Brilliance of the Moon (34 page)

Your life has
been brought into the open and is no longer your own
.
Jo-An had
believed in this prophecy.
Peace
comes at the price of bloodshed
. Despite the teaching
of the Hidden not to kill, he had known and accepted that. I was more
determined than ever to bring that peace so that his blood, shed by me, would
not be wasted.

Telling myself I must not sit there and brood, I was getting to
my feet when I heard Makoto’s voice in the distance. Someone responded and I
realized it was Shiro. In one of those tricks memory plays, I had completely
forgotten seeing him earlier. My meeting with Arai and what had happened
afterward had laid too thick a layer over it. Now it came back to me, his voice
calling my name and the hush that had fallen as I rode through the town.

Makoto called to me. “Takeo! This man was looking for you. He
wants you to come to his house.”

Shiro grinned. “We’ve only got half the roof back on. But we’ve
got food to spare and firewood. It’d be an honor.”

I was grateful to him, feeling that his earthy practicality was
just what I needed.

Makoto said quietly to me, “Are you all right?”

I nodded, suddenly not trusting my voice.

He said, “I am very sorry for Jo-An’s death.” It was the second
time he had used the outcast’s name. “He did not deserve it,” I said.

“It many ways it was more than he deserved: a swift death at your
hands. It could have been far worse.”

“Let’s not talk about it; it’s done.” I turned to Shiro and asked
him when he had left Hagi.

“Over a year ago,” he said. “Lord Shigeru’s death saddened me,
and I had no desire to serve the Oton once he—and you—were gone. This is my
hometown; I was apprenticed in Hagi as a boy of ten, over thirty years ago
now.”

“I’m surprised they let you go,” I said, for master carpenters of
Shiro’s skill were usually highly valued and retained jealously by the clans.

“I paid them,” he replied, chuckling. “The fief has no money;
they’ll let anyone go if they give them enough cash in exchange.”

“No money?” I exclaimed. “But the Oton are one of the richest
clans in the Three Countries. What happened?”

“War, mismanagement, greed. And the pirates haven’t helped. Sea
trade is at a standstill.”

“This is encouraging news,” Makoto said. “Can they afford to
maintain their army?”

“Barely,” Shiro said. “The men are well equipped—most of the
fief’s income has been spent on armor and weapons—but food is always short and
taxes are sky high. There’s a lot of discontent. If Lord Takeo returns to Hagi,
I reckon half the army will join him.”

“Is it common knowledge that I plan to return?” I asked. I
wondered what spies the Otori maintained and how soon this news would get back
to them. Even if they could no longer afford to pay the Tribe, the Kikuta would
no doubt work for them for free.

“It’s what everyone hopes,” Shiro replied. “And since Lord Arai
did not execute you as we all thought he was going to…”

“I thought it too!” Makoto declared. “It seemed I arrived to take
one last look at you!”

Shiro gazed at the peaceful pool, now dark gray in the fading
light. “It would have run red,” he said quietly. “There was more than one
archer with his bow trained on Lord Arai.”

“Don’t say such things,” I warned him. “We are allies now. I have
recognized him as my overlord.”

“Maybe,” Shiro grunted. “But it was not Arai who climbed into
Inuyama to avenge Lord Shigeru.”

Shiro and his family—his wife, two daughters, and sons-in-law—
made us comfortable in the newly repaired part of the house. We shared the
evening meal with them, and then I went with Makoto to drink wine with Arai.
The mood was cheerful, even boisterous; Arai was obviously convinced that the
last stronghold of opposition was about to fall.

And then what? I did not want to think too much about the future.
Arai wanted to see me installed in Hagi, where I would bring the Otori into
alliance with him, and I believed he genuinely desired to see Shigeru’s uncles
punished. But I still hoped to get my wife back, and if I was destined to rule
from sea to sea, at some stage I would have to fight Arai. Yet I had now sworn
allegiance to him…

I drank savagely, welcoming the sharp comfort of the wine, hoping
it would numb my thoughts for a while.

It was a short night. Well before dawn, the first of Arai’s
troops were stirring, preparing for the long journey. By the Hour of the Dragon
they had all departed, leaving the town silent for a while until the sound of
repairs took over again. Sakai and Hiroshi had spent the night with the
horses—luckily as it turned out, for, to Hiroshi’s indignation, two separate
warriors had tried to make off with Shun, claiming he was theirs. It seemed his
reputation had grown with mine.

I spent the day in planning. I picked all the men who could swim
or who knew anything about boats and the sea: all the Otori and some locals who
had joined us since we had arrived at the coast. We went through our armor and
weapons and equipped the sailors with the best of them. I dispatched spearmen
to the forest to cut staves and spears for the men who would march with Kahei.
Anyone left over was sent to help rebuild after the storm and salvage as much
as possible of the harvest. Makoto set off for the coast to make contact with
Ryoma and get details of our plans to the Terada. Arai’s land march would take
over twice as long as our sea voyage, so we had time in hand to prepare
thoroughly.

To my relief the town did have hidden stores that had escaped
Arai’s hungry men, and they were willing to share these with us. So many
sacrifices were being made for me; so much was hanging on this desperate
assault. And what about the coming winter? Would these struggles for power
simply condemn thousands to starvation?

I could not think about that. I had made my decision. I had to go
forward with it.

That night I sat with Shiro and his sons-in-law and talked about
building. They had not only worked on Lord Shigeru’s house, they had built most
of the houses in Hagi and had done all the carpentry for Hagi Castle. They drew plans of the interior for me, filling out what I remembered from the day of
my adoption into the Otori clan. Even better, they revealed to me the secret
floors, the trapdoors, and the hidden compartments they had installed on
Masahiro’s orders.

“It looks like a Tribe house,” I said.

The carpenters looked slyly at each other. “Well, maybe certain
people had a hand in its design,” Shiro said, pouring more wine.

I lay down to sleep, thinking about the Kikuta and the Tribe’s
relationship with the Otori lords. Were they even now lying in wait for me in
Hagi, knowing that they did not have to pursue me anymore, for I would come to
them? It was not so many weeks since their last attempt on my life, in this
area, and I slept lightly, surfacing often to hear the sounds of the autumn
night and the sleeping town. I was alone in a small room at the back of the
house; Shiro and his family were in the adjoining room. My own guards were
outside on the veranda, and there were dogs at every house in the street. It
should have been impossible for anyone to approach me. Yet around the darkest
time of night I came out of a restless doze to hear breathing in the room.

I had no doubt it was an intruder, for whoever it was breathed in
the slow, almost imperceptible way I had been trained in. But there was
something different about the breathing: It was light and it did not come from
where I would have expected a man’s. I could see nothing in the darkness, but I
went invisible at once, as the intruder might have better night vision than me.
I slipped silently away from the mattress and crouched in the corner of the
room.

I could tell from the minute sounds and a change in the feeling
of the air that he had approached the mattress. I thought I could smell him
now, but it was not the full scent of a man. Had the Kikuta sent a woman or a
child against me? I felt a moment of revulsion at having to kill a child,
pinpointed where the nose would be, and stepped toward it.

My hands went around his throat, finding the pulse. I could have
tightened them then and killed him at once, but as soon as I held the neck I
realized it was indeed a child’s. I loosened my grip slightly; he had tensed
all his muscles to give me the illusion he was thicker built than he really
was. Feeling my grip relax, he swallowed and said quickly, “Lord Takeo. The
Muto want a truce.”

I held him by the arms, made him open his hands, took a knife and
a garrote from his clothes, held his nose so he had to open his mouth, and felt
inside for needles or poison. I did all this in the dark and he submitted
without struggling. Then I called to Shiro to bring a lamp from the kitchen.

When he saw the intruder he nearly dropped the lamp. “How did he
get in? It’s impossible!” He wanted to give the boy a thrashing, but I
restrained him.

I turned the boy’s palms over and saw the distinctive line across
them. I struck him in the face. “What are these lies about the Muto when you
are marked as Kikuta?”

“I am Muto Shizuka’s son,” he said quietly. “My mother and the
Muto master have come to offer you a truce.”

“So why are you here? I’m not accustomed to negotiating with
brats!”

“I wanted to see if I could,” he replied, faltering a little for
the first time.

“Your mother doesn’t know you’re here? I nearly killed you! What
would have happened to the truce then?” I hit him again, but not so hard. “You
little idiot!” I realized I sounded just like Kenji. “Are you Zenko orTaku?”

“Taku,” he whispered.

The younger one, I realized. “Where’s Shizuka now?”

“Not far away. Shall I take you there?”

“At a decent hour of day, perhaps.”

“I should go back,” he said nervously. “She’ll be really angry
when she finds I’m gone.”

“Serves you right. Didn’t you think about that before you took
off?”

“Sometimes I forget to think,” he said ruefully. “I want to try
something and I just do it.”

I repressed the urge to laugh. “I’m going to tie you up till
morning. Then we’ll go and see your mother.”

I told Shiro to bring some rope and tied the boy up, instructing
one of the shamefaced guards not to take his eyes off him. Taku seemed quite
resigned to being a prisoner—too resigned, in fact. I thought he was sure he’d
be able to escape, and I wanted to get some sleep. I told him to look at me.
Somewhat reluctantly he obeyed, and almost immediately his eyes rolled back and
his eyelids closed. Whatever his talents—and I had no doubt they were considerable—he
had no resistance against the Kikuta sleep.

That’s
something I can teach him
, I caught myself thinking,
just before I, too, fell asleep.

He was still sleeping when I woke. I studied his face for a
while. I could see no similarity to me or to the Kikuta; he resembled his
mother mostly, but there was a fleeting likeness to his father. If Arai’s son
had fallen into my hands… if the Muto really wanted to make peace with me… It
wasn’t until the relief started to wash over me that I realized how deep had
been my dread of a meeting with my old teacher, Kenji, and its outcome.

Taku slept on and on. It did not worry me. I knew Shizuka would
come looking for him sooner or later. I ate a little breakfast with Shiro and
sat on the veranda with the plans of Hagi Castle, memorizing them while I
waited for her.

Even though I was looking out for her, she was almost at the
house before I recognized her. She’d seen me, but she would have gone straight
past if I had not called to her.

“Hey, you!” I did not want to name her.

She stopped and spoke without turning. “Me, lord?”

“Come inside if you want what you’re looking for.”

She approached the house, stepped out of her sandals onto the
veranda, and bowed deeply to me. Saying nothing, I went inside. She followed me.

“It’s been a long time, Shizuka.‘”

“Cousin. You’d better not have harmed him.”

“I nearly killed him, the little fool. You should look after him
better.”

We glared at each other.

“I suppose I should check you for weapons,” I said. I was
extraordinarily pleased to see her and tempted to embrace her, but I didn’t
want a knife between my ribs.

“I haven’t come to harm you, Takeo. I’m here with Kenji. He wants
to make peace with you. He’s called off the Muto family. The Kuroda will
follow, and the others, too, probably. I was to bring Taku to you to prove our
good faith. I didn’t know he was going to take off on his own.”

“The Tribe’s record of trust with me is not high,” I said. “Why
should I believe you?”

“If my uncle comes, will you talk to him?”

“Certainly. Bring the older boy too. I’ll give your sons to my
men to look after while we speak together.”

“I heard you had become ruthless, Takeo,” she said.

“I was taught it by our relatives in Yamagata and Matsue. Kenji
always said it was the only thing I lacked.” I called to Shiro’s daughter and
asked her to bring tea. “Sit down,” I said to Shizuka. “Your son’s asleep. Have
some tea and then bring Kenji and Zenko to me here.”