Tasakeru

BOOK III, CHAPTER 5

24 Feb 2010 2 Comments

by BHS in 1st Volume: Sword and Flower, Book III: Soulsnatcher Tags: adventure, animal, anthro, drama, exile, fantasy, fiction, forest, furry, hanami, japanese culture, kemono, mammals, outcast, samurai, soulsnatcher, Tasakeru, web fiction, web serial novel, zero

CHAPTER 5

Clash of claws and blade

In the early light of dawn

Rain falling on steel

“-THE MOST HOLY RECORD OF THE SILVER ORDER-

YEAR 1549, T4

 

“Report detailing the casualties from Stalker’s rampage: Thirty-eight dead, eighty-seven wounded, nineteen robbed of their souls, a dozen corridors nearly destroyed, holy artifacts tainted by bloodstains… Dear Greatmother Rose, why unleash this horror upon us? What sin did we commit to warrant such devastation? I ask you for answers, but I hear none…

“My belovd Nadeshiko is among the injured. It pains me to say it, but if it were not for Drake and Takaichi, she would have been slain as well. Little One, please forgive me for placing you in such peril! The dutys of a mother are sacred above all else, and I have faild… I pray that you one day absolve me of this grievous sin.

“Oh Hollis, I grow tired… When you return, may I find comfort in your arms…

 

-        Lady Lily of the Silver House, 52^nd Grand Mistress”

“Mother?”

The younger skunk had not spoken for a long time. Lily put down her pen and smiled at her daughter. “Yes, Little One? What is it?”

Nadeshiko grimaced briefly at the use of her hated pet name. “You don’t still think Drake had anything to do with this, do you?”

“Much as I hate to admit my error, it seems that he has been vindicated,” said Lily, ruffling the girl’s hair. “Besides, his actions saved us both. Most of his past misdeeds have been fairly well redeemed in my eyes.”

“‘Most?’” Nadeshiko’s brow furrowed. “Why most? Why not all?” She then let out a soft squeak of surprise as Lily’s arms gently wrapped around her, carefully avoiding her bandaged shoulder. She couldn’t even remember the last time her mother had held her so tenderly…

“My darling…” whispered Lily. “My sweet child. You’re simply too young to understand yet. One day, when you are older, I shall tell you all that I know about Drake… For now, though, simply rest. You’re safe, and that is all that matters.”

Nadeshiko was too shocked to reply. Lily broke the embrace and gave her one last smile, then stood up from the bed. She blew out the lantern and disappeared out the door, leaving a very confused young skunk awake in the darkness.

The rainstorm of the previous night had spent itself for the most part; only a light drizzle fell upon Tasakeru, most of the droplets blocked by the leafy canopy overhead. Vast clouds of mist hung low to the ground, muffling the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Stalker smiled in the gloom as he neared the oak tree cottage. She was there, he could feel it. Lust burned hot within him at the thought of the squirrel with the blonde hair and the pale blue eyes, the one clear and blessed memory from his old life. He pictured his attack over and over again in his mind as he ran. Taking her by surprise, letting her run from him for a moment, just so he could trap her in a corner with no hope of escape. Seeing that look of helpless fear upon her lovely face as he advanced. She would scream and cry and squirm under him, and he would only smile.

Hanami couldn’t sleep. The days were growing colder as autumn wore on; she had woken this morning shivering underneath her blanket. She had also underestimated just how quiet the forest was in the hour before dawn… it was rather eerie, hearing nothing but the patter of the rain on the roof. Having abandoned the idea of going back to sleep, she had decided to make a cup of hot clover tea while she waited for the sun to rise. Her pestle made an oddly comforting grunk sound as she ground it against the small stone bowl to crush the leaves within. A kettle was coming to a boil in the basin, warmed from below by a heat spellstone that was already brightening from grey to dull red.

She glanced out the kitchen window and watched the drifting clouds of fog. It is kind of relaxing, she thought idly, forgetting the tea leaves for a moment. Everything is still and silent… it would be a good day to curl up and read the rest of those books I borrowed from Ashpaw. I certainly don’t need to water the garden in this weather. Or maybe Faun and I could-

A mighty crash, and the bowl fell with a clatter to the floor as the squirrel’s tail fur stood on end. Hanami thought for an instant that the storm had started again in earnest, but then she felt the cold rush of air and turned her head to see the figure standing there over the splintered remains of her front door…

Excellent, thought Stalker, giddy with anticipation. The squirrel let out a truly impressive scream and snatched the kettle out of the basin, flinging it at him as he stepped slowly and deliberately over the shattered door. Lukewarm water splashed over him, and the kettle bounced harmlessly off his chest. There was nothing between them now save for a few inches of space. Nothing to stop him from taking her, using her to sate his hunger and complete his new creation in one fell swoop. His lips curled into a wide, savage grin as he bared his claws. He could see her trembling as she snatched the strange flower from her hair, holding it at arm’s length like a weapon, as if she actually intended to –

A flower? The wolf paused as the spider attached to his arm twitched.

Zero and Faun were forty paces away from Woodhaven when they heard the scream from inside. Zero’s heart hammered in his chest as he willed his tired body to move faster, ever faster. Come on, dammit! Just a little further, just a little more… I won’t let this happen, not again!

“No!” Beside him, the vixen’s emerald eyes went wide with horror as she saw the shape disappear into the doorway. Her hands dug frantically into her bandolier, grabbing handfuls of bombs from random pockets. Her heel slipped on a patch of wet leaves as her attention wavered, and she tripped and fell sprawling.

Zero paid her no mind, his entire being focused on getting through that door. It had gone suddenly, horribly quiet inside…

Then, for the second time in under a minute, a crash shook Woodhaven’s foundations. A portion of the exterior wall burst apart from within as a dark shape launched out of the cottage with all the force of a cannon volley, propelled by a massive tangle of vines thicker than two full-grown badgers standing side-to-side. Like a living battering ram, the greenery streamed through the hole after the shape, hurtling it past Zero and into the depths of a fog bank. The buck squirrel faintly heard a trailing cry of pain and shock, followed by a series of loud cracks as the ram smashed through the thickets of smaller trees that bordered Woodhaven’s clearing.

He only paused for a fraction of an instant. Even as the noise was lost among the low-hanging clouds, even as the vines began to thin out and retract themselves back into the gaping crater in the side of the cottage, he still continued forward as fast as his feet would carry him, oblivious to everything else, not daring to believe she was safe until he saw her with his own eyes…

Hanami sat motionless amid the sawdust, splinters, and leaves littering her kitchen floor,  staring at the rain through the gaping hole that she had made in the wall. She simply gazed at that empty space in abject shock, her eyes wide and unblinking.

“Hanami!” His voice sounded foreign to him as crossed the room in three strides, heedless of the debris. He wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around her, whisper words of comfort in her ear and tell her that everything would be all right… but something stopped him, something unknowable inside himself. He skidded to a halt, then slowly, deliberately, he knelt before her and put out his hand to touch her cheek.

That touch brought Hanami out of her daze, and she turned to see the owner of that hand wearing an expression she had never seen before. In the months that she had lived in Tasakeru, Hanami had grown used to seeing Zero stern and unbreakable, solid as a rock even among the many storms that had blown over them. His resolve always shone forth from him like the light from an ever-present lantern. Now all that confidence was gone, his features were twisted by a look of sadness and fear and relief so finely blended that she couldn’t tell where one emotion ended and the next began. Hanami realized that for the first time she was seeing past the warrior and into Zero’s soul. She breathed his name as she wrapped her hand around his, still feather-light against her face. He’s so gentle. Like he’s afraid I might break…

He brushed wet hair out of his eyes and made a heroic effort to smile. “I thought I was too late again. I thought-”

“It’s all right,” she whispered, and she embraced him with the same gentleness he had shown to her, resting her head upon his shoulder. “I’m here. It’s all right.”

A low knell of thunder rumbled overhead as the two held each other upright.

A quarter-mile away, Stalker picked himself up in a foul mood, swearing violently as he extricated himself from the clinging vines. There were slivers of broken wood peppering a dozen places in his back and sawdust in his ruined eye socket; were he still a normal sentient, he would have been in hideous pain. With every unspeakable word he knew he cursed squirrels, magic, and the very existence of the Outcasts that had brought him and Mother so much misfortune. When he returned to the mage girl’s house the next time, there would be no mercy, no savoring the moment. He would tear that blasted flower from her grasp and –

Something small and round struck his chest, rather like a black marble. Taking it carefully between his claws, he inspected it with his remaining eye. It was emitting a faint hiss, rather like a- The high-pitched keening whine that followed the object’s detonation drowned out the sound of his agonized scream. The noise was like a red-hot knife directly into his brain, and by the time it died away he was amazed his teeth had not shattered from it.

From behind a nearby tree emerged a vixen, sopping wet with dirt and leaves clinging to her orange fur. She glared at Stalker with smoldering hatred in her green eyes, reaching into the belt slung over her shoulder for another bomb. The ringing in his ears had not yet faded, but he could make out the words as her lips moved.

“I’d start running if I were you.”

The wolf grinned lopsidedly as he rose to his feet. Not caring whether she could hear him or not, he extended his claws to the length of swords as he met her challenge. “Go ahead! Pain will only make it that much sweeter when I claim my prize! I’ll hunt for you next, vixen! Go ahead!”

Her lips formed words again: “Your loss.” With that, she flung the second bomb directly at his face.

Stalker howled once more, this time in disgust. The explosive coated his upper body with a sticky, horrid-smelling fluid, easily a hundred times worse than a skunk’s spray. Clawing at his face did nothing to dislodge the fluid; it had begun to congeal into something like sap and clung tenaciously to his fur, burning in his nostrils and his eye.

Abandoning all dignity, Stalker stumbled away from her, blindly escaping into the nearest fog bank. He could almost hear the Gods laughing at him as he fled under a hail of bombshells detonating left and right. Let them laugh! he roared inwardly. Let them laugh, damn them! The Legion may be a failure, but it doesn’t matter! The soul beacon is already complete… all that’s left is to wait for Mother!

Far away, the interior of the Black Rose Tower was undergoing another transformation. With no one to use its unique magical properties, the cave that Stalker had made melted away, leaving behind an empty, featureless room made of black stone. All that was left was the beacon, still hovering eight feet from the floor, shimmering and twisting in on itself. Several of the stolen souls were drawn in and swallowed by its ghostly blue light as its pulsing quickened, like the beating of a heart… From within the depths of that light a hand appeared, grasping at the air. It was a most unusual hand, with long, slim, tapered fingers ending in small claws. The hand became an arm, and then a shoulder, followed by a head, torso, a multiple legs, and a bulbous abdomen. For a moment the figure hung suspended, quietly floating in the beacon’s pale glow.

She felt a great tearing, wrenching sensation, like being pulled apart in every direction at once. A scream escaped her lips, echoing in the emptiness of the cursed tower, unheard by any outside its walls. It was the scream of a being caught between the living and the dead… a voice of pain, of madness, of longing and twisted joy all at once. No sentient would have heard a sound like it before… None heard it at all. None ever would again.

Her heavy body fell to the stone floor with a dull thud. Above her, the beacon shrank away into nothingness. The captured souls scattered like seeds in the wind, phasing through the walls of the tower to begin the journey back to their respective bodies.

She shuddered, she gasped, she reeled with shock and clutched at her breast. Alive. She was alive… but no. Her heart was still and silent.

I do not understand, she thought, panic lurching within her. My body… what has happened to my body?

All of her legs twitched and spasmed as she attempted to right herself. With difficulty she rose off the floor and took several awkward steps toward the featureless black wall.

I do not understand. My body is here, but I’m not alive. Which means I must be dead… but I can still feel. I can feel that my weight is all wrong. This is not my body… is it?

Her hand trembled as she reached out to touch the wall. The stone was cool and strong, but it somehow felt lighter than it should have. To her horror, her apparently solid fingers sank into the wall like it was made of water.

I do not understand. I have returned, but I am not myself…

Steeling her nerves, she pushed forward, pressing her upper body against the surface. Within seconds, she had moved through it… Her vision was darkened by the foundations of the tower for a moment, and then she emerged outside.

She felt the difference immediately. Her sense of touch vanished, and the light drizzle of rain fell through her body. Fascinated, she waved her hand in front of her face; it had no substance to it, and she could see the outlines of the wet leaves on the ground through her palm.

I do not understand. I have a body inside, but not outside? What has happened to me? She clutched her forehead, reeling with confusion. Why am I here?

 

By the time Faun returned to Woodhaven, Hanami had changed out of her nightgown and into her simple white tunic. The vixen walked in on what appeared to be an argument between the two squirrels; she stopped in the doorway and listened, somewhat startled.

“No, you don’t understand!” Hanami was saying. “I’ve proven that I can defend myself more than once!” She gestured angrily at the six-foot hole in her kitchen wall.

“She’s got you there, Takky.” Faun smirked and crossed over to Hanami’s side, putting a friendly arm around her friend. “He was in bad shape when I caught up with him. He’s probably even worse now,” she added with a somewhat sinister grin.

Zero’s arms were folded tightly over his chest. “Hanami, I can’t let you come with me. This is my fight, I need to be the one to finish it.”

Hanami stamped her foot. “Zero Takaichi, what makes you think I need to be protected all the time?!”

That seemed to throw Zero for a loop. He stared at Hanami as if a large bug were perched upon her nose. “You’re a female,” he said simply.

Hanami’s mouth fell open in disbelief.

“Oh Gods,” said Faun, screwing her eyes shut. Hurriedly she grabbed Hanami’s shoulder before the doe could respond to that statement. “Hold it, Flowers. I know what’s going on here, and I apologize. I should have warned you about this…”

Zero looked from Faun to Hanami and back again, totally confused. “What? What did I say? Hanami’s a female. She needs to be protected, that’s what it says in -”

“The Seven Laws of the Samurai,” Faun said as she rolled her eyes. “Hanami, in case you didn’t know, this kind of pointless, thick-headed chivalry is drilled into buck squirrels from an early age. It doesn’t make it any less annoying.”

“And what’s wrong with that?” asked Zero, feeling ever more lost. “I care about Hanami, so I want to protect her.”

Hanami’s face cycled through several emotions, none of which could be identified. “Zero…” Settling on an exasperated frown, she stepped forward and looked up to meet his gaze. “If all you’ve told me about him is true, you can’t fight him alone. And every minute we spend arguing is another chance for him to escape. You said you want to rescue Naole… how can you do that if Stalker kills you?”

The buck seemed unable to speak with her wide, pale blue eyes staring at him. “I-” he stammered.

“I know you think you have to protect me,” continued Hanami. “But instead, let’s protect each other.”

He blinked, realizing that that made very good sense. “Sure,” he said, with a touch of sheepishness in his voice.

Faun whistled, making both the squirrels start. “Nice negotiating, Flowers. So now that that’s settled, let’s go find the mangy bastard and give him what for, huh?”

Hanami nodded. “I agree. If he wants to see N’Ktane so badly, let’s send him Beneath so he can meet her personally.”

“Hoo-yah! Way to go, Flowers! I’m buying you a drink when this is over.”

“Not now, Faun.” Zero glared at the vixen, then frowned. “The problem is, how do we find him?”

Faun winked. “Already took care of that. I hit him with a StinkTracker. All we have to do is follow the scent.”

“Just following him isn’t going to work,” said Zero. “We need to cut him off, and for that we need to know where he’s going.”

Faun’s tail swished impatiently. “Well now, let’s think. He wants to bring back N’Ktane. He needs a place with powerful magic to do it, somewhere that people with common sense would avoid.”

Zero started to speak. “But we have common-”

“Trust me, Takky, the mere fact that we’re considering this means that we don’t. Relax, it’s one of our strong points. Anyway, he would also need a place that’s hard to get into and out of, if he wants to keep Naole inside. So: very magical, generally avoided, inaccessible. Can you think of anywhere around here that fits that description?”

Hanami’s eyes widened. “Of course, the Black Rose Tower! It makes perfect sense!”

“Got it in one, kitto. That’s another drink I owe you.”

Zero was already running out the door. “I know the fastest way there. Come on!”

Hanami put on a surprising burst of speed, following his tail. “Hang on, Naole, we’re coming!”

He no longer cared for stealth or quiet. Hell’s temper was with Stalker as he crashed noisily through the foliage as fast as his legs would carry him. There was blood on his mind; he would return to the tower, bring back Mother, and kill the squirrel’s sister and the failed Legion as his first tribute to her return. Well, perhaps I won’t kill the doe right away, if she’s still alive. The wolf smiled to himself. His anger ebbed, and heat began to build inside his body, providing a welcome relief from the dampness of the rain. It would be better not to waste a fine young body. Mother will surely understand. She’ll be in no position to resist, even if that blasted Lesion somehow left her intact…

Between the trees, he caught the tiniest glimpse of black far ahead of him. He could have sung with joy at the sight of it. Too late to stop me now, Takaichi. Too late to… eh?

The ground was shaking underneath his feet. Is that the beacon? Is it working?

The smallest twinge of unease made him roll aside, just as a rowanwood spike erupted from the soil where he had been standing. If he had moved an instant later, it would have skewered him through. The spike retracted itself, leaving him staring at the hole it had made… How did it- No. It’s not possible.

Thorny branches – holly – lashed out at him from the gloom. Twisting to the left and right to evade their grasp, he stumbled on a patch of wet leaves and fell face-first to the ground. Again the earth shook as wooden walls erupted forth from below, blocking off the area in a twenty-foot radius. Stalker scrambled forward as they closed off his view of the tower… No!

“You made three mistakes today, Stalker,” boomed a voice from somewhere above him. It was Takaichi’s… amplified by some magical means.

Stalker scanned the boughs above him with his good eye and snarled, baring his teeth. “You think you can scare me with parlor tricks, Takaichi?!”

A half-dozen black marbles rained down on him from on high. He leaped out of the way just as the first exploded with a crack. Multicolored ribbons sprung out from the shells in all directions.

From an entirely different direction, the squirrel’s voice thundered down again. “The first mistake was taking my little sister.”

“She’s more than taken by now!” roared Stalker with a crazed laugh. “My creation has seen to that!” It was a bluff, but Takaichi couldn’t know that. Could he?

“The second mistake was trying to hurt Hanami.” Again from a different direction. Stalker’s claws slid out to sword-length. He concentrated, looking for signs of movement… and almost missed the wooden shaft streaking down at him from an angle. Whirling on the spot, he spread the spinneret in his wrist and spat a stream of webbing upward to follow it. The rustle of leaves told him that it had not hit the archer. He snatched the shaft from the ground and examined it… it was a perfectly smooth arrow, with a wickedly pointed tip instead of an arrowhead. Stalker grimaced. Arrows. She can make arrows now. Wonderful, he thought as he snapped it, throwing the pieces aside. It fell suddenly quiet, the only sound in the forest was the continuous patter of light rain…

“The third mistake,” whispered a voice from the fog directly behind him, “was thinking you could run from a squirrel in his own forest.”

The old sword flashed, and Stalker barely batted it aside with his claws. “So this is how it ends?” He spread his claws wide and turned to face the squirrel, and felt his stomach drop.

The anger that had consumed him the last time they fought was gone. The frenzied desperation of trying to defend a loved one was gone. This was an entirely new Zeromaru Takaichi from the one that had taken his eye the night before. There was a look of silent serenity in his eyes, a state of calm far more frightening than any blind rage. A state of calm more finely honed than his blade’s edge, as deadly and still as a winter’s night…

Takaichi had found the Centerpoint, the perfect balance between all things. The very essence of a samurai.

Stalker let out a primal howl, a wordless challenge to his opponent.

Zero answered with a whisper, “Banzai.”

The duel began.

Wordlessly she floated through the forest she had once known. She couldn’t remember the last time she had left the cavern; Tasakeru had changed so much during her lifetime. She found herself unsure of where to go, so she simply drifted along with the wind, glad that she couldn’t feel the pre-dawn chill in her ghostly state. But am I a ghost? She stopped to ponder that, until a faraway sound caught her attention. The ringing clash of a steel blade… someone was fighting. With a sigh, she drifted toward the sound, wondering why exactly she found it so familiar.

As she drew closer, she came upon a curious sight: a twenty-foot section of the forest had been walled off, with perfectly smooth wooden barriers too tall and slick with rain for any sentient to climb. She merely passed through the wall, undaunted…

… and felt a warm body fall through her as if she were no more than a mirage. She shrieked with revulsion at the unfamiliar sensation as her lower half vanished into mist. A few seconds of crazed panic followed before her legs and abdomen reformed themselves. That’s right. If I’m a ghost, it doesn’t matter. Settling herself, she gazed upward to watch the battle.

She let out a scream of wrath that no one could hear. The face staring down at the fallen body brought the memories of her last moments flooding back to her all at once. She would never, ever forget that face, in life or death. It was one of a pair of faces that she would have torn to pieces had she been able.

TAKAICHI.

Her spirit raged uselessly. She kicked with all her legs, she lashed out with her clawed fingertips, she tried to cast webbing at him, and finally she bared her curving fangs and tore at his throat. Her limbs turned to vapor as they struck the squirrel; he continued his assault on his foe without so much as a twitch.

Still seething, she turned her attention to the other combatant, a wolf with long, thin black hair. The strands of it had fallen and become matted in the gaping wound where his eye used to be. She recoiled in disgust. Did you do this, Takaichi?

Hovering in one place, she continued gazing at the wolf as he fended off a blow from Takaichi’s sword. Aside from the elongated claws and the angry, irregular red patch of fur across his chest, he looked to be fairly normal for his species. That impression lasted until she saw part of his wrist open to emit a stream of silk; the shot was badly aimed and flew harmlessly over Takaichi’s shoulder. She took a closer look at him, and her eyes widened at the sight of one of her lost children, embedded in the bicep of the wolf’s left arm. Its eyes stared out at her, not knowing that its beloved mother was so near.

Is it alive? She reached out to touch it gently. Her mind sent a probing question to it, asking it to explain its strange fusion with the mammal. Incredibly, she received a faint response, a jumbled series of sights, sounds and smells as it recounted its miraculous survival of the cavern collapse, its fruitless struggle to heal itself and stay out of sight without the Mind to guide it, its terrible realization that it was slowly dying, and its discovery of the broken body of the wolf… From that point on the memories were much sharper and more defined. Information filled her to the brim as she absorbed all that this strange fusion of wolf and spider had done in his short existence, all that he had suffered through to bring her back…

Stalker, she mouthed silently. Stalker.

Ten minutes in, the duel showed no signs of ending. No matter how Zero struck, no matter how many wounds he inflicted on the wolf, nothing seemed to faze him. Several times now, he had tried to aim a killing slice at Stalker’s neck, only to be blocked by his arm or one of the claws and forced to parry back. Zero’s face and arms were marred with gashes from those claws; he had managed to avoid serious injury only because the wolf’s frenzied state made it easy to predict his charges.

If this goes on, Zero thought, he’s going to win by sheer attrition. Still deep within the Centerpoint, he felt his body begin to move the sword by instinct as his mind analyzed the wolf’s movements. Block, thrust, deflect, parry, thrust, block, slice…

It was as if a fire had lit itself in Zero’s mind. His arm. He’s always guarding his left arm. That spider attached to him… He doesn’t even notice he’s protecting it.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Stalker’s right arm was swinging at him, his claws spread wide to slice him to ribbons. Zero ducked underneath the blow, felt several hairs and the trailing straps of his headband fall away, gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, and made a desperate stab at the dark shape half-buried the wolf’s arm. The sword’s edge cut easily through fur and flesh, encountered only a moment’s resistance at the spider corpse’s rigid carapace, and cleaved the small body in two.

Her howl of pain briefly matched that of Stalker’s as he clasped at his bleeding arm. But her voice wailed on and on long after his had faded. The last of her children gone, gone… Its final, pleading thoughts echoed within her, begging her to help this twisted mammal with which it shared a body, wishing earnestly for her safe return…

Stalker lurched backward, his single red eye rolling madly in unspeakable pain. All the injuries sustained since that night two weeks ago were returning with a vengeance, reopening themselves with the loss of the spider that had protected him, that had staved off his death. His fall was broken by a tree trunk behind him, and slowly he slid down its bark to a sitting position within its tangled roots.

She hovered over him, helpless to do anything but watch.

Even as Stalker fell, Zero kept his sword raised. Even as he slid back against the tree like a broken puppet and stained its bark dark red, the blade stayed steady, trained on him.

Stalker looked up at him with that one red eye and smiled wickedly. “What now, Takaichi?”

Zero brought the edge of the sword to the wolf’s neck. “Now? Now you’re going to listen. You’re going to listen very closely to me.”

The wolf chuckled. “I seem to be able to do little else…”

“Shut up.” Zero spat the words with utter disgust, losing his tranquility for a brief moment. “Look at the sword.”

Stalker looked; it was clearly a very old sword, but well kept. The steel bore numerous scars from repair, remnants of scratches and dents from who knew how many battles. His gaze followed the gentle curve of the blade up to the handguard, a dull brass-colored metal circle, attached to the hilt with spokes that resembled scythes. What little of the hilt he could see protruding from Takaichi’s fist had a diamond-shaped pattern of black thread wrapped over white leather. Stalker sneered. “Should I be impressed?”

“It was my father’s,” said Zero. His face had settled once more into that dreadful calm. “and his father’s, and his father’s before him, for ten generations. They were all samurai, all heroes, all Takaichis. This sword used to have a name, too. Did you know that? It’s tradition, for a samurai to name his weapon. But now, it’s nameless… Just like me, it’s nothing. Zero. This sword was the only thing I took with me when I ran away, but I couldn’t bear to take its name. I threw it away, I abandoned it along with everything else from my family… except Naole. Except my little sister.”

The wolf sneered again. “How sweet.”

Zero’s voice remained still and even. “I could have stolen another sword, or forged one of my own, but I didn’t. I kept this sword – my father’s sword – to always remind me of what I left behind. What I could have had, if only I had stayed strong. If only I had become the samurai my father trained me to be. If only I had become the hero that my sister thinks I am.” For a moment his attention seemed to waver, but then he caught himself and fixed himself once more on Stalker’s eye.

“I’m not a hero,” he said. “I’m not a samurai. I’m not a Takaichi. I’m nothing, just like this sword. Zero.”

Stalker chuckled again. “I would not say as much. I believe you have something within you, something that makes us alike…” He leered upward at the stoic face, unafraid. “You want her. You desire her. You want to make her yours, just as I do.”

Zero’s voice was barely a whisper. “That’s the difference between us. I know I don’t deserve her. Because of who I am, of what I’ve done… because I’m Zero. Nothing.”

To the wolf’s surprise, Zero withdrew the blade and turned his back. Stalker was left staring at the empty red circle on the back of his clothes, where a samurai’s seal would normally be. “But you… you’re a murderer and a mate-hunter, Stalker,” said Zero. “How many females did you hurt, purely for your own sick pleasure? You were a monster before you ever knew about N’Ktane, and I don’t want to stain my blade with the blood of filth like you.”

With all the strength left in him, Stalker laughed. “Are you expecting me to repent? I regret none of those actions, Takaichi. Not one. My only regret is that I will not see Mother’s vengeance upon you with my own eyes… She’ll return, Takaichi. I may have failed, but she’ll return. Even from the depths of the Beneath, she’ll make you suffer, and I am glad for it.”

“And that’s the biggest difference between you and me.” Zero looked back over his shoulder, staring at the fallen wolf. “I may be nothing, but I’m more a sentient than you’ll ever be.”

Stalker twitched and managed to raise his right arm.

It happened in just one, graceful movement; Zero spun and thrust the sword’s point into the wolf’s throat. Cold metal plunged through his weakened, decaying body and out the back of his neck, piercing the bark of the tree behind him. Stalker’s arm fell limp, and he gagged once before falling still.

As his vision began to blur and darken, Stalker felt Takaichi pull the sword out as if from a great distance. Wordlessly he cleaned the blade upon the grass until none of the wolf’s blood remained, then he turned and walked away. Stalker could barely make out the two figures approaching him… and one was the girl, the squirrel female. She put her arms around Takaichi and said something that he couldn’t hear. He would have laughed; he was dying looking at her. How appropriate, the perfect way to spite the one who had killed him.

Strange, but he could almost hear something else. It sounded like words whispering in his ear, but so faintly that it might have been his imagination. What was it they were saying?

Goodbye, Stalker. Goodbye, my child… my son.

“I don’t understand it,” said Zero, stamping his boot against the stone floor. They were inside the tower, and there was no sign of Naole, Stalker’s creature, the stolen souls, or the so-called “beacon”. In fact, there was nothing at all, not even a staircase to the upper reaches, only empty black stone. “Where could she have gone?”

Faun closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “She wasn’t killed,” she said with a shudder of relief. “There’s no way we wouldn’t smell that. I can still barely scent her, but there’s something else mingled with it. But hey, look at the bright side… N’Ktane’s not here either. The mangy bastard couldn’t bring her back after all, and good for it.” Faun gave a weak laugh and glanced expectantly at the squirrels, but they were in no mood for it.

Hanami looked at the door to the outside that had materialized as they approached the tower. “That hybrid thing… do you think it escaped with her?”

“That, or it chased her into the forest,” Zero grumbled. “In any case, their trail has gone cold from all the rain.”

A hand laid itself softly on his shoulder. “She’ll be all right,” said Hanami with a smile. “If she’s anything like you, she’ll be all right. We’ll see her again.”

Zero smiled. “Yeah, I know.”

She watched them quietly from the shadows as they investigated the empty tower. Fools, she thought with a grim smile. They have no idea how it works. Thank you, Stalker, for showing me this wonderful place, my new home…

The girl, Hanami, was speaking words of comfort to Zero. It sickened her to watch. Knowing that the mammals could not see her in her phantom state, she drifted up to Hanami and stared at that hated face… On a sudden impulse, she reached forward and gently, lazily placed her transparent finger upon the squirrel’s forehead. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her mind upon Hanami’s, peering in as gently as she could.

The memories were almost enough to overwhelm her. Just under the placid surface of Hanami’s mind was a whirling storm of guilt and pain, buried for the moment, but ready to erupt. She saw a constant repetition of the same three images, over and over again: a fire raging in the night, a pair of hands pounding upon a closed door, and a tangle of bare branches shedding droplets of bright red blood…

N’Ktane’s spirit smiled widely and withdrew. She had all she needed.

END OF FIRST VOLUME: SWORD AND FLOWER

 

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SECOND VOLUME: NIGHT AND DAY

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***Author’s Note: Thanks to all who have read so far, and all who will read in the days to come.***

- BHS