Shadow Reaper (Shadow Riders 2)

He ducked his head for a long moment. He had to confess to Stefano. There was no way around it. He looked directly at his brother. "I had been so disgusted with the way they treated me that I'd stopped working so hard. I knew no matter what I did, it wouldn't be recognized. It was only later I realized recognition didn't matter. Training did. But I had become what they said. I didn't have discipline."

He knew that was shocking to his brothers and sister. He trained night and day. No one could ever turn him around in the shadows. He could find any place--anytime, anywhere. He was fast and he was vicious when he needed to be. He shook his head and held up his hand when his brothers would have protested.

"I was a hothead, worse than I am now. I thought I was proving a point, but instead, I got a lot of people killed."

"How?" Stefano asked, his voice nonjudgmental. Waiting for the evidence of his brother's crime.

"I went to a class on hojojutsu-tying prisoners that evening. Two riders overheard Nao and his friends conspiring to go after Akiko, and they told me before I went to class, asking my advice on what to do. I advised them to go to the council again. I thought it was taken care of--until I got home and found the boys gone. I knew they were going after her. I'd never been to Akiko's home. None of us had. I didn't have the exact address. I had to find it. I thought I'd get there and warn her father, but I got turned around. I ended up on the wrong side of town and had to backtrack. If I'd been studying like I should have, I would have gotten there first and I could have stopped them. Akiko would still be alive."

There was silence, and he stalked over to the bar and poured himself another drink. He needed it, and he couldn't quite make himself look at his brother. He didn't want to see the disappointment he knew would be in his eyes. They'd been raised by Stefano to always give their best. Stefano would never have shirked learning. Not for one moment. It didn't matter how much Ricco trained, all the extra hours, the skills he had now, none of it made up for his getting lost in Tokyo that day.

The riders were sent to Tokyo because it was Japan's largest city, or more properly, prefecture. It was very confusing to the young riders, easy enough to get turned around, but they were expected to learn directions and be able to move freely from one end to the other quickly.

"That's bullshit, Ricco," Taviano burst out. "Complete and utter bullshit. No one could possibly blame you for that girl's death. What the hell? You were fourteen."

Ricco downed the Scotch, feeling it burn all the way down his throat and into his belly before he turned and faced the others, trying not to see the images burned so deeply into his mind he'd never been able to get them out. "It wasn't just Akiko. They killed her father and grandmother as well as two servants. Akiko fought them, and the noise brought her father and grandmother running along with two of the people who had worked for their family for years. The four boys killed them. I got there late and found the bodies of her grandmother and servants. There was blood everywhere."

"Ricco," Francesca murmured, "how awful."

"I still can't close my eyes without seeing that sight. When I entered the house I almost stepped on her grandmother's body. They'd nearly sliced her into pieces just outside the door of the small room where she held court. One of the female servants was just to the right of her. She'd been slashed with a sword down her back and was still dying. The other was nearly decapitated. The attacks had come from behind. Two of the boys had lain in wait for the father and servants while Nao and the other one dealt with Akiko and her grandmother. When I got there, the first two were still hacking at the bodies of the servants. I took the swords away, and I killed them. It wasn't easy--I have the scars on my chest and down my thigh."

He touched the three slashes he kept covered by his clothing at all times, remembering the feel of the blade cutting through his flesh.

"Oh my God, Ricco," Emmanuelle whispered. "You were only fourteen, younger than they were. You took on two riders with swords and managed to stay alive?"

"I had no choice," he said. "Not if I was going to try to save Akiko."

"You're telling me four riders from four of the families in Japan used their abilities to murder innocents?" Stefano asked. His voice was low, but it was a whip. "Which families? Tell me now. I need to hear you confirm that these boys were the sons of the riders on the council."

He had known Stefano would be furious. Breaking the code of a shadow rider was the worst thing one could do. The code of honor was put in place to protect every rider, their families and every innocent human being they came across.

"Three families," Ricco corrected. "You know Nao Yamamoto. His father, Isamu Yamamoto, was head of the council overseeing all riders in Japan at that time. The other two members had sons."

"Ricco." It was a warning. "Stop stalling." Stefano pressed his fingers to the corners of his eyes, putting pressure there.

He wasn't stalling so much as trying not to go back to that moment when he stood before the council members, knowing he'd killed their sons and they could do anything to him and no one would know.

"Eiji and Hachiro Saito followed Nao anywhere he went. They were bullies, believing, because their father, Dai Saito, sat on the council in Japan, no one could touch them. They both had swords that night. They were the ones who killed the two servants."

Stefano swept a hand over his face as if trying to sweep away the things his brother told him. "This should have been taken to the International Council. Those men lied about the deaths. Who was the last boy?" Of course he knew. His mother had attended the funerals of the boys, paying their respects to the riders who had lost their children. Mikio Ito was the other council member.

"Kenta Ito, Mikio Ito's son," Ricco confirmed.

"This is a disgrace. A fucking disgrace," Stefano bit out. "The top three families of riders. Council members. Lying to other riders, pulling that shit off because as council members they had the ability to tell a story with emotion that could muddy hearing. Their sons were murderers. Damn it, Ricco, we should have been told."

Ricco's gaze swept the room. His brothers were stunned. Shock showed on Emmanuelle's face. Such a thing was unheard of. Lying to the world of riders. It was a small, closed group, and they counted on honesty. On truth. On honor above all else.

Ricco shook his head slowly. "I couldn't tell you."

Stefano opened his mouth and then snapped it closed. Giovanni got up and took the cut crystal glasses and poured more Scotch, handing them back before seating himself again. He took his time, making certain everyone had a chance to recover from the sheer shock.

"Tell us all of it," Vittorio encouraged. "This is turning my stomach, but we have to know."

"It was Kenta Ito who killed Akiko's father. He painted his face with her father's blood and was dancing around Akiko and Nao. They wanted her to see that her family was dead. Nao had raped Akiko and he cut her to pieces. She was still alive, and Nao told her he was going to kill her little brother and sister. He told her he would violate her sister in front of her before he killed her. Her sister was three years old. Her brother was fifteen months."

Francesca gasped and put a hand to her throat. Stefano immediately drew her close, beneath the protection of his shoulder.

"Power corrupts." Taviano repeated what Stefano had drilled into them from the time they were toddlers. "Clearly those boys believed themselves above everyone else rather than servants of the people."

"I came into the room and overheard what he was saying. Kenta turned to face me. He had a sword, just like the others, and he was big and very strong." He had known fear back then, facing that blade and the anger and hatred of Kenta and Nao. "They believed me to be less than what they were. Akiko was less. Her family. Her father could no longer ride the shadows and was considered an outcast and dishonored. I had to fight them no matter how afraid I was of them. Akiko was still alive and I could see the desperation on her face. She didn't have anyone else to save her siblings."

Ricco couldn't stand any longer. The restles

s energy was there inside him, demanding he move, but his body, still recovering, couldn't oblige him. He took the chair facing Stefano. This was a confession, pure and simple, and it was Stefano who would judge him. Giovanni, Vittorio and Taviano would stand solidly with him. Emmanuelle had the softest heart and would never think him guilty of anything. She would most likely view him as a hero.

He knew he held responsibility. He hadn't studied the way he should have and he'd gotten turned around in the shadows of Tokyo. He hadn't gone with the boys that night to try to convince the elders that the others were up to no good because he didn't believe they would listen. He knew the council members would make his life even more miserable than it already was. Then there was the matter of the actual killings. The boys, no matter what they had done, were riders. There was a code--an unbreakable code.

"Kenta and I fought and while we did, Nao went to the closet and yanked open the door. I could see the little girl crouched on the floor holding her little brother, her hand over his mouth. He dragged the boy out and threw him on the floor, stomping on him over and over. Bones broke. I heard them. The sound was sickening. The little girl, only three years old, rushed him. She leapt into the air and kicked Nao with both feet right in the balls, driving him away from her brother. When she landed, she hit Akiko's blood and slipped, falling almost at Nao's feet. Kenta had sliced me a couple of times. I had to get possession of the sword and take him out. I stepped close and he swung just like I knew he would. I pulled my head back, but the tip sliced my face open."

Ricco touched the wicked scar. He hadn't even felt the pain of that cut. He'd been desperate. Kenta was good with the sword. "I kept moving into him. Akiko must have been doing homework when they attacked and her desk had turned over. I found a pen on the floor and I shoved it into his eye, hard. He dropped the sword. I picked it up and slammed it down over his head, splitting his skull in two." The aftermath had been horrific, with blood and brains everywhere.

He hadn't had time to think about those first lives he'd taken when he'd killed the boys he'd trained with. It was only later, when he tried to sleep, that he remembered their eyes, wide open, the horror in them, the light fading away. His stomach lurched. He'd brought many men to justice since that time, but nothing had affected him the way the deaths of those boys had.

"I didn't have much time. Nao had caught the little girl by the hair, pulling her through the blood to his lap. He was going to cut her throat. I lifted the sword again and jammed the blade into his back, down low, with every bit of strength I had left, which wasn't much. The sword was sharp and it went in."

He took a deep breath and pressed his fingers to his throbbing temples. "I've never seen anything so horrific before or since. Nao kept screaming and screaming. The baby was absolutely silent. We both collapsed right there on the floor. I crawled to Akiko. There was blood bubbling around her mouth and she couldn't talk. I didn't move until she died. The little girl had crawled to her brother and she was holding him like a rag doll and rocking him back and forth."

He couldn't look at his siblings. All he could see was the blood soaking into the floor of the Tanaka home. So many dead around him. He hadn't saved Akiko. He had felt numb. He hadn't known he was shaking until the sword slipped from his nerveless fingers. It hit the floor and was instantly coated from blade to hilt in red.

"I don't know how long I sat there before I realized the boy was still alive and needed medical attention, as did Nao. I called Isamu Yamamoto and told him what happened and we needed help fast. They came, and I don't remember too much after that. I was taken to a room back in the host home with orders not to speak to anyone. I didn't want to. I wanted to come home, but they refused to allow me to call you, Stefano."

"I'll just bet they didn't let you call me or Eloisa." Stefano's voice was a lash of pure anger. A promise of retaliation.

Ricco winced. "There was an investigation and I was questioned repeatedly by the council members."

"The council members? Not investigators?" Stefano clarified.

"Council members," he reiterated. "I honestly expected them to kill me. It was clear they weren't going to allow outsiders to know what happened. The dishonor would be too much for the three families. They called me in and told me if I dared to tell my family or any other council the truth of what happened, the three families would unite to wipe out every member of my family in retaliation because if I brought them that kind of dishonor, they wouldn't have anything to live for. They said that they would tell the rider world that I had killed their sons. They also said they would make it known that I had murdered those boys in cold blood when they caught me raping Akiko. That I had been the one to kill her family."

"Those fucking liars. Any of us would have heard the lies they told. If we'd brought them up before the international governing body they couldn't have made those charges stick." Stefano's eyes blazed with anger. "They would have been stripped of their abilities. Only a member of the family of the international governing family can do that, but Yamamoto knew that would have happened immediately if this came to light. He fed crap to a fourteen-year-old boy and then forced him to stay there for appearances."

Ricco nodded. "They wanted me to know just how powerful they were. It was a difficult time, but I was determined that nothing would happen to any of you. When I came back, I trained even harder than I had in Japan, every day, to make certain I would never make another mistake. I guarded you at night as best I could just in case they decided to come after all of you."

"You should have told me, Ricco," Stefano said. "I would have put a stop to this nightmare for you."

Nothing could stop the nightmare. He'd have those deaths on his hands until the day he died. The images were branded into his brain. "We don't want to start a war with the families in Japan," he cautioned. "My host family were good people. They, at least, treated me right. From there I went to Mikio Ito's home for six months. The rest of my time was spent with the Yamamotos."

Stefano went into another round of inventive curses.

Ricco kept talking. He wanted it all out and over with. "Nao was in a wheelchair and very, very bitter. His mother and father were bitter. It was an extremely difficult situation, with constant beatings and threats, but I had resolved to learn as much as I could and all those beatings were done in the training halls by Isamu Yamamoto, and while he bested me time and again, it only served to make me train harder and grow stronger."

Stefano was the one to begin pacing across the floor. "It doesn't make sense that they would send someone after you at this late date. The Saitos retired years ago. I believe Dai and his wife Osamu live in their home in Tokyo. He gave up riding the shadows after his sons were killed. Mikio Ito stopped riding after his son was killed as well. His wife is still alive, and I believe they retired to a small cottage in the country. She never was a trained rider. It was an arranged marriage. And Isamu Yamamoto lost his wife to suicide. She walked out in front of a train. They said he began to drink heavily. A few months ago, he committed suicide by disembowelment."

"I heard about that," Ricco said, slightly ashamed that he'd wished they were all dead and the threat to his family was over.

"Nao Yamamoto has run their company here in the States for the last ten years or more," Vittorio volunteered. "They've been losing money. According to their publicist they've been under attack by an industrial spy. Nao spent money like water, and I think he ran the company here into the ground."

"The shadow riding lines of these families are gone," Stefano continued. "It was rumored Saito and his wife had two other children, but neither was suited for shadow riding so they were never talked about publicly."

Ricco frowned. He was already putting pieces of the puzzle together, although it still didn't make sense. "She said she was claustrophobic, that when she was a child she'd been locked in a closet. Mariko. She could have been that little girl."

"Nothing was ever said about any of the Tanaka line remaining," Stefano objected./>   "I study the history of all the rider families," Vittorio said. "There was a rumor that there were other children, babies, but they died in the accident as well."

Stefano shook his head. "The Tanakas only had Akiko. They had a very famous line and it was regarded the world over that no one was left."

"That's not true," Ricco said. "There was a little sister and brother. I was there. They came to the tournaments to cheer Akiko on. They came with their father. And the girl was in training. You should have seen her take down Nao with that double kick. I'm telling you, she was a Tanaka. So was the baby boy."

"It wouldn't make sense that this child would want to assassinate you when you saved her and her brother," Taviano said.

"What did she say her last name was?" Vittorio asked.

"Majo, and the kanji characters mean 'female devil.' The name was given to her. She said, and I heard truth in her voice, that her mother was an American. She'd been told that her mother was a whore on the streets. Later she abandoned her children and disappeared. Mariko believes that to be true."

"Tanaka married an American woman. She left him, and their shadows were torn apart. She didn't remember her children or marriage or anything about riding shadows, and he was lost to all of us as a rider," Stefano said. "But there was no mention of any child other than Akiko that I can remember; however, if Vittorio heard about more, then it is probably so. The lineage was remarkable. Admired and respected despite what the family thought about his marriage. Surely a son and daughter would have been welcomed by every rider family."

Ricco shook his head. "Akiko was looked down on by every family, all riders and her own grandmother because she was mixed race. The grandmother, in particular, treated her horribly, and all the families followed suit. Although Akiko was mixed race, she looked more like her father. If Mariko is a Tanaka, she obviously looks more like her American mother. Still, when I asked about what happened to the two remaining children, Yamamoto told me a family took them in."

"It still wouldn't make sense for the girl to come after you. It's pretty hard to forget the boy who saved your life," Giovanni objected.