And we’re bringing an army with us.
9
WHAT WILL BE
Kensai had no time for a rebellion.
The Second Bloom strode the hallways of Chapterhouse Kigen, listening to the tumbling, jumbling clatter of the mechabacus in his head: reports of insurrection in Chapterhouse Yama, a suicide attack incinerating Second Bloom Aoi and the bulk of his command staff aboard his flagship. But worse, news filtered through command frequencies that the rebellion was not confined to Yama—that every chapterhouse in Shima was probably infested with insurgents.
And from the Yama frequencies themselves, where once there would have been noise and life and meaning, there was only a constant 50-cycle hum.
This should have been a moment of triumph. Hiro had mustered his troops, was sailing toward the Stain even now. In two days’ time, the Tiger Lord would rendezvous with the Phoenix fleet and begin the march north. Fifteen days for the Earthcrusher to be unleashed on the Kagé—the nights, months, years of his life spent designing the colossus, agitating for its construction, all of it crystallizing in this single moment. And now, at the eleventh hour, to find traitors within the Guild’s own ranks …
“How is this even possible?”
Kensai slammed a fist onto the stone tabletop of the Chamber of Council, glaring at the trio of Inquisitors at the other end of the room. His command staff was assembled, watching the show with blood-red eyes. The walls were lined with maps of the Shima Isles, chattering banks of instrumentation. The undertones of great engines growling and grinding in the building’s bowels, overlaid with the rising uncertainty in the hallways outside.
“I have little time to waste on enigmatic silence,” Kensai spat. “I suggest one of you wake long enough to offer explanation!”
“Explanation?”
The lead Inquisitor spoke, bloodshot stare aimed at the ceiling. Of the two others in the room, one peered at his fingers, moving them as if weaving invisible thread. The third watched the air directly above Kensai’s shoulder, blinking once per second with timepiece precision. As each exhaled, blue-black smoke drifted from the grinning breathers over their faces.
“An explanation!” Kensai drew himself up to his full height. “The Inquisition is meant to recognize Impurity in all its guises. Is that not why you breathe lotus smoke every minute of your lives? To bring you clarity? How is it you failed to see rebellion festering in the Guild’s heart?”
The lead Inquisitor looked sharply at the empty air to his immediate right. Taking one step left, the little man spoke with agonizing slowness.
“Who is to say we did not, Second Bloom?”
“Do you mean you foresaw—”
“We see much. Many possibilities.”
“This is as it should be,” said another. “This is … satisfactory.”
“Satisfactory?” Kensai was incredulous. “A Second Bloom has been assassinated!”
“Are you certain?” The Inquisitor looking at his fingertips met Kensai’s stare—the first of the group to have done so. “Did you see?”
“What do you see, Shateigashira?” the first asked.
“I see madmen,” Kensai spat.
The statement was met with uneasy murmurs around the council table. Kensai ignored the rumblings of his lower Blooms, stalking toward the trio.
“I see charlatans who predict the What Will Be, but cannot see corruption growing before their own eyes. I see lotusfiends wreathing addiction in metaphysical nonsense, stumbling about in the dark and hoping one of their mumbled prognostications actually comes true.”
The lead Inquisitor blinked again, eyes losing focus. “Then you see nothing.”
“Soon you will,” the second nodded. “Soon…”
Kensai seethed within his metal skin, bidding himself be still. Once the Earthcrusher destroyed the Kagé, once the gaijin war was renewed, he must speak with the Second Blooms of the remaining chapterhouses. Surely they must see the Inquisition’s influence was becoming destructive? Surely they must realize the First Bloom’s time was over?
The first Inquisitor spoke again, cutting Kensai’s musings to ribbons.
“This insurgency cannot be permitted to spread. We assume you will remain here in Kigen and see to the dissent in your own house.”
Not a question. A command.
“No,” Kensai replied. “I will travel north with the Earthcrusher and destroy the Kagé.”
“You are a Second Bloom, Kensai-san. Your first duty is to your chapterhouse.”
“All my life has led to this day. It is I who should be standing on the Earthcrusher’s bridge as it storms the Iishi. I designed its every—”
“You had assistance, did you not? Kioshi, former Third Bloom of this chapterhouse, was the genius behind its engines. And Kioshi’s son sits here in this very chamber.”
Kensai glared momentarily at his newest Fifth Bloom, the boy’s single glowing eye downturned, not daring to meet his gaze.
Kin-san.