CHAPTER V: THE HUNTERS RELEASED
Mon always felt a thrill of excitement when he became the Mikado’s shadow.
He was the leader of the Hunters, an elite band of warriors who answered solely to the Mikado and Master Star Reader. Every Hunter was a descendant of one of the eight warriors who had fought with Torugaru against the water demon. The last-born son of each Hunter was trained to follow in his father’s footsteps, and each was called by a number: Mon meant “one,” Jin “two,” Zen “three,” Yun “four,” all the way to Sune, “eight.” Only the Mikado, the Master Star Reader, the Hunters’ fathers, and the other Hunters knew these names or who they really were.
Outwardly, the Hunters served as members of the palace guard, carrying out everyday duties as the Mikado’s bodyguard and shields. But when the Mikado needed a spy, an envoy, an agent, or an assassin, they became his shadows, enacting his orders with silence and speed. As all the palace guards occasionally performed confidential missions, the true nature of the Hunters’ work was concealed even from their fellow guards. So it had been for the last two hundred years.
From the time Mon was a little boy, his father had taught him secretly, usually at night, drilling the necessary skills into his mind and body: how to kill a man with one blow, how to track someone, how to disguise himself. He had mastered every type of martial art, from fighting with his bare hands to using a blowgun or wielding a longsword with flashing speed. There had been times when he was so exhausted from this training that he resented his father and wondered why he was the only one subjected to such punishment; he might be forced to run all night up and down a rugged mountain path, yet he still had to wake at the same time as his brothers in the morning. If his mother scolded him for being sleepy, he could not even tell her why.
But when he came of age at fifteen, he was summoned before the Mikado, a privilege that even many nobles rarely enjoyed. “You were born to serve as a Hunter,” the Mikado told him. “There is no greater honor than this. Though most people do not even know they exist, the Hunters are the true heroes of our kingdom, protecting this nation.”
Mon trembled with pride at these words and entered the Mikado’s service that day. At eighteen, Mon had been ordered to assassinate the Minister of the Left, one of the Mikado’s senior advisors. Creeping into the man’s sleeping quarters, Mon had killed him with a single blow to the head, aiming the knuckle of his middle finger so expertly the Minister’s hair would conceal the bruise; it would seem as if he died naturally, in his sleep. When Mon felt the weight of the old man’s head resting in his palm, he realized what it meant to be a Hunter: Even someone as powerful as the Minister was nothing more than prey. He looked down at the man’s lifeless body and laughed soundlessly.
Many years later, Mon was startled by the Mikado’s order to kill the Second Prince, but he still carried out his orders faithfully, cracking a rock by the hot spring and shooting the dart that startled the ox. Unbelievably, the prince had survived both attempts. Mon had been furious at his failure — the first in his life. The Master Star Reader’s response, however, had surprised him.
“You need not feel ashamed,” he said when they met, the morning after the fire at Ninomiya Palace. “I planned both attempts expecting them to fail. By placing the prince’s life in danger, I hoped to learn more about the creature inside him. You did well, Mon. Like your ancestors, yours will be the honor of saving this country, for I am now convinced that the prince has been possessed by the water demon they defeated two centuries ago. As I am sure your father told you, a similar demon also appeared one hundred years ago, but it tore apart the child that carried it before the Hunters could investigate.
“Fortunately, Prince Chagum has not been as easily overcome as the boy a century ago, thanks to the royal blood flowing in his veins. Perhaps this is the demon’s way of taking revenge on the royal family. If so, then we must eradicate it once and for all. We must reclaim the prince before it kills him and before people begin to suspect. Go now: Kill the bodyguard who travels with him, but bring the prince back to me unharmed. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“The water demon appears to be controlling him. You must keep that in mind when you are hunting him. And warn the other Hunters too.”
Mon was acutely aware that this was to be the greatest undertaking of his life, the mission he had been born to accomplish. The seven other Hunters, all trained as he was, were under his command. Two of them had already been sent to assassinate the magic weaver Torogai. He decided to leave two more behind as contacts while he and the remaining three tracked down the prince.
On the morning that Balsa and Chagum took refuge in Toya’s hut, the four Hunters set out for Ogi no Shimo, disguised as a group of merchants. They split up and gathered information, visiting people who had hired Balsa in the past on the pretext that they too wished to hire a bodyguard. They asked about her history, her character, and people she knew in town. A little past noon, they met up at an inn selected by Mon.
“This woman Balsa has a very good reputation,” reported Jin. It was clear from the information they had gleaned that Balsa was highly skilled with the short spear and extremely intelligent. Moreover, she was well known in this part of town, particularly among the merchants. While some clients were initially shocked and skeptical at the very idea of a female bodyguard, she had proven her ability and won their trust.
Mon always used the same approach when stalking someone: In his mind, he became that person, imagining how he or she would think and act. He listened with eyes closed as the Hunters described Balsa, and visualized her in his mind, letting his thoughts follow hers. There are too many people in this town, he thought. But if she tried to leave for another town, she couldn’t possibly cover her tracks, because there are eyes everywhere and the Mikado has surely alerted all the gatekeepers. To escape, she will have to go through the hills, over the Misty Blue Mountains. But she’s not alone. She must take the prince, who’s just a child, and the cold will soon be fierce. Pushing across the mountains could kill him. What will she do? She was given this job with no notice, so she can’t be prepared for such a journey….
Mon opened his eyes suddenly and said quietly, “The first thing she’ll have to do is buy whatever she needs as quickly as possible. But she’s too well known. She can’t shop for herself. So how will she do it?”
Jin answered readily. “If she can’t shop for herself, the only choice she has left is to ask someone else to do it for her.”
Mon nodded. “All right then. We’ll gamble on her doing just that. Let’s look for people who would do Balsa’s shopping for her, especially someone who’s buying things needed for crossing the mountains in winter. But even if we split up, it will take too long…. Any candidates from this morning’s search?”
After thinking for a moment, Jin spoke up. Although he looked unremarkable, he was the smartest of Mon’s men. “What about one of the merchants who hired her as a bodyguard? She wouldn’t even need to shop in that case. All she’d have to do is take what she wanted out of his warehouse.”
“Hmm. Did anyone meet a merchant that she could rely on?”
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