Choices
by Ree Soesbee
The path turned through the forest, and the soft loam showed the horse's hoofprints clearly. Three shod, one open - the Lion's horse. Agetoki had been here, and not long ago.
"He's leading me somewhere," she murmured, and Hachiman whickered in response to her low voice. Kamoko remounted, and her steed tossed its head in anticipation of continuing the chase. Ahead, the path turned as they cantered through the sparse woods, and the faint smoke of a peasant village dotted the horizon. As the trees parted, Kamoko felt the brush of cool sea wind against her face. The ocean stretched out wide and blue, down the hill from the wood. Phoenix lands were cold, as a rule, but the summer had been a blistering one, and the fall air felt crisp and comfortable. Hachiman tugged impatiently at the reins, wanting to run, but Kamoko held him tightly. "Go easy, my friend," she whispered. "There is danger here." It certainly seemed like a peaceful enough village, Kamoko thought as Hachiman walked impatiently toward the outlying buildings. Fields dotted with rice and sweet-smelling lemon trees were scattered about the villiage, and she could see that the road was clean and well-tended. The village was quiet, and no sign of the wounded Lion broke the tranquil scene. In fact, there were no people anywhere.
The village was deserted, and black ribbons hung from the eaves of houses. Plague. This was a plague villiage. Kamoko gasped, and Hachiman sensed her nervousness. Prancing anxiously to the side, a careless hoof shot out against a ringing stone. The sound was like a bell in the empty air, signalling her arrival to the deserted village. Kamoko cursed softly, and Hachiman danced to the side again, nervous and uneasy.
Then she saw it. A black horse, tied loosely to the well in the center of the town. On its soft hide saddle, a mon was burned. Lion. Kamoko would have been willing to bet that one of its hooves was unshod.
Matsu Agetoki's steed. He was here, waiting for her.
Disounting, Kamoko drew her mother's katana from her side. "Guide me, mother," she whispered. As she approached the horse, a familiar voice resounded through the street.
"Little girl, why are you following me?" His voice was careless, mocking and gentle.
"You know me, Agetoki." Kamoko snarled, her eyes darting from building to building, trying to place the source of his call. "Don't play games with me."
"Still trying to avenge your mother, Kamoko-san?" A pause. "I didn't kill her, you know."
"No. But you know who did."
"And you want me to tell you."
Otaku Kamoko pushed away Hachiman's worried nose, shoving him roughly aside. Unused to such treatment, the great grey stallion drew back from his young mistress, trotting toward the fields of rice. Alone, Kamoko turned again to find the source of the Lion's voice. "if you won't, I'll cut the words from your tongue."
"Bold words. Tell me, are you prepared for the consequences?" "The Lion? Ha. I am the daimyo of the Otaku. I serve the spirit of my mother. Your people will understand even better than most. I do not fear their retribution." She sounded confident, unafraid. With a sudden decision, she stepped toward one of the houses and flung open the sliding paper door. Within the room, two bloated bodies grinned blackly up at her, their skin covered in sores and wet boils. The flies buzzed lazily, and Kamoko staggered back into the street.
"Its not the Lion you should fear." Through the reek of death nearly overwhelmed her, Kamoko stood in the center of the village square, hand on the sword's tsuba.. This time, he stepped onto the porch of another house, smiling at her with sorrow in his eyes. Before him stood a young boy, no more than six, holding a battered wooden horse. The child stared blankly at her, uncomprehending.
The child looked half-starved, abandoned, his clothing torn and stained. "Who is he?" Kamoko demanded, "And why are you hinding behind a child?" She took a step toward them, holding one sleeve across her nose to block the stench of plague. As she approached, she saw the marks on the child's cheek. Black stains. Plague.
"That is far enough, little daimyo," Agetoki smiled. "You've seen what I needed you to know."
'You'll die of it, Agetoki. You'll die of the plague." Her voice was horrified. "You've touched him..."
The Lion's hand caressed the boy's blistered cheek gently. "No, Kamoko. You do not yet understand." Only then did she notice that in one hand, the Lion samurai held a burning torch, the embers glowing brightly with small, flickering flames. He touched the child's shoulder again, and whispered, "Go inside with your sisters."
The child nodded, smiled, and looked again at Kamoko. The movement of his face had caused the wounds to sweat, and raw trails of glistening, bloody wetness trailed down the boy's cheek and neck. Kamoko tried not to gag as the boy opened the sliding rice-paper door to the small hut, revealing two small girls sleeping on a stained mat inside. Around them, rotted food was littered - the remains of a village storehouse. As the door closed, the boy's fingers caressed his wooden horse, and his eyes smiled at the Otaku daimyo.
"What trickery is this, Agetoki?" Kamoko said, revolted.
"None, little duck. Only my way of educating you about the bigger world you are trying to enter. What do you think will happen to these children when we are gone?"
"I will call upon the Phoenix to send their finest healers -" "Useless. Even the Asako have no cure for this plague."
"What do you want, Lion?!" Kamoko screamed, half-drawing her sword from its saya. "Stop these games and speak truth to me!"
With a swift cut, his sword was out of its saya. Their blades clashed, spun, whirled... and hers landed across the square, clattering in the dust. The tip of his blade at her throat, Kamoko froze, waiting for the final blow. For the first time, the smile on Agetoki's face faded, and he looked at her with dark brown eyes. He had the eyes of a man who had seen death time and time again on the battlefield, and had never shirked from his duty. A killer's eyes. A samurai's eyes.
Her life hung on the edge of his katana.
The torch shifted in his hand, coming dangerously close to the wall of the hut. One brush, and the entire building would burst into flame, the dry timbers and paper walls easily set afire. Kamoko took a hesitant step forward as the torch swung close again. The children were in that building. If it caught fire, their death would be excruciating.
"My mother, Lion. Tell me about her death."
The torch swung closer still.
"Agetoki, why are you doing this?" her whispered hiss hung in the air like poison. She flinched toward him, but the quick point of his sword followed her movement, drawing a thin red line on her bare white throat.
"Your mother died on a cliffside, attacked by bandits. She was driven over the edge, and her crushed body was found days later."
"Damn you Agetoki... I know that. Tell me the truth." The torch hung in the air, inches from the wall of the hut. "Look at these children, Kamoko, and understand." Again, he looked at her, and she saw a cunning sadness in his hated features. "They have the plague. If they are allowed to leave the village, it will spread again across our land, Unicorn. Can you be responsible for that? The deaths of thousands in pain and suffering, because we could not take the lives of three?
"Agetoki, no... do not do this. They're children." Again, she tried to move, but his hand turned the sword, neearly cutting through her skin. The sharp blade pressed gently against her neck, holding her at his mercy.
"We must cause death of the three souls - however innocent - to protect the lives of many more. Can you accept that decision?"
Flashes of her mother's face echoed before her eyes as she watched him. Frozen in time, she saw the screaming of horses, burning in a barn... the image of a broken body brought from the Otaku hills to lie in state on an inferno of flame...
"They're just children."
The sword left her throat and he stepped away. "I'm sorry, little Kamoko. I'm sorry."
The torch fell from his numb hand as she leapt toward the house in screaming slow motion. Dry timbers crackled, and faded paper walls eagerly fed the swift flames. The children howled from the back room, but there was nothing Kamoko could do to save them. Within seconds, the house was an inferno. As she ran toward the doorway, weaponless, she saw Agetoki climb wearily onto his great black steed.
"I'll never stop hunting you!" her throat was raw and her voice filled with blood hatred, "I'll follow you to the ends of the world, Agetoki!"
It was all he could do to turn away.