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and the solid support they had given to the Shogunate in the

past, Yama-Shita knew that it had become an uneasy alliance tinged with

envy and suspicion. The thirty-year-old merger between the Yama-Ha and

the MatsuShita families had produced a menacing combination of wealth

and military power, and it was well known that kings often turned

against the kingmakers. All they needed was a convincing pretext that

could be used to muster the necessary support. If they held together,

a pack of snivelling street-hounds could always overcome a mountain

lion, but it rarely happened. Faced with a spirited resistance, the

more cowardly mongrels always tended to slink away.

It was the same with the running dogs in the TohYota pack. Some would

follow their leader blindly, others would turn tail - or even change

sides - if the battle proved too lard and too bloody. Even so, it

would be foolish to underestimate the resources of the Shogunate.

Yoritomo had somehow got wind of the tentative plan to resurrect the

Dark Light. The rumours - for that was all they could be at this stage

- had been given substance by his suspected involvement in the

transportation of the long-dog bitch the idiot Toh-Shiba had taken into

his bed.

If she was to be believed, no charges could be levelled against himself

or his colleague, Kiyo Min-Orota - but could she? Yama-Shita had few

grounds for complacency.

The eleven assassins who had been dispatched to kill her in two teams

of three and a final, somewhat desperate, quintet, had all vanished

without trace. To a seasoned power-broker like Yama-Shita that did not

auger well. He doubted that the Consul-General had either the

foresight or the means to protect his outlandish whore against such

dedicated professionals. No. Another unseen hand was at work here and

Yama-Shita had a shrewd idea to whom it belonged. If he was correct

about the assumptions and intentions of his adversaries, it would be

unwise to remain in possession of the engine. It was for this reason

he had brought it with him. Kiyo Min-Orota had been eager to share in

the fruits of this hazardous enterprise. It was only right and proper

that he shared the risks - something which, up to now, he had been

noticeably reluctant to do.

The move made good sense. Despite being linked with the Yama-Shita

family in the Heron Pool project and the deeper suspicions that

surrounded it, the Min-Orota were still regarded as being loyal allies

of the Toh-Yota Shogunate - to whom they were tied by marriage.

Temporarily wayward allies, perhaps - but a family who, in the end,

would realise where their duty and their best interests lay.

Excellent. Trusted servants were always best placed to betray their

masters.

Kiyo's reaction on being made guardian of the infernal machine that

could destroy them both would be a good measure of his resolve. If he

was willing to grasp the nettle, then the cloud warrior who had already

demonstrated his skills in the building of flying-horses should be

given a new project. The rockets he had devised were only a stopgap

solution. To have any worthwhile military application, the

flying-horses had to be able to alight and take to the air from any

suitable terrain and be capable of sustained powered flight. That

would require two things: some kind of wheeled carriage fixed to the

body of the craft and an engine similar to the one he had brought with

him.

How its component parts could be reproduced was something the cloud

warrior would have to solve. But that could come later. The first

step was to get him to reveal the secret methods used by the spinners

and weavers to capture and manipulate the Dark Light.

As his flotilla of junks sailed parallel with the southern shore of

Aron-giren, Yama-Shita paid no heed to the passing watchboats flying

the flag of the Toh-Yota. There was not the slightest danger of being

stopped and searched; any vessel carrying a domain-lord was deemed to

be an extension of his personal fief, and for government sea-soldiers