Yamada Monogatari: The War God's Son

by Richard Parks

  “You were right, Lord Yamada,” Yoshiie said finally. “How did you know?”

  “I only suspected, my lord,” I said. “The ceremonial toast was the true test. A shikigami, even one of this advanced type, cannot eat or drink, nor do they need to do so. We must be careful this one does not have the chance, as it would destroy her.”

  I was still having a great deal of difficulty trying not to think of the creature as Rie. This was made harder by the sure understanding that part of it, perhaps even the greater part, was indeed my sister. That was the cruelest thing of all—my sister was dead. And yet, here she was, by all appearances every bit my sister, Rie. Perhaps the worst part was that Rie herself likely did not understand what had happened to her, and when the time came, I would need to be the one to tell her.

  “What I still don’t understand is why we haven’t executed the creature already,” Lord Muramasa said. “The thing is clearly dangerous!”

  I was quickly running out of whatever reserves of strength I had used up until now. “Very dangerous,” I said. “The only thing more dangerous would be to destroy it. Perhaps Master Kenji can explain this better than I can.”

  Kenji shot me a look that clearly said he didn’t appreciate being thrown into the glare of such men, but he seized the role and made it his own. “I was there when Lord Yamada learned of these special kind of shikigami, and there were two types—one can operate under its own volition without constant directives from the onmyoji and another sort, which does not depend on the fading power of the spell itself to draw its life-force but is supplied by a direct connection to the onmyoji. It literally draws its strength from the magician who created it, and can only live as long as the magician himself does.”

  “Which sort is the creature with Lady Rie’s form?” Lord Mitsutaka asked.

  Kenji took a deep breath. “Both, my lords. It was Lord Tenshin’s genius to combine the two forms in the same creature. Only it seems unlikely he used a voluntary soul.” He looked at me then, and I nodded.

  “My sister was murdered deliberately and for a purpose,” I said. “The false body to receive her spirit was already prepared. Normally, a willing spirit would be summoned to take up residence there. Instead, I believe a confused spirit who did not yet understand what happened to her was tricked into the false body. I have no doubt now the man who escaped on the pirate ship was Lord Tenshin. He used the very link that even now gives her sustenance to control her. The nuns let Rie back into the compound when she returned from her errand; no one could possibly detect the change. It was this shikigami who opened the gate to let the assassins in. This is the reason so many of the nuns were cut down at the gate itself—they were trying to stop her.”

  “Are you saying Lord Tenshin’s servant created this . . . abomination, merely to have a second chance of success if the first attack failed?” Lord Muramasa asked.

  “No, my lord Shibata. He had two reasons, only one was the murder of Lord Yoshiie. The other was Lord Tenshin has a personal grudge against me. There was a reason my sister was chosen and not, say, the Shibata nun, who in some regards would have served the purpose better. I think he had planned Rie would carry out the assassination so I would have to watch my own sister executed, and only then with her true nature revealed would I understand the full depth of his revenge.”

  “Is this why the creature still lives?” Lord Muramasa asked. “I still do not understand it.”

  “If I may, my lords,” Kenji said. “I mentioned earlier the creature draws its strength from the magician who created it. A great deal of strength, as the creature demonstrated tonight. So long as the creature with Rie’s soul is not destroyed, the link remains, and Lord Tenshin cannot create another—to do so would kill him. So long as the creature lives under our control, he is powerless, and grows weaker by the day.”

  “I see the advantage,” Lord Yoshiie said. “But you still did not answer my question—how did you know?”

  I looked at the floor. “When the ghost of the Shibata nun returned, she was headed for the nunnery. She only attacked me when I spoke my name. I did not understand at first—we had never met in life, and she had no reason to dislike me. So why attack me? Because I was her murderer’s brother. She would have attacked the nunnery itself because she knew my sister—or what she believed to be my sister—was still inside. Perhaps she sought revenge, or perhaps she wanted to protect those, like Mai and Tomoko, who remained. We will never know. The point is, her anger at me made no sense, unless I was connected somehow with what had happened to the nunnery. Plus, in order to open the gate to the nunnery, the enemy had to be already inside, yet lifting the bar required the strength of at least two people . . . or one shikigami. The only answer left was that one of the nuns was not what she appeared to be. The Shibata nun’s reaction to me, plus Lady Rie’s collapse during the exorcism ceremony when she should not have been affected, made my sister, unfortunately, the likely choice. I must beg your forgiveness that it took me so long to put the pieces together.”

  “What must be done with the creature?” Lord Muramasa asked.

  “We must keep her . . . it, safe. Under close guard and confinement but safe. Now that Lord Tenshin’s plan has failed, he will want to destroy it so he can recoup his strength for another attempt. I doubt he expected his creature to survive your guards once it had managed to kill you. This was an error on his part, and now he cannot break the link so long as we don’t allow it. He would have done so already if he could.”

  “Then we will use it to our advantage,” Lord Yoshiie said. “How long must we keep the creature confined?”

  “With your permission, until I kill Lord Tenshin,” I said. “Only then will the spell be safely broken.”

  “Permission is granted, but if I understand what you and Master Kenji are telling me, the moment Lord Tenshin falls, your sister—or what remains of her—will die,” Lord Yoshiie said gently. “Is this not true?”

  I bowed. “My lord, what you saw today was a creation with my sister’s likeness and memories. Lady Yamada no Rie is already dead.”

  Kenji held his peace until we had been dismissed and were walking across the compound. The funeral pyres were almost out, but there was still the glow of embers to the southwest. “I could hardly believe it when you told me about Rie, but I know you didn’t grasp the answer and stage this successful charade just because the Shibata nun attacked you,” he said. “I know you, and that’s not the sort of conclusion you’d draw on such flimsy evidence. Those people may accept it, but I do not. There has to be more to it.”

  “You are right. What I said to Lord Yoshiie was true but not complete. If you want to know the rest, then come with me.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I think you know.”

  We went back to our quarters. I dismissed the guards there and went inside. Mai kneeled in the hallway outside of our room. I think she was waiting for us. I fetched two cushions from our quarters and put them down for Kenji and myself.

  “Let’s get comfortable,” I said.

  Kenji just frowned and sat down, but Mai sighed. I followed Kenji’s example. Even now I wasn’t entirely sure how to proceed, but it was past time to find out if my understanding had any basis in the truth. “Now then, here is our enigma. Mai-chan, a girl so terrified, a mind so unhinged, she lost the power of speech. A girl so brave she risked the mindless wrath of the Shibata nun to save my life. A girl who could walk past the funeral pyres of all the women who had taken her in, given her a home, without shedding a tear. What are we to make of her, Kenji-san?”

  “When you put it like that, it doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?”

  I nodded. “And this is precisely the problem. The two people I’ve described don’t belong in the same body. Yet here she is. So what conclusion must we draw from this?”

  Mai wasn’t yielding an inch, but Kenji was starting to put it all together. “The conclusion is one face we are seeing is a mask.”

  “I be
lieve this to be true, and the only question really left is which one is the true Mai, and which one is the false? I will tell you my opinion of the matter, Mai-chan. Perhaps you will choose to enlighten me if I go astray. Now then—when I first saw you, it was on the day of the massacre. I think the fear I saw in you then was real enough, but I was wrong as to the reason for it. You had seen who let the assassins into the compound, just as the Shibata nun and those nuns who had died at the gate did. Only you, my sister, and Tomoko-ana lived, and none save the Lady Rie herself was supposed to do so. It was of no consequence in Tomoko’s case—she had obviously seen nothing. But Rie wasn’t certain about you, and your fear of returning to the compound had surely raised her suspicions—or rather, Lord Tenshin’s—and this uncertainty meant your death at the first opportunity.”

  Kenji frowned. “Wait a minute. Why didn’t Mai just tell . . . oh.” He stopped suddenly, understanding dawning in his eyes.

  “Who first appeared as Lord Yoshiie’s representative, aside from the inconvenient guards? Lady Rie’s own brother. At this point, Mai had to assume we were working together, and even if we were not, how did she think I’d react if she’d said Lady Rie was the traitor? No, Kenji—she pretended to be mute to buy time to escape, because she saw escape as her only chance of survival. That’s when she fled the nunnery and got lost in the woods.”

  “Where you and Lady Kuzunoha found her.”

  “Another of the many things that made no sense to me—Mai believed I was hunting her to kill her. When I not only spared her life but chased away a couple of youkai, she came to understand I was not working with my sister. More, I promised to keep her safe. She took the chance I was telling the truth. After all, I could have murdered her in the woods as easily as saved her and no one would have been the wiser.”

  “And she’d clearly learned the woods were more death trap than refuge.”

  “Just so. But her problem remained—Lady Rie. Mai needed to tell someone, but who would have believed her? I admit I wouldn’t have, at least not then. The assumption would have been the poor demented child was imagining things. No, it was only over time that I came to realize Mai was faking her condition in order to have an excuse not to reveal what she had seen, and I simply could not understand why. It only began to make sense when I forced myself to think the unthinkable—that Rie was the one who let the murderers inside the nunnery.”

  “That is suspicion, not proof. What if Lady Rie had accepted the toast at the feast?”

  “I knew she would not. You see, once my mind was on this path I realized I had never seen Lady Rie eat or drink, not once since the massacre. I saw Tomoko-ana do so, and we’ve both seen Mai-chan’s appetite.”

  “Wait . . . didn’t you tell me that Tomoko-ana was bringing your sister food?”

  “True, but I had assumed Tomoko-ana had seen Lady Rie eat. She had not. A woman of my sister’s class would never eat in front of others, as a rule, even if she had taken holy orders. When the food disappeared, Tomoko-san took for granted it had been eaten, as anyone would.”

  Mai smiled then, but it was a sad smile.

  “Shall I continue to speak for you, Mai? I think you are more than capable of doing so yourself.”

  She bowed. “I deceived you and Master Kenji. For what little this may be worth, I am truly sorry.”

  “So the shikigami I killed . . . ?” Kenji asked. “The mamushi?”

  “Lord Tenshin, working through my sister. Mai-chan was still a loose end, but that failure must have convinced him further attempts would draw attention to Mai’s importance, which is the last thing he wanted. Besides, Lady Rie’s nature had not yet been revealed, so his plan was still on target. He took the chance we would not learn the truth in time to save Lord Yoshiie.”

  “Then he was wrong. But Lord Yamada . . . your sister.”

  “Yes. My sister.”

  “I loved Lady Rie,” Mai said softly. “She was a kind and gentle person, and I didn’t understand what had happened to her. She wouldn’t have hurt anyone. I think . . . at first I really was a little mad, but as for what you say . . . it is true. I believed you were my only chance to survive. Which is why I threw myself between you and the poor prioress. I did not think she would harm me, but I was certain she would kill you . . . and I needed you. I was able to make her understand I knew what she knew, that was all. She trusted me to find a way to uncover the truth, but I let her down. I could not find a way to tell you so you would believe me. I failed her and I failed you.”

  “Failed?” Kenji said, “Hardly. You could not have chosen better—

  you told Lord Yamada by not telling him. By being a puzzle he needed to solve, you led him to the answer, and in the only way he could accept—by coming to it on his own, however reluctantly.”

  I pondered what my friend had said, but not for long. “I’m afraid Kenji-san is quite correct. You were right to think I would not have believed you, at first. I doubt I would have.”

  “But your sister—” Mai began.

  “My sister’s soul,” I said, “Is still in that creature. Which is why I would not have believed you. I knew I was speaking to my sister, Rie, all this time. I never doubted it, not for an instant. Not even when I realized the truth. And so Lord Tenshin has his revenge after all.”

  Kenji frowned. “How could he have known about Rie? Very few people knew she was your sister. I didn’t even know myself until we arrived, remember?”

  “I believe Lord Tenshin did know,” I said. “How he knew is not important at the moment. For right now, there is still a great deal to do. We will be leaving soon, and the shikigami that is my sister will be coming with us.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to leave her here?” Kenji asked.

  “How long do you think it would be before she persuaded some ignorant novice to bring her water to ease her suffering, or perhaps a randy priest sees no harm in a brief liaison with a winsome prisoner? No, Kenji. I need her where I can keep an eye on her. She must not be allowed to harm anyone nor destroy herself. When the time comes, I must be the one . . . to end it.”

  “Lord Yamada, surely—” Kenji began, but I cut him off.

  “No, Kenji. It has to be me. I can trust no one else with this. Not even you. Mai, you will return to the nunnery for now. Kenji and I will see you there safely and place you in Tomoko-ana’s care.”

  “For now?” she repeated.

  “For now. Lady Rie once said you still had not decided on the path you would take, and I can see she spoke truly in this. Kenji and I will be away for a while, and this cannot be helped. If we live, we will return. I owe you a debt, Mai-chan, and as a rather disreputable woman known as the Widow Tamahara could tell you, I always pay my debts. Eventually.”

  “My parents promised me they would return,” Mai said softly. “And they did not, so I will not ask it of you.”

  I grunted. “I’ve come to mistrust promises myself, but I will make this one just the same—you will have a chance to make your own choice. The Rie I knew would have insisted upon it. Until then, try to be of use to Tomoko-ana and the new prioress. They are going to need what assistance they can find.”

  We helped Mai gather her things and escorted her back through the gates of the nunnery. There was no hesitation or fear on her part this time. We found Tomoko-ana weeping, and it wasn’t hard to guess why. When we finally took our leave, I think the old woman was more in Mai’s care than the reverse. I looked back at the main hall of Yahiko temple. The festivities had apparently resumed, no doubt on Lord Yoshiie’s insistence, and why not? The danger was, for the moment, past, and this was likely the last such chance the Minamoto bushi and allies would have before their real work began.

  “Shall we join the others?” Kenji asked.

  “I am going to take a walk,” I said. “But you go. It would perhaps be rude if at least one of us doesn’t put in an appearance. I think, under the circumstances, Lord Yoshiie will forgive my own absence.”

  “You’re going to
speak with the shikigami, aren’t you?” he asked.

  “Oh, yes,” I said. “But not just yet.”

  Kenji went back to the lecture hall, and I left through the main gate. The guards gave me curious looks, but no one challenged me. I crossed the road then and entered the wooded hillsides. “I know you’re here, Lady Kuzunoha. I would speak with you for a moment.”

  I wondered if she would bother to put on her human appearance for me, but that was the form she took as she emerged behind a briar thicket. I remembered her face, and while I could not explain why, there was some comfort in seeing its familiar outlines. Even after so many years I would not say Lady Kuzunoha was my friend, but it was fair enough to say we understood one another, which was close enough to friendship most of the time. I wasn’t certain if this would be one of those times or not.

  “How much do you know about the situation in Yahiko temple now?” I asked.

  “The scent has changed, Lord Yamada. Which is very strange. The evil is present even now, but the fear and sense of impending danger is gone. I do not understand.”

  I told her about my sister. Lady Kuzunoha pondered the matter. “I have never been human,” Lady Kuzunoha said, “but I lived among them for several years, and I do know what loss is, perhaps even better than most humans do. Lord Tenshin has much to answer for.”

  “And he will answer,” I said. “I will see to it. Yet I must ask you to amend our agreement.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Oh? In what regard?”

  “I need you to remain near Yahiko temple while we continue north into Dewa.”

  “While Lord Yasuna rides off into peril? Why should I do this?”

  “Because of the debt you owe me now, the one you don’t even know about yet.”

  “Which is?”

  “Lord Yasuna’s life is in my hands. And if I followed my instincts now, I would kill him myself.”

  The transformation was immediate. Lady Kuzunoha stood before me now on four legs in her full fox-demon form. Blue foxfire surrounded her like a glory. “You dare—”