The Open Road Read online

  Kuno stood forth upon the top of the rock fortress. His armour glittered with its lacing of green and yellow, purple and lavender. He wore his helmet – agemaki bows shining at the back of helmet and cuirass. The samurai placed himself proudly before his foes. His voice carried clear and loud across the gorge.

  “I am Asodo Kuno, Imperial Deputy! Son of Asodo Kiyosi, who held the bridge at Adagahara! Grandson of Asodo Domei, who single handedly broke the enemy lines at Hanajo!”

  Sura – still resplendent in her armour, formal cap and flowing robes, climbed up to Kuno’s side. She carried a bowl of brandy, and was clearly merry with drink.

  “I am Kitsune Sura – adopted! And number one spider arse kicker of the Sacred Isles!”

  Priestess Toriē glared. She rippled and turned into her spider form.

  She was revealed as a massive giant spider – larger and sleeker than the others, with a body clad in shimmering jet-black obsidian. Behind her, the other Dokufu guards and villagers split their clothing, all turning into giant stone-armoured spiders.

  The spider priestess glared at the interlopers on the far side of the gorge.

  “We are the Dokufu! Dark nightmares of the Realm of Slaughter! Your puny metal weapons are unable to withstand us!” The priestess waved one long, glittering leg in dismissal.

  “Surrender now, and we shall be merciful. We shall poison you into unconsciousness, so that you will incubate the queen’s young in your sleep. Defy us, and we shall keep you conscious through a year of torment, until the sacred young burst out through your living flesh!”

  By way of answer, Sura sent a great mocking howl echoing across the gorge.

  “Have you ever seen your own butt? Any creature with an arse that big needs a good kicking!” The fox leaned down to apologise to Kimiko beside her. “No offense.”

  “None taken.”

  Sura called back out across the gorge.

  “Come on over! I want to kick that flabby rump of yours up and down these hills like a soggy football!”

  Sura waved her brandy cup at the Dokufu, raising her spear, hooting at them to climb the rocks and get her. Tonbo climbed the rocks behind her, picked her up and carried her down out of harm’s way. He pointedly confiscated her brandy cup.

  At the far side of the gorge, the Dokufu gathered about their priestess. Long fangs gleaned. The huge, grey armoured warriors clanked forward and bowed to their leader.

  “Holiness – what are your orders?”

  The priestess turned. The new moon glittered above in the hated daytime light.

  “The new moon has risen. We attack!” She gestured to the rock outcrop with its pathetic band of defenders. “One blood sacrifice will open the gate. Bring me the child! The others – web and poison!”

  The Dokufu all bobbed coldly downward in bows of obedience.

  “Ho!”

  The huge stone spider warriors were joined by the spider swarms from the forest. Some poured straight down the cliffs, racing effortlessly down the vertical face into the gorge. Others surged through the forest to left and right, running to flank the rock fortress.

  They came on in three dense, raging mobs. High up atop the rocks, Sano Moko, Tonbo and Kuno arose. They were armed with hunting bows. Beside them were a dozen villagers, also with bows in hand. They lit fire arrows, took aim, and sent missiles hissing out to smack into the giant spiders that came racing out across the bottom of the gorge.

  The arrows struck home – sometimes ricocheting clear, but others made armour crack and caused spiders to bellow in pain. The stinging attack drove the spiders into fury. With deafening screams they hurtled themselves towards the cliffs, scaling up the sheer wall of the gorge, fighting each other to be first to claw their way up into the little fortress and bring terror and death to the villagers.

  At the flanks of the fortress, dense piles of thorn and jagged brush had been piled at the base of the rocks. It was no barrier to the stone spiders, whose skin was immune to the vicious thorns. They flung themselves into the barrier and thrashed their way forwards, wading clumsily through the cracking, snapping brush. The first few giants had almost struggled through – others were plunging deep into the brush while hundreds of smaller spiders clambered in a killing frenzy over their backs, when Chiri and Kimiko peered down at them from the rocks above. Kimiko held a blazing torch in hand. She looked to Chiri, who leaned out to gaze along the cracking, splintering wall of thorns below.

  “Now!”

  Huge brandy barrels were heaved up and over the rocks. Sent tumbling down the rock face, they moved faster and faster, brandy whipping outwards from holes staved into the immense barrels. Village men heaved, sending more barrels up and away. They crashed into the rocks far below, splashing spiders, rocks and thorns alike.

  Kimiko hurtled her torch. Other villagers followed with crocks of cooking oils and lamp oil. A ripple of blue flames shot through the barrier. Oil jars smashed, and the dry thorns went up in a sudden rush of fire.

  The trapped Dokufu reared, screaming. Armour shattered – legs split away. Villagers up above threw down rocks and boulders to crash through the monster’s shells. All along the rock face, spiders thrashed and screamed. Some blundered blazing out into the forest. Small spiders shrivelled. Others still tried to climb the rocks, only to be caught by rolling boulders and thrown back into the flames.

  At the cliff face overlooking the gorge, spiders were scaling the sheer rock face. Sura oversaw a team of village men and women who all tilted brandy barrels to pour liquid gushing down the rock face. Torches were thrown: blue flames whipped into life all along the cliff. Spiders reared and screamed, falling back, plunging thirty yards to shatter against the rocks below. Burning bushes filled the gorge with flames. Sura personally hurtled a jar of oil far out onto the air, watching it arc and plunge down to shatter amongst a group of spiders. The oil caught fire, and the fox gave a mighty hoot of joy.

  Some spiders had managed to escape the flames by hiding beneath overhangs or scrabbling sideways away from the streams of flammable liquid. More brandy barrels were brought and heaved into place, gushing down all across the cliff. An ornate barrel was heaved up beside Sura. The fox ceased hurtling chunks of rocks down at the spiders, and raced over to the Kumo who were tilting the barrel up and almost over the precipice.

  “Wait! Wait!” It was a plum brandy – apparently a hundred years old. Sura heard the Dokufu spiders clawing up the cliff. She winced, waving the Kumo to proceed. “Oooooh… Oh, alright! Do it!”

  Brandy gushed down the cliff face, igniting in sheets of wild blue flame. Sura made a heart-rending noise. Tonbo patted Sura on the shoulder as she mournfully watched the brandy burn.

  “The essence of all heroic endeavour is sacrifice.”

  Sura watched as the empty barrel was tumbled down the cliff to stoke the flames. She heaved a little sigh.

  “And it was imported…”

  Down at the far bottom end of the gorge, Priestess Toriē snarled in hate. The glittering black spider tore a wound across herself with her own fangs. She opened her forelegs wide and wove a web of magic with her own black blood.

  “Evil spirits, come to me!

  Bring the storm in train.

  Gather now at my command!

  Bring the ashen rain!”

  Sinister black, jagged spirits spurted upwards from the accursed earth at the bottom of the gorge. They lunged upwards into the clouds low overhead. The sky immediately grew dark. Thunder flashed as clouds turned black, and suddenly the sky was filled with rain.

  Grey, ash-darkened rain spattered down onto the rocks, sheeting down with all the violence of a storm. The brandy fires were washed away – blazing thorn bushes struggled to survive. The spider priestess reared in triumph, her laugh braying out through the storm.

  “All sides at once! Attack!” The priestess plunged forward to lead the charge. “Attack!”

  A vile sludge of ash and rain gushed down from above, drenching the rocks, forest and gulley fa
r below. Clouds roiled with evil spirits that chittered and flashed in the dark. Brandy fires were sluiced away in the deluge, and the thorn fires ebbed. With a great scream of blood lust, the Dokufu and their young thundered towards the little fort, flinging themselves at the rocks and plunging forward through the ash.

  Hunching under the blast of rain, Chiri fought her way to the highest rock on the outcrop. She lifted Bifuuko up in her cupped hands and set her flying free. Chiri entwined her fingers, then turned around and around summoning up her power.

  “Sky dancers, come to me!

  Dancers, hear my cry.

  Spread your wings out up above.

  Shield us from the sky!”

  Air elementals appeared in droves overhead. The creatures each spread out a shield of light, interlocking to shelter the hilltop from the rain. The black sludge ran off the shield of elementals, flowing away from the fortress and the cliff. But the damage had been done: the fires on the cliff were all thoroughly washed away. Chiri sank to the ground as the roof of air elementals shimmered overhead. The rat spirit was utterly spent.

  The lower thorn barrier had been all but washed away, but the upper barrier was still in place. Villagers raced to pour the last of the oil over the thorns while Kuno and the samurai kept hurtling boulders into the mass of onrushing spiders.

  The rainstorm was horribly loud. Kuno shouted to the archers as they prepared another volley.

  “Keep shooting! Keep shooting!” He pointed the men towards the spiders in the gorge. “Target the smaller spiders. Leave the giants to us!”

  The Dokufu came at the fortress in a wild rush, smashing through the charred ruins of their first charge. The thorn barrier at the top of the fortress was set alight, but the Dokufu had changed their tactics. While rocks and boulders crashed into their ranks, the huge spiders whipped out long lines of silk, trying to drag the flaming bushes aside. Gaps were being broken in the barrier, and smaller spiders lunged through. Kumo villagers attacked with flaming poles and spears. They battered the spiders down – but more and more of the thorn barriers were being wrenched aside.

  Kimiko had the baby hidden down in the rocks beside Chiri, with Daitanishi there to guard him. The young Kumo woman rose up and shouted to the village women just nearby.

  “Sisters! Weave with me!”

  Kimiko and the village women all changed into their giant spider forms. They began swiftly weaving webs together, stretching them out between themselves in pairs.

  A sudden rush of Dokufu flung themselves at the ramparts, dodging aside as a flaming brandy barrel crashed past. A gap had been torn in the thorns, and the giant stone spiders blundered through, hurling themselves towards the villagers beyond.

  The female Kumo leapt forward, stretching out their new webs between them. Pairs of females landed either side of onrushing Dokufu, snaring the monsters inside sticky strands of silk.

  Sano Moko and the Spirit Hunters fought a savage battle with the stone spiders that came crawling through the thorns. The fire elementals inside their weapons bit and shattered stone armour, blades plunging deep. Sura piked raging spiders with her spear, slamming them back into the flames. Tonbo’s tetsubo shattered spiders again and again, smashing the monsters to the ground.

  Sano Moko fought with her naginata whirling in great streaking arcs, cleaving into Dokufu and shearing through spider flesh. Kuno fought beside her, blade flashing. But a wounded Dokufu turned and sprayed web towards him. Kuno tried to dodge aside, but the web spattered against his leg, sending him sprawling on the ground. A second web splashed across his right arm, gluing it to the rock with a grip like iron.

  A Dokufu spider leapt screaming through the air and landed inches away from Kuno. The monster saw the samurai pinned to the rock and reared, fangs gleaming. It plunged downwards, but Kuno drew his short sword left handed, blocking the blow. Lethal fangs skipped from his armoured forearm and ripped through his cloth upper-sleeve. It missed his flesh – but then the spider drove down again, trying to plunge its long vicious fangs into Kuno’s shoulder. His short sword scraped uselessly against the monster’s armoured hide.

  Suddenly Sano Moko lunged in with her naginata, running the spider through beneath its torso. She heaved the creature upwards, keeping the clashing fangs clear of Kuno’s neck. He found his sword and plunged it upwards, wrenching open a mortal wound. The dying monster was hurtled aside, crashing down the rock slope and slithering in its blood.

  Sura found a flaming torch and tossed it to Sano Moko. She burned the webs holding Kuno to the rock. The man wrenched himself free, gave a swift nod of gratitude to Sano Moko, then leapt forward, slamming his blade down between an onrushing stone spider’s eyes.

  The Dokufu priestess clawed her way up and over the sheer cliff face. She plunged beneath the thorn barricade, heaving it upwards and breaking a path through for the monsters following behind. She leapt onto a Kumo spider, biting the creature through. Other Dokufu behind her surged through the breach. A flaming brandy barrel burst, crashing flames into the middle of the Dokufu charge, but the leaders plunged on and up into the fortress.

  Chiri leapt down from a rock, flaming natagama hacking down to chop into a stone spider’s head. Her second weapon crashed down through the splintered armour as the monster tried to shake free and bite her. It swept a stone-covered leg at her with enough force to stave in her skull: the rat ducked and went straight for the monster’s face.

  Her third blow finished off her opponent – but the Dokufu were creating havoc. Kumo grappled, trying to bring the rampaging enemy down with nets and webs. But they were being overrun by the stone spiders, who came at them with incredible force, crashing the slimmer Kumo aside.

  Tonbo charged, his tetsubo splintering the legs of monsters, then sweeping back to pound down through their heads. A Dokufu leapt onto his back. He staggered under the massive weight, then hurtled himself backwards, landing full force on the monster behind him. Stone armour cracked. Tonbo drew the kodachi dagger from his belt and rammed the long blade back into the cracked armour. He needed no fire elemental. The stiff blade jammed into the monster’s flesh. Fangs tried to pierce the iron skirts of his helmet. Tonbo stabbed with his long dagger yet again, twisting the blade. The Dokufu underneath him shrieked and clawed at him as it died.

  Another stone spider leapt at Tonbo, stabbing down. The huge samurai caught the monster’s fangs in his bare hands and heaved back against the screeching Dokufu as it tried to ram the lethal spikes home.

  Wrenching the two fangs outwards he slammed his armoured head into the creature’s eyes. He twisted, pushing upward with all his might as his hands heaved apart. The monster’s fangs were torn clean out of the creature’s head and Tonbo slammed one home into its own skull. The stone spider fell back, staggering. Tonbo rose from the tangled legs of his last kill, tetsubo in hand, the weapon whirling. The injured spider was slammed down into the ground, stone armour splintering and spraying shards.

  The melee swirled violently at the clifftop. The black spider priestess rampaged through a mass of Kumo, simply smashing the creatures from her path. Suddenly the priestess saw the baby lying hidden in the rocks. The spider hissed and lunged eagerly towards the child.

  Kimiko saw the priestess racing towards the baby. Daitanishi was there, flinging himself wildly at the stone spider and bouncing uselessly off her armour. Kimiko raced fowards, eight legs clawing at the rocks. The green spider saw Sura fighting clear of the Dokufu charge, and screamed out to her in panic.

  Tiring, Sura whipped about and saw the charging black spider. The fox leapt forward with a sudden frenzy of strength. She slammed forward, spear lunging outward, the magic blade smashing into the spider priestess. The fire elemental flashed, and pieces of black obsidian smashed and shattered. Sura held the monster pinned on her spear, jamming the weapon’s butt against the stones – the crossblades slammed tight against the spider’s chest. The spider priestess ravened at her, lashing out and driving forwards, fangs clashing – venom sizzlin
g as it spattered to the rocks.

  The wooden spear haft creaked, bowing as the spider rammed itself further forwards. Sura managed to reach into one sleeve, pulling out a pepper egg. She hurtled it at the spider’s face, but the cloud of pepper had no effect.

  She pulled her canteen from her belt. Bifuuko sped past, seizing the canteen and pinning it against the spider. Daitanishi whipped low across the rocks and crashed into the canteen, shattering it and showering the spider’s carapace with brandy.

  The liquor caught afire as flames licked out from the fire elemental in Sura’s spear. Blue flames flickered over the spider. The monster jerked back in panic, pulling free from the spear and beating frantically at her own head to kill the flames.

  Kimiko lashed out with a sticky web, snared the Dokufu priestess and tugged with all her strength. The black spider tripped and fell, legs thrashing. Sura lunged in with her spear and shoved. The Dokufu priestess fell tumbling from the cliff, screaming as she plunged down into the gorge below.

  Kimiko raced to pick up the baby in her forelegs and cradle him against her heart. Sura half collapsed on a boulder beside her. Out in the rocks, the last of the Dokufu were hurtled back from the cliff, with Kuno running a final monster through and then whipping clean his blade.

  Down in the gorge, within the evil pattern of bones, the Dokufu priestess lay broken and dying. She shifted, shimmering and changing into human form. Naked and broken, the woman dragged herself to the centre of the pattern, croaking out a dark, horrifying spell.

  Strength was failing her. The priestess groped and found a dagger made of yellowed bone.