Yoritomo stepped aside, revealing the soldier with the two string bags who had been standing among the guards cl.u.s.tered behind him.

Responding to his signal, the soldier walked forward, bowed to ieyasu and laid the bags containing the heads of Watanabe and Mashimatsu at his feet.

Ieyasu looked down at them, unmoved, then faced Yoritomo with a defiant, straight-backed stare.

'It is not my sister who plots against me, but you, great-uncle.

This box holds the proof in your own words! Proof that you tried and failed to kill my sister - and planued to rid yourself of her for a second time - tonight!" Yoritomo levelled an accusing finger at Ieyasu. 'Seize him!" The hands of Ieyasu's bodyguard flew to the hilts of their swords as they formed a protective screen in front of him- a gesture matched with equal speed by the Shogun's men. But neither side drew their deadly blades. Ieyasu's guards were torn between defending their master and obeying the Shogun. As the ultimate ruler of Ne-Issan, he commanded their higher obedience; to disobey him meant certain death, but Ieyasu's reputation and the aura of power he radiated was so awesome, he was able to stare his would-be captors down. No one dared make the first move against him.

'By the G.o.ds!" cried Yoritomo. 'You will pay for this; you spineless rabble!" He turned to Captain Kamakura the only man whose blade was half out of his scabbard.

'Give me your sword!" Kamakura, his face blanched with shame, dropped down on one knee and placed the hilt of the sword in the Shogun's out-stretched hand.

Yoritomo cut the air with two or three cla.s.sic sword strokes to get the feel of it then advanced on Ieyasu's bodyguard. 'Stand aside!" he thundered.

Ieyasu's guards ceded to his authority with a bow and backed off. His own men took a menacing pace forward.

Everyone held their breath as the Shogun came face to face with the Lord Chamberlain. Nephew and granduncle.

Ieyasu, who was the taller of the two, looked at Yoritomo with mocking disdain. The way one might eye a particularly tiresome child whose demands could not be taken seriously.

'Have you taken leave of your senses? Can't you see this is a plot hatched by our enemies to discredit me?"

Ieyasu pointed to Lady Mishiko. 'Give me her for an hour and you will hear from her own lips the names of those who have conspired to bring me down!" His words failed to sway Yoritomo. 'There is no plot-other than the one you and Watanabe hatched with the masters of these long-dogs! Ichiwara had told me of the secret treaty which enabled you to secure these devilish devices! For years you have deceived me and corrupted the soul of the nation!" Ieyasu responded with a contemptuous laugh. 'You foolish boy! The whole world is built on deceit and corruption! But I have harnessed the venal appet.i.tes and duplicity that surrounds us to a n.o.ble purpose - a nation at peace under the flag of the Toh-Yota! There is only one principle I cleave to - the maintenance of power- by any means! For without power, all your lofty principles and moral posturings are worthless! Strong governments survive, the weak fall to the sword.

'Of course I have lied and cheated! I have stopped at nothing to ensure our family continues to rule this land . Our enemies know me for what I am. That is why they fear me. They may bow to you, but privately they mock you because they know that behind your monkish habits and your pious air of self-denial is a flawed human being inflamed by unnatural desires! Truly a son fit for his father's shoes?

Enraged by Ieyasu's public denunciation and mortified with shame, Yoritomo raised the sword and adopted a threatening posture.

'Go on!" urged Ieyasu fearlessly. 'Strike! Show us you are fit to lead this nation into war - for that is what will follow as soon as you have dispensed with me?

The trembling blade remained poised as Yoritomo tried vainly to steady his shaking hands. The suspense became unbearable. Most of those watching thought the Shogun would throw down the sword, but Kamakura knew the blow would fall. Failure to act would have resulted in irretrievable loss of face. Ieyasu had goaded the young Shogun beyond endurance, and the old fox had done so deliberately in order to avoid a slower and more agonising death by torture. Traditionally a public spectacle, it was, for a n.o.bleman, the ultimate humiliation.

Ieyasu grasped his long staff in both hands and raised it threateningly The blade flashed forward, piercing him through the abdomen. Once.

Twice. The Chamberlain gasped, but did not cry out. He sank slowly to his knees, clutching the wounds. Blood gushed out between his fingers.

'You fool!" he croaked. 'You blind fool! You have thrown everything away. It is not me you should have killed...

it is these. worthless. creatures that. surround you!" His last words fell on deaf ears. Yoritomo handed the blood-stained sword back to Kamakura. 'Behead him .... ' The Guard Captain did so with one swift, precisely-aimed stroke as the dying Chamberlain toppled forward.

YoritOmo stared down at the severed head of his mentor then kicked it aside as he led Lady Mishiko out of the room. Two of his bodyguards ran ahead of him and slid the door-panels aside. As he pa.s.sed through, Yoritomo turned back.

Everyone bowed.

'Captain Kamakura!" 'Sire...?"

'These rooms are to be sealed and guarded until a thorough search for incriminating doc.u.ments can be organised."

'Yes, sire!" 'All members of the Lord Chamberlain's staff, from those who hold high office to the lowest of his servants, his appointees within the palace, his gaming cronies and female procurers are to be arrested, put in chains, and placed in close confinement. I want them all under lock and key before dawn."

Yoritomo pointed to Ieyasu's crestfallen bodyguard. 'And you can start with these insolent swine! Is that understood?"

'Perfectly!" 'Good. Report to me when it is done."

'And the long-dog envoys, sire?"

'Seize them too! We will show their masters what happens to those who seek to enslave us with the Dark Light! And throw this pair in with them!" Roz and Cadillac looked at each other in dismay as their arms were seized by four of Kamakura's men. Being tossed in the slammer had not been part of the plan ....

CHAPTER TWELVE.

Surrounded by his bodyguard and a dozen soldiers from the Shield Unit, the Shogun and Lady Mishiko swept out of the dead Chamberlain's apartments, leaving Captain Kamakura and twenty of his men to carry out his orders. Kamakura, shocked by the speed of events, found himself in something of a dilemma.

Jailing Secretary Ichiwara and Ieyasu's six guards was a simple, straightforward matter, likewise the seizure of the. envoys in the North Tower. They might protest, but would offer no resistance - but how was he to deal with the two spirit-witches whom the Shogun had taken to be painted long-dogs!

When they had removed their masks in Lady Mishiko's audience chamber, he had seen their gnarled grey faces change shape and colour - becoming smooth-boned gra.s.s-monkeys in the twinkling of an eye! It was widely believed they could turn ordinary mortals who offended them into all manner of birds, animals and insects.

Kamakura had no wish to anger them but when the Shogun gave an order, he had to obey. What on earth, he asked himself, was he to do?

Lady Mishiko had not told him what was to happen after they had played their part in exposing Lord Ieyasu's treachery, but he could not believe she intended them to be locked in a prison cell!

Kamakura clasped his hands behind his back and wandered back and forth in front of the witches, hoping for a look or a word that would resolve his dilemma.

Neither was forthcoming. Forced down on their knees by the pressure on their arms, they hung their heads like the other prisoners whose plight they shared.

Aware that his men were looking at him expectantly, Kamakura came to a decision. The witches were protected by powerful magic. They would free themselves at a moment of their own choosing, and in a way which would not cast doubt on Lady Mishiko's role in this affair. Or his own. All well and good - but when it happened, how was he going to explain the loss of two important prisoners?

Just as Kamakura was about to issue the order to have the prisoners taken away, one of the Shogun's bodyguards appeared in the doorway.

'Captain! You are required to attend the Shogun!" Kamakura clicked his heels to acknowledge the summons.

The G.o.ds were with him. With a bit of luck, the spirit-witches might disappear while in someone else's custody. He turned to the junior officer who had been placed in charge of Ichiwara. 'Carry on in my absence, lieutenant! Send six men to pick up the long-dogs from the North Tower, and convey them and these swine to the dungeons!" His departure, combined with the lieutenant's a.s.sumption of command and despatch of six men to arrest the two Tracker envoys, led to a great deal of heel-d.i.c.king and foot-pounding, which allowed Cadillac to pa.s.s a whispered message to Roz.

'Time to go - by the back door - need a minute to pick up a few things without anyone seeing- so put these guys out of action - and do it now!" One of the guards holding his arms brought his knee round and slammed it into the side of Cadillac's head.

'Shut your mouth[' The jarring blow inflicted by his knee was nothing compared to the sharp jagged pain that shot through the guard's own skull from ear to ear as the room exploded in a dazzling burst of white light. He let go of Cadillac and clutched at his head, but even with his eyes closed and covered, he could not shut out the light that was burning into his brain.

Nor could the other soldiers and their captives. Crippled by the agony and blinded by the light and with their vocal chords paralysed by the pain, they stumbled into each other then fell to the floor clutching their tortured skulls and screaming soundlessly.

The mind-warp Roz had produced was so powerful Cadillac could not stop it invading his own brain. Fortunately, the mental rapport they had developed enabled him to 'tune out' much of the unpleasantness but it still left with him a king-sized headache. A shimmering white haze filled the room, blurring the outlines of people and objects, and bleaching out nearly all the colour.

s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up his eyes against the light, he gave Roz's arm a rea.s.suring squeeze. 'You're amazing. Here, take the. radio! Unlock the door to the secret pa.s.sage and get ready to go through!" 'I can't! I have to stay here where I can keep a visual fix on these guys. That's how it works!" 'Okay, I'll do it. But when I call, get there fast!" Picking up the hem of his kimono, he stepped quickly over the bodies in his path and recovered the hidden listening device.

The next task was somewhat messier. Skirting the pool of blood that had poured from Ieyasu's severed neck and his punctured body, Cadillac tipped the heads of Watanabe and Mashimatsu out of their string bags and collected the head of Ieyasu.

With this grisly task completed, he relieved the lieutenant of his sword, took the radio from Roz and ran through the intervening rooms into the bed-chamber. Releasing the catch on the hidden door, he carried the radio and the headbag into the secret pa.s.sage beyond then returned sword in hand, leaving the door closed but with the catch open.

Running back to the study, he found Roz had backed into the doorway, ready to make a fast exit. Beyond her, the soldiers and their captives were still on the floor with most of them curled up into a foetal position, their arms wrapped round their heads.