PROLOGUE
JUNE 794 A.E.
FIRE GATE
The air was thick with tension. A procession of uniformed soldiers, like a river of red, streamed out of the army base en masse, throwing the surrounding city’s residents into a panic as they thundered into the streets. Policemen blockaded automobile traffic and scrambled to clear out pedestrians as the general directed his men onward without regard for the masses of onlookers or the beggars on the street corners wearing tattered, cool-colored clothes.
“What’s going on?” came the whispers. “Don’t you know? Something was stolen from the base last night – some top-secret weapon, I think!”
Where the concrete high-rises and brick storefronts dwindled, replaced by arid grassland at the city limit, the company of soldiers came to a halt at a watery portal. “We must bring back that woman and the Key she stole at all costs!” the general shouted. With a swift movement of his hand, he set his men into motion again. The soldiers marched straight ahead and vanished into the glassy gateway.
WATER GATE
Alarm bells rang through the air as the ugly clouds of billowing grey smoke drew closer and closer, and the light of the flames became visible over the trees. The young woman and several elderly men who made up the Council directed crowds of people out of the village. “That woman has brought them here!” one of the elders cried. The Councilwoman glanced briefly at the bronze-skinned foreigner who waited nearby.
“Mizuki-sensei!” A boy hurried toward them, and the Councilwoman motioned for the foreigner to come forward.
As the Councilwoman continued to herd her people away, she told the boy, “Takeshi, take Lady Miko to Night’s Sea. She must escape!” She quickly tossed him a glittering aqua-colored gemstone. “Go!”
Takeshi nodded determinedly. “Follow me!” He told the foreigner. The woman followed as he took off through the woods that spread between the village and their destination. The trees and thick underbrush finally gave way to an open field of moonlit grass. An oriental castle loomed not too far ahead. As they started up the staircase, they could hear voices at their rear. The stairs seemed unending until Miko and Takeshi finally reached the top, pulled the heavy doors open and let them slam shut on their heels as they stepped inside. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could see a glassy distortion, like a ring of dimly-glowing water, hanging in the middle of the wide room. “There,” Takeshi said, pointing. “You need to hurry!”
Miko cast a glance over her shoulder, bade him farewell with a brief bow, and vanished through the rippling portal.
Takeshi clutched the crystal that the Councilwoman had given him in his hand. Please hurry, he pleaded inwardly, staring worriedly at the portal where Miko had stood only seconds before.
Five men wearing red army uniforms burst through the castle doors behind him. Their leader screamed, “Where is the Earth Gate woman?!”
Takeshi inconspicuously tucked the gemstone into his pocket then turned to face the Fire Gate invaders. “I’m afraid she’s already gone,” he replied calmly.
Chapter 1 >>
