The First Kaiaru (10 page)

T
he next evening, everyone except Motekeru and the hounds met in the Bath. When Turesobei an Zaiporo walked in, the girls were already there. They stood chatting in a clump near the edge of the pool. But the conversation stopped as soon as they noticed the boys. Turesobei had spent most of the day alone in his room, resting. He had assumed the others were doing the same, but maybe he was wrong. He glanced at Zaiporo, who shook his head, clearly as confused as Turesobei.

Enashoma darted over, grabbed Turesobei's hand, and dragged him towards Iniru and Kurine. “You’re never going to believe it!"

"What?"

She nodded encouragingly at his girlfriends. "Go on. Tell him."

Iniru and Kurine exchanged a look. Iniru took a deep breath and said, "We've moved in together."

“What?!"

Kurine answered. "We talked about it and decided that we needed to spend more time together, just the two of us. And the best way to make that happen was to be roommates."

"So I moved my sleeping mat and clothes into Kurine's room,” Iniru said.

"My room was closest to yours." Kurine grinned sheepishly. "What do you think?"

“Um…wow.”

Iniru snorted a laugh. But before she could say anything, Lu Bei fluttered into the room, followed by a sulky Awasa.

"I found her, Lady Shoma!"

"Oh, good. Now we can start." Enashoma waited until Awasa had shuffled over, then she gave each of them a hard stare. "Does everyone remember the rules?"

They all nodded. Enashoma had made them promise to stay at least one pace away from each other before she would agree to the swim party. The girls also had to keep themselves submerged to the shoulders in the cloudy, mineral-rich water. And she’d gotten the servants to make bathing suits for them.

"Good. And Lu Bei is going to keep an eye on everything from above."

"Yes, ma’am!” The fetch gave her a smart salute, then zoomed off into the clouds of steam that hung over the bubbling pool.

As Zaiporo and Turesobei walked down to the opposite end of the long pool, they could hear the girls giggling as they shed their robes and dived in. Turesobei couldn't help glancing back, but the steam kept him from seeing anything more than vague outlines and smudges of color.

He sighed. Iniru and Kurine really were serious about sharing him if they were sharing the same room. He tried to imagine them doing something normal, like getting dressed in the mornings,
together,
then completely failed.

"This is going to feel so good." Zaiporo groaned and stretched his muscular arms over his head, interrupting Turesobei's thoughts. "It's weird. I'm in the best shape of my life, thanks to all that training, and you'd already healed all my wounds from the battle, but I swear that every muscle in my body cramped up while I slept. I haven't done anything all day, and I'm still sore."

Turesobei laughed, agreeing with him. They reached their end of the pool and took off their robes. The skimpy shorts the servants had made for them reminded Turesobei of the ones Iniru wore to bed. They were more than a little immodest. Both boys blushed and jumped into the water immediately.

Turesobei swam toward the girls. Kurine leaned against the side of the pool, watching Iniru and Lu Bei exchange insults. She smiled as he joined her. “She’s not as good at besting the fetch as I am.”

“Well, no one is,” Turesobei said. “You are the master of that.”

Kurine scooted closer and put her arms over his shoulders. It placed her scantily-clad body very close to his. His insides warmed as they touched. “I’m also the master of you.”

“Oh—oh really,” he sputtered, as his face flushed and probably turned as red as a beet, “is—is that so?”

She chuckled. “Indeed, it is.”

Kurine kissed him, and immediately Lu Bei whistled at them. “You two, break it up! No kissing while swimming skimpily clothed! Observe the one pace rule!”

“It’s probably easier to do what he says,” Turesobei muttered, thoroughly embarrassed.

“Skimpily clothed?” Kurine asked. “That’s hardly fair talk coming from somebody who flies around nude all the time.”

“Madam! I am not nude!”

“Yeah? Well, what are you clothed in?”

“Dignity, madam. Dignity.”

Kurine and Turesobei both snorted as they drifted apart.

Iniru hopped onto Turesobei’s back, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and nibbled on his ear, “Hey fetch, is this allowed?”

“No, no, no, madam, it most certainly is not!” Sparks flew out of Lu Bei’s ears. “Get off this instant.”

Everyone, including Kurine, was watching Iniru and him. Turesobei felt certain his face couldn’t get any redder. Laughing, Iniru dropped off and patted his bottom.

Lu Bei huffed and circled over the pool, grumbling and firing off sparks.

“Now who’s the master at besting the fetch?” Iniru asked.

“Not bad,” Kurine said. “But I still think I’m better at it.”

Iniru and Kurine both treaded water alongside Turesobei. They didn’t seem upset with one another at all, but Turesobei sensed tension between them. Sharing him still wasn’t easy. Not that it should be, he supposed. There was probably a good reason most people, even in Iniru’s culture, didn’t do this often, or ever.

“So…um…how are things supposed to…you know…work between the three of us now that…now that we have a week off?” Last night had been easy. They had all gone to their rooms, gotten baths, and slept. After a difficult mission outside of the Nexus, they had been too exhausted for anything else.

Iniru leaned over and patted Kurine on the shoulder. “You take the first night.”

“You sure?” Kurine asked.

Iniru nodded. “It’s fine.”

Turesobei could tell from Iniru’s voice that she wasn’t entirely pleased with giving up the first night. She was clearly making a kind gesture.

“So, you’re alternating nights again?” Turesobei asked.

Iniru poked him in the ribs. “Hoping for a little something more exciting, eh?”

Turesobei stared at her confused a moment. “What?”

“I’m saying, do you want
both
of us to spend
every
night with you?”

His eyes flared in shock. “Oh! No! That’s not what I meant at all.”

That was a little more than he even dared to think about. The night out at the campfire had been intense.

Blushing, Kurine said, “We talked it over and decided it’s easier that way…for now at least…since anything else is likely to cause problems.”

“Maybe in the future, though,” Iniru said hopefully. “Want to swim some laps?”

“Sure,” Kurine said.

Turesobei shook his head. “I’m going to go check on Awasa.”

Iniru and Kurine began swimming laps, while Enashoma and Zaiporo splashed water at each other from a respectable distance. Enashoma was zealously maintaining a three-pace rule.

Awasa lounged in one corner, sulking.

Turesobei swam over to her. “You look relaxed.”

“Isn’t that the point of the bubbling hot water?”

“I guess.”

“Something on your mind?” she asked.

“Just checking to see if you were okay. You didn’t seem enthused about swimming, and now that you’re here, you’re—”

“Still not enthused?”

“Basically,” he said.

“I find interacting with everyone stressful. More than anything, I need quiet, and to be alone after fighting.” She smiled sadly. “The Warlock’s spirit, still lurking inside me, craves warfare. Fighting in a real battle roused it much more than the mock battles we did in training.”

“But you’re doing okay now?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “Look, if I swim and play a little, will that make you happy?”

“No, that’s not—”

Awasa sprang out into the water and swam an expert breaststroke, showing a lot of backside as she kicked. Turesobei guiltily admired her shapely legs. Luckily, neither Kurine nor Iniru noticed…or maybe they didn’t care. But Zaiporo watched, and Enashoma glared at him.

When Awasa reached the other end, she rolled over and kicked off into a backstroke. Turesobei’s eyes went wide. Apparently, the girls "shirts" were just wide strips of cloth wrapped around their chests.

Enashoma began splashing water into Zaiporo’s face so he couldn’t watch. And Kurine started glaring at Turesobei. Lu Bei jammed his fingers in his mouth and whistled at Awasa repeatedly.

“You’re showing too much skin, demon lady!”

When she ignored him, he launched sparks over her. But it didn’t do any good. Awasa stopped swimming when she reached Turesobei.

“Satisfied?”

“Um…yeah…I guess,” he muttered. “But you really didn’t have to do that.”

“Oh, wait.” Awasa struck the surface of the pool with her palm and splashed water into his face. “There, playfulness.”

“Gee, thanks.”

A slight grin tugged at her mouth, revealing her fangs. “It was no trouble. Actually, I think I did enjoy it.” She settled back into her corner. “Now, let me relax in peace.”

Turesobei shook his head, moved away, and spent some time chatting with the others. Then Enashoma organized some races. Everyone, except Awasa, participated. Not surprisingly, Iniru won and Kurine came in last. She didn't seem to mind, though. Swimming was a new skill for her. Once they tired out, they lounged along the edge in the shallow end.

Lu Bei suddenly whistled at Kurine. “Swimsuit slipping and bosoms rising, madam! This is your first warning. Sink down!”

Enashoma threw a hand up over Zaiporo’s eyes, while Turesobei, unable to help himself, stared. Kurine's chest was halfway out of the water, and her pale fur lay plastered against her neck and bare shoulders.

Kurine adjusted her top, but stayed where she was. “This water is too hot!”

Lu Bei hovered in front of Kurine and pointed a finger in her face. “You must sink down. Otherwise, everyone can see, and that’s not allowed.”

“I have thick fur,” she complained. “And I’m burning up.”

“Find a way to deal with it,” Lu Bei said authoritatively.

Kurine frowned at him. “Hey, are you waterproof?”

“Why yes, of course, I am.” He darted out of her reach. “Aha! You will not fool me so—oh!”

Iniru leapt up, grabbed him by his tail, and pulled him down into the water. She held him under a few seconds then let go.

He flew back up and mewled, “Why—why would you do that? It’s just not fair!”

“Did your dignity get all wet?” Kurine asked, laughing.

Lu Bei huffed at them and flew over to a table by the wall. He shook his wings, his tail, and his butt, then turned into a book.

“You’re going to have to make up with him,” Turesobei said, “both of you.”

“Do we really have to?” Iniru asked.

“Yes,” Enashoma replied. “You were very rude to him.”

“Let’s see
you
show off some bosom in the backstroke,” Iniru said to Enashoma.

The answer she got was a scowl and a splash to the face. Zaiporo looked slightly deflated.

“I’m just teasing you,” Iniru said.

“You’re a big meanie is what you are,” Enashoma replied. “But I forgive you.”

“Okay,” Kurine said. “I really can’t take this heat anymore. Time for the boys to go.”

“You’re kicking us out so you can strip down?” Turesobei asked.

“No, we girls are getting massages now.” She kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll see you later tonight.”

T
uresobei and his team stepped through the Forest Gate…and into a realm of dense rainforest. They had arrived an hour before noon, yet the tree canopy overhead was so thick it might as well have been twilight. As far as they could see, which wasn’t far due to the tangled vines and close-knit trees, there was no sign that people lived here. The forest had gone silent when they had arrived, but a cacophony of chirps, whistles, chattering, and droning soon returned.

“I’m glad we don’t have to trek through this,” Zaiporo said.

Iniru sighed blissfully. “This reminds me of home.”

“It reminds me of where we met in Wakaro,” Turesobei said.

Iniru beamed a warm smile at him. “That seems like forever ago.” She pinched his cheek. “You were so helpless back then.”

Turesobei batted her hand away and rolled his eyes. “Okay, let's go.”

But before he could start the teleportation spell, he noticed that Kurine had walked out amongst the trees. He was about to call her back, but Hannya shook her head.

“Let her wander for a while. She did not get to enjoy the trees last time. Having been around them all your life, you have forgotten how wondrous they are.”

Turesobei was surprised to see tears welling in Hannya’s eyes, but then he reminded himself she wasn't an evil person—just a messed up, untrustworthy Kaiaru. She had been trapped in a sword in a small room for millennia. Naturally, this was an amazing experience for her as well.

When Kurine returned a few minutes later, her eyes alight with wonder, they teleported to the site. Though thick with vegetation, the cliff, the waterfall, and the river were much like they had been before in the Spring Realm. The differences were minor and hardly noticeable.

Turesobei wasn’t going to make the same mistakes this time as the last. He immediately evoked the Storm Dragon, and it…rather
she…
began to circle overhead. Storm Dragon Lu Bei joined her.

Turesobei took a few deep breaths, then cast two spells on Iniru, who was their best fighter outside of Motekeru. Awasa was a close second, but she had her mantras to aid her. He could have boosted Motekeru, but Turesobei thought it was better to spread the power around.

“Niru, I have placed the
spell of the strength of three men
and the
spell of prodigious leaping
on you. You will need to activate them to use them. Once activated, they will only last for a minute or two.”

From the forest came crunching steps by the dozens and a rhythmic chant—a chant they already knew and feared: “Knob knob, forest clan. Knob knob, serve the goddess. Knob knob, destroy the thieves.”

Turesobei groaned. “Not those things again.” They'd been captured by a mob of knobs in the Ancient Cold and Deep.

As the first ones came into view, slowly marching out from the tree line fifty paces away, it was apparent they were in for a nasty fight. Not only did these knobs have wooden bodies like the ones they had fought before, they were also taller with spindly arms covered in thorns. Worse, alongside them, dozens of rapidly growing vines snaked out from the forest. Then came the worst thing of all. With a cracking roar, a massive, thirty-foot-tall knob rose up and lumbered toward them, knocking over small trees as it went.

“Living vines?” Zaiporo said. “Seriously, the knobs and that big knob-ga weren’t bad enough?”

“You’re worried about the vines?” Iniru asked.

“I know how to fight knobs,” Zaiporo replied.

“Are you sure we can't get the heart stone without defeating the guardians?” Kurine asked. “Because there's nothing between us and the waterfall.”

“I suppose Hannya could be wrong,” Turesobei replied.

“I’ll give it a check,” Lu Bei said.

As he flew off, the Storm Dragon swooped in, scorching the giant knob with lightning bolts. Staggering but not defeated, the knob-ga reached overhead. The dragon should have been high enough to avoid the creature’s reach, but its arms instantly extended out to three times their original length and snagged her from the sky. Thunder boomed, and roars echoed out as the knob-ga wrestled her down into the forest.

They all stood, unmoving for a moment. Then they started backing away, toward the cave.

Lu Bei zoomed back up to them. “Yikes!”

“Well?” Turesobei asked him.

“No heart stone, boss.”

“I say we head toward the cave anyway,” Zaiporo said. “We need to fall back to a more defensible position.”

“The cave might be defensible,” Awasa said, “but if there’s a generator creating more of these things, like with those serpent kagi last time, then we will be trapped in there fighting forever.”

As they steadily moved away from the enemy, Iniru nodded toward the forest. “The source for the knobs and the vines will be out there.”

“I’ll go with you,” Motekeru said.

“I was trained to infiltrate enemy lines during battle,” Iniru said. “I think if I go on my own, I can sneak past them without having to fight.”

“I can follow her from above and make sure she’s okay,” Storm Dragon Lu Bei said. “At least, until my dragon instincts take over. Who knows what I’ll do then.”

“If the things keep coming after fifteen minutes and you haven’t heard from me,” Iniru said, “then you’ll have to come up with a new plan.”

Turesobei pulled out two spell strips. “Let’s do this the right way. Use the spells I gave you as soon as you need them. These next two are going to be active immediately. They will camouflage you and let you run twice as fast as normal, but they won’t last long at all.” He did a quick-cast of the
spell of blending
and the
spell of the speed of the leopard
.

“Now go!”

“Be safe!” Kurine called out.

Iniru’s form turned hazy and greenish gray, making it hard to distinguish her from the surrounding forest. She sprinted away at incredible speed, and they quickly lost sight of her altogether.

The rest of them withdrew to the waterfall, staying just ahead of the knobs, who, luckily, were slow. Once again, they stepped across a series of stones, jumped through the waterfall, and climbed up a slippery ledge into the cave. The cave was exactly like before, and it was empty—no pedestal, no cylinder, and no enemies.

Turesobei opened his kenja-sight. “Somehow, it’s here but not here. I can feel its presence, and all the kenja is flowing to this location like it should.” He walked right through the spot where he knew the pedestal and the cylinder should be and basked in the increased flow of energy passing into him.

The first knob poked its head through the waterfall and started up the slippery ledge. Zaiporo shot it with an arrow. The tip pierced the knob’s forehead, and it fell back flailing.

“These weapons are a definite improvement over the ones we used against these guys before,” Zaiporo said.

The knobs could only get in two at a time because of the width of the ledge leading in through the waterfall. Motekeru and Kurine stood near where they had to come through and slaughtered them easily. Awasa and Zaiporo stood ready to help, while Turesobei meditated and replenished his internal kenja.

This was proving far too easy. He felt guilty that they weren’t out there helping Iniru. Just as he was about to suggest they fight their way back outside, dozens of vines shot through the waterfall and seized Kurine and Awasa around their legs and waists.

The vines yanked them back toward the river. Motekeru lunged and grabbed them both by an arm. Zaiporo feathered the next two knobs before they could reach Motekeru. Turesobei reached for an attack spell.

Another mass of vines shot through and latched themselves around Motekeru's legs. As those vines pulled Motekeru down, the first set jerked hard. Awasa slipped from his grasp, and he only managed to hold onto Kurine by hooking a claw into her sleeve. Cursing, Awasa disappeared through the waterfall.

Turesobei changed his intent and, without a spell strip, did a quick-casting of the
spell of the long deep breath
.

“Kurine! You won't have to breathe for the next fifteen minutes!”

The vines dragged Motekeru and Kurine out of the cave and through the waterfall. Four knobs had made it in. Zaiporo was continuing to back off, firing arrows as fast as he could, but his arrows weren’t always able to stop them.

Turesobei drew a fire-blast spell. The kenja currents in the cave were strong. As long as he stayed in here, he could keep casting for a while.

The spell unleashed a hell-storm of flames that reduced the knobs to smoldering lumps of charred timber. The backwash of heat left what felt like a sunburn on Turesobei’s face and hands.

Of course, two more knobs immediately crawled into the cave.

“Should we dive through after the others?” Zaiporo asked.

“As long as Motekeru is with them, I think they’ll be okay,” Turesobei replied, hoping he was right. “Besides, as long as more knobs keep charging in here, we’re helping them by drawing away enemies.”

“I'm going to run out of arrows,” Zaiporo said. “How many more times can you do that fire spell?”

“Twice, I think. And with a small amount of rest, a third time. I could employ some easier spells as they come in.”

“No, just use the big spell. But wait until more get in here.”

They retreated to the back of the cave. Zaiporo knocked an arrow but didn’t release. The hounds ran up to intercept the knobs that closed in on them. Turesobei readied his fire spell. He wasn’t worried about the hounds being in the way. For some reason, they were immune to fire.

Fifteen knobs had entered, and the hounds couldn’t keep the first wave off Turesobei and Zaiporo any longer.

“Now!” Zaiporo shouted.

Turesobei unleashed another hell-storm of flames that instantly killed all the knobs. The fire hit the hounds, who now glowed with a fiery sheen, their minor injuries healed. Four more knobs came in. The energized hounds, who couldn’t normally kill them on their own, finished them off.

They waited, but no more knobs entered the cave.

“Let's go outside,” Turesobei said.

They slid down the ledge, darted out through the waterfall, and ran out onto the bank. The Storm Dragon zoomed overhead, blasting knobs and vines. Storm Dragon Lu Bei zipped around doing the same. The knob-ga lay dead near the tree line, the remainder of its charred body trailing smoke up into the air.

There was no sign of Motekeru or Kurine, but there were two bundles of vines going down into the plunge pool. As Turesobei drew his sword, all the vines went suddenly limp. He leapt into the pool. Near the bottom, he found Kurine. She was tangled in tightly-wound vines that were no longer animated. He cut her free, and they swam to the shore.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I would've drowned without that spell,” Kurine answered, hugging him tight. She glanced around. “Is Awasa still down there?”

“I didn’t see her,” he replied.

Zaiporo was about to dive into the plunge pool, but Motekeru trudged up onto the bank, carrying Awasa and Fangthorn. He gently set her down, then slipped the blade into the scabbard on her back.

She coughed up water and gasped for air.

Turesobei knelt beside her. “Are you injured?”

She shook her head.

“How did you survive?”

“Breathing technique…Lady Hannya…taught me.”

“I reached her just in time,” Motekeru said. “The vines had begun to strangle her.”

As the Storm Dragon finished off the last of the knobs in sight, Turesobei scanned the area

“Iniru!” he called out.

There was no answer.