike her with as much power as you can.”
He frowned. “Will this work?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
They started to run toward their adversary when the earth underneath shuddered. “What now?” Ken snarled.
The ground trembled and vibrated. They both fought to keep their balance. A mound rose up before them and then grew taller and taller. The snow fell in clumps to the ground as a massive wall of earth appeared before them, reaching several feet into the air.
“She’s trying to stall us!” Uchida—sensei slammed her hands against the wall.
“Why?”
The ground shoot again and two more walls on either side of them rose up. Frantically, they raced to go around them but before they got far, the fourth wall came, boxing them in. The only consolation was that was the wind and the snow could not penetrate.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
Uchida—sensei’s face wore a wild, almost mad expression. Twitching eyes and curled lips made her almost unrecognizable as rage and something else took hold of her. She gave a spurt of a dry laugh.
“What are we going to do? This!” Hands raised, she drew in the wind from above and filled the space. She whirled the wind, the snow coalescing into an orb, reminding him of a snow globe. With a roar, Uchida—sensei sent the orb into the wall, breaking through it. A large hole made it possible for them to escape.
Ken watched as the orb continued its flight. The winds had picked up and camouflaged its presence. It was with a deep sense of pleasure he saw the orb bowl into Kaluwa-no kimi, lifting her into the air and sending her backwards. They ran after her, snow whipping about them. His blood pumped faster inside his veins.
Kaluwa-no kimi was stopped abruptly by a tree and the orb dissipated into the winds. She dropped to the ground. He and Uchida—sensei picked up speed, snow kicking up as they pounded the ground.
“Now!” They both shouted to each other.
A blast of warm air rushed past Ken, turning the snowflakes on his face and coat into droplets of water. Where Kaluwa—n
o kimi lay, a puddle of melted snow formed around her and soon became liquid.
“Ken!”
Focusing on the snow, lightning erupted from his fingertips and arced through the air toward the fallen Druman. The sparks of lightning danced on the water. Kaluwa—no kimi’s body jerked violently as she was electrocuted.
“Again!” Uchida—sensei ordered.
Ken sent another of spark of electricity, this one more powerful than the first. It caught the tree behind her and lit it into flames. Lightning sparked over Kaluwa—no kimi’s body, charring the folds of her cloak. As it continued, her scales along with her body blackened. Her pupil-less eyes rolled into her head. The spiked bones along her head had risen but were scorched.
Despite the fact she had tried to kill him, a wave of unease came over Ken. Without thinking too hard, he went to kick her out of the puddle. The moment he touched her, the lightning dissipated.
“Why did you do that?” Uchida—sensei yelled. “We could have stopped her once and for all.”
“Getting electrocuted hurts.”
The cold air swirled around them while the crackling of the lit tree punctuated the silence. “You cannot have mercy for a Druman,” she said a long minute later. “They don’t know what it means.”
“Perhaps,” he acknowledged with a nod.
A groan drew their attention back to the charred figure of Kaluwa—no kimi. The smell of burned flesh also reached their nostrils. Uchida—sensei knelt down and grabbed one of toasted bone spikes, forcing the Druman to look her in the eye.
“Why have you attacked us?”
Kaluwa-no kimi coughed and spittle of blood landed in a slashing way on her mouth. “The question,” she wheezed, “you should be asking is, how are your friends doing?”
Rin drew back at the sly, knowing gaze in Kaluwa’s damaged face.
“What do you mean?”
Kaluwa coughed. “Exactly as I said. You should be worried about your friends. The mountain side can be very…slippery.”
Staring into the blank eyes of the Druman, all the heat drained from Rin’s body. Her men were in trouble.
“How could you—”
“Time’s running out…very fast.”
Rin released the bone, gaining small satisfaction in the way Kaluwa flinched in pain. “If anything happens to them—”
A guttural sound erupted from the pit of her stomach. It was either save the men or question Kaluwa.
She wasted no more time dealing with the female. “Ken, let’s go!” He scrambled up to her side and grabbed her arm.
The flurries of snow swirled around them, eventually forming another orb, one that encompassed them. Without another glance, they lifted into the air, and the blue shield emitted from the blood gems protected them from the elements of the harsh wind.
“Why are you leaving her?” Ken’s face scowled.
“Something’s wrong. We have to get to the Elder and the others.”
She stopped the orb from flying. The group was making their way down the mountain, Odin carrying the Elder like sack of potatoes while the others tramped on. Several hundred feet in front of them, a ripple flowed under the snow covered ground. Chunks of rocks fell over the side, falling into the forest below. More and more fell, and soon it turned into a mudslide that inched closer and closer to her men.
“We can’t reach them in time!” Rin yelled smacking the inside of the orb. What could she do?
Ken pointed downward. “The trees!”
It took less than a second for the plan to formulate in her mind. Rin uprooted several trees from below, pulling in the air as if she were weeding them with her bare hands instead of the wind. Motioning with her hands, she landed the trees in front several feet in front on the group, forming a barricade a few seconds before the mudslide reached their position. With nowhere to go, the mudslide ended and Rin collapsed to her knees.
“That was close.” Ken breathed in a relieved sigh, clasping his hand to her shoulder.
Yet, Rin couldn’t escape the feeling they were too late.
The trail leading to the cave greeted his eyes and Ken looked forward to resting. Hopefully a few of the juusha women would pamper him, just a little, to ease the ache from his mind and body. A perceptible eagerness had grown the closer the group came closer to home. It would be hard to tell them the Elder’s son had died, even more difficult to tell them the Vessel, which had been in their possession, was lost to Ludovicus.
Just a few more feet and then they would be home.
Ken sensed it the moment the entrance of the cave came into their field of vision The corners of his mouth curved down. Something was wrong.
.“Something’s happened.” Odin echoed his thoughts as he hefted the Elder higher up on his back. The old man had hardly spoken during the return journey. But even he raised his head and gazed toward the cave.
Nearing the cave, Ken’s eyebrows came together in a V between his eyes. The guards who protected the cave from intruders were missing.
“What’s wrong here?” Luke went forward into the mouth of the cave. A second later, his anguished cry sent Ken and the others rushing after him.
They all skidded to a stop.
“Iie! Iie!” Uchida—sensei yelled, clutching her stomach as if in great agony, falling to her knees on the ground.
Bodies littered the floor like refuse. Young and old, male and female, they lay about like a macabre version of animal rugs. The steady drip of water echoed eerily throughout.
“Tambo! Where’s Tambo?” She got up weakly, staggering under an invisible. “Tambo, he’d never let anything happen to Rhychard—sama’s juusha. Where is he?” Her voice took on a hysterical note, golden eyes darting about wildly. “Tambo! Kitte da! Tambo!”
“My people,” came the gravelly whisper of the leader of juusha of Rhychard—sama.
“Rin—” Ken grabbed her, trying to calm her down.
“Tambo!” She tugged away from his grip. “No one is that powerful! Tambo!”
Uchida—sensei headed for the corridor to go search. Ken followed after her, but a dark spot drew his attention and he stopped. He stooped down and studied it. Sweat broke out over his forehead and he said, “Rin.”
“I have to find Tambo.”
“Rin!” he yelled. Something in his voice must have transmitted to her brain. She stopped midstride and spun around. “What is it?”
Ken swallowed and croaked out. “You must see.”
When she didn’t move but stood rooted to the spot, he straightened and headed over to her. “Come and see,” he repeated. After all, he could be wrong. He could be completely wrong.
But he knew he wasn’t.
Uncharacteristically, she shook her head. “Iie. I don’t want to see.” Her lips trembled and he knew she was at her breaking point.
“But you must, sensei.” His eyes bore into hers. “You must.”
Haltingly she made her way over to where he had knelt. “Is it what I think it is, Rin?”
Uchida—sensei gasped, covering her mouth. “Iie!” She collapsed to the ground. “Iie!”
Tambo’s severed thumbs lay on the ground, dried blood dark around the bases. It needed no more explanation than that. Uchida—sensei cracked, sobbing great, gulping wails that penetrated through the walls. Ken glanced around, seeing the rest of the group in total and abject dejection.
“My people,” the Elder said again. Odin squatted down and allowed the man to alight. However, as the Elder took in the surroundings, it became evident he was about to buckle. Donvar came forward with the Elder’s staff and the leader leaned heavily against it.
The muffled sobs of Uchida—sensei’s cries mixed with the contiguous drip of the water.
“Who could have done this?” Luke went over and knelt by the prone bodies of one of the guards. “His throat’s been slashed,” he announced. Ken winced, eyes drifting shut. A baseball grew like a rock in this throat, soaking away all the moisture.
It was odd to hear his
sensei cry. Her strength had carried her far, but this decimation, violation even, of her people, of her friend, was the last straw.
“Is anyone back there?” Odin called out as he made his way over to the unlit corridor.
“No, don’t go.” Luke raised his hand. “Whoever did this could still be here.”
“I doubt that.” Donvar vetoed. “They would have already found us.”
Uchida—sensei still cried. Her men looked at her, their faces mirror images of the sorrow she exhibited. Ken longed for her to stop crying, if only to ease the ache in his heart. The tears flowing from those amber gold eyes lacerated his insides and perforated his guts. Women like her did not cry. To make them cry, it had to be pain not easy to contain.
He glanced up to see Luke, Odin, and Donvar standing about uncomfortable. They looked to Uchida—sensei to order them about. Now they floundered like a ship without a sail. They needed something to do.
Ken took charge. “Odin, go down and see if there is anyone alive. If there are, bring them here or if they are injured let us know. Luke, do you know what the Vessel looks like? See if, by some happenstance, if the Vessel is still here. Donvar, watch over the Elder.”
A few seconds went by as they studied him. Would they accept his leadership? Then, with a curt nod, Odin went to do as he was bidden. Luke followed after him, and Donvar went to stand by the Elder.
“Ludovicus,” Uchida—sensei garbled out past the tears. “He is the only one who would do something like this.”
Ken reached out to her. His hands hovered uncertainly in the air. . What he really desired to do was take her in his arms and hold tight. But in the end, he settled for patting her shoulder. It was safer that way.
Her cries continued to fill the void. Ludovicus did not have to harm anyone. He could have simply retrieved the Vessel and left.
A child lay to his right, a few feet away. Her eyes were open, locked forever in an expression of fear. His vision blurred. The loss of a life so young.
These people had taken him in, nursed him back to health. They revered and honored him as the Descendant of Rhychard—sama, the Dragon King. They brought him into their world, and in a short time, they had become a surrogate family.
The Druid's Spear (Ascent of the Gem Bearers Book 1) Page 22
