He tried to imagine the drama that was taking place below him-the darkness, the narrow passage. What beings dwelt in the caves? Bats, spiders, snakes probably, and maybe goblins or demons. Komori’s courage was a rare kind-he would rather face a hundred warriors than go into that underground world.
The sun set and the flames below seemed brighter. The fire smoked blue in the twilight; the shapes of the men around it became dark and featureless and seemed to float above the ground like ghosts.
Then suddenly there was movement, shouts of relief. Komori crawled from the narrow opening, turned, and pulled another figure after him.
The heir to the Tohan clan was naked, soaked in oil and water, skin lacerated and bleeding from a hundred tiny cuts and grazes. With the help of the ropes, he was raised to the surface, where Shigeru gave him Komori’s clothes to dress himself in, averting his own eyes, not wanting to humiliate the man further or to seem to be glorying in the situation.
Sadamu went to the spring and crouched by it, washing his body carefully, wincing now and then but not uttering a sound. Then he dressed himself in the borrowed clothes. He was a bigger man than Komori, and they did not fit well.
Shigeru gave orders for food to be brought. Fires were lit and water boiled. Sadamu drank soup and tea and ate ravenously, his eyes flickering round at the men and horses. Leaving him surrounded by guards, Shigeru drew Komori aside.
“What about the others? Was he the only one to survive?”
“His horse must have broken his fall. It was dead beneath him. Two of the men we saw jump died instantly. The other was alive, unhurt, but Lord Iida ordered him to kill himself. He had me hold the lamp so he could watch. It seemed to assuage some of his fury.” Komori was silent for a moment and then said, “I thought he would kill me too. He brought his sword and his knife but had to leave them, for he could not make it through the tightest passage with them. He could not bear for anyone to see him helpless. He wanted no witnesses. We have saved his life, but he will hate us for it. We should have left him there.”
No, I must make use of him, Shigeru thought. He returned to Iida and made a slight bow to him.
“I hope you are not hurt?”
Iida stared at him for some moments. “I seem to be indebted to you. My thanks. I’ll ask you to give me a horse tomorrow and see me to the border.”
“I think it is best that we return to Chigawa in case Lord Iida is not completely recovered.”
“You know who I am, then?”
“One of your men saw you fall and told us.”
“Fools and cowards, all of them,” Iida spat. Shigeru studied him in the firelight, and realized that no compassion, remorse, or fear would ever divert him; it gave him a rare strength of will.
He wore a small neat beard and mustache; he was slightly below average height but heavily built; he was still in his twenties, and it was easy to see how he would broaden and thicken as he aged. His features were unremarkable, but his eyes were extraordinary, intelligent and powerful, snapping now with rage, the eyes of a man afraid of nothing in Heaven or on Earth. Shigeru thought briefly that he understood the ferocity of Iida’s persecution of the Hidden: this man considered himself above any judgment from gods or men.
“And who are you?” Iida said, gazing back, seemingly irritated more by Shigeru’s inspection.
“I am Otori Shigeru.”
“Are you indeed?” Iida laughed bitterly. “No wonder you want to take me to Chigawa! And then what?”
“There are various matters that need to be settled between our clans,” Shigeru replied. “Our chance meeting seems to offer an excellent opportunity for negotiation. When the negotiation is completed to everyone’s satisfaction, you will be escorted to the border.”
“The Tohan are far stronger than the Otori. It’s only a matter of months before you submit to us. I command you to take me to the border immediately-as soon as it is light.”
“I believe we are equals by birth and blood,” Shigeru returned. “I don’t know for what reason you came over the border, but you are in the Middle Country now, where you have no authority. I see no alternative but for Lord Iida to comply with my wishes. You may do so freely or we will bind you with ropes and take you as a prisoner. It is Lord Iida’s choice.”
“I swear by Heaven I will see you bound with ropes before I die,” Iida replied. “How dare you speak to me like that?”
“I am in my own country. I am heir to my clan. I can speak any way I like!”
“How old are you?” Iida demanded.
“I am fully adult. I made my coming of age this year.”
“Well, I’ve heard of you. You fought Miura…”
“It was a fair fight!” Shigeru interrupted.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that, though it suits us to present it otherwise. I am sure Otori Shigeru would never do anything ignoble.”
The sneer in his voice made the blood rise in Shigeru’s face. He fought to control his temper, realizing intuitively that the only way to deal with Iida was through self-control, calmness, and courtesy.
“I was told that you were handsome,” Sadamu went on. “But good-looking boys grow up to be weak men. They are spoiled by too much attention when they are young. If you are the best the Otori can produce, I don’t think we have anything to fear.”
Shigeru could not help being amazed by the man’s effrontery-alone, unarmed, surrounded by enemies, Sadamu was self-confident enough to be deliberately insulting.
“The man who saw me fall-you hold him too?”
Shigeru nodded in assent.
“Bring him to me.”
“He is still at the place where Lord Iida fell. He will join us tomorrow.”
Shigeru heard a murmur from the men who surrounded them of anger at the insulting tone, anger in response to Iida’s rage. He knew it would take only a word from him-less, a single gesture-and Iida’s life would be over. Yet he would not kill an unarmed man; nor would he take any action that would bring on war before the Otori clan was fully prepared.
If Iida was aware of his own vulnerability, he gave no sign of it. He appeared to accept the situation and wasted no more time or energy struggling against it. He stretched out beside the fire, adjusted a rock under his head for a pillow, and seemed to fall instantly asleep.
Shigeru could not help admiring his equanimity: there was no doubt Iida Sadamu was a courageous man and a formidable enemy. He had already seen the evidence of his ruthlessness and his cruelty.
He sat up with the guards keeping watch. None of his men slept much, apart from Komori, who was exhausted by the rescue. They shared Shigeru’s restlessness, as though they had captured a tiger or a bear that might suddenly attack them and rip them apart. It was a soft, mild night, the constellations blazing across the vault of heaven. Just before dawn there was a shower of falling stars that made the men gasp and caused the superstitious among them to clasp their amulets. Shigeru thought about Heaven, and the gods and spirits that ruled the lives of men. He had been taught that the test of government was the contentment of the people. If the ruler was just, the land received the blessings of Heaven. He wanted to ensure justice throughout the Middle Country, to realize his vision of his fief as a farm. Yet men like Iida seized power and dominated those around them by sheer force of will, their desire for power unhindered by compassion or the desire for justice. You either shared their view and submitted to them in return for their protection or opposed them by meeting their will with your own and by being stronger. He was grateful for this strange meeting. He would never forget that he had seen Iida Sadamu naked and powerless.
They rose at first light, as larks called their morning song, and prepared the horses, ate a sparse meal of cold food, and departed. Iida rode Komori’s horse, ropes tied to its bit and held by warriors on either side lest he attempt to escape, while Komori himself ran at Shigeru’s stirrup, guiding them back through the treacherous country.