Only a Shadow by Steve Bein Page B

ignorance laid bare. “Very little,” he said. “Inazuma is said to be the greatest sword smith in history,
neh
?”
    â€œJust so.”
    â€œAnd his weapons . . . I don’t wish to be thought a fool, Iga-sama, but it is said that some of them are magical.”
    â€œIndeed. And the Tiger?”
    â€œIt is said that so long as the Tiger dwells in a castle, that castle can never fall.”
    Jujiro nodded. “Tell me, what do you think of such rumors, Tada-san?”
    â€œI am not sure what to think. I am not one to put my faith in ghost stories. The common folk believe in
tengu
, and a good
shinobi
can use such superstitions to his advantage. But everyone says the eruption that destroyed Yamamachi left one wooden hut untouched. They say the lava did not so much as singe the straw of the roof.”
    â€œYou have a good knowledge of history, Tada-san. Yamamachi was destroyed nearly a hundred years ago.”
    â€œPeople in the village are telling the story again. They say Lord Hirata’s great-grandfather took shelter in that hut, with the Tiger on the Mountain at his hip. He is supposed to have broken his leg fleeing the lava, and he thought the hut to be as good a place as any to meet his end.”
    Jujiro gave the boy an approving nod. “You are not a fool to believe the legend, Tada-san. I am old enough to have met Hirata’s great-grandfather, once upon a time. He limped for the rest of his life, but he died a silver-haired old man.”
    â€œBecause of the sword.”
    â€œJust so. And that sword now dwells in Lord Hirata’s newly constructed fortress at Toba. From his seat in that fortress he means to carry out the extinction of our clan. He claims Toba castle is impregnable, and he says his Inazuma blade will never be stolen again.”
    â€œHe lost it once before,” said Tadanao. It was not a question. The boy caught on quickly. A moment later he added, “It was you, wasn’t it? The first time it was stolen, it was you.”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIs that why he hates us?”
    â€œI certainly hope not. That was thirty years ago. A man his age should have outgrown bearing grudges.”
    â€œHow did he recover the sword?”
    Jujiro shrugged. “I stole it under contract. It was not my place to ask what became of it after that. Perhaps the one who hired me sold it right back to Lord Hirata. I can only guess what price he paid. In any case, Hirata said no Iga will ever take it again. Naturally he meant me.”
    â€œThe clan cannot let this stand. It is an insult to us all.”
    â€œIt is more than that, my boy. If he had his way, he would cut my throat with that sword, and yours too. He means to use Toba castle to lock down the Kansai, and then to kill every last Iga in the region. Mothers. Daughters. All of us.”
    â€œThen we should raze the castle.”
    â€œThe elders have already tried,” said Jujiro. “Firebombs hidden in the cook’s wood stores. Sacrifices to the
kami
to summon a typhoon. Dead animals secreted away to disease the waters. Thus far neither the castle nor its garrison show any sign of harm.”
    â€œYou embarrassed him badly when you first stole the sword,
neh
?”
    â€œI suppose so.”
    The boy smiled. “How are we going to steal it this time?”
    â€œI will do my part, and you will do yours. But you will need to prove yourself a true
shinobi
. You will need to walk on water. You will need to pass through walls. You will need to fly like a raven, hold your breath longer than the oldest sea turtle, and see in darkness where even cats are blind. Are you ready to begin?”

2.
    Tada left the old man’s study, sliding the
shoji
shut behind him and doing what he could to restrain a grin. He had passed the test. He would be committing a theft fit for legends. He would save the clan from annihilation. And in so doing he would win Chieko’s heart.
    The old