Weird Detectives (66 page)

“So I assumed. The path is about fifteen paces ahead of you. Stay on it until you reach the river. You’ll be able to hear a waterfall,” she said. “I’ll be waiting for you there.”

Lady Kuzunoha moved quickly away from me. In a moment her image shimmered, and I saw her true form, a silver fox bearing the second tail that betrayed her spirit nature. She ran swiftly and was soon out of sight. I gathered my belongings and hobbled along the way she had gone as best I could.

I wasn’t clear on a lot of things, not the least of which was why Lady Kuzunoha had bothered to save my life. After all, if she knew who sent me, then she knew why I had come and, if she’d been willing to surrender the boy in the first place, she could have arranged that easily enough while Lord Abe’s men searched the wood. And if she
wasn’t
willing to give up the child, why not just kill me? It’s not as if I could have done anything to stop her, and if I had any doubts of either her ability or will in that regard, I had the wretched bandits’ example to prove otherwise.

A lot of things didn’t make sense, and if I wanted any answers I’d have to go much deeper into Shinoda Forest to get them. Part of me wondered if I might be better off taking my chances with the ogre. Then I heard a large crashing noise in the forest back the way I’d come and decided not. I picked up the pace as much as the headache and my tingling limbs allowed.

I’d been careless once and was lucky to be alive. This time as I moved down the path, I had my sword out and ready. I wasn’t sure how much good it would do me against what I’d likely face, but the grip felt comforting in my hand.

I came to the place Lady Kuzunoha described and followed the sound of rushing water. A cold water stream rushing down the adjacent hill formed a twelve-foot waterfall into the river’s rocky shallows. Lady Kuzunoha was in human form again. She stood directly underneath the rushing water, her slim fingers pressed together in an attitude of prayer, her long black hair flowing over her body like a cloak. Her hair was the only thing covering her. For a little while I forgot to breathe.

I knew Lady Kuzunoha’s human form was an actual transformation and not simply illusion, else she would never have been able to bear a human child, but I also knew it was not her true form. Knowing this did not help me at all. The only thing that did was the sharp and clear memory of what she had done to those two hapless bandits; that was my cold waterfall. That left the question of why Lady Kuzunoha needed one.

When I finally managed to look away, I noticed Lady Kuzunoha’s kimono neatly folded on top of a flat stone nearby. I’m still not sure why I turned away. Maybe it was my common sense, warning me of danger. Or maybe I had come to the reluctant—and relieved—conclusion that this little show was not being staged for my benefit. Lady Kuzunoha was preparing herself for something, but I didn’t have any idea as to what that might be.

There was a small clearing nearby; I waited there. Lady Kuzunoha finally emerged, now fully dressed, her hair still wet but combed out and orderly. If anything she appeared more winsome than before. She looked sad but resolute as she approached the center of the clearing. In her sash she had tucked one of those slim daggers that high-born ladies tended to carry both as self-defense and a symbol of rank. She knelt beside me, looking away.

“I’m ready,” she said. She drew the dagger and put the naked blade across her thighs.

I frowned. Maybe Seita the ghost was right about me, since what came out of my mouth then wasn’t very intelligent. “I don’t understand. Ready for what, Lady Kuzunoha?”

It was as if she hadn’t even heard me. “I would send my love a poem but words are useless now. You may take back whatever proofs your master requires. Now stand ready to assist me.”

The light dawned. The waterfall was a purification rite, which would explain the prayer but not much else. “You think I’m here to kill you!”

Lady Kuzunoha looked up at me. “Do not mock me, Yamada-san. I saved your life, and I think I’m due the courtesy of the truth. Did Lord Abe send you or not?”

“I have his writ and seal if you doubt me. But I am no assassin, whatever you may have heard of me.”

Now Lady Kuzunoha looked confused. “But . . . what else? I cannot return. He knows that.”

If Lady Kuzunoha was confused, I was doubly so, but at least I had the presence of mind to reach down and take the knife away from her. “First of all, assuming I
had
been sent to harm you, will you please explain why you’re being so cooperative?”

She frowned. “Did my husband not explain the circumstances of our first meeting?”

“He didn’t have to—I saw your message. You said that he rescued you from hunters . . . before he knew that you and the silver fox were one and the same, I mean.”

“There was even more to it that he didn’t know, Yamada-san. You see, I was already in love with Lord Abe, from the day his procession rode past Shinoda Forest three years ago. I came to the Inari Shrine in the first place because I knew he would be there. He already owned my heart, but from that day forward he owned my life as well. If now he requires that of me, who am I to deny my love what is his by right?”

Now it was starting to make some sense. No one had ever claimed that self-sacrifice was a fox trait, but I knew love made people do silly things, and it was clear even to a lout like me that Lady Kuzunoha, fox spirit or no, was still deeply in love with her husband. I had suspected that Lord Abe was deluding himself on that point, but now I knew better.

“If Lord Abe didn’t know you were a fox, why did you leave him?”

“I didn’t want to,” Lady Kuzunoha said, sadly. “I tried so hard . . . You know what I am, Yamada-san. The body I wear now is real, but it is a sort of mask. Sometimes the mask slips; that’s unavoidable. Yet it was happening to me more and more. In my foolishness I thought I would be spared this, but the burden of pretending to be something I am not became too much, even for his sake. It was only a matter of time before my true nature would be revealed and my husband and his family shamed. I could no longer take that risk. I am a fraud, but I was honest with my husband about why I had to leave. He did not come himself, so I assume he hates me now.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Lady Kuzunoha. He understands your reasons and accepts them, though he is very sad as you might imagine.”

Lady Kuzunoha rose to her feet with one smooth motion. “Then why did my lord not come himself? Why did he send his warriors? Why did he send
you
?”

“My patron said he did not trust himself to let you go if he ever held you again. I can not fault him in this.”

She actually blushed slightly at the compliment, but pressed on. “You didn’t answer my other question.”

“He sent his retainers and me for the same reason: we were looking for Doshi.”

“My son? But why?”

“To bring him home, Lady. Lord Abe lost you. He didn’t want to lose his son too. Maybe that’s selfish of him, but I think you can understand how he feels.”

“But I do
not
understand,” Lady Kuzunoha said, and now the gentle, sad expression she had worn since leaving the waterfall was nowhere to be seen. She looked into my eyes and my knees shook. “Yamada-san, are you telling me that my son is missing?”

I fought the urge to back away. “But . . . you didn’t take him?”

“I . . . ? Of course not! Doshi’s blood may be mostly fox, but in Shinoda Forest that’s not enough. He could never have made a home in my world! Doshi belongs with his father.”

I took a deep breath. “If that’s the case, then yes, Lady Kuzunoha—I’m telling you that your son is missing.”

I’m not sure what I expected, but Lady Kuzunoha merely held out her hand. “Please return my dagger, Yamada-san. I promise not to use it on myself . . . or you.”

I gave the knife back, carefully. “Do you have someone else in mind?”

Her smile was the stuff of nightmares. “That remains to be seen.”

I had more questions, but Lady Kuzunoha was in no mood to answer them, and I knew better than to test my luck. She was kind enough to see me safely out of the forest before she disappeared, but it was clear she had other matters on her mind besides my well-being. I, on the other hand, could think of little else.

The bandit was right to call you a fool. You had no idea of how big a mess you were in.

The youkai that Seita had warned me about should have been my first clue. Still, if Lord Abe had sent me chasing wild foxfire, there still might be time to get on the right trail. I didn’t like where I thought it was going to lead, but I had given my word, and that was the only thing worth more to me than my sword. I just hoped it didn’t have to mean more than my life.

When I got back into Kyoto, the first thing I did was track down Kenji. It wasn’t that hard. He was at one of his favorite drinking establishments near the Demon Gate. Technically it was the Northeast Gate, but since that was the direction from which demons and evil spirits were supposed to enter, the name stuck. Naturally someone like Kenji would keep close to such a place. He said it was good for business.

Business looked a little slow. For one thing, Kenji was drinking very cheap saké. For another, he was in great need of a barber; his head looked like three days’ growth of beard. I found a cushion on the opposite side of his table and made myself comfortable. Kenji looked at me blearily. He had one of those in-between faces, neither old nor young, though I happened to know he was pushing fifty. He finally recognized me.

“Yamada-san! How is my least favorite person?”

“Terrible, you’ll be pleased to know. I need a favor.”

He smiled like a little drunken buddha. “Enlightenment is free but in this world all favors have a price. What do you want?”

“I need to seal the powers of a fox spirit, at least temporarily. Is this possible?”

He whistled low. “When all is illusion all things are possible. Still, you’re wading in a dangerous current, Yamada-san.”

“This I know. Can you help me or not?”

Kenji seemed to pause in thought and then rummaged around inside his robe, which, like him, was in need of a bath. He pulled out a slip of paper that was surprisingly clean considering from where it had come. He glanced at it, then nodded. “This will do what you want, but the effect is temporary. Just how temporary depends on the spiritual powers of the animal. Plus you’ll have to place it on the fox directly.”

“How many bowls?”

“Rice? For this? Yamada-san, I’ll accept three good bronze, but only because it’s you.”

Reluctantly I counted out the coins. “Done, but this better not be one of your worthless fakes for travelers and the gullible.”

He sat up a little straighter. “Direct copy from the Diamond Sutra, Yamada-san. I was even sober when I did it.”

“I hope so, since if this doesn’t work and somehow I survive, I’ll be back to discuss it. If it does work, I owe you a drink.”

He just smiled a ragged smile. “Either way, you know where to find me.”

I did. Whatever Kenji’s numerous faults as a priest and a man, at least he was consistent. I carefully stashed the paper seal and headed for Lord Abe’s estate. I wasn’t sure how much time I had left, but I didn’t think there was a lot.

There was less than I knew.

Before I even reached the gate at the Abe estate, I saw a lady traveling alone. She was veiled, of course. Her wide-brimmed boshi was ringed with pale white mesh that hung down like a curtain, obscuring her features. I couldn’t tell who it was but her bearing, her clothes, even the way she moved betrayed her as a noble. A woman of that class traveling unescorted was unusual in itself, but more unusual was the fact that no one seemed to notice. She passed a gang of rough-looking workmen who didn’t even give her a second glance.

Once the density of the crowd forced her to brush against a serving girl who looked startled for a moment as she looked around, then continued her errand, frowning. The woman, for her part, kept up her pace.

They can’t see her.

At that point I realized it was too late to keep watch at the Abe estate. I kept to the shadows and alleyways as best I could, and I followed. I could move quietly at need and I was as careful as I could be without losing sight of her; if she spotted me, she’d know that fact long before I did. I kept with her as the buildings thinned out and she moved up the road leading out of the city.

She’s going to the Inari Shrine.

Mount Inari was clearly visible in the distance, and the woman kept up her pace without flagging until she had reached the grounds of the shrine. Its numerous red torii were like beacons, but she took little notice of the shrine buildings themselves and immediately passed on to the path leading up to the mountain.

Hundreds of bright red gates donated by the faithful over the years arched over the pathway, giving it a rather tunnel-like appearance. I didn’t dare follow directly behind her now; one backward glance would have betrayed me. I moved off the path and kept to the edge of the wood that began immediately behind the shrine buildings. It was easy now to see why hunters might frequent the area; the woods went on for miles around the mountainside. There were fox statues as well, since foxes were the messengers of the God of Rice; they were depicted here in stone with message scrolls clamped in their powerful jaws. The wooden torii themselves resembled gates, and I knew that’s what they were, symbolic gates marking the transition from the world of men to the world of the spirits, and this was the true destination of my veiled Lady. I didn’t want to follow her further but I knew there was no real choice now; to turn back meant failure or worse. Going on might mean the same, if I was wrong about what was about to happen.

The woman left the path where the woods parted briefly to create a small meadow. I hid behind a tree, but it was a useless gesture.

“You’ve followed me for quite some time, Yamada-san. Please do me the courtesy of not skulking about any longer.”

I recognized the voice. Not that there was any question in my mind by then, but there was no point in further concealment. I stepped into the clearing. “Greetings, Lady Akiko.”