Chihiro swung her leg and dismounted her horse to catch up with Matoaka and Rei. The woman in black blew out a sigh and did the same.
* * *
Matoaka crept forward, keeping low to the ground, and darting her eyes over every feature of terrain before her. Occasionally, she would stop, turn to face the line of others behind her, and point. Only when the other shrine maidens in her party nodded, did she turn forward again to pick her way through the brambles.
Matoaka pushed aside a low hanging branch and took another few halting steps forward. After only three steps, she froze. Those behind her stopped as well. Matoaka turned around to scan the faces of the shrine maidens before pointing in front and to her left.
The group of young women behind Matoaka turned their faces as one, narrowing their eyes to concentrate in the direction Matoaka pointed. When the man in the distance shifted his weight from one leg to the other, the group responded to Matoaka's pointing with a collective nod.
Choosing a new direction, Matoaka and the others crept forward. After another pause and a few more hand gestures from Matoaka, the group changed direction yet again. Pushing forward, they arrived at the edge of a small clearing.
Matoaka stopped and crouched. Beside her, Chihiro and Rei took to the ground as well. Matoaka pointed a short distance ahead, where a young woman appeared to be standing beside the thick trunk of a tree. Matoaka gestured to the group.
Standing beside the young woman was a man. A glint of the scant moonlight showed he held a knife in his hand.
Rei pushed herself up to standing and raised her staff. The woman in black tiptoed forward on bent knee to put a hand atop Rei's shoulder and wordlessly convinced her to crouch once again.
Rei clenched a fist and made a stabbing motion with her hand. The woman in black nodded, moving her eyes to the blade of the knife and then back to Rei. No words were spoken, but she never removed her hand from Rei's shoulder.
Matoaka squinted into the distance, looking over the young woman beside the tree from head to toe. Matoaka turned around and made a gesture with her hands around her waist and then pointed to the young woman.
The woman in black moved her eyes from Rei to where Matoaka pointed. She scanned the rope tied around the young woman's waist and nodded. She tapped Rei on the shoulder. Rei nodded as well.
Chihiro stepped closer to Matoaka, crouching as she did. Matoaka repeated the motion of her hands circling her waist. Chihiro nodded.
The man standing beside the young woman began to pace, his eyes darting this way and that into the dark of the forest. Each time he drew close to the young woman, she shrank back and whimpered.
Beside Matoaka, Rei tightened the grip on her staff. Shaking her head, the woman in black tightened her grip on Rei's shoulder.
The man continued to pace.
Matoaka scanned the trees in front and beyond. She moved her eyes to one side and then the other, squinting into the distance. As she did, the man in front of the group stopped pacing.
As Matoaka was raising her arm to point, a glint of moonlight revealed the tip of the man's knife at the base of the young woman's throat. The young woman let out a scream.
Rei stood up, staff gripped in both hands. The woman in black reached out to reestablish her grip on Rei, but grasped at air as Rei charged forward. Chihiro and the other shrine maidens were on their feet in an instant.
A loud bang cut the still of the air, followed by a prolonged hissing. Up above the clearing, a shower of sparks flew from a flare floating down on a parachute. Following two more bangs, the forest clearing was lit up like daylight.
* * *
The shrine maidens turned their attention from the young woman and the man with the knife to the shadowy figures emerging from the foliage and brambles surrounding the clearing.
With no words spoken, and only a short series of hand gestures, the majority of shrine maidens formed a tight circle, facing outward with their staffs at the ready. A small opening was left for Rei. She used the exit to leave the protective circle and march forward.
The man with the knife went down in a heap after two blows from Rei's staff. After witnessing the rapid disarming, the other men pushing in from the perimeter slowed their advance. The ring of shrine maidens held the line as the hissing flares continued to the ground.
Sparks from the descending flares lit up the edges of the knives the men held. Moving as one, the shrine maidens shifted their circle to absorb Rei and the young woman into the center. Staffs were held ready.
Inside the circle, Matoaka ran forward toward the woman, tugging at the ropes that held her to the tree.
Two more loud bangs cut the air and two more flares hissed from high overhead as the previous three came to rest on the ground between the shrine maiden's defensive circle and the approaching men armed with blades.
From the forest, more shadowy figures slipped from the branches and brambles to stand in the open. The shower of sparks revealed their blades. The circle of shrine maidens pulled tighter.
Matoaka continued working at the bonds that held the young woman to the tree. It was then that the first foray was made. A man close to the circle lashed out with his knife. The crunch of a staff sent him reeling backward, clutching his arm under the shoulder.
Another man made a move and another shrine maiden put him down with a blow from her staff. Working together, the woman in black and Rei teamed up to put down another three attackers who strayed too close.
Matoaka continued working. She freed one end of the rope holding the young woman and was busy working the rest of it backward around the trunk of the tree. The young woman collapsed into Matoaka's arms, sobbing.
Another bang sent another flare high overhead.
Matoaka cast the rope aside and took her eyes off the young woman to look around. The circle of shrine maidens had pulled tighter. Men with knives were coming two and three at a time. More were streaming in from the shadows.
"It's going to be okay," said Matoaka to the young woman, placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing briefly. Matoaka shot to her feet, placing herself between the young woman and the advancing party of knife-weilding men. She held her staff at the ready.
* * *
The old mother charged with watching over the
miko
--she was learning their language and no longer thought of them as shrine maidens in the language of The People, but
miko
, in their own language--the old mother raised her head and sniffed at the air. She immediately pushed herself up on all fours.
The scent carried by the wind was strong and unmistakable, the culmination of scents from multiple girl pups. All alike. All causing the hackles to raise on the old mother's neck.
The old mother lifted her head to the direction of the moon and howled.
Soon, another wolf mother's howl joined the call. And another.
The old mother lowered her head and pricked up her ears. She listened for the sound of horse's hooves. None came. The old mother raised her head and howled again.
* * *
Afterword
It seems like the woman in black's premonition has come to pass. The shrine maidens have walked into a trap. Their latest rescue has led to their being surrounded by armed men we can only assume are from The Palace.
With the majority of shrine maidens being part of the operation to free the young woman, and now entrapped, who is left to rescue them?
Find out in the next chapter.
And as you curse me for this cliffhanger ending, take a moment to search your favorite streaming service for the song
Qué Más Quieres
by The Warning.
