Yuguro lunged at Kassa with his spear, and Kassa took a step back in fear. But before his uncle could reach him, Yuguro was seized from behind. “What’s the meaning of this?” he shouted, twisting his head to see who held him. “Kahm, is that you? Are you mad? Release me!”
But Kahm held him fast and did not let go. “Uncle, what are you doing? Were you going to kill Kassa?”
“You fool! Don’t be taken in! That’s not Kassa! It’s some creature in his guise. It’s testing us!”
“And if you’re wrong?” Kahm shouted back. “If he really does have a message from Laloog, what will you do then? The Elder knows the secrets of the Mountain Deep. Maybe he sent Kassa to warn us about something we don’t know before it’s too late.”
The warriors muttered in confusion. Kassa turned to the king. “Your Majesty! Read this message and decide for yourself who is right — Uncle Yuguro or me.”
Yuguro twisted around to look at the king. “Your Majesty, don’t be deceived. This is a trap to make us lose courage!”
The king looked from Kassa to Yuguro, bewildered. Seeing the panic in his face, Kassa pleaded, “Your Majesty. If you don’t read this message, you will most certainly die here. It was written to save you. Please believe me!”
“Your Majesty! Remember our great dream!” Yuguro roared. The king looked at him, imploring, and Yuguro gazed back steadily. “You must believe me, Yuguro, who has always shielded you from danger.”
The king exhaled noisily, his lips trembling. It looked like he was about to nod his assent.
“No!” Kassa screamed. “Your Majesty! If you don’t read this message, the hyohlu will kill you! And not just you — they’ll kill everyone here!”
The king started and looked at him. Close to tears, Kassa pleaded again. “Your Majesty, please, don’t let them die. Don’t destroy Kanbal!”
Yuguro looked around at the Spears and said, in a commanding tone, “Someone capture him! Have you forgotten our mission? Remember why you’re here!”
Several men moved forward hesitantly. It’s no use, Kassa thought despairingly. Yuguro had a firm grasp on their hearts and minds. The king in particular seemed to depend on him like a little child. No matter how Kassa might try to convince him, in the end, he would do as Yuguro said.
So Kassa did the only thing he could. Leaping back to the wall, he ripped off the string that bound the scroll. Shaking it open, he held it high and began to read:
“I, Laloog, participant in the ceremony of the Mountain Deep, convey to you its secret. I pray that my words may reach you before you summon the hyohlu, Guardians of the Darkness.”
The Spears who had started toward him stopped, hesitating.
“The Guardians of the Darkness are not servants of the Mountain King. They are those who have left this world, your —”
Kahm, distracted by Kassa, suddenly felt Yuguro drop from his grasp, and the next instant he was flying through the air. He barely managed to roll into a defensive ball before he slammed into the rock floor. The force knocked the breath out of him, and he lay still, dazed and winded. Yuguro lunged toward Kassa with his spear. Unable to dodge, Kassa stood mesmerized as the point plunged toward his stomach. Just before it pierced his flesh, however, it veered aside with a sharp clang and a trail of white light. Kassa fell to the ground as someone shoved him roughly aside. Yuguro’s spear flew from his hands and clattered to the cave floor. It all happened so fast that he could only stare blankly at the figure whose spear now pointed directly at his throat.
“You!” he gasped.
“It’s been a long time, Master Yuguro,” Balsa said. “The last time we met was three years before Jiguro died, wasn’t it?” Yuguro paled. “I hear you claim to have killed him and taken back the spear rings.” She smiled bitterly. “You lie! Jiguro died of an illness. I was by his side the whole time.”
She looked at the king, who was cowering by the wall, his face rigid with fear. “Your Majesty, I am Balsa Yonsa, daughter of Karuna, physician to your uncle, King Naguru. Your father, King Rogsam, sent his assassins to murder my father and make it look like a robbery. I too would have been killed but for Jiguro Musa, who rescued me. He saved my life.”
The murmuring of the crowd grew louder, but Yuguro kept his eyes on Balsa. She had only thrown him off balance for a moment. He said loudly, “You fool! Did you think that you could trick us like this?”
Balsa frowned, wondering what he meant. He continued calmly, “First Kassa, and now Jiguro’s foster child! I know many illusions appear in the Mountain Deep to test those who enter, but listen carefully, servant of the Mountain King! I have been chosen as the Dancer. None of the King’s Spears are foolish enough to be swayed by you, no matter what you might say.” He turned to the Spears. “Isn’t that right? You, the King’s Spears, the greatest warriors in Kanbal — you’ll stand with me no matter what.” He saw the hesitation in their faces. “I would stand with you,” he said quietly. Then he turned to Balsa and spread out both hands. “So, you monster of the Deep! If you have been sent to kill me, do so, if that is truly the wish of the Mountain King.”
Balsa stared in amazement at the man who stood before her with his arms spread wide. He is the real monster, she thought. He feels no shame at all that he betrayed Jiguro, his own brother, to become a false hero. She remembered Jiguro’s joy and relief when he had passed on the Spear Dance and the gold ring, and a wave of nausea rose from deep in her chest. This worthless man had taken all the misery they had endured and exploited it to his own advantage: Jiguro’s agony at having to slay his own friends, his grief-stricken face streaming with tears, the days of hunger and sleeping in the mud, the shudder of his spear in his hands as he plunged it into flesh — just to make enough money for them to survive. The rage that had simmered and smoldered inside her since she was a child flared into a white-hot flame.
Softly she lowered the point of her spear to the ground and slipped it under Yuguro’s spear, flipping it toward him. She gazed at him with a cold smile on her lips. “I’m impressed. It appears I have no hope of defeating you in a war of words. If you insist that I am a dweller of the Deep, then so be it — I will play your game. But only the strongest spear-wielder is chosen for the Dance, yes?” She swung her spear once through the air and leveled it. “Come, then, and see what the spear of Jiguro can do.”
In a thunderous voice, she shouted, “Yuguro of the Musa clan! I, Balsa of the Yonsa clan, raised by Jiguro, challenge you! Guardians of the Darkness, watch carefully, and judge who truly deserves to join the Dance.”
As soon as the words had left her mouth, the light in the chamber dimmed. Balsa and the warriors looked up, startled. Behind them stood shadows deeper than their own.