by I. J. Parker
A movement near the gate meant that Yukinari's soldiers prepared to block all the exits. Below him the governor's guard drew closer to their platform. It was time. Akitada must go forward with the plan or lose his only chance.
One of the guardsmen marched up with the imperial banner and stood directly below him. Joto was watching the soldiers now, clearly puzzled by their behavior. The crowd began to whisper and hum, and Akitada was in an agony of indecision.
Then Seimei emerged from among the spectators. The old man looked up and nodded. Still Akitada held his breath. After a moment, Yukinari rose behind him and left the viewing stand. It had begun.
Gradually silence fell over the courtyard. Akitada pulled from his sleeve the imperial decree and raised it above his head so that everyone could see the golden seals and purple cords. Below a drum began its rhythmic beat.
"Prepare to hear the august words!" thundered the banner bearer.
The people in the courtyard fell to their knees and bowed to the ground.
Akitada read the imperial instructions, which gave him the power to investigate and prosecute, in a reasonably steady voice. Then he rolled up the scroll and said, "You may rise. The investigation I was charged with is complete. The villains who raided three tax shipments and brutally murdered those who guarded them are known."
A ripple of excitement passed through the crowd.
Akitada looked across to the other platform and faltered. Kukai was there, but Joto had disappeared. Suppressing this new worry, he said, "The guilty are hidden in this temple." After outlining the case against Joto and his supporters, he paused.
They had listened in silent shock, but now panic spread through the crowd. Some of the monks tried to leave and were restrained by soldiers. Minor scuffles broke out.
"Silence!" the banner man thundered. It had little effect.
Motosuke came to stand beside Akitada, his face tense and serious. And then, finally, Akitada saw Yukinari and next to him Tora. Yukinari raised an arm, and a double line of soldiers marched forward. The crowd fell back, suddenly quiet when they saw the sad, pitifully small group of released monks. Two of Yukinari's men brought up the rear carrying the abbot on a stretcher. More soldiers followed them.
The imprisoned monks were covered with filth and sores and staggered from weakness, shading their eyes against the sun. When they reached Akitada's stand and the soldiers set down the stretcher with the semiconscious abbot, the crowd had become still.
"There you see how Joto treated the temple's holy men," Akitada told them. "As His August Majesty's representative and with your support and that of your governor, I shall see to it that justice returns to the people of this province and to this temple. Joto, his deputy Kukai, and all their accomplices are under arrest."
A soft moan went through the crowd. Many had lost relatives with the tax convoys.
Suddenly a shout came from the other platform. Kukai stood there, his arms raised. "Don't trust the enemies of Buddha. They have come to destroy the true faith and cast you back into poverty. This is a plot to get rid of our holy abbot." He swung around and pointed an accusing finger at Akitada and Motosuke. "There are your criminals! There is the man who has kept your hard-earned taxes to fill his own chests and buy his daughter a place as the emperor's concubine. There is the official sent from the capital to hide the crimes of the nobles under the mantle of official sanction. He even uses a sick and senile monk against us. Are you going to permit this evil thing to happen, or are you going to defend your faith?"
The crowd wavered. Somewhere a woman screamed. The soldiers sprang into action, and the sea of people began to roil like boiling water. Aghast, Akitada attempted to raise his voice again, but it failed him. Motosuke shouted, "In the name of the emperor, clear the courtyard!" The banner bearer below repeated, "Clear the courtyard!" Motosuke bellowed, "Return to your homes to mourn the deaths of your sons and fathers, your brothers and husbands, who were foully massacred by Joto and his followers, and leave the authorities to bring justice to this province!"
For a moment the outcome hung in the balance, then a woman's voice began to wail softly. Others joined her. The crowd broke part. People on the periphery headed for the gate. Those who had pressed forward fell back. Soldiers dispersed groups and rounded up monks.
Tucking the imperial decree back into his sleeve, Akitada turned and sat down, his hands and knees shaking. Motosuke watched a moment longer, then joined him. They were both silent. Yukinari was in the crowd, directing his men. Provincial guardsmen escorted women and children through the gate. As the courtyard cleared, the soldiers began to herd the monks into one corner. Yukinari and his men were placing Kukai and Joto's staff under arrest. There was still no sign of Joto.
Then Seimei stumbled to them. Akitada rose and asked, "Seimei, are you ill?"
Seimei wiped his face with a shaking hand. "No, sir. I... I caught Ikeda ... I had to kill him, or he would have warned the abbot."
Motosuke gaped. "You killed Ikeda? By yourself?"
"I couldn't help it, sir. I struck him on the head with a halberd." Seimei shuddered. "I never killed a man before. It was horribly easy. May the gods forgive me."
Akitada put an arm around his shoulders. "You did what had to be done. We are grateful," he said. "Ikeda was a killer and a traitor. If you had not stopped him, many innocent people would have died today. Thanks to you, we stopped a dangerous conspiracy."
"Indeed, indeed," said Motosuke, patting Seimei's back. "What courage! You will be the talk of the town. And I shall mention you in my report to the emperor."
Seimei blinked. "Thank you sir," he murmured. "It was nothing."
* * * *
NINETEEN
PRAYER BEADS
The small group of officials followed Akitada and Motosuke on their inspection tour of the temple courtyards and galleries. They visited the storehouses and peered down the shaft into the underground prison. Everywhere they went the military was in full control, saluting as they passed from enclosure to enclosure.
Yukinari and Tora waited outside the abbot's quarters. Akitada let the others precede him, then asked, "Has Joto turned up?"
"Not yet." Yukinari bit his lip. "I'll never forgive myself, Excellency. If I had kept my eye on the man, this would not have happened. The guards at his viewing stand were distracted when some citizens attacked them. During the scuffle nobody was watching the stairs behind the stand."
"Never mind! He cannot have gone far. Any other news?"
Tora said, "You've heard about Ikeda?" When Akitada nodded, he grinned. "How about old Seimei? Didn't blink an eye and let him have it. Smack on top of the skull." He laughed out loud. "And we've caught the brute with the missing earlobe. He was lurking about the back of the compound. Turns out he's the bastard that got away over the wall at the Kannon temple, so he's one of Higekuro's killers. Quite the big wheel around here, it seems. He may know where Joto is."
"They talked earlier during the ceremonies." Akitada frowned. "What about the old abbot and the buried monks?"
Tora's cheerfulness faded abruptly. "Poor bastards. I'd like to get my hands on that smooth-faced devil Joto. They're only half alive. Some of them haven't seen the sun in years. They were so blind we had to lead them. Some couldn't walk at all. And they're the lucky ones. The place was full of graves the living dug with their hands. The old abbot is in bad shape, too weak to talk. The rest are a little stronger, but not much. I found three who'll tell their story."
Motosuke joined them. "Horrible!" he murmured. "And to think that none of us knew."
Akitada sighed. "I suppose we'll talk to them later. What has been done about the children?"
"Joto's pretty little boys?" Tora rolled his eyes in disgust and jerked his head in the direction of the building before them. "I expect they're playing at tops in the abbot's quarters."
"Their families must be anxious," Motosuke said.
Akitada shook his head. "A little late," he said bitterly. "They should have
thought before giving them to monks." Seeing Motosuke's surprise, he amended his words. "I realize it is common practice, but it seems to me that at that age ... a little more time in a loving family..." He broke off awkwardly. His own childhood had hardly been spent in a loving home. Besides, revealing a personal prejudice against Buddhism was politically unwise.
Tora slapped his back. "Cheer up! We pulled it off. They're going home, and we'll drink to our luck later."
Motosuke took Akitada's arm and pulled him aside. "I know, elder brother, that your man is very capable, but he has the most peculiar manners. I'm sure the others must be shocked. No kneeling, not so much as a bow, no idea how to address you properly or how to acknowledge an order. Hadn't you better mention it to him?"
Akitada found the thought amusing. "I doubt I could change Tora," he said. "Besides, all that protocol wastes a great deal of time."
At that moment one of the soldiers ran up to Yukinari. After a brief exchange, Yukinari turned to Akitada and Motosuke. "Forgive the interruption," he said, "but there seems to be a problem about releasing the boys to their parents."
"What do you mean?" asked Motosuke.
"They are locked in and nobody has a key. The parents are angry and threaten to break the door down."
"Locked in?" Akitada got a hollow feeling in his stomach. "When was the last time someone checked on the children?"
"I don't know, Excellency. I told one of my men to take the boys there as soon as we started rounding up the monks."
Tora joined them and Akitada exchanged a glance with him. "Dear heaven, let me be wrong about this," he muttered, feeling suddenly sick. "Come, Tora."
They ran down a covered gallery toward the abbot's private quarters. Before a pair of doors a small cluster of people stood shouting, pounding, and scratching at the heavy wooden panels.
When they saw Akitada and Tora coming, they fell back, their faces anxious.
Akitada told them, "We'll have the door open in no time and your children will join you, but please wait outside the enclosure."
"I'm not going anywhere," blustered a young man with angry eyes. "I want my son and then I'll kill every baldpate bastard who laid hands on him."
Some of the women began to wail.
Akitada sighed. "Very well," he said. "Stay here but keep quiet. Tora? Can you pick the lock?"
Tora nodded, pulling his wire tool from his sash. "Almost left it behind this morning," he said, setting to work, "as not fitting with all this finery." The lock clicked, and he opened the door.
A strange scene met their eyes. Joto, still dressed in his purple silk robe and the embroidered stole, was seated in the abbot's chair on the dais. Around his slippered feet clustered the boys, who stared at them from round, startled eyes. On Joto's lap sat the smallest boy, the one who had served Akitada juice during the festival. Joto's prayer beads, a string of rose-colored quartz, were twisted around the child's neck.
Before anyone could speak, the irate father pushed Akitada and Tora out of the way and made for Joto, shouting, "You devil, I'll show you--" Akitada and Tora lunged quickly to snatch him back and restrain him. Behind them, the other parents crowded into the room, and Akitada regretted bitterly his earlier permission to let them stay.
"Very wise," came the odiously smooth voice of the false abbot. "I see that you understand the situation." Joto's hand moved behind the small boy's head, and the pink beads tightened around the child's throat. The boy uttered a frightened cry. Joto said, "I shall kill this child if any of you come closer."
Behind Tora and Akitada were gasps, and the father in their grip squirmed. "Tosuke," he shouted. "Come here."
A boy got up slowly, then ran to him. He clutched his father's leg and burst into tears. "I want to go home!" he howled.
In a moment, the other children, all except the one on Joto's lap, were also running to their parents. In the ensuing tumult, Joto rose, clutching his struggling hostage more tightly, and retreated a few feet.
Akitada let go of the father, who scooped up his son and ran.
Joto had lost his calm demeanor. His face was flushed, and his free hand was clamped tightly around the struggling boy's neck. "I'll kill him," he mouthed over the noise of howling boys and shouting parents.
Akitada called to Tora, "Get everybody out! Close the door and guard it!"
Tora moved quickly, gathering the boys and their parents and pushing them out. In a moment, the room was silent and empty except for Joto, the child, and Akitada. Joto returned to his chair and sat down again.
"Let the boy go," said Akitada. The child's face had turned alarmingly red. Joto was twisting the beads until they cut into the soft throat. "He is not responsible for your predicament."
Joto's eyes narrowed. "And then you will arrest me?"
"You will have to answer certain charges, yes."
"I have no intention of accommodating you." Joto took his hand from the boy's neck. The child gasped for breath, coughed, and then whimpered. Suddenly he let loose a shriek that made Akitada's hair stand on end.
"Be quiet, little beast!" Joto slapped the boy hard with his free hand. The boy gasped and fell silent, his eyes wide with shock. Joto's fingers had left white marks on the soft, tear-blotched face.
"You're worse than an animal," Akitada cried, clenching his fists.
"Let us say that I have weighed my life against his," Joto remarked coldly, rearranging his hold on the child and getting a grip on the string of beads again, "and I found that my claims outweigh his. What does he have to offer humankind with his seven years of existence? In a few years he will even lose the beauty that makes him attractive now." He twisted the boy's face toward himself. "His skin will grow coarse and those soft cheeks will lose their fullness. The red lips will no longer offer affection, and the charming voice will become gruff and common. He will be useless. I, on the other hand, have yet to leave my mark on this nation. If it had not been for your rash and untimely interference, I would be well on my way to power now, the spiritual counselor and adviser of the nation."
"His August Majesty does not deal with monks who bear arms, rob his treasury, and kill his subjects."
"As I said, if it had not been for you, I would not be in this position. But you had to meddle in my affairs. We only sacrificed a few bearers and soldiers, an insignificant loss of life in any undertaking of this magnitude. But then you arrived, and Tachibana started making trouble. Even then, if Ikeda had not been careless in silencing Tachibana, the women would not have become a problem." Joto let his voice trail off, then said abruptly, "But all is not lost. I have friends everywhere. I shall leave Kazusa for the time being and after a few years' travel and meditation, who knows?"
"Don't be ridiculous. You will not be permitted to leave."
Joto smiled unpleasantly. "You are unusually fond of children, I think. Take this little fellow, for instance. While I was hiding here among the boys, he told me that you had smiled at him. He seemed absurdly proud of this. Isn't that so, Tatsuo? You like the gentleman, don't you?"
The boy gulped. His large eyes filled with tears, and he whispered, "Please take me away, sir. I'll be a good boy, honest."
"Let him go!" Akitada said harshly. "I'll do what I can for you.
Joto laughed softly. "No, no. You will set me free. And you will give me safe conduct out of the province."
"I cannot do that."
"Then he dies." The beads jerked tight, and the boy's mouth flew open. His hands scrabbled in the air.
"No!" screamed Akitada, taking a step and stopping. He would not be in time.
Joto loosened the beads slightly. The child gasped for air, his hands clawing at the beads. Joto laughed softly. "Why do you prolong his agony?" he asked.
Akitada thought frantically, but no solution came to him. "Very well," he said, defeated. "I agree. Now let him go."
"Come," said the other man, "do not take me for a fool. He and I will be inseparable until I am safe."
"Let the child go. He
is ill. I will be your hostage instead."
Joto shook his head.
Hopelessly, Akitada turned to make the arrangements, trying not to think of the report to his superiors in the capital, thinking instead of ways to free the child somehow later. Before he could open the door, it burst open. On the threshold stood a wild-eyed young woman, her face pale and frightened. When she looked past him and saw the boy, she screamed, "Tatsuo."
The boy wailed, "Mother."
Then things happened with incredible speed. The woman rushed past Akitada. Joto rose, causing his armchair to topple, and shouted, "Stay away!" Akitada reached out to stop the woman and caught her sleeve, but she pulled away so violently that the fabric ripped. Joto backed all the way to the wall. "Stay away or he dies," he snarled to the mother.