The Initiate Brother Duology (17 page)

The Son of Heaven ordered food and ate, attended by several servants, his mood improving by the moment.

You are almost in my hands, Shonto Motoru, I can feel it! And I keep my hands very strong in anticipation.

He laughed several times during the meal for no apparent reason, which startled the servants who were unused to gaiety in their master. It unsettled them considerably.

After he had eaten and finished a lingering cup of cha, a retainer knocked
and announced Lieutenant Jaku Tadamoto, younger brother of the esteemed general.

“Ah, my report,” the Emperor said, waving the servants out. The lieutenant entered—a tall, slim version of his famous brother. But Jaku Tadamoto had none of the physical presence of the champion kick boxer and could be as inconspicuous as a servant—until he spoke. Not that his voice was unusual; it wasn’t that, it was his use of words that commanded one’s attention, for he used them, not in the offhand manner almost universally heard even among the educated, but like an artist used a fine tipped brush—with infinite discretion and precision.

Jaku Tadamoto was also a scholar of some accomplishment and possessed a fine critical mind. His interest in the past gave him a much broader view than his older brother who, though brilliant in his own way, tended to concentrate on the immediate at cost to the future.

The Emperor had only come to realize this through a spy he had placed in Jaku’s midst—a master spy to watch the spy-master! So despite Katta-sum’s attempt to keep his younger brothers in the background, the Son of Heaven had skillfully arranged to meet the young men by demanding that messages passed between the general and the Emperor never be delivered by a lackey, no matter how trusted. So the two brothers became messengers and the Emperor came to know them. He realized immediately that one was of no consequence, a common, unexceptional soldier, while the other, Tadamoto, was brilliant.

Jaku Tadamoto prostrated himself before the Emperor.

“Be at your ease, Lieutenant,” the Emperor said, with warmth.

“Thank you, Sire. I am honored that…” He went through the formalities the situation required and the Emperor let him do so, not yet ready to allow the familiarity that he granted Jaku Katta.

Finally the Emperor gestured with his fan. “Have you something for me from your esteemed brother?”

“I do, Sire, the report he promised you this morning.”

“Excellent. Please leave it here.” The Emperor pointed with his fan to the edge of the dais. As he had ordered all the servants out for the sake of privacy, there was no one to carry the scroll and it was out of the question that the Emperor would receive it himself.

“May we enquire into the well-being of your family?” the Emperor asked.

“I am honored that you would ask, Sire. My wife and son are healthy and
dutiful and ever grateful for the honor the Emperor has given our name. My brothers…” He broke into a smile. “Excuse me, Sire, but how can they be anything but blissful at their good fortune in being allowed to serve our revered Emperor?”

“Ah. And what of your brother’s concerns? Is he still troubled by the unfortunate woman and child he had taken under his roof?”

“They trouble him no more, Sire.”

The Emperor waited.

“They have departed this plane for the time being.”

“How sad. An accident?”

“The woman took her own life and that of her son, Sire.”

“So tragic, yeh? After all your brother had done for them?”

“Most certainly, Sire.”

“And you still don’t know who she was, this woman?”

The brother of Jaku Katta shifted uncomfortably and the Emperor fixed him with an intense stare.

“It seems possible, Sire, that this woman had been at one time a very minor lady-in-waiting to the Lady Nishima Fanisan Shonto. Though it seems more likely that she was a favored servant.”

The Emperor moved, placing an elbow on his armrest and leaning his chin on his fist. He showed no other reaction.

“How kind of your brother to take in a woman who had fallen from such a position. Few would have such compassion. And to tell no one! Modesty, no doubt. Very noble of him. Of course, we will say nothing of this to him. It shall be his secret, but we must admit that this act of kindness has affected us greatly.”

There was silence while the Emperor digested this new information.

“So, the Lady Nishima. Hmm. I wonder if this unfortunate woman would have provided Katta-sum with any information about the great lady?” His eyebrows rose, punctuating the sentence.

“It seems possible, Sire. Information about the Shonto is crucial to the Imperial purpose at this time.”

“Ah, yes, the
Imperial purpose.
”

“My brother would never bother the Emperor with mere speculation, Sire. I’m sure if he can verify any information he may have received, then he would report it.”

“I don’t doubt it for an instant, Lieutenant, so say nothing about this
conversation. I would never have a man as proud as your brother think that I doubt him. Not for a moment.”

“As you wish, Sire. You can count on my discretion.”

The Emperor nodded his thanks. “The Lady Nishima is a desirable woman, yeh?”

“I agree, Sire.”

“Unfortunate that Katta-sum does not have the rank to merit such a woman. Most unfortunate.”

Jaku Tadamoto said nothing.

“And what of my lovely Sonsa, Tadamoto-sum? Have you done as I asked? I wish to be reassured that she is in no danger.”

“I assure you that she is not, Sire. And her devotion to you seems unquestionable. She lives only for dance and for her Emperor.”

“Huh. I am truly fond of her, Tadamoto-sum, but,” the Emperor paused as though searching for words, “I am an Emperor, after all, and she…” He let his open hand drop. “But I would like to see her happy and settled.”

Ah, I have your attention now, young Jaku, the Emperor thought. “I must consider this. An Emperor must always be fair, yeh? Just as he must reward loyalty. I will consider this.”

Jaku Tadamoto nodded agreement.

“Yes,” the Emperor said distractedly, then he turned his attention back to the man sitting in front of him as though seeing him for the first time. The Son of Heaven smiled broadly.

“I thank you for discussing these things with me, Tadamoto-sum. I worry about your brother. He is so dedicated in his duties and takes so little time for himself, yeh? We must talk again. There are other matters we wish to discuss with you. We value your counsel, and your loyalty has not gone unnoticed. We will talk soon.”

Jaku Tadamoto backed out of the Audience Hall, his heart soaring.

A look of confusion came over the Emperor’s face as the doors closed. He shook his head. How could such an intelligent man allow his desires to set his course, the Emperor wondered? Strange. Well, perhaps he
would
give Tadamoto-sum the girl at some future date. No one else would dare to court her. The Emperor smiled at the thought of the previous night. Tadamoto-sum had not earned her yet.

Such strange brothers. So Jaku Katta desires Lady Nishima. The Emperor snorted. Had the general taken leave of his senses? The entire family will
bring ruin upon themselves over women! Lady Nishima! Jaku must realize how impossible that is. The Black Tiger plots—but what? A secret alliance with Shonto? To deliver me into Shonto hands? Perhaps he plots with one of my useless sons. Is it possible that Jaku could be truly smitten with Shonto’s daughter—endangering himself like a lovesick fool?

The Emperor reached behind him and took the ancient sword of his office from its stand, drawing it half out of its scabbard, without thinking.

And what of this woman and her son, he wondered? A maid of Lady Nishima, huh. I’m willing to wager a province that she was connected with the attempt on Shonto’s life. If that is indeed what it was! Oh, Katta-sum, what a disappointment you are to me. This throne infects everyone around it with the desire to possess it. Worse than any woman, yeh? He laughed bitterly. The difference between us, Katta-sum, is that I possess this most desirable of women, the Throne, while you never shall.

There came a knock on the screen to his right and a servant opened the private door revealing his Sonsa mistress, a questioning smile on her face, her head cocked to one side showing the fine curve of her neck.

“Ah, Osha-sum!” He broke into a toothy grin as she came toward him, seeming to float as all the Sonsa did. The shoji closed behind her as she crossed the room, without a bow, directly into his arms in one lithe motion, seeming to curl all of herself against him at once. His face flushed and his pupils went wide with pleasure.

“How good to touch you, Sire. My body misses you.”

“Since this morning?” he teased.

“Oh, yes. Certainly. It missed you as soon as we parted and gave me no peace all through my training. I danced so badly, completely unable to concentrate as a Sonsa should.”

He kissed her neck and she arched it with pleasure. The fine silk of her kimono seemed almost as soft as her skin as he touched her. The bow of her sash came undone easily as soon as he pulled it and the Emperor realized it had been tied in a “lover’s knot.” He laughed at this discovery.

“Oh, ho! The servants will have noticed,” he teased.

“Oh, no. It isn’t possible, I can tie the knot perfectly. No one can tell the difference. I have practiced for you.”

“You have so many talents that are never seen on the stage. Are all the Sonsa so talented?”

Her outer robe of sky blue fell open to reveal her three inner kimonos and
these he opened slowly, kissing her shoulders, thrilled by the softness of her skin. Her breasts were tiny; he had never known a woman so small.

“The light in my chamber is beautiful this time of day,” he whispered to her, his breathing already heavy. She took his face between her hands and kissed him passionately.

A shoji behind the dais opened into a hall that led to his sleeping chambers. Sunlight poured into the room through paper screens set high in the walls, a beautifully filtered light like the sun falling through forest leaves. A massive, low bed lay bathed in this light, its coverlets of flower patterns resembling the forest floor. They sank into this softness.

She did not find him unusual as a lover, this man who commanded so huge an Empire. In fact he would have been quite ordinary but for the passion he had for her which seemed boundless. And he was
strong
, stronger than she would have guessed and the Sonsa were usually unerring judges of the human body. The Son of Heaven knelt slowly, lifting her with him, supporting her with little effort.

When they finished, he was like a man who had fought a battle. He lay on top of her completely spent, his breathing deep and languorous. At that moment she always felt amazing abandon, and her mind wandered in the most surprising manner, leading her to wonder about other men, many of them, like the tiger-eyed Jaku Katta whom she had seen earlier as he came from his audience with the Emperor. And Lord Shonto, with whom she had danced the night before. She laughed at herself for these fantasies, calling herself “the secret Yellow Empress” after the Empress Jenna, who, it was said, had known a thousand men while she controlled her son on the Dragon Throne. It was even rumored that she had known her
own
son. Amazing!

Yes, she thought, that is me, the secret Yellow Empress, desiring every man who catches my eye. She laughed inwardly, desiring them but making love to them only when she danced, and making them want her in return.

Osha thought of Shonto as she lay warm and still aroused. She had brushed against him as they had danced the Dance of the Five Hundred Couples. A certain amount of flirtation was expected in these dances, but she had been
shameless
and had learned that he was hard-bodied, like a much younger man, and fluid in his movements for one with no training. The famous Lord Shonto, the man her Emperor hated. Osha had been so curious to know who this man was when the rumors were stripped away. But of course there had been no time for them to speak, not there. All she had learned was that he
was quick of wit, which she had expected, and that he seemed to enjoy the company of younger people, surrounded as he was by his daughter’s friends.

Why did the Emperor hate this man? Most curious. But he would never discuss Shonto with her, never Shonto. So very odd.

She drifted off into a soft dream, the
Yellow Empress
inside her given full rein. Osha smiled as she slept.

L
ORD SHONTO SAT on a low dais in the upper Audience Hall leaning on his armrest, chin in hand. He gazed out at the long, empty room and watched the dust particles turning slowly in the sunlight that streamed through the open wall. On the straw-matted floor a pattern of large rectangles glowed golden in the light that fell between the posts. The autumn day was warm, the air rich with the smells of the season.

Shonto consciously controlled his breathing and tried to empty his mind of all its noise. He needed time to think after the visit of Jaku Katta. The lord sensed danger. Things were happening too quickly, becoming a rising wave of events that he neither controlled nor understood.