The Tengu's Game of Go by Lian Hearn Page B

of outlaws is all very well, but what they yearn for is the chance to confront those in whose service they got those injuries and who then disowned them: the Miboshi in Miyako, the Kakizuki in Rakuhara.”
    â€œYou cannot take on both those forces,” Mu said.
    â€œI think I can,” Kiku replied, “though it would be easier if I had a warrior as a figurehead and a cause.”
    Kuro laughed loudly and emptied his cup.
    â€œThe warrior would be Shikanoko,” Mu said, after a pause, “and the cause the true emperor?”
    â€œExactly!”
    â€œBut … Shika has even more reason to hate you than I have. If it had not been for you, the Princess would not have died.”
    â€œThat really was not my fault,” Kiku said. “It was Kuro’s snake.”
    â€œWell, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve told you I was sorry,” Kuro said sulkily.
    â€œI know, I know,” Kiku said. “But wait till Shikanoko sees what we can offer him. The chance to fulfill his destiny, just as Chika’s father dreamed.”
    â€œIs that what this is for?” Mu said. “You want to impress Shika and win his respect, and his gratitude?”
    For the first time a vulnerable expression came over Kiku’s face. “He is one of our fathers,” he said. “He brought us up and taught us everything. Now that I have children of my own I understand what that means. I want to see him and thank him. What’s wrong with that?”
    â€œShika has a son,” Mu said. “A fully human boy, the child of the Princess. I am acquainted with him. He is a true warrior.”
    Kiku had gone pale. His hand as he refilled his cup trembled. “I did not know that,” he murmured, and fell silent for a long time.
    He is jealous , Mu thought. He mocks people for their emotions, but he is no more immune to them than I was, and still am. Then he wondered if Kiku’s emotion was genuine, if he were not acting out something he had learned in order to hide his true motives. What did he truly want from Shika?
    â€œYou are deluding yourself if you think Shika is going to treat us as sons,” he said. “If he does return it will be as a warrior, and no warrior family will admit to the taint of blood like ours, Old People from the Spider Tribe, born from cocoons.”
    Kiku leaned forward and spoke in a hiss. “I have made my own tribe. I can make or break the mightiest of warlords, even the Emperor. No one is safe from me and mine. My power is based on fear and on wealth—there are no forces stronger than these. Tell Shikanoko I will place all this at his service.”
    â€œYou want me to find Shika in the Darkwood?”
    â€œIf you don’t go I will send Chika, and the outcome may be very different.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    Kiku whispered, “Chika hates Shikanoko.”
    Mu was thinking of the vision he had seen when he flew above the land, as if it had been a scroll or a Go board. All the pieces were in their positions, and flames were charring the edges. It was time to act. It was his turn now to be a player and all his training had prepared him for this. The tengu had already told him what he was to do: Join forces with your brother, find Shikanoko, and offer him these forces so the Emperor might be restored and Heaven placated.
    â€œI will go and find him,” he said.

 
    6
    TAKEYOSHI
    Take woke, the wind rushing against his face. He thought he was still asleep, for he often flew like this in his dreams. But this was many times more real and more vivid. Something gripped him firmly and painfully by the shoulders, the chill air brought tears to his eyes, and, though his vision was blurred, he could see enough to perceive below him the treetops, ranges, and rocky crags of the Darkwood.
    He had no idea what had happened to him, and for a moment terror churned in his stomach. He had put all his trust in Kinpoge’s