THE WOUNDED CRAB

The Wounded Crab

Dawn was creeping up before his eyes, but the dark clouds so full of storm kept the golden rays from reaching the chilly morning soil. Yakamo watched the sunrise for a moment then reached down into the pot of water and splashed his face clean. But no matter how many times he rinsed his skin, he could not escape the putrid smell of death that clung to him like a blood bloated leech. The water felt good as it trickled down his face and over his lips.

The cool water had washed away the heavy lull of sleep, but the pain in his wrist remained. This morning - as it was all mornings - it was a dull throb that matched the pulse in his chest. By noon, it would be a raging bonfire, calmed only by the smooth salves and magical mutterings of Kuni Yori, his father's most trusted shugenja. For the thousandth time, he looked at the stump where his right hand should have been and he muttered the name of the samurai-maiden who took it from him.

A younger man approached him. He was dressed in a similar armor and his belt held a katana and a wakizashi, the sign of a samurai. "My brother," he said.

Yakamo did not turn. "Yes, Sukune?"

"The Dragon army has reached Otomo valley. They shall reach the opening of Beiden Pass by noon."

Yakamo said nothing to his brother, only nodded. He felt his wet mustache against his cheeks and the cool of the water running down the hard angles of his back. Then, another voice called to him. This voice was not used to calling over armies as was Sukune's, but was like the sound of a sharp blade on silk. "My lord...?" it asked tentatively.

Yakamo turned immediately, for he knew who the voice belonged to, and more importantly, what the shugenja was bringing for him. "Kuni Yori," he said with his voice filled with anticipation.

The shugenja stood behind Sukune by almost five paces. Yakamo walked toward Yori, nearly pushing Sukune aside. "You have finished your work?" he asked, now looming over the thin frail figure.

"I have, my Lord. With the assistance of a... quiet ally."

Yakamo could not care less how the item was finished. He looked down at the wrapped package in the shugenja's hands and took with it with his own massive left. He quickly unwrapped the cloth until the huge claw was revealed. Yakamo smiled.

"It has been... enchanted with magics that I have only recently learned, my Lord. I am uncertain of its effectiveness."

"Anything is better than a stump," Yakamo said sharply.

"We must still attach it, my Lord. Again, a magical process that may cause you some significant... pain."

"As quickly as possible. Toturi and his Dragons are nearly here."

Quite suddenly, Yakamo looked up, looking at Sukune. "Why are you still here?"

The young samurai's eyes filled with confusion. "My brother, I?"

"Move your forces to the front of Beiden Pass. Keep him from gaining any ground. My army will arrive shortly."

"But my brother, we will need your-"

"Now Sukune! Do not make me tell you again."

Sukune stood silent for only a heartbeat, then he bowed and ran toward the direction of his waiting footmen.

As soon as he was out of sight, Kuni Yori whispered, "My Lord, I think he is beginning to suspect."

The anger of Yakamo's glare forced the shugenja to take a single step back. "Just because your family has chosen to delve into dark secrets, Kuni Yori, and just because my father has allowed you to do so, do not think for a moment that I approve." Yakamo approached the shugenja and Yori took another step back. "Do not think that I do not know of the things you have bargained with to gain the powers that you have. My family has done battle with the Shadowlands for a thousand years. We need their strength now to claim the Throne from that pathetic weakling the Lion and Crane call an Emperor, but I assure you, when we have won the Throne, I will make certain that you and the rest of your kind are dealt with appropriately."

"Those dark secrets," Yori meekly said, "will give you something to fight with other than a stump."

Yakamo looked again at the runes that were engraved in the claw he held in his left hand. His eyes then turned to the mewling shugenja and back again to the claw. We will use their strength, he thought, and we will use their knowledge. But we do not need them. We do not need them.

"Forgive me if I speak out of turn," Yori's voice broke through Yakamo's thoughts. "But our scouts have reported that Mirumoto Hitomi leads one of the contingents of Toturi's Army, my Lord."

The suddenness of Yakamo's movement flung Kuni Yori to the ground. His eyes were filled with fire, his lips frothing with rage. "YOU!" He screamed at the fallen shugenja. "You will gather your shugenja together and perform the ritual immediately!"

Kuni Yori raised himself up from the damp morning earth and bowed low. "as you command, my Lord." Then he turned and walked down the hill toward the small tent where his apprentices waited for him.

Yakamo turned once again to the rising sun and looked down at the force of samurai moving toward Beiden Pass. "Do not fail us, Sukune," he said. "For the price of failure is greater than you could possibly imagine."