Smoke in the Sun
Page 43

Why he had even agreed to marry her.
He passed the sake her way. It was the final symbol of their union, this shared cup between a husband and his wife. Mariko gritted her teeth and brought it to her lips. Their marriage would be a small price to pay if it paved the way to greater opportunities. If it allowed her larger plans to fall into place.
Before Mariko could take a sip, the screams began.
The first arrow struck the emperor in the shoulder, clearly intended for his heart.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Raiden shoved Mariko to the ground, the cup of sake rolling across the polished wood floor. He growled at her to keep still before leaping to his brother’s aid.
A second arrow shot from a higher angle grazed Prince Raiden’s arm before all the guards had managed to surround them. Kanako shouted in fury, her hands twisting through the air, calling for a fog to settle around the pavilion.
Mariko’s heart pounded against the wooden floor, the wind struck from her chest, her breaths coming in shallow gasps. Before she could regain control of her body, she was lifted to her feet and cocooned in the center of armed samurai, each with their hands on their weapons, the emperor being whisked from sight beneath a canopy of shields.
Shouts of servants echoed nearby. Mariko could see nothing but molded armor, white smoke, and flashes of silk. They crossed into another room before she was shoved in a darkened corner, three samurai guarding her path.
“Where is Kenshin?” she gasped.
They did not turn to look at her once.
Fear gripped her from within. She did not know if her brother was safe. And now that Mariko was under watch, she could not make contact with those outside to ascertain whether kami had been rescued. This assassination attempt would ensure that every entrance and exit to the castle grounds was heavily guarded, every samurai on high alert.
If kami had not already managed to escape, it would be all but impossible now.
She’d failed him. Just like with the waxen key. Like the night with the firestones, when Kenshin had caught her. There had been so many times Mariko had tried to rescue kami and failed. Why had she even come here?
For more than a week, Mariko had fought to stave off an onslaught of tears. Tears of pain and fear and desperation. The only times she’d permitted herself to cry openly and without reservation had been strategic. If her tears did not serve an immediate purpose, Mariko had considered them a waste.
Now—huddled in a corner, with samurai shielding her from prying eyes—Mariko cried in earnest, watching her tears fall on the many layers of her wedding kimono. Watching them seep through the twelve layers, like blood.
Something Barely Human
He’d been unable to channel his demon, even after the moon had emerged from behind the clouds. Though kami had managed to free himself using the firestones Mariko’s brother had tossed his way, it had not made a difference. His body was too far broken. The moon had tried to imbue him with strength. Had tried to heal him. Its light had fought to find him through the darkness.
But it had not been enough.
“I need to be outside.” He groaned, his head lolling to one side.
When Tsuneoki first caught sight of kami lying beneath the slip of moonlight, he’d stopped short. Even Ren had kept silent, his eyes bulging from his skull. The third member of their party—a boy whose features reminded kami greatly of Yoshi—could not look away even as he heaved an iron axe against the lock of the cell.
“I’ll destroy all of them,” Tsuneoki ground out. “Every bit of pain they inflicted will be met, ten times over.”
kami struggled to sit up. He would not be able to walk without support. At least four of his toes had been broken. The instant he put weight on his left foot, a searing pain shot up his thigh.
He would never be able to move about like this.
“Just get me outside,” he repeated, biting down to keep from crying out. “Into the light.”
The boy who resembled Yoshi braced kami against his side. Ren took hold of kami’s other arm, and the two young men began dragging him from his cell. Dirty water dripped from the conduits above. As they hurried through the blue darkness, Tsuneoki guided them with surefooted steps, even absent a source of light. kami found this strange, as he was certain his friend had never been here before.
His unspoken question was answered when kami realized Tsuneoki was counting his steps. Only Mariko could have found a way to give the Black Clan this advantage. He smiled to himself as another shock of pain rippled across his body. Ren had inadvertently jostled his side.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” Ren mumbled.
“Keep at it.” kami tried to jest through the pain. “A few of my ribs aren’t broken yet.”
The boy resembling Yoshi laughed awkwardly, though he loosened his grip on kami, as though he were handling a frail creature at risk of shattering at any moment. “I am Yorishige, my lord. It is an honor to—”
“Save your deference for the deserving, Yorishige-san,” kami muttered.
Tsuneoki held up a hand to halt their steps. Even through the thick stone walls, kami sensed a strange hush descend on them, like the calm before a summer storm.
Ren gripped kami tightly, urging him forward.
The collective roar that emanated from above was one of shock. Not of celebration. Stampeding footsteps shook the very walls of the castle.
“Something’s wrong,” Tsuneoki whispered. They crouched in the shadows while he paused to note where they were in relation to the map in his hand. “Thirty-two paces forward, turn left, move for twenty-four paces, enter a low-ceilinged hallway with the distinct scent of burned charcoal. Proceed,” he whispered.
kami knew his friend said this aloud to edify them all. If they backtracked or were forced to split apart, they would need to know how to return to the same place. To resume the same path.
Leaning his weight on Ren’s shoulder, kami lifted his head, forcing his swollen eye to stay open. “If something is wrong, we need to—”
“Before you say another word, know that we are not stopping to rescue Mariko,” Tsuneoki said.
kami braced himself against a sudden wash of fury. “If you think we are leaving her in this castle to—”
“It was not my decision.”
It took kami only a moment to understand. Then he laughed softly. Bitterly. “Of course it wasn’t.”
“We told her we could find a way to get her out safely, my lord,” Yorishige said. “But Lady Mariko …” He trailed off.
Ren harrumphed. “She declined, like the little half-wit she is.”
Though anger flared near kami’s heart, pride swelled alongside it. Hattori Mariko had never been one to choose the easy path. Nor did she make decisions from a place of fear. Her courage made him stand taller, despite the task set before them now.
The task set before Mariko, as the new bride of Prince Raiden.
Tsuneoki studied his friend. “You’re worried about her marrying that foul boy.”
kami said nothing for a time. “Mariko is more than capable of caring for herself. I know she will always make the best decision she can, given the circumstances.” His features hardened, causing him to grimace. “But if Minamoto Raiden touches her against her will, no one will be able to save him. Not even the sun goddess herself.”
Ren’s eyes narrowed to slits. “If he hurts Mariko, we’ll make him wish he were dead, several times over.”
Tsuneoki said nothing, though his eyes indicated his agreement. They waited in silence for a beat. Then Tsuneoki consulted his map once more. Directed them down another corridor, toward a low-ceilinged tunnel, slick with mold and lichen. kami nearly lost consciousness from the pain of forcing his shattered body to move. Finally they stopped beside the entrance to a large drain. Stinking water flowed past their feet, picking up speed as it turned a bend.
“There are not many reasons for this kind of unrest within the walls of Heian Castle,” Tsuneoki said. “If it’s what I think it is, soldiers will be watching every entrance and exit now. We’ll wait until the tumult dies down, then make our escape.”
Ren sniffed with distaste. “Right alongside their waste.”
As soon as they’d made it through the drain and into the open air, kami turned his face to the moonlight. Its unchecked power entered his body in a rush. He gritted his teeth against the searing sensation as his demon tried to stitch him back together from the inside. Though the pain was excruciating, he was unsurprised by its force. kami’s shapeless demon did not love him. Its dark magic was not meant to be a gift. It intended to cause him pain. It fed on his pain, just as kami took his strength from it. In the deepest recesses of his mind, he heard the faceless creature speak, its words an icy whisper in his ear: