World's Edge (39 page)

Night had fallen and Moriko was trapped. The two hunters who had cut across the prairie were in front of her, blocking off her path to the fort. Two were behind her, pursuing her trail with a determination that was impressive and depressing all at the same time. Moriko had three options. She could head deeper into the mountains, trusting herself to increasingly difficult terrain. She could escape out into the plains and try to out-run her opponents, or she could stop and fight.

Fighting was out of the question. She was exhausted, her vision blurring at the edges. She was dehydrated and hungry and wounded. Taking on any one of the hunters would be near suicide unless she had some advantage. Taking on all four was a guarantee of an early death. The prairie to the south was also a poor option. The hunters had already demonstrated they were faster than her on their horses. She might prolong the inevitable, but out on the plains, her end would be certain.

So she turned towards the mountains, not sure what she was looking for, but hoping something would change the situation. She rode hard, kicking her horse one final time. It too was exhausted, but it only had a little further to go. The terrain was getting rocky and narrow, with sheer cliffs rising on every side. Her ride was almost over.

Moriko searched for any advantage. Her heart was pounding. She could feel the hunters behind her, drawing the net ever tighter. There wasn’t any choice. She chose a valley and rode for it. She was committed. There wasn’t any way back. It wasn’t long before the horse was moving slower than she could. She got off, debated for a moment, and tied the horse to a tree. If she came back this way, she wanted a form of transportation.

She moved up the valley as fast as the terrain would allow. The ground was rocky and uneven, and the moon was no more than a sliver, providing little but shadows to guide her way through the unfamiliar area.

Moriko stopped. She’d covered maybe half a league, but there was something off. She examined her surroundings. One shadow in particular was darker than the surrounding shadows. Curious, Moriko moved towards it. The shadow revealed itself as a cave, a gaping blackness her sight had no chance of piercing. She threw out her sense. There was nothing in the cave, but the hunters were just a few hundred paces behind her. She didn’t have any better ideas, so she went in.

Immediately she was swallowed by darkness. She was not a child of the mountains any more than she was a child of the plains. She had experienced darkness in the deep woods of her youth, but never like this. This darkness was real, a presence she could feel brush against her skin.

Moriko swallowed her fear and walked further into the darkness, all her senses searching for information. She moved slowly, her hands running along the edge of the wall. She tried to reach for another wall, or a ceiling, but found nothing. The cave, or cave system, was big.

As her mind stopped trying to see, her sense took over, and Moriko discovered she could sense the shape of the cave. It was faint, but life grew even here. Bats, awake, hung alert on the ceiling, listening to see if she was a threat or not. Along the walls, lichen grew from trickles of water in the rock. It was not much, but it was something, and in the darkness, even the faintest of lights give hope.

Her feelings weren’t precise, but she had a decent understanding of the shape of the cave. Behind her a light flared and was quickly extinguished with a quick mutter in Azarian. Moriko didn’t know what was said, but she could guess. They trusted their sense more than they trusted their sight in the caves. She understood. Sight was unreliable. Light cast shadows that hid dangers. The sense never lied.

But, her heart quickened, it could be fooled. Here she could be their doom. She allowed her presence to seep gently from her, as though she was trying to control it but failing. They should be able to track her, but it wouldn’t be easy. If it was too easy, they might guess it was a trap. She moved deeper into the caves, delighted they continued on without end.

The hunters followed her further under the mountain. She suppressed her excitement. Focus was essential. She had the advantage, but she couldn’t underestimate her opponents. These were the most dangerous men she had ever encountered. Moriko moved as quickly as she dared, trusting to her sense of the caves. When she reached a branch, she made her move.

In her mind, the memory of the hunters sniffing the air for her was imprinted deeply. Perhaps it wasn’t only the sense they possessed, but a heightened set of senses in general. She stripped off her clothes, tossing them down one branch of the cave. She then suppressed her presence completely and went a few paces down the other branch, hiding herself in a depression along the wall.

There was no way to track time in the caves, but it felt like it was only a few moments later when she heard and sensed the four hunters at the branch. She measured out her breathing, keeping it as silent as the grave. She went deep within herself, keeping everything inside. If they sensed anything, the trap would be ruined. She heard a sniffing sound from up the caves.

There was a moment’s pause. Then, without a word, they split up into two teams of two. Moriko cursed silently to herself. She had hoped they would all follow the scent of her clothes.

Moriko didn’t have time to move, so she froze where she was, keeping her focus as tight as she could. She sensed the first hunter walk less than a pace in front of her. She couldn’t see him at all in the perfect darkness. It seemed inconceivable that he couldn’t sense her, but he kept walking in front of her, slowly, unsure of his place in the cave.

His partner stepped in front of her as well, but stopped just a pace or two past her hiding place. Moriko held her breath. She heard him sniff softly and knew he suspected something. Keeping her focus tight within, she moved slowly, her blade in front of her. The hunter was perfectly clear to her sense, and she thrust once, killing him with one strike.

Even if the hunter had been suspicious, he hadn’t been ready. The blade went in and out and he fell to the ground with a dull thud, causing his partner to turn around in surprise. Down the other branch, Moriko could sense the other hunters noticing the death of the fourth.

There wasn’t time to think, and Moriko’s combat instincts took over. She stepped over the dead body and stabbed out again. The other hunter knew Moriko was somewhere close, but with no sight and no sense of her, there was nothing he could do. Moriko’s blade passed right behind his guard without touching it, killing him as quickly as his partner.

Behind her she heard the soft commotion of the other two hunters as they realized what was happening. They were coming back to where the cave had branched in two. Trusting her sense, Moriko took off deeper into the caves. In the darkness she would move faster, their caution for their lives slowing them down. She let her presence seep out of her again, both to draw her hunters deeper into the caves, but also to relax her own mind. Suppressing her presence as far as she did was mentally exhausting.

Naked and in the dark, Moriko felt an understanding of her own power rush over her. Here, she was the hunter and they were the hunted. Another four hunters would meet their end. Despite her exhaustion, despite her injuries, she had never felt so strong, so deadly. She wanted to kill.

The hunters behind her didn’t have her confidence. They moved slowly and deliberately towards her presence, but they moved with caution. She moved with determination.

As the footfalls became quieter behind her, Moriko realized she was in a large cavern. It was as good as place as any for her final stand. She felt like she had become everything a nightblade could be. She was deadly, silent, and undetectable. A flood of confidence rushed through her veins. She was everything that Orochi had taught her and so much more. She breathed in the darkness, taking its power for herself.

The hunters came into the room, moving slowly. She had suppressed her presence again and was as silent as the bodies of their friends back up the path. They didn’t have any clue where she was. She could almost feel their fear.

Moriko reached out with her sword, deliberate and sure. With a single thrust she took the life of the third hunter. She grinned viciously. That made the count eight and a half hunters dead by her sword, two by Ryuu’s. He’d be jealous.

She heard the sound of flint on steel, throwing sparks onto a torch. The cavern illuminated in an instant, blinding both Moriko and the final pursuer. The flame and the movement was enough to frighten the bats too, and they beat furiously against the air to escape the light.

Between the light and the bats, both Moriko and the hunter were disoriented. They had both been in the darkness long enough that the light hurt their eyes. Moriko closed hers, trusting to her sense. Her opponent was tall, much bigger and stronger than she was. Her confidence was high, though, and he couldn’t see well and didn’t trust his sense. She wished, just for a moment, that she could face Nameless in a dark cave. He’d be dead on the ground in just a moment and all this would be over.

The hunter moved in, his sword moving quickly where he thought Moriko was. He had seen the battle between her and Nameless. He knew what she was capable of, knew the best way to defeat her was to keep moving, keep attacking and rely on speed and strength.

For Moriko, the outcome was never in question. The hunter’s sight was imperfect as it struggled to adjust to the light, and her sense of him was flawless. With a series of cuts she broke through his guard and he fell silently, as dead as his other companions. The enormity of what she had accomplished hit her and she fell to her knees. By herself she had killed four hunters. Not children, freshly blooded. Hunters of Nameless’ honor guard. No one alive had accomplished anything similar. She bowed her head and soaked in the darkness.

Moriko didn’t know how much time had passed in the caves, but when she opened her eyes, the torch had gone out. She eventually stood up and worked her way towards the entrance of the cave. When she found the first branch, she went and gathered her clothes. She was surprised by how exhausted she was. It was all she could do to stay on her feet.

When she came out of the cave, she took a deep breath of fresh air. She felt like she was born again. She stumbled down to where she had left her horse. The hunters had conveniently left their mounts tied up right next to hers. She found food, both for herself and for the horse. There were also skins of water. Moriko helped herself to as much as she could carry.

From here, it shouldn’t be too much of a ride to the fort. By the time tomorrow ended, her mission would be over.

Chapter 31

Ryuu and Rei moved through the night, shadows cast long by the rising full moon. Renzo had decided on an interesting location for their meeting. He was standing alone, dark robes snapping lightly in the breeze, right in between the camps for the two armies. They would be fighting on tomorrow’s battleground. It seemed fitting, though conspicuous, in Ryuu’s mind.

They stopped ten paces apart. Ryuu was relaxed and alert. He’d fought Renzo before, and he was prepared for the battle. He had no doubt he’d emerge as the victor.

Renzo looked to Rei first. “I had hoped not to see you again.”

Rei’s anger was apparent. “I can’t let you stay on this path. Do you know how much chaos you’ve caused?”

Renzo nodded. “And there is much more to come.”

Rei’s anger flickered into confusion. “How could you do this?”

“Rei, you know the blades need to come back to this land. You’ve been traveling a while now in this land. You’ve seen the weakness, the fear in which they live. They aren’t like us. They aren’t strong enough. I’d hoped Shika would see reason, but she’s been influenced far too much by that sentimental fool.”

Ryuu knew Renzo was speaking of Tenchi.

Renzo’s gaze traveled to Ryuu. “And you, you are strong, too. You have the strength to make a difference in this world, and you already have. But with all that strength, you don’t step forward and seize the power you deserve. This land needs our protection.”

“I agree,” Ryuu said, “but not this way. You can’t tear apart the land you’re trying to protect.”

Renzo laughed. “Were you ever forced to clean a house when you were young? You take everything out, organize it, and then put it back where it belongs. When you’re done, everything is clean, but there is a time, right after you’ve taken it all apart, that it looks worse than when it started. This is no different. Yes, the Three Kingdoms is a disaster right now, but it will be much stronger in the end.”

Ryuu shook his head. “But you are talking about people’s lives, not items in a house.”

Renzo shrugged. “We disagree. I didn’t come here to persuade you, though I hoped you might understand. I will detest having to kill you.”

Ryuu sensed Rei’s intent a moment before she moved. He tried to stop her, but she was too fast. He turned to Renzo and was amazed by how fast the man slipped into the energy surrounding him. Ryuu followed suit, trying to catch Rei before it was too late.

A set of three throwing blades sprung into existence in Renzo’s left hand. He threw them all at Ryuu, forcing Ryuu off his line. It gave Renzo the moment he needed.

Rei was strong and fast, but not enough of either to be a match for Renzo. She suppressed her presence, but not as well as Moriko could. Ryuu could still sense her movements as clear as day, and he expected Renzo could, too.

Rei cut twice, once high, once low, but Renzo stepped away from each of them. Ryuu was running to the battle as fast as he could, trying to get there before Renzo could counter-attack. He was too late.

Renzo’s sword blurred in the moonlight, and Rei couldn’t react fast enough. She got in front of the first cut, but the second cut sliced deep, cutting through her arm and back. Her sword arm went limp, and as she tried to move, she collapsed, blood starting to drip onto the ground in front of her.