Mantis

by India Millar

  As the shoji slid shut, it occurred to me to wonder what my innocent gaijin would say if he knew his precious anma and Kamakiri the oiran were one and the same. I guessed that he would be bewildered and deeply hurt.

  Just as well that he was never going to find out.

  Twenty-Three

  Prince or whore, it makes

  No difference. Neither can

  Pull the stars to earth

  “I thought you were pleased when Hara-san sent you the note. Aren’t you going to respond to him?”

  Niko was clearly puzzled. I smiled and shook my head.

  “Not yet. Wait until he asks again. Then…perhaps. The longer I make him wait, the more interested he will be. How did your lessons go today?”

  “Fine. I didn’t know learning to read and write would be so difficult.”

  “Persevere,” I advised. “Just like Hara-san, if something is worth having, it’s worth waiting for.”

  We both laughed. Our amusement was interrupted by our outside bell clanging. Niko darted off to answer the summons and came back with a scrap of paper and a tiny package carefully wrapped in silk.

  “Open it.” I gave the package to her as I read the note. I smiled with pleasure as I read the brief message. Hara-san, begging for the honor of my company that same evening. I glanced up as I heard Niko’s startled gasp. She was holding her hand out toward me. She rocked her hand back and forward slightly, and the jewel nestling in her palm reflected the light in a rainbow of beauty.

  “What is it?” she asked eagerly. “I’ve never seen a gem this color before. Is it worth a lot, do you think?”

  I took the stone from her and held it between my finger and thumb, examining it carefully. It was about the size and shape of my little fingernail. If it had been white, I would have thought it was a diamond. But it wasn’t white. It was a pure, deep pink. I read my note again. In addition to begging for my company, Hara-san had written, “It is my great pleasure to send this insignificant gift for you. I hope it will give you a little pleasure to receive it. It is almost as flawless in its beauty as you are yourself.”

  The hint was in the modesty of the wording; I guessed that the gem was precious indeed.

  “I think it is a diamond,” I said thoughtfully. “And I think it must be a very good one, as I notice that Hara-san’s messenger didn’t wait for an answer. He obviously thinks that his gift is enough to bring me to him. Shall we go for a walk, Niko? There’s a merchant in Willow Street who sells excellent jewelry. I think we can trust him to tell us the truth about this stone.”

  I was greeted with deference. A bowl of water was produced instantly for Matsuo, who lapped politely. Even Niko was given a polite nod. The merchant bowed deeply before me, washing his hands before him in an oily gesture.

  “Kamakiri-san, you honor my humble shop. What may I show you?”

  “Nothing, Himura-san.” I tempered my abrupt answer with a smile. This man was reputed to be the best goldsmith in the Floating World. I had received many presents from would-be patrons, and most had made a point of telling me that their trinkets came from this man. A couple of men had even taken me to his shop and told me grandly to choose anything I liked. My purchases had always been modest, which only added to my growing legend. “I have come to ask your opinion. What do you think of this?”

  I took my pink gem out of my obi and handed it to the goldsmith. He was so astonished that he gasped out loud. I exchanged a look with Niko; I had been right. To have drawn amazement from this seasoned merchant, the gem must be very precious indeed. I was almost irritated by the knowledge. For no rational reason at all, Hara-san’s jewel made me nervous. It had felt strange when I held it in my hand, and I was sure I could feel it all the time it was cocooned safely in my obi.

  “May I ask where you obtained this, Kamakiri-san?” he asked.

  I shrugged, as though it was unimportant to me. “A patron gave it to me as a present.”

  “Ah.” The goldsmith’s face was suddenly crafty. “I see. Oddly enough, I sold this stone to somebody myself only a short time ago. The customer is well known for his collection of precious and unusual jewels. I was under the impression that he wanted it to keep for himself to add to his collection.”

  He stared at me in something that looked like awe. I felt a shiver of excitement as I wondered how much Hara-san had paid for it, and, hence, how much he valued me. Politeness forbade me to ask how much it was worth.

  I said casually, “It’s very pale for a ruby. I take it that it has little value?”

  I watched the goldsmith’s expression change from shock to greed. He licked his lips and stared at me. I had made a point of wearing some of the more expensive items my admirers had purchased from him. To make my point clear, I raised my hand to adjust an ornament in my wig. A very heavy ornament, in very bad taste, made of gold and set with large turquoises and—I knew—bought from him. He sighed and handed the gem back to me reluctantly.

  “It’s a pink diamond,” he said. “They’re very rare, and this one is both flawless and unusually large.”

  I heard Niko stir with interest, and I thought even Matsuo raised his head from his water bowl.

  “Really?” I tossed the gem casually in my hand, as though it was no more than a scrap of paper. Himura’s eyes followed it greedily. “Well, in that case, I may have it set into a comb for my hair. I’ll think about it.”

  “I hope, Kamakiri-san, you will entrust me with the setting if you decide to have it mounted?” Himura leaned forward anxiously, watching as I replaced the gem securely in my obi. “Or possibly you might worry about wearing such a precious thing? The streets of the Floating World are full of dangers, and such a jewel would be a great temptation. If you wish, I would be delighted to buy it from you.”

  I shrugged and remained silent, patting Matsuo. Himura spoke softly, but the price he named froze me in place. If he was willing to pay that much to get his gem back, how much had he charged Hara-san for it?

  “It’s a pretty thing,” I said coolly. “I think I’ll keep it for the moment. I would hardly like to upset my patron by selling his gift at the first opportunity.”

  The goldsmith obviously read more into my words than I had meant. He smiled so widely I saw a gold tooth gleaming at the side of his mouth.

  “I understand perfectly, Kamakiri-san. If the time comes when you do wish to sell it, I assure you, I will give you the very best price. And equally, if you have a fancy for anything in my humble shop, I will be delighted to offer you an excellent price.”

  Niko was so shocked by the amount he had offered to me, she was silent all the way home.

  “I think we will pay a visit to the kannushi at Jokan-Ji Temple, Niko.” The stone seemed to me to be pressing into my flesh. Something other than its value made me nervous. “I would be glad for him to take charge of Hara-san’s diamond for me. Keep it safe in the temple.”

  “Kamakiri-san.” The kannushi, Aisha, bowed to me politely. There was a gleam of humor in his eyes that made me smile. “How nice to see you again. Have you come to inquire about the progress of Niko’s lessons?”

  “I hope she is attending to her teacher and doing well at her learning?”

  “Of course.” Aisha’s smile widened. He exchanged a glance with Niko, who grinned at him cheerfully. She was already a favorite, I guessed. “And apart from that, what can I do for you? Alas, I must tell you that I have had no word from our friend, but that is hardly unexpected. No message points to good news.”

  I bowed my head in response, although I was a little disappointed. I had hoped for something from Yo, even if it was just a few words of reassurance to tell me he was safe.

  “I hope he’s back with us soon,” I said cheerfully. “But I wanted to see you about this.”

  I held my pink diamond out in my palm. Aisha looked at it, but made no move to touch it. I watched him carefully and decided he liked the glittering stone even less than I did.

  “I know this diamond,” h
e said abruptly. “I’ve seen it before, many years ago, when I followed the trade of shinobi. It’s very valuable—and very unlucky. It has blood on it. Where did you get it?”

  I took a deep breath. I had been right, then, to dislike the stone.

  “Hara-san sent it to me as a present,” I explained. “He purchased it himself not long ago. Tell me about it, please.”

  The kannushi stared at my outstretched palm for a long time. I waited patiently until he nodded as if making his mind up.

  “Close your fingers on it. Better still, tuck it away in your obi. I don’t want it to hear us.” If his voice hadn’t been so severe, I would have laughed at his superstition. Instead, I put the gem back in my obi. I was sure I could feel it glowing hot through my kimono, as if it felt Aisha’s distaste and resented it.

  “When did you see it last?” I asked softly.

  “A long time ago. And far away from here, in the Kingdom of Chosun. When I last saw it, it belonged to a very beautiful woman. A woman who had the greatest nobles in the land at her feet.”

  “Did you see her yourself?” Niko interrupted impatiently.

  Aisha nodded. “I did. Often. She wore that thing—” He nodded toward my obi. “—set in gold in a necklace that clasped her neck closely. Necklaces were unusual in Chosun, but then again, so was the woman who wore it. She told me herself that it never left her neck, day or night.”

  I held my breath as he paused, his eyes looking at us but, I thought, seeing another time and place entirely.

  “Who was she?” I prompted. I guessed from the way he spoke of the unknown woman that when Aisha had been a young shinobi, they had been lovers. I hoped he understood from my simple question that I was asking not for personal details about his relationship with her, but about his lover. Who she was and how she had come to own such an expensive gem.

  His expression said his mind had returned to us. Reluctantly.

  “Her name was Yebin. In Chosun, it is a very old name that means to be pretty. It was an insult to her. She was perfection in every way. She was a gisaeng, a courtesan. It was said that she could turn men to stone by her very glance, and they were glad to die knowing that their last sight in this life had been her face. She could sing and dance exquisitely. Even to hear her speak was to be enchanted.” He paused, his expression longing even after the passage of so many years. Niko was about to speak, and I nudged her to silence. Aisha needed to tell his tale in his own way, in his own time. “She enchanted me in the end,” he said finally. “Just as she enchanted every other man who saw her. You have to understand, in those days I was young and handsome. Also, I had something of a reputation as a daredevil, a man who cared for nothing and nobody. Yebin couldn’t stand for that. She had princes of the blood at her feet. The idea that a mere shinobi, and not even a Chosun at that, could refuse to fall for her charms was anathema to her. I did some work for one of her patrons, which was how I met her. I fell in love with her at once, of course, but I pretended indifference. She hated that and went out of her way to attract me. I gave in, in the end. If you had seen her, you would understand.” He spoke as if we had laughed or made fun of him. I nodded seriously.

  “Some women are like that,” I said quietly. “They always have to have what’s out of their reach. And you say she had my diamond?”

  My diamond? I was astonished even as I said it. I had just acquired the jewel and already I was beginning to feel possessive about it. I didn’t like that idea at all.

  “There can’t be two like it,” Aisha said. “It was specially re-cut for her in that pattern. Even then, it had a bad reputation. In its original form, it was said to have been given to a noblewoman who in turn gave it to her lover. The man was stupid enough to flaunt the magnificent jewel, and they were both executed by her angry husband. He sold the diamond on, and it disappeared for many years. It was found again in the ashes of a terrible fire, clutched in the hand of a priest. It was rumored that this priest was so besotted by a certain courtesan that he robbed his temple to buy the jewel for her. And when she still refused him, he kept the diamond and then set fire to himself and burned his temple as well.

  “How it came to be in the possession of Yebin’s lover, I have no idea. He was a very great noble, of true bone rank. In Chosun, that signifies a member of the highest ranks. Only a man of true bone rank could ever become king. This noble wanted her to become his concubine, but she refused. Perhaps all the flattery had gone to her head, but she insisted that she would go to her noble as his wife or not at all. I was her lover by then. I pleaded with her to forget it. A noble of his rank could never marry a gisaeng. It was laughable. I tried to tell her that if she persisted, he would put her aside altogether, but she wouldn’t listen to me. She told me I was jealous. I suppose I was, to be honest.”

  “What happened to her?” I asked.

  “She died. Or perhaps it would be more truthful to say that her vanity was so great that her death was inevitable.” I heard Niko take a deep, satisfied breath at this revelation. I was vaguely irritated; she had surely seen too many kabuki performances for her own good! “Yebin was pregnant. She was convinced that her baby had been fathered by her noble. I was equally convinced that the baby was mine, but she wouldn’t listen to me. Suddenly, I was turned away when I went to visit her. When I was finally admitted, she told me brutally that she no longer had any interest in me. That she didn’t want to see me again. I pleaded with her, even told her that I wanted to marry her. She stared at me as if I had gone mad, and finally, she summoned her servants and had me thrown out. I was bewildered. I couldn’t believe that she meant it and continued to hang about her house in the hope of seeing her and persuading her to change her mind.”

  Aishi was a very old man. The story he was telling us had happened almost a lifetime ago, yet there were still tears in his eyes now. I put my hand on his sleeve to offer comfort and he patted my hand absently.

  “She was very beautiful,” he said apologetically. “Outwardly, if not within. Eventually, one of her maids took pity on me. This girl warned me to stay well away, that there was nothing but danger for me there. Yebin wanted her maid to support her story that the father of her baby was the noble, so she had confided in her what she was going to do. Her pregnancy was beginning to show. Yebin had decided that the next time her noble visited her, she would tell him he was to be a father. Her maid would swear on her life that it was so, that Yebin had had no other lovers. The noble had no children by his wife or any of his concubines, so she was sure he would be so delighted that he would put his barren wife aside and marry her. He didn’t, of course. He was pleased, but the best he would offer her was to be one of his concubines. She flew into a fury with him and actually slapped him. She was lucky. He simply walked away from her.”

  “What happened?” I asked when he stopped speaking.

  He shrugged. “Yebin had many gifts, but common sense was not amongst them. She summoned me back to her. At first, I was overjoyed. But not for long. She told me of the insult her noble had offered to her and demanded that I use my skills as shinobi to kill his wife in such a manner that her death would appear to be accidental. In return, she promised that she would take me as her lover after her noble married her, as soon as it was safe. She offered me the pink diamond in payment. When I refused in horror and told her she was playing with fire, she turned cold. If I would not help her, then there were plenty of others who would, she said. I begged her not to be so foolish. I told her she was risking death, not just for her but for her—our—unborn child.

  “She laughed at me. Called me a coward and told me to go away. Said she did not want to see me again and advised me to leave the Kingdom of Chosun because when she became a princess of the bone, she would have me hunted down and executed. I suddenly knew beyond any doubt that I was the father of her child and that she meant to keep me quiet by whatever means she could.

  “At that moment, love turned to stone. I walked away from her without a second glance. I made prepara
tions to get out of Chosun as soon as I could, but before I could leave, I heard the rumors. Yebin had persuaded one of her other lovers to try and assassinate the noble’s wife. The idiot had been clumsy and was caught. No doubt hoping that he and Yebin would be together in the next world, he had confessed all. They were executed together. I saw them die.” He shuddered and closed his eyes at the memory. “The noble had decided on a public execution, no doubt to warn off anybody else who displeased him. When Yebin’s head left her body, he walked over to her corpse and fished her necklace out of her blood. I haven’t given a thought to that diamond since that day. And I wish I had never seen it again.”

  “Will you take it?” I asked. Aisha’s expression was horrified. He put his hands out in front of him as if warding off evil. “I don’t mean for yourself,” I added quickly. “I know it’s worth a fortune, but I don’t want it. Will you take it and sell it? Use the proceeds to help the temple and those poor, unfortunate girls who come here as their last refuge? If anything could remove the stain from it, then surely that will.”

  He held out his hand reluctantly and I retrieved the diamond and dropped it into his palm. My fingers must have been warm, as it seemed to adhere to my skin and be reluctant to leave me. It caught the light and shed a rainbow of colors all around it. I was suddenly reluctant to part with it and almost snatched it back. Aisha folded his fingers around it and took it away from me.

  “I think that there is something wrong with this jewel,” he said thoughtfully. “Perhaps all the jealousy and desire it has attracted over the years has found a home inside it. Perhaps it was evil on the day it was dug out of the ground. Either way, I will do as you ask. Perhaps for the first time in its existence, it will be used to do good. And I also think that the sooner it is away from you, daughter, the better. The souls of many women will thank you for this.”