“Damn!” I muttered, rubbing my shoulders. “You’d think I would have thought to grab my parka.”
A dry chuckle came from the blackness of my blind side, off to my left. “Perhaps we should have asked them to wait a moment before shooting so you could.”
I started moving around to get the blood flowing. Standing up, my body caught the warmth of the sun as it shone through the cracked and broken windowpanes. Not much, but enough to make the cold a bit more bearable. As I watched, stray rays of sunlight made rainbows inside water droplets hanging from a pipe near my head. As if the water itself had become miniature perfections of blown glass. I smiled at the fact that something so simple as sunlight and water droplets could brighten my day and beat back the danger. At least for a little bit.
“Always the joker,” I finally replied, then rummaged around to find my camera. “Just for that, you aren’t going to get your picture taken.”
“Amen to that,” he murmured. I heard, but the water rainbows captured my entire attention, getting at least a few dozen photos before the water didn’t fall anymore.
“What are you doing?” he asked curiously.
I decided to get him back for his teasing. I looked up and him and innocently created a Haiku poem out of the blue. Just for the occasion.
“Rainbows in water. Hanging teardrops of color in air. Artwork in photograph.”
The confused look on his face made me laugh outright. “Gotcha!” I yelled hoarsely, then doubled over gasping because my ribs were still sore. The laughter also had me coughing harshly as my throat protested the abuse. Somehow, with Markus around, I keep forgetting about my injuries.
Markus thought about it for a minute, then grinned. That disappeared when he saw me holding my ribs. He came over and helped me to sit down. “Are you sure you’re going to be okay?”
I got my breath back and nodded. “Give me a few minutes and we can get over to Joey’s and out of the limelight for a while.”
Five minutes later, my fist pounded on a non-descript door in a prescribed tempo. It took a couple minutes, but the door opened and I silently handed Ashi Nogura’s card to the man. He looked at it, then at me. “Come on in,” he said. We both entered the warmth of the shop front.
I tried not to collapse as the warmth of the shop turned my muscles to jello, “I’m looking to get that particular tattoo, but I want to make sure it’s one of a kind.”
That got his attention. When he turned to me, I got the impression of a wizened old man whose age could be anywhere between sixty-five to one hundred. His hair was snowy white and didn’t look dyed. “Ashi-sama has called ahead. I have places prepared for you both.” He took in my visible injuries, “Let me fix you some herbal tea and compresses that will help your wounds, Terri-san.” He looked over my shoulder and smiled. “It has been a long time, Kage Oni. You are not hurt?”
Startled, I turned my head to see that Markus was mock glowering at the little man in front of me. “Not long enough, old man, if you recognize this face.”
Joey Shin laughed outright. A good, musical laugh that set his eyes twinkling. “Good good! You still retain your sense of humor even in the most adverse of times. Now, go settle in while I attend to Ashi-sama’s stepdaughter.”
The two men smiled at each other fondly before Markus went down the back hallway and disappeared. Joey turned to me and grinned. “You are shocked? Don’t be. The Shadow Demon may be feared by people who should rightfully fear him, but to those who aren’t part of the game he is simply a friendly shadow that shows up every now and again to share tea.” He gently led me over to a chair and motioned for me to sit. “Now, let us see to your wounds and then we make sure no one can find you.”
I chuckled, then winced as he lifted my T-shirt to see the bruising and shook his head. I had taken off the brace for my ribs sometime during the night, so the livid coloring was pretty bad. He placed a gentle hand over the sore spots, testing the extent of the damage, then moved to a small stove in the corner of his shop. A pot of water and a small teapot sat on the counter beside it. He turned on the heat underneath both, then reached under the countertop for a box. From within, he drew out several pouches and added some from each into a large pot, before carefully returning the whole thing back to it’s hiding place.
I glanced around the shop while he wordlessly worked on the herbs. It wasn’t your usual tattoo shop with designs on the walls and the usual equipment set out for the artist to use. Not this place. It looked more like a living room with a padded massage table in the center of it. “I’ve been in several American tattoo shops. But this,” I waved a hand to encompass his entire room, “looks more like a private massage parlor.”
“It’ll be about a minute or two for everything to heat up,” Shin spoke as he turned to a cabinet. Then he set out some honey and a spoon on a nearby table. “I am a traditionalist. Meaning, I do the tattoos the way the old masters used to do it. I seem to have an affinity for the old ways instead of the new ones.” He looked around the room a moment. “As to why it looks so comfortable. That’s easy. I feel that, to gain the best results, both the artist and customer must be completely relaxed and comfortable. Hence, the personal nature of the working area.”
“Sounds like a plan to me.” I tried to relax into and ignore my aches. “Better a relaxed customer than a really uptight and jumpy one.”
The sweet smell of boiling herbs permeated the air as I looked over the images that were on the wall. One of them, an oriental bat flying through a shower of cherry blossoms, took my attention away from everything else. “What is that?”
He followed my line of sight and smiled. “That is a bat with cherry blossoms.” He dipped a towel in the pot with the herb mix then gently applied it to my ribs, wrapping the whole thing in a dry towel. “Funny, I've done many bats in the time I've had this shop, but no one has even looked at that design before,” he sighed. “A beautiful piece. Maybe one day, someone will give it a home.” He turned his attention to the small puncture wound on my left side. Funny how so minor of a wound could be completely forgotten when people are trying to kill you. It wasn’t too bad anymore, so he just smeared some ointment on it and added a bandage to keep it clean.
I winced at the first touch of the hot towel, but the heat soon relaxed me enough so the herbs could soothe my seriously abused ribs. Once the process started and the herbs began to work their magic, the rest of my body physically relaxed and dumped some of the adrenaline. Laying still and not doing anything seemed like the most fantastic idea in the world. My mind, however, still tried it's best to cope with the things that had happened to me over the past few weeks. My eye closed, letting my thoughts wander where it would. Invariably, it always came back to the here and now. This meant I needed a plan in place before too long. To do that, my plan needed to have some major ammunition to unload onto the bad guys. Thankfully, along with everything else, my laptop survived the flight from peril, and the info that didn’t go into Stephanie‘s hands.
Oh shit. Steph!
I sat bolt upright and looked at Joey. “I need my laptop. Fast. It's in the top of that daypack. I have a remote modem in it so I won’t endanger your shop. But I need to get online with a friend of mine who has some of the photos, I need to warn her and explain what's going on.”
He didn’t argue, but went and got my daypack. As I waited for the boot sequence and the setup for online time, Joey handed me a cup of the herbal tea from the pot nearby. I hoped that, today being a Friday, the photos wouldn't be in print yet. My mind prayed that they hadn’t gone out yet. The guilt would be too much to handle if someone got to Stephanie and Rachel because of me. The Gods help them if they had because any deity would be merciful. I wouldn’t. No one would be safe if that happened.
“Why is it important to get online?” he asked
I took a sip of tea and watched the screen intently as it connected. “Because my friend has some of the photos of Cosar Mentari. If the Nakamura clan finds that out, they may hurt
her and her lover.
Even if those photos are innocent pictures.” The chat room came up and I waited for the main screen to load. “If that happened, I would never forgive myself. Too many people I care about have either died or had their lives destroyed already. If another person is harmed because of this, those involved better start praying.”
He nodded then turned to look at the bat again. “You are truly a unique woman, Terri-san. Your stepfather speaks of you with fondness.” He sipped his own tea from a cup made of fine green porcelain.
I typed in my name and a password on the keyboard and hit enter. A smile formed on my lips at his words “You should have seen me while growing up. When my mother remarried into his family, the terms of the custody settlement were clear enough. I had to spend one month out of every three with her. That meant being the only gaijin kid in a strict Japanese household every three months.” I chuckled slightly, “I’m afraid that Nogura and I resented each other on sight.”
Joey Shin laughed outright, then had to catch his cup as it bobbled and sloshed tea on the leg of his pants. “I can well imagine the fireworks that erupted while you were around.”
I smiled, shrugged, then stared at the screen in front of me. Stephanie had joined my private chat room. I typed in a few commands that locked the room from prying eyes and whispered, “Thank the Goddess. She’s still alive.” In the back of my head, I mentally sent out a call, Goddess? Are you with me?
“She’s safe, Terri. The Nakamura clan hasn’t found out about her. Nor will they. She is under the protection of one of My other aspects as a Goddess figure. Never fear. But warn her about the possibility of danger.” Her voice was as musical as ever, even when She was delivering a warning.
I typed out an urgent message to her, outlining what had happened, then warned her to be careful. Joey sipped his tea in quiet contemplation, listening to me type. I paused and looked up briefly after reading the screen. “She’ll be fine. For some odd reason, all the photos in the folder in her care, were of legitimate meetings with honest politicians and businessmen.” At his upraised eyebrows, I explained, “As the editor of a potentially controversial magazine, she wisely collected a photographic list of major underworld figures. Some of them are Yakuza. Whenever there is a doubt, or a possible… shall we say... involvement between the criminal world and certain high stakes players, Steph always cross checks the faces she gets against the ones in the no-no file.” I picked up my cup and finished the last of the tea within it, savoring the different flavors that flowed across my tongue along with the honey.
Shin smiled and took back the cup, setting it aside. “Smart girl. A lot of family members prefer not to be identified by the international press.”
Stephanie’s response came back over the screen. A positive one, yet it carried a note of concern, but she would do as I asked. “She’s a fighter, Joey. She tries to make sure that the government doesn’t go too far off the set track of life.” Smiling, my fingers typed and teased her gently over the computer. I told her to keep in touch and to watch her back as well as Rachel’s. A few more words were exchanged before I signed off and sat back with a sigh.
“I think that you will find it a lot easier to fall asleep now, Terri-San. Let me show you to your room.” He offered me his hand, which I took. For someone his size, he was surprisingly strong as he smoothly pulled me out of the chair, “The herbs are designed to relax the muscles and calm the nerves. Which means you will be falling asleep soon. I would much rather have you flat on your back asleep instead of snoozing in that chair. Aggravating your sore ribs at this point is not a good idea. Not to mention you would have a very sore neck when you woke up.”
I chuckled then yawned. “Thank you for the help, Joey. I just hope you don’t catch any flak for this.”
“Think nothing of it,” he replied. “My home is neutral territory, so ordered by the heads of each Yakuza clan.” He looked at me and winked. “One pup, still wet behind the ears, decided to try his mettle against mine. I held my peace and didn’t say a word. But he came back with his brothers to get the clan badge tattooed on him, as is the tradition when you join the family.”
We stopped at one door about three-quarters of the way down the hallway. I had a feeling I was going to like the end of this story. “Okay, out with it, Joey Shin. What did you do to that poor guy?”
He got this devious look in his eyes. “Let me put it this way. The Oyabun was satisfied, after hearing of the youngster’s bad manners, with seeing the crest in a digital photograph rather than making him drop his pants to show the whole clan the real thing tattooed on the end of his dick.”
I burst out laughing. “Oh that’s too funny! Remind me never to get on your bad side.”
“Never. This is your room. Sleep as long as you like.” He turned and walked back out into the front room to clean up the evidence of my injuries.
I opened the door and found a very neat and tidy bedroom with a bath. The walls were a soothing, dark green color. My staggering steps took me to the bed, almost falling into it. As an afterthought, the Tanto went underneath my pillow. Better to be paranoid, than be on the receiving end of a nasty surprise when I opened my eyes. The herbs, whatever they were, decided to kick in at that moment. The last thing in my mind before sleep sucked me into oblivion was the bat with cherry blossoms. I had a second to think how beautiful it appeared, then the darkness hit, and the dream began.
Chapter Thirteen
>I stood on a dock, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Dotting the area here and there were lovely votive candles and creeping vines that were given free reign to wander where they would. Behind me, taking up most of the weathered planking near the shoreline, sat a small cantina. From within came the vibrant strains of a flamenco guitar. The sweet melody floated on the breeze and seemed to fill my soul with romantic notions. The full moon highlighted the dark blue water as it rippled across the bay. Occasionally a fish would leap for an insect, unwary enough to be caught so low to the water, then fall back into its natural surroundings with a resounding splash. Other times the slow moving form of a seal would move off to wherever it’s nocturnal sleeping spot happened to be.
I looked down at myself. To my surprise, a deep crimson wraparound top and ankle-length dark green skirt were my clothes of the evening. No wonder my legs felt a cool breeze. From the feel of it, underwear didn’t come with the package. I sighed and blamed my overheated imagination taking over my dreams. There, on the table next to me, a tall wineglass filled with a deep red wine, waited my attention. Lifting the glass to inhale, the sweet scent of grapes with a hint of rosemary tickled my nose. A sip confirmed the taste, and gave my sweet tooth something to sigh over. I turned back to gaze out on the night time waters of the bay, content to watch the moon trace it’s ancient path through the skies one more night. The sounds from the cantina and the guitarist were a perfect compliment to whatever else my dreamscape may conjure for me.
I took a second sip of my wine as a familiar, deep voice murmured. “Would you like to dance?”
I turned and there stood Markus, dressed in black silk from shirt to pants. He had his hand held out to me, his eyes bright with sensual delights, and a twinge of mischief. Setting the wineglass aside, my hand went into his. As he kissed and nibbled my knuckles, causing goosebumps to form on my flesh. The heat of his touch sent my pulse racing into overdrive. “But,” I whispered, “This is a dream. How can I…”
The tips of his fingers brushed across my lips in a touch that turned into a caress, cutting short the words I wanted to say. “Do not think tonight. Only feel.” He pulled me to him and we began to move, bringing our bodies closer together. He lowered his lips to my ear and whispered. “Let yourself relax. Dance with me, just once.”
As if his words were the key, the invisible guitarist began a fast-paced dance tune. I should
have known by the twinkle in his eyes that he enjoyed surprises. My not knowing how to dance didn’t
hinder him at all, he
just took the lead. My job was to hang on for the ride. Beautiful, magical, and
sensual were too simple to describe this dream. More like a wet dream come to life. At the end of the
dance, our lips hovered barely an inch from each other. We were both breathing raggedly as we stared
into each other’s eyes. In my case, eye, but I didn’t really care. Who made the first move, I don’t
really know, but a spark had ignited inside both of us, and it burned hotter with each passing moment.
Our lips touched and my mind barely had enough time to appreciate their softness before he wrapped
his arms around my waist, pulling me close to him, demanding more. Tossing caution to the wind, my
arms went around his neck, giving him what he wanted. I deepened the kiss, savoring the taste and feel
of him. The dream changed as fire washed over my skin. Markus’s lips burned a path down to the
small hollow just below my right ear as the dreamscape took a more, pleasurable turn. We were still
on the dock, but instead of the cantina and flamenco music, there were scented candles everywhere. A
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