Chapter
Seven

In two days, thanks to several shortcuts almost too narrow and overgrown for the wagons to travel, we manage to collect most of the items on Varan’s list. Or the hanaeuu we’la maninaio do. We spend almost all our time inside the wagon, waiting. I waste a lot of energy pretending I’m not counting each day, each hour, and each minute we’ve been away from Shiara or trying to estimate how long it’ll be before we can go back.

Thirty-three days since we sailed away from home.

Too long until I see Shiara—or Yorri—again.

Some of the plants and herbs grow wild or on farms, so they’re easy to find and use in everything from potions to stews. The rest of it won’t be so simple, but at least we have this. And I was right; potions are disturbingly similar to cooking. I crush a dried leaf between my thumb and forefinger, letting the flakes fall back into a bowl. “It’s so hard to believe this is magic.”

“And what you do seems impossible to the Ryogans.” Tsua picks the bowl up and uses a pestle to grind the leaves into dust.

We stopped for rest a couple hours southeast of Atokoredo, the one reachable city where Lo’a thinks we might be able to find the remaining ingredients. The clearing we’re in isn’t big enough for the caravan, so most of the wagons are spread along the path in either direction. Only our wagon, Lo’a’s, and two others surround the campfires. Thankfully, her people don’t seem to begrudge us the precedence. Especially not now.

Two days ago, to stave off the tedium of waiting, Natani, Wehli, Miari, and Nairo offered to teach Lo’a’s people new tricks with a sword. It took some convincing before Lo’a and the elders agreed—more because of the rules limiting contact with outsiders than anything else; if they’re going to teach people, they’ll also need to talk to them.

Once they got permission, they started using the open space between the wagons to run drills and sparring matches. It was especially fun to watch when Wehlli, Miari, and Nairo show off, all three battling at once. They read each other so well, it’s almost like watching a tokiansu between a sumai pair, especially since I know they would be soulpartners as well as bed partners if the bond wasn’t so dangerous for more than two people to undergo.

Sumai or no, their display certainly impressed the hanaeuu we’la maninaio. Even I smiled when Wehli broke away from the other two, using his ryacho speed to twirl, duck, and wheel so fast his sword was nothing more than a gleaming silver blur in the air. When the three were finished, nearly every single member of Lo’a’s family able to carry a sword rushed to grab their weapons and learn from their new instructors.

Now, though I watch their lesson in my peripheral vision, most of my focus is on Tsua and Chio as they prepare the leaves, roots, and oils we’ve gathered so far.

“How much more do we need?” Sanii asks as ey sits down next to me.

“Too much.” Tsua pours the leaf dust into a pouch and rinses the mortar clean. “And I don’t know how much we can find before that catches up to us.”

She tilts her head toward the south and the black bank of clouds closing in. I don’t let my eyes linger there when I ask, “What do we do if Atokoredo doesn’t have what we need?”

“Find shelter fast,” Chio says. “Although, even if luck and the Kaisubeh fail us, that’ll have to happen anyway.”

“What will we do if we can’t find the last three items?” I ask Tsua as she drops new leaves into the dried-out bowl.

“Pray the Kaisubeh lead us somewhere else when the storm passes,” Chio answers. “Otherwise we’re going to have to spend more time than I want to think about hunting them down before…”

He looks toward the storm, but from the shadows in his eyes, I know he’s thinking of more than just those clouds; that’s not the only force we’re racing against. Rubbing my forehead, I mutter, “I hate not knowing how much time we have left.”

“What I don’t understand is how a plant can be this hard to find.” Rai looks at the interwoven branches overhead. “There are plants everywhere, and we found the others easily enough.”

“Yes, but a long time has passed,” Tyrroh says. “Do you remember the storm ten years ago?”

“I felt like the city was going to drown in that storm.” I still have nightmares about it when the rains get bad.

“We lost our entire ahuri crop that year, and there weren’t even any seeds to harvest. If we hadn’t held some back from the last yield, we might’ve lost that fruit forever.” Tyrroh gestures to the forest. “It could’ve happened here. I doubt they even know how many plants they’ve lost since Varan was exiled.”

Tsua nods. “I don’t think what we need has been wiped out, but it’s become rarer than it used to be. Mura’ina and rianjuko, especially.”

“We used to be able to walk into the forest and pick enough to last us for moons.” Chio sighs. “Now the supply is controlled and restricted.”

“Getting caught growing mura’ina could destroy most families.” Osshi shakes his head. “There are few who dare try. And rianjuko can’t be grown most places.”

“It’s a good thing the hanaeuu are used to ducking the law, then.” Chio’s admission seems grudging, but not without respect. “I don’t think you would’ve been able to find a potential source of either, would you?”

“Contrary to what the tyatsu now believe, I’m not actually a criminal,” Osshi mutters, eyes downcast and shoulders tense. “I know history. I know the legends and ancient stories everyone else has forgotten. I don’t know anything about…”

“How to get yourself out of the mess you’re in?” Tsua gently asks.

“Without dying.” Osshi glances up, expression unreadable. “Or hurting Ryogo.”

“You’re not the one trying to hurt Ryogo, Osshi,” Zonna says. “And the best way out of this is to help us stop Varan.”

Osshi takes a long breath. “Then listen to Lo’a. If she says we can get what we need in Atokoredo, then go there. Then, if it works, I suggest hiding on the western coast while you work out your countermeasures. It’ll be far easier to escape from there.”

“And easier for the tyatsu to pin us between them and the ocean.” Rai flicks sparks into the fire, making it blaze brighter. “If you don’t want to see Ryogans hurt, Osshi, don’t suggest a plan that’ll leave us no options.”

She’s not wrong, but I don’t like the fear in Osshi’s eyes. “We’ll avoid killing anyone, but not if it means our lives.”

“Just help us stay hidden because most of us are doing everything we can to keep Varan from landing here,” Tessen says as he approaches. I catch the emphasis of his words and shoot him a sharp glare, but then he says, “Lo’a is ready to move. She said if we push, we can reach Atokoredo by evening.” Then he looks at the andofume. “And she’s ready for us to join her if you want to finish planning this.”

We help Tsua and Chio clean up their work as Tyrroh calls out, “Everyone, load up.”

The sword lesson breaks up and the camp is quickly broken down. As soon as our supplies are put away, Tessen, Natani, and I follow Tyrroh and the andofume to Lo’a’s wagon. Inside, she’s waiting with a map of Atokoredo laid out. The elders sit with her at the table. I move to the bed, Tessen and Natani joining me a moment later.

Once the door is closed, Chio taps the map. “We know what we need is so restricted that even an illegal dealer won’t sell them to the hanaeuu, so Lo’a can’t get it for us, and Osshi can’t risk going into the city. Even if he could, it wouldn’t help.”

“Why not?” Natani asks.

“The people I am taking you to see do not like strangers,” Lo’a says. “New faces make them nervous. It makes them think the tyatsu are closing in.”

I lean closer to the table. “Tell us more about these friends of yours.”

“Their names are Osota and Shideso Tarusuta, and we will find them close to where the river splits.” Lo’a points to a building in the northwest section of the oblong city.

“The layout reminds me of Itagami,” Natani murmurs, tracing the western edge of the city. “They just have more water.”

“With the way the storm season went this year,” I say, my eyes on the quadrant Lo’a indicated, “Itagami might have this much water now, too.” Hopefully not, though. Atokoredo sits at the point where the Sansosi’ka River halves. Our city would drown in this much water.

“I have worked with the Tarusuta family before, carrying their goods to Jushoyen.” Lo’a traces a path around the city. “I can get you in their door, but nothing I have or can do will convince them to sell me what you need.”

“Nothing we have will convince them, either,” Tsua says, frowning.

“I don’t know if that’s true.” Zonna shrugs when we look at him. “We have the two of you, don’t we? Maybe it’s time to use the weight of your legend.”

“Only if you plan on killing them before we leave.” Chio sits straighter, sending Zonna a scolding look. “The old leaders sent nearly the entire army after us before. You’re deluding yourself if you think they’ll do less this time.”

“And don’t forget the Jindaini has whatever’s left of the rock they mined from Imaku,” Tsua says. “If they learn we’re here, they’ll try to bury us in that rot-ridden stone.”

“Osshi said no one knows where the stone is.” And thankfully, even if the Ryogans did find a way to bury the andofume in that rock, all touching it does is knock them unconscious. It doesn’t hurt us at all, and it won’t do any lasting damage to them either if we’re there to dig them out again. I look between the andofume and Lo’a. “Are we sure it hasn’t been lost?”

“We’re not sure of anything except that that stone is the one thing we know can slow us down,” Tsua says. “Personally, I don’t want to push our luck on this particular issue.”

“Exactly.” Chio shivers and closes his eyes. “I’ve been trapped by that rock before. It’s not an experience I want to repeat.”

“So what do you need us to do?” Tessen speaks for the first time, looking between the andofume and Lo’a. “Because it really seems like stealing from the Tarusutas is the safest plan for everyone.”

Tsua smiles. “This time, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

…

Atokoredo is in the foothills of the Mysora Mountains, a range long and high enough to make the one on Shiara look small. I hadn’t been sure we’d be able to stay with the caravan—or that Lo’a would agree to carry us all the way to the city—but there’s no talk of separating, not even when the road forces us away from the cover of the trees.

As we turn a sharp corner, Tessen calls me to the window. “Look.”

Low on the horizon, almost blocked by the tops of the trees, the incoming storm is closer and denser than before. The setting sun gives the mass an undertone of red, like it’s not rain but fire that’ll fall when the downpour hits.

We’ll beat the storm to Atokoredo, but beyond that is doubtful.

“It might be good,” I say. “There should be fewer people on the streets if it’s raining.”

“Which means us being there will be noticeable.” Tessen leans out the window, studying the sky. “And everyone will be inside, taking cover. There might be more people in the Tarusutas’ building than we’re expecting.”

“You’ll warn us before we go in, and we’ll adjust the strategy if we can.” Which we might not be able to. It isn’t like we have time to try again.

Tessen shoots me a skeptical look. “Maybe I should pray to the Kaisubeh that you’re right this time instead of me.”

“It can’t hurt.” I pause. “Unless they’re real, they hear you, and they decide to ruin everything.”

“Wow. I thought I was supposed to be the negative one,” Sanii says.

I shrug. “If the Kaisubeh are real, they belong to the Ryogans, not us. They don’t owe us anything.”

“There’s a lovely thought.” Tessen shakes his head. “I hope they aren’t real, then. The Ryogans and the bobasu are more than enough to handle.”

“From your mouth to the Kaisubeh’s ears,” Rai adds, a sardonic twist to her lips.

We reach the river leading to Atokoredo minutes before sunset, and well before the incoming storm, but we stay in the wagons until the clouds block the light from the nearly full moon and the bright stars, leaving us cloaked in shadows. Only the city’s lamplight gives us direction, and only the lightning that periodically cracks the sky into pieces illuminates the world.

Natani was right; the layout and feel of Atokoredo is more like Itagami than any Ryogan city we’ve passed. The narrow streets and closely-packed buildings are carefully laid out and easy to navigate. Almost all of it—except the roofs—is stone. Of course, I’ve never been this cold in Itagami. I can’t imagine how bad the chill would be if my wards weren’t keeping the rain off. Broad-brimmed hats help hide our faces—and our foreignness. Hopefully, since only Lo’a, Tsua, Chio, Natani, Tessen, and I are making this trip, we’ll look like a family rushing to get inside.

Lo’a and Tessen lead the line, her for directions and him to watch for danger. He signals a halt more than once, urging us into the shadows to wait for someone to pass. Finally, Lo’a leads us around a large, square, windowless building. There are numerous doors along two sides. The one she leads us to has a white symbol painted on the top left corner.

Tessen steps up to the door, flattening first his palm and then his ear against the wood. “There are people inside, but not many,” he murmurs.

“I can break the door,” Tsua offers.

“Or we can knock.” Lo’a flicks her hands at us. Once we’re out of sight, she raps her knuckles against the wood in a quick, sharp pattern. A panel opens and a square of light hits her face. “It is important,” Lo’a says.

“Obviously.” The voice is low and gravelly. “Why else would you be out in this weather?” When the panel shuts, I strengthen my wards, making sure they’ll protect against more than rain.

There’s the sound of several locks unlatching, and then the door opens, spilling warmth and firelight onto the dark street. “You’re lucky it’s just Osota and I, Lo’a. Rumors have been spreading. They say one of your caravans is hiding the fugitive everyone in the east is looking for. You might not’ve gotten a pleasant greeting from some of the others.”

Now I really am glad Osshi didn’t come. Especially when Lo’a steps inside and says, “Shideso Tarusuta, I am afraid the rumors are true.”

We burst from either side of the door, pouring into the room and forcing Lo’a and the old man back. Shideso cries out and stumbles, his arms wheeling. Lo’a catches him. A woman runs through an open door, tossing something green at us. Three balls hit in quick succession, and all of them are well-aimed—one at Lo’a’s shoulder, one at the center of my chest, and one at Chio’s forehead. They shatter into a cloud of dust and smoke against my wards. Sparks sizzle across the impact points, powerful enough to make me flinch.

I hold out my hand to Natani. He’s a strong zoikyo mage, and the extra energy he sends into my body boosts my protections and gives me the power to trap Shideso and Osota inside a ward of their own. Holding two is a strain; they’re too different. One keeps danger out, the other encases it. Natani’s touch roots me, helping to keep me from feeling split.

“I don’t recommend moving.” Tsua’s warning is aimed at the woman; she looks ready to run. “The magic surrounding you will cause quite a bit of pain if you brush it.”

“What have you done, Lo’a?” The man, Shideso, looks furious. “After everything we’ve trusted you with?”

“Our arrangement has benefitted both of us, and I would be sad to see it end, but if it must after this, I understand.” Lo’a glances at me, uncertainty in her eyes, then she turns to him. “The goal of this journey will be worth the hardships of getting there.”

“We don’t have much time, so take a seat. Otherwise, you’ll have to stand for however long we’re here.” Tsua catches my eye and tilts her head toward them. I release the ward. It feels like exhaling a long-held breath.

Quickly but gently, Tsua ties Shideso to a chair. Osota goes silently and reluctantly to the second; she’s wide-eyed and watchful as she lets Tsua bind her to the second chair.

“Nothing you can do will make me give you what you want,” the old man says calmly. “I’m the only one who can unlock the spell guarding the storeroom.”

“I don’t need keys to get past spells.” Hopefully, that’s as true here as it was on Shiara. Whatever magic he’s using can’t be as powerful as the wards guarding Imaku.

“If what we want is behind a magical protection, then it’s over there,” Tessen says in Itagamin, gesturing to what looks like a solid wall.

I look at Tsua. “No one’s ever taught me how to walk through walls.”

“Admitting there’s something you can’t do?” Tessen raises his eyebrows in mock surprise. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

He says it with a smirk as he faces the wall to search for the storeroom with his fingertips, eyes, and ears—and Natani’s hand on his shoulder to enhance his senses. While he works, I check on everyone else.

Lo’a is crouched next to Shideso, apologizing softly. Near the door, Tsua and Chio are whispering in Denhitran, their heads tilted toward each other but their eyes on our prisoners. Osota still hasn’t said a word; she’s watching everything, though.

Then Tessen hums in approval. I turn just as he presses a latch concealed behind a cabinet. At the touch, what had appeared to be a wall breaks. The lines of a door appear in the stone.

“Unless you want them to die, painfully, I suggest you tell your friends to step back from there,” Shideso says to Lo’a.

“You make the same mistake I did at first,” she says.

He huffs. “Trusting you?”

“No. Underestimating them.” At those words, I’m glad I’m facing the wall so he won’t see my smile.

“We’ll see,” the old man grumbles.

Just to be safe, I ease Tessen back from the door to take his place. I check everyone’s wards, too, before I slip my fingers into the crack Tessen revealed and pull the thin panel of stone out. The whole thing is ingeniously hooked to a system of metal that keep it attached to the wall. Behind the stone slab is an actual door, this one locked with something far more complicated than anything I encountered on Itagami. Yorri would love to study this. I’d bring it back to Shiara for him if I could, but Shideso would probably like that even less than what we’re already planning to do.

“Can you feel the buzz?” Tessen says in Itagamin as I crouch to get a better look at the lock.

I nod. “There’s something altering the desosa, I just can’t tell if it’s built into the door or if it’s something behind it.”

“Where are you from?” It’s the first thing Osota has said since we walked in, so I glance back at her. Before, she was watching all of us closely. Now, her attention is fixed solely on Chio. “Your language isn’t one I’ve heard before.”

“If I told you, you still wouldn’t know.” Chio raises his chin toward the guarded door. “Tonight, all that matters is what you have in that room.”

“Really? What is it that’s turned you into a thief, Chio Heinansuto?”

Natani rubs the bridge of his broad nose. “Of all the problems I thought we’d have, Chio being this recognizable wasn’t one of them.”

I huff and look at Tessen. “You prayed, didn’t you?”

“After what you said, I didn’t dare.” He shakes his head. “Maybe I should’ve.”

Chio keeps his face impassive. “Why would you call me that?”

“Because you look so much like the pictures and statues that the artists could have used you as their model,” Osota says dryly.

“And you spend enough time studying the bobasu to know their faces that well?” Chio’s trying to sound skeptical. I’d believe it if I hadn’t spent so many weeks with him.

Osota doesn’t seem to believe him, either. “I think you’re the legend we’ve been warned about, but you tied us to chairs instead of slitting our throats.”

I should be working on breaking through the door, because nothing Osota says can change that we need what’s hidden behind it, but it’s so hard to tear my eyes away from this conversation.

“Do you remember the Dowakomo family?” Osota asks.

Chio shakes his head, his eyes never leaving her face. “I don’t.”

“Then you likely won’t remember Kesori.” The woman’s thin lips roll between her teeth. “Kesori was a Dowakomo by marriage, and she was widowed young. She lost her son and husband in a terrible accident. For years, she lived in seclusion. Then she learned what had happened to the family she left behind and the trouble a woman named Suzu had been causing.”

“Her sister,” Tsua whispers in Denhitran, putting her hand on Chio’s arm as though for balance. “Kesori was Suzu’s older sister.”

“The Chonochi ordered the bobasu bloodlines wiped out, but Kesori’s seclusion protected her. It was easy for the Dowakomo elders to claim she’d died with her husband and son—no one outside their family had seen her since then.” Osota takes a breath. “It worked, but it wasn’t safe for Kesori to stay in the Kyo’ne Province after that, so her husband’s younger brother and his family packed up to move west. They intended to head for Ejinosei.”

Chio looks around the small space. “Clearly they didn’t get that far.”

Tsua leans in, expression intent. “What changed their plans, Osota-tan?”

The woman smiles. “They got to Atokoredo at the same time as a heavily guarded ship. Rumor said it was carrying massive slabs of night-black stone.”

I hold my breath, and Chio’s thin eyes widen. “The Kaijuko stone? Do you know where they took it?”

Sadly, Osota shakes her head. “Stories had already spread about the Kaisubeh-sent rock that had helped us defeat the bobasu, so Kesori knew what she was looking at. She tried to follow it, but the ship sailed north from here and there wasn’t a way for Kesori to keep up without giving herself away. Instead, she and the Dowakomo settled here, and they began a search for the stone. Unfortunately, they never found it.”

Tsua and Chio share a look, clearly frustrated.

Then Osota says, “My family has, however, been watching these rivers for hundreds of years, and I can tell you the stone never came south again.”

“Osota? Obyoto?” A name and an endearment is all Shideso says. There are somehow so many questions layered in those words.

Osota meets his eyes; he sighs, shaking his head, but not otherwise arguing with whatever she’s decided. She asks Chio, “Will you tell me why ghosts from my family’s past have become flesh and blood again?”

“My brother is chasing revenge, and he’s aiming for Ryogo,” Chio answers. “We’re searching for ways to stop him from obliterating your people.”

“What you told us about the Kaijuko rock will help.” Tsua steps closer to Osota. “What you have behind that door might help even more.”

The old woman raises one straight eyebrow. “And what do you think is behind that door?”

“Hopefully? Mura’ina oil, rianjuko plants, ojoken root, and majiasu ash.” Chio gives us another glance.

Osota purses her lips. “Apart from—so far—not killing us, why should we believe it’s not you who’s looking for revenge?”

“If you believed that, why’d you tell us about the Kaijuko stone?” Chio counters.

“To give you more of a reason not to kill us,” she answers sardonically. “You don’t get to be as old as we are in this line of work without learning to see when you’re outmatched. The magic I’m capable of would’ve knocked anyone else unconscious for hours. It bounces off you all as if I’d thrown flower petals.”

“If it makes you feel any better, the sting to those balls was impressive,” I add. “Nothing I can’t protect against, but still impressive.”

“You?” For the first time, I see surprise on her face. “Kaisubeh bless it. I’m even more outmatched than I realized if children can deflect me now.”

“Children of the bobasu, Osota,” Shideso reminds her.

“We are not their children.” Natani’s protest shoots through the room. He glares down at the Ryogans. “Varan and Suzu are legends to you, stories most of you have forgotten, but they’re more than you can imagine to us.”

His words echo through me with a force that robs me of my breath.

Natani is off, words spilling out. “We lived with your bobasu, served them our whole lives. They lied to us about everything. Shiara is an island lost in the middle of an ocean we thought was endless. They let us believe Shiara was all there was to the world, that we were alone. And Ryogo?” He laughs grimly, throwing his arms wide. “They call themselves the gatekeepers of this place, tell us this is where we’ll go when we die—if we serve them well.”

The pain in Natani’s voice intensifies until I feel dizzy with it. I extend my hand; Tessen grips it, his hold almost as shaky as mine is. I’ve tried so hard to brush this aside, and I knew I wasn’t the only one struggling, but this… I never expected an outpouring like this from Natani.

“Now, Varan is about to lead everyone I love into war.” Natani runs his hands over his face and then stares the Tarusutas down. “If you don’t believe we want to save your people, you had better at least believe we want to save ours.”

Breath coming too fast, hands clenched in fists, and stance almost begging for a fight, Natani bears the weight of everyone’s attention in silence.

Tsua swallows, looks at Osota, and simply asks, “Will you help us?”

For several long breaths, the two women stare at each other. Trembling, Natani turns away from the others and leans heavily against the wall, his hand over his eyes. I keep him in my periphery as Osota responds.

“Untie me.” She looks at me and raises her eyebrows. “I’m certain you could eventually break that spell, but I’ll save you the time. And save myself from having to rebuild it. If you set me free, I’ll open that door and give you whatever you need. For a price.”

“And what’s that?” Chio asks.

“A warning,” she says. “If you can’t stop what’s coming, I want you to find a way to give us time to leave before your brother slaughters us.”

“I promise to do everything I can,” Chio says carefully. “But there’s no way I can guarantee we can reach you in time. No matter how powerful the legends claim we are, sending messages across the length of Ryogo is beyond me.”

“Agreed. Now, let me go,” Osota demands.

Tsua releases the ropes, and I move to Natani, leaning against the wall a few inches away from him. “You’re not the only one dealing with it.”

He doesn’t move his hand from over his eyes. “With what?”

“Everything.” I exhale heavily as he slowly lowers his arm. “Bellows. You’re right, Natani. We’ve lost everything, and we don’t know if we’ll ever get a single piece of it back. But what we’re doing here? This is how we’ll find out what’s left when we go home. We’re fighting to get home, and no, it won’t be the place we remember—it can’t ever be that again. Doesn’t mean it’s gone. But it will be if we don’t fight to keep the salvageable pieces.”

I lean closer, until my forehead almost touches his. “I need everyone’s help if we’re going to have a chance of succeeding.”

Succeeding at getting back to Shiara to find Yorri. To stop a war. To save our clan from the leaders we thought were protecting us. I try to exude confidence, but this all feels impossible. Even as we watch Osota use a key hidden at the bottom of a grain bag to open the door and hand us everything we asked for and more.

My words seem to be enough for Natani, though. Nodding, he straightens and walks to the now-open door, taking a bag from Tsua’s hands and carrying it out of the way.

“That was good. You’re getting better at being nyshin-pa,” Tessen whispers. “Hopefully one day soon you can find a way to say it all that’ll make yourself believe it, too.”

“One step at a time.” That’s all any of us can do, face the problems—and the unexpected solutions—one at a time.

Otherwise, forget saving anyone else; I don’t know how we’re going to get through this alive.