Read Online L5r - scroll 03 - The Crane by Ree Soesbee - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Ree Soesbee
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band. No grace was spared in his step. No smooth courtier's voice flowed from his lips, but the trained and brutal commands of a soldier.
For the first three years of his life, Doji Kuwanan had been the younger son, forgotten in the shining light of the heir, his brother Hoturi. Then, his mother had died, and it had all changed. He had been sent to the Lion Clan to cement a treaty of peace between the two. His sensei had broken the boy and sent back a man. Kuwanan smiled at the thought. When he had left Kyuden Doji, he had been a small, angry boy whose tears could not be hidden. When he had next seen his family, he had been one of Toturi's finest students, a warrior of the Lion style, as cunning as their battle cats.
Then the Scorpion had come, and Toturi had fallen from grace. Matsu Tsuko had broken the treaty, and all the sons of the Crane had come home—including Kuwanan.
Now he served with the Daidoji, merging their defensive style with the aggression of the Akodo and the training of the masters of the Lion. The young man's anger had turned to strength, and he held two things close to his heart: the safety of the Crane and the strength of his own command.
Throwing open the palace doors, Kuwanan marched into the courtyard and approached the garden. The Daidoji guardsmen stationed in Kyuden Kakita's outer grounds would know more, and he intended to discover what they had seen.
"My lord?" a Daidoji's voice called softly through the branches of a flowering tree.
Kuwanan looked up to see a guard lying prone along one of the highest limbs, his form hidden by the shifting shadows and thick leaves. Kuwanan paused, and the Daidoji rolled nimbly from the tree, landing with no noise at all and lowering his head in a smooth bow.
"Lord Uji of the Daidoji wishes to speak with you. He says
he has found the trail of the assassin. I can take you to him."
Uji. Kuwanan's lips curved into an almost feral smile. "Good."
"Hai, Kuwanan-sama." Moving softly through the trees, the guardsman vanished into the shadows, leaving Kuwanan to rely on sound and movement rather than form. Trained in his methods but lacking his skill, the youngest son of the Doji nobility stepped forward through the brush.
Within moments, another form detached itself from a spreading bough, and then a third. Each of the Daidoji bowed to him, making their presence known as their daimyo's brother passed them by. When he moved on, they faded again, becoming once more part of the darkness and silence. Only the guide that led Kuwanan through the twisting garden paths made any sound—and only because he intended to be followed.
The sound before him ceased, and Kuwanan stepped out into a small twist in the path. The faint scent of smoke hung in the air where the stone lantern by the lake had been extinguished. The Daidoji guard rested lightly on one knee, his spear forming a pillar of steel and moonlight. As Kuwanan approached, the Daidoji rose, stepped back, and waited silently behind the Doji prince.
From the edge of the path, another figure slid down a tree. He held lightly onto a limb with one hand while placing his feet noiselessly upon the ground. His face was hidden by a thin leather mask that hung from his darkened helmet, and the serpents on his wrists were black with age. Dark hair trailed from beneath his helm, coiling like water snakes about his wiry shoulders.
"Kuwanan-sama," Daidoji Uji began in a voice that sounded like a hissing serpent, "less than seventy paces to the northeast lies a drainage ditch that carries the stagnant lake from the pond into an underground river. The rushes near it have been pressed to the ground, and the water runs slowly, as though blocked. We have found him." Uji's eyes were steel blue in the moonlight. The twin swords at his belt hung with care, wrapped in silk to prevent noise.
The daimyo of the Daidoji did not pause to be congratulated. Nor did he lower his eyes from Kuwanan's as he signaled for his guard to advance,
For the first three years of his life, Doji Kuwanan had been the younger son, forgotten in the shining light of the heir, his brother Hoturi. Then, his mother had died, and it had all changed. He had been sent to the Lion Clan to cement a treaty of peace between the two. His sensei had broken the boy and sent back a man. Kuwanan smiled at the thought. When he had left Kyuden Doji, he had been a small, angry boy whose tears could not be hidden. When he had next seen his family, he had been one of Toturi's finest students, a warrior of the Lion style, as cunning as their battle cats.
Then the Scorpion had come, and Toturi had fallen from grace. Matsu Tsuko had broken the treaty, and all the sons of the Crane had come home—including Kuwanan.
Now he served with the Daidoji, merging their defensive style with the aggression of the Akodo and the training of the masters of the Lion. The young man's anger had turned to strength, and he held two things close to his heart: the safety of the Crane and the strength of his own command.
Throwing open the palace doors, Kuwanan marched into the courtyard and approached the garden. The Daidoji guardsmen stationed in Kyuden Kakita's outer grounds would know more, and he intended to discover what they had seen.
"My lord?" a Daidoji's voice called softly through the branches of a flowering tree.
Kuwanan looked up to see a guard lying prone along one of the highest limbs, his form hidden by the shifting shadows and thick leaves. Kuwanan paused, and the Daidoji rolled nimbly from the tree, landing with no noise at all and lowering his head in a smooth bow.
"Lord Uji of the Daidoji wishes to speak with you. He says
he has found the trail of the assassin. I can take you to him."
Uji. Kuwanan's lips curved into an almost feral smile. "Good."
"Hai, Kuwanan-sama." Moving softly through the trees, the guardsman vanished into the shadows, leaving Kuwanan to rely on sound and movement rather than form. Trained in his methods but lacking his skill, the youngest son of the Doji nobility stepped forward through the brush.
Within moments, another form detached itself from a spreading bough, and then a third. Each of the Daidoji bowed to him, making their presence known as their daimyo's brother passed them by. When he moved on, they faded again, becoming once more part of the darkness and silence. Only the guide that led Kuwanan through the twisting garden paths made any sound—and only because he intended to be followed.
The sound before him ceased, and Kuwanan stepped out into a small twist in the path. The faint scent of smoke hung in the air where the stone lantern by the lake had been extinguished. The Daidoji guard rested lightly on one knee, his spear forming a pillar of steel and moonlight. As Kuwanan approached, the Daidoji rose, stepped back, and waited silently behind the Doji prince.
From the edge of the path, another figure slid down a tree. He held lightly onto a limb with one hand while placing his feet noiselessly upon the ground. His face was hidden by a thin leather mask that hung from his darkened helmet, and the serpents on his wrists were black with age. Dark hair trailed from beneath his helm, coiling like water snakes about his wiry shoulders.
"Kuwanan-sama," Daidoji Uji began in a voice that sounded like a hissing serpent, "less than seventy paces to the northeast lies a drainage ditch that carries the stagnant lake from the pond into an underground river. The rushes near it have been pressed to the ground, and the water runs slowly, as though blocked. We have found him." Uji's eyes were steel blue in the moonlight. The twin swords at his belt hung with care, wrapped in silk to prevent noise.
The daimyo of the Daidoji did not pause to be congratulated. Nor did he lower his eyes from Kuwanan's as he signaled for his guard to advance,
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