6
We returned to the village to find the streets deserted. Even the children had vanished, and the doors were shut.
Mori frowned. “Something must have happened. Let us hurry.”
We quickened our step and reached the gates of the great house. One of the ninja guards greeted us with a hurried bow and a pale face. “Lord Mori, a messenger has come from the Red Clan with a small contingent of guards!”
A dark shadow fell over Mori’s expression. “I see. Are they meeting with My Lady?”
The guard grasped the gate and opened it for us. “Yes, My Lord. She accepted the messenger, but the guards remain on the porch.”
As he opened the tall gate he revealed four men who stood as he described, just outside the pair of doors that led into the great house. They were dressed in the same style a
