by C. J. Anaya
“You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?”
Aiko’s eyes glittered with mischief, a dark hatred that surfaced every time Musubi was mentioned. She leaned over and whispered something in my father’s ear.
He turned back to me, shaking his head and grinning maniacally. “You forget I’m privy to all of the details of your plans. If you allow Musubi to be the one to aid you in your ascension, the incompatibility of your souls will cause yours to sever and break from Katsu’s. You’ll be free, certainly to be with whomever you choose, but you’ll never be a full kami, and never take on your role as The Healer, a role I’m beginning to understand you would rather avoid.”
I glared at Aiko. She knew the truth of mine and Musubi’s connection. She knew he was the one who had healed my ki when it was damaged. Why would she encourage my union with Katsu if she truly wanted protection from the demon god as well?
“This is a mistake.” I hated the hint of desperation in my voice. “If you truly wish me to ascend and heal the veil, then you mustn’t allow me to marry Katsu. Aiko knows the truth of my connection with Musubi. She is lying to you.”
“Why would she lie, when she has so much more to gain by ensuring this union? If Amatsu is able to breach the veil then every one of us will be at his mercy. With enemies from the underworld surrounding me, I must insist that The Healer be at full strength. You’ll marry Katsu and ascend to full kami status tonight. And then I want the two of you to work very hard to heal the veil, keeping Amatsu and the rest of his minions from the world of the living. Once these reformed kami and nekomata realize their demon god has been thwarted they’ll most likely turn their loyalties to the kami with all of the power. Namely, me.”
“Aiko, tell him the truth. Tell him who my true soul mate is.”
She merely laughed at my pathetic attempt to convince her.
“I will also require even more cooperation from you as I continue with my plans to build a kami army. I don’t know how you learned to circumvent the bondings during the healing process I ordered you to perform, but you will continue to bond your blood to these men if you wish for your rebel friends to remain alive.”
“Please, don’t insult my intelligence. You have no intention of letting them go.”
“But I may allow them to live. Unless you refuse to aid me in my goals. For every bonding that fails, one rebel soldier will be brought before you and slaughtered in front of your eyes, and if you refuse to allow Musubi to join you to Katsu or attempt to warn him in any way during the ceremony, I will have Aiko kill him with a simple flick of my hand. You’ve invited your most trusted maid to your wedding, you see.”
“He will never agree to this union. He won’t cooperate.”
“He already has. I convinced him that I had captured his sweetheart and would kill her if he didn’t agree to perform the union between The Healer and Katsu. He was most willing to comply if it meant keeping you safe. His ignorance concerning your identity has aided me enormously. I must thank you for that.”
“He will still fight this once I arrive. He won’t stand for it.”
“I believe he will be too distracted by your betrayal. He’ll certainly wonder where your loyalties reside. Declaring your undying love one minute, and then agreeing to marry Katsu the next? Once again, he’ll be losing the woman he loves to Masaru Katsu while simultaneously wondering if you were a spy all along. A plant used to get close to the commander of the rebel army and destroy it from the inside out.” He rubbed his hands together in anxious anticipation. “I honestly can’t wait to see the look on his face. He also has much to lose in the form of Akane. If he fails to go through with the ceremony, Akane will be killed as punishment.”
The thought of Musubi believing for even one moment that I had been insincere in my intent and affections left me cold and heartbroken. How would I explain myself with Aiko poised to strike him down if I didn’t pretend to go along with the marriage?
I stood there glaring at him as my mind raced for a possible out, for any other avenue that might grant me a reprieve from having to go through with this marriage, all the while being forced to look Musubi in the eye while he thought the very worst of me.
“You cannot be certain that Katsu will wish to marry me. He knows I ran away and joined the rebels. He won’t forgive my actions nor my disobedience.”
“Oh, I’ve covered all of my bases in that department. How do you think I was able to attain my release from that awful prison he held me in?”
I gave him a blank stare.
“He has a weakness and that weakness is you. He loves you, though I doubt you deserve it, and honestly can’t understand why, and I simply had to claim that I had one of my generals kidnap you. I wasn’t going to release you into his care until he promised me a full pardon, refuted all claims that I was a nekomata, and allowed me power over my own empire again.” He took a step closer as I processed this new level of deception. “Oh, yes, my dear. Katsu, at this very moment believes that you have been held as a prisoner by my generals at the Shinto Temple of all places. Your release and subsequent union with Katsu was contingent upon my release and full power restored. So you see, dear child, he will be anxiously awaiting your arrival this evening with all the love that great oaf can muster, completely oblivious to your own betrayal. Ah, the consequences of unrequited love. How terribly clichéd.”
I blinked angry tears, as I continued to think of another avenue of escape. My father seemed to read my mind.
“You won’t clue him in to your own treachery if you wish to save the one you do, in fact, love.”
I couldn’t win with my father. I’d experienced small moments of victory, with a few battles won and several moments of silent vindication, but the actual outcome of this war would always be in my father’s favor.
With weapons from the underworld at my father’s disposal and plenty of restored nekomata capable of wielding them, I simply couldn’t risk alerting anyone to his plans. If I fled with Saigo and Kenji, Musubi would be a sitting duck, never seeing Aiko’s attack until it was too late. If I agreed to the match and then attempted to stop it, Musubi would still be killed and all the rebels with him. I had no options, no other choice, but to accompany my father back to the palace.
“What about the restored kami within the palace walls? You have no way of knowing whom you can trust. They will pose a threat to me.”
“That is why Aiko will continue to guard you until you have ascended and permanently healed the veil. After that, you’ll be escorted to a holding cell where I can keep an eye on the both of you.”
“What about Saigo and Kenji?”
“Saigo was merely having a lark, as most boys will at this age. Perhaps it will have taught him some valuable lessons.”
“You won’t punish Saigo, then?”
He looked at me in surprise. “For what? Boys will be boys, as they say. Kenji, however, is a different matter. He will be executed at dawn.”
“You can’t do that. He was forced into coming with us. He wanted to make certain Saigo came to no harm.”
“Is that so? Well, I suppose if you are a good little girl and continue to behave as I have instructed, there will be no need to harm Kenji.”
Another threat, another loved one my father could hold over me. Maybe he was right. My love for my family and friends would cause more casualties in the long run. I simply didn’t have the capacity to turn those emotions off. I didn’t know how.
“It would seem you have given me very little choice in the matter.” I fisted my hands at my side and gritted my teeth. “I will do as you say.”
The wicked grin returned to my father’s face.
“I thought you might.”
Aiko positioned herself outside my door, waiting for me to finish readying myself in the elaborate white ceremonial robes meant for my union with Katsu. Once I ascended, my robes would transform from a blinding white shade to a dark, blood red color, symbolizing my married status, and the completion
of our union.
The process of dressing myself took an exorbitant amount of time due to the elaborate and complex way in which the kimono and its many accoutrements were meant to adorn my body, but the thought of that thing playing the farce it had carried on over the last few weeks caused my insides to cringe in protest. Never again would I allow it to assist me.
True despair at Aiko’s betrayal momentarily overwhelmed me. It didn’t make sense.
I startled when Aiko simpered in, looking less than pleased at my progress.
“Mistress,” she said, “this ceremony is due to take place in less than thirty minutes, and still you are not yet ready.”
Aiko wrenched me around to face the mirror, and then began finishing what I hadn’t been able to. Bile rose to the back of my throat when her hand came to rest upon the nape of my neck.
“I think it’s wonderful that your father decided to do away with the traditional makeup and hair. It will make it that much easier for Musubi to recognize you, don’t you think?”
“Aiko, how could you do this? I thought you cared for me. I thought you cared for all of us. You know Musubi is my soul mate. Why perpetuate such a lie when the consequences for everyone are so dire?”
She gave me a sly smile and then took a step back.
“Perhaps this will help to answer your many questions.”
Horror gripped me when my maid’s form flickered as if she were blinking out of focus. Black hair sprouted from her head and claws grew from her hands and feet. Dark pointed ears grew from the sides of her head, and two tails whipped themselves back and forth, curling around her clawed feet.
Within seconds Aiko had disappeared, and in her stead stood a ferocious looking nekomata.
“What have you done?” I asked. I could barely lift my voice above a whisper. “What have you done with Aiko?”
“Your maid? Why, we had to kill her, my dear. It happened several years ago when Amatsu’s plan really began to take shape. Several nekomata had taken on the role of Aiko, but it was necessary for each one of us to partake of your blood before our unnatural presence in this world managed to destroy us. As it stands, I’ve been Aiko for about a year now. It’s been quite an education. Once you discovered that I was stealing your blood, it became necessary for our plans to change. Entering the rebel camp was serendipitous, though I kept waiting for my moment to kill Musubi. Eliminating your soul mate has been paramount in the demon god’s plans.”
“You were behind the illness back at camp. You poisoned all of those soldiers and somehow let the emperor know of their location. Why fight against the nekomata when they came? Why save Musubi—”
“Your lover was much more capable than I had anticipated,” she growled. “He managed to take out four of the five nekomata before I could stop him, and I had no choice but to finish off the fifth, someone I had known for thousands of years. Don’t think for one second I will easily forget my comrades who Musubi murdered.”
“Murdered? You’re all bloodthirsty killers. Musubi was defending himself after your comrades slaughtered innocent humans and attacked him. Don’t you dare attempt to convince me of your twisted convictions. Not when Aiko is dead and thousands of others have been killed because of Amatsu, not to mention all of the harm my father has meted out.”
“The emperor has been such an easy fool to manipulate. He’ll never see the dagger coming until it hits him square in the chest, but for now we use him to perpetuate the demon god’s plan.”
“Why continue with this farce, then? Why force me to marry Katsu when you, yourself could kidnap me and take me to your master?”
“Opportunity is a fickle mistress, my dear. Our window of opportunity shrank when you and the emperor thwarted our initial plan of capture. Amatsu held the veil open at one strategic location, but for only a very short period of time. There is no way to travel to the underworld now unless another rift in the veil occurs. Your union with the wrong kami will cause such a rift.”
“And then I’m spirited away to some unpleasant fate. Is that it?”
“I doubt it will be unpleasant. My master has every intention of marrying you himself once Katsu and Musubi have been disposed of. If you behave, he will treat you with the same love and affection due an obedient wife.”
I stared at the Aiko imposter, feeling completely undone at this point. Love and affection? This was madness. Utter madness.
“I’m not going to fall in line so easily.”
“Then perhaps he will keep Musubi alive in order to see that you do.”
I did my best to tamp down my alarm as the nekomata’s hands brushed the side of my wrap where I’d managed to hide a dagger I retrieved from underneath my bed. I had no idea when an opportune moment to use it might present itself, but I intended to be prepared.
It sickened me at how much this nekomata sounded like Aiko—capable of behaving just like her. This abomination imitated every nuance and gesture with perfect precision. I despised it nearly as much as I despised my father.
The nekomata reverted back to Aiko’s form, turned me around to face it, and then pulled a small, black dagger from within its clothing. The nekomata held it up in front of my face, then let it rest against my cheek. My breath hitched, but I refused to cower in fear. My defiant glare was the only form of rebellion I could muster as it slicked back my unadorned hair with its free hand.
“Now, please remember, mistress, if you should attempt to make a run for it or warn Musubi of the ambush we have planned for his army, I will take out this lovely little weapon and stab him in the back. You understand fully what is at stake here?”
I nodded, not bothering to mask the hatred I felt. I distantly wondered if Saigo and Kenji had succeeded in finding a way to leave Kagami. I hoped they were far away from here.
“Wonderful. Allow me to escort you to this marriage ceremony.”
The impostor grabbed the draping folds of my kimono at my back and lifted them. “Let us proceed, mistress.”
The soft hissing as it said that last word sent a shiver down my spine.
I honestly felt as if I walked to my death as our tiny procession took us through the many twists and turns of the palace.
“How much longer do you intend to masquerade as my father’s spy? When does the demon god intend to take hold of Kagami and this army he has masterminded?”
“All you need to concern yourself with is this ceremony. You’ll see the demon god soon enough after that.”
My thoughts turned to the real Aiko at that particular moment. I hadn’t the foggiest notion as to how she met her end or where her body might be found. She deserved a proper burial and recognition for all the love and service she had rendered during my early years. She deserved so much more than what had befallen her.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I took a moment to mourn the loss of a woman who had sacrificed so much for me.
As the guards opened the doors to the ceremony room and Aiko prodded me forward, my heart nearly caved in on itself. What could I possibly do to warn Musubi once I saw him? What could I possibly say when he recognized me?
As I stepped into the room I heard a sharp intake of breath a few yards ahead of me. I looked up into the startled eyes of Musubi and watched as he came to terms with what he beheld. There was a sharp smell of fear and panic, then protectiveness. He looked as if he was readying himself to spring forward, but I locked eyes with him and indiscreetly shook my head, imploring him with one look to remain silent.
On either side of Musubi stood my parents. My mother to the left and my father to the right. I already felt the emperor’s nauseating confidence and smug satisfaction, deftly playing his hand by forcing mine.
My mother’s emotions were unattainable. No surprise in that quarter. She remained cool and aloof though she’d spent most of her life anticipating this one particular moment.
Akane, Yao, and Chan stood with a group of guards to the right along the wall. I entertained no delusions as to their situation. They were pr
isoners at this assembly, not guests.
Katsu stood in his traditional attire, appearing nervous and handsome, but exuding an air of anxiety and an underlying tension. Taking my place at Katsu’s side didn’t last longer than a few seconds, but the moments in between each second passed at an excruciating crawl.
Musubi’s eyes never left mine. His bewilderment and confusion coupled with the nervous energy and growing desire to protect me soon began to morph into abject horror and then the most profound agony as Katsu said these next words.
“Musubi…dear…friend…” Katsu’s stilted words made his nervous tension more apparent.
How much time had elapsed since they had spoken with one another? Had Musubi eschewed Katsu’s presence since Edana’s death?
He continued on, “I present to you the princess of Kagami, savior of our world, The Healer. Mikomi, this is the god of love and marriage. He will officiate by binding our union.”
I bowed from the hips as was expected of me, but when I returned to an upright position I implored him with my eyes to comprehend the situation for what it truly was and to sense the danger surrounding us.
His hardened jaw and the awful visage of smoldering anger momentarily passed his face. Then it was gone, smoothly replaced with a mask of indifference. Aiko moved to take a position directly behind him, and as the nekomata turned its back I flicked my eyes from Musubi to Aiko and jutted my chin ever so slightly in its direction. Every particle of my being screamed for him to understand our desperate situation.
If he did understand my subtle gesture and pleading look he didn’t acknowledge it. I felt my hope wither and die as his anger continued to grow in strength until all of the love and trust he held for me melted away with the smoldering rage consuming the whole of him.
A noise from the back of the room distracted me, and I watched as Kenji was brought into the room by one of the guards. Kenji’s strained mouth and slight limp hinted at a recent beating. My heart was in my throat at this new development. One more person I loved was now present in this room where nekomata and their poisonous weapons abounded.