Blade of Retribution Read online

  Yoshinaka looked at her. “Do you expect that we will lose? That our grasp of control is so tenacious as to be the clinging to of regalia?”

  “I am saying that we are not the only ones who know how to manipulate the laws of nature, nor are we the only ones able to communicate with the other side. Having the regalia may be the only reason the Taira have yet to be completely destroyed. These things have a power that has been growing for centuries. We would be foolish to ignore it or pretend it doesn’t matter.”

  “So you are suggesting we attack from two fronts? A launch against Antoku on Shikoku and one against the remaining Taira trying to reclaim the throne?”

  “I do. More so, I advise sending a small crew to join Riku in his attack against the Taira hold out on Shikoku. You stay here among your men. Hold here. We will take care of the Taria and claim victory in your name.”

  Chapter 8

  Abe no Tanetadai felt all the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand to attention.

  “We have been breached” he thought to himself. His next thought was to wonder if Karasu was behind it. He had been relying far too much on the Shikigami since the death of Kiyomori.

  The door slide partially opened and a voice floated through.

  “Pardon my interruption to your most important studies but you have a request for two people to see you and it is of utmost urgency” came the voice on the other side.

  Abe no Tanetadai had a brief thought cross his mind. He thought immediately that perhaps that this was how he died. He quickly pushed the thought aside. He did not sense danger or malice. Just immense power.

  When he emerged to his outer chambers he discovered that a woman and a monk awaited him there. He wondered how they had convinced the attendants to let them in. Although the woman that stood before him did not meet his gaze, she gave no inkling of modesty. It was from her the power came from. The monk stepped forward and spoke.

  “We have sought you out to help you, as we believe our paths are aligned.”

  Abe no Tanetada snorted. “I am the official Onmyōji to the emperor. You can argue that all of Japan’s paths are aligned with mine.”

  “True, but in this case we think it is more of a direct way” Shinji answered.

  “What is it that you want” Abe no Tanetada asked.

  “To save Japan from a monster. To ensure that evil does not sweep through the land. The usual hero things” Shinji gave a rueful grin as he spoke.

  “Aaaaaa, so you identify on the side of heros at least. But I do need some more specifics. Like how you managed to get past all the guards and attendants and find yourselves in a position to request a direct audience with me.”

  Shinji gave a nod of his head before he spoke. “The use of simple illusions and reliance upon overconfidence. Once we arrived this far it was assumed we were allowed. Your attendant is not at fault. He looked quite doubtful upon our request to see you, but he also believed there was a samurai who had escorted us. Blind trust in order may allow things to move swiftly but it does not protect against that which you do not believe to be even possible.”

  “Such as a monk and a woman making their way into a castle unescorted and penetrating so far inside undiscovered” Abe no Tanetada replied.

  “Exactly like that. Especially since the normal protections against the occult seem to have been removed” the woman’s voice said.

  Abe no Tanetada looked over and saw the woman was looking directly into his eyes. He felt a chill move over and through him. He cursed himself again for his reliance on the Shikigami. It had required a lapse in a number of the usual defenses, but he had been confident that the risk was worth it. That everything he did, he did for the good of Japan. And now there was a new emperor on the throne, the regalia were all lost, and the true emperor was locked in a tower under attack from the men that he presently served.

  “How has everything descended into such chaos?” he thought to himself.

  Out loud he asked “And who are you? You are the illusionist I assume.”

  The woman smiled. “I am the one who created the illusions to get us in here yes. And for the dropping of many of the protections I thank you for that. You did make it easier for me. I am Inoue.”

  Abe no Tanetadai cursed his reliance upon the shikigami. It’s ability to spy had saved him more than once in the two years since Kiyomori’s death. And yet he knew the limitations and dangers that the creature brought with it. Still he had continued to use him instead of returning him to his bone.

  As if he knew he was in danger of being banished for good, Kurasu suddenly appeared in the corner of the room, although his appearance was only a surprise to Shinji.

  “Send them away” Kurasu said, intensely distrustful of the nine tail and her administrations to destroy his fun.

  “I don’t like you either” Inoue said. “The difference is that the Onmyōji would be wise to listen to me and banish you back to where you belong.” She then turned to speak directly to Abe no Tanetadai.

  “You know Japan is under attack from within, and as the Onmyōji you must be aware of the supernatural aspect of it.”

  Abe no Tanetadai nodded but remained quiet.

  “How much do you know?” Inoue asked.

  “Enough” was the only thing the Onmyōji said.

  Inoue’s eyes narrowed and she continued. “Are you aware of the blood drinker synthesis that has recently come to Japan?”

  Kurasu was unable to contain his excitement at the mention of Riku and everything he had seen the night he was transformed that he began to cackle and hope around in circles.

  Inoue nodded. “I assumed as much. And do you have any idea how to stop this blood drinker?”

  Abe no Tanetadai’s shoulders slumped but he said nothing.

  Kurasu could not contain himself anymore. “No No, of course not! That’s why I am still here. He has me searching. But nothing nothing nothing.”

  Abe no Tanetadai commanded that Kurasu shut up and the bird creature was bound to his command, but he continued to bounce around, cawing now rather than speaking.

  “What do you want?” he demanded of Inoue and Shinji.

  “To rid Japan of the unnatural influence of this blood drinker. He does not belong here. The entire natural order of this world could collapse because of this. And that is where we want to fight right now. We want access to Riku. I know he has been helping Yoshinaka no Minamoto. That is how Yoshinaka was able to make it here. I do not know why he has sided with him, and I do not care. I want to know how they meet. You must have seen him. You must feel him.”

  Abe no Tanetadai nodded his head and spoke. “Please allow me some time to consult with my stones. I will trust you alone in this space for that short period. Of course I will leave Karasu with you. He will notify me if you do anything” and for a moment he paused searching for the right word before choosing “untoward.”

  Inoue nodded and Shinji bowed. They both understood the gamble the Onmyōji was taking in trusting them enough to leave them alone. It also highlighted how out of control things had become.

  As Abe no Tanetadai left them he wondered himself if he was making the final mistake that was to bring about his undoing.

  He returned to his inner chamber and decided for a quick ritual that would give him superficial guidance but would be faster than one which would allow him full visions. That he needed to do it at all enraged him.

  “Stop the anger, stop living in the past” he consoled himself. “You can not change what has happened then. You can only react to the now. And right now you have a powerful Yokai with unknown intentions waiting for you. Do not let the past influence the present. Enter into this in a pure state of mind or else the fear will lie to you and lead you to make further mistakes.”

  Breathing deep he took the time to complete a cleansing ritual before beginning his divination ritual. He just wanted to know if he should trust the two waiting for him. His gut reaction was that he could. Yet everything in his brain screamed
he would be an idiot to do so.

  Suddenly his eyes snapped open and he gasped.

  “She’s a nine tail!!!!”

  Chapter 9

  Yoshitsune no Minamoto appeared before his brother. He bowed to the man that had taken the leadership of his clan and whom he had every intention of helping remain there.

  Yoritomo no Minamoto gazed down at his younger brother. He knew his younger brother was worth not one but ten samurai by himself. And his brain was that of many more. He needed this man who was everything the samurai should and could be going into the future even as he envied him his prowess with the sword. And although he trusted no one else to get the results that his brother would and did, he also resented him for his abilities. And it was a resentment he was finding harder and harder to repress.

  “As you know our cousin Yoshinaka has been successful in helping our clan rise up against the Taira. He has been a great help and we have his son as hostage for his good faith.”

  “Hai” Yoshitsune said noncommittally.

  “You must also have heard rumors of what is going on in the capital. His men are rampaging in Kyoto. He has become a threat bigger than I had anticipated. He could cost us everything. We need to take control of both the clan and this civil war. We can no longer have a branch of ours that is not within our control. It could cost us everything.”

  Yoshitsune no Minamoto nodded. He was well aware that what his brother truly meant was that he could not have someone who challenged him so near to the throne. Yoshinaka was now in the imperial palace. This would be dangerous enough as it was, but it was a direct result of Yoshinaka that the Taira were now on the run. His decisive victory in the battle of Kurikara meant that he had had a straight path to the capital. The Minamoto clan owed their current position of strength as a direct result of Yoshinaka.

  Rumors had reached them that in addition to fighting the Taira directly, he had been attempting to find the the imperial regalia as well, to retrieve it from the Taira. If it came down to which of the two would be the leader of the clan, control of the insignia could be enough to side those with him. And that also meant that Yoritomo was not only indebted to him but was also no longer near the source of power, and Yoshinaka had a direct line to power. And it was said more and more openly that the power Yoshinaka had access to was not merely human. Yoshitsune decided to address it openly.

  “Rumors have it that he has some connection to dark powers, that it is why he was able to move to the capital so swiftly and decisively.”

  Yoritomo nodded. “There has been rumors he consorts with demons. He would have to if he has any hope of standing up against you. I have complete confidence in you. His men are sloppy. They are drunk and they are openly terrorizing the people of Kyoto. They are acting like men possessed. Do everyone a favor and rid the city of them before they beg for the Taira to come back.”

  Yoshitsune nodded and stood.

  “I will take my men and we will leave immediately.”

  Chapter 10

  Abe no Tanetadai emerged from his rooms. He was not completely defenseless but he knew he was not able to fight a nine tail. Not even on his own ground. Such a thing would take much longer to prepare for than he had available at the moment.

  “What do you really want?” he demanded of the two that were sitting calmly and drinking tea as they waited for him.

  “To restore balance and ensure that Japan does not fall further into chaos” Inoue replied.

  “A nine tailed fox wants to save Japan. You make me laugh” Abe no Tanetada scoffed. Inwardly his mind raced for how to rid the palace of a nine tailed fox and he cursed himself for not being fully prepared. How could he have been so stupid as not to have foreseen this. The palace was not safe any longer. Nowhere in Japan was.

  “I know we are not normally to be found on the same side onmyōdō. But please believe me that if I wanted you dead you would be. Ask your Shikigami.“ She nodded to the corner where Karuso had stopped hopping and was instead staring at them.

  “The way of the nine tail is to trick and destroy. I can imagine that you do very much want me dead, but you have a delightful way plotted out. That is in fact your only downfall. If your kind was intent on just the destruction you would have wiped out the world. But you like elaborate schemes and plotting. You can not just destroy. You want to see us dance to your tunes first. Then watch the anguish build as all the pieces fall away.”

  Inoue cursed once again both her kinds nature as well as the inability for the world to open up to a new way of thinking.

  “Do you really think I can do much worse?” she asked the Abe no Tanetadai. “You have two emperors. One in the place of legitimacy on the throne and the other never having abdicated and with the imperial regalia on an island over 300 shaku away! We know not only is Yoshinaka no Minamoto here in the palace with samurai who are practically rioting and looting rather than protecting, but I have seen Takiyasha-hime come and go from this palace.”

  Abe no Tanetadai felt himself flinch involuntarily with the mention of the frog conjurer. The retired emperor Go-Shirakawa was adamant that she remain. At first Tanetadai had thought her threat was merely as his replacement. But he had come to realize with the aid of Karasu that she was in direct contact and control of the blood sucker. When he had raised his concern to the emperor he had been effectively banished, accused of not being able to bring the luck needed while the frog conjurer could, and that he could be considered lucky that he was allowed to stay and remain among the court. Abe no Tanetadai knew that was a fragile connection and only Go-Shirakawa’s shrewd way of not terminating anyone until he was sure he had wrong every last ounce of usefulness out of them before proceeding with the tossing away was what was keeping him alive.

  His divinations kept warning him of betrayal and destruction and yet every choice he made to avoid such events seem to drive him in deeper and create more of the very things he sought to avoid.

  He was trapped. And it was so convoluted that joining sides with a nine tail was his only option out of it.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  “We need to be able to come and go freely from the castle” Inoue said.

  “You ask far too much!” he gasped. “To do so would be the same as giving you a key to the palace. You say you do not want to harm us and yet you ask for the freedom to do so.”

  Shinji jumped in. “We realize that is exactly what our request sounds like and it is truly not what we mean. We need a way to communicate with you but also a way that we could enter if there is not way to reach you first. We believe Riku is on his way here and he is dangerous. If he was to take control of this palace - ” Shinji paused for a moment as he debated internally what to say and then decided to drop all barriers and lay everything on the table “he shares his body with the demon of Sutoku. He desperately wants revenge. Riku was raised to be a an honest and good warrior. He followed our way of the Kitsune path. But he succumbed to this demon and we have no idea how much if anything is left of him and who he was. If there is something to be reached we would like to try. And if there is nothing we are prepared to kill him to save Japan.”

  Abe no Tanetadai did not trust the nine tail. Even though parts of what she said rang true fro him, his distrust of nine tails ran too deep. But this monk. What he had to say came from his heart and his eyes did not lie.

  Abe no Tanetadai nodded. “I will do everything in my power to help you.”

  Chapter 11

  Lord Ishikawa stood next to Riku at the prow of the ship. He turned to the younger samurai and said “Those boats are ready for us, they are not going to allow us to reach Yashima and the regalia, they plan to make us engage with them right here.”

  Riku nodded. “We will be ready for them.”

  Lord Ishikawa looked less sure. The Taira were stronger seamen than the Minamoto. Always had been. And here they were on their on their own territory, protecting the fort they had retreated to, the one chosen for the very reason of their a
bility to hold out and defend it.