The Open Road Read online

  Sura was absolutely annoyed.

  “Mother pus bucket…” She ducked as a wave of zombies attacked, then stabbed a monster and shoved it back. She cut the leg from another and sent it falling, while Tonbo’s iron tetsubo thudded down to atomise another zombie, helmet, mask and all.

  Kuno parried two enemy spears, ducked aside from a sword and sliced off the zombie swordsman’s hands. He cut down into another monster, blasting it into dust.

  “Sura! Tell me you have a plan?”

  “I’m working on it. Trust me – I’m a fox!” Sura cut both hands from a zombie. The creature hopped at her, trying to bite. More and more monsters were closing in. “Who the hell is that back there behind them? Is that a vampire?”

  “We didn’t ask!”

  Diving a hand into her robes, Sura came out with just two more spell papers. She hurtled them to left and right behind her friends and swept her spear in line between the papers.

  “Shield wall!”

  A brilliant spell-wall shot into life between the two papers. Zombies leaping into it were hurtled backwards. The four Spirit Hunters put their backs to the wall, smashing at the porcelain-mask zombies that came at them in erratic surges and leaps.

  Sura caught sight of the rice bales she and Chiri had rolled down from the sheds. The fox gave a great grin of satisfaction.

  “Kuno! Scatter the rice! They’ll have to stop and count the grains!”

  The handsome samurai shot a glance back at Sura as he flicked out of the way of an enemy spear and scythed a zombie clean in half.

  “Who told you that?”

  “My aunt!”

  Kuno ducked, and a zombie’s sword scraped against his helmet bowl.

  “Sounds like an old wives’ tale!”

  “Well she was an old wife!” The fox waved at the bales. “Just do it!”

  Kuno cursed. Tonbo made a great sweep of his tetsubo, cracking the immense weapon into a gaggle of nearby zombies. Kuno raced into the gap, slicing down a creature that came leaping wildly towards him. With monsters hopping closer and closer, Kuno cut his way past and up to the fence.

  A zombie bounded clean over the fence, plunging down towards him, spear in hand. Kuno swirled aside and cut through the monster’s neck, sending its mask bouncing away downhill amidst a pile of disintegrating bones. He sliced his blade across two rice bales, sending white rice hissing out all over the ground. He scooped a handful and hurtled it right into the faces of oncoming monsters – only to find that the creatures utterly ignored it.

  “Sura!” The man cut down a zombie, then had to run as yet more came leaping for his back. “Sura!”

  The fox was trying to keep back three zombies all at once. “It isn’t working?”

  “I thought you said you heard it from your aunt?”

  “Well it’s not like I thought the information was essential! Who knew?” Sura managed to pin a zombie in place with her spear as it tried to slash her with a short sword. Chiri’s rock elemental obligingly shattered the monster’s mask. Sura chucked the bits and bones aside. “Wait! Sticky rice! It was sticky rice! Does the temple have sticky rice?”

  Kuno fought his way back to her side, somehow managing to lose a sandal in the process. “Why don’t you ask these creatures to wait, while I find a priest and ask?”

  The fox rammed her spear through a zombie’s skull.

  “You’re snitty! Undead always make you snitty!”

  Behind the unruly, scattered mass of zombies, the vampire made a signal with his bright blue claws. Zombies began to form ranks, packing into dense groups, their spears ready for the attack. Fifty zombies formed a dense phalanx to the front, with another thirty to the right. They began to leap forward in perfect coordination, presenting an unbreachable wall of rusted steel. Chiri brushed her long hair back and stared in shock.

  “Oh dear…”

  Sura seized Chiri by her shoulder.

  “Ooh – run! Go go go go go!”

  A wide gap between the zombie packs led straight towards the rotted graveyard fence. The fox fled for the opening, leaping over crushed and damaged zombies, towing Chiri right behind her. Kuno and Tonbo lumbered in their wake, moving hard and fast in full armour. Behind them, twenty zombies sailed forward in swift leaps, surging ahead of the main ranks of monsters that bounced inexorably up the hill. The vampire came behind them, scorching and killing the grass with its passing.

  Sura crashed through the fence into the main shrine courtyard. Far over at the main square, the wedding party was just beginning its ceremonies. A chanting priest headed a fine procession of musicians. Behind them came the bride and groom, shrine maidens, families, Buddhist monks, grandmothers, servants with trays of origami butterflies, and three pairs of bearers carrying the ceremonial trousseau. The entire group were fifty paces1 away with their backs to the battle. The graveyard fence collapsed as zombies hurtled themselves into the courtyard, their ranks scattering as they leapt over and through the fence. The Spirit Hunters battled savagely, slicing the creatures down.

  Tonbo slammed into the centre of their line, tetsubo whirling and smashing enemies apart. Chiri summoned a spell that brought four huge rocks teetering up into the air, then sent them shooting off to crash through the zombies. Sura and Kuno cut, dodged and spun. Sura shook sweat out of her eyes, then glanced at the shrine buildings behind her.

  The Shinto priest leading the wedding procession had just reached to top of the stairs into the shrine buildings. He turned, eyes widening as he saw hordes of undead flooding into the yard below. The rest of the guests saw his astonished expression, and began to turn. Chiri sent her little air elemental, Bifuuko, speeding up into the huge old plum tree in the yard. The little creature beat its wings and caused a great, wild swirl of air. Petals erupted up into a dense, whirling cloud, hiding the battle from view. Wedding guests all exclaimed in joy, pointing at the amazing gust of blossoms. The priest guided the wedding party swiftly indoors, while shrine maidens stood and goggled in alarm.

  Tonbo shattered zombie after zombie, seeming to never tire. But Sura, Chiri and Kuno were slowing. Behind the ranks of the zombie horde, the cackling vampire was raising up the fallen yet again – unbroken masks lying on the ground suddenly rose as yet more undead surged up from below.

  One of the vampire’s hands clenched and flexed – clenched and flexed. The zombie horde moved in time to the motions of the vampire’s hand.

  Tonbo furiously smashed enemies, then called back to Sura.

  “Sura! We have to kill the vampire!”

  The fox woman saw the vampire raising yet more undead. She stabbed one last zombie, then hurtled her long spear clean over the ranks of monsters, where it fell point down and thrumming a few yards from the vampire.

  “Throw me!”

  Sura raced towards Tonbo, transforming into fox-form as she ran. Clothes, belts, armour and a pair of loaded dice all spilled to the ground as a sleek orange fox lunged out of the empty clothes, sped between the legs of two zombies and leapt up into Tonbo’s arms. Sura rolled up like a furry ball. Tonbo hurtled her through the air, clear over the zombie ranks and straight towards the vampire.

  The fox landed in the weeds, rolling like a ball. Sura changed into half-fox form – naked but for her shimmering fur. She came out of her roll in one smooth flash, seizing her spear, slamming the weapon forward and impaling the vampire clean through its dead heart. The spear pinned the monster screaming to the tree behind it, bark crisping and withering from its touch. The vampire suddenly shot a great long impaling tongue towards Sura, but the fox was already back out of reach. She swept her hands to form a blazing yin-yang symbol in mid-air.

  “Blasphemy that walks in shadow,

  Unclean being, beast of harm,

  I block the spell that binds your flesh.

  The world of light rejects thy form!

  - Tao blast!”

  The fox ripped the spear out of the vampire and cut the spear blade through the glowing Tao symbol. The blade blazed
with blinding light as it swirled and sliced down, shearing the vampire clean in two. The monster gave a piercing scream, then fell slowly apart, each severed half disintegrating into a cloud of dust.

  The porcelain-mask zombies all sagged and halted in place. They searched about as if unable to see, grinning masks hunting back and forth. Chiri stepped back from the zombie horde, wiped her brow and gave a great sigh of relief.

  Every zombie instantly faced Chiri and jumped towards her. The rat girl drew a breath in shock. Kuno leapt in to put a hand over her mouth, stopping her from exhaling. Tonbo, Kuno and Chiri held their breaths as the vast swarm of zombies flicked their heads back and forth, hunting for the breath of life.

  “Oh here! Let me!”

  Sura snatched up a length of bamboo water pipe. She held it to her muzzle and blew out her breath. The zombies all turned in one great mass and hopped towards her. The fox skipped happily backwards, laughing and waving her pipe. She blew out her next breath, and the zombies came slowly hop-hop-hopping towards her in one great blind, insensate mass.

  Tonbo snatched up Sura’s fallen robes and ran about the zombie horde. He caught up with the fox and flung her an over-robe. The fox tugged the garment on, seeming almost oblivious of the threat as the zombies came steadily towards her.

  “Thanks!”

  Sura blew through her drain pipe, dancing off towards the forest nearby. The zombies all came after her. Tonbo walked patiently along beside the fox as she led the zombies on.

  “What exactly are you doing?”

  “I’m going to march them off the edge of the quarry! Should smash them up, masks and all!” The fox seemed immensely pleased. “Ooh – then we should do breakfast! The guys at the shrine have cakes!”

  Sura led the zombies off and away, her tail flashing in the forest gloom. Kuno came jogging up beside Tonbo, sword still out and ready. His superb armour was sadly scuffed and scraped, with several purple lacings dangling free. The man pushed back his helmet, eyes still on the zombies as he stood at Tonbo’s side.

  “What’s happening next?”

  “Breakfast.”

  Tonbo plodded along beside Sura as the fox merrily led the zombie horde towards the quarry. Kuno and Chiri stood far aside and let the zombies pass. The two little elementals, Bifuuko and Daitanishi, hovered at Chiri’s side. They all watched as Sura led the zombies out into the forest.

  Sura was still lacking pants.

  Chiri sighed. She put out her hand, and her earth elemental, Daitanishi, dropped Sura’s loaded dice into her palm from his mouth.

  “I believe I would like a cup of tea.”

  “A most excellent idea.” Kuno stooped and retrieved the rest of Sura’s fallen equipment. “I believe we have earned it.”

  The elementals settled back into place upon Chiri’s person. Kuno and Chiri walked off towards the shrine. In the buildings beyond, the wedding peacefully took place, and all was well in the world.

  Chapter 2

  The roadway climbed upwards through steep hills – through tall forests with rocky streams that splashed and sparkled in the sun. Springtime flowers shimmered in the grass, and bees drifted gently to and fro. Mountains soared high above, crested with ice and sharp, bare stone. The air smelled fresh and clear.

  Far off in the valley, a prosperous village was surrounded by fields of buckwheat, beans and rice. A few distant clouds shone pure and bright. Kitsune Sura was delighted with her world.

  A Jizo statue stood by the road, beaming benevolently off towards the lowlands. Sura ran up beside the statue and stopped to rest, happily jingling a bag full of coins given to her by the Shinto shrine. She drank from a bamboo bottle filled with cold peach tea, and leaned back against the statue to enjoy the breeze.

  The fox woman was once again in her ‘human’ form; tall and easy going, with pointed furry ears and eyes that shone the most marvellous shade of green. Her long orange hair – white tipped and luxuriant – was tied back into a pony tail. She wore a folded eboshi cap, and the full-sleeved suikan robes of a priest: robes printed with images of half-eaten peaches. She wore a little light breastplate with short tassets, all laced in chevrons of orange and white. Her long tail shone, while her pointed nose twitched with mischief. The fox was thoroughly enjoying her day.

  Her companions came ambling up the road behind her. Kuno marched in his armour – a suit immaculately laced in an ‘iris’ pattern of lavender, white and green. He wore an intricately folded cap, and walked with military dignity.

  Tonbo came stolidly behind him – an armoured behemoth clad in lacquered iron from top to toes. He spoke with little Chiri as they walked, explaining the mountain flowers. Chiri listened carefully, stopping to collect the most useful herbs and carefully slip them into her travel bag.

  The highlands were wonderfully peaceful. Sura led the way again, singing raucously and merrily as she walked.

  They came to a broad upland meadow covered in flowering dandelions. A stream splashed through the meadow beneath the shade of broad green trees. Large flat-topped boulders had been set into the stream to act as stepping stones. The water foamed brilliantly between the rocks, filling the air with sound. Spray tingled – brilliant green moss looked plush and invitingly cool. There was even a long, skinny black and white crane fishing down at the far end of the meadow.

  A wooden signpost jutted up out of the ground beside the ford. At the base of the signpost, a set of rather austere robes lay neatly folded beside a pair of old sandals. Sura walked up to the ford and dragged in a great, joyous draught of air, stretching out her arms as she gave a yawn. She peered down at the clothes and nudged them with her foot.

  “Ha! Well whoever left this, they left their underwear and all!” She glanced about the empty woods. “Guess they’ll be back for it.”

  Kuno stood before the signpost. The wooden board was topped by a clan crest. The wood was new, and well oiled. Kuno nodded in satisfaction.

  “We’re in the Ishigi fief.” The man turned to look across to the far side of the ford. “Good! We are on the right track. Perhaps there will be an inn? I for one look forward to a proper bed at last.”

  The fox yawned again. The rushing water was soothing, and it had been a long, hard climb up the pathway from the plains. She walked gratefully beneath the shady trees.

  “I don’t mind where I sleep. But food is good! Ooooh – I could absolutely murder for roast chicken on noodles!” The fox used the discarded clothing as a handy seat. “Hey, let’s break and have lunch.”

  “An excellent notion.”

  Kuno gathered wood from beneath nearby trees, made the fire, then finally sat down to rest. Chiri – wonderfully handy in the domestic arts – set up a little folding tripod above the flames. She washed rice in the stream, then came back to set the pot over the flames. A tiny fire elemental came creeping up from the coals, and waved to her in greeting as she put more sticks upon the fire. Tonbo sat himself down with a great clank of armour. His helmet had been hanging at his back, and he set it beside him with a great deal of noise. Sura – strictly forbidden from cooking – lounged back and relaxed. Daitanishi, the little rock elemental, bobbed in and out of the stream, washing himself clean of dust. Sura watched for a while, then found herself a strand of sweet grass to chew.

  Beside her, Kuno irritably examined his sandals. A tie had snapped clean through, and the man was forced to remove the entire sandal. He tried to knot the broken tie together, but the whole straw braid had frayed.

  “Do we have any more binding?”

  Sura stirred and dug into her pack. “Oh – I have what you need!” The fox sailed a braided straw disc over to the samurai. “Here!”

  Kuno was unamused.

  “This is a pot holder.”

  “Just unwind it, then you have all the binding you need!”

  “Oh! I see!” The man bowed. “Thank you.”

  The team’s iron tea kettle came to the boil. Chiri folded a cloth over the handle and carefully retrieved the kettle
from above the coals. The genteel rat spirit carefully brought forth her favourite mid-day tea, a fine sweet-flavoured gyokuro. She waited for the appropriate interval while the kettle slightly cooled, then made the tea, gracefully pouring for her friends.

  The rat sank down beside Sura. They drank their tea together, enjoying the sight of the shady stream, the distant crane and the gleaming dandelions. The area was utterly beautiful. Chiri finally set aside her cup, and smoothed her sleeves.

  “Forgive my curiosity, Sura, but I have a question.” The rat spirit furrowed her brows. “Why did you have to slay the vampire? Why did you not merely banish it to another plane?”

  The fox artfully raised one finger.

  “Aaah. Because it was from this plane! You can only banish something when it’s actually trespassing. Undead are just local residents who refuse to leave.”

  “I see…” The rat gave a respectful bow. “You must have great knowledge about monsters.”

  “Sure! The big secret about banishment magics is to know where things belong.”

  Sura used one of the sandals she had found beside the signpost to brush clear a patch of dirt. She eagerly began to sketch a diagram with a stick.

  The fox first drew a circle. She surrounded it with a ring of seven intersecting circles – each also crossing into the central field.

  “Think of the universe as being like a ring of separate worlds. Our one – the material world – that’s in the middle. But there are other worlds that butt against our own, allowing creatures to cross. We’re sort of the crossroads.”

  The fox drew a cross inside the central circle.

  “Now some monsters are home grown right here on the material plane. That’s undead, fell beasts, evil sorcerers, accountants - that kind of thing.”