Emperor of the Eight Islands: Book 1 in the Tale of Shikanoko (The Tale of Shikanoko series) Read Online Free PDF

childhood home and put all her energies into making the residence more beautiful and the estate more productive than ever. Kiyoyori took his horses and his dogs and somehow the old scholar went with them, along with all his books. Matsutani was certainly more comfortable and more convenient, but no one ever referred to its owner as anything other than the Kuromori lord. The Darkwood was his true home.
    In the following years both fathers left this world to cross the Three-Streamed River for that place of underground springs and caves where they would face the judges of Hell. Kiyoyori was, as his father had predicted, a good leader of men, as well as being both courageous and astute. He was quick to anger and impulsive, acting swiftly on instinct, but his instincts were usually correct and his anger, together with a degree of ruthlessness, meant he was feared as well as admired. His fame spread. He fought several small but well-planned skirmishes that subdued his neighbors and rivals, not only holding on to his own lands but also extending them. The twin estates of Kuromori and Matsutani seemed blessed. Some said it was karma due to good deeds in a former life; others that the estates must be protected by powerful magic and charms.
    One dawn in the ninth month when he was walking toward the horse lines, for it was his custom to ride every morning with two or three retainers or young pages, Kiyoyori realized he did not have his whip. He must have left it somewhere in the residence. He thought of sending a groom back for it but, not being sure exactly where it was, decided it would be quicker to fetch it himself.
    He stepped onto the wide veranda and pushed up the bamboo blind. The wooden shutters had already been opened, as the day promised to be fine and warm. There was someone in the room, one of the servants, he thought at first, but the person did not bow or glide respectfully away. Instead, whomever it was sat down cross-legged as if he planned to stay for a while and said, “There you are! I have been waiting for you.”
    “It would have been a long wait,” Kiyoyori replied, ignoring the familiar tone. Eccentric old men could be allowed a few liberties. “On a beautiful day like this I might have ridden until midday.”
    “I knew you would return for this.” The whip lay in the old scholar’s wrinkled palm.
    “Well, thank you, Master Sesshin.” Kiyoyori stepped forward to take it, but without him quite seeing how, the whip switched sides and now lay on the other palm. All his senses came alert. He knelt in front of Sesshin, keeping his eyes fixed on his face. He realized he had hardly spared the old fellow a glance in all the years they had lived under the same roof. Indeed, he had averted his eyes and made efforts not to notice him, finding his slovenly appearance vaguely affronting and his body odor disconcerting. The thought came to him that maybe the old man had kept himself concealed in some way and now for the first time he was allowing Kiyoyori to see him.
    The skin was like ancient silk, drawn taut over the bones. The eyes returned the lord’s gaze guilelessly, but they held an unfathomable depth. They had looked on worlds he had not even dreamed of and into mysteries he would never understand.
    He spoke brusquely to hide his unease. “Do you have something to say to me? If you wanted to speak to me why did you not send a message?”
    Sesshin laughed, a dry, crackling noise like old wood burning. “You would have put me off and gone out today, and then it would have been too late.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “There is a bandit, Akuzenji. He calls himself the King of the Mountain.”
    “I know who Akuzenji is. I have no quarrel with him. As long as he stays on the mountain, does not extract excessive amounts from merchants, and deals with his rivals swiftly he is causing me no harm. I don’t have enough men to place guards on the whole length of the North Mountain Road. Let Akuzenji do my work for