“Then why …”
“I’ve got you to bring me across.”
It took a moment for the weight of his statement to reach my brain. “I’ll never do that … ever.”
“Forever is a long time, kid.” He turned to the last lizard. “Let’s go.”
Shoko and I were alone under the noonday sun, whose intensity had doubled. I tried to move but couldn’t. After three agonizing attempts, I persuaded my left hand to move and it touched bare rock. I felt the Mother Earth, the rush of the stream of life surging into my body—but it wasn’t enough to let us travel, not from here.
I’d use Bartholomew’s power. Just this once.
CHAPTER
42
I took her to Izumo. We needed to cleanse ourselves of evil—both the blood and their energy. We slammed down hard on arrival, but my body had become so numb I barely felt the impact. When I managed to open my eyes, we were on the fourth step of the grand staircase. Shoko was lying on top of me. As I stirred, she rolled off and sat on the step below me, her back against me, head in her hands. She tried to call out, but her voice was hoarse. The shrine grounds were dark and empty. Everyone was home with their families, eating dinner or having their evening bath in deep wooden tubs.
The black poison spread through my body like lava, far worse than the snakebite. I groaned. Shoko turned and put her hands on my chest. We stared at each other and she began to cry.
“I felt the energy from the other side, … so much evil. I traveled to your house, but then I saw you, … saw you with that girl.”
I felt her disappointment and hurt and had to look away. I was embarrassed, but more than that I felt ashamed.
She sniffed. “You … you really thought it was me?”
I took a breath. “I knew something was wrong, but …” I couldn’t meet her eyes. “I thought maybe you changed your mind and … came back to me. That maybe you felt …” I gritted my teeth against the pain as my shoulder flared again, a good excuse not to answer her.
“They used our emotions against us,” she whispered. “There were only three Evil Ones, yet they seized me outside the burning dojo. I was upset. I hesitated.”
I didn’t answer, couldn’t answer. After a while, she laid her head on my chest.
“I screwed everything up.” I didn’t know if she’d heard me whisper it in the dark. And I didn’t know if it was the darkness in my heart or the darkness of the night closing in.
Shoko was asleep or unconscious, her head on my chest, when the first girl arrived. She was young, still a child, but wore the green robes of an apprentice Gatekeeper. When she saw us her face went white and she screamed. A moment later, another Gatekeeper—a few years older than Shoko—appeared out of the darkness beside her.
“Summon the Kannushi!”
I felt familiar energy as more Gatekeepers appeared, their green garments glowing in the twilight. I stared, transfixed by their raw physical power, their radiance and beauty.
Not long after, a man dressed in a long black robe and a tall hat hurried over. He stopped dead when he saw us and his face went white. He leaned on his long staff to steady himself.
“What is this?”
Shoko stirred and tried to bow, but all she managed was a slight nod of her head. “Kannushi.”
“Shoko!” Tomi burst through the line of stoic Gatekeepers, dressed in a simple kimono—obviously evening wear—but holding a katana. And she looked scared.
“Is that … the blood of an Evil One?”
“Be still, Gatekeeper.” The Kannushi moved to stand beside Tomi. “The blood itself is not poison. If she was bitten, she would already be dead.”
Shoko turned toward me. “Junya was bitten!”
Tomi and the Kannushi seemed to notice me for the first time, although I was still flat on my back behind Shoko, not hard to miss. Tomi leaned closer to get a better look. She looked astonished. “She is right,” she whispered. “Oh, gods.”
I looked past them at the young Gatekeepers gathering.
“They look like angels,” I said.
The Kannushi didn’t turn. “A snake would look like an angel to you.”
“Kannushi,” Tomi said, “how is he is still alive?”
He silenced Tomi with a wave of his hand and stared down at Shoko. “Open your mind, young one,” he said in a severe tone. “Tell me what happened.” A moment later, he looked at her in astonishment. “The Evil Ones seized you and took you there?” He glanced at me. “And you came back … alive?”
She pointed at me. “He killed a dozen lizards.” Her voice grew in volume. “He saved my life!”
His eyes met mine. “No human can travel from there.”
At that moment, two miko hurried across the grounds toward us, carrying black lacquer boxes. They wore long silk jackets with wide drooping sleeves, their long hair tied back with red and white ribbons. They bowed to the Kannushi and then knelt and began to wash Shoko, carefully removing the black blood first and then her own blood. They worked on her one section at a time, keeping her body covered, but from what I could see, there were large, ugly bruises, already purple and black, all over her body. The older one clicked her tongue when she saw the red welt that circled Shoko’s neck.
“Is she infected?” the Kannushi asked.
“She was not bitten,” the older miko said.
Before they bandaged Shoko, they poured a clear liquid onto her open wounds. To my amazement, the cuts closed and shriveled, like morning glory in the evening, leaving behind scabs that looked a day old. When the miko moved toward me, the Kannushi shook his head.
“He was bitten and will die,” the Kannushi said. “It is only his dark energy that is slowing it.”
The older miko looked angry, but her voice was calm. “It is our duty to treat all.”
The Kannushi hesitated. “Bandage it to contain his rancid blood, but do not waste medicine on him.”
They pulled my jeans up and took my T-shirt off, exposing the wounds. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and tried to make the pain stop. My energy rose until only a dull throbbing remained in my left shoulder and leg. They worked quickly, in silence, and their touch was gentle.
When they were done, I whispered a word of thanks and stood up. Everyone gasped, but my eyes were on the Kannushi. “Was I really an experiment?”
“What kind of an experiment?” he barked.
“Why did you really ask Misako to marry my father?”
He made a face. “Your mother is not the first to cross over and mate with a man from the other side.” He hesitated and looked over his shoulder at the gathered Gatekeepers. “Of course, her assignment was important to us … But it was only when the young one told us about your awakening that we became interested.”
“Because I might be … useful?”
He shrugged. “It is a rare opportunity, not to be taken lightly. And the gods favored you.”
“And now?” My voice grew louder. “What do they think now?”
He glared at me. “The will of the gods is now unclear. With this event, it is my belief that the gods will not want this to continue.” He moved up onto the bottom step. “Let me pass!”
“I’ll save you the climb. You’re not the only one they speak to.” I turned to look up at the shrine, far above us. “Do I still find favor with you?”
The Kannushi’s face burst with fury. “Blasphemy! Insolent devil!” He thumped the ground with his staff. “I sentence you to death!”
Tomi drew her katana and came at me, but Shoko pushed herself between us.
“He is a Gatekeeper’s son,” Shoko said. “He saved my life and brought me back when no one else could.”
Tomi faltered, but five other Gatekeepers came at me as one, an organized chaos of swords and bodies converging on a single point. I shoved Shoko away, and without willing it, my hand came up.
Like a ball meeting the bat, they stopped for a split-second and then flew backward in a jumble of arms and legs. The Kannushi’s ha
t flew off and his robes billowed as he staggered backward, trying to stay upright. I lowered my hand, amazed and reassured.
It wasn’t Bartholomew’s power that had done that.
The Kannushi stared up at me. When he made it to his feet, he pointed his staff at me. “You are in their favor … for now,” he said, his voice hoarse. “When they decide otherwise—and they will—we will hunt you wherever you go, in this world or in yours.”
I stared at him. “If I see or feel anyone on my side … I’ll deal with them and then I’ll come for you.”
Shoko stood up. “Junya,” she whispered, her face pained, her eyes wide, “thank you for saving my life. I … I have always believed in you.”
Something caught in my throat and I had to look away. Beyond the small group at the bottom of the stairs, a multitude of Gatekeepers had gathered among the trees behind, barely visible in the fading light—far too many for me to fight.
I tried to keep my face expressionless as I knelt on the steps and looked at Shoko again.
“I won’t let the evil win,” I said. “I promise.”
CHAPTER
43
I staggered through the front door of my house and came face to face with my dad. He was in work clothes, walking through the living room carrying a glass of water. I hadn’t expected him. I’d come straight from Izumo and the pain was growing. I needed Okaasan, but I was relieved to see a familiar face.
“Hey, Dad.”
He came toward me, frowning. “What happened to you? You’re covered in black stuff.”
I glanced down at my ripped, dirty jeans, glad he couldn’t see the wide white bandages that circled my calf and shoulder.
“It’s a long story,” I said through gritted teeth. “Where’s Mom?”
“She’s downtown with Lin.” He was still frowning, but now he looked more angry than worried. “I can’t believe you took off to Japan for six weeks!” Yep, definitely angry. “Your mom was in the hospital when I got home from Brussels, and you were gone—not to mention the damn fire!” He pointed to the garden.
“I’ve been gone six weeks?”
Our eyes met and the fury in his made me take a step back.
“Damn it, Junya, I don’t know what the hell you’ve been up to—”
I looked him in the eye. “Do you really want to know, Dad?”
He stared at me. His energy changed. He looked away.
I felt Okaasan. Her energy was loud, her fear palpable, but she was still far away. My body was slowly becoming numb—from the poison, I guessed. It was a wonderful feeling, and it became a bit easier to stay upright.
Through the new glass windows, a building was taking shape beyond the Zen garden. A small crane lowered a beam while half a dozen Japanese workers waited, ready to secure it. This building looked different from the original dojo, smaller and older. I felt the wood call to me and I longed to touch it, to hear its story.
I nodded toward the backyard. “What’s with that?”
He followed my gaze. “We shipped an old teahouse over from Japan a few years ago. Had it stored in crates in your grandfather’s warehouse … where those men died.” He paused. When he spoke again, his anger had faded. “It’s over two hundred years old, a victim of a new rail line.”
“It’s small.” I slurred the words.
“That’s what your mom wanted—just a teahouse.”
The pain flooded back and I couldn’t say any more—if I opened my mouth I’d be screaming. I tried to raise some of my energy, but I had nothing left. The venom had me. I started to slouch. From the corner of my eye, I saw Okaasan standing in the kitchen doorway, her hand over her mouth. I sent my scream to the inside of her head.
“Go back outside, Robert,” she said. “Now.”
He took off like a nervous child, and the second he was out the door, Okaasan limped toward me. “Is that …?” She pointed to the black stuff.
When I nodded, she let out a small cry, and with a grunt she picked me up as if I weighed nothing and carried me into the shower, clothes and all. Her clothes and hair got drenched as she washed me from head to toe three or four times. Besides a few whispered curses, she didn’t show much reaction, even when she began to remove the bandage from my leg.
I nearly passed out. The gash was over six inches long and straight, as if cut with a knife. She sat me on a stool while my head spun.
“Is it bad?” I croaked.
“I’d take you to the hospital if I could,” she said after a moment’s hesitation. “It needs stitches.” But she didn’t pull out a needle and thread, much to my relief. Instead, she applied a dozen little Band-aid like strips that pulled the edges of the cut together. Okaasan had an impressive first-aid kit—a necessity because of our training.
“That doesn’t look like a sword wound.”
“Lizard’s claw.”
She sucked in a breath and held her hands out toward me, a calming gesture that seemed to be more for her than for me.
“That’s OK … People survive claws.”
“You haven’t seen my shoulder yet.”
She started to undo the bandage on my shoulder. When she got the last piece off, her face went white. “Oh, gods!” she whispered, her hands frozen above the wound. “It bit you?!”
I looked at the tiles, my eyes unfocused. “I’m going to die, aren’t I?” I whispered.
She grabbed my chin. “Junya,” she said, her voice shaking as much as her hands, “you’re different from the rest of us. You shouldn’t be alive right now, so I’m going to assume—I’m going to pray to every god in Izumo—you’ll stay that way.”
After taking a deep breath, she leaned closer and inspected the wound.
“There are eight teeth marks on the front, as far down as your pectoral.” She paused as she looked at my back. “And nine on the back.” She hesitated. “There’s venom in there, … in you.”
I bent my head to look and she had to push me back onto the stool before I fell over. The teeth marks were deep ugly holes and the skin around them was swollen and blotched red and black like decaying meat.
Her hands were shaking as she worked, dabbing at the wound with a cloth soaked in antiseptic. It hurt like hell and my body jerked every time she touched me. “Use your energy, Junya. Don’t worry about hurting me. Let it build slowly. I’ll be OK. I’ll use my energy, too.”
Even though I saw her cringe when I started, I concentrated on my breathing, and within a minute warmth began to build in my abdomen. This energy felt different—it wasn’t built from anger. I let it flow and the pain began to recede.
When she’d cleaned the wound as best as she could, she wrapped my arm and shoulder as if she were preparing a mummy. Then she sat back and looked at me.
“I’ve never seen a lizard bite. There’s never anything left of the body to see.”
Okaasan made me a huge bowl of udon noodles and sat across the table from me. As I slowly ate, I told her everything.
“Junya …”
I felt the thought she was trying so hard to suppress. “I know it was Bartholomew’s power that let me travel Shoko from Zion to Izumo,” I said. “It was the only way I could save Shoko, and myself. But that’s not what I used on the Kannushi and the Gatekeepers—I swear.”
She took her time replying. “I just worry … I’m scared to death actually, that you’ll be tempted to use Bartholomew’s power again. It’s far beyond the power of any Gatekeeper, and many of the gods.”
I looked at my empty bowl. “I don’t want to. I can’t let Bartholomew get control of me.”
She reached across the table and put her hand on mine. “I believe in you, Junya. You aren’t alone in this.”
The two of us were quiet for a while, content just to sit there together. Then she gave me a little smile. “How are we going to hide this from your father?”
I smiled, but I felt sad. “He’ll never ask.”
She nodded. She knew that, too.
“How’s your leg?”
I said.
She straightened it and put her foot back on the floor. “It’s good, only muscle injuries. I’m almost back to normal.”
“And Mack?”
“There was no permanent damage, just a lot of bruises. I’ve only talked to him once since that night.”
Her mind was elsewhere, and I picked up on a stray thought. “Where’s Lin going?”
Okaasan shrugged. “The South Pacific, maybe Fiji.”
I guessed she had lots of time for a vacation now.
Okaasan put her cup down with a thud. “Aren’t you going to ask about your grandfather?”
“I already talked to him, over … somewhere.” I met her gaze. “I know he’s dead.”
She smacked my hand. “He’s not dead! And it’s bad luck to say such things.” She tried to look mad but couldn’t. “He woke up a few days after you disappeared.”
My mouth must have dropped open, because Okaasan began to laugh.
“The doctors can’t believe it, but he’s up and about and getting stronger. He’s like a new man. And he’s decided to start using his yacht for something other than a floating office.”
“He’s taking a vacation?” I asked, unable to hide my surprise.
She smiled. “He’s taking it out for a South Pacific cruise.”
“He should change the name. Tomi’s a bitch.” Then I sighed. “So Lin’s going with him?”
“Of course. Why?”
“She’s my friend and she deserves a better life—someone who will love her back.”
“For your information, Lin’s wearing a very large diamond ring, and it’s obvious it means a lot to both of them. They’re acting like newlyweds already.”
I blinked a few times and I had to ask. “Did she ask him?”
Okaasan smiled. “As I recall, they pretty much said it at the same time.”
I looked around, trying to see as much of the house as I could from my chair. The kitchen was familiar, the smells the same, but I couldn’t find comfort there. My worlds were so far apart. I saw no way for the chasm to close.
“I’m starting to feel like you did when we came back from Japan,” Okaasan said. She put her hands together on the table and forced a smile. “I wonder if my life will ever go back to normal.”
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