The Wrath of Silver Wolf (14 page)

At their sunset arrival, the pair had made
another startling discovery. The White Nun could
read minds, or so it seemed. It was disconcerting
to say the least, the way she finished sentences
each of them began. Moon eyed her uneasily.
Could she pick up everything that flickered
through his mind? He hoped not. Moonshadow
forced himself to concentrate on the generous
and satisfying meal she had prepared them.

'Yes, the noodles are filling, are they not?' The
White Nun smiled. Her voice was soft, remote.

He grinned back. She had done it again.
Moon scooped up a last thick noodle between his
chopsticks, fed it between his lips, then lowered
the bowl to the stained matting at his side.

He sighed. Since she knew his thoughts, there
seemed no point in holding back.

As he met her peculiar red stare, she smiled
again. 'You want to ask about Motto.' She gestured
at the beast beside her. 'I call him that because
motto
of course means
more
and he's
more
all right:
bigger, stronger, faster, smarter than any dog or
wolf I've seen. He's . . . simply
motto
.'

Covering her mouth with a heavily wrinkled
hand, she giggled at her own joke.

Moonshadow chuckled and leaned forward,
offering the back of his hand to the dog. 'Good
evening, Motto-San,' he said warmly. 'You sure
scared us back there.'

The wolf-dog stared at him without expression,
then its lips peeled open. The flash of teeth made
Moon snatch his hand back. Motto relaxed his
mouth again.

'That's unusual,' Snowhawk said thoughtfully.
'Animals generally take to Moon, not just the
ones he links with, either. Maybe we don't
smell so –'

'Oh no, dear.' The White Nun glanced at her
only permanent companion. 'It's not about you.
He's like this because I'm here. He can be much
friendlier. But while we're linked and I'm present,
I'm afraid Motto-San is single-minded to the point
of rudeness.'

Staring at the wolf-like beast, Moonshadow
slowly shook his head in wonder.

'Come now, dear,' the sage said gently. 'Don't
be so amazed that I could control Motto-San over
such a distance, call him off you and have him
bring you here unharmed.'

Moon blinked, embarrassed. That was
exactly
what he had been thinking.

The White Nun went on enthusiastically. 'As
young Snowhawk here says, you've always had
a strong rapport with animals. I felt it the day I
encouraged your selection for training in the
Order's orphanage. And there's still more to your
special skill than you know. One day, you too will
extend
your Eye of the Beast powers, just as I have.
You'll hold a permanent link with a creature over
a great distance, maintaining the bond even when
you sleep – confident that the beast will carry out
your intentions on its own.'

'Great sage,' he bowed, 'thank you for this
encouraging word. But how do you –'

'All in good time.' The White Nun held up
a finger. 'And yes, as you theorised, it can be
al most fatally draining, but once your skills have
fully matured . . .' she sighed. 'In any event, it is
how I have stayed safe all these years . . . despite
my reluctant involvement, at times, in shinobi
politics.'

Snowhawk spoke earnestly. 'Your skills are
beyond remarkable, great lady. Not even Moon's
august teacher, Brother Eagle, appears to share
your level of development.'

The White Nun laughed. 'You are so sweet,
child. And I know just what you recalled while
saying that: Moonshadow here . . . trying to link
with my Motto-San.' She looked to Moon. 'The
attempt seems to have made him suspicious of
you, but don't take offence. His wariness will pass.
Motto-San is a particularly loyal beast, and I'd
say he simply disliked another trying to usurp my
control.'

Moon nodded at her intently. Meeting Motto
had been harrowing, all right.

'Of course your attempt to meld with him
failed.' She leaned forward. 'Only one set of very
unusual circumstances can break or override my
link with him. They are so unlikely, they're not
worth discussing.'

Motto-San and Moonshadow looked up at the
ceiling at the same time. A moment later, a wave
of late spring rain began to fall noisily.

'I knew you possessed the Old Country science
of Insight,' Moon said, 'but I didn't know you also
had this . . . this ultimate mastery of the Eye of
the Beast.'

The White Nun smiled sadly. 'Child, if all the
powers over which I am custodian were known,
the Shogun himself would probably want me
dead, though I am neither spy nor warrior. I have
only ever used my skills personally in self-defence.
Even then, with great loathing and
only
to the
extent required to save my life.'

She thrust a finger at Snowhawk, startling
her. 'No, it's not therefore pointless power, child!
I was put here to teach, never to do. Let others
bear the karma of how they use my training. For
good or evil, for glory or destruction. No, I know
my
destiny. And knowing it, I must honour it.
Such is everyone's ideal path. To know and thus
to honour.'

'Forgive my ignorant thoughts.' Snowhawk
dipped her chin. She paused, then thumbed at
the ever-watchful Motto. 'Heron said you were
guarded by a
bear
.'

'I was, and guarded well, for many years. I'd
go south each winter and visit a warrior-monk
I trained on the southernmost island, while the
bear slept in this very shrine. But in the end that
magnificent beast died of old age. She's buried
close by.'

To Moon's surprise, she raised one hand and
wiped her iridescent red eyes.

'Ironic, is it not, the replacement the kami
chose for her? A lost or escaped puppy wandering
in a forest . . . that turned out to be a bear hunting
hound. The Satake Clan are clever breeders.
Motto-San too has proved a fine protector, as you
found out. I can order him to patrol, then turn my
mind to other, more pressing matters. Of course,
at such times my awareness is somewhat impaired.
Hence I could sense your distant approach but not
recognise you, as I normally would.'

Snowhawk inclined her head and frowned.

'No,' the White Nun quickly shook her head.
'Don't wonder what those matters are. Too hard to
explain to you at this time.'

'Forgive me prying then, but was one such task
summoning us
?' Snowhawk gestured at herself and
Moon. 'That's why we've come. To evacuate you.'

'To help you escape the coming attack,'
Moonshadow put in keenly.

The White Nun sighed. 'Though I
was
expecting to see you some day soon, I did not
summon you.' She eyed their shocked faces. 'But I
see that someone did, apparently using me – and
this imagined threat – as bait.' She closed her eyes
for a few seconds. 'Yes. There
is
an attack coming.
But I am not its target. And had you not come to
me, it would have befallen you somewhere else.'
She raised one eyebrow. 'Anyone genuinely out to
capture or slay me would risk enraging the many
shinobi, some of them now clan masters, who I have
known, taught, and even healed during . . . well,
at least the last fifty years. Warmongers like to be
in control of who they upset as much as they can.
They delight in acting as puppet masters, using
the people of the shadows against their samurai
foes or even each other, but they avoid lighting
fires no one can control or quench. No, no, in
this matter, I was ever but the lure, and you two
the tasty fish, to be hooked and fried, each for a
different reason.'

Moon and Snowhawk stared at one another.
They'd been set up? It was all a ploy?

'So it is now
I
who must rescue
you two
.' The
White Nun laughed almost bitterly. Beside her, the
great dog huffed, threw back its head and let out a
single wolfish howl. Though Moon saw it coming,
the powerful bay still made him flinch. The sage
glanced at her animal guardian. He quickly lay
down, stretching out and resting his head on his
enormous paws. Despite the more relaxed position,
Motto's eyes stayed fixed on Moon.

'
Me
saving
you
could be difficult,' the White
Nun sighed. 'Given that I will not kill, your
safety may be something I cannot guarantee. Do
you not sense why you were each trapped? He
wanted
you
, boy, out of Edo that he might take
his revenge. They wanted
you,
girl, far from
the Grey Light Order's walls that you may be
recaptured.'

'
He
. . .' Moon's face darkened. 'You mean
Silver Wolf? He's behind all this?'

'I'd rather die than go back!' Snowhawk
snapped. Motto half-rose, glaring at her.

'I won't let that happen!' Moonshadow growled.
The dog's head turned at him.

With a knowing smile, the White Nun waved
a finger. Motto sank to the floor.

'Let's discover a thing or two.' She bowed
her head and her hands trembled. 'Your enemies
indeed approach. Such numbers, for ninja. We
should leave at dawn, evade them in the forest,
get off this mountain as they ascend it. I cannot
let a battle take place in or around this shrine. It
is holy ground.'

'Will we escape them? Is it too late?' There was
fear in Snowhawk's eyes.

'Only destiny cannot be escaped,' the White Nun
said gently. 'And fortunately for mortals, destiny
is fluid, pliant, it changes with every decision one
makes.' She arched forward to eye Moon closely.
'Mark me then, boy. Some battles, one
must
win
alone. Others, the winning comes by learning to
accept help, the right help. Even I have learned
to depend, at times, on the strength of others.
A network of holy men, old pilgrims, pass this
mountain regularly. It is they who bring Motto-San
and I much of our food, in exchange for healing
and counsel.' The White Nun tapped her chest.
'Oh, I know, it rankles the pride and can confuse
the mind, but it's a lesson even
the great
must learn.
Choosing to depend on others can demand as much
courage as fighting alone and outnumbered!'

He frowned. What did that mean?

She waved away his imminent question.
'Though you were led here in deception, yet were
you meant to come.' The sage gestured for Moon
to approach. He shuffled forward on his knees,
wary of Motto's jaws as he drew right up to the
White Nun.

The Akita Matagi's blue eyes tracked him, but
the animal stayed prone.

'I must pass something to you now,' the White
Nun said solemnly. 'An anointing. It will rest
within you, a planted seed, but in time, it will
grow, helping you take the Eye of the Beast to
that ultimate level: long distance sight-control.
Be very patient. It will take years. It's the most
useful of all powers I think, though also the
hardest to refine. It is the means by which, for a
long time, I've watched over you, both in the field
and at home.'

Moonshadow's mouth fell open. 'The cat! The
temple cat!'

'
My
spy.' The White Nun flashed a crafty
smile. 'I chose her to be my eyes upon you and
my disciple Heron. She is a true cat, not a spirit-creature
or a mystic's disguise, but, from time to
time, I watch things through her. When I sense
your mind reaching for hers, I step back and
release her into your control. I felt you reach for
Motto too, back down on the mountain. But if I'd
stepped back then and let you control him, who
would have have herded you up here to me?' She
patted her chest. 'Yes, there's her and Motto-San.
Linking thus to two creatures can leave me most
depleted, in need of . . .
sleep
for weeks, though I
have grown more skilled over time in managing
the energies and delaying such rests.'

'But . . .' Snowhawk gaped. 'When you must
rest, for
weeks
, who protects you?'

The White Nun tittered. 'The snows that seal
off this mountain. Yes, children, in winter, I sleep
like that bear. Long links can cause an exchange
of traits. You will see.'

Moonshadow marvelled. So those animal
residues were only the beginning. 'Why, great
sage,' he asked, 'do you care so much about
me
?'

She quickly shook her head. 'Not yet, boy. Be
patient. It is not yet the time.'

'I don't understand,' Snowhawk blurted, 'the
time for what?'

'The time to speak of my debt to his mother.'
The White Nun pointed at Moon.

Her words tore through him like a fire arrow.
Moonshadow felt himself reel where he sat.
A matter of some ten words, and his world was
turning inside-out.

Snowhawk gasped. 'His mother?'

The White Nun raised a hand sternly. 'No,
stay your tongues, do not probe further. We must
not speak of this subject again until I next visit
the monastery in Edo, lest a certain destiny be
thwarted.' She gazed into Moon's eyes. 'Now. Will
you, on trust and in faith, even with so many
unanswered questions, accept my anointing?'

Feeling that his brain had just frozen,
Moonshadow managed only a scant nod.

'Good boy.' The sage stared, breathing in and
out deeply, just once. 'There. It is done. I have just
planted in you all that I can. The remainder you
must find . . . elsewhere.'

'Forgive my brashness,' Snowhawk said
impulsively, 'but there is a certain blessing
I
would beg for.' Her chin trembled. 'To rid me of a
problem, no, a poison –'

'No, no, no, child.' The White Nun sighed
heavily. 'You would ask me to sweep away the
hate and bitterness that fills your poor heart with
anger? Only you can do that.'

'How?' Tears rolled down Snowhawk's face.

Fixing her with a tender look, the sage spoke
gently. 'Your enemy told you how.'

Snowhawk wiped her cheek and slowly blinked.
'Be like the river?'

'Be like the river,' the White Nun repeated
softly. 'Wisdom, child, is where you find it. The
one who counselled you thus, spoke from a natural
gift they truly have; one they might have lived to
serve, had their life not begun much as yours did,
being orphaned by the hand of bandits, then being
raised shinobi, made special, made alone . . . made
hard as folded steel! Your enemy advised you out
of the one place left in her that is not hunter,
capturer,
killer
. So ignore her deeds, be mindful of
her sorrow, and heed her words anyway.'