His boots touched down on the cobbled street as he climbed down a latticework covered in wet vines.

“Akh!”

The failed mage limped toward Muji, almost heedless of the witches, who were both engaged by their surprise ally—one of Hukama’s men no less.

“Muji,” he called out, reaching the other man. “Are you all right?”

The large samurai grunted as he leaned over, his ninja there assisting him. He looked like he was through. He had been thrown a long way.

With the help of his ninja, he managed to get to his feet, but he was in worse shape than Lawrence, who only hurt his leg in that fall.

“We must”—he grunted in pain, his fist on his leather cuirass—“we must retreat. We cannot beat them.”

“I know,” Lawrence said. He glanced back. They were in darkness and the witches were distracted. “Now is our chance.”

After we get away, I have to go find Sakura, he thought, worried about the state of his leg. He couldn’t stand on it fully without enduring a sharp pain in his lower shin. I should have learned some healing magic.

Together they limped along to the next street, making for the sounds of battle. Something had changed. The chorus—it was different. There were more cheers, less swords.

“Either we have routed these forces,” Muji said, “Or our attack has failed.”

“I thought you guys were our enemy?”

“Our enemy? Who do you speak of as ‘us,’ gaijin?”

The failed mage glanced about, wary that they might be attacked by the witches. It wouldn’t be hard for them to split up, but it seemed The Sword of a Thousand Suns was keeping them both occupied.

“I’ve been fighting with your Emperor,” he said in answer to the samurai, his previous question having been lost. Lawrence was so confused about this whole situation.

At first he had thought Muji’s faction had been fighting against the emperor. They had attacked the palace, hadn’t they?

But now they were working together to defeat Hukama’s army. Whatever was happening here, too many plots were still unsheathed to understand what was really going on within Yukai City.

“Come on,” Lawrence said. He wanted to get away quickly—to find Sakura, wherever she was. He prayed to the gods that she hadn’t been killed, or taken away out of his reach.

I’m coming.