The Hearts of Dragons (20 page)

Minawë flew until her
wing muscles burned. The sun reached its peak and sailed on, yet still she
raced. She had long ago left Rondel behind. As fast as the Maantec was, she couldn’t
keep pace with a tiny bird through the tangle of Aokigahara.

Even so, Minawë refused
to slow down. She knew the old woman would never stop hunting her, and she
needed time to think.

There was no point in
going to Shikari now. Getting there wasn’t the issue; the sparrow knew which
direction was south. Without help, though, Minawë couldn’t rescue Iren. Hana
was guarding him, and she had defeated Rondel. Minawë couldn’t win against her.

She could go home to
Ziorsecth. It terrified her that she considered it, but the prospect made more
and more sense the longer she thought about it. Why should she suffer like this
for Iren? He had walked out on her and left her to her grief.

But no, she couldn’t
abandon Iren to whatever fate Hana had planned for him. Minawë could picture
him, an awkward teenager helping her cross Lodia before Saito’s curse could
take her life. She was alive because of Iren. He had cured her of the curse,
and he’d defended her and her people against Amroth and Feng.

While Minawë warred with
herself, the air around her grew hotter. Aokigahara’s ever-present fog
thickened and darkened. It choked her lungs. Minawë kept flying, too
preoccupied to care. Then she burst through a clearing in the trees, and her inner
debate was forgotten.

Flames devoured the
forest. Great teeth of red, yellow, and orange whipped from tree to tree,
leaving nothing but char behind them.

In the center of the
blaze walked creatures from a nightmare. Minawë remembered them from her
imprisonment last year in Akaku Forest. They were Yokai.

A dozen of them stalked
through the burning forest. They swaggered on reverse-jointed legs as their
lanky arms provided counterbalance. In each hand they carried a two-foot sword
adorned with hooks and flanges meant to torture enemies as the Yokai butchered
them. Adding to their arsenal, three-inch bone spikes grew above each eye.
Their hair matched the red of the flames around them, and their oversized
yellow eyes glowed as if they too were on fire.

Most of the Yokai were
no taller than Rondel, but one in the center towered above the rest. He stood
three times their height, his gargantuan size marking him as the rarest of the
Yokai—their mutant form, an Oni.

The Oni didn’t carry a
flanged sword like his kin. Instead his right hand clenched an impossibly long
blade. In shape it matched the Muryozaki, but though it was no wider than
Iren’s katana, its length surpassed the Oni’s height.

A smoldering tree
blocked the Oni’s way, but he didn’t slow down. With an easy swing of his arm,
the beast’s sword sliced through the trunk. The Oni pushed down the tree with
his other arm as he passed. When he did, Minawë caught a glimpse of the
weapon’s handle, and she saw the telltale kanji rings on its hilt that marked
it as a Ryokaiten.

She had to get away.
There was nothing she could do against a monster like that, let alone one that
was a Dragon Knight. She banked in midair and fled the terrible scene. It was
her only hope of living.

After a few seconds,
though, Minawë stopped. She landed on a branch and watched the grim procession.
The Oni was burning a line through the forest. With each step the monster took,
Minawë heard the voices of the plants and animals in his way screaming and
dying. They filled her mind first with panic, then with emptiness.

Minawë made her
decision. She flew back toward the Oni and landed in front of him and his
minions. Her sparrow eyes glared at him in challenge.

The Oni noticed her and
loosed a cackling laugh. “Look at this, boys!” he jeered. “This one wants to
stop us!” The other Yokai all howled in response, and the Oni continued, “Not
much of a survival instinct. I guess it’s for the best that we kill it.”

“You will not,” Minawë
said, and though she was a sparrow, the words came through. Her body grew as
she transformed. “I am the Forest Dragon Knight. I wield the powers of life and
death. You have killed those living here before their time. I’ll never forgive
you for that!”

She rose to her full
height, her Kodaman form restored. Her right hand grasped the Chloryoblaka.

The Oni laughed at her.
“So one Kodama has the courage to confront Azar.”

Minawë didn’t hesitate. She
drew back the Chloryoblaka. As she did, the bow curled and created its own
arrow. Minawë loosed it at the Oni’s throat, but the wood burned up inches away
from him.

Azar didn’t so much as
blink. Instead he gestured with his open hand, and his Yokai minions leapt at
Minawë.

She pulled back her bow
again, but the Yokai were too fast. Minawë leapt sideways and barely avoided a
fatal blow from one of the monsters’ flanged swords. Cursing, she tried to
think of a strategy. She didn’t have enough time to shoot her bow. Even if she
could, the Yokai maneuvered so quickly that Minawë doubted she could hit them.
Their reverse-jointed legs and long arms made them remarkable climbers. They
leapt from tree to tree at a dizzying speed, cackling all the while.

As Minawë watched one
Yokai, another landed behind her and slashed at her head. She ducked and
rolled, mud covering her.

Before she could regain
her feet, a second Yokai leapt in front of her. It thrust its sword. This time,
Minawë was off balance and couldn’t maneuver. She was going to die.

“Help!” she cried.
Minawë shut her eyes against the pain.

Then she heard a soft
thunk
.
She opened her eyes and gasped. A tree had sprouted in front of her. Its trunk
curled above her, protecting her life with its own.

Her opponent was as
stunned as she was. Its flanged sword could rip apart flesh, but the weapon’s
odd construction meant that it could become lodged in tough material like wood.

The monster yanked on
its blade, but the tree held firm. When the Yokai swung its second sword to cut
the first loose, that weapon became trapped as well. Minawë drew back her bow
and shot an arrow into the creature’s head.

The Yokai’s death gave
the others pause, just enough for Minawë to decipher what had happened. She
recalled Mother’s battle against the Lodians. Mother had used Dendryl’s magic
to control the plants, making them move and attack her enemies.

That gave Minawë an
idea. She relaxed and slipped into the strange world of the forest. Its
cacophony of voices—many still screaming in fear—threatened to overwhelm her,
but she held firm. After months of hearing them, she’d finally spoken their
language. Her cry for help had come out not in Lodian or Kodaman, but in the
same voice as the life around her. She couldn’t explain how, but with that one
word, she knew the plants’ speech had become part of her.

“Defend me!” Minawë
cried in a language she didn’t know, yet completely understood. “And defend
yourselves! Stop the invaders!”

A Yokai descended, but a
second tree sprouted even before the beast reached the ground. It blocked the
monster’s strike and then grew a new branch that it used to impale its foe.
Elsewhere, vines wrapped around the Yokai and crushed them like vipers
ensnaring their prey.

When the last Yokai
fell, Minawë faced Azar. The Oni stared down at her with baleful eyes. He swung
his blade in a broad arc, and a ring of fire leapt from it. The flames engulfed
the plants around Minawë and cut off her escape. In moments she stood exposed
on the charred earth.

“What now?” Azar
laughed. “Your magic doesn’t work outside the forest. Soon the curse will claim
your life, and I’ll take that bow back to my men. One of them can be the next
Forest Dragon Knight and butcher the rest of your kind with it. That is, if any
escape my trap.”

At the word “trap,”
Minawë finally grasped Azar’s strategy. Looking past him, she saw the line of
blackened ground he’d created. It wasn’t straight. Instead, it curved gradually
to the left. She’d thought he was wantonly destroying the forest, but he was
more cunning than that. Azar was burning a ring around the Kodaman settlement.
If he finished it, he would cut off the Kodamas from the jungle. They would
have nowhere to escape without falling victim to Saito’s curse. Their choices
would be simple and grim: die from the curse, or die from the Oni’s flames.

Minawë had to stop him.
Unfortunately, she had no idea how. The fight with Azar’s minions had all but
drained her magic. She could manage two or three more small spells, but that
was it.

The Oni advanced. His
long blade gleamed red as it reflected the fiery rainforest. Minawë drew her
bow again and shot, this time at point-blank range. The arrow struck Azar in
the stomach, but it clattered off his natural hide armor.

While Minawë wracked her
brain for an idea of what to do next, the Oni raised his hand and loosed a
torrent of fire at her. She cried out for defense. A tree sprouted before her
and blocked the flames.

The spell left her
exhausted. Worse, it would only delay the inevitable. The fire would burn
through the trunk, and then it would do the same to her.

As the tree glowed, a
voice shouted, “Minawë!”

A weight crashed into
her at high speed. It knocked her from her position on the burned ground and
sent her tumbling into the woods.

Before Minawë could
regain her footing, she heard a gut-wrenching scream. She whipped her head
around.

Rondel was engulfed in
flames.

Azar halted his attack,
revealing Rondel’s charred body. The old woman faced Minawë. Then, to the
Kodama’s shock, Rondel smiled. “Remember the mountains, Daughter,” she
murmured, “and remember . . . your mother.”

Minawë couldn’t believe
what she was seeing. It was happening again, just like Father, just like
Mother.

She should run. Rondel
had given her life to provide Minawë this one chance of escape. Yet Minawë
couldn’t make her body move. Her muscles refused the command to flee. Instead
they made her stand and confront the Oni, even though she could do nothing
against him.

“I’m tired,” she said.

“Of course you are,”
Azar replied. “Let me help you rest.”

“No,” Minawë spat, “I’m
tired of people dying for me. Never again, do you hear me? I will be strong! I
will be strong so that no one else will have to die because of me!”

Minawë understood
Rondel’s last words. The old Maantec hadn’t sacrificed herself so Minawë could
escape. She’d done it so Minawë could stop Azar.

What’s more, thanks to
what Rondel had said, Minawë knew how. She only had enough magic for one more
spell, but that was enough. She stretched out with her mind and called the
roots of the nearby plants. They sprang from the ground and wrapped around her
legs. She urged their energy into her, drawing from their lives to strengthen
her own.

With the plants’ magic,
Minawë grew a hard, brown coating over her body. She then divided the shell
until she was covered in thousands of round, tiny seeds.

The new armor didn’t
faze the Oni. He raised his palm again and unleashed a column of flame.

It was what Minawë had
waited for. She didn’t avoid the fire. It engulfed her, yet she felt no heat
from it.

When the blaze subsided,
Azar surveyed his work. “I’m impressed you’re still standing,” he said, “even
if you’re nothing but a husk.”

He spun on his taloned
foot to leave, and that was the last step he took. Minawë thrust out her arm,
and the seeds on her body erupted. Vines burst from them, hundreds upon
hundreds. They lanced out, smothered the Oni, and wrenched back his hand until
he dropped the Karyozaki. They left only his face exposed, and though he
struggled, he couldn’t move.

Minawë walked forward,
amused by Azar’s surprised expression. “How?” he snarled. “I thought you were
out of magic.”

“I was,” she said, “so I
borrowed yours. Those were serotinous seeds. They can only sprout after
absorbing incredible heat.”

“Impossible!” Azar
howled. “A Kodama using plants can’t defeat an Oni wielding fire!”

“You’re right about
that,” Minawë said. “I didn’t defeat you. If you want someone to blame, then
blame my mothers. Both of them.” She picked up the Fire Dragon Sword and headed
toward Rondel to check on her.

“What, you’ll just leave
me here?” Azar yelled at her. “You Kodamas always were too soft. Even if you
take that sword, I’ll eventually break free of these vines. When I do, I’ll
kill you and all your worthless race.”

Minawë looked over her
shoulder at him. “Too soft, you say? Well then, let me teach you something my
mother taught me.”

Her voice and face
turned to iron. “Evil must be annihilated.”

Nine inch thorns sprang
from the vines holding Azar. The Oni’s scream lasted less than a second.

Hana Akiyama woke to a
tapping at Iren’s door. She glanced at the young man lying next to her; he was
still snoring.

It made sense that he
was a heavy sleeper. Though the Lodians had treated Iren poorly, he had never
known real danger growing up. Hana was different. Sleep was the only time she
was vulnerable.

Still, she was surprised
that someone would wake her this late at night, especially when she was with
Iren. They had slept together several times the past three weeks, and she had
instructed the servants not to bother them.

Hana waited in bed a few
minutes, hoping the fool would go away. But the tapping continued, so at last
she dressed and crept to the door.

“What is it?” she
hissed.

The voice on the other
side was shaking. “His lordship demands your presence, my lady.”

Hana felt cold. Lord
Melwar knew she was with Iren. What could be so important that he would call on
her now?

When Lord Melwar demanded
your presence, though, you didn’t question it. You didn’t dawdle either. Hana
slid open the door as quietly as she could, and then she took off at a run for
the lord’s room.

When she arrived, she
prostrated herself. “How may I serve?”

Unlike when Iren was
with her, Lord Melwar didn’t ask Hana to rise. She had to keep herself spread
out on the floor as he said, “A runner arrived a few minutes ago. He bore a
message from our scouts along the Aokigaharan border. The Yokai report that the
Kodamas apprehended two spies: a woman of their own kind and a crone. The
Kodama had a bow covered in living vines, and the crone had a broken dagger.
Sound familiar?”

Hana couldn’t believe
it. “Rondel?”

“I was under the
impression I ordered you to kill her in Serona. Explain your failure.”

Hana trembled at the way
Lord Melwar emphasized that last word. “I was sure I killed her,” she said. “I
covered her in an airtight coffin of rock. I thought either the heat or the
lack of air would finish her.”

Though Hana couldn’t see
him, Lord Melwar’s anger was palpable. “You underestimated her. I warned you
not to do that. Now Azar’s mission will fail as well.”

Hana needed to fix this.
“My lord, let me go to Aokigahara,” she said. “You’re training Iren yourself
now. You don’t need me here. If Azar and I work together, I know we can kill
Rondel.”

“If you are begging for
your life by trying to show your value, that is unnecessary. You must remain
here to build Iren’s trust. Besides, this news from the Yokai is now several
weeks old. Azar is likely already dead. He was supposed to kill the Kodamas in
Aokigahara, but he was never skilled enough to fight another Dragon Knight.
Moreover, even if you did join Azar, your presence would make no difference.
Now that Rondel has seen you fight, she will have a plan to defeat you. That
must be why she brought the Kodama. The Yokai’s description of her bow matches
the Chloryoblaka. She must be the Forest Dragon Knight, and somehow she has
become free of Saito’s curse. Inside Aokigahara, you would have no chance
against her.”

Lord Melwar paused. Hana
understood enough of the man to know he was thinking of a strategy.

When he spoke again, it
was with casual certainty. “Rondel and the Forest Dragon Knight are coming
here. They know we have Iren.”

Hana suppressed a wince
as she recalled her boast to Rondel in Serona. She had proclaimed that she
would give the crone’s greetings to Iren Saitosan. Had she not said that,
Rondel wouldn’t have known to follow her.

Lord Melwar had paused
again, and Hana knew he had detected her increased nervousness. Nothing escaped
the man’s notice. “I have been going slowly with Iren,” he said. “I thought we
had plenty of time to convince him of the purity of our cause. Thanks to your
failure, we will need to speed things up. No matter. He is ready to begin the
meditation sessions anyway. By the time Rondel arrives, we will be ready for
her.”

“When she gets here,”
Hana dared to say, “may I have a chance at redemption, at killing Rondel?”

“No,” Lord Melwar
replied. Hana could picture the gleam in the Maantec lord’s eyes as he said, “I
have a different opponent in mind for her.”