( chapter unfolds:4 " Shapta Thralls ")
After Nobaya's hasty departure, Sai sat alone, the mystery a torment. He yearned to know the conclusion of the tale: what transpired next, and why did the Zek retreat in terror from the Sapahan's sword?
Master Daisho and Nobaya rushed toward the peasant's humble dwelling. A small crowd had gathered there.
"That is Master Daisho, is it not?" one man whispered to another in the throng.
"Indeed, indeed," the second muttered back, awe in his voice.
The two warriors pushed through the murmuring crowd and entered the house.
The farmer's wife was wailing in grief. Moving to the rear of the house, they were met by a sight both sorrowful and dread-inducing. The farmer lay dead. His flesh had taken on a ghastly, dark hue an unnatural discoloration that had instilled fear in the villagers, preventing them from touching the corpse.
Daisho and Nobaya circled the body, examining the skin and the earth around it. Nobaya then knelt and gently pressed the flesh of the farmer's throat.
As his fingers probed the skin, he saw a fleeting flash of that dark, unnatural color move beneath the surface a detail that did not escape Daisho's keen eye.
"Master, this is..." Nobaya began, but the Master silenced him.
"I comprehend," Daisho stated simply.
They immediately sought out the grieving family. Daisho questioned the wife: "What transpired here?"
Sobbing uncontrollably, she recounted: "I do not know. He went to tend to the livestock when they cried out in the night. When he did not return, I sought him out and found him thus."
As they prepared to return swiftly to the Kalari, Daisho caught sight of Ray standing silently near the weeping woman. The boy neither cried nor spoke, simply staring fixedly at the farmer's wife. Ray realized he was being watched. He shifted his gaze to the Master.
Though exposed, Daisho held the boy's gaze steady. Ray looked back at him, and for reasons unknown, offered the Master a small, chilling smile.
Sai remained within the healing chamber, as Nobaya had commanded, until his leg should mend.
After a short while, Haru and Jinso entered, bearing the dust of their trials.
"Sai... how fares your leg?" Haru inquired.
"It is tolerable. But the Steward says the sprain will yet demand time," Sai replied, glancing down at his foot.
"How went the training? I heard you were running again today."
"It progresses, for strength must be built in the body. But your fortune has failed you, Sai," Jinso jested. "You have lost the privilege."
"The privilege? What means that?" Sai asked.
"The Master announced that practice with the blade shall commence on the morrow or the day after," Jinso explained. "Not the true katana, mind you, but the wooden sword. Did you truly think the Master would entrust us with live steel?"
"True enough," Sai conceded. "When does the practice begin?"
"Soon. Rest now," Haru said, seeking to comfort him.
"And did the Steward speak more of the Sapahan?" Haru pressed.
"He spoke a few things, but... he named them. Shapta and Zek," Sai replied, recalling the words.
Haru and Jinso exchanged a look of shock. "What names are these?" Jinso demanded.
"Did your grandfather, who told you so many tales, not speak of them, Jinso?" Sai mocked him.
"Sai," Haru cut in, halting the brewing quarrel.
"Shapta and Zek are the central characters in the story he told. They are the devourers of souls," Sai explained.
"Then they truly exist?" Jinso asked, horrified.
"They exist! That is why I told you my grandfather's tales were true!"
"He made half of them up to frighten you, Haru! Why did the man who told you so much forget these names?" Sai challenged, baiting Jinso again.
"My grandfather did not lie! Sai, cease this!" Jinso's anger flared.
"Will both of you cease this quarrel now! Sai, do not mock his elder, and Jinso, do not take his words to heart," Haru commanded, separating the two. "Tell us, Sai, what more do you know of Shapta and Zek?"
"They are the very devourers of spirits. Shapta is the source, and the Zek are his thralls. The Zek serve only Shapta."
"For what purpose?"
"Shapta requires souls to sustain his being. When he takes a soul from a victim, the original soul that resided within Shapta's being enters the victim's body. Because it was once part of Shapta, it possesses certain demon powers, which it can use through the victim. The victim then becomes Shapta's thrall a Zek. Do you understand?" Sai asked.
"Oh," Jinso replied, still confused but nodding his head anyway.
"And whom does Shapta choose to take?"
"I do not know that. But Shapta and the Zek fear only the Sapahan. Their sword... there is something held within it," Sai revealed.
"The Sapahan's sword?"
"Yes. Even the mighty Samurai could not defeat Shapta and the Zek, yet they fear the Sapahan's blade," Sai confirmed.
"But why?"
"That, I do not know."
"Hmph. Then the mystery deepens: the Sapahan, the blade, Shapta, the Zek... all are entwined."
As the three friends spoke, Nobaya suddenly returned.
"Nobaya, you return so soon?" Sai mocked him with feigned surprise.
"Ah, Sai. I had duties to attend to. How fares your pain now?" he asked, setting down the compounds he carried.
"It is tolerable," Sai replied, pointing to his injured foot.
"And why are these two here?" Nobaya asked, looking at Haru and Jinso.
"They came to see me. Is it forbidden?" Sai challenged.
"It is permitted. It is the virtue of the Sapahan to stand together, never isolated, in any circumstance."
The three friends exchanged knowing looks.
"Nobaya, I must ask you" Sai began, but the Steward cut him short.
"I know what you would ask, Sai. I know what you all seek. But such knowledge is not for idle talk, nor is the time ripe. I have other duties now."
He departed as swiftly as he came. Nobaya was clearly reluctant to speak further, his mind consumed by some urgent task.
Haru, Jinso, and Sai sat gazing out, their minds swirling with the unanswered questions they still possessed.