The First Kaiaru Read online

  “I’ll see what’s about,” he said, “other than those big uglies.”

  The big uglies stood more than a hundred paces away from them. It was a large group of native zaboko dressed in animal skins, bearing stone tools and a few bronze axes. The gate stood at the edge of their village, a well ordered cluster of huts constructed from timber, reeds, and hides.

  A yellow sun blared overhead. Kurine shielded her eyes. “Is this what your sun looks like?”

  “That’s it,” Turesobei replied, basking in its warmth.

  “It’s terribly bright. And the sky—it’s so blue!” Under the dying red sun of her world, the sky had been purple. “So much warmth, and so many trees! They’re as thick as falling snow.”

  Except for the village’s clearing, a forest stretched in all directions as far as they could see, though Turesobei thought he saw the glimmer of a river in the distance. No doubt, the stream that ran beside the village fed into it.

  The villagers continued to simply stare at them in awe, and more were rushing out from their huts and gardens to come see the strange visitors.

  Turesobei turned to Hannya. “I know every realm is centered on what is, in our world, Zangaiden, but at what point in time is the Spring Realm located? Our future or our past?”

  “Is it important?” Hannya asked.

  “Seems like it could be.”

  “This is three millennia before your time, not long after the zaboko first settled this part of Okoro, driving the k’chasa westward. This was Lord Gyoroe’s first attempt at capturing a portion of Okoro in the past.” She sighed. “You should get moving now.”

  “Will you be okay here?” Awasa asked her.

  “I can handle myself against a few dozen awestruck villagers,” Hannya said with annoyance.

  Everyone gathered near Turesobei. He couldn’t teleport anyone more than ten paces away from him. He closed his eyes and focused his mind. While he had practiced teleporting the others within the Nexus, this was the first time using this particular teleportation spell, and there was no room for error. He had to get it right the first time. He carefully recited the spell, then they were jerked forward through another white tunnel. A few seconds later, they popped safely back into the world.

  Turesobei pumped his fist. “Did it!”

  Zaiporo’s face screwed up in alarm. “Were you that worried about it?”

  Turesobei shrugged. “I was confident. But you never really know till you try.”

  “Comforting,” Zaiporo grumbled.

  This new location was breathtaking. They stood on the mossy, fern-covered bank of a river. The opposite bank was curtained by weeping willow trees. In one direction, the river wound its way out into a relatively sparse woodland. In the other direction, loomed a cliff and a massive waterfall that plunged into a wide pool. Sunlight sparkled on the water.

  “Wow!” Kurine exclaimed. “This…this is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”

  “I assumed Zangaiden was flat, more or less,” Zaiporo said. “Since that’s how it was in the Ancient Cold and Deep.”

  “In our world, at least, there’s a relatively flat highland shelf,” Iniru said, “then there’s a drop-off, and the land goes mostly flat again, all the way out to the sea.” She peered around. “This may be the edge of that shelf.”

  “This river probably formed the canyon we traveled through in the Ancient Cold and Deep,” Lu Bei said. He flew up high, circled a few times, and came back down. “I didn’t see anyone or anything nearby.”

  “I don’t like this place,” Awasa said.

  “But it’s gorgeous here,” Kurine replied.

  “Yes,” Awasa countered, “but it feels ugly.”

  Turesobei pointed. “According to Hannya, the heart stone is in a cave behind the waterfall.” He scanned the area with his kenja-sight, but that didn’t reveal any threats. “I suspect the guardians will appear as soon as we enter, so we may be fighting in close quarters.”

  Iniru took point and crept forward. “Let’s get it over with then.”

  “I’ll be right behind you,” Turesobei said. “My kenja-sight is active.”

  “It would be best if we lured them out,” Zaiporo said. “I’d much rather fight out here on the bank than in the water, on those slippery rocks, or confined within the cave.”

  Turesobei stopped Iniru. “Wait. Before we face the enemy, we need to take this chance to talk without Hannya or Lord Gyoroe listening in on us.”

  “What if the Blood King is controlling one of us without our knowledge?” Awasa asked. “Like the Warlock did with me, only more subtle. One of us could be a spy.”

  “He doesn’t believe in compulsion or possession,” Turesobei said.

  “Assuming he’s telling the truth,” Iniru responded. “And what about the spells on our armor?”

  “I’ve examined those,” Turesobei said, “and there’s nothing to worry about. And I do believe him about the compulsion and possession. It’s not his style. We’re just going to have to take the risk that he has no way to listen in on us out here.”

  “So what do we need to discuss?” Kurine asked.

  “First, let’s assume I can find a way to free Enashoma and get us through one of the gates before he can stop us. The signal that it’s time for you to all be ready to go to the gate platform at any moment will be how I order dinner. After I’ve finished my normal meal, I will ask for a bowl of eggs and fried rice, but then I’ll take one bite and push it away, saying that I didn’t want it after all.”

  “You don’t think that’s too subtle?” Zaiporo asked.

  “We can’t risk Lord Gyoroe noticing anything unusual.”

  “Do you have an idea about how to get Enashoma free?” Kurine asked.

  “I would need a counter spell more precise than what I have access to, something specifically designed to counter a device of that nature, plus all ten of his names—just to have a chance.”

  “He has nine kavaru but ten names?” Iniru asked.

  “That’s correct,” Lu Bei answered. “He is not the original bearer of any of them. And I have no idea who he was. Nothing about him seems familiar to me.”

  “So I guess whoever he was,” Turesobei reasoned, “he was working with Nalsyrra, and she gave him the kavaru of the Council of Nine.”

  “Master originally suspected Nalsyrra was the thief,” Motekeru said. “But later, he was able to prove it was not her. I was tasked with tracking down the actual thief, but I failed and…was severely punished.”

  Lu Bei cleared his throat. “The names of the nine Kaiaru are…are…” He cleared his throat again and tried a few more times, but nothing would come out. “Sorry, master, he hit me with a serious no tattling whammy.”

  “I cannot say the names either, master,” Motekeru said.

  “Can you think them, Lu Bei?” Turesobei asked.

  Lu Bei nodded.

  “Good. Awasa, I need your help.”

  “Right.” She stepped up to Lu Bei, held her left hand in a mudra, and with her right touched him on the forehead. Lu Bei’s eyes went wide, and he batted them rapidly. Then he reached out and touched the eight-pointed star on her forehead. He chewed on his lip, frowned heavily, then took on a sad, worried look. Whatever was going on between them, Turesobei was certain it wasn’t just an exchange of names.

  “Got them,” Awasa said, pulling away. “They’re—”

  “Don’t speak them,” Turesobei said. “Just pass them on to me telepathically.”

  “Since when can you do that?” Zaiporo asked Awasa.

  “I discovered it by accident, during a sparring match with Kurine. I didn’t tell anyone because we don’t want the Blood King to find out.”

  “And I only found out when I teleported her to the Workshop for the first time,” Turesobei said.

  Touching his forehead, she gave the names to Turesobei, and he committed them to memory.

  “What did you and Lu Bei discuss?” he asked telepathically.

&n
bsp; “Private matters. Please, please don’t order him to tell you.”

  “Okay. I won’t.” He smiled, then said out loud. “Thank you, Wasa. Those names give me a lot more hope that I can find a way to—”

  “Master, behind you!” Lu Bei yelled. “Look out!”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Turesobei started to draw his sword as he spun around, but something struck him hard from behind and knocked him flying. Narrowly missing a pile of jagged rocks, he landed in the river.

  When he clawed his way to the surface, gasping for air, he heard shouts and fighting. The armor had protected him from the blow, but the impact had knocked the wind out of him. Luckily, he was near the edge and not out in the deep portion of the river, so the water only came up to his waist. He waded toward the nearby rocks.

  Behind him, something slithered. He turned to see a giant snake the length of five denekon riding mounts slide off the bank and swim toward him. It had the face of a carp with horns sprouting from its head. He thrust his hand into his spell pouch and thought of the spell of the dark-fire blast. The bamboo strip snapped instantly into his fingers. But he wasn’t going to have time to cast it.

  He tried to dodge out of the way, but the serpent-kagi was fast, and the water was slowing him down. He wasn’t going to make it.

  Just before the snake reached him, a hammer smacked into its head, splattering brains everywhere. Having thrown everything into that strike, Kurine slipped off a rock and fell into the water.

  Turesobei caught her. “You saved me.”

  “That’s my job.”

  On the shore, the rest of his companions were locked in battle against a dozen identical serpent monsters. Zaiporo abandoned his bow and drew his sword as one rushed toward him. Turesobei decided to go ahead and use the spell strip in his hand. He did a quick-cast of the spell, and a searing blast of purple flames and liquid shadow incinerated the serpent-kagi before it could reach Zaiporo.

  The water in the plunge pool started bubbling, as if it were boiling. An oily fish smell filled the air. Four more serpent-kagi launched out from the pool, followed by one five times the size of the others. He assumed that was the main guardian. Immediately, he drew a strip and began casting the spell of evoking the Storm Dragon. It had been stupid of him not to summon the dragon as soon as they had arrived.

  One of the serpents lunged toward Awasa. She rolled underneath it and drove Fangthorn up through its head. Iniru deftly sliced through one, while dodging the attacks of another. Lu Bei zoomed around a serpent, throwing sparks in its face to keep it distracted. Motekeru tackled a kagi and ripped it in half. One sped toward Awasa, and a second toward Iniru. Zaiporo picked up his bow and peppered both with arrows.

  Two rushed toward Turesobei and Kurine. She stepped forward, shield raised, to defend him. The new serpents and the large serpent kagi-ga streamed toward his friends, who were still busy fighting the initial batch.

  Motekeru intercepted one heading for Iniru, slashing it deeply along the side, but before he could finish it off, another one coiled around him, pinning his arms to his side. Iniru killed the one she’d been fighting, then leapt toward Motekeru to free him. But a serpent knocked her down and began to coil around her as well. Lu Bei continued to zap one, while the amber hounds nipped into its flanks.

  The kagi-ga barreled toward Zaiporo. He put an arrow in its eye, but that did nothing to slow it down.

  Kurine hammered one of the serpents charging them. It careened off course, blood weeping from its eyes. But the second one got past her shield and hit her full-on. Its horns smacked her in the side, and she flew up out of the water, past Turesobei. The serpent was free to come after him, but it wasn’t the only thing free.

  With a howling roar, the Storm Dragon poured out from his chest. As its body of condensed thunderstorm and wings of cloud took form, the nearby serpent-kagi backed off in terror.

  Kurine got up out of the water and grasped at her ribs where her armor was ripped. Blood was seeping through. Turesobei swam toward her.

  “You okay?”

  She felt at the wounds. “He hooked into my armor and tossed me. The horns didn’t go deep, though. Just gave me some nasty scratches.” She winced. “Maybe a cracked rib.” She frowned. “I sure hope they’re not poisonous. I don’t want to go through that again.”

  Awasa faced one of the serpent-kagi with a mudra held before her and her sword held behind her back. The beast stopped in front of her, mesmerized—then she sprang forward and stabbed it between the eyes.

  Zaiporo had dodged the kagi-ga’s attack, but as it spun back toward him, it tail-whipped him and Rig, knocking both of them out into the river.

  Kurine faced off against the wounded serpent, but even with her wounds, it was no match for her one-on-one, not with the hammer the Blood King had given her.

  The Storm Dragon, fully formed, flashed across the terrain, and slammed into the serpent-kagi-ga with a sparkling blast. Mud, water, and flashes of lightning flew through the air.

  Lu Bei was a little dragon now himself, and far more dangerous. He rescued Iniru, who leapt onto the back of another serpent, and stabbed it with Sumada, killing it instantly. Then she sliced into the one on Motekeru, freeing him. Motekeru shrugged loose and finished off that serpent. Another one had wrapped around Awasa, pinning her. Turesobei struck it with the spell of a century’s enfeeblement. With a heave, she broke free, then easily killed it.

  Zaiporo and Rig, with no obvious wounds, limped onto the shore. As the Storm Dragon ripped through the now badly wounded kagi-ga, everyone else fought off the remainder of the serpents and regrouped. The battle seemed to be over.

  Yet the water in the pool was still bubbling.

  As the now bloody and burned kagi-ga finally collapsed and died, a dozen new serpent-kagi exploded out of the pool. Followed by a giant, seven-headed serpent! Each head of the monstrosity was the size of the large kagi-ga the Storm Dragon had just killed, and the body of the thing was the size of two elephants. Its carp-like eyes lit up with blue-white flames, and it made a high-pitched squeal.

  As the Storm Dragon whipped around to face it, the massive kagi-ga opened all seven of its mouths.

  “Take cover!” Turesobei yelled.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Zaiporo and the hounds dived behind a boulder. Motekeru braced himself and held his arms up to shield his head, while Iniru darted in behind him. Awasa crouched low, holding up Fangthorn and a defensive mudra. Turesobei did a quick-casting of the spell of lesser shielding. Kurine leapt behind him as a shimmering force field formed in front of him. She wrapped her arms around him and held her shield up to help protect them both.

  But it wasn’t an attack.

  Giant clouds of fog rolled out of the beast’s mouths. Within moments, Turesobei could barely see the rocks beside him.

  This certainly complicated things.

  A serpent crashed against his force field, causing it flicker down to half-strength. He heard his companions fighting again, but the fog was so dense it deadened the sound, so they seemed much farther away. The fog lit up, and thunder boomed as the Storm Dragon fought the giant beast. The serpent-kagi struck again, knocking out Turesobei’s shield. Kurine shield-bashed its snout, and it slithered angrily away.

  Turesobei couldn’t cast the spell of heaven’s breath without access to the storm energy, which was tied up in the Storm Dragon. So he cast the most powerful non-Kaiaru wind spell he had, centering it to swirl around him and Kurine. The spell activated, but it only gave them a few more paces of visibility.

  “Why isn’t that working?” Kurine asked.

  “Because it’s magic fog…I guess.”

  Another serpent rushed up, and Kurine engaged it.

  He could cast an anti-magic spell, but it would take a lot of time and energy to make one strong enough to disperse all this fog, assuming that would even work.

  A second serpent rushed in. He shouted a warning, and Kurine raised her shield just in time to block the atta
ck.

  “How many of these things are there?” she asked.

  Turesobei drew his sword and helped her fight them. He quick-cast the spell of the ram’s force and wounded one, knocking it back.

  “Too many,” he said.

  More and more of them kept coming up from the plunge pool, but it wasn’t wide enough or deep enough to hold that many creatures. There had to be a magical source at the bottom of the pool that was generating them.

  “We need to find Motekeru!”

  Yet another serpent charged them. Kurine was no longer attacking. Instead, she was guarding with her shield, while wildly swinging her hammer to keep them back. Whenever they started to break through, Turesobei would rush in and attack with the white-steel shortsword Lord Gyoroe had given him.

  Lightning flashed overhead and thunder clapped, then the Storm Dragon tumbled backward overhead and crashed into the river nearby, spraying them with water. It launched back into the sky and sped toward the waterfall, disappearing amidst the fog.

  He exchanged a frightened look with Kurine. Anything that could knock the Storm Dragon down was bad news.

  “Why do you need Motekeru?” Kurine asked.

  “We need someone to get to the bottom of the—”

  He dodged aside as a serpent surged up out of the water and struck at him. As it whipped around, Iniru leapt out of the fog and slashed off its head. She joined Kurine in fighting off the serpents that were rushing them.

  “Are the others okay?” Turesobei asked Iniru.

  “Don’t know. I fought my way out here immediately. I knew we’d be doomed without you casting spells, and I was worried Kurine would get outnumbered.”

  “The serpents are going to keep coming,” he said. “If Motekeru isn’t available, then I need to take Sumada from you, go down to the bottom of the pool, and destroy whatever’s down there that’s generating them.”

  “I’m the better swimmer,” Iniru said. “You and Kurine cover me.”