Lord of the Darkwood (19 page)

“That is none of your concern.” She heard the bitterness and envy in his voice and pitied him. “How did you come to be in his household, and how did you know me?”

“He talks to me about you—he's not a discreet man, he can't keep his mouth shut—and he mentioned the scroll, the one Master Sesshin gave you that you were always trying to read. I remembered it clearly. Perhaps I was jealous that you should receive such a gift. When I managed to see you for myself, I recognized you.” His voice changed slightly, growing more tender. “I had never forgotten you, Hina.”

“You should not serve a man you despise,” she said, feeling a need to defend Unagi.

“All men despise those they serve,” Chika replied, the bitterness returning. “But he is not my true master. I serve him on my master's orders. I will tell you how it all came about. My father died in the battle of Kuromori, and my mother sent my sister and me into the Darkwood. Masachika was searching for anyone who survived, to put them to death. I knew a place where Shikanoko used to live. I took Kaze there.”

Yayoi was momentarily deafened by the thump of her own heart. “Was Shikanoko there?”

“No, he has disappeared. People say he is dead, or that he lives the life of a stag, somewhere in the Darkwood.” He was silent for a moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was full of contempt. “He ran away. He abandoned us, leaving everyone to die. The only people there were the imps, one of whom I now serve.”

“The imps?”

“Lady Tora's children. Do you remember her?”

Yayoi was suddenly cold and nauseated.

“She bewitched your father. It was after she and Shikanoko came to Matsutani that everything started to go wrong. She had five children, all at one time, and they had not one father, but five. One of them was Shikanoko, another Lord Kiyoyori.”

“Does that make them brothers to me?”

Chika smiled. “I suppose it does.”

While she was absorbing this, he related in a whisper a long account of the brothers, their fathers' names, their magic skills, their use of poisons and venomous creatures, how the Princess died, how they grew as fast as insects and had taken wives, how they had quarreled.

“We returned from Kitakami. Kiku dug up the skull of a man, whom Shikanoko had killed there some time ago, and, with Mu's fox wife, carried out the rituals that have given him such great power.”

Yayoi thought,
This is what the book was showing me.
The image of the skull, its searching eyes, made her tremble again. Yet the book must have shown it to her with a purpose, just as it had shown her the stag mask through which shone Shikanoko's eyes.

Chika said, “That is why the brothers are estranged. Mu has many gifts, but now Kiku's are much greater.”

“Kiku? Are you talking about the family called Kikuta?”

“That's the name he gave himself when he became a merchant.”

My poor Unagi, you are doomed!

“So you are also under his power,” she said. “And your sister?”

“Kaze is his wife,” Chika replied. “And I am his closest friend, more of a brother than his own siblings. I would do anything for him. He decided I could be an informant and asked me to seek work with Unagi. It was not difficult. I had learned many things from Kiku and I knew how to make myself useful to the house of the Eel. He has come to trust me.”

“You will betray him,” she said flatly, thinking,
What can I do to prevent that?

“If I were a servant, it could be called betrayal. But I am a warrior. I have years of disdain and insults to redress.”

“Good and evil are not defined by status,” Yayoi said.

“You have been sheltered from the world for too long. Everything is defined by status now. Do you think Aritomo does not dispense a different justice to his nobles and lords from that which he metes out to commoners?”

Takaakira's status did not save him
, Yayoi thought, but all she said was, “I know very little of Lord Aritomo.”

“No doubt he would be very interested to know more about you,” Chika said, with a flash of malice.

When Yayoi did not respond, he went on, a little awkwardly, “I do not mean to threaten you.”

“I think you do. You have been well taught by your master.” She had been fortunate to survive for so long among the riverbank people, but now two people in one day had threatened to expose her.
I must get away. I must warn Yoshi.
But she had no idea how to do either.

Chika said, as though trying to excuse himself, “I was afraid of what Kiku might do to my sister. I had to obey him.”

“Why have you come to tell me this?” Yayoi demanded. “What do you want from me?”

He took a deep breath, as though he had finally reached the point of his visit. “Shikanoko possessed a mask, made powerful by the same rituals Kiku used on the skull. After the confrontation with the Prince Abbot, apparently, it became fused to his face. That is why, after the death of the Princess, he fled to the forest, and shuns the company of men and women. I know you are a wise woman, and you have the Kudzu Vine Treasure Store, which must tell you many secrets. Furthermore, my sister had a dream about you, that you put your arms around a stag in the forest, and it turned into a man. I believe you could bring Shikanoko back.”

“What are you suggesting? That I go deep into the Darkwood to search for a man who is probably dead, certainly an outlaw?” It was exactly what she longed to do, but surely it was impossible. “You don't understand the circumstances in which I live. I'm not free to come and go as I please.”

“You're clever, Hina. You'll find a way. And I'll help you.”

Yayoi knew it was unlikely she would be allowed to go anywhere, let alone into the Darkwood on such an illusory mission. She did not trust Chika, suspecting that he, or his master, had other motives to find Shikanoko, and that they would lie to her and try to manipulate her. She remembered the skull's restless searching gaze. But all she could think of was the eyes she had seen behind the mask, their mute appeal, and the dream image of herself, her arms around the stag, her beloved.

*   *   *

She hardly slept. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw the mask. She had short broken dreams in which her hands curved around the stone and she understood everything. During the night she remembered it was the time of year when a few of the acrobats, Yoshi among them, went into the forest to look for young monkeys. The idea came to Yayoi that she might go with them. She knew she was being foolish, that the Darkwood was vast, that she was familiar with only the tiny southwestern corner of it, but she was impelled by a belief that fate would bring her to him, wherever he was and in whatever form. And, in the Darkwood, she would find a way to warn Yoshi not to return.

For years she had done nothing without Lady Fuji's permission. She tried to plan how best to approach her, but, as she had feared, Fuji's instant reaction was a refusal.

“It is our busiest time of year; the fine weather, the summer festivals, all the extra gifts that will need to be recorded. It is very selfish of you even to think of such a thing. Whatever reason can you have for wanting to traipse through the forest with the monkey boys?”

“I am a little tired,” Yayoi said, fanning herself. “I feel jaded. I will be better for a short break from entertaining.”

“Well, we will go on a pilgrimage somewhere in the autumn.” Fuji was looking at her shrewdly. “There is some other reason, I feel. Are you planning to run away with one of our clients? It's Unagi, isn't it?”

“In truth, Unagi said last night he would like me to go with him, but naturally he would approach you first. I am wondering whether to encourage him or not. Some time away will help me think clearly. And I thought I might call in at the convent. I would like to see the Abbess again.”

“Whatever for? You can't go back, Yayoi. If you want to bury your past you must bury all of it. And put all thoughts of Unagi out of your mind. He is not as rich as he once was and he can't afford you. No, it is quite impossible!” She began to fan herself vigorously.

They were sitting in the stern of the boat. It was still early morning, but the sky was already an intense blue and the sun was hot. A shade awning protected them, but Yayoi could feel the sweat gathering on her skin. The water was green and clear. She longed to lower herself into it. She felt a sudden wave of fury that she was not allowed to act as she wished, that she would always be trapped by Fuji, always afraid that the woman would betray her and Yoshi. She pressed her lips together, not daring to let any words escape her, wishing with all her heart that Fuji were dead.

There was a small splash and a ripple of movement. They both looked over the side of the boat. Far below a shadow flickered across the lake floor.

“It is just a water rat,” Fuji said. “Come, enough sitting around. We must get ready for the day.”

But Yayoi knew the creature underwater was too large to be a rat. She followed the ripple with her eyes and thought she saw a reed moving through the water.

*   *   *

Fuji died that night. It had been a busy day, with many visitors. Yayoi had entertained three of her special guests and had then played with the musicians until her fingers were stiff and her head ached. She had fallen asleep soon after the moon had risen, and had been woken at dawn, while the moon was still high in the sky, by the shocked cries and wailing of Fuji's maid.

She ran immediately to the lifeless body, slapped her cheeks, rubbed her wrists and ankles, burned incense under her nose, called her name repeatedly, but no breath returned. Fuji, so healthy and lively the night before, had departed on her final journey.

There were no marks on her body, no external wounds. Her mouth smelled faintly sweetish and Yayoi guessed she must have been poisoned, though by whom, or for what reason, no one could fathom.

The boats left at once for Aomizu. They were supposed to be heading for Kitakami, for the twenty-fifth-day market, but that would have to be canceled. The funeral had to be held quickly, because of the intense heat, and the speed of it all somehow increased the shock and disbelief. But Yayoi noticed that, despite their shared grief, the other women and the musicians were wary of her and talked about her when they thought she could not hear.

The following day, Takemaru came to the boat, calling out to her from the shore, addressing her as Older Sister. She knew that he was uncomfortable on the boats, that the pleasures of love both attracted and repelled him. He was at that age, confused by desire and emotion, happiest in the company of boys his own age and the young men whom he admired excessively, yet drawn to girls. Soon, she knew, one of the women would find it entertaining to take him behind the bamboo blinds and initiate him, and then he would probably lose his mind and be insatiable for a couple of years. It amused and saddened her at the same time. She did not expect, now, to have children herself. Take was both younger brother and son to her.

He was a tall, well-built boy—too tall to be an acrobat, the others said, when they wanted to annoy him, but they could not deny that his strength made him useful, as a baseman, in the living towers they created of humans and monkeys. Already, he could take the weight of the older men on his shoulders or on his upturned feet. He was quick-tempered, bold, and determined in nature; if he could not conquer something he practiced obsessively until he could do it perfectly. He loved listening to tales of warriors of old, their battles, their victories and defeats, and often played with a wooden pole as if it were a sword or a spear. The acrobats teased Take for his bloodthirsty and violent games, but Yayoi, who knew his parentage, saw in him Shikanoko's warrior traits as well as Akihime's nobility and courage.

The drummer girl, Kai, was with him. Yayoi had never been close to her. They had almost instinctively stayed away from each other, as though knowing they had overlapping secrets that they did not dare reveal. Because of some slight deformity, Kai had never joined the pleasure women on the boats but had been brought up by the musicians. Yayoi had seen her tiny shell-shaped ears once or twice when the wind blew her hair away from her face. Yet Yoshi had fallen in love with her; they were as good as married. Yayoi could not help feeling a pang of regret and envy.

She took her sandals in her hand, and a parasol to protect her face from the sun's glare, and crossed to the shore. It was a relief to get away from the sobbing women—and from some other oppressive, disturbing feeling, some accusation in their eyes and the way they fell silent at her approach.

Kai greeted her warmly and the three of them walked to the end of the dock.

Take said, “They are saying you killed Lady Fuji.”

“How can anyone believe that? Of course I did not!”
Yet
, Yayoi thought,
I wished her dead.

“You were the last person to see her alive,” Kai said, “and you know magic arts, fatal ones. They are saying you cast a spell on her because she would not grant your request.”

“Where did you hear this?” Yayoi asked.

“Gossip in town,” Take replied. “Yoshimaru told us.”

“Does Yoshi believe it?”

“No, of course not, and nor do Kai and I. But he thinks you should come away with us, in case some official hears the rumors and decides to act on them.”

“If I run away, I will be confirming their suspicions,” Yayoi said.

“Older Sister, only you can decide what is best; you are wiser than any of us. We are leaving directly for the forest. I was coming to say goodbye. Get what you want to bring, don't tell anyone, just say you are walking to the crossroads with Kai to bid us farewell.”

“You have thought it all out,” she whispered.

“Yoshi told me what to say,” he admitted.

Yoshi
. Fuji had threatened to turn him over to Lord Aritomo, to expose who Yayoi really was, and then had tried to prevent her from leaving. She felt a pang of guilt. Even though she had not killed Fuji, there was no doubt she was going to benefit from her death. Was it a miracle from Heaven, or had it been the creature that was not a water rat, Chika, his mysterious master, or someone else from the Kikuta tribe?