by Sean Wallace
“My brother left instructions to the household that we refuse no reasonable request from you,” she said without preamble. “What do you wish of me, Lord Yamada?”
Straight to the point. I know she was trying to be rude, but at the moment such directness served my needs admirably.
“Please forgive my intrusion, but there are some questions I need to ask you, for Lord Akio’s sake.”
“Akio? What can I tell you that would be of help?”
Was that actual concern in her voice? I had to admit that it at least sounded that way. “I understand that you were promised to Lord Akio.”
“I am still promised to Lord Akio,” she replied, with some of the coldness I had originally felt returning to her voice. “And if it be the will of Heaven that promise will be honored. Akio’s father and my uncle have both approved the match.”
“Is that your will as well?”
There was a long silence. Thanks to the curtain I couldn’t tell if she was shocked or merely trying not to laugh.
“What has that to do with the matter, Lord Yamada? You know the law as well as I.”
“Of course, my lady. But that was not my question.”
There was an even longer silence, then she turned to her two attendants. “You are both to withdraw to just beyond the doorway. Keep us in sight, as is proper, but no more.”
They both bowed and obeyed, though without a great deal of enthusiasm. When they were clearly out of earshot, Lady Suzume beckoned me closer. She then pulled the two halves of the curtain apart, only a little, but it was enough that I could finally see the woman kneeling behind the curtain, and the sight was very familiar. Easily explained: her resemblance to her brother was quite striking. She was, in her own way, as beautiful as he was handsome. She also seemed to be his model for the shikigami who had served as his messenger earlier.
“I had to see your face, Lord Yamada. Forgive me, but some matters cannot be judged by words alone through a veil.”
I had of course seen the veil as a hindrance to myself, but now I understood that hindrance worked both ways. “I am honored.”
“Not by my own inclination. Your reputation is unsavory at best, but I want you to understand that I will do anything I can to be of service to Lord Akio. Anything, and that includes answering your rather impertinent question, Lord Yamada – yes, it is my will. Akio and my brother grew up together and were inseparable, and so Lord Akio in turn was like an older brother to me. My affection for him has only increased over the years. He is the kindest, gentlest man I have ever known.”
“So you are . . . content, to be Lord Akio’s wife?”
She did laugh then, demurely covering her mouth with her fan. “‘Content’? Lord Yamada, I have lived in terror of some of the marriages my family contemplated for me. Yet when my uncle gave me the news that I was for Akio instead, I counted myself thrice blessed! He is a good man, a friend, and will treat me well. I cannot believe the gods would be so cruel as to offer me such happiness and then snatch it from me before I have even touched it.”
I, on the other hand, had no trouble at all believing that they would do such, and worse besides. I had seen it, and not from nearly as far a distance as I would have liked. Which was another reason I did not want to follow my current path but did not see much in the way of alternatives. I did note that Lady Suzume never said that she loved him, but perhaps in her view that was entirely beside the point.
“Forgive me, Lady Suzume, but you do know that he has other attachments?”
For the space of a dozen heartbeats, there was almost absolute silence. “What of it?” she asked, finally, and I could not imagine the snows of Hokkaido containing any more chill than the one in her voice.
“So you did know.”
“Of course I knew! It was my business to know. What I do not know is why you’re asking me this.”
“Again I must beg your indulgence, but I did ask for a reason.”
She closed the curtain again. “I am not curious about that reason. If there is more to the matter, I suggest you consult the so-called ‘Lady of the Ghost Willow’ for yourself.”
So she even knew her rival’s poetic euphemism. I should have been surprised, but I was not. “No one seems to know who she is.”
I thought she was going to laugh, call me an idiot, or both. “I assume you’ve seen Lord Akio’s poems, or you wouldn’t be asking me about this woman. I believe he also refers to her as ‘Morning Iris’. Put it together, Lord Yamada.”
I frowned. Morning Iris? Ghost Willow? For a moment I just stared at her. Then I almost called myself an idiot. “The tree called the ghost willow is ‘yanagi’, and it’s also a family name. Iris is ‘ayame’, a flower and also a woman’s name. ‘Lady of the Ghost Willow.’ I’m looking for a woman named Yanagi no Ayame.”
I couldn’t see her smile, but I knew it was there. “So you’re not a complete fool. That’s good to know, since you seem to be our only hope for Lord Akio’s deliverance. You will find a way to save him, Lord Yamada. I hope there is no misunderstanding between us on this.”
At that point I did not think there was. “Everything I do now is in the service of Lord Akio’s deliverance, Lady Suzume.”
“Then I humbly suggest you stop wasting my lord’s time. The woman you seek lives in the Fifth Ward. If you need answers, she’s more likely to possess them than I.”
The Yanagi family compound had seen better days. The walls had been patched in several places; the gate swung uneasily on rusty hinges. Yet the patching was of fine workmanship, and if the hinges were rusted the gate itself had been recently repaired. An old woman, whom I soon learned was the only retainer remaining, closed the gate behind us and led me through the dilapidated garden. A very old willow, the sort with long, trailing limbs and commonly known as a “ghost willow”, had pride of place there, such that it was, doubtless due to its family association. Such trees were often the haunts of yokai and ghosts, and considered unlucky. When I saw the state of the Lady of the Morning Iris’s home, I was inclined to agree.
Whatever lowly condition the family had come to, etiquette itself had not been abandoned. I was led to an audience with Yanagi no Ayame that, at least so far as the procedures and forms were concerned, was little different than the one earlier with Lady Suzume. Only this time, the curtains were not opened. Yet their threadbare state did give me a glimpse of the woman on the opposite side of the veil from time to time.
She was about Suzume’s age or perhaps a bit younger. Her kimono and green Chinese overjacket were of fine quality, and if the kimono was a little worn, the overjacket was obviously new. Ayame herself was a lovely, delicate woman, though with little of the serenity of Lady Suzume.
“Thank you for receiving me. I am Lord Yamada.”
Yanagi no Ayame was worried, and she didn’t bother to conceal it. “I apologize for our current surroundings, Lord Yamada, but as you see, maintenance has been impossible until recently.”
“That is of no consequence. Thank you for receiving me under these circumstances.”
“Your messenger barely preceded you within the hour, so I must ask you: is there any further news of Lord Akio?”
“He yet lives, but his health is grave. Surely you knew of this before my messenger arrived?”
“I only knew . . .” Her voice trailed off. “That is . . .”
I didn’t want to embarrass her, but I didn’t have the time to dance around the matter all evening. Nor, I was certain, did Lord Akio. “You only knew that he had not visited or written to you in the last several days, yes?”
“Yes,” she said, so softly I barely heard her. “In my loneliness I was afraid he had forgotten me.”
Attachments among the nobility tended to follow set protocols: in the case of a formal alliance, the man would visit his love openly, and any children produced would be immediately acknowledged. If there was no formal understanding, the visits would of course be more discreet, whatever the outcome, including children. I
was fairly certain that Lord Akio’s relationship with the “Lady of the Ghost Willow” fell into the informal second category, whatever their feelings toward each other might be.
“I realize it is both painful and indelicate to speak of such things, so I must ask your forgiveness in advance. I have Lord Akio’s welfare at heart.”
“As do I, Lord Yamada. He has been very kind to me in my troubles, and if I can be of service to him now, I will. But I don’t know what I can tell you that may be of help.”
“Perhaps we may discover something together. Now, then: you say you did not know of Lord Akio’s condition. Did you also not know that he is engaged to Lady Fujiwara no Suzume?”
She sighed. “That I did know. He told me himself some weeks ago.”
That got my attention. “If I may ask, what was his purpose in telling you?”
She frowned slightly. “It may surprise you, Lord Yamada, considering the differences in circumstances between me and my lord, but we had . . . have few secrets between us. He told me of his father’s decision because he thought I had the right to know.”
I was beginning to wonder how the ikiryo was managing to harm Lord Akio in the first place. The more I heard of the man, the more I expected him to be surrounded by the divine protective glow of saintly purity. I dismissed the thought as unworthy, and wondered if I was beginning to feel jealous of the man.
“I could understand one being angry at such news,” was all I said.
Through one of the rips in the curtain, I clearly saw Ayame frown. “Why should I be angry? It is a good match; I know he has always been fond of Lady Suzume and her brother. He often spoke of them. They’ve been friends since they were children.”
“And you had no ambitions of one day occupying the place that Lady Suzume will soon take by his side?”
Ayame was silent for several heartbeats. “That was always impossible,” she finally said, her voice barely audible.
“I can see how your current circumstances would be a hindrance, but are you certain? Did Akio never speak to his family on your behalf ?”
Silence again. Then, “Lord Yamada, you misunderstand. When I refer to ‘my circumstances’, it is not my obvious poverty that is the obstacle. It is the fact that my father and brother were both carried off by a demon of disease when I was fifteen. I have no other brothers or male cousins.”
As with Lady Suzume, again I felt like a complete fool. Under both law and custom, Ayame was unable to speak for herself in these matters. Only her father or any surviving male relative of age could grant her permission to marry. And there was none.
“You are the last of your family, aren’t you?”
“Do not think me despairing, Lord Yamada. I may yet have children, so in some fashion the Yanagi Clan may survive. But I can never formally marry. When the time came, I couldn’t even offer myself to Lord Akio freely. I had to beg him to force me, so that I would not offend my father’s spirit by usurping his prerogative.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, though the word seemed like nothing.
“I do not need your pity, Lord Yamada. I need for you to understand me. If Lord Akio did not marry Suzume, he would marry another. If the gods will that this be the end of our love, then it will be so. But I do not think that will be the case. Perhaps that hope is an illusion, but I will cling to it. Now. Is there anything else?”
“No, Lady Ayame.”
“Then this audience is at an end.”
On the evening of the third day I found Nobu pacing the perimeter of the mansion, his prayer beads out. “I’m glad you’ve returned,” he said. “I think we’ll need all the aid we can find.”
“Did the creature return last night?”
“Yes, but the seals held. It didn’t get in. But I warned you that the seals were losing potency, and my messengers have not yet returned from Enryaku Temple. If they don’t come after tonight we’ll be back to bare exorcism.”
“You have no seals at all?”
He grunted. “Only two that I still trust, but that’s not enough to secure the chamber where Lord Akio is being tended.”
I breathed a silent prayer of thanks to whoever might be listening. “Two may be just enough. Has Lord Kinmei returned?”
“Yes, though he was weary from his journey. I believe he is asleep in Lord Akio’s chambers. Shall I awaken him?”
“No, but I would like to check on him. First give me one of the wards, just in case I meet the creature before you do. You take the other and keep watch. I’ll be back shortly.”
There was an attendant at the door. I ordered him to go join the guard around the room where Lord Akio was being kept, and then I slipped inside the room where Lord Kinmei was sleeping. I tarried there for a few moments but was careful not to awaken him, and then I left as quietly as I could and returned to where the others kept watch. On my way back I saw the ghostly figure floating across the ground in the courtyard.
“The ikiryo is coming,” I said.
In an instant Nobu had the spirit ward in his hand. “You saw it? Where?”
“Close by. Be prepared.”
The ikiryo manifested just beyond the veranda, in manner and appearance exactly the same as I had seen it two nights before. It floated toward Lord Akio’s sickroom as if it didn’t even notice us. I wondered if perhaps that was indeed the case. I leaned close to Nobu.
“Once the seal is placed, be prepared to move quickly.”
He started to ask me something, doubtless to inquire what I was talking about, but there was no time. He stepped into the spirit’s path and placed his last remaining ward.
“Hsssss . . .”
I have no idea how the creature hissed like a cat with no visible mouth, but then I halfway expected the thing to be stronger than before. Nonetheless, Nobu’s spirit seal performed its duties admirably, and the creature began to fade. I turned to the other priests and attendants nearby as I took a torch out of the hands of one startled servant. “Stay here. Make sure no one approaches Lord Akio until we return. Master Nobu, follow me!”
I saw the confusion on the old man’s face but he didn’t hesitate. I sprinted down the corridor, across the main wing and back into the west wing of the mansion with Nobu close behind.
“Is Lord Kinmei . . . in danger as well?” he managed to gasp.
“Extremely so!”
There was a bewildered attendant at the door to Lord Akio’s quarters where Lord Kinmei was sleeping. I sent him off to join the guard around Lord Akio.
“Why did you send him away?” Nobu asked as I slid the door aside.
“So he wouldn’t see this,” I said.
Lord Kinmei lay on his bedding right where I’d left him, still fast asleep, only now the ikiryo hovered above him, its no-face mere inches from his face. Nobu grabbed his prayer beads and immediately began a rite of exorcism, but I stopped him.
“If you value Lord Kinmei’s life, wait,” I said.
Nobu stared at me, uncomprehending, but there wasn’t time for questions. I darted forward and slapped Lord Kinmei awake.
“What—?”
He started to scramble to his feet but I held him down. “Look, Lord Kinmei. Look at it.”
Despite his obvious fear, he did as I commanded, and comprehension finally came. “Is this . . . ?”
“Yes, my lord. It is.”
“I-I swear I didn’t know. I didn’t mean . . .”
“I know.”
I reached forward and plucked Nobu’s last remaining spirit seal, the one he’d given me earlier, from Lord Kinmei’s chest where I’d left it after I saw the ikiryo emerge from Lord Kinmei only a few minutes before. With the barrier dissolved, the ikiryo returned to its rightful place as Lord Kinmei began to weep.
* * *
I joined the guard surrounding Lord Akio until Nobu returned to fetch me later in the evening. “He’s ready to receive you now.”
“How is he?”
“Devastated, as one might expect. He wants to become a monk.”
“Do you think that’s a wise decision?”
He smiled. “As a rule? Yes. But he’s in no condition to be making that choice now. Besides, his father requires heirs to the clan line and would never allow it. He’s in negotiations for an arranged marriage even as we speak.”
“That would be what’s expected.”
“Lord Yamada, I have been a spiritual counselor to both families for a long time. Do you think I didn’t know of Lord Kinmei’s inclinations? This does not change the fact that he is a loyal son and will do what is expected of him. But the ikiryo? That I did not know, or even suspect, but at least I understand now why you halted my exorcism.”
I sighed. “I’ve often asked you to trust me during this time, but now it seems that I must trust you, Master Nobu. You are quite correct. With the ‘grave’ of the spirit blocked, an exorcism might have worked too well, and Lord Kinmei would have lost that part of himself forever. I’ve seen that happen once before, and I’d call the result an improvement. But in this case? I think we would have done irreparable harm.”
“Perhaps we already have. Is this really necessary?”
“‘A poisoned wound never heals.’ Lord Akio will recover. Now we must make sure Lord Kinmei does the same.”
Lord Kinmei was waiting for us in Akio’s quarters. Upon first glance, I’d say “devastated” was an understatement. At that moment Lord Kinmei had to be the most miserable human being I’d ever seen, and that included my own reflection. There were cushions there on the floor by the bedding and he motioned for Nobu and me to sit.
“I will never forgive myself, Lord Yamada,” he said without preamble. “When I think of what I almost did . . . but I didn’t know. How did you?”
“In order to answer that, I must ask you a question or two yet. Are you prepared?”