Cloud of Sparrows Read Online Free PDF Page A

barrels of rice. If he really wants to leave, however . . .”
    Sohaku nodded. There were three barrels of gunpowder in the armory. Shigeru could blow away any obstruction. Indeed, if he so chose, he could blow up the entire armory, with himself in it. Sohaku rose.
    “Stay here,” he said to Yoshi. “Take care of your companions.” He made his way through the garden to the armory. There, he found the other monks all equipped as Yoshi had been with ten-foot staffs of green bamboo. Not the ideal weapon with which to face a swordsman who, despite his present condition of debilitating madness, was almost certainly the best in the nation. He was glad to see that his men had arrayed themselves properly. A thin screen of four observers at the closed back of the building, and three teams of five men each at the front, where Shigeru was likely to appear if he tried to escape.
    Sohaku went up to the front door, blocked, as Yoshi had described, with logs and heavy barrels of rice. Inside, he could hear the swift movement of steel through air. Shigeru was practicing, probably with a sword in each hand. He was one of the few modern swordsmen strong enough and skilled enough to follow the legendary Musashi’s two-sword style of two hundred years ago. Sohaku bowed respectfully at the door and said, “Lord Shigeru. It is I, Tanaka Hidetada, commander of cavalry. May I speak with you?” He thought his former name would cause less confusion. He hoped it would also elicit a response. He and Shigeru had been comrades in arms for twenty years.
    “Air you can see,” the voice within said. “Layers of color on the horizon, garlands for the setting sun. Beautiful, unbreathable.”
    Sohaku could make no sense of the words. He said, “May I be of assistance in some way, lord?”
    The only answer from within was the hiss of swords slashing air.

    The longboat knifed through the water toward the intricate network of wharves that formed Edo Harbor. Light sea mist rising from the bow wave touched Emily’s cheeks with icy dew. Astern, a Japanese lighter hove to beside the Star of Bethlehem, ready to shift cargo from ship to shore.
    “There is where we are bound,” Zephaniah said, “that palace beside the shore. Its master calls it the Quiet Crane.”
    Brother Matthew said, “It looks more like a fort than a palace.”
    “A most excellent observation, Brother Matthew. It is well to bear in mind where we are going. Among the most murderous heathens on the face of the earth. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.”
    “Amen,” Brother Matthew and Emily said.
    Emily tried not to let her expectations get the better of her. Her destiny lay ahead. When it was revealed, would it match her hopes? She sat beside her betrothed, the Reverend Zephaniah Cromwell, and gave every appearance of peaceful quietude. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. In her bosom, her heart thundered so loudly she was surprised to be the only one who heard it.
    She turned toward Zephaniah and saw him staring at her. His cheeks and brow, as usual, were tight with a righteous concentration that caused his eyes to bulge, his lips to turn down, and the deep lines of his face to grow ever deeper. That fierce and knowing visage always made her feel his gaze deep in the most secret depths of her being.
    “The name of the Lord is a strong tower,” Zephaniah said. “The righteous runneth into it, and is safe.”
    “Amen,” Emily said. She heard Brother Matthew’s echoed amen behind her.
    “He will not fail thee,” Zephaniah said, his voice growing louder, his face redder, “nor forsake thee!”
    “Amen,” Emily and Brother Matthew said.
    Zephaniah’s near hand rose, as if to touch her, then he blinked and drew his bulging eyes back into his head. His hand dropped down onto his own