The Open Road Read online

  Sura waved to a passing maid and seized hold of a whole new flask of brandy. She laughed to the others, making them all crowd their cups in towards her.

  The fox furtively put her thumb into the neck of the flask as a plug. She pretended to pour herself a drink, then threw back the empty cup with a great show of delight. Kuno immediately saw her plan, and thrust forward his own cup. Sura poured for all her friends, then poured another cup for herself and raised it to the priestess in salute.

  “Kampai!”

  She accidentally spilled brandy into a lamp. The brandy flared instantly, bursting into flame. A peasant maid came running, beating out the fires while Toriē backed hastily away.

  The other guests were drinking and laughing. More food came sizzling and hissing straight from the kitchens – woodcock and pheasant, dumplings and hare. As all attention surged towards the food, Sura slipped the brandy flask behind her backside, covering it with her tail. She emptied the flask out between the gaps in the floorboards, while hoisting an empty cup and drinking happily. She waved for the hare and woodcock, avidly helping herself. The brandy flask was found to be empty, and Sura waved happily for more.

  The feast continued with more and more food, and the brandy barrel serving enough liquor to float the village. Black-clad men and women came to join in, while the peasants kept well out of sight. The guests drank and ate, with the fat merchant and the two porters performing great prodigies. Sura was forever raising her cup and serving her friends. She ended up dancing in the middle of the courtyard wearing an empty bowl atop her head. Drunk and full of approval, Kuno applauded her efforts, toasting her enthusiastically time and time again.

  Finally the party began to slow. The old merchant and the samisen player snored fast asleep on the floor, while the peasant musicians were beginning to tire. Sura had gone far, far beyond the point of dancing. She sat beside the brandy barrel, cup raised high, and sang raucously out across the pond.

  “Oh the unicorn, it had a horn that reared so nice and high!

  He snuffled at my windowsill and asked me if I’d ride.

  I asked him all about his gait, and he answered me with pride.

  It’s a little to the front and back, and a little side-to-side…!”

  She worked her chops, and saw that Chiri was definitely flagging, trying to drink one last cup. Sura made her way over to Sano Moko, who was sitting and trying to be stern, but blinking as she strained to focus her eyes upon her cup.

  Sura sat down heavily beside her, almost losing her balance. She looked warmly at Sano Moko and nudged her on the shoulder.

  “You know what, cod lips? Seeing you there with the firelight bringin’ a blood red gleam to your eyes... You are not entirely repulsive.”

  “Uh.” Moko nodded her head, as if having trouble concentrating. She nodded again.

  “And you know… I don’t think you should… should give up looking for a boyfriend! S-somewhere in the world there’s a man who just has no sense of smell! Won’t be able to smell you at all!” Moko waved her hand. “He’s out there! You just have to find him.”

  Right!” Sura put an arm about Moko’s shoulders. “We have a quest!”

  “Yes”

  “And we should go!”

  “Yes!”

  “OK” Sura struggled to her feet. “But we need to do it soon, ‘cos I think I might throw up.”

  “Huh…” Sano Moko rose with her, and held onto a pillar for support. “You want to do it now?”

  “Might go to sleep for a bit first.”

  The village priestess had been lounging in luxury at the far end of the courtyard. She saw Sura and Sano Moko rise, and made an eloquent gesture with her hand.

  “Honoured guests, there is no need for you to sleep at a mere inn! Our other guests are spending the night as guests in our most luxurious homes.”

  Sura waved a weary hand.

  “No no. This inn has been good to me! There’s nothing like a really nice country inn.” The fox linked arms with Moko, and waved blearily to the priestess. “Good night.”

  Sura and Moko made their way towards the sleeping rooms. Tonbo, Kuno and Chiri saw that they were going, and decided to join them. Kuno bowed very carefully to the village priestess and the black-clad guards. Moving with elaborate caution, he made his way off to bed.

  Guards helped steer the guests into their bedroom. Sura flopped back onto her futon still fully dressed, still singing her unicorn song. Chiri managed to remove her outer robe, and slunk beneath the covers, looking very very tired and dizzy.

  Peasant maids came nervously into the room to help the visitors remove robes and fold clothing. The maids set the room to rights, moving stiffly, then hastened away as swiftly as they could.

  A guard walked off to report quietly to Priestess Toriē. The woman nodded. She checked for herself that the Spirit Hunters and Sano Moko were all asleep, then quietly withdrew. The door slid shut, and the room was still and silent.

  They lay quietly for an hour, stirring very softly from time to time. The only noise was a soft mumble from Sura, as she murmured a few words about unicorns. Outside the inn, all sounds of the feast had ceased. The building emptied as the villagers left on other business.

  Eventually, there was a soft ripple of magic beneath Chiri’s quilt. Turning into rat form, she slipped softly out of her bed – a bed still lumpen with quilts sculpted to look like a sleeping body, with robes wadded up to look like a sleeper’s head.

  The little white rat slipped softly through the shadows. Whiskers twiddling, she made her way over to the wall. She peeked through a crack in the door into the corridor beyond, carefully curling her tail.

  A guard stood out in the corridor. The man turned and walked slowly down the hall, heading to the door of the sleeping room.

  Chiri kept herself flattened against the inside of the door, which had been left open by the merest sliver. The guard came to the door and scanned the darkened room carefully, looking at the sleepers one by one. When he saw nothing to interest him, the man drew back and walked off into a far part of the inn.

  Sura transformed into fox form, sliding out of bed to join Chiri. Sura packed her own empty bed over her backpack and spare clothes, taking great pride in the work. She then padded softly over to Chiri and peeked out into the corridor.

  Chiri whispered softly back towards the three humans.

  “There is one guard. Please all stay still.”

  Sura moved quietly back to the centre of the room.

  “Moko – Tonbo. How many villagers are there?”

  Sano Moko rolled in bed, and whispered softly in the dark.

  “There are thirty black clad villagers. Sixty of the others.”

  “Right; stay here. Keep your weapons close.” Sura very quietly nosed open the door into the corridor. “We will be back soon.”

  Sura slipped out, Chiri close behind. Bifuuko started to follow, then stopped and dove back inside Chiri’s bed. There was a buzz and whirr of wings before Bifuuko appeared again, pushing at the reluctant Daitanishi with her nose. The rock floated up into the air, looked about in fright, then followed after Bifuuko as the air elemental slipped out into the halls.

  Sura nosed the door shut once more, careful to leave a tiny crack for the guard to use as a spy hole. Daitanishi clung close against Chiri, looking fearfully about. Sura heaved a sigh and buffed the little floating rock with her tail.

  “Daitanishi, what the hell is wrong with you?” The fox gave the elemental a final polish, then padded off down the corridor. “Suck it up, damn it! We’re Spirit Hunters!”

  With Bifuuko and Daitanishi floating stealthily behind them, Sura and Chiri slunk carefully through the inn. There were still guards – one walking the corridors and another on station where he could see the village street. But the kitchens were closed, and all the other villagers and forest folk had gone. There were no other guests – apparently all had elected to stay in luxury with the wealthy villagers.

  Sura padded
out into the shadows of the courtyard. She sniffed the breeze – once again almost sneezing at the strange acrid stink upon the air. Nothing moved – there was no sign of any other guards. She slipped down from the porch and served as a ladder to help Chiri make her way down to the ground. With Bifuuko and Daitanishi beside them, the two animal spirits moved stealthily off into the dark.

  The little group carefully crossed a village street, then threaded between the long grass that grew between some peasant huts. They moved away from the huts and off towards the edge of the village clearing, taking exquisite care not to be seen.

  They gathered in the cover of patch of weeds out in the fields, peering carefully at the forest a dozen yards beyond. Fox, rat and elementals all nestled down and thoughtfully observed the spiders that lurked just beyond the clearing.

  The bonfires were dying out. Now that the visitors were sleeping, no one had bothered to stoke the fires. The ruddy light ebbed and flickered. The eyes of hundreds of giant spiders glittered in the forest like dark, inimical stars, and the skull markings on their backs glimmered.

  Chiri and Sura nosed through the weeds. Sura gave a shiver, fluffing out her fur.

  “Spiders. Ugh! Gods – I just can’t handle spiders!” The fox moved to look along the curving edge of the clearing. “Well, they don’t seem to be trying to leave the forest…”

  Chiri’s distance vision when in rat form was never the best. She squinted, peering at the distant, scuttling shapes.

  “They do seem to be very wary of the bonfires… But surely they could just go around?”

  The fox nodded in thought, and backed carefully away.

  “Right. Let’s go check out that shrine.”

  The animal spirits quietly withdrew into the fields, and threaded off through the weeds.

  Slinking carefully, they moved off into the shadow of the peasant huts, halting to check for the slightest hint of sound.

  They had to make a dash along a length of open street. Chiri swung up onto Sura’s back, and the fox slithered forwards through tangled grass. The fox checked carefully for signs of enemies, before trotting swiftly along the road, slipping quickly into cover beside a heap of firewood.

  The shrine stood two dozen paces away across open ground. A few black-clad forest folk were entering through the big black gate. Two armed guards stood at the entrance, their naginatas glittering in the starlight.

  From inside the main shrine building came a strange, deep murmur of sound.

  The fox sniffed. The weird, acrid scent that hovered in the village seemed thicker. It sparked and tingled with a definite stench of magic.

  The last few forest folk passed through the gates. The guards stood a few paces from the gate itself, looking off down the village road. Still with Chiri on her back and Bifuuko and Daitanishi at her side, Sura slipped from shadow to shadow, finally creeping up against the shrine’s outer palisade.

  The wall was made of wooden beams affixed to pilings driven into the ground. But the wall had not been sunk below ground level: there were gaps here and there between the lowest beam and undulations in the soil. Sura nosed about and finally found a suitable space. Chiri crept down from her back and scuttled silently under the wall.

  The rat poked her head back out a second later and waved a little pink paw. The way was clear. The fox flattened herself onto her belly and wriggled under the wall beam. Thrusting with her back legs she finally managed to push herself through.

  Daitanishi and Bifuuko followed an instant later, briefly shaking themselves free of dirt and dew. All four creatures crept along the join of the wall to hide behind a clump of grass.

  The shrine was a great, solid building of black beams with a tall roof clad in rough wooden shingles. There were perhaps twenty paces of space between the circular curtain wall and the building. This space was empty: no guards or forest folk were in view. Chiri, Sura and the elementals flitted across to the building and nosed against the wall.

  A muffled gong sounded from somewhere deep within. There was a deep murmur of voices. Sura sat back and looked at the walls, and gave a little huffed-out breath in thought.

  There was a gap under the building’s eaves. Sura found a place well out of sight of the gate and settled herself on guard. Bifuuko and Daitanishi floated slowly upwards beside Chiri as the little white rat scaled the rugged wall beams, mounting silently beneath the overhanging roof.

  Daitanishi kept hidden, peeking just over the edge of the beam. He nestled next to Chiri as the rat poked her nose and whiskers out into the gloom.

  She gazed down into a space lit blood-red by a ring of turgid lamps.

  At the back of the great, black building hung a huge silken sheet. It had been painted with a crude representation of one of the grey spiders from the forest. The image was bracketed by the symbols for the element of earth – and the symbol for death.

  An altar held a huge rough stone image of one of the spiders. All of the armoured guards and black-clad forest villagers were present. They knelt and bowed towards the hideous statue.

  The priestess was at the fore – looking sleek, scheming and triumphant. She bowed towards the statue with lust shining in her eyes.

  Something moved upon the ceiling. Daitanishi pushed Chiri deeper into cover, hiding her white fur.

  One of the giant spiders was on the ceiling nearby. Its skull-shaped marking glimmered horribly in the dark. Chiri froze. Daitanishi moved carefully with her, helping her withdraw hair-by-hair back out and over the edge of the eaves. The spider turned at the last minute, suspicious – eyes sparking red. But Chiri and the elementals had pulled back out of view. The spider flexed its jaws, paused for a long moment, then moved on, up into the centre of the hall.

  Chiri slid down the outer shrine wall. Bifuuko gripper her hide, and the rat dropped the last half of the distance, slowed by the air elemental’s whirring wings. Kitsune Sura was up and alert, watching for danger as the rat dropped into the shadows beside her. The fox kept her eyes on the job.

  “What’s in there? Anything good?”

  Chiri grabbed Sura’s fur and began tugging her frantically towards the palisade.

  “We have to get back to the others!”

  Sura covered her companions as they sped back to the palisade. They burrowed back out under the wall, then stole off into the silent village streets.

  Inside the sleeping room at the inn, all was still and quiet. The three samurai lay in their beds, pretending to be asleep – each listening to every nocturnal creak the wooden building made. The guard had peered into the room once more, then wandered away. Time wore slowly, and every shadow seemed to seethe with menace.

  Somewhere in the halls, a floorboard softly creaked…

  Slowly, stealthily, the outer door slid open by a crack. A glittering black eye peered through the open sliver. It watched the room for a long, silent moment. Finally the shape withdrew – feet clicking softly on the wooden boards.

  A huge green spider with a body the size of a human being was out upon the porch. It tiptoed on long, fine legs, backing slowly away from the inn, stealthily keeping to the shadows.

  The spider held a small burden in its front two legs. The baby had been wrapped in a blanket. It stirred, feeling the cold night air, making a little noise. The spider paused and crouched, rapidly spinning more web and wrapping the baby around and around with gleaming white strands of silk.

  Sura and Chiri crept around the corner of a hut, both still in animal form – each looking carefully behind them towards the village shrine. They turned and saw the spider crouched with their baby in its claws, wrapping the little creature as a midnight snack. Sura felt an instant shock of fear.

  “The baby!”

  Sura flashed into half-human form. Naked, furry and full of fright, she seized a broom that leaned against a nearby wall and swatted at the spider, sending it tumbling aside. The baby dropped on the porch boards, safe but shocked. Sura whacked the spider right between the eyes, frantic to protect the infant
’s life.

  Chiri raced up beside her – also in half-human form and now armed with a wooden rake. Sura was utterly beside herself.

  “Get it! Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!”

  The spider cringed against the wall, waving its long legs and wailing in fright.

  “No! Please! It’s me, Kimiko!”

  Chiri paused with rake held high. She goggled at the spider in amazement.

  “Kimiko san?”

  The front doors of the inn flew open as a guard raced out into the road. Seeing Chiri, Sura and the green spider , he suddenly burst out of his clothes and armour, changing form into a giant grey spider.

  Far heavier that the spiders in the forest, its body thickly crusted with rock, the former guard made the earth shudder as it charged towards them. Sura leapt one way and Chiri the other, both striking at the spider with all the force they could muster. Chiri’s rake shattered and Sura’s broomstick bounced uselessly off armour of solid stone.

  The spider’s legs bashed Sura off her feet. The monster whirled and sprayed spider web at her from its abdomen. Sura rolled wildly aside as the sticky web spattered against the wall behind her.

  The spider turned and fired again. This time the web splattered Sura’s chest and pinned her to a wall. The fox struggled, trying to tear away the web. Beside her, the green spider lunged in and snatched the baby, backing wildly to safety.

  The stone spider whirled. It closed in on Sura, but Chiri flung herself into the monster’s way. She tried to stab the creature in a joint between two legs, but her broken rake rebounded away

  Daitanishi sped out of nowhere and struck one of the spider’s eyes, ricocheting from the monster’s armour. The spider shook its head, poison fangs clashing, then surged forward, backing Chiri against a wooden wall.

  Tonbo crashed clean through the sleeping room’s screen doors. His tetsubo smashed down, rebounding wildly away from the spider’s tough stone hide. But the huge man struck again and again, hammering with shocking power. The creature’s armour chipped – weak spots at the eyes shattered, and on the fourth blow, the tetsubo blasted down into the monster’s brains. The spider finally died.