The First Kaiaru (17 page)

“
M
y training?” Enashoma asked.

“Yes,” Nāa said. “If you and your friends are to survive, you are probably going to need my help to counter the Blood King.”

“So you are going to train me to be a wizard?”

“Hardly. The Blood King can do that better than I can. I was never much of a spell-caster.”

“Wait, I thought all Kaiaru were wizards.”

He looked at her, puzzled. “We
are
forgotten in your time, aren’t we? All Kaiaru are magical and possess special abilities, and most do eventually become wizards, as part of their pursuit of power and esoteric knowledge. But not all do. Seshalla, for example, never cast a single spell that I know of, having preferred to devote her time to martial and spiritual pursuits. Myself, I am a poor wizard, but I did master other arts.”

“Like using your brush.”

“Indeed.”

“Why is the Maker’s Brush so powerful?”

“Is it not obvious?” he asked. “Think about the brush. It seems a simple object, yes? There are no runes carved upon its surface, nor is it made from special materials. It is but a brush.”

“There is dark iron in the core of the handle,” she said. “I detected it when I started studying kenja currents with Lady Hannya.”

“Okay, that part is special. But not exceedingly so.”

Enashoma twirled a strand of hair. “Oh! It’s special because you used it so much. It soaked up some of your power.”

He stared at her expectantly.

A thought came to her unbidden. “You were so familiar to me when I first saw you, though I’d never encountered your kavaru before. Because it’s not simply a portion of your power that resides in the brush. It holds part of your soul, as Fangthorn once held Lady Hannya.”

“I gave myself to my art, figuratively and literally.”

“No wonder it’s so powerful,” she said.

“It is actually more than merely a part of my soul that powers the brush. Not only does it make things come alive, it absorbs a tiny portion of their essence in return. The more the brush is used, the more powerful it grows.”

“And otherwise it’s just a simple brush with a dark iron core and bristles that never wear away?”

He nodded. “One that I was using as far back as my earliest memories. I do not know its origin anymore than I can understand its true nature. Even Chonda Lu could not figure it out.”

“What can I make with it?” she asked.

“Much more than origami creatures, that is for certain.”

Nāa swept out a hand, and a man-sized boulder appeared. He stepped up to it and summoned an exact copy of the Maker’s Brush. He squatted in front of the boulder and began drawing seemingly-crude characters on it. She watched him carefully.

Half an hour later, he drew the activating mark on the stone. The boulder melted into a molten pile of rock then reshaped itself into a humanlike form, with a thick chest, stubby legs, long arms, and a head without a neck.

“A stone warrior,” Nāa said. “At your command.”

Enashoma staggered back in awe. “
I
could make that with the brush?”

“Easily enough, once you know how. You are limited only by your skill with the pictograms I shall teach you, your imagination, and the power you can draw upon using my kavaru.

“Naturally, you are also limited by the materials you are working with. The better you understand your materials, the more you can do with them. It is simple enough to make an origami creature live for a few minutes. But if you learn the true nature of paper, you can create origami creatures that last for many years. And if you understood the true nature of stone and knew the proper marks, you could make a powerful warrior like this one.

“I cannot stress enough how important imagination is. More than anything, your vision of what you will create is key. Aside from that, you are limited only by the amount of energy you can summon.”

“So instead of a rock warrior…I could make a big stone cat?”

“Precisely.”

Nāa spoke a command, and the rock warrior obeyed by jumping up and down, then twirling in place.

“You can create warriors or animals out of trees, rocks, or wooden planks. You can make statues come to life. Anything you desire, you can make…even things that should never be made.”

“Like Motekeru.”

“And if you—”

A voice called out to Enashoma. A voice in the real world.

She resisted it. She wanted desperately to know more.

“You need to go,” Nāa said. “We will talk again soon.”

Enashoma exited the dream state. A dead-eyed servant stood at the entrance to the Canvas. “My lord wishes you to know that the gate from the Cloud Realm is now active.”

Enashoma rushed from the Canvas, out to the courtyard, and up the steps to the platform. The gate closed right after Hannya stepped out from it. Everyone was safely through.

Except—Zaiporo, lying in Motekeru’s arms—his eyes open but lifeless. Blood flowed from two gaping wounds in his chest.

Enashoma rushed to him, took his limp hand, and cried out.

T
uresobei cringed as Enashoma cried. “No…no…he can’t be….”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “Shoma, it will be okay.”

She batted his hand away and wrapped her arms around Zaiporo.

Lord Gyoroe gazed upon the cylinder in Turesobei’s hands with satisfaction, then nodded at Zaiporo.

“How long has he been dead?”

“Twenty-two minutes,” Lu Bei said.

The fetch had a precise sense of time. He claimed it was necessary for the proper brewing of tea.

Iniru pulled Enashoma away, and Motekeru set Zaiporo down on the platform. Enashoma broke free from Iniru, rushed over, and knelt beside Zaiporo. She kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to Lord Gyoroe.

“Restore him,” she commanded.

The Blood King cocked an eyebrow at her, and his lips nearly twitched into a smile. “Back away then. I need space to work.”

Turesobei led them all down into the courtyard.

Enashoma rounded suddenly on Turesobei and pointed a finger at him. “You were supposed to keep him safe.”

“Shoma, I did my best.” He grabbed her shoulders, but she shrugged him off. “We all do our best to keep each other alive. But it's incredibly dangerous. You know that. This time, the enemy was invisible, and they hit us out of nowhere. He never had a chance.”

“You have magic senses and a dragon made out of storm, so there’s no excuse for—”

“Don't take this out on me. Zaiporo is my friend.”

Kurine frowned at him, and he could feel Iniru’s burning gaze.

“I would never do anything to jeopardize his life.”

Enashoma started to make a retort, but tears welled in her eyes, and she couldn't speak.

“Lord Gyoroe will restore him, just like he restored me,” Iniru said.

“But what if he's damaged from it, like you were?” Enashoma asked.

“Huh?” Iniru responded. “I–I wasn't—”

“Oh, come on, Niru.” Tears ran down Enashoma’s face. “You weren’t the same for weeks afterward, and for a while, you even gave up on Turesobei.”

“Okay, yes, I had some emotional troubles. But Kurine didn’t. So why don't you wait and see how it all turns out? Zaiporo’s tough, and I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“But what if…” Enashoma sobbed “…what if he comes back like you did, and he doesn't love me anymore? We were already having problems because of Nāa.”

Lu Bei flew down and patted her shoulder. “There, there, Lady Shoma. It will all be okay.”

Enashoma narrowed her eyes at the fetch. “And what were
you
doing during the battle?”

“Fighting bad guys,” he said in a hurt voice. “Lady Shoma, Zaiporo was…killed…before we even knew the enemy was there. We can’t be ready for everything. We had no idea.”

“And your master, was he watching out for everyone, or only protecting Kurine and Iniru?”

“Shoma!” Turesobei said. “You’re way out of line. I know you're upset, but this isn't fair.”

“You want to know what's not fair? While you see other realms and fight battles, I'm stuck here, with a collar around my neck like a dog…waiting to see if you all come back alive…waiting in fear of a day like today, when one of you doesn't. And even if Zai is brought back whole, you know he'll have to go back out as soon as he’s able. And he won’t get another chance at being reborn.”

She fell to her knees and broke down crying. Turesobei moved in to comfort her, but Kurine threw an arm out to block him.

“Let me talk to her alone, okay?”

Turesobei cast healing spells on the rest of them, while Kurine and Lu Bei tried to comfort Enashoma.

Finally, Lord Gyoroe came down the steps. “I have restored Zaiporo. You can take him to his room. He should wake tomorrow. I do not foresee any complications.” Gyoroe took the cylinder from Turesobei's hands. “Apprentice, first thing tomorrow morning, I expect to see you in the Workshop. We have much to do.”

“Are we going to wait until Zaiporo is fully healed and ready to fight before—”

“In one week, you will go to the Winter Realm and retrieve the next heart stone, whether Zaiporo is available or not. You can manage without him. He is the least significant part of your team.”

“To you,” Turesobei muttered.

“I will not debate a mind clouded by emotion.”

The Winter Realm….

Turesobei looked at the others. They were all apprehensive, even though they had known this day would be coming soon. They had fought so hard to escape the Ancient Cold and Deep. And the yomon might be still be waiting for them, just beyond the gate.

No one wanted to return there…except, perhaps, Kurine.

He knew that he should talk to her about it, but he didn't know what to say. He would completely understand it if she wanted to leave them and return to her people. After all, look at everything he was willing to do to get back to his home.

Yet, he didn’t want to lose her. It was selfish, but he wanted her to stay with him.

Turesobei was halfway undressed, when Awasa stepped into his room.

“Can we talk a minute?” she asked.

“Of course.” He shelved his breastplate. “Is it about going back to the Ancient Cold and Deep?”

She shook her head. “Actually, it’s about the last battle.”

“Oh. Have you come to scold me for my decisions?”

“Me? No.” She leaned against the shelves. “It’s the others. They won’t say it, but they think you took an unnecessary risk. They think we should’ve returned to the Nexus immediately to save Zaiporo.”

“I know, and honestly, it upsets me that I took that risk.”

“I have no problem with it,” Awasa said. “You made a tough choice.”

He sighed. “But it was probably the wrong one.”

“Don’t second guess yourself.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Look, there was no guarantee that without the dragon we could hold them off long enough for you to do the teleport spell. What if the wizard had blasted you while you were casting? We
all
would have been screwed.”

“I guess so.”

“It’s the choice I would have made.”

That was exactly what worried him. “Are you going to be okay going back to the Winter Realm?”

A frightened look flickered across her face, then she nodded. “I’ll be fine. It’s Kurine I’m worried about.”