The Wrath of Silver Wolf (11 page)

Diving into a forward roll, Snowhawk
just
avoided it. As she regained her feet, Kagero
landed heavily in the passageway behind her.
The bounty hunter straightened her knees and
bounded forward with uncanny speed, snapping
one of her fans downward, eyes slitting at her
target. Snowhawk howled as the closed war fan
struck from behind, rapping her knuckles so hard
that she was forced to release her knife.

It twirled to the passageway floor, sticking in
the wood with a dull
thok
.

Snowhawk gyrated around, tensing her hands
into blades, fingers locked together. Kagero started
to whirl, arms extended, twin fans flashing as
she turned. Like a human top she advanced on
Snowhawk, the revolving iron fan tips just missing
the walls. Snowhawk scrambled back, crouched
low and scuttled at Kagero. Building up speed,
she threw herself onto her side and slid along
the floorboards feet-first. With a determined roar,
Snowhawk crashed into Kagero's turning ankles,
knocking her off balance.

The bounty hunter's spin broke and slowed
into a turning stumble. Snowhawk leapt up and
made for the tiny knife. But Kagero regained her
footing with astonishing speed and ran backwards,
cutting her opponent off.

Gasping for each breath, Snowhawk took her
eyes from Kagero to glance at the imbedded blade.
Was it dug in deep? Could it be snatched out?

The glance lasted a second too long.

Kagero took a quick, nimble stride then jumped
high into the air. A mighty double-footed kick
broke Snowhawk's half-formed block, slamming
into her chest.

Snowhawk's head snapped forward as she was
flung along the corridor. She skidded on her back,
through broken sticks and torn paper, up to her
room's doorway.

Her neck throbbed, her head went light.
Snowhawk knew at once that she was badly
stunned. She opened her eyes, groaning loudly as
Kagero landed on her chest, settling down heavily,
weight spread to pin her to the floor. The iron-spoked
fans hovered at her throat. Kagero smiled
down at her, as if daring her to move, even to
flinch.

Where was Moonshadow? He would have easily
heard the noise of this fight. Since he hadn't come
to her aid, did that mean he was already dead? A
pang of distress clawed at her. She fought it off;
Moon might just be drugged or otherwise delayed.
Might someone else come to investigate the din
and break this up?

'Did you kill the real innkeeper?' Snowhawk
scowled up at her attacker.

The bounty hunter panted heavily. 'She's
sleeping off the tea I gave her.' Kagero huffed and
tossed her head with mock indignation. 'You think
I'd kill
anybody
for free?'

Kagero's eyes were momentarily off her.
Snowhawk saw her chance and took it. Her hands
flashed up, each grabbing a wrist and pushing hard,
forcing the fans and their drug-coated tips back,
away from her throat. Kagero grunted, leaning
forward, trying to return them to Snowhawk's
neck.

As the two pushed and shoved, each grunting
and sucking in air, Kagero's eyes, filled with black
menace and determination, lingered on Snowhawk's.

Your biggest mistake, Snowhawk smiled, as she
forced her next breath steady. Her stomach turned
hot. Her heart was already pounding, but now it
thrummed even more intensely as she activated
her most specialised skill. Kagero
had
forgotten
who she was dealing with.

Snowhawk felt familiar invisible energy surge
from her eyes to Kagero's.

'Kunoichi hypnosis, eh? Pah!' Kagero leered.
'Don't you try that kids' stuff on me!' Her face was
full of confidence but abruptly, one eyelid twitched
then sagged.

Snowhawk felt herself losing physical strength
fast. Unleashing her special power always had that
effect. The fans, trembling now in Kagero's hands,
moved closer.

She doggedly fired a second bolt of energy into
her foe's eyes.

'It won't work!' Kagero snorted, forcing one
fan right up to her throat. Iron spoke-tips danced
a fingernail's width from Snowhawk's skin.

Gulping in a desperate breath, her mind frenzied
and heart racing, Snowhawk loosed a third bolt.
At once she felt her stomach cool. That was all
she had.

If it worked at all, would it work in time?

EIGHT
Beware of
the Kappa

Moonshadow stood on the riverbank, rushing
water at his feet. Green-tinged starlight lit
the nightscape around him, drenching everything
with its peculiar colour.

The river flickered constantly with splashes
of emerald-silver as if a vast school of fish teemed
in it. Beyond its banks, a thickly wooded hillside
climbed away from the town, tiger-striped with
the shadows of tall trees. Moon's eyes hunted for
movement.

No, not there
, the voice was back in his head,
down here, look down.

As he did, the water at his feet erupted in all
directions and a manlike form hurtled up from the
river at him. He caught a glimpse of mottled skin,
tangled hair, claws.

Moonshadow tried evading to his left but the
unknown creature moved too quickly. For a split
second his view of the riverbank was upside down,
then, in a flash of bubbles, he was underwater. It
had him by one leg and was dragging him to the
bottom.

Looking down, Moon flinched as he saw what
gripped him: a Kappa!

The most infamous of water-spirits, Kappas
were known for mischief and murder. At times
they were content just to startle those crossing
rivers or wading as they fished. But, quite randomly,
they also attacked and drowned people. There had
been many sightings, all with similar descriptions
– but none quite as terrifying as
this
beast.

He watched it swim strenuously, towing him
down into the river's black depths. The Kappa had
a shell on its back very much like a turtle's, and
long, seaweed-like hair streamed behind its head
as it powered downwards.

The crown of its head was hollow, a transparent
bowl. It trapped iridescent white bubbles that
bobbed in a sea of black brain fluid. The deeper they
went, the more the bubbles roiled and multiplied,
as if the increasing pressure of the depth stimulated
them. The Kappa's sinewy grey-green arms and
legs were spotted with patches of what looked like
algae, and its fingers and toes, tipped with long
pale claws, were heavily webbed.

Moon raised his free foot and stamped down
at the creature's wrist. Would it have a release-nerve
there, like humans? Thwarted by the
drag of the water, he missed it, striking instead
the clawed hand that gripped his ankle. The
Kappa slowed its descent and looked up at him.
Moonshadow gaped at his first clear glimpse
of the water monster's face. It had a turtle-like
beak, a tiny two-holed stump of a nose and large
eyes similar to a frog's. Each eye was divided by a
silvery slit for a pupil. As he stared, its turtle beak
peeled open and between the gummy folds of its
mouth, Moon saw the flash of rows of concealed
teeth. Every tiny, dagger-sharp tooth slanted
backwards.

He stamped at the Kappa's wrist again. This
time his foot found its mark. The Kappa's grip
broke and Moonshadow kicked wildly for the
surface. Rising fast, he sensed the creature close
behind him. He drove himself on, faster, up for the
green light.

Moon burst from the water in a spray of foam
and scrambled up the river bank, sliding and
snatching at the muddy grass. Why was he not
gasping for air? He touched his clothing, then his
head. He was completely dry. How? And where
was his attacker?

As he looked around warily, the surface of the
river erupted again. The Kappa soared from the
water and Moonshadow stumbled backwards as it
landed right in front of him with a soggy
flop
.

The creature loomed, its silvery pupils dilating
as they focused on Moon's face.

'Cucumbers,' the Kappa said, its voice low, wet
and sludgy. 'Do you have any?'

'What?' Such a crazy question! Moon shook
his head. 'No, why would I?'

The Kappa's head swayed to one side as if
conceding his point. 'Then you die.'

It lunged at him, beak splaying open impossibly
wide, each row of teeth snapping. Moon hurtled
back but the Kappa darted after him and seized him
by the shoulders. With overwhelming strength it
pinned him to the riverbank. Its head angled, lank
hair swishing, as it prepared to bite into his neck.
The beak stretched, rows of teeth inside it working
busily, gleaming as they came closer. Strangely
weak and struggling vainly, Moonshadow closed
his eyes. There was no escape. It had him;
this
was it
!

He threw back his head and gave in to panic,
shrieking long and loud.

The green-tinged starlight and everything
under it was swallowed by black curtains that
flutter ed in from all directions. Moon felt as though
he was tumbling inside one of them, wrapped in
its dark folds. With a
bump
something solid met
his back.

Warily he forced an eye open. For a few
seconds, he could make no sense of what he saw.
Then suddenly he knew it was real. Moonshadow
let out a moan of intense relief.

The Kappa attack had been a nightmare, that
was all. He was lying safely on the floor of his own
room. Snowhawk was hunched over him, shaking
his shoulders. Her face was red, clothes dark
with sweat, but she appeared unharmed. Moon
turned his head, chest still heaving with emotion.
Snowhawk had re-lit the lamp in his room. Had
she been here for some time? He peered around.
Her pack and bedroll lay on the matting.

She released Moon's shoulders and he sat up.
Pain stabbed his temples.

'Thank the gods.' She sighed with relief.
'I thought I might have been too late.'

'What . . . what just happened?' Moonshadow
rubbed his eyes.

'We were both attacked, in very different
ways. As soon as you can walk, we must get out
of here.' Snowhawk wiped sweat from her brow
with the back of her hand. 'While the woman who
attacked me is still asleep in the corridor outside
my room.'

He stared at her. 'That sweet old innkeeper
attacked you?'

Snowhawk's face darkened. 'What you saw was
an Old Country disguise . . . a trick. Underneath
it was the shinobi who attacked me. She called
herself . . .
Kagero
.'

'
The
Kagero?' Moon frowned. 'Not the infamous
freelance shinobi who –'

'I don't know.' Snowhawk began dragging
him to his feet. 'I still can't believe she was the
real
Kagero, the same agent I used to hear Fuma
trainers brag about.'

'Why not?' He looked around vaguely,
massaging his temples.

'Because I'm still breathing,' Snowhawk said.
'Come on, get your stuff.'

They fled the inn and Snowhawk led him
north out of town, keeping to the shadows of the
roadside trees. She looked and sounded a little
haggard, but still moved with her usual flitting
agility. Moon struggled to keep up with her and
felt that now
he
moved clumsily, making as much
noise as an ordinary man. When Snowhawk
finally slowed her pace, a good bowshot from
town, he told her how he felt.

'That feeling will pass.' She pointed to his
forehead. 'It's called The Haze. It's a side-effect
of the attack.' Snowhawk gave a marvelling sigh.
'When you let out that cry I realised what was
going on. It looked close. If I had tried waking you
a moment later . . .'

He grabbed her arm. 'What
was
going on?
What just happened to me?'

Snowhawk hung her head as if choosing
her next words carefully. 'Have you ever heard
of the Fuma Death Dream skill?' He shook his
head. 'I'll bet your GLO trainers have. It's a very
rare Old Country science. I only know about
it because Clan Fuma once tried to teach it
to me.'

'Tried?' Moon glanced back along the road,
checking for signs of pursuit.

'Yes. Tried, and failed. Or rather
I
did,' she
shrugged. 'They said my
temperament
made me
unsuitable. So they switched me to learning shinobi
hypnosis, which I picked up easily.' Snowhawk's
mouth twitched into a half-smile. 'Strong natures
usually do.'

'The Fuma Death Dream? How does it work?'

'It's a mind attack that comes at you in the form
of a dream. Actually, it's a certain kind of trance
your attacker forces upon you and then guides. It
can be used in daylight on a conscious subject as
well as on a sleeper. The rules are simple: if you
cannot defeat the nightmare creature sent to attack
you and nobody wakes you in time, your heart
stops beating while you're in the trance-dream.'

'What?' Remembering the fury of the Kappa's
attack, Moon wrapped his arms around himself.
'You mean it winds up
fatal
? It's not just to frighten
or distract?'

Snowhawk shook her head. 'No, but to
master it, you need a high degree of deep-mind
stillness . . . great control over your thoughts.
Perhaps
that's
why I wasn't a good candidate.' She
gave a low, hollow laugh. 'After proving unsuitable
for that science, many of the Fuma told me I was
useless, only good for running errands down to
the nearest village. But that kind of talk stopped
smartly when I tried out my Kunoichi hypnosis
for the first time . . . on one of my trainers.' She
glowered. 'That shut them up.'

'Yes, well,' Moon nodded wearily. 'I myself
know just how
good at it
you are.' They exchanged
knowing glances and Snowhawk grinned. Moon
rolled his eyes. 'First time you and I were alone
in daylight,' he grumbled, 'do you realise how long
I slept?'

'We weren't on the same side back then, that
morning in the stable.' She took his arm and even
in the scant light he could see her face tense with
worry. 'I'm afraid there's one other piece of bad
news about the Fuma Death Dream skill.'

'Oh, great,' Moonshadow checked the road
again then stared at her. 'Now what? Even if you
do get woken up in time, your head eventually
explodes?'

'Worse,' she replied humourlessly. 'You know
how I can sense the presence of other shinobi
better than you can?'

He nodded. 'Much better than I can.'

'Well, those trained as
dream assassins
also
learn a related skill. A very difficult but useful
one. Again, only the still of mind can develop it.'
Snowhawk took a deep breath. 'They neutralise
the sensing powers of all nearby shinobi before
they attack.'

'Are you serious?' A deep shudder went through
him. 'That's actually possible?'

'As tonight proves. A dream assassin went after
you and in the process stopped
me
sensing that the
innkeeper was really a shinobi in disguise.'

'A dream assassin? Don't you mean Kagero?'

'No, because your nightmare continued even
after I had left her unconscious. That means
somebody else, someone we didn't even see, used
their Death Dream skill on you.'

'If that's the case . . . if we've an unknown
enemy who can stop you sensing them . . .' Moon
shook his head slowly. 'We might as well be deaf.'

'We
are
deaf now. And we'll
stay
deaf on this
mission.' Snowhawk raised a fist. 'Unless we find
that dream killer and kill
them
.'

Moonshadow gave a bitter chuckle as they
turned to go on. 'Why work so hard? Isn't it
obvious? No matter what we do, he or she is going
to find
us
.'