Autumn Bridge (35 page)

Hanako heard the murmur of voices. The two guards were together in one place now. She crawled away on the other side of the hut and made her way into the woods undetected.

She found the two foundation stones without difficulty. She could never remember the famous poems that other women recited so easily. But her memory of a place once seen was flawless. She felt along the edges of the first stone, found nothing, and moved on to the second. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but whatever it was, she was sure it was here. In the scrolls, Shizuka had said she would leave a sign of her presence for Emily. At first, Hanako had assumed that was a reference to the foundation stones themselves. But what did they signify except the existence of the cell in olden times? That had already been spoken of in the scrolls. There had to be something else. The second was like the first, no more than a flat, heavy stone stuck in the ground. She stepped slowly through the grass toward where she thought the third stone would be. And there it was. Again, nothing. Following the line of the wall she visualized, she came to the fourth stone. Unlike the others, it was loose. Six hundred years ago, this had been flat ground. Since then, the shifting of earth in the mountainside had caused a winter stream to flow in this direction, where it had eroded the ground.

She reached under the stone. There was nothing immediately available to the touch except dirt and small stones. She kept feeling under it but found nothing. It was too dark for her eyes to be of any help.

Hanako froze when she heard stealthy footsteps nearby. Someone was moving in a heavily wooded area about a hundred paces distant. The samurai — she could tell he was a samurai by the topknot of his silhouette — bent down and picked something up out of the brush. When he stood, he turned his profile to Hanako. He had retrieved a bow and arrow. She couldn’t see him well enough to recognize him. When he returned toward Mushindo, she followed him. It was late, so few lights burned within the monastery. There was only the single sentry lantern at the gate. The man avoided this and climbed nimbly over a dark part of the wall. When he did, his face was briefly illuminated.

Taro.

Hanako thought back to the afternoon. Emily had seen Shizuka in a clearing close by. Taro had retrieved his weapon from a spot that would have given him both concealment and an easy shot, even for an archer of his limited skills. He had been prevented from killing Emily only by her baffling behavior.

Hanako hurried back to the hut where Emily slept. This was not the time to worry about messages from ghosts. If Taro had tried once, he would try again, and almost certainly before they left Mushindo. He was playing the part of an anonymous assassin, which gave some small advantage to the two women. How could she make the best use of it?

By morning, Taro decided he would act as soon as they were on the road to Edo. His men would first seize and bind Hanako in order to prevent her from attempting to defend Emily. If they killed Hanako, Hidé would never join them against Lord Genji, no matter what he thought about the righteousness of their cause. Taro had given up any attempt at secrecy. He would kill Emily in the open, with his sword.

“Lady Hanako, Lady Emily.” He stood outside the door of the abbot’s hut. “We are ready to proceed as soon as you—”

He felt the bullet split open his brow before he heard the explosion of gunpowder.

“Traitor!” Hanako yelled through the closed door. She had used Taro’s voice as her guide and aimed her shot where she thought his head would be. She doubted she had hit him. That would be impossibly good luck.

Taro scrambled backward as quickly as he could on his hands and knees, the pouring blood half blinding him. Had she shot out his eye? He didn’t even know she had a gun.

“Lady Hanako!” he said. “What are you doing? It’s me, Taro.”

“I know who you are,” she said, “and I know what you are.” Before dawn, she had gone to the girls’ hut and told Kimi to send a message to Edo as quickly as she could. They were surrounded by traitors.

I will go myself, Kimi said. I am the fastest runner here.

You can’t run all the way to Edo, Hanako said.

I don’t have to. Lord Hiromitsu is Lord Genji’s friend. One of his senior retainers has an estate not far from here. He’ll help.

The rascally girl was now their only hope. If she failed to bring reinforcements soon, Taro and his men would storm the hut and kill Emily. Besides the gun — a silver-plated .32-caliber revolver that had come from California as a gift from Stark — she had another trick she could use. But it was risky and she preferred not to resort to it unless forced to do so.

“Hanako, are you sure you’re right?” Emily said. “Taro has put himself in harm’s way for my sake many times. I can’t believe he would ever hurt me.”

“There is no other explanation for the bow and arrow.” She began shifting one of the mats from the floor. Emily helped her stand it against the door. “It won’t stop them, but it will slow them. Perhaps enough.”

“He might have been hunting,” Emily said.

“At night? Hunting what? Owls?”

“Perhaps he hunted during the day, was distracted by my fainting spell, and forgot the bow and arrow there.”

“A samurai forgetting his weapon?” Hanako said. It was unthinkable. They moved another mat and placed it against the first.

The lieutenant said to Taro, “You have lost a part of your brow.”

Taro pushed his hand away and held the cloth to the wound himself.

“Bring the girl.”

He and his men had retreated fifty paces from the abbot’s hut. It would be best if Hanako could be convinced to surrender. Otherwise, it would be necessary to storm the hut. He didn’t know how well Hanako could shoot. He had never seen her practicing, so she was probably not very good, despite having drawn blood with her first shot. Still, at close range, in a confined space, with the determination that Hanako had, the situation would be very dangerous. He was not concerned about casualties among his men, or even of being killed himself. His fear was that she would fight to the death to protect Emily. It was to avoid just such a tactic that he had planned to take her by surprise as soon as they were traveling once again. Unfortunately, she had somehow anticipated danger.

“Here she is.” The lieutenant roughly pushed Kimi forward. Her arms were bound tightly behind her.

“You are doomed,” Kimi said. “Surrender now and you may be pardoned.”

“Silence!” The lieutenant slapped her hard with the back of his hand, knocking her to the ground. He jerked her back onto her feet with the rope and made to strike her again.

Taro held up his hand. The girl was woozy from the blow, and blood dripped from her nose and mouth, but she appeared completely unafraid. She was either very brave or a complete idiot, like the huge monk who wandered silently about Mushindo, always smiling.

“Are you a princess in disguise,” Taro said, “that you have the power to grant us pardon?”

“The pardon would come from Lord Genji, of course,” Kimi said. “He is well known for his soft heart.”

“You brazen brat!” The lieutenant drew his sword.

“Stop,” Taro said. “Her head is more useful where it is. For now.” He would show Hanako that her hope of rescue was a false one. The girl had failed to get past his sentries.

“You can’t succeed,” Kimi said.

“I see,” Taro said. “You are not a princess, you are a prophetess.”

“Not me,” Kimi said, jutting her chin forward defiantly, “Lady Shizuka.”

The derisive mumbling among the men instantly evaporated. The bizarre night sounds of Mushindo had taken a toll. As the lieutenant had said, the men were nervous, and the mention of that witch’s name was decidedly unhelpful.

“She is long dead,” Taro said, “and the dead do not come back to life.”

“Perhaps,” Kimi said, “but her prophecies live. Or have you not heard of
Autumn Bridge
?”

“There is no such thing,” Taro said. “A tale to frighten children, nothing more.”

“Then what are those scrolls Lady Hanako and Lady Emily have been reading?”

Taro laughed. “Emily is translating the inner history of our clan. Even a peasant like you must know of it.”

“Does your history predict the meeting of Lady Emily and Lady Shizuka? Does it say,
We will meet at Mushindo, where my little abode once stood. Only you will see me. When others look, they will not find me. But I will be there
.” Kimi didn’t remember the exact words. That was close enough. Better than close enough, judging by the way several of the samurai were looking over their shoulders. “Didn’t you yourself find the old foundation?”

“How do you know what it says? Can you even read?”

“I have ears,” Kimi said. “I listened to them talking.”

“Enough!” The lieutenant pulled the rope, knocking Kimi off her feet. He dragged her into the open and toward the abbot’s hut. “Lady Hanako! Your messenger failed! Surrender is your only choice! No harm will come to you! You have my word!”

“What weight has a traitor’s word?” Hanako answered. “Less than the downy fluff of a cygnet.” And she fired a second shot. Taro had never seen her practice. Apparently she had been doing so in secret. A bright blossom of blood erupted in the center of the lieutenant’s back a moment before he dropped dead. Kimi got to her feet and took off toward the hut, the rope trailing behind her.

“Take Lady Hanako without harm,” Taro said. “Leave Emily to me.” They drew their swords and rushed forward. Four more gunshots rang out. Two of his men fell. Taro threw himself at the door.

And found himself in a fiery explosion. Hanako had set the hut ablaze. Taro leaped out and rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames that had ignited his clothing.

“Don’t stand there staring!” he said to his men. “Find them!” Several men started toward the door of the burning hut. “Not there, idiot!” Hanako might immolate herself. She would never let Emily die. “The other side!”

“This way!” Kimi said to Hanako and Emily. “Quickly!” Once they were in the woods, they could take any of a hundred hidden trails away from Mushindo and into the surrounding valleys and mountains. They would be safe.

But Emily slowed them too much. Taro’s men cut them off before they were anywhere near the closest tree. Hanako drew her short sword and stood in front of her friend.

“Fool,” she said to Taro. “You of all people should know better.”

“The future of our nation is more important than any one person,” Taro said. Could he disarm her without killing her? It would be difficult. He had seen Hanako in combat at this very place. She was better with her sword than many of his men were with theirs.

“The future is a mystery,” Hanako said, “to you, to me, to everyone. Everyone except Lord Genji. How can you presume to act against him?”

“The time has come to make history,” Taro said, “not recite fairy tales.” He feinted to the left, then to the right. If he could kill Emily first, then, there being no reason to continue fighting, Hanako might surrender.

Hanako ignored Taro’s first feint, but moved to intercept his second as if she thought he was making a committed attack. Two of his men, seeing the opening she wanted them to see, rushed in to grab her from behind. She promptly spun in their direction, cut down the first with an upward slash of her blade, and the second with its descent. Hanako could not have defeated two samurai intending to use their swords. Two trying to take hold of her rather than cut her down were much less of a challenge. This gave Taro his chance, however. Her back was now toward him. He leaped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her.