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    Samurai Panic! Volume 1
    Samurai Panic! Volume 1
    Samurai Panic! Volume 1
    Ebook137 pages1 hour

    Samurai Panic! Volume 1

    By TJ McCarthy

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    About this ebook

    Nearly a century years ago, a host of demons brought the empire of the Isles to the brink of destruction. With the sacrifice of the Onmyoji Exorcist priests the demons were banished and the Demon Gates sealed. Until now. The demons make a bid to return to the world and it falls on Hikaru of the Genji, a talented but haunted swordsman, to discover the truth behind the first demon wars before it is too late.

    When the Great Gate is almost brought to ruin, Hikaru joins a desperate band of survivors in a struggle to discover who, or what, has caused the attack.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTJ McCarthy
    Release dateSep 1, 2014
    ISBN9781311887597
    Samurai Panic! Volume 1

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      Book preview

      Samurai Panic! Volume 1 - TJ McCarthy

      Four Aces Studios

      Samurai Panic!

      Volume 1

      TJ McCarthy

      Smashwords Edition

      Text and cover copyright © 2014 Timothy J McCarthy

      All Rights Reserved

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      Thank-you to my family and all those who supported me and made this possible

      料理は根性

      Table of Contents

      Part 1 - It was the home of the crow ogres

      Part 2 - Hikaru groaned.

      Part 3 - I can't feel my legs...

      Part 4 - Hikaru watched the procession trundle through the gates.

      Part 5 - Hikaru follows his cousin down the steps.

      Part 6 - Ah! groaned Yoshimura.

      Part 7 - Kuroda sighed.

      Part 8 - Hikaru gasped.

      Part 9 - To the left... the left!

      Part 10 - Akari swallowed the lump in her throat.

      Part 11 - One step at a time.

      Part 12 - Akari ran.

      Part 13 - Kuroda had never fought so hard in his life.

      Part 14 - Akari peaked around the corner.

      Part 15 - Just up the stairs...

      Lexicon

      Special Thanks

      It was the home of the crow ogres.

      All the old fathers knew the stories. An errant charcoal burner or some pilgrim who had strayed from the road would disappear. A few days later and a new body would be seen hanging from the trees. It was a warning. Do not trespass into the domain of the crow ogres or you will pay the price. It was in one such place on a night when the summer storms had passed and the stars were bright that a dozen dark-robed figures met. They were waiting.

      It doesn't do to wait. We all know the rules. There was no one leader amongst them, but at times such as these there was always one who was impatient. She shifted irritably. The time and place is known. There is no excuse. Shall we begin?

      Wait... I hear something...

      The last speaker had the sharpest ears of the group and they each tilted their heads. It was a familiar tread. The latecomer padded nearer to the clearing and a dozen red faces with long, bright noses and dark, unseeing eyes turned toward him.

      You smell like blood, said one of the watchers. She had the best sense of smell and each of those gathered shifted a little. Another of the gathering with the keenest ears detected the faint clink of hidden blades.

      The latecomer was untroubled. We were not alone, he said.

      A dozen pair of ears listened keenly.

      The Yellow Eye Cult has been searching for our meetings, I am certain of it, he continued.

      Can you be sure?

      I have left two of their agents in the trees where I found them hiding. We will need to make this quick.

      Very well. You have heard that Lord Taira thinks to make his move? She took their silence as acknowledgement. A baby has been born to his daughter... Prince Antoku will be the next emperor.

      He will force Takakura to abdicate?

      Almost certainly. The Taira look to usurp the Nakatomi Clan as regents.

      There was a thoughtful silence as the others considered this.

      A hundred years we have prepared. If the Nakatomi are supplanted before heaven's justice is delivered, it will be for naught.

      The long noses bobbed in agreement. The opportunity for retribution is passing. It is as we feared.

      Your thoughts?

      The return will need to be hastened. She sighed. This is what we've been preparing for.

      What about the Great Seal? asked the latecomer.

      All of the other figures fell quiet. Each face turned toward him.

      Brother, you must have a short memory...

      Were it possible that someone was watching that meeting, they would have been surprised at how quickly the gathering moved. In a heartbeat weapons glittered beneath the half moon. The latecomer did not delay even so long. In the flutter of an eyelid he struck the nearest of the robed figures, who doubled over in pain. On the other side a jab to the throat made the second nearest sink to the ground. He caught the hand holding a knife as it slashed at his face. A heartbeat later and the knife was his. So it continued until the latecomer was the last standing, a bloodied sword in one hand and a knife in the other. After a few moments footsteps approached. Two figures appeared.

      Kitano, that you? asked one.

      The other laughed to see the destruction. I take it the meeting went well?

      Kitano nodded.

      Ha! Aniki, that mask suits you!

      Kitano ignored him. They did not reveal how they would hasten the return, he said.

      Hmmm... then Mistress is going to be angry with you, aniki...

      Doki, don't call her that, said Kitano. There was no hint of threat in his voice, but Doki knew better.

      Hey, Toki, did you hear? Aniki might finally be warming to her, he said.

      The one called Toki grunted.

      Toki and Doki, the 'Sometimes Twins'. Both were undoubtedly mad, but even to Kitano it seemed madness was inevitable. That said, there would come a time when the Sometimes Twins would need to be sacrificed. She would not like it. The question then was how to hide it?

      Hoi! Aniki, what now then?

      We go to the Great Gate.

      Excellent! And what then?

      We wait, said Kitano.

      His decision was not well received, but there was nothing to be done for it. They would wait and they would prepare. Then, when the time was right, everything would happen as it should. Heaven would have its revenge and Kitano would be the tip of the spear.

      Come on then, let us finish our work here, said Kitano.

      Ten days later a peddler was making his annual pilgrimage to the temples up the mountain. The journey was hard going, but he and his wife relied on the little money they made from selling the trinkets that he made. He was half-way to his lunch stop when he saw the bodies.

      Merciful Goddess... he said, and made a sign against ill fortune.

      Ten dark figures or maybe more hung from the trees. It was a chilling sight, but such was the fate of the foolhardy who trespassed on the domain of the crow ogres. Driven by curiosity and against his better judgement, the old peddler looked closer. He caught one glimpse of the red face and long nose. Then he fled. For generations after the stories would be told of the night the crow ogres had fought and murdered their own.

      ***

      Hikaru groaned.

      You're annoying, go away, he said.

      He counted to ten under his breath and then reached over his shoulder for another arrow. Akari said nothing, but he could feel her watching him. Focus, he thought. But try as he did he could not put his irritation to one side. Hikaru notched the arrow to string overhead and lowered the bow, string drawn, until the feather rested against his cheek. Another breath. This time there was only the straw target at the end of the range and the doubt in his mind. The string dug against the skin on his fingers. He let it roll from his fingertips and the arrow flew. It clattered against the back wall of the range.

      You lifted your right shoulder, said Akari.

      Argh! groaned Hikaru. Haven't you got something else you can do? Being angry had failed and as a last effort he tried pleading. Neither had any effect on Akari. She sat watching from atop a stack of boxes, swinging her legs impatiently. She dropped to the ground.

      I told you, she said. Big sister sent me to find you.

      She said 'find someone,' that's what you said before, 'find someone to help'... she didn't ask for me.

      She said 'find someone that doesn't have anything better to do' and tell them to come, said Akari.

      That sounded like Maki, thought Hikaru. 'Fetch someone, anyone' and as usual he was the unlucky 'someone.' It had already been a bad day, the last thing he wanted was to get caught up shifting boxes or sweeping out the shrine. I told you, I'm busy, he said. With that he adjusted his stance and reached for another arrow. He could feel Akari watching and waiting. Hikaru drew again, held the shot for a heartbeat, and then let the arrow fly. Somehow the shot was worse than the last. It was unbearable.

      How many do you have left? asked Akari.

      Nine strikes on target he had decided before he would sleep that night. Seven, he replied. Embarrassment burned the tips of his ears. He focused on the opposite end of the practice range, careful to avoid her eyes.

      Is this something Nagano-dono told you to do?

      "No, it's

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