John Flanagan - The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

They turned and ran.

'I regret to say that I am unable to help you,' Lord Nimatsu told Evanlyn.

They were seated in the audience room of his castle. The castle itself was a vast, sprawling timber building, four stories high, set on top of a prominent hill and surrounded by a deep moat. Each storey was set back from the one below, creating a series of terraces that would provide comfortable recreation areas in good weather, and defensive positions in the event of an attack.

The roof was constructed in blue tiles. It was a shallow pitch, and the corners swept upwards in an exotic style that was foreign to the two girls, although quite common in Nihon-Jan buildings.

The room was spartan in character. They sat on large cushions on the polished wood floor, around a low blackwood table where Nimatsu's servants had served tea and a simple meal. Several tall banners hung from the walls, each inscribed with Nihon-Jan characters. They were simple in form, yet beautiful, Alyss thought.

Their reception at Nimatsu's castle had been a gracious one. He made them welcome, recognising the ring that Shigeru had given to Evanlyn, and offered them his hospitality. The girls had bathed, revelling in the hot water after the long, cold trip across the lake and a further day spent walking to Nimatsu's castle. They found fresh clothes waiting for them when they emerged from the baths – including the wrap-around outer robes favoured by the Nihon-Jan. They dressed and then joined the castle lord for a meal.

Evanlyn had explained the reason for their visit and put Shigeru's request for support to Nimatsu. The Hasanu lord considered her words for a few minutes in silence. He was a tall, slender man who appeared to be about fifty years old. His head was completely shaved and he wore no beard or moustache. His cheekbones were high and prominent, his eyes steady and deep-set. He met his visitors' gaze without any sense of awkwardness or deceit.

But now he had refused Shigeru's request for aid.

The two girls exchanged a glance. Evanlyn, who had done most of the talking so far, looked a little nonplussed by the unexpected refusal. After all, Nimatsu had been at pains over the meal to point out how much he respected the Emperor and how deep his loyalty to the man and the office ran. She gave a small nod to Alyss, asking her to take up the debate while she, Evanlyn, took time to think and plan their next move.

'Lord Nimatsu,' Alyss began and the dark eyes turned to her. She thought she could detect a trace of sadness in them. If this were related to his refusal, perhaps she could use it as a lever to change his mind. She spoke carefully, choosing her words so that there was no hint of disrespect for his position.

'You are a loyal subject of the Emperor,' she said. It was a statement but it was posed so that he must answer it.

He nodded. 'That's correct.'

'And your people are loyal to you – and the Emperor?'

Again, he nodded his agreement, bowing forward from the waist to do so.

'Surely you have no respect for General Arisaka,' she said and he shook his head immediately.

'I consider Arisaka to be a traitor and an oath-breaker,' he said. 'As such, he is an abomination.'

Alyss spread her arms in consternation. 'Then I cannot understand why you would refuse to help Lord Shigeru,' she said. Perhaps, she thought, she could have phrased it in more diplomatic terms. But she felt it was time for plain speaking.

'Forgive me,' Nimatsu said. 'Of course I will offer my help to Lord Shigeru. I phrased my statement badly. I am sworn to support him and so I will.'

Frowning, Evanlyn attempted to interrupt. 'Then…'

Nimatsu held up a hand to stop her as he continued. 'But I am afraid the Hasanu people will not.'

'They won't follow you? You won't order them to?' Alyss said. He shifted his steady gaze back to her.

'I won't order them because I won't put them in the position of refusing to obey an order from their rightful lord. To do such a thing would cause them enormous shame.'

'But if you order them, they must…' Evanlyn stopped. The frustration was all too obvious in her voice and she strove to control it, knowing that to show anger would not advance their cause. As a princess, she was used to issuing orders and to having them obeyed immediately. She couldn't fathom why Nimatsu was reluctant to do the same.

Alyss, more used to the oblique nature of polite diplomatic negotiation, thought she saw a glimmer of hope. Nimatsu's refusal was a reluctant one. He would obviously prefer to help them but, for some reason, he was unable to.

'Lord Nimatsu, can you tell us why you cannot ask the Hasanu people to help their Emperor?' she asked. She chose the word 'cannot' advisedly. It was less confrontational than 'will not' and she felt that there was more to this than a wilful refusal to help. There was something preventing him from doing so.

He looked back at her now and his eyes told her that she had guessed correctly.

'The Hasanu are afraid,' he said simply.

Alyss leaned back in surprise. 'Of Arisaka?'

He shook his head. 'To travel to Ran-Koshi, we would have to first pass through Uto Forest,' he said. 'The Hasanu believe there is a malign spirit loose in the forest.'

'A malign spirit?' Evanlyn asked.

Lord Nimatsu bowed his bead briefly in apology to them. The girls sensed that this was a painful subject. He had no wish to hold his simple followers up to the ridicule of outsiders. Then he seemed to come to a decision.

'A demon,' he said. 'They believe that an evil demon roams Uto Forest and they will not set foot inside it.'

'But this is superstition!' Evanlyn said. 'Surely you won't…'

Alyss laid a restraining hand on her arm. There was nothing to be gained by forcing an argument with Nimatsu. He noticed the gesture, registered the way Evanlyn forced herself to cut off her vehement protest.

'This is a superstition that has already killed seventeen of my people,' he said simply.

Evanlyn was completely taken aback. The Hasanu might be shy of strangers. But they were huge and powerfully built and their reputation said they were fierce fighters. What could possibly have killed so many of them?

'Do you believe in this demon, lord?' Alyss asked. Again, those calm, steady eyes met hers.

'I believe there is some terrible predator at large in the forest,' he said. 'A demon? No. I don't think so. But that's not important. The Hasanu believe in demons and they believe there is one in the forest. They will not pass through it. And I will not order them to. There is no point giving an order that I know will be refused. That refusal would shame me and the Hasanu equally.'

'Is there nothing we can do?' Evanlyn asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. 'I can't think of anything you could do to persuade them.'

Alyss took a deep breath, then set her shoulders. 'What if we kill the demon?'

General Todoki watched, first in disbelief, then in mounting fury, as his men began streaming back in retreat. Initially, there were only a few, but as they broke and ran, more of their comrades followed them, trying to place as much distance as possible between themselves and the terrible, impersonal wall of shields and darting blades.

Todoki, surrounded by half a dozen of his senior staff, ran to intercept them. He drew his sword as he ran, screaming orders at the retreating Senshi.

'Cowards! Cowards! Turn and face the enemy! They are peasants! Turn and face them!'

The men nearest him stopped their headlong retreat. But they made no move to turn back towards the two gojus, which were now silent. His officers moved among the shamefaced warriors, shoving them back around to face the enemy, shouting insults and threats, striking them with their fists or the flat of their swords. One man resolutely stood with his back to the enemy. Todoki stood before him, their faces barely centimetres apart, and screamed at him, his spittle landing on the other man's cheek.