The Wings of Dreams

old cloth around it. Above Gankyuu’s knee, not touching the wound, Rikou tied the section of rope he’d cut around the tip of the scabbard to hold it in place.
    “Tell me the truth. Do you prefer the suugu or the haku?”
    “I’d appreciate you leaving the haku.”
    “Understood.”
    “Wait a second!” Shushou raised her voice again. “What are you talking about? You’re going to leave him behind? Don’t be ridiculous! I won’t stand for it!”
    “Don’t take this the wrong way. If I thought for a second that my number was up, I wouldn’t be trying to get rid of you. Believe me, koushu aren’t the self-sacrificing type.” Gankyuu took a piece of bark or tree root out of the bag and popped it into his mouth. “Get out of here. I prefer being left to my own devices.”
    “No!
    “Keep your voice down. Seisai is skittish enough already. We’re going to have company pretty soon. I’m telling you, I’m fine. A wound like this is all in a day’s work for me.”
    Despite the darkness of the night, Shushou could see the beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. His was hardly the condition of a man who was fine. ”
    “Rikou, you pick him up. If Gankyuu can’t ride Seisai then you can get Seisai to carry him.”
    Shushou grabbed his arm. He jerked it free. “You really don’t get it, do you? Go. My odds are that much better without you here. I’m not making a gallant sacrifice for you. Like I said, you’d be free to stay if I thought otherwise.”
    Gankyuu tucked in his torn leggings and refastened his chaps. Shushou stood her ground. “And as I said, I’m not going to. I will either depart with you or stay here like an albatross hanging around your neck, hardly to be shook off. You choose.”
    “I refuse both. Rikou, tie her up and haul her off with you.”
    “No! I won’t allow you to treat me that way!”
    Startled by her outburst, Seisai and the haku turned their heads and then looked up at the starry night.
    “Ah. Our guests are taking their time. But they’re coming.”
    Seisai raised his muzzle to the sky and growled softly.
    Rikou asked, “What do you want me to do, Gankyuu?”
    Gankyuu didn’t hesitate in the slightest. “Take her with you and leave.”
    “What about you, Shushou?”
    “I am not budging from this spot. If you want to run away, go right ahead.”
    “Fine, then.” Rikou smiled. “What do you say we split the difference?”
    Before Shushou could call him back or Gankyuu’s curses could reach him, Rikou jumped onto Seisai’s back and soared into the air.
    “You two hold down the fort here,” he called down to them. “I’ll fetch the goushi.”

Chapter 37
    [5-6] “ T hat son of a bitch!”
    Shushou said, “I don’t think this is splitting the difference so much as calling it a draw due to injury.”
    Gankyuu raged at her, “What are you so calm about?”
    “I’m here because I chose to be here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m perfectly happy to lie in a bed of my own making.”
    “That’s why I—”
    “You don’t know when to give up. Rikou is already gone. Factoring in the speed of a suugu at a full run, he should catch up with the goushi soon enough. We only have to hold out until then.”
    “Do you think we can hold out until then?”
    Shushou smiled. “We’ll be okay. I’m sure my good luck will hold.”
    “It’s running out faster than you think.” Gankyuu held onto the boulder and hauled himself to his feet. “Bring me the haku.”
    “That’s what you should have done from the start!” Shushou shouted back at him.
    She grabbed the lead rope and pulled the haku to the boulder. The haku hesitated at first, stared at the sky and shook its head. When she handed the reins to Gankyuu, he mounted up, not quickly but still with a fair amount of skill. He reached down to her.
    “Doesn’t your leg hurt?”
    “I told you before. This isn’t that big a deal.”
    So he said, though his right foot didn’t rest in the stirrup and there was no tension in his knee. The painkillers that kept most of the torment at bay left his leg numb and unresponsive. He pulled Shushou into the saddle and slapped the haku three times on the side of its neck.
    Follow your instincts, the gesture meant.
    The haku raised its head and set off at a gallop. Following a youjuu’s inborn instincts, it sprinted from approaching danger. It still had room to flee. Were a youma attack imminent, a haku would freeze in place instead.
    The haku ran and glided off