Storm Phase – 16
In this epic fantasy, a young wizard with a mysterious destiny, a cat-girl ninja, and a diary that turns into a bat-like creature journey through worlds of monsters and mayhem.
Following the meandering gravel paths, Turesobei padded through the gardens of Inner Ekaran, the walled-off abode of the Chonda Clan nobility. The rainfall had increased to a steady downpour, but with both moons — Zhura and Avida — directly overhead, there was just enough light for his spell of darksight to work, though not well.
Thinking of his grandfather’s wrath, he paused when he came within an arrow-shot of the High Wizard’s Tower. “Lu Bei, I think maybe this is a bad—”
“Shh! Someone’s coming, master,” Lu Bei whispered, hovering just ahead of him, with his ears cocked forward. “Hide!”
Turesobei fled the path and dove behind a thick stand of tall gardenias. He tried to peer through the leaves but couldn’t see anything. Thunder rumbled in the distance, rain pattered all around, and two pairs of boots sloshed through the puddles that had formed on the path.
Lu Bei landed beside him then crawled beneath the shrubs, returning a few moments later.
“Who is it?” Turesobei whispered.
“Two native guards on patrol, master. Looking miserable in the rain, poor fellows.”
“By natives, do you mean zaboko?”
“Yes, master.”
As a noble, Turesobei could command any of the zaboko guards, within reason, but that would be awkward. And it would likely get him caught once they reported to their superiors.
The guards drew near his position and stopped. Through a gap in the gardenias, he could just make out the forms of two large men in heavy rain cloaks, wearing wide-brimmed, wicker hats, and carrying spears.
“Do you see anything?” one asked.
“Not a damned thing,” the other replied, “but I swear I heard talking and saw some sort of weird creature.” He glanced at the tower and shivered. “I hope there isn’t a demon on the loose.”
His companion leaned on his spear and yawned. “It’s probably just the rain and shadows playing tricks on you. This is the first night duty we’ve drawn in months, and it’s hard to see anything out here.”
“Still,” the other muttered, “I wish they had explained the reason for heightened security.”
“Like any of these wealthy assholes could be bothered to explain themselves to the likes of us.”
As the two guards laughed, a pit opened in Turesobei’s stomach. It was rare for a baojen to hear what the zaboko said about them in secret. They glanced around then continued on.
“They don’t just resent us,” he muttered once they were out of sight. “They hate us.”
“Why is that?” Lu Bei asked.
“You don’t know?”
“All I know, master, is that you think you’re not allowed to be intimate with zaboko girls.”
“I’m not.”
“Is it the girl part or the zaboko part that’s the problem?”
“Both.” Turesobei returned to the path, and Lu Bei fluttered alongside him, his ears twitching one way then the other. “How come you don’t know about how things are between us and the zaboko?”
“You put me away soon after the last invasion fleet from Tengba Ren reached Okoro.”
“You mean Chonda Lu did.”
“Yes, yes.” He sighed mournfully. “You… Master, he tried to stop them from invading, but the Jade Emperor was determined. He even exiled Master and all of his people here. After that Master tried to convince them not to colonize Okoro. I guess the result was inevitable.”
“Within a few generations, we conquered two thirds of the continent. Except for here, the zaboko are enslaved everywhere baojen rule. I’m sure all of Okoro would be ruled by baojen now if we hadn’t lost contact with Tengba Ren.”
“We lost contact with Tengba Ren?!” Lu Bei blurted, his eyes wide with surprise.
“Shh! Keep it down. We’ve had no word from the mother country in over three centuries. We think—” Turesobei shook his head. “Look, I’ll explain it all to you later. Now is not the time. We’re almost there, so you’d better change back into a book. If you’re in this form, Grandfather will sense your presence.”
Lu Bei landed in his hands, shook water from his wings, and transformed into the diary. The swirling paper, leather, and wire tickled and pricked at his skin. When the process finished, he tucked the book into his satchel.
He circled the crescent lake behind the High Wizard’s Tower, leaped over a wall using the spell of prodigious leaping, and landed in his grandfather's private gardens. He hardly needed the spell of darksight to aid him, having played in these gardens all his life. He dodged boulders, slipped between hedgerows, circumvented bamboo brakes, and hopped across narrow streams.
The octagonal Dairen Pavilion had walls made with paper panels that could be folded out of the way against the cedar support posts. Kahenan enjoyed sitting inside with the walls folded in so he could gaze out onto the cherry orchard to the north or the plum orchard to the south. When the cherry blossoms fell, he held a viewing party here, and he conducted all his important meetings at the pavilion, preferring to keep his tower off limits.
Turesobei ducked beneath a stand of lush, weeping willows along the edge of a stream feeding into a koi pond. He was twenty steps from the pavilion, facing the only wall that was currently open. The interior lanterns were lit, and his father waited just inside. Hand resting warily on his sword, Noboro peered out through the curtain of water pouring from the pavilion’s roof. Kahenan had yet to arrive.
While Turesobei waited, he began to feel as if he were being watched. And not by his father. He glanced around but didn't see anyone. The conversation between the zaboko sentries returned to him. Why was security heightened? And where was Kahenan?
As quietly as possible, he cast the spell of auditory enhancement, which he would need to hear Noboro and Kahenan talk. Otherwise, the rain would drown out their voices. The spell was easy to maintain and required little energy, so his grandfather wasn’t likely to sense it.
He scanned his surroundings but detected nothing. Something felt wrong, though. Maybe it was paranoia, but the normally calm energies within this area felt disturbed. He could summon Lu Bei and have him scout the area, but the strength of the fetch’s magic would surely gain Kahenan’s attention.
The rain continued to fall, and he grew cold and tired. He could not have managed this if Kahenan hadn’t let him nap and if Shurada hadn’t brought him food. Unfortunately, the spell of warming was far too noticeable. He was just going to have to tough it out.
Something moved within the upper branches of a nearby oak. He examined the tree and everywhere nearby with his kenja-sight active but didn’t see anything unusual. It must have been a squirrel or a limb shaking off the rain. He was right about the energy currents being disturbed, though. He couldn’t recall seeing so much fire kenja here before.
Shielded from the rain by an expansive umbrella, Kahenan stepped out of the shadows on a nearby path. Turesobei’s heart lurched, and he nearly jumped out of his hiding spot. Kahenan glanced toward him. Turesobei held his breath and cleared his mind.
His grandfather moved on.
When Kahenan reached the pavilion, Noboro said, “Someone is lurking within the gardens.”
To Be Continued…