Fiends of the Rising Sun by David Bishop Page A

own cadres of vampyr insurgents. You and your acolytes have the potential to become the emperor's ultimate weapon, an army of undead samurai warriors. After that, well..." Constanta's features became translucent as his body changed into a cloud of mist, floating in the air. "The rest is up to you." His devilish smile was last to vanish, fading away to leave but a memory of the vampyr's presence.
    Zenji Hitori was left behind on the terrace overlooking Tokyo, more alone than he had ever been before in his twenty-seven years of life.
     
    Father Kelly stood by the railings on deck as the President Coolidge sailed away from Hawaii. He held a traditional floral garland in his hands, given to him by a native girl as he had boarded the ship. Against all the odds, every member of the 200th had found his way back to the vessel in time and it was now bound for the Philippines and an uncertain future for those on board. All those who'd been caught up in the brawl at Tokyo Joe's faced a voyage filled with no end of punishments and absolutely no privileges. Martinez had escaped the commander's wrath, thanks to Father Kelly's intervention in Honolulu. The young soldier found his saviour staring wistfully at the lush green island of Oahu, holding the lei as if it were a set of rosary beads.
    "Father, are you planning to throw that or pray with it?" Martinez asked.
    "Sorry?" Father Kelly said, shaken from his private thoughts.
    "I was asking if you planned to throw that in the water. I got talking to one of the locals, back on the island. She said if you throw a lei into the water when you sail and it goes back towards the island, that means you'll return one day, but if it floats out to sea, you won't ever come back to Hawaii."
    "Oh, I see," the priest replied. "Well, by rights, all vessels coming back from the Philippines usually make a stop at these islands. Let's find out, shall we?" He tossed the lei away from the boat and it landed with a gentle splash on the churning blue and white waters. Both men watched the floral necklace intently. Slowly, gradually, the currents took the lei away from the islands.
    Martinez frowned, a bitter thought occurring to him. "Well, it's just an old wives' tale. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything really. The propellers on the boat probably pushed your lei the wrong way, that's all."
    Father Kelly smiled politely. "I'm sure you're right, Juan." He turned his back on the ocean. "How are your tour guides faring?"
    "Wierzbowski and Buntz? They both got arrested by the MPs. The commander threw the book at them, no mercy. I was lucky you didn't let me go back inside." The young soldier shook his head at the memory of what had happened at Tokyo Joe's. "Of course, Wierzbowski ain't complaining, since he never complains about anything. But Buntz? He's been bellyaching twenty to the dozen, saying I should have caught as much flak as he did for what happened. I tried telling Buntz that if he hadn't been hitting on the Japanese serving girl, none of it would have happened, but..."
    "He doesn't want to hear that?"
    "Pretty much. I don't know how long it's gonna take him to get over it. I ain't holding my breath, let's put it that way."
    "A wise course of action," the priest agreed.
    "Anyways..." Martinez said. His nostrils flared at the smell of hot food leaking out from the nearest doorway. "They're serving lunch, if you want it."
    "That's very kind, Juan, but I'll stay here. Your sea legs are better than mine, so I tend not to eat the first day of a voyage."
    "Okay, father. Well, it was good talking to you."
    "You too, Juan." Father Kelly turned back around and stared out across the ocean to the receding profile of the Hawaiian Islands. Martinez looked at the priest for a moment before going inside to eat lunch. He wanted to get that sad image of the lei floating away from Oahu out of his head. When they left port he had thought of the floral garland as a happy, cheerful tradition. But the garland Father Kelly had