Page 25 of Yoshi (Land of Jade & Fire #1)

Chapter 25

Yoshi

I dug my heels into my horse’s flanks, driving her across the courtyard past startled Samurai who leaped aside with shouts of alarm. Her iron-shod hooves struck sparks from the cobblestones as we burst onto the main road.

The air was thick with the metallic tang of an oncoming storm, the scent sharp and electric. The sun had melted into the horizon, leaving streaks of crimson to bleed across the sky. Wind tore at my face and tugged at the stiff kanmuri atop my head. I pressed the paper-thin cap down with one hand, cursing Father for insisting on the formal headgear.

The elders had to be warned.

Most of the council were guests in the palace, but a few had chosen to stay with family or friends. Anzu Yamake was one of them. The head of the Hinode council was a cautious man, but the influence of his words carried almost as much weight as Father’s. If Anzu Han was to stand united with the Emperor against the Asami rebellion, Yamake’s support would be vital.

I raced toward Yamake’s lodging when the sharp blast of a horn froze me mid-gallop. The cry split the air: one long note, followed by another, then a third.

Three.

No trading ship had ever warranted three blasts. Two heralded peaceful ships.

But three?

The horn wailed again—high, frantic.

An icy fist seized my chest.

“Yoshi!” A familiar voice cut through the wind.

I slowed my horse to a stop and twisted in the saddle to find my uncle thundering toward me, his face grim beneath the moon’s pale glow.

“Go back!” he roared over the howling gale. “Back to the castle. Now!”

“What is it?”

“Pirates! The wakō are here!”

Another blast of the horn echoed from the docks, then faltered, the sound strangled and incomplete.

The gong atop the castle answered with three metallic crashes.

Shadows stirred along the coastline.

The flicker of lanterns gave way to a rising glow—orange and hungry—as flames devoured the waterfront.

“Go!” Takeo shouted, striking my horse’s flank.

My mare lunged. I wrenched the reins to turn her toward the palace.

The wind ripped away my kanmuri , but I didn’t look back. My legs clenched around the saddle, muscles trembling as fear warred with determination.

The horn fell silent.

Only the ringing of the castle’s gong and the rising screams of the town remained.

Fire had spread with terrifying speed. Flames leaped from thatch to thatch, dancing along the rooftops. Silhouettes darted through the smoke: men with wild, unbound hair and painted faces. The moon caught the glint of steel blades in their hands.

The scent of burning wood mixed with something sharper.

Coppery.

Blood.

The castle gates appeared ahead, but a shocking sight rooted me in the saddle.

The massive, unbreakable iron-banded doors stood askew, one hanging splintered on a single hinge, the other toppled against the wall. Crimson-cloaked guards littered the ground. Blood pooling black beneath them. The courtyard beyond was a cauldron of chaos: bodies sprawled in the mud, flames licking at the wooden walkways.

A woman’s shriek sounded through the night, then abruptly cut short.

Steel flashed to my right.

I turned in time to see two wakō charging from an alley. One hurled a spear that clattered off the cobbles at my mare’s hooves. The other swung a curved blade. I yanked the reins, the steel singing past my leg by a hand’s breadth.

“Yoshi!” The voice came from the ground.

My heart jolted as I saw Kaneko sprinting toward me, his hair disheveled and eyes wide.

“They’re everywhere! We have to go!”

I reached down to grab his wrist when a pirate lunged from the shadows. His blade arced toward Kaneko’s back.

“Behind you!” I screamed.

Kaneko dove aside.

The sword missed him by inches.

But the pirate was fast—too fast. He caught Kaneko by the hair, jerking his head back. Kaneko cried out, twisting in vain.

“Let him go!” I shouted.

I drew the tantō at my waist, uselessly small against the pirate’s sword. My mare reared beneath me as another man jabbed a spear at her side.

The sudden movement broke my grip on Kaneko, and my horse bolted.

“Kaneko!” I strained against the reins, but panic drove the beast.

The streets blurred past. Faces contorted in fear. Figures collapsed in the mud.

The clang of steel and the crackle of fire melded into a deafening roar.

I forced myself to breathe, to think.

I had to find Takeo, but I had to save Kaneko.

A merchant staggered past, dragging a sobbing child.

“Takeo- san ?” I called.

The man’s eyes darted toward me. “The shrine road! He went that way!”

I spurred my horse into a hard gallop.

Smoke scoured my throat.

My eyes burned.

At the next corner, I saw him. Uncle Takeo towered on his gray stallion, blood streaking his armor. He was guiding a knot of civilians toward the temple path.

“Uncle!” I veered toward him. “They took Kaneko!”

The news struck him like a blow. His face, already pale, turned ashen.

“The castle is lost,” I gasped. “The outbuildings burn. The wakō —they’re inside!”

Takeo closed his eyes for half a heartbeat, then straightened.

“Get to the shrine,” he said. “Now.”

“We have to find Kaneko!”

“He’s gone!” Takeo’s voice cracked. “You cannot help him if you are dead. If the pirates hold the castle, you may be Daimyo now. You must remain safe, for you are Anzu Han , Yoshi. You are our house.”

“But Kaneko—”

“I will find him. Now go!”

A guttural cry rose from the street behind us as a dozen pirates surged forward, blades glinting, faces streaked with ash and paint.

“Ride!” Takeo bellowed.

I turned my mare up the narrow temple path. Hooves skidded on wet stone as rain began to fall in sheets. Behind me, I heard Takeo shout a battle cry followed by the clash of steel on steel.

Lightning split the sky.

The temple gates loomed ahead.

Behind me, the night roared with fire, fury, and death.

And my heart wept.