Lady Miyagi met his plea with a blank stare. Deep in her own world of skewed perception, she seemed impervious to logic. Slowly she turned away, dragging Reiko to the brink of the precipice.
“No!”
Sano rushed toward the women, but Hirata leapt in front of him. The young retainer grabbed Lord Miyagi in a double armlock. “Lady Miyagi, if you hurt the sōsakan-sama’s wife, I’ll throw your husband over the edge,” Hirata yelled.
It was a strategy that hadn’t occurred to Sano; his mind had been focused on Reiko. Now he held his breath as he watched Lady Miyagi’s head jerk around. When she saw the daimyo, she froze, drawing a sharp hiss of breath.
“Cousin, help, I don’t want to die!” Sobbing, Lord Miyagi kicked and struggled in Hirata’s grip.
“You can save him,” Sano said. A pool of hope spread in his heart. “Just drop the dagger. Then walk this way.” Moving down the hillside, he gestured for Lady Miyagi to follow. “Bring Reiko to me.”
Lady Miyagi’s gaze flashed from her husband to Sano, then Reiko. An anguished moan escaped her. Sano felt indecision weakening her resolve, like cold water cracking hot porcelain, yet she didn’t move.
“Hirata?” Sano said.
The young retainer hauled Lord Miyagi to the edge. “Help, Cousin,” the daimyo mewled.
No one else spoke. No one moved. Only the sounds of wind and rushing water broke the silence. The great wheel of the heavens seemed to stall, halting moon and stars on their celestial paths. Deranged by jealousy, Lady Miyagi apparently wanted to save her husband, but not without securing her position in his life. Perhaps she also needed to punish him for his imagined betrayal. Sano felt the night expand, vast and dark and terrible as the impasse that the negotiations had reached. Despair overwhelmed him.
Then a series of crashing noises came from the forest. Running footsteps pounded up the slope. Beyond Lady Miyagi and Reiko, a man burst into view. He wore a soiled kimono and carried a spear.
“Lieutenant Kushida.” Wonder hushed Sano’s exclamation. He saw Hirata stiffen with surprise, and heard the daimyo utter a startled grunt. Lady Miyagi turned slightly, eyes darting, trying to watch everyone at once.
“It must have been him following us in the woods,” Hirata said. “What’s he doing here?”
The lieutenant ignored Sano, Hirata, Reiko, and Lord Miyagi. Pointing his spear at Lady Miyagi, he shouted, “Murderer!” His monkey face was streaked with dirt; his matted hair hung loose around his shoulders. “Day and night I’ve hunted the killer of my beloved Harume. At last I’ve found you. Now I shall avenge her death, appease her spirit, and reclaim my honor!”
Now Sano understood why Kushida had gone to Daikon Quay. He’d tracked down Choyei and forced the dying peddler to reveal the identity of the customer who had bought the arrow toxin. He was the man whom the landlord had heard in Choyei’s room. Then he’d stalked Lady Miyagi. Before Sano could react, the lieutenant lunged at Lady Miyagi. She shrieked and lurched sideways across the path toward the pavilion. The spear blade ripped through the sleeve of her robe. Cursing, Kushida attacked again. As Lady Miyagi lashed out with her dagger in an attempt to defend herself, Reiko broke free. She stumbled along the path, trying to avoid Kushida’s vicious thrusts. When Sano rushed to help her, the shaft of the spear banged him on the shoulder.
Hirata flung Lord Miyagi aside. Drawing his sword, he charged at Lieutenant Kushida. “I’ll take care of him, sōsakan-sama. You save Reiko.”
Thrusting and dodging, he drove Kushida down the hill. Sano reached for Reiko, but Lady Miyagi slashed his arm with the dagger, shrieking, “Get away!”
Sano drew his sword and chopped at Lady Miyagi’s blade. Reiko drew a dagger from her sleeve and joined the battle. Then Sano felt someone come up behind him. He whirled and saw Lord Miyagi waving a sword.
“I won’t let you hurt my wife.” His droopy features tightened by fear, the daimyo took an awkward swipe at Sano.
Sano dodged the strike. He battered at the daimyo’s sword, intending to subdue rather than kill. “You can’t win, Lord Miyagi. Surrender.”
Reiko slashed at Lady Miyagi, who parried. Their slender blades clashed with a sweet, steely ring. Whirling and feinting at the edge of the drop, amid billowing robes and hair, they engaged in a dance of violent grace. Reiko fought with practiced skill, Lady Miyagi with reckless ferocity. From down the hill, Sano heard Lieutenant Kushida shouting at Hirata, “Leave me alone. I must avenge Lady Harume’s death. It’s the only way I’ll ever know peace.”
Lord Miyagi struggled against Sano’s superior skill. Sweat glistened on his woeful face. A lifetime of self-indulgence had left him ill suited for combat. Quickly Sano knocked the sword out of his hand. Helpless, he cowered on the ground. He looked at his wife, whose robes hung in bloodstained tatters where Reiko had cut her. A groan of misery issued from him. Sano could see his vision of life without a devoted slave; jail, exile, or confiscation of the family estate as punishment for his wife’s crimes. Then Lord Miyagi raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I accept defeat,” he said with quiet dignity. “Please allow me the privilege of committing seppuku.”
The daimyo drew his short sword, gripping it in trembling hands, the blade pointed at his abdomen. Closing his eyes, he murmured a prayer. Either he was taking the coward’s way out of a difficult situation, or some vestige of samurai honor lived within him. Then he gulped a deep breath. With a piercing scream, he drove the sword into himself.
“Cousin!” Lady Miyagi rushed over and knelt beside her husband, who writhed and moaned in the agonies of death. Dropping the dagger, she caressed the daimyo’s face with her bloody hands.
A great convulsion spasmed his body. He looked up at his wife, and his lips mouthed unintelligible words. Then he went limp in her arms.
“Oh, no. My darling. No!” Ugly, choking sobs wracked Lady Miyagi.
Panting from exertion, Reiko joined Sano. Gingerly he crouched, reaching for Lady Miyagi’s dagger, though he didn’t think she would resist arrest now. Then her hand shot out and grabbed the weapon, pointing it at him. Grief twisted her mouth; her face was livid with anger, smeared with blood and tears. “You destroyed my husband,” she whispered.”You’ll pay for this.”
Sano raised his sword. But instead of attacking him, Lady Miyagi assaulted Reiko, crying, “You took away my beloved. Now I’m going to take yours!”
Caught off guard, Reiko dodged too late; the blade missed her heart, but cut her shoulder. Then they were fighting again, with Reiko’s back to the precipice and Lady Miyagi between her and Sano. Sano sheathed his sword and seized Lady Miyagi from behind, locking his hands around hers on the hilt of the dagger. As they grappled for control of the weapon, she fell forward on top of Reiko. Sano fell with her. They landed at the very edge, heads extended into empty space.
Reiko screamed, slashing Lady Miyagi’s face with her dagger. Lady Miyagi howled. Sano wrenched the weapon away from her. At the same moment, she bucked, throwing him free. Then Reiko gave an enormous heave. Like an acrobat in a street show, Lady Miyagi flipped heels over head. Hands clawing wildly at Reiko, she soared into the air over the precipice and seemed to hang there for an instant. Sano threw himself on top of Reiko, anchoring her. Then Lady Miyagi plummeted out of sight. A high, thin scream followed her. There was a series of diminishing thuds as her body struck the rocks. Then silence.
Sano helped Reiko to her feet. Arms tight around each other, they peered down into the darkness. The moonlight gleamed faintly on Lady Miyagi’s robes. She didn’t move.
Hirata ran up to them, carrying Lieutenant Kushida’s spear and his own sword. He bled from cuts on his hands, arms, and face. “Kushida is wounded, but he’ll live. What happened here? Are you all right?”