The Twelve Kingdoms: Shadow of the Moon

"The answer will become apparent soon."
    "But . . . . "
    "As long as you are within our custody, no one will lay a finger upon you. The problem for your enemies is that Keiki is a kirin, and not so easily disposed of. Were the kirin murdered, the king who ordered your assassination would be quickly revealed. Heaven could not overlook such an injustice."
    "I don't understand what you mean."
    "Better to leave it alone for now. That kingdom will decline, and who is giving the orders will become clear. However," the En said with a broad smile, "that Keiki is being held prisoner in Kei alone justifies a rescue mission. In order to do so, and in order to protect your Highness, we must get you to a safe place. Shall we be going?"
    "Right now?"
    "As soon as possible. If you have belongings at the inn, there's just enough time to go fetch them. I'd like to take you to my place."
    Youko look at Rakushun. Rakushun nodded. "You'd better get going, Youko. That is the safest way."
    "But . . . . "
    "Don't worry about me. Go."
    The En smiled at Rakushun's admonition. "Another guest is hardly going to complicate things any further. It's kind of a dilapidated old place, but I've got rooms to spare."
    "You--you can't be serious!"
    "Keep in mind that I'm an utter incompetent when it comes to housekeeping, but it you don't mind, then you're welcome. I think the Royal Kei would be more at ease with you there as well."
    His home was none other than Gen'ei Palace. Privately shocked that the En would refer to it like some broken-down hut, Youko said to Rakushun, "C'mon, let's go. I wouldn't feel good about leaving you behind."
    Rakushun nodded stiffly.

Chapter 57
    W hen the En arrived at the outskirts of the city, he put his fingers to his mouth and sounded a high whistle.
    Walking all the way to Kankyuu would take another month. Moreover, at night, there was no getting in or out of the city. Youko was trying to figure out how in the world he was planning to get to Kankyuu when, seemingly in response to the whistle, a shadow appeared above the wall. She could make out the glowing forms of two tigers. The play of light on their coats turned their black stripes an iridescent white, not as pale as pearl, not as impenetrable as a slick of oil. Their impressive eyes were like black opals, their tails magnificently long.

    As on that very first night when she had crossed the Kyokai, she climbed onto the tiger. They flew into the night sky, a half moon rising, and turned toward Kankyuu.
    She felt a deep nostalgia. Looking back at it now, how much time had passed since then? She had ridden on one of Keiki's shirei, by the name of Hyouki. When they had headed out over the ocean, it was still cold. The Youko then didn't understand a thing, not about Keiki, not about herself.
    Now it was summer. The heat rested like a blanket on the night, the air around them so still as to seem melancholy.
    Just as on the night she had crossed the Kyokai, as the beast galloped through the sky, the nightscape opened up below them. The nights in En were bright, the villages and hamlets twinkling like small constellations of stars. It reminded her of the Kyokai.
    "Youko, there is Kankyuu."
    Seated behind her, clinging to her back, Rakushun pointed with his small forefoot off into the distance ahead of them. At that point, two hours had passed since the journey began. She saw nothing in the direction Rakushun had indicated. There wasn't a city there, only the deep blackness. Where? she was going to ask, when she understood what it was she was looking at. Rakushun wasn't pointing out something within the darkness, he was pointing at the darkness itself.
    "I don't believe it . . . . "
    Bathed in the light of the half moon, the world below was the dark color of the ocean. The contours of the forests had a faint white glow, like waves, dotted with a countless number of lights.
    Within the nightscape was a deep, black hole.
    No, not a hole. It was a silhouette, the moon rising up behind it. What had gouged a hole in the nightscape below looked like a hole, but was in fact the rising shape of a . . .
    " . . . a mountain."
    Could such a mountain exist?
    They were so high already that the villages appeared as no more than dots. Even so, she found herself looking up and up.
    A mountain that reaches to heaven, Rakushun had said.
    But can a mountain really reach to heaven? For a moment, she had the feeling of being a very small, insignificant speck of life.
    A soaring mountain like