Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son

by Richard Parks

  That was old news. The Abe Clan were the hereditary military commanders of Mutsu province, which included lands claimed by the Emishi, a northern barbarian tribe vanquished by the Abe in the previous century. But the Emishi were never entirely quiet after their subjugation. The Abe Clan chief, Yoritoki, had a mandate to keep the barbarians in check and maintain order. The problems arose when he assumed full control, supplanting the rightfully appointed civilian governor. Worse, he took on the role of tax collector for the province and kept all receipts for his own uses. The disobedience was bad enough, but withholding revenues was such a dangerous precedent it left the government in Kyoto with no choice but to act. The Emperor had appointed Minamoto no Yoriyoshi as the new military and administrative governor of the province, and all he had to do to assume his post was to push Abe no Yoritoki out of it. This had proved to be very difficult. Including three years of temporary truces, the war had been raging back and forth for eleven years, with first one side and then the other holding the advantage. Even the death of Yoritoki some years before hadn’t ended the conflict. His son, Sadato, held the upper hand at the moment and this was unfortunate, but not a disaster. I said as much.

  Kenji sighed. “You don’t understand, Lord Yamada, and if you had bestirred yourself earlier you’d have noticed the tension. People aren’t just afraid Yoriyoshi is going to be defeated for good and all and the Emperor be forced to appoint some other ambitious warrior to take his place. They’re afraid Sadato will take his clan’s treason to the capital itself!”

  “This is not possible,” I said. “He’s on the far eastern part of the country with dozens of loyal provinces between himself and the Emperor. He can neither defeat nor suborn all of them, even if he does take the Minamoto Clan’s measure.”

  “Normally I would agree,” Kenji said. “But you don’t think Prince Kanemore recalled us to the capital because he misses our company, do you?”

  “No, I do not.”

  Kenji nodded. “Lord Yamada, I tell you something is in the air, and it’s a great deal more ominous than the petty succession squabbles of the Otomo Clan.”

  As much as I didn’t want to believe it, I suspected Kenji might be right. That didn’t mean our business with Lord Mikoto could be neglected. Since we would pass where Lord Mikoto was currently residing on our way to the Sixth Ward, there was no reason not to settle it as soon as possible. On the way I told Kenji about what had happened in the Widow Tamahara’s compound while we were gone.

  “Kaoru? I know that one.”

  “You know all of them, unless I’m misremembering your reputation.”

  Kenji scowled at me. “I am not quite the scoundrel you think me, Lord Yamada. I merely meant that she is a very sweet and gentle young woman, as I recall. I’m glad she wasn’t seriously harmed.”

  “It was serious enough to her,” I said dryly. “But I agree it could have been much worse, and I still don’t understand why one of Lord Tenshin’s creatures should have been there in the first place. Apparently it had nothing to do with me or his plans for his older brother. At least, not in any way I can as yet divine.”

  “ ‘The brightest light casts the darkest shadows,’ ” Kenji said.

  “Which means?”

  “I have no idea,” Kenji said. “But it’s something my old master once said to me, and it sounds profound, doesn’t it?”

  We crossed the Tama River at the Third Street Bridge and proceeded toward the Sixth Ward. Lord Mikoto had gone to ground in a well-defended mansion in the Fifth, and there he nervously received us in audience.

  Lord Mikoto kneeled on a cushion on a dais in his reception hall while Kenji and I kneeled in front of him. He was about forty, I knew, though the black hair showing under his formal boushi was already showing gray, and he looked older. The man was tired, frightened, and—unless I missed my guess—tired of being frightened.

  I told him what we had discovered, and produced the remains of the final shikigami. I didn’t name the creator. I didn’t have to. Lord Mikoto stared at the writing as one in a daze.

  “I gather you recognize the hand, Mikoto-sama?”

  He closed his eyes and nodded. “I’m guessing you do, as well,” he said. “Where is my brother now?”

  “He fled north, but if north was the direction he originally meant to go, I could not say. I was charged with discovering the culprit and this I have done. You can understand why I wished to take no further action.”

  I didn’t think Lord Mikoto had heard me at first, but he finally tore his gaze from the writing. “Hmmm? Oh, yes. Certainly. This is a family matter now, and I will . . . deal with it. As for your reward, everything will be as we have agreed.” He sighed then and rubbed his eyes wearily. “I should thank you, for you have done me a great service. Yet it was information I really did not expect . . . or want.”

  There was nothing more to say. Kenji and I took our leave then and continued toward the Sixth Ward. The city was not so bustling toward the southwest where the mansion in question was located. There were other people about, and bandits and footpads were common in this part of the city, but if any of the folk we passed were of such inclination, my sword and Kenji’s staff were enough to dissuade them. The mansion would have guards posted at all hours, but even so it was easy to see why it served as the sickroom for the royal family and others of the greater nobility. And, it was rumored, as a place of assignation. For both purposes, isolation and discretion were prime considerations. Yet it seemed to me the area was even a little more deserted than usual.

  Kenji broke the silence first, as was his habit. “What do you think Lord Mikoto will do?”

  “Petition the Emperor to declare Lord Tenshin an outlaw, I would imagine. Which would prevent his brother from having any claim to the leadership of Clan Otomo, even if Lord Mikoto were to die, thus removing his brother’s reasons to harm him. That is what I would do in his place.”

  “What if Lord Tenshin’s grievances against his brother are not merely dynastic?”

  “Then the sensible thing for Lord Mikoto to do would be to put a very generous bounty on his brother’s head. I suspect he may do this anyway, considering what Lord Tenshin tried to do to him.”

  “Is this what you would do?”

  I took a deep breath. “Kenji, as you are well aware, my ‘clan,’ following the disgrace and death of my father, consists primarily of myself. My only brother died when he was twelve, so none of this, for good or ill, is a choice I’ll need to make. What happens now is Lord Mikoto’s responsibility, and I do not envy him.”

  “Yes, you do,” Kenji said. “At least a little.”

  I scowled but did not answer, and Kenji, sensing my mood, let the matter drop. We walked the rest of the way in silence. Kenji could be annoying even at the best of times, but no more so than when he was right. As we got closer to the Sixth Ward mansion, I discovered he’d been right a second time. Also, it became much clearer why we’d seen fewer people in the streets—the area around the Sixth Ward mansion had been converted into an armed camp. We saw the first enclosures even before we could see the walls of the mansion compound itself. The clan insignia belonged mostly to the Minamoto, but I did see a few Taira and other military families among them. The outer enclosure was purely Minamoto, however, and served as a barrier to further progress. We were greeted by two unsmiling bushi who demanded our names and business.

  “Lord Yamada no Goji and the Priest Kenji. Prince Kanemore is expecting us.”

  There was a whispered consultation between them, and one of the men hurried away to return with a young man I recognized as one of Kanemore’s personal attendants. The newcomer looked at me and then spoke to the guards who, apparently satisfied we were who I said we were, allowed us to pass.

  The attendant bowed. “Gentlemen, if you will follow me?”

  We let the attendant lead the way, but I turned as much attention as I could to our surroundings. My first impressions were reinforced by everything I saw—the warriors present were
not simply to guard the compound at a time of fear within the capital—there were far too many of them and from far too many clan families and with far too much equipment. There were wagons being loaded, makeshift stables, racks of armor, and bundles of fodder and arrows. What we were seeing was the staging area for a military expedition, and I said as much to Kenji.

  “Which explains Prince Kanemore’s presence here rather than the Imperial compound,” Kenji said, “It would be one thing for a Fujiwara minister to order reinforcements acting on behalf of the Emperor, but this is the sort of thing the Emperor would need to approve directly, otherwise every family involved runs the risk of being declared outlaw.”

  Kenji did have his moments of astuteness, I had to admit, and now he had cut to the heart of it. While the Fujiwara—whether their titles accurately reflected their actual power and importance or not—were the real government in Kyoto, the Emperor’s prerogative could not be ignored.

  “And Prince Kanemore’s mere presence in and knowledge of these preparations tacitly assures everyone involved this approval indeed exists. I see your point,” I said. “Are these reinforcements for the Minamoto in the north, I wonder? If they were intended as defense of the city there would not be so much obvious preparation for travel.”

  “That would be my guess as well. One thing I do not understand,” Kenji said, “is what any of this has to do with us. The more I see, the more I worry.”

  Time and experience had taught me, whenever I agreed with Kenji about anything, it was usually a bad sign, and I did agree with him whole-heartedly in this particular matter. There was nothing for it but to see what Prince Kanemore required of us. I had the certain feeling we were not going to like it.

  As we approached the mansion, the servant led us around toward the northern entrance, past the boundaries of the military preparation, and into one of the formal, if somewhat unkempt, gardens of the mansion. For a moment I hesitated, so much so that Kenji and our guide were several paces ahead of me before they noticed. They both stopped and looked at me curiously.

  “Lord Yamada, what is it?” Kenji asked.

  I finally sighed, and hurried to join them. “Nothing. I just thought I saw something in the bushes near the north wall.”

  The servant bowed. “Lord Yamada, if there is an interloper within the grounds the prince will need to know of it. Please tell me what you saw.”

  “Obviously, I was mistaken. Unless the staff of the Sixth Ward mansion have taken to keeping foxes within the grounds as pets?”

  “Certainly not, my lord,” the young man said.

  “No, I didn’t believe this to be the case,” I said.

  Especially white foxes with more than one tail.

  “Let’s be on our way,” I said, “I don’t wish to keep His Highness waiting.”

  We followed again, but Kenji and I held back a step or two and Kenji whispered, “Did you see what I think you saw?”

  “If I did, it’s only because she knew I was coming and wanted me to know she is here. If that is true, we’ll find out the ‘why’ of it soon enough.”

  I knew I was not mistaken in what I had seen, which meant Lady Kuzunoha was a long way from her territory in Shinoda Forest, and that is not something she would have done on a whim. Her presence added to the mystery of our summons and increased my apprehension. I was becoming even more convinced Kenji was right, and that great matters were afoot. I was not fond of “great matters,” for all that I often found myself in the middle of them. When forces both unseen and powerful were set in motion, it was inevitable someone was going to get trampled, and this someone was just as likely as not to be myself or someone I cared about. I did not consider myself fortunate considering, since the death of Princess Teiko, the number of beings I did care about had shrunk considerably. I would count myself even less fortunate should the number shrink even more.

  I had expected to see Prince Kanemore in the main audience hall, but as we approached the north veranda, the door slid aside and he came to meet us personally. We all immediately kneeled and then bowed low as protocol demanded. Kanemore bid us rise and dismissed the servant.

  “The mansion is a bit crowded and noisy at the moment, gentlemen. As there is a matter we need to discuss, please walk with me in the garden.”

  Meaning he does not wish to be overheard.

  Prince Kanemore was my friend and had been ever since we first met in the service of his late sister, Princess Teiko. He was one member of the Imperial family who could both issue a command with such force you wouldn’t think of disobeying and again issue the same command with such gentleness it really did sound like a request, such as the one I’d just heard, but there would be no disobeying in either case. Not everyone had Kanemore’s skill in this, even those who had the right of command.

  We walked in silence for a short while, and I took the time to examine my friend. I had not seen him in over a year, but it was certain a great deal had happened in that year. He looked tired, and older, which was enough to concern me as I was a few years older than his forty-odd years.

  “It’s good to see you again, Your Highness,” I said, after the silence had persisted for some time.

  “And you. I ask your pardon for my reluctance to get to the matter at hand. Our first meeting gave cause for regret, for both of us, and I fear this one may do the same. Yet I must ask a favor of you, Lord Yamada. And Kenji-san as well.”

  “We are at your service,” I said, shooting a hard glance at Kenji, in case he was tempted to say otherwise, but he merely waited, serene and innocent as a Buddha.

  “It seems,” Prince Kanemore said, “I must ask you both to go to war.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  “You’re saying the forces under Abe no Sadato are using magic?”

  Prince Kanemore reached into his robe and produced a torn bit of paper. “Which should surprise no one,” he said dryly, “as the great Abe no Seimei was also of that clan, I am told. The potential to one in Lord Sadato’s position would be obvious. So. Look at this, and then tell me what you think it is.”

  I barely had to glance at it; its presentation was a mere courtesy, I knew. Kanemore and I had fought shikigami together on one occasion. He knew what they were as well as I did. I handed the paper to Kenji, who needed even less time. “Shikigami. And of a high quality.”

  Prince Kanemore grunted. “During their last . . . setback, the forces of Minamoto no Yoriyoshi were attacked by several dozen of these things in a flanking maneuver while the real Abe bushi attacked from the front. Yoriyoshi’s son Yoshiie was the commander in the field, fortunately. He kept his head and organized a retreat in good order, which is the only reason the entire force didn’t lose their own heads—permanently. It was a bad business, but it could have been a great deal worse. If the Abe Clan can conjure warriors out of paper, all the branches of the Minamoto and Taira Clans combined may not be enough to defeat them.”

  “You said the shikigami force numbered in the dozens?”

  “Such was reported. Only a few of the flanking force were killed, but every one of them who fell left just a bit of paper rather than a body.”

  “I know you are familiar with the creatures, Highness, but one thing you might not know is creating a shikigami is not without cost. Since they are not really alive, they have no motive force of their own. This must come from the onmyoji. Also, in order to perform anything other than a routine task requires at least some of the magician’s attention. One could make, at most, a half-dozen or so, and then only if their sole purpose was limited, such as to attack on command. Even a good onmyoji could not keep them all active for long, because otherwise the magician would be quickly exhausted and break the connection.”

  Kanemore looked thoughtful. “Then the reasonable conclusion is the Abe Clan has more than one yin-yang magician in their employ.”

  “They must,” I said, but my thoughts were already elsewhere. Kenji was clearly on the same trail.

  “I think we know one of them, Lo
rd Yamada,” Kenji said.

  “It would explain the timing of his exit and the direction,” I said.

  Kanemore smiled. I’d seen that particular smile before and knew better than to stay on the wrong end of it for long. “Gentlemen, if you have knowledge of this matter, I would ask that you share it,” he said.

  I quickly told Prince Kanemore about our pursuit of Lord Otomo no Tenshin, what had happened in the abandoned temple, the incident in the courtyard outside my room, and my suspicions about why Lord Tenshin had left the capital so quickly. “This would mostly make sense, if Lord Tenshin had already been recruited by the Abe Clan when he was plotting against his brother. He might even have meant to bring the Otomo over to the Abe cause, under his leadership. Only it does not explain the shikigami at the Widow Tamahara’s establishment.”

  “Why do you think it reacted as it did when the girl challenged it?” Kanemore asked.

  “On a guess, I would say it was because of the shikigami’s limitations, which I touched on earlier. We both know how dangerous they are when under the magician’s direction. But if the magician’s attentions were necessarily elsewhere, the creature could only react to the most basic of directives, such as ‘Do not let yourself be discovered,’ or ‘Defend yourself when necessary.’ Kaoru-kun’s simple question could have provoked either response.”

  “This is troubling news,” Prince Kanemore said. “If the agents of the Abe Clan are already active in the capital, this could hint at his ultimate intentions . . . and there is something about this situation you may not yet know. I assume you heard this conflict began when the provincial governor of Mutsu first asked for aid because the Abe Clan was usurping his role and withholding taxes?”

  “That was my understanding,” I said.

  “There was more to it. Yoritoki was the military commander of Mutsu, not its governor, but he began treating Mutsu as his private domain. Worse, he also led an army of Emishi south into Miyagi province and annexed lands there. He has also sent envoys to the Kiyohara and other great families of the area, suggesting alliances. He never planned to confine his ambitions to Mutsu. The traitor is now dead, but Yoritoki’s son now continues his father’s ambitions. This is why the Emperor’s government is, shall we say, concerned, that the Abe Clan has not been brought to heel. The Abe may have Imperial ambitions.”