Free Wall of Spears by Duncan Lay

men.
    ‘This is the moment. All is coming together,’ Sumiko told Oroku and Jimai quietly, the three of them sitting in what had once been Daichi’s office. ‘We must seize this opportunity. Oroku, you will journey to the Forlish king, bring a group of his men here during the Council meeting tomorrow, then get them back out again. We need a few Forlish bodies to be found, to prove who is behind this. And we need witnesses to see magic being used. Jimai, you need to lead the defence of Dokuzen, make it seem as though you are being defeated by magic.’
    ‘But what about Asami? She might —’ Jimai began.
    ‘She will be dead overnight. I have made the arrangements,’ Sumiko dismissed. ‘It is vital that no living Forlish are left to be questioned. Jimai, if you see any wounded Forlish, you must kill them instantly. The people must know who their attackers were but cannot know who helped them.’
    ‘Sensei, should we really do this?’ Jimai blurted.
    The silence that fell across the room was stifling and Oroku gently edged his chair away from Jimai.
    ‘You are thinking of backing out? Going to talk to Jaken, perhaps?’ Sumiko said dangerously.
    ‘Of course not, sensei! But to destroy the Council Chambers, kill the people — surely there is a better way to take power than this! Then there is Gaibun and Retsu. When Asami is killed they will come looking for us. Gaibun will not care there is no evidence. We all agree that Dokuzen needs to change and that Jaken’s rule has to end but is this —’
    ‘Do not worry about Gaibun. I will take care of him,’ Sumiko interrupted. ‘As to the rest of it, do you have a better plan?’
    Jimai gulped. ‘If we spoke to the people —’
    ‘The ones who fall down to their knees when Jaken walks past and call him gaijin slayer?’
    Jimai hung his head. ‘It just feels wrong,’ he said miserably.
    Sumiko sighed. ‘It is the only way,’ she said gently. ‘Help me and you shall be rewarded beyond your imagination. Speak to Jaken and I shall see you die screaming. What do you want?’
    Jimai lifted his head. ‘Of course I shall help you,’ he said hoarsely.
    ‘Good. All you need to do is fight the Forlish that come here. You would do that anyway, would you not?’
    ‘Yes, sensei.’
    ‘See. It will not be so hard. And afterwards it will all be worth it, I promise.’
    Jimai and Oroku bowed and left her alone with her thoughts. She decided to tell Oroku to kill Jimai during the battle. Yes, that was the best way to finish things off neatly. He was safe enough until then. After all, who was he going to see? There was no evidence and just talking of such things would get him killed.
    Asami pulled the hood over her head and slipped out of the villa, following her two cleaners, who had finished for the day. Ever since reading about the lie within Dokuzen’s system, she had tripled the pay of the servants, begun using magic to clean up, begun to ask more questions of them about their families, trying to see how she might be able to help their children. She had even toyed with the idea of getting rid of all servants, trying to set an example for other nobles to follow — but had reluctantly realised that might do more harm than good; without work, how would they feed their families? They had been somewhat surprised at her sudden interest in them but delighted at the extra pay. Asami knew word of what she was paying would soon spread and cause problems — not least when Gaibun saw where his money was going — but she did not care.
    Strangely, a day after that had begun, her maid had disappeared. She had sent messages to the girl’s home but heard nothing back. That was disappointing, for she had been an excellent worker, but all the others were happy with the extra pay and it was easy enough to find a replacement.
    Better yet, she had decided that while she could not walk the streets as Asami without risking another attack, she could easily get out dressed in the simple