Dragon Clans Bk. 02 Pt. 06

The three sat stunned at the speed with which Nicholas had moved. Nigel and Tera believed that with the death of Ian and Nicolas' inability to wrest the power of clan Aoife from him, that he would have taken more time and would have had a much subtler plan in mind.

Onji interpreted their looks, answering their unspoken questions.

"Nicholas may have designs that I do not see. Often over the centuries he has taken action that has confounded all logic and reason. I believe Lo-Chan was planning to move against my clan prior to Michael beginning the path of ascension. Nicholas may simply be taking advantage of a situation not of his making, but useful towards his ends."

"Why would Lo-Chan even think of mounting an assault on you. I am aware that down through the years clan Ryujin and clan Feilong have often been at odds, often coming into direct conflict. But, as far as I am aware, the two of you have been at stalemate for several decades."

Onji was silent after Nigel's question.

Tera noticed the subtle interplay between Onji and Katsimoto. It looked as though whatever secret had caused the heightening of tensions between Onji and Lo-Chan was to be revealed. A brief nod from Onji to Katsimoto clinched it.

As Onji sat, taking a sip from the teacup before him, Katsimoto rose, addressing Tera and Nigel.

Seeming to center himself Katsimoto let the tale unfold.

"As you know, children among the chosen are amazingly rare. Even prior to ascension, for one who carries the ability to be a chosen it is scarcely heard of."

"Almost four hundred years ago, roughly a year before Onji-San ascended and became clan leader, he was married, his wife bore him a daughter. Now this is not unheard of, however Onji-San was unaware of the child's birth. His wife being captured by Chinese slavers prior to beginning to show her pregnancy, she was presumed dead."

Onji looked up at Katsimoto for a long moment, holding his hand up to request that he pause before Onji himself continued the story.

"As centuries pass memories of such things dim but never fully fade. I had been fishing, not too far from this fortress The raiding party had come in early morning, after the fishermen had gone to sea but before most of the others had awakened. It was brutal ... men, old women, young boys, butchered or impaled, every female from one to sixty was shackled and taken to their ship."

'They were ... beyond the horizon by the time we returned and found the slaughter. All we could do was bury our dead and mourn our lost."

It was obvious that this moment, which had occurred many centuries ago, weighed on Onji as if it were only yesterday.

With a wave of his hand and a slight bow from Katsimoto, the story continued.

"Thirty years ago, Onji-San took a local widow as a lover. She had no children or family. She had been living in the village, where she mended nets and was the local seamstress. Onji-San and she spent a few happy years together before the unheard of happened. At almost fifty Mianga had become pregnant."

Onji-San using his unique clan abilities confirmed that the child was in fact his. While bringing him great joy and surprising happiness, Ryujin also found something else while searching for this newly formed life's' parentage. Another, far removed, that also held Onji-San's essence, but much diluted."

At this point Onji stood. With a small bow Katsimoto returned to his seat between Nigel and Tera.

"After much searching of ancient records of births and deaths ... papers of ownership, and such ... I found that my wife had a child after being abducted by the slavers."

"The child was a girl and was subsequently sold off to a brothel in what is now Beijing. The Madame of this establishment raised her. From the meager records of the time, it seems she may have become dear to her. In any event upon the Madame's death, the child ... my child ... inherited the brothel."

"Down through the centuries the business thrived. It was passed down through each generation up until the last."

"Lo-Chan took over the brothel from my heir. The heir had a daughter before she died, several years ago. That girl is Sin-Cho."

The room was quiet as Onji sat down hard in his seat, as if the telling of it had taken the last of his energy. Katsimoto stood to finish the tale.

"We only learned the final pieces of the heredity about six months ago. When we did, and discovered that the girl was being held by Lo-Chan, the decision was made to liberate her."

"With a small force including myself and Onji-San, we penetrated Lo-Chan's compound. We were met with ... far greater resistance than we had expected."

There was a tremor of pain in Katsimoto's voice that both Nigel and Tera picked up on. It was born of the lingering sorrow felt by those who lead men to their death. Both had uttered its like, before.

Nigel broke in at this pause.

"Onji, you should have called us, Ian, myself, hell all of Dragon Security would have been at your side, if you had only asked."

The frustration in Nigel's voice was clear.

Onji gave his old friend a nod.

"I know this Nigel-San, but this was something that I and Katsimoto ... our clan ... needed to take care of. Yes, we suffered loses, but honor was served. Sin-Cho was freed from her captivity. She is now safe, here, with her clan."

"If I may say Onji-San, safe is a relative term with these new movements by Lo-Chan."

Tera's comment brought the three men in the room, who had been lost in the story and their own thoughts, back to the realities of the moment.

"You are of course correct, Tera-San. We must prepare for what seems to be an imminent attack on the clan, both ours and yours."

Onji's eyes had gone steel cold, their strength buoyed and supported the others.

"I've got some calls to make. Tera, Katsimoto, please do a quick and dirty Sitrep on the fortress. Find the weak spots and needs. We will meet again in two hours."

With a bow to Onji, Nigel pulled out his phone, dialing as he left the room.

"What kind of force do you think Lo-Chan will send against us?"

Onji turned and looked out the window, below, waves crashed against the cliff face as they had always done, their power undeniable even in the face of the stoic cliffs that rose from the very depths of the earth.

"One that will test us to our very limits ... and beyond."

Tera felt a shudder pass through her body at Onji's words. It was as if the reaper himself had casually glided over her grave.

------

Michael broke from the trees at a dead run.

As he had made his way down the mountain, his meeting with the ancient crone still fresh in his mind, a growing sense of foreboding had begun to plague his every step.

The further he got from the grove, the closer he came to the fortress, the stronger the feeling became until, by the time he reached the thinning boundary of trees that circled the fortress promontory he was in a fast sprint.

Michael didn't know if he was running away from something, or running toward it.

But of one thing he was sure, that the malignant presence of a murderous evil was slouching its way slowly toward him. And that this time ... he would be ready to meet it eye to eye!

*

Edited By TeNderLoin