“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 sick room 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?”
He took a long breath and then indicated assent. I recited the unfinished poem I’d found in Lord Akio’s writing table. “That was yours, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, Lord Yamada.”
“The allusion to the cut sleeve was obvious, a reference to shared love between men that has been used in poetry since ancient times. But Lord Akio did not return your affections, did he?”
There were tears in Lord Kinmei’s eyes. “Lord Akio has great regard for me, as one might a brother. My feelings for him were . . . are, deeper. No, Lord Yamada, he did not share those feelings.”
“There is much I don’t understand,” Nobu said, “but I realize now that the attacks began only after Akio’s engagement to Suzume was formalized. Why was she not attacked instead?”
I smiled then. “Obviously, because Lord Akio’s upcoming marriage was an accident of timing, not the cause. Would you agree, Lord Kinmei?”
He looked at the floor. “I had no reason to resent my sister. If Akio had truly returned my affections, the technicality of a wife would not prevent our relationship, just as it does not for other men and women whose affections are elsewhere, whatever their inclinations.”
I nodded. “In truth, even after the poem, I tended to suspect that Suzume might be the real culprit. The appearance of the spirit was . . . ambiguous, and the death of the groom is one sure way to prevent an undesired marriage.”
Kinmei sighed. “May I ask how Suzume convinced you of her innocence?”
“At the end of our audience she told me to find a way to save Lord Akio,” I said.
Now Nobu scowled. “You believed her? Just because of a plea?”
I almost laughed. “Plea? No, Master Nobu—it was a command. With, I might add, implied consequences for failure.”
Kinmei managed a weak smile. “Even as a child, Suzume was never easily nor lightly thwarted.”
I bowed. “Thus your sister thoroughly squelched any suspicion that the match was undesirable in her eyes. With that fact established, the nature of the ghost itself argued against her involvement. If the ikiryo had awakened within Lady Suzume, it would certainly have gone after the Lady of the Ghost Willow, not Lord Akio.”
“You found her?” Nobu asked. “Then how did you know that she was not the culprit?”
“Suzume’s innocence argued for that of Lord Akio’s lover as well. An ikiryo is a very special sort of assassin, conjured in a moment of great emotional upheaval, which by then I was certain that Suzume only experienced after the first attacks, not before. The Lady of the Ghost Willow knew about the marriage arrangement long before Lord Akio was attacked, which likewise removed the heat of passion as an issue. I’m afraid, Lord Kinmei, that left only you.”
“I want to die,” he said.
Nobu glared at me, but I just smiled again. “Why? For saving Lord Akio’s life?”
Lord Kinmei stared at me as if I’d slapped him. “For . . . ? I almost killed him!”
I shook my head. “No, my lord. Your resentments, your jealousy, those powerful emotions that sometimes get out of our control almost killed him. But you? That part that is and always remains Fujiwara no Kinmei felt nothing but love and concern for your friend. You almost certainly prevented his death as if you’d shielded him with your own body.”
Tears were streaming down his face now. “How? How did I do this?”
“You summoned me. With all due respect to Master Nobu and his associates, if you had not done so, Lord Akio would likely be dead now.”
“That is no more than simple truth,” Nobu said ruefully.
Lord Kinmei would not meet my gaze. “You are kind,” he said.
I shook my head. “No, my lord, I am not. As Master Nobu just pointed out, I have told you the truth, no more and no less. If there is any kindness here, you must find it for yourself.”
“But what must I do now? Akio remains in danger so long as I live!”
Nobu bowed. “With respect, I rather doubt that.”
I nodded. “Again, Master Nobu speaks truly. An ikiryo feeds on repressed resentments, unacknowledged emotions. That was why I sealed you off, so it could not return to you without your full awareness. Now, you know, and that changes everything. I do not believe the creature will return. If you can make peace with yourself now, I guarantee it will not.”
“I will speak to your father,” Nobu said. “I’m sure he will approve a time of retreat at Enryaku Temple. You will not be taking the tonsure, mind, but you can rest and recover and, most of all, satisfy yourself that there is no danger. If anything were to happen, we would be prepared.”
“What do you think, Lord Yamada?” Kinmei asked.
I grunted. “I think you should listen to a man who understands spiritual matters better than I do, and that man is sitting beside me.”
I took my leave of Nobu and Lord Kinmei then. My duties were at an end, but for someone like Master Nobu, theirs had just begun. I rather thought he had a more difficult mission than mine, but then perhaps his rewards were, eventually, greater.
It wasn’t very late. I looked up into the clear evening sky, and then smiled and headed toward Shijo Bridge while there was still time. Lord Kinmei was a man of his word, and I had no doubt that my payment would arrive soon, and then there would be saké.
Right now, there was a lovely moon.
THE GHOST OF SHINODA FOREST
I didn’t know how Kenji found me. I didn’t know what possessed him to look. Yet there he was, coming up the mountain trail to what was left of Enfusa Temple. I sat on the broad stone steps that now led to nothing, looking out over the valley below and admiring the view, when I heard his approach.
“What are you doing here, Kenji-san?” I asked.
“That would be my question as well, Lord Yamada. Or does it simply stand to reason that the only temple you feel any attraction to is a failed one?” Kenji leaned his mendicant’s staff against a pine tree and sat down beside me on the steps. “Charming view,” he said, looking down the mountain.
“Yes.”
After a moment of more or less comfortable silence, he frowned and looked behind him. There wasn’t much to see. The temple building had burned down years ago; there wasn’t much left save the stone steps, blackened, shattered roof tiles, and a couple of moldering guardian statues, their features almost weathered away.
“There are ghosts
here,” he said. “I can sense them.”
“Most likely. There’s something about thwarted plans and lost opportunities that tends to attract them.”
Kenji sighed. “I know you’re under no obligation to tell me, but I have to ask again: what are you doing here?”
“I don’t know.”
Kenji frowned. “Lord Yamada, you’re frightening me.”
“I haven’t touched saké in three weeks.”
“Oh. In that case, I brought some with me . . . strictly for charitable reasons, you understand.”
I sighed. “It’s not that I can’t afford saké, Kenji-san. I haven’t wanted it.”
Kenji stared for a moment. “I was wrong. Now you’re frightening me.”
I looked out at the view from the mountain. “The ancient Chinese poet Li Po once said that when he drank, he forgot Heaven and Hell. And when he really drank, he also forgot himself and thus found his greatest joy. I’ve been ‘really’ drinking for a long time now, Kenji-san. Would you concur?”
“If there were such a thing as drinking at heroic levels, you would be an immortal,” Kenji said cheerfully.
“And in all that time I never, not once, forgot myself or found any joy.”
Kenji frowned. “So the lesson is ‘never trust a drunken Chinese poet’?”
I almost laughed. “That’s one. There may be another lesson, and perhaps that’s why I’m at Enfusa, but I have no idea what it may be.”
“It simply could be that you never drink while you’re on a mission.”
“I’m not on a mission.”
“Yes, you are, though you don’t know it yet. Lord Yamada, I came to tell you that Princess Teiko’s ghost has been seen in Shinoda Forest.”
Whether I was drunk or sober, Teiko haunted my dreams. I had always assumed, if I drank enough, that one day this would no longer be true, but there had been fifteen years of drinking after we parted, plus two more after her death, and now my optimism was quite exhausted. There was nothing left in me to fight her with, so I did the only sensible thing—I surrendered.
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