The Healer(The Healer Series Book 1)

by C. J. Anaya

  Chapter Fifteen

  My ears felt like they were ringing. I couldn’t possibly have heard him right.

  Angie uncurled herself from her position on the couch and rolled over, studying him.

  “You look fabulous,” she finally said. “You’ll have to tell me what kind of moisturizer you’ve been using.”

  “I’m not understanding any of this,” I shouted. I think I was about ready to join Angie on the couch.

  I looked to my father, waiting for an explanation. He glanced to Tie and a look passed between them. I couldn’t tell if Tie was giving my father permission to speak or if he was warning my father to watch what he said. Either way, it was bizarre that he would be taking his cues from a high school student.

  Correction: a high school student several thousand years old.

  “Your mother and I were living in Okinawa, Japan when you were born,” he started.

  That hadn’t been the explanation I was expecting.

  “You told me I was born here.”

  “I lied.”

  Punching me in the face couldn’t have hurt more than listening to that kind of a confession. He didn’t even look like he felt guilty for feeding me such a bold-faced lie for so long.

  “What were you and mom doing in Japan of all places?”

  “I had an internship there, studying under Dr. Yong. He’s a very talented surgeon, and the experience, not to mention the extra foreign study, looked good on my college transcripts and resume.”

  This was definitely news to me.

  “There was a cherry blossom festival going on the day of your birth. You know how much your mom loved stuff like that.”

  I nodded. I couldn’t believe we were talking about her so openly now.

  “We went to the festival, but after a while the crowds became too much for your mom and we wandered over to an area where there weren’t so many people. We stumbled upon a Shinto temple and shrine, and met a man by the name of Hachiman.”

  I nearly choked on my own spit when he mentioned that name.

  “It wasn’t the same person, Hope,” Tie said referring to my mother’s killer.

  My father looked at both of us questioningly, but Tie merely shook his head. I refrained from commenting. I wanted to hear the rest of my father’s story first.

  “We knew we were in Okinawa, but Hachiman stated we were in an entirely different province called Mimasaka. It didn’t make any sense. The province of Mimasaka wasn’t even on the island. Then Julia went into early labor, and you were born. After that things got worse. Hachiman informed us that it was no coincidence that we had somehow wandered into their sphere of existence and had our baby in Kagami. He said you were a special child of prophecy who possessed god-like powers of healing. He wanted us to leave you with him so he and others like him could train and prepare you for your destiny.”

  “Why didn’t you leave her?” Victor sounded outraged.

  “Are you kidding me?” My dad was incredulous. “At the time, I thought that guy was insane. Everything that came out of his mouth made absolutely no sense, and no parent in their right mind would have willingly left their newborn with a stranger.”

  My thoughts were tripping ahead of themselves, and I couldn’t figure out which question I wanted to pose next. I finally chose the most obvious.

  “So you knew I could heal?”

  My father shook his head. “All we knew when you were born was that we were surrounded by some kind of religious cult who believed, mistakenly (we thought), that you were some kind of miracle child, and that we needed to keep you safe. Your powers didn’t surface until you were seven.”

  “How do you know Tie?”

  Tie’s shoulders tensed at the mention of his name. My father looked like he was ready to give an explanation, but he hesitated.

  “Tie was one of the monks at the temple. He was present at your birth,” my father finally offered.

  There was more to this story, but he wasn’t going to elaborate any further.

  “How did you even get out of there?” Victor asked still fuming.

  I couldn’t understand why he was so upset.

  “The monks at the temple weren’t going to let us leave unless we left Hope behind. We pretended to accept their hospitality, and in the middle of the night we escaped. We packed our few belongings from our humble little home in Okinawa and left Japan as soon as we could.”

  “You shouldn’t have been able to do that. I don’t understand--”

  “That’s kind of the least of our problems right now, Vicky,” said Tie abruptly. “We need to get to Chinatsu and figure out what our next step is going to be. Our main concern, now, is Hope’s safety.”

  “I don’t know what’s been going on here,” my father said, looking at the floor to where the giant cat was, “but I agree with Tie. Hope’s safety is all that matters.”

  “Could we squeeze a light snack in on our way to visit Ms. Mori?” Angie voiced from the sofa. “I need chocolate.”

  I couldn’t have agreed more.

 

  The car ride to Ms. Mori’s house was dead quiet. There was so much thinking going on by every person seated within. I felt certain I could hear their thoughts ringing through me as loudly as if everyone were yelling all at once.

  We’d tried explaining the night’s events to my father while we packed some clothes and snacks for the night. I’d needed to change my blood-soaked clothes, anyway.

  I was surprised at how well he handled each new detail. It wasn’t like him to bypass the overprotective knee-jerk reaction I was so used to. It was almost as if he’d been expecting something like this to happen, and maybe he had. He’d all but admitted that he and my mother had been hiding me from Japanese zealots for seventeen years. His behavior around Tie was a bit baffling. It was clear to me they knew each other fairly well. They seemed to have some secret understanding concerning me, but I had no idea what it was. I was having a difficult time coming to terms with the fact that my father had been hiding things from me.

  Ms. Mori’s house was located in a more forested area outside Eureka’s city limits between Arcata and Mckinleyville. Beautiful redwoods surrounded us on either side, but I was too preoccupied to appreciate it.

  I’d wanted to send Angie home. I knew she’d be safer if her involvement ended here and now, but the fit she threatened to throw would have been epic. I’ll admit, a part of me was selfishly happy she was coming.

  My dad drove, with me in the passenger’s seat. Angie was sandwiched between Tie and Victor in the back. Under normal circumstances, she would have been ecstatic. As it was, I kept looking in the rear view mirror waiting for her to pass out.

  “I’m fine, Hope,” she said, sounding a bit keyed up. “I am no longer in danger of having some psychotic break.”

  “Comforting,” Tie spoke up lazily. “I think we’ll reserve some kind of sedative for you, just in case.”

  “You said Ms. Mori lives outside the city?” my father asked.

  “Yeah. She likes her privacy,” Victor answered. “It’s this next turnoff here. You’ll follow it around this winding road to the only house at the end of it.”

  “How is it that you know Ms. Mori?” I asked.

  “She’s kind of like us,” Victor said hesitantly.

  “Ancient?” asked Angie.

  “Well, she is that, but she also has a vested interest in Hope’s safety.”

  I was tired of the cryptic remarks and the answers that weren’t really answers. Sharing riddles with each other would have been just as worthless.

  The road wound its way down a steep incline and opened up into a long gravelly driveway. A two story, red brick house rose up in the distance. It looked pretty ordinary from where I was seated. I was kind of disappointed. I’m not really sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t something so nondescript.

  A small feminine figure was waiting for us in the front yard. My father pulled in and parked, and we unloaded ourselves
and our possessions from the car.

  Ms. Mori instructed us to take our shoes off at the front door, and then herded us inside and down a hallway that opened up into a large, cozy den. The walls were lined with hundreds of ancient looking books, and there were large brown mats that covered the entire floor. They felt cool on my bare feet. Two rocking chairs sat in either corner of the room and two large brown sofas faced one another in the middle. I could smell incense burning in the corner. It had a nice lived in feeling, and I got the impression that Ms. Mori spent a lot of her free time in this particular room.

  She directed us to sit down. My father, Angie, and I sat on one sofa, while Tie, Victor, and Ms. Mori sat on the other like we were facing off.

  “Tell me what has happened,” she said in her slightly accented voice.

  Victor, always ready to take charge, shared the events of the night starting with his and Tie’s visit to the hospital and ending with our decision to come here. Ms. Mori appeared to be taking it all in stride, but I could see her hands gripped tightly in her lap.

  “The nekomata should not have found Hope so quickly,” she said once Victor was finished. “I have been teaching Hope for several weeks, and even I wasn’t sure it was her.”

  “What do you people want with my daughter? She may have healing powers, but she’s still none of your business,” my father said sharply.

  “She isn’t your daughter, Dr. Fairmont. At least her spirit doesn’t belong to you,” she replied in a gentle tone.

  I grabbed my father’s hand and held it tightly. This was not what I had expected to hear.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Look, I need to start from the beginning, and in order to do that I will need to explain to you who we are,” she said in a patient voice.

  I was certain I didn’t want to hear any of this.

  “Tie, Victor, and I are called kami. Our origins date back to the very beginning of creation, and therefore, must be discussed at another time. Our first parents, Izanami and Izagami, went on to give birth to a large number of gods called kami. There exist various legends, religions, and folklore all doing their best to pin down exactly what we are, but the truth is kami are deities of substance, and each kami has a specific role to perform.”

  “Stop right there,” I said. “You’re telling me you three are gods? Am I supposed to bow down and worship you or something?”

  “I’m not buying this,” Angie cut in, “at least not in Tie’s case. He doesn’t have a spiritual bone in his body. There’s no way a real god could ever be capable of such spot on sarcasm. Gods are supposed to be perfect, right?”

  “I thought I was perfect. Hope, don’t I look perfect to you?” Tie grinned and gave me a flirtatious wink.

  I involuntarily shivered which made his smile grow brighter.

  Ms. Mori gave him a stern look.

  “Now is not the time for frivolous behavior, Tie. This is serious.”

  He nodded to her respectfully, something I wouldn’t have been able to imagine him showing if I hadn’t seen it for myself.

  Ms. Mori started again.

  “We are not the kind of gods you pray to for salvation. The only reason we are considered gods is because we are immortal and have been given various assignments and responsibilities by our first parents to take care of the heavens, the earth, and all life that dwells within it.”

  “So, you’re like Japanese guardian angels?” Angie asked.

  Victor and Tie broke out into peals of laughter.

  I glared at them, thinking that Angie’s question had been perfectly reasonable. I had been wondering it myself.

  “We aren’t assigned to specific people. More like specific groups of people, places, and things. Victor, for example, is a kami warrior. He descends from a long line of warrior gods created by Bishamonten, the god of warriors,” Ms. Mori explained.

  “Are you in charge of creating war or something?” I asked feeling a quick flash of revulsion.

  “No, not at all,” he reassured. “Most warrior gods champion those who fight evil. We keep the forces of good and evil balanced.”

  “What is it that you do to balance the forces of good and evil?”

  “I’m the keeper of the Grass Cutter Sword.” He referred to the sword in reverent tones.

  I, on the other hand, almost started laughing. Seriously? Grass Cutter Sword? I had this mental image of Victor wielding an oversized weed wacker while seated atop a driving lawn mower. I was totally losing it.

  “Well, I’m completely lost,” Angie announced.

  “I still don’t understand what this has to do with Hope,” my father cut in.

  I could tell he was frustrated and impatient with the entire situation. I wasn’t sure if he even believed what Ms. Mori was sharing with us, but if my father was anything he was thorough. He wasn’t going to leave now until he learned everything there was to learn about the dangers that we faced.

  “I’m getting to that, Dr. Fairmont. I understand your impatience, but this bit of history really is necessary in order for you to understand why Hope is so important, not only to us, but to the demon god Amatsu-Mikaboshi,” Ms. Mori said.

  “What an awful name. Doesn’t exactly role off the tongue, does it?” Angie quipped folding her arms and looking up at the ceiling.

  “Not every kami was pleased with the assignment given them,” Ms. Mori said. “Some rebelled against our creators and lost their human forms becoming something unnatural and evil. Amatsu-Mikaboshi was one of those who became angered with his role in this universe.”

  “What was he supposed to do?” I asked.

  “He was to welcome the souls of those gone from this earth back into the folds of heaven. What he really wanted was what our first parents have. He wanted to create life, worlds and galaxies. Simply put, he wanted power. His rebellion cost him his original position and split the heavens in two. It was the first time anyone had ever rebelled against the gods, and as a result, the seed of evil was planted within the hearts of men. Instead of welcoming those souls who are to return to a place of rest and peace with our creators, he welcomes the souls of those he has managed to poison into the land of the dead.”

  “Well, that sucks,” said Angie.

  The corners of Ms. Mori’s mouth twitched upward.

  “Okay,” my father said, “so we have the main gods, we have lesser gods called kami, and kami have roles to play and rules to follow. Now we have the first signs of evil from a rebellious kami who doesn’t play nice with others.”

  “Correct, Dr. Fairmont. Anamatsu’s behavior instilled such evil in the hearts of men it was imperative that this evil be contained. A veil was placed between the world of the dead and the world of the living. Anamatsu was banished there, never to be released. The kami that followed him were turned into nekomata by the evil they so willingly served. Those spirits who live lives of evil on this earth are sent to the land of the dead, and Anamatsu is given dominion over them.”

  “So, what does the Grass Cutter Sword do?” I asked. I stifled back a snort when I said it.

  Victor gave me a strange look.

  “It is the power behind the veil’s strength. Whoever wields it is in charge of protecting the veil. Unfortunately, the veil has become weaker over the ages. Men are more easily persuaded to do evil instead of good, and the more followers Anamatsu receives into the land of the dead the more powerful he becomes. He would love nothing more than to break the veil entirely and steal the Grass Cutter Sword from those that oppose evil. With the sword, he would have the power to banish all of us for good, and the earth would be his to do with as he pleases.”

  “Is that why the nekomata are able to leave the land of the dead. This veil is getting weaker?” my father asked a little hoarsely.

  “Animatsu has only been able to send nekomata in the last few years, but yes, that is why the nekomata are able to come into our world,” she replied.

  “If they can come, why can’t Animatsu?” I a
sked.

  “His banishment is much more powerful because he has dominion there. As the kami of the underworld he cannot leave unless the veil is broken,” Victor said, giving me a meaningful look.

  My thoughts raced back to the moment I’d broken through that strange barrier to heal Kirby. Had I inadvertently weakened the veil?

  “Why doesn’t this demon god come after you?” I asked him. “You’re the one with the Grass Cutter Sword.”

  “He isn’t worried about me because he knows the veil is failing. His main concern is taking out the one thing that could help strengthen it.”

  “It’s Hope,” my father said dumbfounded.

  “What’s Hope?” Angie asked sounding a little nervous.

  “She’s the one who can help keep the veil from breaking,” my father answered, sounding completely horrified.

  This time I did laugh. I knew it was probably inappropriate, but I just couldn’t help myself. All my life I’d been doing everything I could to keep people healthy and happy, healing anyone who needed me. It was something I felt so passionate about. I’d always thought my role on this earth was important and meaningful, and I knew someday I would understand the reasons behind my abilities. Finding out that my real purpose in this life was to heal some invisible veil that kept a demon god and his minions at bay felt like one big let-down.

  “You find this funny, Hope?” Ms. Mori asked quizzically.

  “Incredibly,” I replied wiping my eyes with my fingers. “This has to be a joke. I heal people, not invisible veils meant to keep out rebellious deities. I connect with life forces and give them instructions. Nothing I do translates into healing something that doesn’t live and breathe.”

  Ms. Mori exchanged a look with Victor. I noticed Tie watching me with a guarded look on his face. He didn’t seem very happy, but trying to figure out what was annoying him this time seemed pointless and time consuming. I had other things to worry about.

  “Why me?” I asked them all. “Why am I the one who’s supposed to be able to do this? Tie is capable of healing himself, and Victor has some healing powers as well. Why can’t one of them do it?”

  “All kami are capable of healing themselves, Hope. This is how we remain immortal. Our life forces instinctively know how to keep us living forever. We are in a constant state of healing. Victor diverts some of his power between himself and the Grass Cutter sword in order to maintain the veil’s strength, but he cannot continue on like this without help.”

  “So let Tie help him,” I said frustrated.

  “He can’t, Hope. Every kami has a specific role they must play, and they cannot perform any other role without throwing the heavens and earth out of balance,” she said with some regret.

  “How long has this veil been weakening?” asked my father.

  “It started about a thousand years ago,” said Tie.

  “Then why wasn’t there someone like Hope, ready and waiting to help strengthen it when that happened?” my father pressed.

  “There was someone,” Ms. Mori said hesitantly. “The gods knew that the veil would eventually become weaker as the centuries passed. They found a way to solve that problem, and a prophecy was given concerning the birth of a baby girl to a specific deity and a human empress. It was vital that the girl be half mortal and half immortal in order for her to be endowed with specific gifts and powers. Her immortal father was called Fukurokuju. His role was giving special blessings of health and longevity. The mortal mother was an imperial princess and then an empress of Japan. Her noble blood line and her humanity were key elements in producing a child who had healing powers.”

  “Why couldn’t two kami with healing powers have produced a child who could have strengthened the veil?” my father asked.

  “Kami are immortal and cannot have children. At least, the female kami can’t. It diverts their power to heal and begins the aging process. Also, the child had to have mortal blood in her bloodline. She had to be able to learn how to heal others and heal herself. Without this kind of knowledge she would have been incapable of connecting with the veil and strengthening it.”

  “There seem to have been quite a few stipulations for such a desperate situation,” Angie piped in.

  “Angie,” Victor started.

  She held up her hands defensively.

  “All I’m saying is when push comes to shove beggars can’t be choosers. It just seems ridiculously complicated to me. You crazy deities are always making these life or death situations so impossible to overcome. If I were you, I’d be exhausted.”

  I was getting annoyed by all the interruptions, even from my best friend. I just wanted them to get to the point so I could lie down and pass out somewhere. With any luck, I would wake up in Germany with my father, in search of tasty German foods and a handsome looking Latino.

  “Okay, so once the child was born and grew up learning how to heal, then what?” I asked impatiently.

  “She would heal the veil and take her rightful place alongside Victor. If ever the veil needed strengthening it would be her job to do so. This situation was also unique in the fact that she was betrothed to Victor before she was even born. Most kami never have a companion and must perform their calling in solitude.”

  I thought I heard Tie give a disgruntled snort. I looked over to see him glowering angrily at the floor. His mood swings were so puzzling. I never had any idea what he was thinking even when I thought I knew what he was feeling.

  “Why do you need Hope if you have this half mortal girl?” my father asked.

  “Hope is that half mortal girl,” she said evenly.

  I let out the breath I’d been holding. I think I’d known all along what Ms. Mori had been leading up to, but denial was a much easier road to travel down than acceptance. I had a million thoughts forming in my head, all of which amounted to one general idea. I was no deity, and I wouldn’t be fulfilling some crazy prophecy anytime soon. I was just a simple girl who happened to be smarter than the average heart surgeon. That was it. Just some obscure nobody with a random gift that came in handy whenever someone was on the verge of a stroke or possible heart attack.

  “Do you even hear what you’re saying?” my father argued. “Hope was not fathered by an immortal God. I’m as mortal as they come.”

  “Please calm down, Dr. Fairmont, and let me continue. The young girl was born around the time the veil began to weaken. Over a thousand years ago. When she came of age and was ready to take her role at Victor’s side…an unfortunate event occurred, and she was killed.” Ms. Mori stopped talking, her tone hinting at some raw grief. She swallowed and spoke again. “Her spirit was then entombed in a stone statue.”

  Ms. Mori stared at my father, willing him to make some kind of connection.

  By the way is eyes grew wider, it was apparent that he had.

  “The statue was of a Japanese woman kneeling before a cherry tree. Her arms were stretched forward like she was reaching for something,” he said flatly.

  I stared at my father in surprise. How could he possibly know anything about that statue? His description of it was so detailed. It was like he had seen it.

  I glanced at Tie.

  He was doing his best to appear unaffected by my father’s last sentence but some strange emotion flickered across his face and disappeared quickly. I thought it looked like a mix between anger and guilt, but I couldn’t be sure. I studied Victor next, wondering if his demeanor would be revealing in any way. It was surprisingly blank. His eyes looked a bit unfocused. He seemed lost in his thoughts, remembering something that had happened in another time and place.

  “How do you know about that statue, Dad?” I asked into the silence.

  “You were born in Kagami, in the province of Mimasaka right next to that statue and a huge cherry tree.” He barked out a rough laugh, no doubt thinking how crazy that statement sounded.

  I rose to my feet.

  My dad looked up at me, and there was real fear in his eyes.

  “When
you were born you weren’t breathing. The umbilical cord had been wrapped around your neck, and I thought you were dead. I unwrapped it, but I couldn’t do anything to save you. Then this strange, thunderous noise hit. It was so deafening it broke the statue of that Japanese woman right down the middle. When it cracked open you started crying. The whole thing was so terrifying, and yet I was so relieved that you were breathing I barely noticed anything else.”

  “You knew about this, then? You knew about the prophecy…everything?” I asked in astonishment.

  My father shook his head.

  “We didn’t know the details of the prophecy. Hachiman told us you would have a gift for healing, and I told him he was crazy. We were also given a very good reason to believe that if we left you there you would have been in danger.”

  “That’s absolutely not true. The safest place for Hope was Kagami. You were supposed to leave the baby there. She was to be held at the temple under the watchful tutelage of the monks until I could arrive and raise her myself, but you disappeared from the temple in the middle of the night,” Ms. Mori said.

  I watched Ms. Mori’s features and noticed the barely suppressed anger there. “You’re damn right I did.” My father stood up next to me. “There was no way Julia and I were going to hand over our daughter to a bunch of monks just because they said to. We left, and our daughter left with us.”

  “You had no right!” Victor shouted. “We waited hundreds of years for her to be reborn, and for what? To have her disappear without a trace? We‘ve been looking for her for seventeen years. It shouldn’t have taken us so long to find her. It was like you guys were wearing some kind of protective shield or something. A kami can find anybody they want just by thinking about them, but I couldn’t find you. None of us could. ”

  Now everyone was standing. Tie looked like he was ready to get in between Victor and my father if necessary. Ms. Mori kept looking at me like she couldn’t wait to get her hands on me, and Angie held her purse out in front of her, no doubt ready to render someone unconscious if they took even one step toward me.

  “She’s my daughter,” my father yelled. “If you kami were capable of loving anything you’d understand why leaving Hope behind was absolutely unthinkable. No decent mother or father would have ever considered it.”

  “How did you even get out of there? Kagami is enchanted. You shouldn’t have been able to leave with Hope in your possession.” Victor folded his arms across his chest fully expecting an explanation.

  My father hesitated and cast a furtive look at Tie. No one seemed to notice it though because almost everyone was looking at me. Nor did they see the almost imperceptible shake of the head Tie sent my father.

  “Let’s just say a desperate father has his ways. Julia and I took Hope from that awful place and left Japan as soon as we could. We never talked about it again.”

  “Dr. Fairmont, Hope isn’t your daughter,” Ms. Mori said in exasperation. “Your real daughter did, in fact, die in her mother’s womb. Her death and subsequent still birth allowed the statue that Hope had been trapped in for over a millennium to break open, releasing her spirit into the body of your baby girl, giving her a second chance at life. Although Hope may not remember it at this moment, she lived once before in an age and place now long forgotten by almost everyone.”

  I felt a strange kind of anger building within. Finding out you’re a major player in a prophecy involving a battle between the forces of good and evil is one thing. I think I was actually capable of eventually accepting that kind of bad news. Being told that my father wasn’t really my father was enough to break me where I stood.

  He was everything to me. Never once in my entire life did I ever feel he didn’t belong to me or me to him. We were family. Our bond was tighter than most families. That had to mean something, didn’t it? It had to mean that I was his daughter.

  I placed my trembling hand on my father’s shoulder and prayed he wouldn’t push it away. Instead of rejecting me he pulled me close and held me as tight as he could.

  “I don’t care who Hope’s spirit belongs to,” he said vehemently. “She’s my daughter, and as far as I’m concerned this conversation is over. I’ve heard enough.”

  My father grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door. Within an instant Ms. Mori and Victor were standing in front of us.

  “Dr. Fairmont, I know this is a lot to take in, but you must understand the danger she now faces. Animatsu knows where she is. We have to keep Hope safe until she’s ready to take her place beside Victor,” she said in a placating tone.

  My father bristled visibly and moved me behind him. I accidentally backed up into Angie who gave me a fierce grin. I could have sworn she was enjoying this.

  I peeked out from behind my father to look at Victor and realized for the first time that if everything Ms. Mori said was true, I was supposed to live the rest of my life as Victor’s wife. No wonder he’d been so annoyed with Tie’s flirtatious advances. It explained many things, including the hungry kiss he’d given me earlier. He must have been waiting centuries to do it! Even now, the look he was giving me was filled with yearning. I felt a magnetic pull in his direction, but all I could think about was Tie.

  “I will protect my daughter,” my father said emphatically. “I’ve managed to keep her hidden from you people all these years, and I can do it again if I have to. As far as healing the veil is concerned, I’m afraid your kami friends are going to have to think of some other solution to their problem. It’s no longer Hope’s concern. Come on sweetheart. We’re getting out of here. Angie, let’s get going.”

  “You got it doc,” Angie said smiling brightly.

  “You can’t do this. You have no right to do this,” Ms. Mori cried out. “She belongs to us.”

  “She belongs to herself,” my father roared. “She will determine her own destiny and decide her own fate. You’ve already messed up one of her lives, and you are not going to mess up this one. You people are immortal! You’ve had a thousand years to work on some other contingency plan. If you haven’t done that by now, there’s no one to blame but yourselves. You are not going to lay this problem at my daughter’s feet. We are done here.”

  “What is Tie’s role in all of this?” I interrupted.

  My question caught everyone off guard. Ms. Mori looked at Tie, who was still standing behind all of us, and tried to say something, but for the first time since I’d known her she seemed at a loss for words.

  He gazed at me steadily. It was as if he wanted me to remember something, like I already knew the answer.

  Victor finally spoke into the silence.

  “Tie is the god of love and marriage,” he said stiffly. “He unites couples together through his blessing and the gift of a cherry blossom. He is merely here to bless our happy union.”

  My father stiffened at my side. I’d never even dated a boy let alone talked about marrying one. The subject couldn’t have come up at a more inopportune time.

  I could tell there was more to it than that, though. The room seemed to fill with secrets left unspoken, but no one seemed willing to reveal what was really going on here. I was only being told so much. Clearly, I needed to find out the rest on my own.

  “Musubi-no-kami,” I said addressing Tie.

  “At your service, my lady.” He gave me a gallant bow.

  “No wonder you argued with me in class. I criticized your very existence.” I eyed him critically.

  “It was a bit offensive, but I can’t expect you to accept what you don’t understand. I have an important role to play, and I take it very seriously.”

  “Yes, you force people to fall in love with each other by giving them magic flowers. Is that what you’re here to do? Give me a flower, and all your problems are solved?”

  I was angry with him. I rebelled at the thought of anyone, especially Tie, making me feel something I wasn’t sure I wanted to feel.

  “No, of course not,” Victor protested. “He’s simply here to help protect you
and give our union his blessing.”

  Tie opened his mouth to say something, but Victor sent him a warning look.

  “We are leaving now,” my father said.

  Angie and I followed my dad out of the den and down the hallway toward the front door.

  “Mr. Fairmont, I beg you to reconsider. Think of what you are doing. Hope’s life will be placed in jeopardy because you can’t accept what is,” Ms. Mori cried desperately.

  “Don’t stand there and pretend you actually care about my daughter. All you care about is strengthening your precious veil.” He rounded on her and pointed an accusing finger at her face.

  “I care about Hope just as much as you do,” she cried out, close to tears.

  “It’s not the same thing. She’s not your child,” he shot back.

  “She is my child!”

  That stopped everyone in their tracks.

  “I am the empress who gave birth to her over a thousand years ago.” Tears began falling like large rain drops down her cheeks.

  “Wow,” Angie said. “I feel like I’m watching an episode of Jerry Springer. My money’s on Mr. Fairmont. Pretty sure his paternity test will prove positive.”

  Ms. Mori’s announcement seemed to take the fight right out of my father. I could tell he had absolutely no idea how to respond to her startling revelation.

  I couldn‘t help but feel completely detached from Ms. Mori‘s statement. It was quite the bombshell to unload. Maybe a person who‘d never had a mother like Julia Fairmont might have felt some kind of connection to this woman‘s claim of motherhood, but all I felt was annoyed that she‘d even said it. Nobody could take the place of my mom. Ms. Mori may have birthed me a thousand years ago, but she was most definitely not my mother.

  My father was still standing there silent; no doubt trying to figure out what his next move would be.

  I didn‘t know what was supposed to come next, but the thought of leaving without getting any rest made me want to cry.

  “Look,” I said wearily, “let’s just stay here tonight. You’re tired. I’m tired. Angie looks like she’s about ready to face plant into the nearest couch cushion.”

  Angie nodded in agreement.

  “Let’s take a break, get a good night’s sleep, and talk about this in the morning,” I said. “Ms. Mori, do you have room for all of us?”

  She couldn’t have looked more delighted.

  “Of course I do, dear. You’ll be safe here with Victor and Tie watching over you. Tomorrow we can straighten everything out. Okay?” She directed her question to my father.

  I was expecting another argument from him. Instead, he gave Ms. Mori a tired nod, and followed her out of the study. He‘d agreed to this new arrangement far too quickly. I wondered what he had up his sleeve.

  What was he was planning?