Kami Cursed (Dragon and Phoenix)

by Julianne Price

  My lips drew back from my teeth and a low snarl ripped from my throat. I pivoted, searching for a weapon. Ryuu took a quick step out of my way and my eyes landed on the baseball bat on the shelf beside him. I crossed the room in a flash, and my sweaty palms wrapped around the bat as if I’d done this a million times before. I spun and brought the sturdy piece of wood down on the demented book with every bit of force I could muster.

  I don’t know what I was expecting to happen. I wasn’t really thinking at all- I mean what happens if you hit a book with a bat? The bat made contact with the book… and the book exploded.

  There was a muffled whump and scorched pieces of paper were fluttering around us like dirty snow. I stood in the middle of the room, staring dumbly at the charred spot on Ryuu’s comforter. I was panting, and my fingers were numb where they clutched the bat.

  Ryuu calmly crossed the room and stepped on a glowing piece of book cover that was threatening to burn a hole in the beige carpet. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, that was…interesting.”

  My legs folded and I sat suddenly, still not letting go of the bat. “What the heck just happened?”

  He sank down next to me and stared at his bed. “I think that’s what happens when you destroy a cursed object.” He shrugged. “I’ve never managed to do it before.”

  I shook my head. “You’re not making this stuff up are you? About curses…”

  “Um…no.” He leaned across my lap, studying the bat without taking it from me. A chunk of shiny black hair fell forward, hiding his face. He poked at my weapon experimentally. “It doesn’t look like you hurt the bat.”

  I looked down, trying to relax my death grip on the thing. “Sorry. Uh, why do you have a bat anyway? Do you play baseball now?”

  He laughed. “No. It was my Dad’s.”

  Ryuu’s father had been American. I’d seen his picture once, and been surprised at how different the man was from what I had imagined- a tall, broad-shouldered blonde, with a rugged, cheery face. I’d always thought he looked like someone I would have really liked.

  “Sorry,” I said, shakily.

  Ryuu only shrugged. “My Obaasan sent it to me with some of my parent’s stuff.”

  “Oh.” Ryuu’s grandmother was regarded by his aunt as a crazy old bat. But even though she hadn’t seen Ryuu since he was a baby, she had always made a point of helping him to remember his parents. And that, I knew, made up for any faults the old woman might have. I handed him the bat, glad it wasn’t damaged. “Sorry.”

  Ryuu stared at me for a minute, his dark eyes sharp and much deeper than they should be. “It’s okay. Now we know you can get rid of the things.” He sighed. “It was getting stronger again. I don’t know- powering up maybe? And I couldn’t so much as scratch it.”

  We sat side by side staring at the paper littering the floor. “So… you can see things no one else sees.” My voice was flat.

  Ryuu took a deep breath. “Yeah. In Japanese there is this word- Kami. It has to do with Gods or spirits but it can mean just about anything supernatural. I think when enough negative energy gathers in one place it can affect people who come into contact with it. There’s almost a will to the thing…and well, I think maybe the objects have a kami attached to them- or something like it.”

  I stared at his smoking comforter. “Like the book that made me go crazy.”

  He nodded. “Like the book. It was crawling with this black, glowing energy.”

  I turned to look at him. He was so young. My eyes widened. “You’ve seen this since you were a little boy…”

  He closed eyes. “Yeah. As far back as I can remember.”

  “Your parents…”

  He didn’t open his eyes. “I was just a little kid. I tried to tell them that it was dangerous- that something wasn’t right. But they probably thought it was just some make believe game I was playing. The accident was because of me. Because I couldn’t stop them…”

  I put my arms around him and pulled him into an awkward hug. “It wasn’t your fault,” I said with feeling. God, he’d been dealing with this crap the whole time and no one believed him. “I believe you,” I said against his silky hair. “I’m sorry, and I believe you.”

  He hugged me back, pressing his face against my shoulder. I remembered how he never cried in front of anyone else. Not even when I’d found him cornered in an ally, surrounded by bullies and covered in cuts and scrapes. But he’d cried in front of me later, when they’d all gone.

  He’d gotten wider since the last time I’d hugged him, though he was still skinny and springy, like holding a bird. I patted his thin shoulders as they shook with silent sobs. Maybe there was more of the little boy I used to know left in him than I’d first thought.

  Finally, he sat back, pulling away and wiping a sleeve across his face. He kept his head down and his hair fell forward to hide his eyes. I reached out to brush it back, but he avoided me and gave me a petulant, quelling look. The look said don’t treat me like a kid, which of course made him seem even more like a little boy.

  “We need to go talk to my friend at the temple,” he said as if nothing had happened. “I’ve tried and tried to get rid of that thing and nothing worked. It took me three years to break the curse, and that whole time nothing could touch the book.” He gestured wildly. “I tried ripping it up, burning it…I even badgered a maintenance guy into putting it through a wood chipper once when no one was looking. Nothing happened- it bounced around and came out just like it went in.”

  He lifted his eyes to meet mine, and they were clear and dry, as if he hadn’t been crying just seconds before. “Even after I finally figured out how to break the curse, I still couldn’t hurt the book. I tried everything, but all that happened was my hands went numb every time I touched it.” He clenched his hands reflexively as if remembering the feeling.

  “Then why did it do that when I hit it with a baseball bat?”

  Ryuu shook his head. “I have no idea. But it must mean something.”

  Our conversation was interrupted when Dawn peeked into the room, anger and fear warring on her pretty face. “Ryuu, what the hell are you doing? I smell smoke.” She stared at the charred confetti scattered around the room.

  Ryuu jumped to his feet. “Science experiment,” he said with a grin. “Kit is really bad at chemistry.”

  His aunt raised a dark, heavily tweezed eyebrow at me. “Whatever. Clean it up. Kit, it’s time for you to go home.” Then, more gently, “You shouldn’t push yourself right now. Let yourself recover.” Because she thought I was still crazy. And I’d just tried to set the house on fire.

  I pushed myself to my feet and beat a hasty retreat. “Sorry Ryuu,” I said as I backed out the door. “I owe you okay?”

  He looked around at the mess. “Big time,” he agreed.

  Chapter 4

  We walked quietly over broad stone pavers interspersed with well-manicured grass. A few early fallen leaves drifted across the path, like a spill of gold. The temple looked like it had just grown up out of the woods, the sway-backed rooflines, and wood trim oddly right here, despite their Asian feel.

  I followed Ryuu up the steps and through the big wooden pillars by the door, a little in awe. Buddhist temple. It sounded like something you read about, not something that would actually exist in the middle of small-town, podunk Michigan.

  “Do a lot of people come here for church…or whatever it’s called?”

  Ryuu glanced back at me, and a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Quite a few. Huron University isn’t too far away, so a lot of college kids come for the English services.”

  I raised an eyebrow. College kids? I supposed it made sense, but it completely ruined the vibe I had going in my head. Ryuu pulled open the door and gestured for me to go inside. I went in, feeling way out of place.

  The interior of the temple was decorated simply. The colors were neutral and calming, the lines simple and clean. Several robed men and women were moving about quietly, doing chores. Th
ey nodded at us politely, and went back to what they were doing. One younger man, probably in his twenties, stopped sweeping the floor and came to greet us.

  He was just a bit taller than I was, with dark brown hair, and light, golden brown eyes. I had expected to find a bunch of old men here, not someone so young and good-looking. He smiled and extended a hand to me. “Hello, you must be Ryuu’s Kit,” he said quietly.

  I shook his hand, glancing at Ryuu. He inclined his head toward the man, sort of a half bow. “Kit, this is Fumio, the friend I’ve told you about. He’s a monk here at the temple.”

  I looked at the man in surprise. Sure, from the robe it was obvious that he worked here, but I hadn’t realized that he was a monk. I had expected Ryuu’s mysterious friend to be some wise old man with a long white beard or a shaved head. Fumio wasn’t much older than me, and he looked like he would fit in at the university.

  “Come with me and we can talk.” The monk led us through a big room with a high ceiling and shining wood floors. At the front of the room, on a raised dias, was a statue of Buddha. Fumio paused to bow to the statue in passing. Ryuu put his hands together over his heart, but didn’t stop walking. I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I just nodded at the statue. Hey buddy, how’s it going?

  I followed the guys out a small door in the back of the temple and into a little garden. The small plot was very well groomed, and I could sense the constant attention the monks must give it. Even in the fall, it was bursting with color- filled with orange marigolds and bright yellow sunflowers. Ryuu went to sit on a low stone wall by a little fishpond, and I joined him. Fumio leaned against a big red-leafed maple tree and watched me as I sat down and placed the baseball bat across my lap. Ryuu had insisted I bring the thing with me. I already felt like a lumbering ox here, and carrying a baseball bat around with me didn’t help the situation.

  “So what are you guys up to today?” Fumio’s voice was pleasant, as if he had all the time in the world to chat with us. I would have thought he’d be irritated, since he had more important things to do. Did monks even get irritated?

  Ryuu broke into a grin. “Kit got rid of the book.”

  Fumio straightened and stared at me, his handsome face all lit up. “How?”

  Ryuu reached across me and picked up the bat. He held it out to the monk with a flourish. “With this.”

  He came and crouched in front of us, studying the bat. “Do you know what kind of wood it is?” He traced a finger across the wood grain.

  Ryuu shook his head. “Not for sure, but I think it might be white ash?”

  Fumio nodded. “That makes sense. Ash would definitely do it, in the right hands.” He gently picked up the bat, as if it was some sort of delicate treasure.

  Ryuu was nodding, like it all made perfect sense. I glanced back and forth between the two of them, lost. What did it matter what kind of wood the stupid thing was made out of?

  Ryuu caught the look on my face. “Different kinds of woods have different properties,” he explained. “Ash is for protection and healing.”

  Fumio looked up at me, a small crease forming between his brows. “It’s credited with healing the human spirit, and forming a link between humans and the spirit world.”

  I stared at him and wondered if maybe I was still asleep. Maybe I was in my bed back at Birch Hill and this was all a dream caused by too much medication. “You guys think this bat is a link to the spirit world?” My mouth twitched.

  Ryuu sighed. “Kit…”

  Fumio interrupted his lecture. “Everything around us has an energy within it. Some things- or people,” he glanced at Ryuu and away, “resonate more loudly than others.”

  He frowned. “Maybe you have some spiritual power of your own. Or maybe just being in contact with the curse for so long gave you a link to it that others don’t have.”

  He handed me the bat and I laid it across my lap. I tried to keep the laughter out of my voice. “You said spiritual power. Were you talking about what Ryuu can do- how he can see the cursed things?” I felt ridiculous even having this conversation.

  The monk stood and stretched, then came to sit next to me on the wall. “I think Ryuu has strong spiritual energy. But I can’t say for sure.” He spread his hands in a helpless gesture. “I can hardly be expected to know. I have absolutely none myself.”

  I looked at him. The last of my wise old man dream had just died. “None?”

  He nodded. “I’m basically just a really well-read historian. I know a lot of good stories.”

  Ryuu snorted. “He’s the one who helped me figure out what was going on,” he said softly. “Don’t let him fool you into thinking he knows less than he does. Even without being able to actually do any of the things he taught me, he was still able to help me- to teach me how to do them.”

  I glanced back and forth between them. “What kind of things?”

  Ryuu shrugged. “Exercises- meditation, getting in touch with whatever it is inside me. Being able to actually use it when I want to. I’m still working on that one.” His dark brows drew together so that they were almost touching. “He helped me figure out how to finally break the curse’s hold on you, even though he couldn’t do it himself.”

  Fumio held out his hands defensively. “It’s just stuff I’ve read,” he said hurriedly. “A mixed up combination of religious practices- from Shinto to Buddhism, to Celtic rituals-with a good bit of imagination thrown in there along the way.”

  I put my hands over my face. “So what now? Why are we here?”

  Ryuu sighed. “I want to know why you were able to destroy that stupid book.” His voice was full of frustration, and I thought maybe he was mad that I’d done it so easily when he couldn’t.

  Fumio put a warm hand on my arm and I wondered if he was feeling for spiritual energy. “You want to know if she can do it again, right?”

  I looked at Ryuu in surprise. He wanted me to do it again? I could see it was true by the sudden fierce light that sprang up in his dark eyes. “I can see the cursed objects- and there are more of them than you would imagine- but I can’t get rid of them.”

  Fumio nodded. Then, seeing my vacant expression, he explained. “It does something to him. I think maybe being in contact with an object like that taints his energy.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “And you think I can do something about this?”

  Ryuu took my hand. “Come on Kit. You’ve done it once. What’s to say you couldn’t do it again?”

  I looked down at the stupid bat. “Or, like Fumio said, it could just be because I had prolonged contact with the dumb thing.”

  Ryuu pressed his lips together. “No. I think it did give you a link, but once you’re able to do something like that, it doesn’t just go away.”

  The monk lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “If Ryuu thinks you can do it, then you can.” He spoke with absolute conviction, though there was a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. “He has an intuition for these things that you and I are completely lacking.”

  I scowled at Ryuu. I knew where this was headed. He was going to make me help him hunt these things down. “What makes you so special,” I demanded.

  I was being sarcastic, but Ryuu answered me. “My sousobo.”

  The door to the temple opened and a monk poked his head in. “Greg, sorry to interrupt, but we have some visitors.”

  Fumio nodded. “I’ll be right there.”

  “Greg?” I couldn’t help my smirk.

  He sighed. “Greg Jones. Fumio is my middle name, but Ryuu insists on calling me that.”

  Jones? The nonsense of it all hit me. I was sitting in the middle of a Buddhist temple with my friend who apparently had spiritual powers and we were discussing it all with a monk named Greg Jones? I burst out laughing. I was still snorting occasionally when we left the temple.

  I thought about our conversation as we walked home. “What did you mean when you said your sousobo?” I didn’t have much Japanese- just little snatches that I had picked up from
Ryuu and his aunt. But I thought the word meant great-grandmother.

  Ryuu ran a hand through his hair, making it glint in the sunshine. “My Obaasan was a Miko…um, a shrine maiden. Her mother was too.”

  I frowned. “You mean the woman in the old pictures- the one with the long skirt who looks like she’s dancing? That’s her right?” I had always been fascinated by the old black and white photos that hung on Ryuu and Dawn’s living room wall.

  He chuckled. “Yeah. Performing kagura- the dance- is part of their job at the shrines. Nowadays, Miko are pretty much just symbols. They take care the shrines and perform for holidays.” He shrugged, looking embarrassed. “But they used to be real- priestesses who had spiritual powers. They protected their shrines, and all of the patrons who visited. They were kind of like intermediaries between humans and the spirits.”

  I looked at my shoes as I walked, noticing that one of them was about to come untied. Were we really talking about spirits and powers? “So was your great-grandma one of those, the ones that were real?”

  He took a deep breath and let it out. “I don’t know. I think so. I mean, I never met her. My grandma visited us once when I was really young. I barely remember her. She talked about my sousousofu- um, my great-great grandpa- who I guess was a priest, and Mom got really mad. She didn’t believe in any of it, and I guess she’d sort of disowned that side of the family.”

  I pursed my lips. “Then maybe that’s why she didn’t listen to you when you tried to tell her you were seeing things.”

  He nodded. “Probably.”

  I shifted the bat. It felt comfortable in my hand, though I’d never been much for sports. “So you think it’s like, your mission to find these things and destroy them now?”

  He took my free hand, the way he always did when he was feeling unsure. “There has to be a reason, right? I’ve always thought that I drew this stuff to me- but maybe it’s the same everywhere? These cursed objects; they make people’s lives miserable. Yours was bad, but it wasn’t the worst I’ve seen.” His dark eyes were brooding, and I decided not to ask. If it was worse than losing your mind and being locked away for three years, then I really didn’t want to know. Besides, I thought it might have something to do with his parents, and I couldn’t stand to make him talk about it.