The wolves did not waste a second coming out of the dungeons. As soon as the winds had cleared, they toiled the field—clearing the paths of snowfall and tending to the horses in the stables. It seemed like Juugo was not the only one who had been playing indoor all the while the blizzard raged. Fresh bodies were hauled in wagons and piled to a corner where they will soon be burned.
The storm settled as abruptly as it had come. After it passed, dawn had broken clear and bright. Whatever horrors of Juugo’s dungeon that were hidden in the dark were finally revealed. The prison was seated closest by the river for a single reason—close access to water.
Each cell was slightly inclined. The lower base had thin waterways that linked to a canal where blood, fluids and excrement were dumped to the river. Juugo’s dungeon was hardly for containment. The cells were empty but fresh with the remnants of previous occupants. Corpses were lying on stone tables if not dangling from metal hooks. A single window provided light—mounted high on the wall of Liang and Makaskas’s cell.
Bao could not stand the sight of stale death. It reminded him much of the battle for Long Zhou. Fields as far as the eye could see were littered with corpses and the air was foul for miles on end. It had been the aftermath of a storm as well, that day, and Bao had woken up to the most beautiful dawn he has ever seen. If only his eyes remained at the sky and ignored the carnage below.
Tenshi had picked up the door Bao destroyed and balanced it upright on the doorway. He did not want the hollow entrance of Juugo’s dungeon to attract unwanted attention. They were already outnumbered in the wolves’ territory.
“Bao,” he called, pulling the snow leopard out of his thoughts. “Our best chance to get out of here is on horseback but the stables are right across the field. The outside is infested with wolves.
Bao looked at Juugo whom they overdosed with the numbing fume. The tormentor was bound in chains, slumped on the wall and drooling.
“How many out there do you see?” Bao asked.
“Too many to fight.”
Bao looked across him where Liang was asleep. She had curled herself against the wall, wrapped in Tenshi’s fur-lined cloak, the most peaceful she’s ever been since running away. Or perhaps even longer than that. Her aid was not an option to their escape. Then Bao looked at Makaskas who could barely move without Eika’s assistance.
Tenshi muttered a curse. “Let’s just drag that pathetic Juugo out and be on with it.”
“They could easily turn on us with that number,” Bao said. He closed his eyes and thought for a possible escape route. Had their location been anywhere but the deepest part of the area, they could have had a better chance of ransoming their escape. Juugo was large enough to become a living shield but once a stray arrow pierces his heart, the wolf guards would storm them in no time.
“Maybe I could be of help,” Eika joined. The white wolf’s face contradicted her words—filled with terror and reluctance but she did not let it stop her. She approached Bao and crouched beside him. “None of the guards knows I’m here aside from Juugo and those other two…” she pointed to the cold bodies at the edge of the dungeon whose blood was splattered on the stone walls. “And I know someone who works here…perhaps I could borrow a horse.”
“Do you know how to ride?” Tenshi asked.
“My father taught me. But even so, I don’t think all of us could escape through a single horse.”
“It will have to do,” Bao said. He kept his arms folded and eyes closed as though it helped his train of thought keep moving. “Find a way to bring the horse here and I will take care of the rest. Liang and Makaskas’s safety is my priority. I’ll remain and clear a path for you.”
Makaskas reacted. “I’ll fight too,” he said hoarsely. “My blade is somewhere here. I just need it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Makaskas,” Bao scolded. “Use what remains of your strength to ride safely.”
Tenshi scoffed and drew his B’koli forged katana. “I’ll only slow the horse down if I ride with,” he said arrogantly, examining his long blade. “I’ll protect Liang for as long as I can.”
Bao did not object. Obnoxious as the Ronin may seem, he was still a formidable ally.
“Then…” Eika got up. “I’ll be going now.”
“Eika, wait…” Makaskas cupped around him.
Eika approached and when Makaskas’s hand brushed her forearm, the clouded leopard clutched at her hysterically as though he might lose her if ever he let go. Eika knelt down to meet him face to face. The same emotions swelled in her chest at the sight of Makaskas. It poked her throat like needles.
“Take my dagger with you,” he said and before Eika could reply, the clouded leopard slightly raised his tone. “You don’t have to wield it…keep it beside you. It always made me feel safe. I want you to feel safe too.”
Eika nodded absentmindedly. Her mouth shaped the diction of words but no sound accompanied it. She forced herself to swallow the congestion inside her throat.
“Th…ank you,” she said and got up. When she turned, the Ronin handed her Makaskas’s weapon. The tribal blade appeared ornamental the pristine sword her father kept at their altar. Separated blade and sheath, their family heirloom held no tragic history or if any, at all, aside from its creation at the forge. Her father, Takeshi albeit first generation, was not a murderer like the war would imply. The blade was no more than what it appeared and no less than what it was supposed to be—purely decorative.
Makaskas’s weapon was entirely different. Though it held the same aesthetic as Eika’s family heirloom, it was filled with the ghosts of tragic pasts. How many lives had been claimed by the edges of this weapon? Eika had taken the blade with one hand and she felt its weight drag her arm down. The hilt was spun with red leather that squeaked at the grip of her hand and wooden beads dangled from the pommel.
She felt something warm rise behind her ears. For a time she was distracted. For a time she had forgotten that Makaskas was, after all, a killer.
~
Eika felt cold at the first step outside the dungeon. Traveling blindly through a blizzard on foot hardly bothered her but the moment she was walking through the dungeon grounds, she felt a cold creep up her back. She blew smoke from her breath—a whitish haze in the otherwise whiter surroundings. The aftermath of the storm left the snow extremely refined, like a polished crystalline surface. Daylight refracted through its grainy speckles, masking everything vibrantly.
None of the dungeon wolves gave Eika any attention other than quick glances before returning to their tasks. They shoveled knee-deep snow, clearing the dirt paths. They pulled wagons with piles and piles of dismembered corpses. A pyre was set ablaze near the river where more bodies both of Guren and human were delivered from the carts.
The air, naturally fragranced by the river, was soon overtaken by the acrid smell of burnt flesh and char. Eika directed her head away from the fire but not before she saw the thick, ebony smoke rising to the sky. A gentle breeze passed by and though its caress was cool and soothing, it brought with it a smell that was mouthwateringly stimulating. And the thought of burning men and Guren made Eika heave.
She walked to the stables quickly where three young wolves were shoveling snow and picking ice from the horses’ trough. Their furs were gray and white with stray patches of amber in the underbelly.
“You know from far here, it smells just like grilled meat,” said one of them who was shoveling snow. Unlike most of the dungeon wolves, they did not wear a single piece of armor. They were only fashioned with thin, murky-green robes belted with a long, cloth on the waist. Their trousers were folded up to their knees.
“You’re disgusting,” said the other who was picking ice. “Some of them are Guren, y’know.”
The third wolf was about to reply when his eyes caught Eika standing idly in the snow.
“Miyamoto Eika,” he announced her name like he had not seen her for ages. He dropped the hammer and stake on the ground. Then he ran toward Eika, planting both hands on his hips. “Had it not been for your eyes, I would have mistaken you as a floating robe,” he said.
“Jirou.” Eika tilted her head down.
The other two wolves immediately rushed to get Eika’s attention, pushing each other aside as they ran toward her.
“So what brings you here?” asked Zourou.
Ichirou intercepted. “Did you miss me, Eika?”
Eika took a few steps back from the triplets when they got too close and that’s when Jirou noticed the dagger tautly gripped on her right hand.
“I need to borrow a horse,” Eika said. “I delivered some food to Juugo’s dungeon and I kind of got stuck in the storm.”
All three wolves were wide-eyed at Eika’s statement.
“J-juugo…” Zourou said, “He didn’t…do anything to you, did he?”
“Oh no.” Eika nodded her head left and right. “In fact, he gave me this dagger as a gift.” She flaunted the blade and even pulled it halfway out of the sheath. The dagger withdrew with a clink and a hiss from its blade brushing against the scabbard. The metal was perfectly forged and clear of any scratches.
Ichirou and Zourou were in awe, hypnotized by the blade that captured their reflections.
“I feel like I could get cut just by staring at it,” Zourou said.
“Don’t stare at it then, you fool,” Ichirou replied.
Eika pushed the dagger back in its sheath.
Jirou walked closer to her. “Eika, are you sure Juugo did not harm you?”
Eika did not question Jirou’s suspicion. She was covered with the marks of Juugo’s cruelty. Her robe was stained with blood and dirt from the knees and backside. Her arms were not even as clear as the fur on her head. It was pinkish from the remnant of blood.
“Why would he harm me? I did not violate the law.” Eika placed her hands behind her. “But I am exhausted and I don’t think I can walk back to the village.”
“I’ll prepare your horse!” Ichirou rushed to the stables.
“No I’ll do it!” Zourou ran after him.
Jirou remained. Eika was looking far behind the brown wolf, to his identical brothers who were fighting to prepare the horse. Eika was surprised when Jirou placed his hand on her cheek. She startled, instinctively slapping Jirou’s hand away.
“No!” she yelled and backed a few steps. She quivered uncontrollably, crimson eyes bared as far as the eye sockets could stretch.
Jirou apologized. “Juugo did something to you…didn’t he?”
Eika was breathing heavily. She took Makaskas’s dagger to her chest and hugged it tightly, longing to feel the safety Makaskas promised. Eika reminded herself that Makaskas’s survival depended on her. She composed herself and approached Jirou, eyes never meeting him.
“Jirou... I think you and your brothers should go home for now,” Eika said.
“Eika, what are you saying?”
“The storm had just passed…shouldn’t you be checking on your family?” Eika asked.
“It was just a snowstorm. I’m sure they’re all right—”
“Jirou…” Eika raised her voice. “Go home for now. Please.”
Jirou looked at Eika suspiciously but did not question her further.
Ichirou and Zourou arrived with the horse. They pulled on either side of the poor equine as they walked toward Eika. The horse whickered at every step, helpless of the wolf brothers’ chivalrous enthusiasm.
“Here you go, Eika,” they said in unison and exchanged annoyed glances.
“We’re going home,” Jirou said, eyes never leaving Eika. “Let’s check on father and mother.”
“Then, Eika could come with us,” Ichirou said.
The three wolves awaited Eika’s response.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“I left my basket in Juugo’s dungeon.” Eika took the horse by the reins and caressed its cheek softly to help it relax.
Zourou was about to reply but Jirou stopped him. He pulled his brothers aside and they went over the fence, walking back to the village.
Eika waited until they were far enough before she mounted the horse and veered it to walk back to the dungeon.
~
Bao slung Makaskas’s arm over his shoulder. The snow leopard helped Makaskas carry his weight and guided him near the exit of the dungeon.
“I could still move,” Makaskas said, “I just can’t see.”
When they were close to the door, Bao seated him on the floor right beside the doorway. A gentle chill permeated through the small gap of the broken door and Makaskas grimaced.
“Use your strength to keep yourself and Liang secured on the horse,” Bao said. Before he could get up, Makaskas grabbed him by the forearm.
“Eika doesn’t know the grove and I can’t lead her there,” the clouded leopard said.
“Go to Akako. You’ll likely find Yachi there around this time.” Bao then went to Liang.
Tenshi watched over her, occasionally placing a hand on the unconscious exorcist’s forehead. The Ronin did not even acknowledge Bao’s presence by not speaking to the snow leopard unless he was engaged in conversation.
“It would be best to move her near the door,” Bao said, “Even if Eika procures a horse, wolf guards would likely stop her from getting any closer this deep in their dungeons. Should the situation arise—”
“I know that.” Tenshi did not let Bao finish.
The snow leopard’s brows furrowed to the center.
“How do you know Liang?” Bao asked all of the sudden.
“That is a question better suited to you,” Tenshi returned.
“Alas, I asked it first.” Bao sighed. “For once, just drop whatever petty grudge you have against me and have a decent conversation.”
Tenshi scoffed but it was more directed to himself than Bao. “Is it that vague to you, Wei Bao? Or are you so deluded by your god complex that you cannot see what it simply is?” Tenshi paused as if somehow, he waited for Bao to answer his own question but when it was clear that he did not understand it, Tenshi continued. “I was hers and she was mine,” he said wistfully as he ran the back of his hand on Liang’s cheek.
Bao watched curiously and he was ever fascinated by the effects of what mortals called love. He marveled at its potency—how it could turn a naïve and obnoxious Ronin into an entirely different person. Although Tenshi’s loathing against Bao remained, he was captivated enough to offer his aid in rescuing the exorcist.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Tenshi said. “And I would like for you to stop.”
“Why do you drive me away from the exorcist?” Bao asked again.
Tenshi’s demeanor did not change but past his angry visage, he smiled at Bao wryly to insult him. “Because your actions objectify her.”
Bao sighed and nodded his head. “In what sense? I am here, the same as you and I am risking my life just as much for her sake. What gives you the right to rule over her?”
“Ah, there it is,” Tenshi chuckled.
Bao’s blood began to boil. It did not help that Tenshi spoke to him condescendingly.
The Ronin continued, “Then let me ask you this, Wei Bao. If Liang was not an exorcist or let’s say for some reason her powers disappeared, would you still be here with me? Would you still risk your precious life to rescue her?”
No, Bao thought, I would not. That was the simple answer. That was the logical answer and the truth. Yet somehow he could not dare himself to say it. He did not want to prove Tenshi’s point.
“Because I would,” Tenshi said. “I would die killing every wolf in this dungeon just to get her.”
“My intentions do not matter,” Bao hissed. “The exorcist benefits from it all the same—”
“You see this is what confuses me about you,” Tenshi raised his voice. “The way you think is just…beyond me.” He got up and faced Bao eye to eye. “Let me ask you something again and I want you to answer clearly this time.” At this point, Tenshi was yelling at Bao’s face. “Why do you refuse to sacrifice all the children you’ve gathered? The world will benefit all the same—that’s your logic, is it not?”
Bao was taken aback.
“I may not be as strong as you. I’m sure I am not as wise. I do not have thousands of years’ worth of knowledge or heavenly virtues to enlighten me but you’re a hypocrite, Bao. That, you are and that, I know.”
“I am not…” Bao’s voice was low as if he did not want Tenshi to hear.
Tenshi opted to ignite Bao’s ire even more but they were interrupted by a howl that bounced through the walls and vibrated inside their chests. Juugo wailed from where he was bound, snout pointed to the roof as he released the alarm to his kin.
Bao cursed and rushed to the wolf, silencing him with the strike of his fist. Juugo’s head craned violently. The wolf whimpered—a pathetic sound coming from someone who drew pleasure torturing helpless victims. Normally, Bao would never hurt a helpless opponent any more than necessary but when he punched Juugo, he could not stop himself. Bao’s fists closed tighter and tighter with every strike until his own claws pierced the flesh of his padded hands. Juugo’s face was deformed and he stopped whimpering moments ago. Still, it did not sate Bao’s anger.
The snow leopard kept on swinging his fists until Juugo’s head was turned into a mush of fur, skull and brain matter. The tormentor’s corpse fell to its side, blood draining to the canals.
Bao’s hands were red with Juugo’s blood and dripped with his own. In his mind, he knew that what he did was wrong. In the moments he killed Juugo, he was perfectly aware of what he was doing yet he surrendered to the pleasure of it when he felt it relieve the anger.
“Bao! The wolves are armed and coming!” Tenshi shouted from the door. The Ronin had already carried Liang and placed her beside Makaskas near the door.
Bao rushed toward them and peeked through the gap.
“Where’s Takeshi’s daughter?” Bao asked.
The wolves cautiously surrounded area. The lancers and swordsmen formed a barricade while the archers drew their bows from behind. Far from their backs, came galloping the white wolf on a gray horse. She went full speed and charged toward Juugo’s dungeon, breaking the defensive formation of the wolves.
Bao and Tenshi merely glanced at each other before the Ronin bolted outside the door, one hand holding the sheath of his blade and the other on the grip. He targeted the disoriented lancers first, cutting spear heads cleanly off the handles.
As Tenshi cleared the initial threats, Bao carried Makaskas on his back and Liang inside his arms. He rushed toward Eika, passing Liang first and then Makaskas.
An archer laid eyes on Bao. Pulling an arrow, the wolf set it loose and it grazed Bao on the shoulder.
“The archers! Tenshi!” Bao’s yell had come out as a growl. As soon as he finished mounting Liang and Makaskas, Bao pounced on the archer before he could drew another arrow. The snow leopard landed on the wolf’s chest, crushing bone and flesh. He took the bow and an arrow as he got up and let loose the projectile on the next archer that was about to strike. The arrow pierced through the wolf’s forehead.
Eika whipped the reins harshly. The horse arose on its hind legs before breaking into a sprint. Two swordsmen were about to block Eika’s path and both were shot in the throat by arrows. Eika looked over her shoulder to Bao as they thundered out of the dungeons.
Once Eika was far on the road, Bao dropped the bow and assisted Tenshi in taking down the melee fighters. More wolves gathered, carrying weapons and surrounding the two rogues.
Tenshi had broken every lance and every sword from the first wave of guards. He moved like a shimmer of light across walls—swift, unpredictable—and in his wake, he left several precise strikes that cut through steel and armor, blade ever sharp and unbroken.
The wolf archers retreated far behind the swordsmen and spearmen. They stopped firing as their comrades retreated.
Bao crushed a wolf’s skull with his hand and that’s when he noticed that their enemies had cleared the field.
The first sets of arrows rained across him. Bao could sense its motion and with his reflexes, could evade the projectiles to an extent. As the melee fighters were reduced in number, more arrows were loosened in their direction.
Tenshi had struck a few projectiles midair with his katana but it was only a matter of time before they were overwhelmed.
In front of them, the wolves have reformed their living barricade. Spearmen pointed their weapons forward and marched one step in synchrony. More arrows rained as the strum of bowstrings whistled in the air. The spearmen marched one step forward again and again until they were close enough to begin poking their spears at Bao and Tenshi.
Bao eluded both spear and arrow—spinning and jumping back. He was light on his feet, looking for opportunities he could jump to the air and land on the archers’ vicinity but he could barely even think with the amount of action happening around him. He continued his ballet of elusion and grabbed a spear that almost stabbed him through the head. He yanked it from the wolf guard and tossed it past the barricade, impaling an archer who was picking an arrow from his quiver. In exchange, a projectile had found its way buried inside Bao’s left shoulder.
The snow leopard growled as he snapped the arrow and pulled it out. Crimson liquid gushed out of the wound, immediately soaking the sleeve of Bao’s tunic and blotted to the left side his chest. Blood dripped at the edge of his limp arm.
“Bao, the river,” Tenshi yelled to him.
When Bao turned to the Ronin, another arrow had struck him on the back. Had it not been for Bao’s unique physiology, the arrow would have buried deeper inside his flesh and might have even pierced an organ. But the projectiles only reached his muscles at most. More arrows eventually found its way on Bao’s back when he could no longer evade it due to the sustained injuries. He knelt on the ground, back littered with arrows. The snow underneath him turned red.
Tenshi went to Bao’s side and pulled him up to his feet. “Come on, Bao,” he said, “You cannot die here.” But the snow leopard could no longer stand.
He forced a chuckle. “Somehow, I believe you only said that because you want to kill me yourself.”
Tenshi stood in front of Bao, deflecting arrows that might strike them.
“You understand, don’t you?” Bao said. “The consequences if Shinsou gets me alive…” With what little strength he had left, he grabbed a broken sword from the snow and buried it inside his stomach. Bao seized a breath as he felt the cold blade pierce his flesh. He regurgitated blood, staining the back of Tenshi’s robe.
“You have the exorcist on your side,” Bao said through red, gritted teeth. “I trust her enough that she’ll make the right choices.”
“Bao, you fool!” Tenshi yelled.
The snow leopard slumped on the ground and the pool of frozen blood underneath him expanded.
At the moment of Tenshi’s awe, an arrow had pierced him on the leg. It went past muscle and bone and buried half of its entire length through the wound. Tenshi was forced to kneel but he kept his sword-hand swinging, trying best he can to ward off the wolves that surrounded him.
The archers stopped firing and the swordsmen were closing in but Tenshi would not let the wolves take him. Not for the same reason as Bao’s but for preserving his own honor. He reversed the grip on his katana, both hands on the hilt and raised in the air. The blade was pointed to his gut. He let out a gallant cry, resolute in dying by his hands than the Guren’s but before he could plunge the blade inside his flesh, something in the background exploded.
Two of the buildings were ignited and more of the explosions came through homing balls of azure flame.
“Put out the fires!” yelled one of the wolves and the entire dungeon was in chaos.
An echo of childish laughter circled Tenshi and the distraught Ronin looked around him alertly. None of them understood what was happening just that it continued to happen.
Tenshi’s ears were pierced by a high pitched ringing as the chaos around him escalated quickly. One of the swordsmen rushed to Tenshi and grabbed him by the back collar of his robe. Tenshi was yanked violently but the grip was instantly loosened and he was thrown to the ground instead. The wolf who had pulled him was set ablaze, shrieking from the fires that ate through armor and flesh.
Tenshi oriented himself back, wart of the unknown forces playing with them.
The perpetrators appeared in the form of two children. Each of them wore contrasting robes, hair tied back to a wolf a tail. Canine ears poked out of their heads and four tails danced behind them like vipers. Both could not have been more than ten years old with their lank, tiny figures.
Of course, Tenshi just now realized. They were manifested fox spirits.
The children crouched on the snow and their forms shifted like white vapor before taking the shape of a four-legged white fox. They scurried across the dungeon, blending with the white snow. They took down wolf soldiers and conjured blue fires that exploded on contact.
Tenshi crawled to Bao’s side. The snow leopard was still alive but he was losing more and more blood. Tenshi wanted to take advantage of the chaos but he could hardly move himself.
A backtracking wolf soldier tripped right beside them and in his panic, he grabbed whatever object he could find on the snow and seized Tenshi with a broken blade.
“Stop this right now!” demanded the hysterical wolf.
Tenshi was about to draw his weapon but he was saved by another fox spirit. Whiter than snow like the others, this fox spirit was larger and had a red mark in its forehead—the runic mark of ancient spirits. Nine tails were on its rear, fanned open like the feathers of a peacock. The fox spirit mauled the wolf’s neck, staining its mouth and chest with blood. Then it turned to Tenshi, head low and tails, calm.
Tenshi drew his blade but the nine-tailed fox was not fazed.
Three steps, it took to approach Tenshi and Bao, and on the fourth step, the fox vanished and turned into a woman with wavy locks dark as midnight. Her fox ears and tails remained with her humanoid form as well as the wolf’s blood that stained her mouth and chest.
Tenshi pointed his blade at her but soon, he felt entranced and let his katana fall to the snow.
The nine-tailed fox knelt before Bao and pulled out the arrows on his back. Then she yanked the blade. She opened her palm and stared at it with concentration. The large ink in her eyes made it appear as though she was marveling at her own hand. Tenshi could not do anything but watch helplessly as the fox’s hand glowed like molten steel. The Ronin felt the heat permeate his skin warmly and the nine-tailed fox pressed her hand on Bao’s wound, cauterizing it. Afterwards, the fox spirit’s charm on Tenshi was released.
“Kan, fetch horses!” She yelled.
One of the four-tailed foxes stopped midway from mauling a wolf and trotted to the stables.
An alarming squawk sounded from the top of an unlit building and the nine-tailed fox immediately caught sight of an archer silently drawing an arrow. It let the projectile loose, homing straight for the fox spirit but with the mere whip her tail, the arrow was destroyed before it could pierce her flesh.
More archers surrounded them from all directions. The nine-tailed fox stood over Bao’s unconscious figure and let her tails thrash like angry serpents, deflecting arrows and breaking it wherever it was shot. She continued the defense until the archers’ quivers were empty. Then her tails relaxed and opened behind her like an iron fan.
Sparks of blue flame ignited on the extremities of her tails and it soared like comets toward the wolves. There was no evading the fire. It seemed sentient and followed its target relentlessly. The dungeon became rife with burnt corpses.
“Can you ride?” the nine-tailed fox asked.
Tenshi had been so awed that it took him moments to realize that the fox spirit was talking to him.
“I can,” he said firmly after a while.
The fox spirit, Kan, from earlier arrived with two horses.
“Mama!” he yelled, alerting the nine-tailed fox.
The fox mother bit her fingers and whistled. “Sho! It’s time!” then she extended her hand to the sky where an ebony raven perched not long after. She brought the bird close to her face as though they communicated by mere gazes and then she sent it to the air. The crow flapped its wings swiftly, ascending higher and further away from them. The second child, Sho, followed the crow.
The nine-tailed fox mounted Bao on the first horse. Then she assisted Tenshi in climbing the other. She snapped the arrow carelessly and yanked it out of the Ronin’s leg. Tenshi grunted.
Kan returned to his humanoid form and jumped behind Tenshi on the horse he mounted.
“Just like we practiced.” The nine-tailed fox placed a hand on Kan’s cheek before mounting on the horse with Bao.
At the whip of her reins, the steed’s hooves were ignited in a blue fire but one that did not burn the horse. First it galloped on the ground but as it went faster, it ascended until they were higher than the trees and smaller in the eye like distant birds in the horizon.
“Uncle, aren’t we gonna follow? Asked Kan from behind Tenshi.
Tenshi composed himself and just now realized the chaos in their wake. Most of the buildings were on fire and charred bodies were like soot on the white snow. He struck the horse’s reins, struggling to keep himself from falling. The wound on his leg hindered his control over his balance but once he was afloat in the air, the ride was like a sail on a calm ocean.
He ascended higher on horseback and looked behind him for the last time, questioning the certainty of what just happened.