The First Kaiaru (26 page)

Motekeru tore through two ape-kagi at once. “Master, maybe you should check to see where Awasa is right now. If she’s running away from here, I trust that she can take care of herself.”

“Right,” Turesobei responded.

Motekeru was close to Awasa. If
he
thought it was okay to leave her behind, then maybe Turesobei could do it. Rather than casting the locating spell again, he chose to use residual energies from the previous casting and focus on Fangthorn in his hands. Maybe her bond with it was still strong enough. He immediately got a read on her location. It wasn’t good.

“I don’t know if she’s returned to being herself or what, but she’s heading back this way—and fast.”

“That settles it then,” Kurine said. “We fight.”

Sparks flew as the giant ape ripped a wing off of the Storm Dragon. The wing turned into a cloud, poured rain onto the ground, then disappeared. Distracted by the sight, Kurine gaped in horror and lowered her shield. An ape-kagi leapt toward her. Turesobei couldn’t get there in time to help. But Storm Dragon Lu Bei darted in and saved her. She thanked him, got her shield up, and continued fighting.

“Change of plans,” Turesobei said, “I'm using the
spell of heaven’s wrath
instead, and I’m putting
everything
into it. My heart may stop, so you may need to resuscitate me.”

Kurine flashed him a frightened look. “Sobei…are you sure?”

“We need Motekeru, but so does the Storm Dragon. The ape-ga’s killing her. So I don't think I have a choice but to go big.”

Iniru cut down an ape-kagi, then glanced back at him. He met her eyes, and she nodded. Zaiporo fell back so that Turesobei could step into the center between everyone and safely cast the spell.

Iniru cried out suddenly and fell. An ape had kicked her low, causing her knee to hyperextend. The beast then elbowed her in the side of the head. Kurine barreled over and shattered the beast’s face with her warhammer. With her shield up, she stood guard over Iniru. The hounds took up Kurine’s former position, and they all closed ranks.

Iniru climbed to her feet, shook her head, and stretched her leg. “I’m okay.” As Kurine shifted back, Iniru returned to the fight. “Get moving, Sobei. My knee’s killing me.”

Turesobei drew a strip for the
spell of heaven's wrath
and began a slow casting, so he could make it as powerful as possible. In most battles, what he was about to do would be incredibly stupid. Turesobei called on every scrap of energy available to him. He used all his internal kenja and the power Fangthorn had absorbed, then he used the
Mark of the Storm Dragon
to connect to the thunderstorm above.

You’re Chonda Lu's heir. Be like him. Be a Kaiaru. Fight like he did on the battlefield against Vôl Ultharma.

An ape-kagi bounded over the others, got past Storm Dragon Lu Bei, and charged toward him. But Turesobei felt so close to Chonda Lu that it was almost as if they were one and the same. He acted as skillfully as his ancestor would have. He plunged Fangthorn into the beast’s chest, then took the bit of energy the blade drained from the creature.

With the spell ready, he darted out in front of Motekeru and activated it. This casting was easily five times more powerful than the one he'd used against the Blood King. A bolt of lightning speared down from above, struck him, tripled in strength, then poured out from his spell strip.

The cone-shaped blast tore apart the forest in front of him and incinerated all the ape-kagi within the area.

For a few moments, Turesobei felt as if he were made of pure lightning.

Then his heart stopped.

T
uresobei drew in a desperate, ragged breath and convulsed.

Strong hands held him firm. “It's okay,” said a male voice that seemed incredibly far away. “Take deep breaths.”

As the convulsions receded, his eyes opened slowly. “Zai…?”

Though still shallow, his breathing stabilized.

Smiling with relief, Kurine kissed him on the cheek. “Thank goodness, you’re alive.”

He tried to ask her what was going on, but his attempt to speak only resulted in coughing.

Kurine stood and took up her warhammer. “Be still and keep taking deep breaths, my love. Everything’s going to be okay.”

Turesobei’s eyes finally focused, and his thoughts cleared. He sat up carefully, wondering how long he had been out.

Kurine and Zaiporo had been beside him only moments ago, he was certain, but now he lay alone in the remains of the battlefield. The storm had vanished, and sunlight was shining down onto them.

The Storm Dragon was gone. Lu Bei was a mud-covered book lying on a rock nearby. None of the guardians remained, except the giant ape-kagi. Motekeru was fighting valiantly against the beast, but judging by the score of new dents and scratches on his body and how slowly he was moving, he was getting pounded into submission.

While Motekeru pressed forward with a full assault, Zaiporo charged the beast from the right. His attack hit the ape’s knee, but didn’t seem to achieve anything. Despite an obvious limp, Iniru leapt in from the left, but the giant ape slapped her away. She tumbled along the ground. When she stood, she grabbed her right arm and winced. The ape grabbed Zaiporo by the legs, and with a flick of its wrist, flung him into the river.

Kurine reached the ape next. With all her might, she brought her hammer down onto the giant ape’s left foot. Bones cracked, but that didn’t slow the beast down. With a half-hearted kick, the ape knocked her all the way back to Turesobei. She sat up, and with a grimace, grabbed her ribs.

Motekeru’s attacks had resulted in several gashes along the ape’s thighs, and one nasty cut across its lower stomach. But those wounds didn’t seem to slow the beast, either. And they were already beginning to heal.

Motekeru dodged the monster’s fist, which punched a two-foot deep hole into the earth instead. Without even glancing over his shoulder at her, he yelled to Kurine, “We can’t beat this thing. It’s too strong. Take Master and run. I’ll buy you time.”

“Motekeru, no,” Kurine said, “there’s got to be a way.”

“You have to survive until Master can teleport you all to safety.”

Kurine readied her shield and her hammer and started toward the beast. “But we’re so close to victory!”

“No, we’re not,” Motekeru said.

As Kurine started forward, Iniru limped into her path and stopped her before she could charge in again. “We have to retreat while we still can.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Motekeru said. “Just go!”

Kurine sighed heavily and turned back. “Sorry if this hurts you, my love.” She grabbed Turesobei under the arms and tossed him over her shoulder. “I know it’s not what you’d want, but we’re out of options.”

As soon as Zaiporo swam up onto the bank, and coughed the water out of his lungs, Kurine started running. Iniru and Zaiporo limped along behind her.

As he painfully bounced along, carried like a sack of rice, Turesobei remembered his weapon of last resort.

“Wait,” he managed to say. “Set me…down.”

“Sobei, we can’t save him,” Iniru said.

“We've got to run,” Zaiporo argued.

“I'm
not
running away. Put me down.
Now
.”

Kurine set him on his feet. He started to collapse, but she held him up.

The giant ape lifted Motekeru, raised him high up into the air, then slammed him onto the ground three times. With each horrible impact came the sounds of springs snapping, wood cracking, and metal crunching.

As the ape slung Motekeru aside, Turesobei pulled the Keepers’ rod from his belt. He had wanted to save this and use it against the Blood King, but that was no longer an option. He pointed the rod at the ape and focused his intent. A silent, multicolored beam fired out from the rod and burned a huge hole in the right side of the giant ape's chest.

The kagi-ga fell backward…and didn’t get up. But despite the strength of the attack and the severity of its wounds, it was still alive.

Motekeru, his joints creaking like two cats mewling, crawled up onto the still-living beast’s chest. Turesobei expected him to finish it off, but instead, Motekeru simply held his claws to the beast's throat.

“Find Awasa,” Motekeru croaked, “and fast. We need her to get out of this.”

“Why do we need her?” Zaiporo asked.

“If she kills the ape with Fangthorn, she can transfer the energy to me,” Turesobei said, nodding in understanding. “Otherwise, we’ll be stuck here for days while I recover.”

“I’d rather that than risk the giant ape recovering,” Kurine said.

“Nazyraga will know we’ve defeated his guardians,” Turesobei said, “and he will come for us. Since we have no way of knowing how far away he is, time is of the essence.”

“Oh,” Kurine replied, “then we’d better find her.”

“I thought you could use Fangthorn that way, too,” Zaiporo said to Turesobei.

“Using her advanced mudras, Awasa can draw a lot more energy into the sword than I can, especially with me being this depleted. So I will only do it myself if I must.”

Iniru handed Sumada over to him. “You’d better hold onto this, just in case.”

Kurine kissed him on the forehead, then set off downriver along with Iniru, Zaiporo, and the hounds. It was then that Turesobei noticed that the
spell of heaven's wrath
had burned a path as wide as four roads through the forest. Charred trees, both standing and toppled, were still smoking.

“Motekeru, are you okay?” Turesobei asked.

As the giant ape began to writhe, Motekeru slammed his fists down and shattered its nose. “No, master.”

“Will you survive?”

“Yes, master. However, my abilities will be greatly diminished. I’ve taken a lot of damage—externally and internally.”

Turesobei limped over to the incredibly smelly beast. Prepared to end the beast if he had to, he held both Sumada and Fangthorn at its throat.

“What happened after I passed out?”

“Your spell soaked up the entire storm, even the Storm Dragon. The resulting blast carved up the forest, killed most of the ape-kagi, and caused a tremendous explosion in the distance. Apparently, you destroyed the ape generator with the blast, because no others showed up. While I held back the kagi-ga and the girls finished off the remaining apes, Zaiporo resuscitated you. After that, you were unconscious a short while.”

Turesobei felt fortunate to be alive after that spell. “We’ll have to finish this thing off soon. The wound I blasted into its chest is starting to regenerate.”

Motekeru glanced back toward the forest. “I hope Awasa's okay.”

Turesobei knew Motekeru's concern went beyond their need for her abilities. He genuinely cared for Awasa. Minutes passed with Turesobei staring at the wound, his focus fading in and out. Despite the danger and the bone-cracking punches Motekeru used to keep the beast dazed, it was hard for Turesobei to stay awake.

Just when he was about to tell Motekeru that it was time to finish the ga, because the wound was healing faster and the beast was stirring more, the others returned, carrying Awasa.

K
urine had Awasa’s arms pinned behind her back, while Zaiporo held her by the feet. Controlling Awasa wasn’t easy, because she kept thrashing and kicking. Blood poured from her nose and from a number of small cuts on her arms and legs.

“I will kill all of you!” she snarled.

Iniru limped beside them, holding a hand over a wound on her neck. “She bit me. She actually
bit
me.”

“Capturing her wasn’t easy,” Zaiporo explained. “She’d gone as wild as an animal.”

Kurine released Awasa’s arms and seized her by the waist. Then Zaiporo set Awasa down on her feet. Before she could start kicking, he knelt and used his arms to lock her knees together. With her long fingernails, Awasa slashed at them, forcing Iniru to rush up and grab her wrists.

Turesobei approached carefully and held Fangthorn out toward Awasa. That made her fight even harder to escape.

“I don’t want that thing!” she screamed.

He tried to place the sword in her hands, but her fingers wouldn’t wrap around the handle. Then he held the blade against her chest and waited…but nothing happened. For some reason, the blade wasn’t draining away any of the Warlock’s essence.

“It’s not working.”

“Master, can you handle the ape?” Motekeru asked.

Turesobei nodded. Motekeru jumped down off the creature’s chest, and Turesobei passed Fangthorn over to him. Turesobei rushed over and placed Sumada’s edge against the major artery on the giant ape’s neck.

Motekeru stepped up to Awasa and took both of her hands in one of his. That freed up Iniru, so she ran over and held Turesobei’s weaker white-steel blade against the other side of the beast’s throat.

Motekeru pulled Awasa in so that their faces were only inches apart. Snarling, she struggled even harder to be free.

“Look at me,” Motekeru ordered. “Look deep into my eyes.”

She wouldn’t meet his gaze, so he kept repeating his command until finally she did.

“Good. Now, I want you to listen closely. You are not the anger. You are not the rage. Those forces give you power, but they do not define you. Awasa, do you know what you want?”

“I do,” she growled. “I want to break free. I want to kill them all. And I want to be left alone.”

“Then you must harness and control your rage. And for that, you need the dark blade.” He pressed the sword toward her. “You need Fangthorn.”

She shook her head and muttered something unintelligible.

“Fangthorn, think of that name. Think of what it represents. Do not reject the dark blade. Embrace the control it will give you over the power within.”

Awasa gave him a withering look.

“The sword does not control you. The sword
gives
you control. Take the dark sword from me. Seize Fangthorn. Seize control.”

Awasa looked as if she wasn’t buying any of what he was saying. But then suddenly, she ripped one of her hands free and grasped the handle. Motekeru let go of her other hand and stepped back.

With a surge of strength, Awasa broke free from Kurine and Zaiporo. She whipped around and brandished the sword at Motekeru.

An expression of surprise crossed her face, then she staggered backward. Zaiporo and Kurine moved in to restrain her again, but Motekeru waved them off.

“Remember the secret fire,” Motekeru said.

Turesobei had no idea what he was talking about.

“The secret fire,” she muttered. “I control the anger. The anger does not control me.”

“The
mudra of calming
.” Motekeru reached out and touched Awasa’s left hand. “Do it.”

She contorted her fingers into position and immediately began to breathe deeply. The eight-pointed star faded from purple to violet, and her fangs withdrew.

“
Mudra of focus
,” Motekeru commanded. Awasa did as he requested. “
Mudra of awareness
…
mudra of identity.”
She did each in turn. “Do you know the secret fire?”

“I contain the flame,” she said. “But the flame does not burn me.”

Awasa sighed, then lunged in and hugged Motekeru. She stepped back and rubbed a hand across his cracked and battered chest. “You’re hurt,” she said with concern.

“I will be fine,” he replied.

She turned Turesobei and the others. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

The giant ape moved its hands and flexed its legs. Iniru stabbed it in the shoulder, but that only made it more angry. The kagi-ga began to thrash and tried to sit up.

“We can’t wait any longer!” Iniru shouted.

“Awasa,” Turesobei said, “I need an energy transfer—desperately.”

“Got it!” Awasa said.

She leapt up onto the beast. She formed her left hand into the complex
mudra of draining
, which Turesobei couldn't manage, then plunged Fangthorn deep into its stomach.

Roaring with anger, the ape flailed and tried to knock her off, but Motekeru charged over and slammed both fists against its forehead. Stunned, the creature settled back, and then the life began to fade from its eyes as Fangthorn did its work.

“If I stop now,” Awasa said, “Motekeru could finish it off and eat its heart. He needs to heal.”

“No,” Motekeru said. “The transfer process is inefficient, so all the energy
must
go to Master. We have to leave here as soon as possible.”

Awasa plunged the dark blade deeper into the ape’s gut, while maintaining the mudra. When the giant ape finally died, the corpse began breaking down immediately.

Awasa jumped clear then sat down, panting. “Give me a moment. That wasn’t as easy as it looked, especially after going through what I did.”

“Can we afford to rest for a few minutes?” Zaiporo asked.

With a yawn that turned into a groan, Turesobei collapsed. “I don’t think we have a choice.”

“Lu Bei!” Kurine ran over and picked up the diary, which Zaiporo had placed on a rock nearby.

“He should be fine,” Turesobei said. “Bring him over.” She gave him the book, and he ran a finger down the spine. “He still has a pulse. Once I’m better, he’ll be okay.”

Awasa gave Turesobei a puzzled look. “You don’t even have enough energy for Lu Bei to be active?”

“I put everything I could into a
spell of heaven’s wrath
. I even siphoned off the storm overhead.”

“That blast nearly fried me.”

“Sorry about that,” Turesobei said.

“It’s okay,” Awasa replied. “I’m sorry I lost Fangthorn. Without that blade, I’m a liability.” She touched the torc the Blood King had given her. “This only helps so much.”

“What happened to you?” Zaiporo asked.

“Once I got to the shore, I was way downriver. I held a mudra to keep myself focused, but the energy in this realm…it’s all violent and aggressive. It was too much for me to handle.”

“We understand,” Kurine said. “We’re just glad you’re alive.”

Iniru and Zaiporo both nodded their agreement.

Awasa walked over and sat crosslegged in front of Turesobei. She placed Fangthorn on her lap and closed her eyes. She meditated a few moments, then with one hand she formed a mudra, while she touched Turesobei’s forehead with the other.

“
Your internal kenja is a depleted mess
,” Awasa said to him telepathically.

“
I nearly died
,” he mentally responded. “
Zaiporo had to resuscitate me
.”

Awasa opened her eyes and, frowning, stared deeply into his for a few moments. He knew she could tell how much damage he had done to his kenja-heart and organs.

“
Turesobei…your insides are—
”

“
I know,”
he interrupted.
“Please don’t tell the others how bad it is
.”

Awasa nodded. “
If that’s what you want
.”

She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. Then she placed her hand directly over his heart. “Okay…here goes.”

A vibrant current of forest kenja flowed into him, along with a small amount of storm energy and a significant portion of Awasa’s internal kenja. While it helped his physical energy level a great deal, the conversion of forest kenja into the specific pattern that was his internal kenja was incredibly inefficient. However, added to what Awasa gave from her own reserves, it was enough to return his internal kenja to half its normal capacity.

Awasa removed her hand and slumped back. She was sweating and breathing deeply, as if she’d spent the last hour running. “That’s all I can give. Is it enough?”

“I think so. I’ll need to meditate for about fifteen minutes to properly sync this new energy to my signature.” He groaned as he stood. “It would be best to do that in the cave, where I can absorb a lot of the energy flowing into the heart stone.”

“How much did putting everything into a spell cost you
this
time?” Iniru asked. “You’ve never gone that far before.”

“I can’t say precisely.” Turesobei helped Awasa to her feet. “You know, I can only estimate based on the sort of—”

“Oh, just say it,” Zaiporo said.

Turesobei sighed. “Ten years…maybe.”

Awasa gave him a piercing look. She knew he was lying.

“Ten years of what?” Kurine asked in confusion.

“You haven’t told her?” Iniru asked incredulously.

He shook his head.

“Sobei, what’s she talking about?” Kurine asked.

He explained as they walked toward the waterfall. “Magic takes a toll—every spell, even the little ones, but especially the big ones. It’s not natural for your internal kenja to be expended. The strain of doing so damages your organs, and your life force weakens. If I pass out casting a spell, that probably means that I’ve lost several months, or maybe even a year, from my
potential
maximum lifespan.”

“But you don’t look any older.”

“I am on the inside, though. My organs are all probably…thirty-five maybe?” It was actually more like fifty or sixty. “So I’m still young and vibrant now, but the outside will catch up eventually.”

Kurine looked horrified. “That’s terrible! Why would you do that to yourself?”

“It’s not like I have a choice. My maximum lifespan is pointless if something kills me today. And I don’t care what it costs for me to save you and the others from a certain death.”

“But even the little spells…surely they all add up.”

“A few minutes of lifespan here and there,” he replied with a shrug. “That’s just the price of being a wizard if you’re not a Kaiaru.”

“You can’t undo the damage?” Kurine asked.

“If I stopped doing magic altogether, or if I were to only cast a few minor spells from time to time, and if I were to live a clean, peaceful life with no stress, then some of it would repair.”

“But you’re special because you’re Chonda Lu’s heir,” Kurine said. “Maybe that will make a difference.”

Turesobei shrugged. “I hope so, but I doubt it.”

Zaiporo remained outside, keeping watch, while everyone else stepped through the waterfall and entered the cave. The pedestal with the heart stone awaited them. Everyone sat down, except Kurine, who immediately began to search for the right pebble to add to her collection.

After about twenty minutes of meditation, Turesobei felt strong enough to proceed. Unfortunately, the energy spike he used to shatter the force field drained his reserves, and he passed out. However, when he woke up a few moments later, he felt pretty good. He immediately realized why. Awasa had placed the heart stone on his chest.

“So, was that another year of damage?” Kurine asked firmly, as she continued to search for her stone.

“Maybe two,” he replied.

“We have a problem!” Zaiporo shouted from outside. “A very big one, and it’s speeding toward us!”

They ran outside. The thing flying toward them was the size of the giant ape and generally man shaped, with large horns and giant, leathery wings. Turesobei couldn’t make out any other features from this distance. But what he could see made him want to keep it that way.

“Is that some sort of dragon?” Iniru asked.

“I don’t think so,” Turesobei replied. “I’m pretty sure it’s worse than that.”

Lu Bei fluttered back into his fetch form, took one squinty-eyed look, then shivered. “Oh no—oh no—oh no. It’s much worse than a dragon. We have to teleport out of here—
now
!”

“Is that…” Zaiporo gulped “…is that Nazyraga, Lord of Monsters?”

“Yes,” Lu Bei answered in a quiet voice.

As he was about to begin the teleportation spell, Turesobei glanced around. “Where’s Kurine?”

He ran into the cave, with the others right behind him, and found her once again searching around the pedestal.

“Kurine, we
have
to go now.”

“We can’t,” she said. “Not yet. Not until I get the stone for my collection.”

“Just choose one, and let’s go!” Turesobei said. “The Lord of Monsters will be here any moment.”

“No,” she replied as she continued to scan the ground.

“Then I’ll have to teleport you anyway.”

“No!” she cried.

He began casting the spell. Awasa helped Kurine as she frantically searched the floor.

Awasa closed her eyes and employed a mudra. “If it’s like the others you’ve collected, I should be able to sense it.” After a few moments, she pointed. “It should be right over—” a strange look crossed her face “—Iniru?”

A tremendous roar pierced the drone of the waterfall. Then they heard the flapping of giant wings. Nazyraga was close, but he wasn’t going to reach them. Turesobei’s spell activated.

As they arrived at the gate, Hannya said, “That took a long time. I was beginning to….” She scanned them as they all collapsed, one by one, to the ground, panting. “You all look like you delved into Torment.”

Kurine sobbed in frustration. “I didn’t get it. I was right there, but I didn’t get it.”

Awasa, however, was still pointing, and she was pointing right at Iniru.

“She has your stone.”