L5r - scroll 04 - The Phoenix Read Online Free Page B

He had lost his father, his friends, almost everything, before regaining the throne. Her spirit, however, wept silently at the sight of her empty bed.
    Kaede pulled the quilt around her bare shoulders. She reached out with her mind, touching the Void all around her. Soon she felt better.
    She let the quilt fall from her body, stood, and went to the low chest standing against one wall of the room. She opened the top, pulled out a padded kimono spangled with bird designs, and wrapped it around herself. The cool silk quickly warmed against her skin.
    A shadow fell across the floor of the room. Kaede jumped, and a small gasp escaped her lips. Then she realized it was only the silhouette of a cloud crossing the moon. Moonlight filtered through the shoji, the many-paned paper wall on the room's south side, and painted the wooden floor blue and white. The wind blew briskly outside, sending the cloud shadows fleeing across the room like mice.
    Kaede slipped a pair of sandals on her feet and crossed to the door of the room.
    The door was a paper fiisuma screen, brilliantly painted with pictures of birds, mountains, and waterfalls. Kaede admired it for a moment before sliding it open.
    Darkness reigned in the hall outside. In the distance, around a corner, a lantern burned, shedding pale light through its white paper panes. Kaede looked down the hall in both directions and was surprised when a figure stepped from the shadows.
    She almost retreated into her room before she realized who it was: Seppun Ishikawa, her friend and frequent companion. She smiled at him. A worried look played across his rugged face. He wore a blue kimono rather than his usual armor, as if he'd just gotten out of bed. He carried his daisho swords in his left hand. As one of the emperor's guardsmen, Ishikawa was in charge of security for this wing of the palace. His room was not far from Kaede's.
    "What's wrong?" he whispered to her.
    "Nothing," she replied. "Why did you think anything was wrong?"
    "I heard something," he said, concern still playing on his face. "It sounded like you were in trouble."
    Kaede smiled and put a hand to her full lips. "Honestly, Ishikawa," she said, trying not to laugh, "I sometimes think you'd come running if I sneezed."
    Ishikawa shifted uncomfortably. He tucked his swords into his obi and folded his arms across his broad chest.
    Seeing that she'd hurt him, Kaede reached out and gently touched his elbow. "I'm sorry," she said. "I had some trouble sleeping. I didn't mean to wake you."
    "All right," he said, almost touching her hand with his own.
    "I'm glad it was nothing more. Why don't we both go back to bed?"
    She felt the warmth of his hand, so close to hers. The perception sent a thrill up Kaede's spine, and some of the loneliness inside her slipped away. She shook her head. "No," she said. "I'd rather walk right now."
    "In the middle of the night?" Ishikawa said skeptically.
    She nodded. "Yes. Just for a bit."
    "Then I'll walk with you," he said. He withdrew his hand and looked around. "Where are we going?"
    "Nowhere. Everywhere."
    Ishikawa chuckled, a low, pleasant sound like surf on a distant beach. "Are we walking into the Void, then?" he asked.
    "We are always walking in the Void," Kaede replied.
    Ishikawa laughed again. "Serves me right for trying to match words with the Mistress of the Void." He pointed down the corridor past his room.
    She nodded her assent, and they walked quietly together, close, but not touching. They headed toward the center of the great palace, passing sentries as they went. At first, the guards seemed nervous to see anyone walking so late at night. They settled down, though, when they recognized Ishikawa.
    After a time, Ishikawa said, "Why did you have trouble sleeping? Bad dreams?"
    Kaede nodded and looked up at him. "I don't remember the dream exactly—just shadows and dark omens. I think my father may have been there, too."
    Ishikawa stopped walking and looked at her. His gaze flitted over her