Spellbound (15 page)

“The Enemy has returned.”

“Enemy?”

“The thing that pursues the Power across worlds. We understand the Chairman was something of an expert on it.”

The ambassador paused to take a sip of tea. “I was not aware the Grimnoir held such superstitions.”

Sullivan spoke. “The Chairman’s ghost told me.”

Gently, the ambassador set the tea cup down. “Such rumors . . . I’m afraid you are mistaken. The Chairman is in Edo, alive and well as only an immortal can be. It seems you have risked your lives for nothing.”

“He told me the Pathfinder is almost here, and that Dark Ocean is the key to stopping it.”

The ambassador would have been an excellent poker player. His eyes flicked over to the Iron Guard and then back to them. “How do you know of such things?”

“You’re a Reader. See for yourself.”

Caught, there was no point in being discreet, and the ambassador used more Power. Sullivan felt the intrusion, but rather than fighting it as instinct demanded, he concentrated on remembering the Chairman’s phone call as clearly as possible.

The ambassador must have been well trained to not display any emotions, because he almost pulled it off, but now there was a hint of fear breaking through the mask. He looked to Toru and the guards. “Leave us, all of you.” There was a rustling as the Iron Guard shifted nervously and asked something in Japanese. “That is unnecessary.
Leave
.”

Toru was obviously distressed over this development, but he did as he was commanded. The Iron Guard gave the order and the troops filed out. Doors slid closed behind the screens.

Once the doors were closed, the ambassador wasted no time in dropping the polite act. “What is the meaning of this?” he demanded.

“You tell us,” Dan said.

“I’ll have none of your trickery, knight.”

“I was there. Your Chairman was blown to kingdom come.”

“You will not deceive me. Baron Tokugawa cannot die.” He spoke with the fervor of a zealot. “Nothing can harm him.”

“He knows,” Sullivan said. “You know the Chairman’s dead, don’t you?”

“I know nothing of the sort.”

Dan shook his head. Mouths tended to be good judges of character, even when they weren’t burning Power. “You suspected it, then . . . Look, I don’t know what the Imperium’s game is, but you need to alert your people or you need to tell us how to take care of this Pathfinder ourselves.”

The ambassador may have known the truth, but he wasn’t about to reveal weakness to his enemies. “How do you know of the Dark Ocean?”

You know how,
Sullivan thought hard.
I’m telling you the truth.

“The truth, and what is believed to be the truth are seldom the same thing.”

“Deny it all you want, but I watched the
Tokugawa
explode myself. I don’t need you to admit he’s dead. No skin off my nose. But about the Enemy, if I’m wrong, I’m wrong, but if I’m right . . . Then we’ve got real trouble coming, and it is coming fast.”

The ambassador did not speak for nearly a minute. He just glared at them, stroking his mustache and thinking hard. “Let us speak of this Enemy, then.”

The Iron Guard closed the door to his chambers and immediately went to work preparing the spell. He had to move quickly.

Toru was not happy. Ambassador Hatori was his superior and as such, Toru was required to obey his orders without question. Even when it seemed the height of foolishness to leave him at the mercy of murderous Grimnoir, Toru had done as he was told, but the ambassador’s ultimate welfare was Toru’s responsibility and Toru took his responsibilities very seriously.

Grimnoir were foul assassins. Without honor, they chipped away at the Imperium’s great mission of purification. They had killed many of his brothers, usually through ambush because they lacked the courage to fight face-to-face as befitted warriors. On several occasions they had even tried to hurt the Chairman himself, which was foolish, because everyone knew nothing could hurt the Chairman. Toru despised the Grimnoir and everything they stood for. Yet now, his friend and mentor was consorting with them as they spoke about the most forbidden of subjects.

He was loyal to the ambassador, but there were two people to whom he owed far greater allegiance: the Emperor, whom he had never even seen, and then the Emperor’s advisor, Chairman of the Imperial Council, Baron Okubo Tokugawa, whom he’d had the incredible honor of meeting in person
twice
. Toru did not know what to do, but when the situation concerned the safety of the Imperium, there was no shame in seeking wisdom.

Spell completed, Toru took a step away from the mirror as it flashed with Power. The other side of the glass displayed the Edo Court. Incoming messages from the diplomatic corps always sounded an alarm so it did not take long to get a response. The servant that appeared was of lower standing than an Iron Guard, so Toru did not bother to address him other than to immediately state his report. The servant took the message and disappeared from view. Toru went to his knees and waited. A response could take some time. Hopefully it would not be too late.

Chapter 7

The Japanese troops are unflinching in their duty. Despite being outnumbered five to one, their elite corps of Actives assaulted the Russian fortifications with precise coordination. Never before have I seen men so willing to die to achieve a goal, and more importantly, so willing to die to atone for not achieving that goal. I witnessed a few soldiers who failed their compatriots during the assault, ask permission from a superior and then take their own lives in shame. The Imperial soldier looks upon death in the service of his lord as the singular purpose of his existence.

—Captain John J. Pershing,

Army Observation Report on the taking

of Vladivostok,
1905

Fairfax County, Virginia

DAN GARRETT
was sweating bullets. Sullivan didn’t even look nervous, but then again, he was the tough guy with the Power that was useful for slugging it out inside a house full of Imperium. If Dan had known that one of the Iron Guards was a Reader, he would never have gone through with this. It was damn near impossible to Influence a Reader. So much for sticking the idea in someone’s head and then talking their way out. He was regretting having come up with this idea in the first place.

Though it did seem to be working.

The ambassador placed his hands flat on the table, as if to steady himself. “Tokugawa had long warned us of the coming of this menace. At first, many did not believe his talk of this
predator
from another world. In the years before he became the Chairman, before the emperor realized the greatness and wisdom of—”

“Before he took over Japan?” Sullivan asked.

It was obvious that the ambassador didn’t like the Heavy’s version of diplomacy. “He did not
take over
. The emperor came to embrace his counsel.”

“Whatever.”

“Long before he came to the Imperial Court, when the Chairman was merely a lone swordsman wandering the land, was when the first Pathfinder found us. Tokugawa battled it alone. He defeated the creature, but only after an epic struggle. Knowing that, in time, more scouts would come, he began to gather those that also understood the Power to his side. He was the first Active, but he found others nearly as powerful, those who, like him, were bound with the Power when magic was newly arrived to our world. Then he recruited soldiers. He taught us, hardened us, bound us to kanji, because only the strongest would be able to withstand the corrupting magic of the Enemy. A group such as ours was illegal by the Emperor’s decree, so we trained in secret. We were few at first, and because Okubo Tokugawa had been outcast because of his magic, he was only able to recruit from the basest elements—peasants, former samurai who wished to return to ways that the Emperor had outlawed, and even
yakuza.
”

“What’s a yakuza?” Dan asked. He’d been practicing phrases in Japanese to use as magical weapons when fighting Imperium troops, but actually learning the complicated language had so far eluded him.

The ambassador pulled back one sleeve to reveal now-faded, once-colorful tattoos that began at the wrist and completely covered his arm. “I read your American newspapers and the talk of your criminals . . . Your
mob.
Let us say that I could have taught this Al Capone a thing or two.” He covered the markings. “It is a shameful past to bear, but Okubo Tokugawa did not care about his soldiers’ history, he cared only about our ability. You must understand, this was a very unorthodox idea at the time. We chose new names and swore fealty to him, allowing Lord Tokugawa to mold us as he saw fit.”

“So the Chairman started a secret society,” Dan mused. “Looks like we got more in common than I thought.” Sullivan glanced over at him. The Heavy didn’t seem to like that idea.

“We were called
Genyosha
. The Dark Ocean.”

“Dark Ocean is the key . . .” Sullivan muttered under his breath.

“Another scout came. Dark Ocean lost many warriors, but we defeated the creature. This one had been even stronger than the last. Okubo Tokugawa knew that we had to be more prepared, and that Dark Ocean alone would not be enough. Eventually the Enemy would break through and consume the world. He did not need just one united organization, he needed a united nation, then an empire, and eventually a world. That was his vision. Only through that level of strength and purification could we hope to defeat the Enemy.”

“You believe that?”

“Of course.” The ambassador seemed honestly surprised at the question. “He was invincible and wise. I pledged my life to him. Most of us did. Dark Ocean became a tool of political manipulation. Many unfortunate things befell our enemies. In a short time, he controlled the Edo Court, and thus became the Chairman. The mission to purify the world began. We started at home, eliminating the weak and raising the strong. Next we took Korea, then China, where we built the schools and began the experiments. Millions have died so far, and millions more surely will follow, but in the end, the world will be strong.”

Dan was astounded. “All of the evil things you’ve done—”

“Are
nothing
compared to what would happen if the Enemy wins. Do you not understand that yet, Grimnoir? Have you never looked into the eyes of a Summoned?”

Dan shook his head in the negative. The things had always made him a little uncomfortable, even the tame ones that Francis had owned. Sullivan leaned forward, intrigued.

“Those broken spirits, those damaged creatures, they are all that remain of the intelligences from the last world the Power inhabited before it fled to ours. They are refugees, dragged along with the Power. That will be the fate of man if the Enemy wins. The Chairman showed us a vision of the last world. It had been magnificent, far beyond our understanding, with cities made of coral, grown as tall as the clouds. But it was all ruined when the Power left them behind to be consumed by the Enemy. I would do anything the Chairman asked to spare us that fate.”

Sullivan leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. “How’s Dark Ocean the key?”

“I do not know. Dark Ocean is no more. When Okubo Tokugawa became the Chairman, there was no longer a need for us to hide. Dark Ocean was disbanded. We were placed in positions of trust and authority to continue to work on his behalf. It is no more. Our warriors became the first of the Iron Guard, our assassins the first Shadow Guard, those who could read minds or spin words became the diplomats. Few of us remain, and those who live are feeble old men serving as teachers, bureaucrats, or such as I.”

“What about the other ones that were nearly as strong as the Chairman? He said they could help us.”

“I will not speak of them . . . I have told you enough, Grimnoir. Your message has been delivered. I will communicate it to my superiors and action will be taken. Since you came under a flag of truce, the two of you will be allowed to leave.”

“Do your superiors know the Chairman’s dead, or does the hoax go all the way to the top?” Sullivan asked.

The ambassador’s face turned red. “You try my patience, fool. Pray to your false god that the Chairman still lives, because without him to lead us against the Enemy, we are all doomed.”

Iron Guard Toru waited patiently before the mirror. The Power required to keep the link open was draining, but he would hold it as long as necessary. The Chairman had to be consulted. Toru owed the Chairman his life in more ways than one. It had been the Chairman’s mercy that had spared him after his dishonorable actions in China. It had been the Chairman’s wisdom that had dispatched Toru to America to learn at the side of the wise and noble Ambassador Hatori.

Most of all, it had been the Chairman who had given him life, for Toru was one of the thousand sons of Okubo Tokugawa. It was prestigious, but much was expected from a warrior who had the very blood of the Chairman pulsing in his heart.

It was a shock when the Chairman himself appeared in all his majesty in the mirror.
The greatest warrior of all time!
Toru nearly choked. It was only the third time he’d ever had the honor of speaking to his father in person. His forehead hit the floor.

“What is this?” the Chairman demanded.

Toru did not dare to lift his eyes as he stammered out his story.

“They said I was dead, did they? You are certain the Grimnoir spoke of Dark Ocean?”

“Yes, but I was not familiar with what they spoke of.”

“Then you left them
alone
with Hatori?”

The Iron Guard died inside. He had displeased his father. “As Hatori commanded.”

The Chairman was seething. “Listen carefully, Iron Guard Toru . . . Go immediately and kill the Grimnoir. Do not question them or capture them. Kill them.”

“Yes, Chairman.” He started to rise.

“Wait.”

Toru finally dared lift his head a tiny bit. The Chairman was watching him with eyes of fire. Toru quickly looked back down. A small brown mouse was scurrying along the bedroom wall, surely sensing the Chairman’s fury and trying to escape. Toru felt as low and pathetic as the rodent. The Chairman did not speak for some time, as if he was pondering a great riddle.