“No!” I cried in desperation, drawing my sword in a sweep of silver steel. Hana was right beside me, her nihonto flowing into her hand. I could hear Tatsuya in the doorway behind us, rounding on Manabu. “Traitor!” He spat the word through gritted teeth. “You’re the only one who could have told those soldiers where to look.” Shocked, I twisted around to see that Tatsuya had grabbed Manabu by the front of his kimono and was shaking him like a rat. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. “You sneaked off when you went to find food at the other village,” Tatsuya said accusingly. “It must have been a stroke of luck for you when we were all inside that fisherman’s hut, and your friends could slip away.” Tatsuya shoved Manabu out through the doorway and I instinctively took a step to follow. The manservant staggered backward, lost his balance, and fell into the mud outside. “Tatsuya!” I cried, hardly able to believe what my friend was doing. Flushing red with fury, Manabu scrambled back up onto his knees.
