Seirin raced up the side of the tower before slowing to a halt a few feet below the great dome. Keiko heard Aeryk’s deep voice announce them, and Seirin’s shield moved again. They reached a large, south-facing window and entered a spacious room with sparkling floors that reminded Keiko of diamonds.
Roarke stood on the opposite side, slightly behind and to Aeryk’s right. He no longer had his hammer, but he still radiated power, not as much as Seirin or Aeryk, perhaps, but close. The pain in his eyes was there as well, though shrouded. The two men bowed their heads respectfully as Seirin entered, while Yui, as always, dipped from the waist.
Yui brightened when she saw Keiko and waved discreetly. Keiko returned the gesture, half laughing at how girlish Yui looked next to the others. Not that Keiko looked all that different. Apart from several inches in height they might have been sisters. Yui’s similar garb made the comparison inevitable. Gone were the cumbersome robes and soft, serviceable boots she’d used for the Himalayas. Instead, she’d donned a matching tunic and pants – white, slashed with deep blue – close fitting for free range of motion. Her feet sported a pair of supple, bleached leather boots, ankle high and laced lightly for comfort. Even her hair, pulled into a ponytail and held away from her face with two white lacquered sticks, reflected a readiness to engage in brutal, unforgiving combat.
Keiko didn’t like the reminder, especially with her own power still out of reach. She kept her comments to herself as she crossed the floor, trying her best to avoid notice. Not that she needed to worry. All eyes had shifted to Aeryk.
The Air Lord stepped forward and turned to face them. Like Yui, he’d changed into something more suitable for fighting. A white shirt hugged his athletic frame without hindering it. Loose pants of some dark gray material billowed about his legs like clouds, reminding Keiko of the pictures she’d seen of Persian princes or ancient sailors.
“I know you’re expecting me to reassure you,” he began. “I wish I could. The truth is, I really don’t know what to say.” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Takeshi should be the one talking to you, not me. He understands the situation better than I do.”
Yui stirred beside Keiko and started to move forward. Keiko seized her wrist. Aeryk hadn’t finished, and she had the feeling his words would have a greater impact on Seirin and Roarke than anything Yui could say. Surreptitiously, she shook her head. Yui caught the gesture and returned to her spot, squeezing Keiko’s hand in thanks.
“He hasn’t lost what we’ve lost,” Roarke grumbled. “I don’t know whether that makes him more objective or more detached.”
Aeryk grunted. “He’s the Lord of Spirit, Roarke. He lost Vissyus and then a little more every time Vissyus killed or destroyed. Combined, our sacrifices pale next to his, and yet he’s letting us right our wrongs. We’ve grown so self-absorbed. We don’t even know the difference between want and need. I wasn’t ready to fight for my dreams. I let Vissyus do that for me. We all did.”
Seirin lowered her head, and to Keiko’s surprise Roarke did too. Her eyes snapped toward Yui, who motioned for silence. Explanations could wait, she seemed to say. Don’t interrupt, let them work it out for themselves. Somehow, Keiko knew she wouldn’t ask again. Too much was coming for her to remember. Maybe she’d find out one day and maybe she wouldn’t. She had her own memories to see to first. Either way, she guessed the answer wouldn’t come for a very long time.
Roarke sighed. “All right, Aeryk. What do we have to do?”
“The guardians are the key. We will use the Bond against him.”
Despite the law, Roarke accepted the idea without reservations. “Which one do we target? With all due respect to Kirak, Fiyorok’s the strongest guardian I’ve ever seen.”
Keiko did her best to hide her discomfort. Takeshi said the guardians were sacred. The Kami couldn’t harm them – that was the law. Roarke didn’t even question its violation. Keiko’s stomach twisted. She looked at Yui, who shot her a warning glance before striding forward. The young spirit’s thoughts touched her own, telling her not to interfere.
“The twin guardians are of equal strength,” Yui replied. “Vissyus chained their souls to his spirit and infused them with his power. He can – and will – shift his attention to whichever guardian we threaten. In this respect, neither is weak. It is for other reasons that we target Fiyorok, Lord Roarke.”
“Yui’s right,” Aeryk agreed. “We believe Vissyus uses Fiyorok as both a conduit and a receptacle for Akuan’s Bonding.” He looked over at Yui and motioned for her to continue.
“It’s a curious anomaly.” She moved forward so that all could see her. “It enables Vissyus to hold both Bonds without further damage to his psyche. As you know, a guardian takes the form its essence demands. Not so with Akuan, whose form Vissyus intentionally manipulated. We always wondered why he created a copy of Fiyorok. It seemed more work than was necessary. But as my father deepened his research, he came to the conclusion that, perhaps, Vissyus was more careful in his experiments than we thought – not that it helped him.”
Yui folded her arms, her face unreadable except for the tiniest flicker of pride around a suppressed smile.
“It has taken my father thousands of generations to understand how the three are linked, but he finally uncovered the secret: Vissyus intertwined the powers of his distinctly different guardians with the use of a filter. Fiyorok became the buffer, the vessel apart from himself, and yet still linked directly to him. He knew how great a risk he was taking, and he would not chance direct contact with his spirit until he was sure it was safe.”
Roarke’s dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Did it work?”
Yui shook her head. “We don’t know. We have no way to verify it. The buffer, though, remains in place. He couldn’t have altered it once he completed the Bonding.” She paused to let her words sink in. “It still runs through Fiyorok.”
“How long have you known about this?” Roarke demanded.
“We only just learned the truth. Vissyus himself provided the answer when my father showed Keiko Akuan’s creation.”
A stunned silence filled the room. Seirin looked stricken. Her face paled, and her emerald eyes glistened with unshed tears. Beside her, Aeryk’s body had gone rigid. Only Roarke seemed unaffected.
He studied Keiko for a moment before returning his attention to Yui. “You’re sure about this?”
“We are sure, Lord Roarke. My father stands by the assertion.”
Roarke threw his enormous hands into the air and moved about the Observatory like an earthquake. “What a waste. What a horrible waste. Vissyus knew what could happen, and he went ahead anyway.” He exhaled loudly and turned to face them. “So, we attack Fiyorok, then.”
Keiko gnawed at her lip. Roarke was spoiling for a fight. As much as Takeshi warned against Yui’s rashness, it paled next to the Earth Spirit’s. Yui seemed to know about Roarke. She even accepted his attitude. She and Takeshi were planning something, but what? Balance, harmony, that’s what Takeshi wanted. What did that mean for Roarke?
“Akuan is the obvious choice, Roarke,” Aeryk said. “Especially given Seirin’s connection to it. Vissyus will expect such a move.” A grim smile split his lips, his eyes twinkling like stars. “Which is precisely why we’ll strike there first.”
“A feint?” Roarke grinned.
“A feint.” Aeryk nodded. “If Yui’s right, he’ll leave Fiyorok relatively unprotected.”
Roarke folded his arms and shook his head in admiration. “And who is to lead this mission? Will it be you, Aeryk, with Takeshi as bait?”
A shadow of pain flashed across Aeryk’s face. He closed his eyes and looked away.
Keiko’s heart went out to him. They’d used Takeshi already, and if Aeryk led the upcoming strike, only one option remained.
“That was what we originally intended,” Seirin answered. Her right hand came up to stroke Aeryk’s cheek as she walked past him. “But Vissyus meets Takeshi with violence. We need to hold him, not fight him.”
“Then what…?” Roarke stopped. Realization shone in his sandy eyes. “No! Seirin, you can’t. There’s no telling what he’ll do. He’s unpredictable enough as it is.”
Seirin crossed over to him. She looked pleadingly into his face, a hand flowing onto his wrist. “I’ve won this argument once already. Don’t make me fight it again.”
Roarke’s breathing quickened, and he looked about to nod, when she planted her palms on his chest and pushed herself away. A look of pained outrage darkened his features. He rounded on Aeryk.
“This is madness. If anything happens to her, you won’t be able to fight. Believe me, I know.”
“It’s her choice, Roarke.” Aeryk’s tone carried a hint of resignation.
“You’re handing him a hostage.”
“Not a hostage,” Seirin answered. “At least not at first. Vissyus still wants something from me. It’s the last thing he remembers, and it’s very important to him.”
“You are putting your faith in a madman. I understand why you’re doing it, but I want you both to know that I don’t like it.” Again crossing his massive arms, Roarke looked first at Aeryk and then at Seirin. Neither moved. He turned to Yui. “And Takeshi agrees with this?”
“He does, Lord Roarke. As do I.” Yui’s voice was proud – confident and commanding.
The declaration impressed Keiko. Roarke still treated Yui like a child, as did Seirin. Yui obviously meant to dispel the notion as quickly as possible. In Takeshi’s absence, she represented the White Spirit. They needed to treat her as its emissary. Keiko tugged at an ear, convinced Takeshi expected as much.
“All right,” Roarke huffed. “I know when I’ve lost. I’ll drop my objections… for the moment.” He tipped his head to Aeryk, who returned the gesture with a smile and a nod of his own before continuing.
This time, no one interrupted him, except to ask the occasional question. By the time he outlined their plan, night had come and gone. Another day had passed, and a gorgeous sunset dyed the surrounding clouds with vivid pinks and purples. A few stars speckled the sky, small and beautiful in the twilight.
Keiko gazed at them, marking the night’s progress. Here, day ended, but in Japan, a new day was about to begin. The thought brought goosebumps to her skin despite the warm air. As she turned west, the Observatory’s view lurched to the other side of the world. A deafening roar buffeted the great tower, loud beyond hearing, urgent beyond imagining. More sounds followed, these reminding her of a great, tolling bell, slow, somber, and funereal.
A long triangular shape appeared beyond the windows, tall and snow-capped and thrusting into the sky from a landscape of lakes and trees. The air to the southwest rippled and swelled, and when it calmed, a huge donjon – a castle nearly half as large as the volcano beside it – stood defiantly in the morning light.
“So,” Yui said, walking up beside her. “The time has finally come.”
Color exploded throughout the Observatory as the Kami brought their shields to life. Keiko moved next to Yui, who nodded and shielded them both. Aeryk rocketed past in a blur of dazzling blue, the green of Seirin’s shield meeting his as they flew from the tower. Yui fell in behind Roarke and followed moments later. The guardians emerged from the fortress’s lower towers, each peeling off to accompany its Kami through Hurricane Point’s concealing storms.
Quickly, the North African coast flashed by, the Atlas Mountains appearing and disappearing like a surging wave. Huge thunderheads rose in the east to meet them as they crossed the Sea of Japan: towering, flat-topped shapes forty thousand feet high. Their torrential rains had stopped for the moment, but a drizzle lingered. Lightning flashed on, however, illuminating Japan’s rugged west coast through the mist.
Seirin and Kirak banked toward Fuji’s wide summit, while Yui raced northwest and angled for the White Spirit’s central donjon. Behind, Keiko saw Roarke and his guardian whip past and drop into a hidden ravine along the volcano’s rocky base. Behind him, Aeryk’s azure shield shot into the lowering ceiling with Ventyre and disappeared. The shields winked out one by one until darkness returned, and an eerie calm settled over Japan.