Wall of Spears by Duncan Lay Page A

little uncomfortable, after being named the king’s heir and told to plan how he should kill the pair of them, as well as their mother.
    ‘Sire, the elven Magic-weaver is here. He arrived late, saying he had been attacked by his enemies.’
    ‘Fought them off with your face, did you?’ Ward observed.
    ‘Sire.’ Oroku bowed low. ‘The Elder Elf has marched, along with all his warriors. They are a day out of the city and moving well. I stand ready to take your squad in to Dokuzen tomorrow at noon, when the remaining members of the Elven Council will meet. By then the warriors will be too far away to return before we have finished and I bring your men back here.’
    ‘Your mistress has told them we are heading north, ready to destroy the Velsh for them?’
    ‘Indeed, sire.’ Oroku bowed again. He was not happy showing this much deference to a human but Sumiko had insisted and he would do anything she wanted.
    ‘Good. Edmund, is your squad ready?’
    ‘They are, sire.’
    ‘Make sure they are well rested and fed for the morrow. As soon as you return, Magic-weaver, you will need to send a message to my northern force, telling them to fall back here before your Elder Elf does something foolish that we will all regret.’
    ‘Correct, sire.’ Oroku bowed again. It was easy to keep his face impassive, as the bites and stings had left it swollen and stiff. Curse that Asami! At least her nuisance would be ended by the morning, wiped out by the warriors Sumiko had picked to end her once and for all.
    Noriko was quite happy painting in her garden. Or rather, she told herself she was happy. Since her son, Sendatsu, had left, taking with him Mai and Cheijun, it had been hard to smile. Jaken might be her husband, but he was never home and certainly would never dream of spending time with her — she was required to attend official duties and ensure that his home was clean and preserved, nothing more. The garden was slowly getting back to what it had been before Sendatsu had brought in Daichi’s guards and turned it into a battlefield; having the Elder Elf as your husband certainly helped in finding gardeners willing to work on it.
    She daubed a little paint on the stretched cotton canvas and wondered if anything might happen to break the monotony of her days. Soon she would have to go inside, for the light was fading and the chill in the air reminded her that it was closer to winter than summer. She called for a servant to help carry her things inside and was surprised to see two of them run across to her. She hoped Jaken had not been terrifying them again.
    ‘My lady, a message.’ One of them bowed to her, holding out a sealed scroll.
    She instantly recognised the mark of Retsu and waved the servants away.
    ‘Carry this inside,’ she ordered harshly, pointing at the paints and canvas, using it to cover the quickening of her heart.
    She made herself wait until they had gone, then broke the seal and read the words by the fading sunlight. Retsu was requesting her presence at the Council meeting the following day, as his guest, to honour clan Tadayoshi in the absence of the Elder Elf. There was little else to say why and she guessed it was because he dared not have Jaken see the words. She smiled to herself. It was probably not a good idea to go. But she would anyway.
    Lord Retsu was searching fruitlessly among the archives of the Council for evidence of Jaken’s treachery when he heard the voice calling him.
    ‘Lord Retsu, please do not turn around,’ it said urgently.
    Retsu instantly turned but could not see anyone anywhere among the long shelves.
    ‘You cannot know who I am. My life is in danger,’ the voice said softly.
    ‘Who are you? What do you want?’ Retsu demanded, his hand instinctively going to his sword. But he had left it up in his office and he cursed his foolish belief that he would be safe in the Council Chambers.
    ‘I want to help you. I want to stop Sumiko,’ the voice told him.
    Retsu edged his