第61节

ust bear it in mind."

'Right! That's it!" Roz slapped two handfuls of water into his face,

grabbed hold of his hair, and held him under.

As Cadillac and Roz struggled playfully, neither of them had any idea

that Steve was one of the emissaries the Federation had selected. And

because the mind-bridge linking her to Steve remained blocked, Roz was

unaffected by his physical condition. Which at that moment was

something to be thankful for.

The steam-powered junk Steve and Fran had boarded off Cape Fear was

still two hundred miles south of Aron-Giren. After a second day and

night of pitching and rolling in rough seas, Fran .lay, drained of

colour, on her mattress bed, unable to stand on her feet without

assistance. Faced with the grim prospect of another day trapped in a

wooden box that heaved sickeningly in all directions, death seemed to

offer a welcome release.

Steve, the nursemaid, comforter and macho mariner, was now feeling

pretty wretched himself. His earlier feigned nonchalance had gone,

along with all pretence at having a cast-iron stomach. The merest

smell of food made him feel sick, and he had now reached the point

where it was proving difficult to hold even a glass of water down.

All either of them could think of was that longed-for moment when they

set foot on solid ground. Neither had any inkling they were soon to be

swept into even more dangerous waters ....

Since the Shogun and the Lord Chamberlain had not yet arrived at the

Palace, Kamakura's duties as the senior Captain of the Palace Guard

were not particularly onerous. Apart from a meeting with Tokimasa, the

Resident Steward, and Ichiwara, he was able to delegate inspections and

guard-mounting ceremonies to his junior officers, giving him most of

the day to attend to the needs of Lady Mishiko.

When night fell, he suggested that it would be wiser if she remained in

his house with her children and retinue, leaving him to enter the

Palace with the two spirit-witches via the secret tunnel. He had

obtained the required information about Secretary Ichiwara, and as an

officer privileged to bear arms in the presence of the Shogun, he had

unchallenged access to all parts of the Palace.

If he were seen, no one would think to question his presence, and if by

chance they did, he could say he was making a last-minute check on the

security arrangements.

If Lady Mishiko, on the other hand, ran into a member of Lord Ieyasu's

staff or one of his place-men, then the vital element of surprise would

be lost.

Mishiko agreed without hesitation. Cadillac also voiced his

approval.

It was a good move - always provided they didn't lose their way going

through the tunnel. Asking for ink, writing brush and paper, Mishiko

quickly prepared an annotated route map and handed over the key.

Once again, the conversation left Roz on the sidelines, but when she

saw Mishiko prepare the map and give Kamakura the key, it all became

clear. As soon as they were aboard the covered cart, with Kamakura

seated up front with one of Mishiko's guards as driver, the rumbling

clatter of the wheels allowed Cadillac to explain everything in

detail.

By the time they reached the drop-off point for the mausoleum, Roz knew

what she had to do. The final scenario would have to wait until she

got inside Ichiwara's head.

Recruiting Kamakura onto their team proved to be their biggest stroke

of luck so far. It was obvious from the purposeful way he walked that

he knew his way around the Palace, but he hadn't known about the secret

tunnels.

He had long suspected their existence, but actually seeing them, and

the maze of run-offs, had come as a big surprise.

Once they were out of Mishiko's apartments, it didn't take long to

reach the area occupied by senior administrators.

They encountered several guards on the way, but only one or two at a

time. Roz dealt with them all in turn, taking control of Kamakura's

mind on each occasion.

Cadillac had already warned the Captain that they would change their

appearance if danger threatened, but he was still staggered by the

speed and power of their witchcraft. Every time they sighted a guard,

he turned to find that the white-masked figures behind him had been

magically transformed into splendidly-dressed, high-ranking noblemen.