'Okay! Let's go!" He spun Roz around and pushed her ahead of him.

'C'mon! Move, move, move!" 'What's with the sword?" gasped Roz, as they reached the door and slithered through. 'Mind-magic not good enough?"

'This is just for emergencies." His face twisted angrily as he slammed an open palm against the wall. 'Oh, s.h.i.t!

I forgot to bring a lantern!" 'That's okay. I left one here under the bottom step when we came to plant the bug. And a flint lighter."

Cadillac pulled the secret door shut and slipped the inside catch into place. 'You're a genius."

'I'm glad one of us is." Roz felt her way down the steps, retrieved the hidden lantern, lit the oiled wick and trimmed the flame. Looking up, she saw Cadillac with the radio in one hand and the head bag in the other. 'Did you have to bring him along?"

'Yes."

'And the other bag - is that for the Shogun?"

'Yes."

'You're crazy."

'That's what you said when I suggested rowing sixteen miles in a crowded long-boat. I know what I'm doing, Roz, so don't argue. We came here to do a job, and the only way to prove we've done it is by handing the heads of Yoritomo and Ieyasu over to the Yama-s.h.i.ta.

They're not going to start a war just on our say-so!" 'No, you're right." She raised the lantern. 'Where do we go from here?"

Back in the study, the soldiers and captives had started to come round soon after Roz had broken her hold on their minds but they were not able to leap immediately into action. The crippling head pains had gone, leaving them with the dying residue of a monster hang*over and troubled vision. The after-effect on their eyesight was similar to having a series of flash-bulbs popping off in your face and it took a few moments to clear.

Some people recovered faster than others, notably Ichiwara and four of Ieyasu's personal guard. Driven by the basic instinct for self-preservation they were on their feet and heading for the exit while everyone else was trying to haul themselves off the floor.

The soldiers fell on the remaining pair of Ieyasu's guards and disarmed them before any more damage could be done. Seizing one of their long-swords to replace his own, the distraught lieutenant sent several of his men in pursuit of the fleeing prisoners, and despatched six more as ordered to the North Tower.

The Shogun had summoned Captain Kamakura to ask him whether, in the light of Mashimatsu's involvement in the attempt to kill his sister and her children, the company of soldiers under his command could be trusted to remain loyal. 'If you consider the conversation we overheard,' said Yoritomo, 'it's clear that several men were involved."

'That's true, sire. But if they were soldiers from the Palace Guard, I do not believe they would have known who the target was. In fact, there was every reason not to tell them."

'True... But if we are to secure the Palace and rout out the rest of the sc.u.m in Ieyasu's employ, we need to know who is with us and who is against us."

With so many of Lord Ieyasu's place-men on the resident staff of the Palace, it was a difficult question to answer. In Kamakura's book, the rank and file soldiers were simple, honest fellows with no interest in, or understanding of, political intrigue. That only afflicted the higher ranks who saw the chance of preferment and privilege by backing one camp against another, and the opportunists within the Inner Court whose empty lives left them with little else to do.

The men could be counted upon to follow orders, but their subsequent conduct would depend on who took command and the reasons that were given for doing so. At the moment, No.2 Company did not even know Mashimatsu had been beheaded.

Once again the G.o.ds were with him. Just as he was about to reply, the Shogun's guards admitted the breathless lieutenant who fell to his knees and broke the news that Secretary Ichiwara, four of Ieyasu's guards and the two painted long-dogs had escaped from custody.

'We were blinded by a brilliant light that robbed us of our senses! It pierced our skulls like red hot skewers!

No one could withstand it! We fell like dead men to the ground. When the light vanished and we found our feet again, Ichiwara and the others were gone!" 'By the G.o.ds!" cried Yoritomo. 'Do they threaten us with yet more of their devilish devices?" He turned to Kamakura. 'Could the envoys from the Federation have had a hand in this?"

'I cannot say, sire. I only learned of their presence from the Lord Chamberlain's conversation. Their reception was handled by his staff and kept secret from everyone else." He glared down at the hapless lieutenant. 'Did you send men to arrest them as I ordered?"

'Y-Yes, sir!" Yoritomo cut in. 'Then sound a General Alert! The traitor Ichiwara and others whom you allowed to escape must be recaptured before they can rouse their friends and resist us! Are the gates sealed?"

Kamakura clicked his heels as he stiffened to attention.

'Yes, sire! And you can rely on the men from the 3rd and 4th Company, as well as my own!" 'Perhaps the 2nd Company too,' said Yoritomo. 'If Ichiwara evades us, it will not be long before word reaches them that the Lord Chamberlain, his Chief Secretary and their commander have paid the'penalty for trying to usurp my power. These soldiers are not stupid.

They are bound to realise that any sign of disaffection would be pointless." He laughed. 'With Ieyasu dead, who is there to serve other than he?"

Kamakura bowed his head. 'No one, sire."

'Exactly! And that is what I shall tell them." He extended his hand to Mishiko. 'Come, sister. The Captain and I will escort you to your quarters."

This was not at all what Lady Mishiko wanted. She fell on her knees before the Shogun and clutched the front of his dark, richly embroidered kimono.

Kamakura and everyone else backed away politely and bowed their heads.

By the convoluted rules of Iron Master etiquette, they were now deemed to be invisible and deaf to what pa.s.sed between Yoritomo and Mishiko.

'My Lord! Dearest brother! If you love me, let me stay in your quarters for the rest of this dreadful night! Lord Ieyasu ruled over a secret world of shadows and you may be sure that this palace has its share of spies and a.s.sa.s.sins.

When they hear that I denounced their master they will seek revenge. I will not be safe until every one of them is under lock and key!"

."Then I will place guards outside your bedchamber,' said Yoritomo. He took hold of her hands and pulled her gently to her feet. 'You shall have as many as you wish. You shall have protection night and day for as long as you desire it."

Mishiko shook her head. 'No! No! You will need every man you can spare to arrest the traitors within these walls!" She dropped her voice to an urgent whisper. 'Let me lie in your shadow. Your love is all the protection I need .... ' 'Mishiko! There is so much to do! I must send word to our family, telling them of ieyasu's treachery. His place-men will have to be removed from the government, but with so many of them holding key positions it will cause absolute chaos."

'Then don't do it. At least not yet. News of Ieyasu's death, the details of how and why he died, need not pa.s.s beyond the Palace walls.

Time is on your side. In the coming days, when your head is cooler, you will find ways to profit by what has happened.

'No one need know the truth. He was an old man whose l.u.s.tful appet.i.te never waned. If we announce he was sucked to death by one of his little strumpets, no one at court will raise an eyebrow." Mishiko lifted both hands from his chest and caressed his face and neck. 'I could wish for no better fate than to meet a sweet death in your arms."

'Sweet death' was the courtly euphemism for an o.r.g.a.s.m.

Yoritomo felt his heartbeat quicken as her nearness brought back the memories of their secret couplings. The killing of his great-uncle and the realisation that he was at last master of his own destiny had made him feel quite bullish. He could do anything.

'Very well. Wait here. I will arrange to have your children and their nurse sent to you. My servants can make up beds in one of the other rooms."

'Send Oyoki too,' whispered Mishiko. 'I shall need her help to prepare myself."

Yoritomo clasped her hands tightly in his arms. 'Be patient. I will return as soon as I have made certain that the Palace is in our hands."

Entering the Shogun's bed-chamber, Mishiko caught a fleeting glimpse of two shadowy figures which vanished as an icy hand seemed to clutch her brain. Recognising the presence of magic, she dismissed the servants whom Yoritomo had ordered to wait on her, and asked not to be disturbed until her brother returned.

As the servants withdrew, Roz released the mind-lock she had placed on them all. To Mishiko, the two hooded white-masked witches appeared to materialise out of thin air, but their previous invisibility was only a trick of the mind. Roz's mesmeric power enabled her to create optical illusions. It is a well known fact that the brain sees what it thinks it sees, not what is actually there and this was the phenomenon that Roz exploited. Mishiko and the servants had seen her and Cadillac, but were persuaded to delete that piece of visual information from their mental picture of the room and fill in the resulting gaps using data from their memory banks.

'You have done well, mi'lady,' husked Cadillac. 'The prize is within your grasp, but we remain close at hand in case you have need of us."

Roz took control of Mishiko's mind and conjured up an image of the Herald. In three strides he had crossed the room and gathered Mishiko into his arms. His 'face was still pale but it was no longer grey and haggard. His eyes were clear and his voice stronger. 'Can you see how the death of Ieyasu has given me new hope and strength? We are but one step from eternal happiness in each other's arms I' Rooted to the spot, her eyes closed, Mishiko lifted her face to the invisible Herald. In her mind's eye, her body was crushed against his in a pa.s.sionate embrace.

She could feel, with dreamlike intensity, the soft moist texture of his lips on hers, the warmth of his cheek against her face, the muscled strength of his arms and the heat in his loins.