graspedwhat was happening, and the fight was on. Akitada brought up his swordinstinctively and deflected the halberd. Equally instinctively- for nowhere hadhis past training involved fighting with swords against these viciouslong-handled weapons carried by most foot soldiers-he drove forward and wasmildly astonished how easily his blade slid into the other man’s belly.
“Sir-watch out!”
Tora again, and Akitada jerkedback, bringing the sword with him followed by a gush of blood and his victim’sscream. The gate enclosure had filled with men. There was no time to think,just to fend off the attack and kill. His lessons forgotten, Akitada slashedand swung, two-handed, at wild-eyed shouting men, making a path to the outside,dimly aware of Tora’s curses and Hitomaro’s broad shoulders and flashing blade.They beat them back, one by one, into the courtyard.
Others came running, but a loudclanking and grinding signaled the opening of the gate, and then came thetriumphant din of shouting men as Takesuke’s soldiers streamed into Takatamanor. They carried the Sugawara insignia of the white plum blossom on their redbanners, and Akitada felt a moment’s dizzy pride-until the slaughter began.
The passage was narrow, and asthe men emerged in groups of three or four at a time, a hail of arrows fromabove greeted them. The archers felled every second man. Akitada saw one of thearrows pass through a banner and into the man’s unprotected skull. As hewatched the soldier topple forward, another arrow glanced off his own helmet,making his ears ring, and Hitomaro pulled him into the shadow of the wall.
“Stay here, sir. Tora and I aregoing up.”
Akitada gulped some air andglanced up. Stairs led to the tower platform above him. From there, the Uesugi’sarchers were taking out Takesuke’s men as easily as the courtiers back in thecapital used to shoot the deer driven into an enclosure by beaters. He cried, “Comeon!” and made for the stairs.
“Wait, sir.” Tora caught hissleeve.
Akitada wanted to tear awayangrily, but then he remembered his place and stepped aside. A retainer’s dutywas to protect his master. Shame attached to him if he failed to do so.Hitomaro was already running up the steps, Tora at his heels, when Akitadafollowed.
The first steps were of stonebut where the tower began, they changed to wood and the space narrowed so thatonly one man could climb. Akitada could see the gray sky ahead. Then a faceappeared against it. Tora flung himself against the wall, and Hitomaro ducked.An arrow hissed past Akitada’s ear, hit the wooden wall behind him with a sharp
Tora jumped forward. With aroar, he seized the archer’s leg and pulled him down through the opening. Asthe man fell, Hitomaro ran his sword through him, pulled it out, and pushed thebody down toward Akitada.
Akitada ducked aside, then ranup the rest of the steps. The top of the watchtower was becoming a scene ofcarnage. In the dreary light of the winter day, Tora and Hitomaro slashed rightand left at the archers who dropped their bows but had only short swordsagainst their long ones.
He took a deep breath, gaggedon the smell of fresh blood in his nostrils, and flung himself into the fray ofclashing blades and grunting, screaming men. He lunged and slashed, lungedagain, parried, felt his sword bite, and dove under a raised weapon. Hepartially decapitated one man who was about to stab Tora in the back, thenturned and slashed at another who was coming at him. With his longer blade, hecaught him across the belly, laying open pale intestines quickly covered withblood. The man dropped his sword and clutched at himself, his eyes wide withpleading. But Akitada was already moving past him, pursuing another man, hismouth opened in terror as he backed away. Before Akitada could kill him, theman screamed and flung himself over the railing to his death below.
It became quiet on thewatchtower. Outside the clouds moved slowly in the wind and gusts of sleet blewin. A few of the archers had escaped down the stairs, another had jumped, therest lay dead or wounded. The wooden boards were slick with blood. Only thethree of them were left standing. Tora wiped blood from his face and bellowed acheer. Then he grinned at Akitada. “We got them, sir.”
Akitada grinned back, feelingan enormous surge of exultation. He had fought and survived. One of the woundedwept noisily. Akitada slipped in a puddle of blood oozing from a dead man. Thiswas war and it was more exciting than anything he had ever done before. Hewanted more of it. Leaning over the side of the tower, he looked down into thecourtyard. Frightened horses ran among the scattered bodies. Here and there, awounded man was dragging himself to safety. Takesuke’s soldiers wereeverywhere, their red banners with the Sugawara crest fluttering where Uesugi’sblack and white ones had been before. From the barracks courtyard he could hearmore sounds of fierce fighting-screaming men and clashing metal. To the east,the dense cloud of smoke over the kitchen area had doubled in size and flameslicked through the blackness.
Time to look for Uesugi. Whyhad he not joined his men? The main house lay as yet untouched.
Hitomaro was already runningdown the stairs. Tora checked the wounded and tossed their weapons over thebalustrade.
“Have you seen Kaoru?” Akitadaasked.
“Who cares about him,” Toragrowled. “I couldn’t believe my ears when he started giving the orders.”
Akitada, still filled with joy,chuckled and wiped his bloody blade on the jacket of one of the dead. “It’s inhis blood, Tora.”
Tora paused to stare. “What?”
Akitada made for the stairs. “Nevermind. Come, there’s more work to be done. You don’t want Takesuke to have allthe glory, do you?”
They ran down the stairs andacross the entrance courtyard, dodging horses and Takesuke’s men. Tora snatchedone of the Sugawara banners from a fallen man and carried it. No point ingetting killed by their own. Up the next set of stairs and into the barracksenclosure. They caught up with Hitomaro, and together again they skirted thevicious fighting. More Uesugi archers were shooting arrows from the loopholesof the gallery they had been in earlier, and below foot soldiers slashed andlunged at each other with halberds. Neither Uesugi nor his senior retainerswere in sight.
They made for the small doorthat led to the main house.
“Wait!” Kaoru, bloodied butdetermined, joined them. They went through the door and into the small gardenwhere the headless corpse still lay across the path.
“What took you so long?”Akitada demanded, stopping just inside and glaring at Kaoru. “We waited in thatshed until we were sure you had been captured.”
Kaoru grimaced. “I couldn’tfind Koreburo right away. They caught him setting his fire. He was still alivewhen I found him and … I could not leave him right away. Sorry, sir.”
Akitada was sobered. “Poor oldman. Very well, let’s go get Makio and stop this killing.”
There was no more need forcaution now. The archers at their loopholes were too intent on the foe outsideto turn around. The four of them ran past and into the main house, their boots thumpingup stairways and across the glossy boards. They slammed through doorways andflung back sliding doors. The armory had served its purpose. Weapons chestsstood open and empty, some of their contents gone or scattered about. Helmets,parts of armor, long swords, discarded halberds, and an upended quiver of shortarrows lay abandoned like the toys of giant children.
In the reception area, foursenior Uesugi officers, older men with lined faces and grizzled beards, guardedthe doors to the ceremonial hall. They drew their swords. Hitomaro instantlyflung himself at them, and Kaoru and Tora joined him. There were four of theenemy, seasoned fighters and rested, but Akitada could not wait. His bloodysword in hand, he moved past them and flung open the great double doors to thehall.
“Takata has fallen. In the nameof the emperor, surrender!”
Time seemed to pause asstartled faces turned toward him. Uesugi sat, straddling a campaign stool onthe dais. He wore white silk robes under black lacquered armor and his blackhorned helmet was on his head. Seated on the floor in a semicircle before himwere seven or eight armed men, their helmets held respectfully against theirbodies. Akitada almost laughed out loud: the general at a council of war afterthe battle was already lost.
But then, of one accord, thewarriors were up, dropping their helmets, drawing their swords and charging.There was no time left to prepare. Like the four outside, these were older men,but they were desperate and duty-bound to die for their lord. Akitada knew hecould not fight them all and survive, and suddenly the icy clutch of feartwisted inside him again. He slashed out wildly at the first man and, with moreluck than skill, severed his sword hand, but two more were on him. He lunged,parried a hard stroke, took a step forward and lunged again,
