The Twelve Kingdoms: A Thousand Leagues of Wind

descending. The wind came rushing skyward out of the pitch-black hole as if to cut right through her. The mere thought of lowering herself into these depths with only the one strand of rope to rely on made her weep with fear.
    Why did Riyou despise her so much? It would have been better if they had never met. It was difficult to live in a foreign country where you didn't speak the language, but she had to believe that life was still possible even if she couldn't comprehend a single word.
    Why do I put up with this hell?
    She'd catch a worse beating if she didn't get those mushrooms. Even knowing that, she couldn't move her shivering feet.
    I have to meet the Royal Kei. If I could . . . .
    But all the daydreams in the world wouldn't change the reality of the black cliffs in front of her eyes. That was all there was, and nothing else.
    Should I run away? Leave this place behind for good?
    If she could return to Japan, she would without a second thought. That was something wizards could do, but there were wizards and then there were wizards. For a wizard like Suzu, crossing the Kyokai was impossible.
    She clung to the edge of the cliff and wept. Suddenly she heard a sound behind her, the sound like the purring of a cat. Suzu lifted her head and raised the lantern. The tiger Setsuko was hovering in the air just beyond the precipice.
    Suzu gulped and took a step back. Setsuko floated there in the air, as if ready to pounce. It's jewel-like eyes glittered in the light from the lantern.
    "You," the tiger growled insistently at her.
    Wizards could grasp the gist of what the tiger was saying, but a wizard of Suzu's status couldn't actually speak the language of beasts.
    "The Mistress."
    Riyou hadn't been intending all along to feed her to this you -creature, had she? Did she send her out to this solitary mountain crag so this tiger could attack her? Did she hate her that much? But why?
    The tiger motioned with its head as if to hurry her along, urging her to just get on with it. So was Riyou spying on her? Making sure that Suzu did as she was told? That's why she sent the tiger after her.
    "I know, I know," Suzu answered in a trembling voice. "I'll do it."
    She grasped the rope with her shaking hands and little by little inched towards the edge of the cliff. Playing out the rope as she went along, she planted her feet on the edge and stopped, her body suspended in the air. She couldn't move.
    I can't do it.
    Raw fear prevented her from descending any further.
    "I can't. I'm sorry."
    The hand holding fast to her lifeline shook as she were convulsing. If it went on any longer, she could fall for sure. Her hand would slip and she'd let go of the rope.
    "Please . . . help . . . . "
    A moment later, her hand did slip. Suzu was cast backwards into the air. I'm falling, she thought. She had completely forgotten about the rope tied to her waist.

    When she came to, Suzu was floating in the air. The face of the cliff was directly in front of her. The ground beneath her was soft to the touch.
    So the ground wasn't that far down, after all. She gasped in relief. Then the sensation of soft fur. Setsuko. She was lying on the tiger's back. She screamed. "No! Let me down!"
    A moment later the ground disappeared out from under her. Her body was tossed into the sky. She felt herself falling. She clawed at the air, as if in a dream. And then gagged as the Setsuko grabbed the collar of her jacket. She screamed again. With a flick of its head the tiger again tossed her body into the sky. When she landed once more on the tiger's back, she hung on with all her strength.
    It can't get any worse.
    She remembered that the rope was still fastened to her waist. She could climb back up the cliff face using the rope. With trembling hands she drew in the slack on the rope until, abruptly, there was nothing more there.
    "Oh no, it's been cut."
    Suzu looked at Setsuko's boulder-sized head. She had no choice but to hold on and let it take her back. But why would this creature, who could not be ridden by anyone but Riyou, return her to the grotto?
    "T-take me back." Suzu pleaded with the tiger. "Please, take me back to the top of the cliff."
    She felt something warm trickling down her back. It was blood, she thought, her mind swimming, from where Setsuko's fangs had gouged her skin. The pain was severe.
    "Please. Help me."
    The tiger moved. It came closer to the cliff, approached one of the shrubs growing there. With a deep, ferocious growl it admonished her.