The Knife's Edge (22 page)

Ayva looked back to the inferno, and she saw a flash of movement at the gates. “Look!” she shouted, pointing.

The older man started forward. “Can you see them, Rydel? Is it Gray?”

“It’s them,” the tall man replied. “Maris and the boy.” Ayva couldn’t see how he could be certain. They were much too far to recognize.

The woman in the scarlet cloak spoke, “We must go to them.”

“What are we waiting for?” Ayva asked.

“It might be a ploy,” Omni said.

“But they need our help!” she argued. “We can’t just watch!”

The Ronin didn’t move.

“Let’s go,” the old man said, spurring his horse towards the two men.

The scarlet cloaked woman started to follow, but her companion gripped her arm, stopping her. “I know what you want,” the tall man said.

“Let me go, Rydel,” the woman replied in a clear voice.

“And what if it’s a trap?” Rydel answered. “Saving them will not absolve your guilt, Karil, and the Lando did not shed blood and die for you, just so you could fall here. Would that be your gift to them?”

Karil ripped free of his grip. “They risked their lives, if I can’t do the same, I don’t deserve what they’ve given me. I have to try,” she said, spurring her white mare.

At the same time, Seth wheeled his horse. “Grab hold,” he commanded. Ayva reached out and the Ronin pulled her upon the horse. “Now hold on.” She nodded against his leather tunic, circling her arms around his waist.

“Seth, stay here. It’s too risky,” Baro, the biggest Ronin, rumbled.

“The girl is right,” Seth said. “Seems the women and the old man here are the only ones with any guts.” Seth dug his heels into his mount’s flanks, and they galloped after Karil, and in the direction of the two figures. The wind in her face, Ayva held on, pressing her cheek against his broad back.

As they neared, she saw Gray. He was dragging Maris. She recognized the Ronin’s flames of white hair just like the stories. Upon seeing them, Gray collapsed to his knees. Suddenly, from behind them, more dark figures stepped over the shattered rubble of the gates. Their faces became visible. They made it. Relief rushed through her as she recognized them. As if a tap had been opened, the villagers poured through the gates. Ayva dismounted and ran to Gray’s side. His face was streaked with blood and a sword was strapped to his back. His gray cloak hung loosely around his neck, its edge frayed in blood.

She helped him lift Maris as the old man joined their side. “Are you all right, lad? Are you injured?”

“I’m all right, Mura.”

Many of the villagers were hurt, but they pressed forward, knowing what was on their heels. This close, Ayva felt the full heat of the flames. It singed her hair and she coughed from the smoke.

Gray shouted over the roar of the flames, “We need to get these people out of here. The Kage are close! They are held off by the flames, but it will not hold them long!”

Seth eyed the villagers. “We cannot save them all!”

Gray let Ayva and Mura take the weight of the Ronin and abruptly seized Seth’s bridle. The tendons in his arm rippled and Ayva was taken aback by his ferocity. “We can and we will!” The fire raged as Seth looked down at him. At last he gave a nod.

A bout of flame erupted from the gates, shooting towards the villagers. Seth spurred his horse, racing to meet it. He whipped out his blade that burned a fiery red. The fire collided with the Ronin and Ayva cringed. Yet instead of charring the man alive, the spurt of flame funneled into the Ronin and his blade, as if absorbing the fire. There was another fiery burst, even bigger, and the flame channeled into Seth, “Run!” Seth said, “I can’t absorb much more!”

Suddenly Aundevoriä was at Seth’s side. With a roar, Aundevoriä slammed his sword down, and Ayva watched in amazement as stone swelled from the ground, forming a barrier of earth between them and the flames.

“Let’s give the Kage something to worry about,” Seth said to Aundevoriä. Aundevoriä gave a wicked grin. Seth raised his blade and the flames rose even higher, turning scarlet buffeted by the giant wall of rock.

Meanwhile, the other Ronin yelled orders, herding the villagers onward.

Omni appeared, his warhorse rearing from the bursts of flame. “Give him to me!” he ordered, nodding to Maris. Ayva with Mura’s help hoisted Maris up, setting him gently upon the big steed. Omni motioned to two Ronin and they approached, grabbing Ayva and Gray. “Get them out of here!”

“Wait,” she shouted, “Let me go! I need to find my father!” She searched the faces of the crowd, but Hiron pulled her away. She tried to wrestle free, but it was no use. The Ronin’s grip was like a shackle. In the chaos, she saw another Ronin grab Gray.

“We can’t hold them off forever!” Aundevoriä bellowed, “Run now!”

And with Hiron holding her tightly, he spurred his horse and they fled. She screamed, fighting even harder as she watched Lakewood shrink. Only once they reached the top of the hill did Hiron stop and turn. Pain and sorrow filled her heart. A growing black smoke lay over the land. What was once Lakewood was now an inferno.

“Gone,” she whispered hoarsely.

Hiron’s eyes caught hers. The Ronin lifted one hand to the sky and his sword blazed a brilliant cerulean hue. The sky cracked with the sound of thunder. She felt wetness upon her cheek, and she held out a hand. Rain. Thunder boomed again and the rain became a downpour.

“My tribute to your father,” Hiron said quietly. “No man’s final resting place should be one of fire and chaos.” And the Ronin turned, following the others. Yet beneath the thunder of rain and fire, Ayva still heard the sharp cries of death.

Koru Village

T
HEY MOVED FOR DAYS, OVER THE
rolling hills and through small thickets. Gray rode with Dared. When they moved through the groves, he took Morrowil from his back, holding the blade tightly, fearing more beasts lay in wait behind each shadowed tree. But as always it was quiet, as if the world had been abandoned. He didn’t trust the quiet. Yet one thing was certain. They never stopped moving. The villagers seemed spurred by the same fire, as if the Kage were only a breath away.

Ayva and Darius were silent as they traveled. Ayva especially. She hadn’t said a single word since Lakewood, and her eyes seemed fixed vacantly on the horizon or staring through the pommel of Hiron’s saddle. Gray wanted to comfort her, but he didn’t know what to say. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling.

Nearby, Karil rode on her white mare. Rydel was at her side upon his dark stallion. Though they rode beside the other villagers the two seemed from a different world with their elegant beasts and fine clothes. Yet the others didn’t seem to notice.

Darius was sullen, occasionally mumbling to himself or clutching at his dagger in his black rags. He wondered if the rogue had lost someone as well. Darius rode with Baro, who reminded him of a mountain with legs. His biceps were twice the size of Gray’s thighs, and he imagined the man could snap necks with a single squeeze.

“How’s your head?” Gray asked at last, unable to take the silence of the woods.

Darius felt his head with his mop of unruly hair. “Ah, it’s not bad. Suppose it looked worse than it was. But don’t think I’ll be taking any dark alleys anytime soon.”

Gray chuckled when he sensed something ahead. “There’s something beyond.”

Mura rode a dark brown gelding on his left. “What do you sense, lad?”

He couldn’t explain how, but he felt a connection to the ground beneath him. As the wind blew, he felt the lay of the land. He could feel the trees become rolling hills, and beyond a large rise. He sensed something different. “I’m not sure what it is, but it seems man-made,” he answered.

“Maybe it’s help,” Darius said hopefully.

“It’s a village,” Dared answered, sitting before Gray. The man had not said a word until now. He was so silent Gray sometimes forgot he was riding with someone. No, not someone. A Ronin.

“It must be Koru Village,” Darius said, rising in the saddle. “It has to be.”

“I would not be so quick to rejoice,” Baro said in his deep rumble. Gray noticed his meaty fists gripped his reigns tightly. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

“A darkness,” Dared agreed in an ominous whisper.

As the words left his mouth, and they reached the last stand of trees, each of the Ronin’s well-trained warhorses nickered, dancing nervously. Then it hit. A gust of wind rushed over the crowd, stinking of rancid meat. The smell hit him like a cudgel to the side of his head.

It was the smell of death.

The villagers retched and shielded their noses. He crested the hill and at the end of the hill’s slope, he saw Koru Village. A circle of wooden-poled walls was practically all that remained. The once burgeoning town was nothing but charred blackness with spotted orange glows from fading fires.

Men and women ran towards the village, heedless of danger. The Ronin sat on their steeds, impassive. Gray reached out to stop them when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The hermit gave him a look and he understood. There was no danger now.

Around the village, spreading for a mile radius from the walls was a black stain. “What is that?” He asked.

“The enemy’s mark,” Mura replied.

They reached the town’s entrance. The small entry looked as if dark titans had wreaked havoc. The gate’s hinges were shattered and black, doors missing as if blown away. An enormous piece of wood blocked the entrance. Dared motioned for Gray to dismount. He stood beside Darius and Ayva. His legs felt awkward from days of travel upon horseback, but he was glad to not be sitting anymore.

The Ronin motioned the villager’s back. Omni stood alone. A golden glow grew in the center of the wood beam, shining like a small sun and the log lifted from the ground. Whispers sifted among the crowd. Omni threw one arm to the side, dismissively, and with a sudden burst, the log flew, tumbling across the hard ground.

Omni strode into the decimated village, the other Ronin close behind. The villagers followed, if more slowly. Ayva swallowed and glanced towards him. Gray felt her fear, but he kept his face a mask and moved with the crowds.

Aundevoriä and Maris stood like stone sentinels on either side of the gate. Maris’ head was now bandaged, wrapped in a strip of cloth. The villagers hedged around the Ronin, but Aundevoriä and Maris didn’t react. As he passed, Maris shot him a look. He felt small under the cold scrutiny of the legend. The man gave a nod, as if in thanks. He returned it when there was a tug on his sleeve. Ayva clung to him, her eyes wide. He followed her gaze and horror rushed over him.

Bodies were everywhere. They littered the ground and hung from the splintered walls. A group of villagers parted revealing rows of poles. Upon was a skewered head, expressions twisted into masks of terror. Ayva, averted her eyes, and pressed her face to his shoulder. “Gods, why?”

Darius shook his head in mute horror. “This is hell.”

Maris appeared at Gray’s side. The Ronin looked upon the scene with knowing sorrow. He spoke quietly, as if unwilling to disturb the dead, “In the Lieon, thousands of these poles littered the fields of battle. Always, they incited terror. They served their purpose too, for when the Kage appeared at the gates of the Great Kingdoms, many didn’t even put up a fight. Narim, the Kingdom of the Moon, Dared’s homeland, even lowered their gates in hope they would be spared.”

Ayva eyeing Dared, who in his shadow rags sifting a handful of dirt though his fingers.

Gray shook his head. “How can anything or anyone do this?”

“The Kage are not human and true evil knows no limits, Gray,” Maris said.

He saw a woman leaning against a building. She looked untouched, huddled with her arms around her legs. Darius knelt before the woman. A subtle breeze tousled her brown hair, revealing a gaping hole in the side of her head. The rogue stifled a gag.

Gray smothered a cluster of glowing red embers in the dirt with his boot. When he lifted his foot, he saw the remains of a tiny black doll. He bent to pick it up.

“I wouldn’t,” Maris said. “The Kage’s mark is upon that thing.” The blackness suddenly moved. Gray snapped his hand back. There was a ring of steel as Maris’ sword, Masamune, leapt from its sheath and stabbed the doll. A shriek escaped as the darkness withered and vanished. Maris sheathed his sword. “Be careful what you touch,” the Ronin said and moved away, joining the others.

Mura appeared at his side. “Lad, are you all right?”

He loosed a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “I’m fine, but what was that thing?”

Mura held his staff in both hands, watching the nearby buildings as if the taint was everywhere. “The darkness is somehow attached to the Kage and their powers. It’s thought that they use it as a second sight or that shadows come to life and the darkness has a mind of its own. No one knows for certain. If anyone did, it would be them,” Mura said, nodding to the eight Ronin upon their steeds, “but for now, be cautious before touching anything within these walls. Agreed?”

“Agreed.” He said.

Ayva nodded, and Darius shoved his hands in the folds of his clothes. “Dice, I’d be fine leaving this cursed town right now, and never seeing it again.”

Slowly the villager’s rose, forming a crowd. Omni addressed the scattered men and women, “Gather your selves. If you choose to follow, we travel north to Death’s Gate. But make your choice quickly for the enemy has made theirs, and they will not stop until you meet the same fate as the people of this town.” He gestured to the bodies and the villager’s shifted nervously.