Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son

by Richard Parks

  “Such as?”

  Kenji had cut straight to the heart of the matter. “I don’t know. Perhaps it’s not important.”

  Kenji looked at me. “But you don’t believe this, do you?”

  “ ‘It is not the snake on the rock that kills you. It is the one in the grass you did not see.’ Yes, Kenji-san. I think it might be important. But for now my duty is to return to the capital. Yours as well, if you want to collect your fee.”

  “I want nothing more than to do both and as soon as possible.”

  By the time we had concluded our business on the island, the sun was already setting. Despite the promise of better shelter among the temple ruins, we decided against making camp on the island in case Lord Tenshin—wherever he had gotten to—sent more shikigami against us, and if he did so it would best not be where he might expect to find us. Barring any incidents, two days’ travel southwest would bring us back to Lake Biwa and the road to Kyoto. I wasn’t a big enough fool to assume there would be no incidents. We had no sooner set foot on the bridge than I was proven correct.

  There were bushi waiting for us at the end of the bridge. I counted five armed men, four of them carrying bows in addition to their swords.

  Kenji swore softly. “Shikigami? So soon?”

  “No. I am reasonably certain they are human. But I don’t understand what business they have with us. They are far too well-dressed and equipped to be bandits.”

  “I don’t suppose we could swim for it.” Kenji said wistfully.

  “Not if they know how to use those bows, and I’m guessing they do.” I sighed. “Not to mention the water would freeze us before we made it to shore. The sad truth, Kenji-san, is that we are trapped.”

  “So what are our options?”

  “Well, we can go discover their intentions or try to hide on this tiny island. If they mean us harm, our only real choice is where we die.”

  Kenji shook his head. “Sometimes the clarity of your mind is really annoying. Let’s go greet them then, shall we?”

  I considered that, if the bushi did mean us harm, from a tactical perspective the halfway point on the bridge was the perfect time for them to draw their bows. We would be well within easy range and both too far from shore to charge them and too far from the island to retreat before their arrows found us. When we crossed the halfway point with no sign of movement from our visitors, I knew better than to relax, but it did make me all the more curious about our situation. Moreover, at least one of the men seemed familiar to me. By the time Kenji and I reached the end of the bridge and stood before the bushi, I was certain of it.

  “Fujiwara no Tadanobu,” I said. “Greetings.”

  The young man smiled and then, to my considerable surprise, kneeled in front of me and bowed. “Lord Yamada, I am very happy to see you.”

  At that moment, the sight of a member of the Fujiwara Clan bowing to one such as myself worried me more than the potential of another shikigami attack. “Lord Tadanobu, first of all, please rise. Second, it’s good to see you again, but why are you here? We’re a long way from Kyoto.”

  He got back to his feet. “Indeed, which is one reason I am glad to see you. These gentlemen and I have been searching for you for days. We knew you left the capital by the Demon Gate heading toward Lake Biwa, but little else.”

  While the northeast gate to the city was commonly referred to as the “Demon Gate” because it was believed to be the favorite method for evil spirits to enter the capital, for most people it was simply the most direct exit for that particular direction. That Lord Tadanobu had managed to track us with no more information than the gate of our exit spoke well for his skills. I had once helped him with an issue relating to the death of his uncle and found him to be a brave and capable young man. In truth, he was the only living member of the Fujiwara Clan I could imagine being glad to see. Yet his appearance here was puzzling, and I repeated my question.

  “My apologies. Prince Kanemore sent me to find you—or rather, I volunteered. The capital is a rather . . . unsettled place at the moment, and I was glad for the chance to get away. I would say more, but Prince Kanemore gave me strict instruction to say no more than I must. He wants to see you as soon as possible.”

  This was clearly going to be a day which bred more questions than answers. “I am at His Highness’s disposal.”

  Lord Tadanobu whistled, and three more bushi appeared from out of the forest, leading horses. Struck with a sudden and horrible suspicion, I counted them, and it was exactly as I had feared—there were two extra mounts, doubtless intended for Kenji and me.

  Kenji smiled a wicked smile. “It appears we will not be walking back to Kyoto after all, which suits me perfectly, but I do know how much you hate horses.”

  I sighed. “For your information, I do not hate horses, Kenji-san. I only hate riding them.”

  At this even Lord Tadanobu couldn’t suppress a smile, but I ignored both of them. Prince Kanemore was as aware of my aversion as Kenji was. If his business could not only wait for my return but also required him to send riders after me as well, there was more to be worried about than even I had imagined. And I prided myself on my ability to find the worrisome side of anything.

  “Let us be on our way, then,” I said. “I have the feeling there is no time to waste.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  My business with both Prince Kanemore and Lord Mikoto had to wait, despite its obvious urgency. When we arrived at the capital it was too late in the day and we were far too exhausted to attempt either obligation. Lord Tadanobu and his escort departed to arrange our audience with Prince Kanemore for the following morning. Kenji withdrew to whichever of Kyoto’s abundant temples had not yet thrown him out, and I immediately returned to my rooms at the Widow Tamahara’s establishment to arrange a bath and whatever she could manage for a late meal. I found the formidable old woman in a rather foul mood, and for a moment I wondered if I’d forgotten to catch up my rent again, but she quickly arranged matters to my satisfaction, so it was clear to me the heart of her grievance lay elsewhere.

  It was Kaoru, a young woman in Widow Tamahara’s employ, who brought me a bowl of cold rice and two rather sad-looking dried fish shortly after my bath, but in truth I hadn’t expected better considering the hour. I also didn’t expect to glimpse a bandage showing at the edge of the girl’s kimono at the shoulder. She winced as she placed the tray in front of me.

  “Are you injured, Kaoru-san? What happened?”

  She looked away. “It is nothing, Yamada-sama.”

  “It is indeed something,” said someone who wasn’t Kaoru. The Widow Tamahara stood scowling in the doorway. “Kaoru was attacked the day you left here in my very compound. She has only today been well enough to return to any of her duties.”

  This was both unusual and disturbing. An establishment such as the Widow Tamahara’s was always subject to disturbances of various sorts by its very nature, but her livelihood depended on keeping everything in order and—relatively—calm. Security was as important to her as discretion was to her patrons, but there were always free-lance or down on their luck bushi available for hire, and she normally had a minimum of three in her employ for security.

  “What happened, Kaoru-san?” I asked.

  The young woman glanced at the Widow Tamahara, who grunted assent. “Tell him.”

  “I was serving a group of gentlemen in the main hall, and we’d run out of saké. I went to the storeroom to fetch some and found Taka-san standing by the veranda just outside the storage buildings.”

  “Oh? And who is this Taka?”

  “A samuru I had hired to replace one of my former guards who had preferred staying drunk to performing his duties,” said the Widow Tamahara. “Taka was supposed to be on duty at the north entrance. Kaoru knew he wasn’t where he was supposed to be and spoke to him.”

  “That’s all? Then he attacked you?” I asked Kaoru.

  “Hai. He grabbed my arm and twisted it. I don’t know why, but his eyes were so
strange. It was as if the only reason he didn’t cut me down then and there was that he was too angry to think clearly. It made no sense.”

  “None at all,” the old woman added. “It’s true Taka was assigned to one of the entrances rather than within the compound, but it turned out he’d simply switched duties with one of the other guards. They do that sometimes and I don’t mind, so long as both entrances and the compound are covered by someone. Of course Kaoru didn’t know that, but there was no reason to attack her.”

  It was indeed strange, but I had the feeling it was about to get even stranger. “What happened then?”

  Kaoru stared at the floor. “I screamed. He hurt me, and I was so frightened . . . then the other guards came running.”

  “They knew they’d damned well better,” Tamahara-san said, betraying a bit of satisfaction. “What sort of reputation would I have if I didn’t protect those in my employ? But Taka let Kaoru go and took off as soon as he saw them. They said they chased him down the alley between two storerooms, and Kaoru saw them, but it was a dead end. There was no way he could have escaped, except . . . ”

  “Except he did.”

  The old woman sighed. “They both swear that, when they reached the wall, he was gone. Only a monkey could have scaled the wall there, and Taka was more of a boar-hog. I fear I may have been harboring a shape-shifter or worse.”

  “What if he comes back?” Kaoru asked plaintively.

  I was practically asleep on my feet, but I also wasn’t averse to doing the Widow Tamahara a favor. I knew it might mean the difference between staying or going if I happened to be late with the rent again. In either case, I considered it might be in my own best interest to confirm my suspicious, if that turned out to be possible. “If it eases your mind at all, I will have a look.”

  “I would appreciate it,” Tamahara-san said. Kaoru just bowed.

  The Widow Tamahara had other business to attend, but when I finished my late meal, Kaoru led me to the spot where she had met Taka, as it turned out, five nights before.

  “Here?” I asked, standing in the spot she had indicated.

  “Yes, but he was turned toward the building. I believed he was watching your door, but maybe it was just the building itself. I would have told him you weren’t there, but he didn’t give me the chance.”

  “And then he fled between the storage buildings?”

  “Hai. Which—which also makes no sense. He’d been here long enough to know it was a dead end.”

  Indeed it should have known. I’m guessing it did know.

  The sun had already set, but there was still a good bit of light, probably enough for what I needed. I told Kaoru to wait outside while I entered the alley.

  Dim as the light was between the buildings, I could still see clearly to where the back of the storage buildings met the wall. There was no gap between the rear of the buildings and the compound wall. It was simply cheaper to use the wall itself as the back section of each building, rather than use additional timber, and the Widow Tamahara was nothing if not a practical person. I was familiar with the alley. During the worst of my drunkard period I had once slept in it for two days, thinking it was my room. Fortunately the weather was warm. It was only when it rained and the overflow from two separate roofs was pouring down on me I finally sobered up enough to realize my error. Naturally, there was no good reason to revisit the alley since.

  If I’m right, it will be around here.

  Tamahara’s two bushi hadn’t found anything, but that was only because they didn’t know what they were looking for. I did. It only took me a moment or two to spot it—a small slip of paper, undamaged, wedged into the planking of the building on the left. While I had dealt with the physical manifestations of the yin-yang magician’s art more than once, examining an undamaged example was a rare opportunity.

  The thing tried to avoid me. It had a sort of life, bestowed upon it by its master and the charm written upon it. Nor was I unaware of the danger—while its master’s will had been withdrawn, it could return and refocus in short order, which is no doubt why the creature had been directed to hide rather than let itself risk being destroyed. There was a purpose to its presence in the Widow Tamahara’s compound which had not yet been fulfilled.

  The paper itself had been folded into a roughly human shape, and the characters written on it were strange, probably an older version of the Chinese writing used at Court. I could make out a word or two, but most of it was gibberish to me. I knew someone who could possibly interpret the script, and I put the thought away for later consideration. I had several orders of prior business to take care of but, in one regard, this discovery came first. I very carefully ripped off the part of the paper representing the head of the shikigami, after first making certain nothing was written there. The rest of the writing I compared to the example I possessed of Lord Tenshin’s work and satisfied myself they were one and the same. Then I went back to where Kaoru was waiting for me.

  “Kaoru-san, Tamahara said you were attacked the day I left on business. Do you remember when Taka was hired?”

  “About two weeks before then,” she said. “He was usually at the south gate, so you might not have noticed him.”

  It occurred to me I might not have noticed him if I’d walked past him every day, if the quality of his creation was anything like that of the shikigami who impersonated Lord Tenshin himself.

  “Two weeks? You’re certain?”

  “Hai, Yamada-sama. I remember seeing him for the first time on the night of the Chrysanthemum Festival, just over two weeks ago.”

  If Kaoru was correct, then the presence of a shikigami, and specifically one created—as I was certain this one was—by Lord Tenshin, made absolutely no sense. Why would he send one of the creatures, either as a spy or an assassin, a full week before his brother had even hired me? Besides, I knew my involvement was not a decision Lord Mikoto had made at leisure or in consultation with anyone, including his traitorous brother.

  A shikigami disguised as a bushi would make a credible spy but a better assassin. Yet the creature’s presence here only makes sense if neither I nor Tamahara or any of her women were the target—the creature had plenty of time to act before it was discovered. Which leaves only a client. I know Lord Mikoto does not frequent this place, so who was it after?

  Whatever the answer to that question turned out to be, in a way it was fortunate Kaoru had somehow triggered a defensive response from the creature. Otherwise it would still be roaming the compound with impunity.

  “Yamada-sama? Do . . . do you think he will come back?”

  I looked at the young woman and felt a little ashamed of myself for taking so long to realize how afraid she was. Serving the Widow Tamahara could not have been the best of all possible lives, but there were far worse options for poor girls of no family, and at least with Tamahara there had been some measure of safety and security. For Kaoru this was now gone, and there didn’t seem to be any way of giving it back. I simply told her what I knew.

  “I can, at the minimum, assure you Taka will not return, but there are others like him, and they may have a reason for coming here I have not yet ascertained. You’re going to have to be careful, Kaoru, as is everyone here. Do you understand?”

  “One such as I should always be careful,” she said simply. “I learned this lesson long ago and was recently reminded of it. But I will tell the others.”

  “Good. There is one other thing, however,” I said. “Please ask your mistress not to hire another guard until I have a chance to meet him. Perhaps I can stop this from happening again.”

  “I will be grateful for anything you can do, as I’m sure my mistress will be as well.”

  I almost smiled. While the old woman could appreciate the odd favor, Kaoru and I both knew real gratitude wasn’t a commodity Tamahara-san dealt in, as a general rule, whether she actually used the word or not. But it was also true the formidable old woman never forgot a debt, whether owed or owned, which was almost the sa
me thing as gratitude in practice.

  I made certain Kaoru returned to the main hall without incident, then went to my room and surrendered gladly to sleep. At one point I dreamed I was being devoured by a thousand paper fishes, but otherwise the night was restful enough. When I finally awoke, the sun was already showing mid-morning. I had no sooner finished a bath and dressed in the best hitatare I owned when Kenji came to collect me.

  I yawned. “For some reason I was expecting Lord Tadanobu,” I said.

  “I can’t imagine why,” Kenji said. “He’s a Fujiwara. I’m amazed he even deigns to speak to us.”

  I smiled. “But he does. I gather you’ve spoken to him today?”

  Kenji grunted. “He said Prince Kanemore had need of a Fujiwara, for some reason His Highness had not yet divulged.”

  Undivulged but easily imagined. As a Fujiwara, doors would open for Tadanobu which would certainly remain firmly shut to one such as myself. As for Kenji, the only reason he was allowed within the Imperial Compound at all was because Prince Kanemore had, on more than one occasion, expressly ordered it. This would be the aegis under which we doubtless appeared there today, assuming this was where we were to meet Kanemore. I soon learned this assumption was in error.

  “The mansion in the Sixth Ward,” Kenji said. “We are to call upon His Highness there this afternoon.”

  Royalty and the nobility alike had mansions scattered about the city in favored locations in addition to whatever housing they claimed within the walls of the Imperial precincts, but the Sixth Ward was no one’s favorite location. The Sixth Ward Mansion served mostly as temporary quarters for the sick and infirm. “Is His Highness ill? I hadn’t heard anything to this effect.”

  “Nor I. Doubtless he has his own reasons for meeting there.”

  One possibility was it was a bit more private than the Imperial Compound. Fewer witnesses to our arrival and departure. And to the prince’s own movements, for that matter.

  “You’ve spent more time out and about than I have. What have you heard?”

  “The war against the Abe Clan is apparently not going well at the moment.”