by Megan Crewe
Then we slipped down the shrine’s walkways and darted around the back of the sanctuary building, where we found Ayame pacing by the pond.
“Sora!” she said when she saw me. “You’re all right! Takeo will be so relieved. The poor boy. When he saw the two of you were missing, he was ready to rip the city apart.”
“What?” I said, my heart sinking. “But they went to Ise, didn’t they?”
“My dear, he and Chiyo and that human boy of hers have been searching for you all morning,” Ayame said. “I don’t think they meant to go anywhere until they found you. Chiyo said she thought you had to be all right, because you always looked after yourself just fine, but Takeo wouldn’t hear of leaving.”
Oh no. “You must have realized where I was,” I said.
She lowered her eyes, her dainty fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of her robe. “You said I shouldn’t tell Chiyo what I’d told you. If I’d said you’d gone to the mountain, they’d have gone too, wouldn’t they? Without all they need to defeat the demon? I couldn’t be responsible for that.”
She was right—the outcome probably would have been worse if she’d spoken up. But what was Takeo thinking? I’d left that note so he’d know I’d gone of my own accord. Even if he’d worried about my vague explanation, how could he have put finding me ahead of saving Mt. Fuji?
A weight settled in my gut. I’d just said it to Keiji, hadn’t I? Takeo didn’t decide, he just followed his nature. He still felt loyal to me, even if he shouldn’t. Maybe even more loyal than he felt to the mountain itself, since he’d been specifically assigned to watch over me. I’d thought he would put Chiyo, as the real daughter of his rulers, first; I’d thought, when I’d told him we wouldn’t be more than friends, he’d let go.
I should have realized it would take more than that. I knew how unshakable kami nature was. Maybe some part of me had liked feeling he was looking out for me still. Liked knowing I hadn’t lost that one last piece of my old life.
I had to fix this. I wasn’t the one who needed him, not anymore.
“Do you have any idea where they are now?” I asked. “Or any way to find them? We can’t miss the last train to Ise.”
Ayame started to shake her head, and then paused. “I brushed Chiyo’s hair last night before she went to sleep. I think...” She dashed into the building and returned a moment later with a lavender strand of hair pinched between thumb and forefinger. “This will lead me to her as yours led me to you. And Takeo said he’d stay with her.”
“Go,” I said. “Quickly. Mt. Fuji depends on it.”
Her delicate face hardened with resolve. She darted away, fading into her ethereal state as she murmured to the strand of hair.
Trying not to stew over how long it would take Ayame to reach Chiyo, I went to the pond to wash the blood from my shoulder. When only a dull stain remained, I squeezed my shirt sleeve dry and sat down on the platform to prepare ofuda to replace those I’d used on the mountain. I couldn’t stop my feet from tapping restlessly.
“Do you need more salt too?” Keiji asked, bringing out a new bag. A hint of uncertainty had crept into his expression, as if he were afraid the peace we’d made in the car might not extend here.
“Yes, please,” I said, and made myself smile. “Do you want to help with the charms?”
“Whatever I can do,” he said as he sat down beside me. The way he smiled back sent a warm tingle through me, and for that moment my own smile didn’t feel so forced.
Close to an hour had passed when voices reached us from around the side of the building. I leapt to my feet and ran to meet them.
“You see,” Ayame said when I came around the corner. “She’s here, perfectly safe.”
“I told you,” Chiyo said to Takeo. She slung her arm around Haru’s waist and raised her hand to me with her fingers spread in a victory sign.
As Takeo’s dark eyes found mine, they held nothing but relief. But before I could say anything, his gaze slid to something behind me, and he stormed forward, drawing his sword.
“Takeo—” I started.
“You!” he said, pointing the sword at Keiji, who’d come around to join us. “What did you do to her? Where did you take her?”
The color drained from Keiji’s face. He took a halting step backward, holding up his hands.
“I was helping her,” he said.
Takeo made a derisive noise. My chest clenched up. I hadn’t considered how it might look, with both of us gone. Of course Takeo would assume we’d gone together. He must have thought Keiji had forced me to write that note.
“Stop it,” I said, stepping between them. Takeo flinched as the tip of his sword brushed my shirt, and he jerked it back. “Keiji’s telling the truth—he was helping me. And we’re both fine.”
“You’re hurt,” he said.
“I went to the mountain,” I said, as calmly as I could. “Ayame told me that my parents—my human parents—went there looking for me, and the ghosts took them for Omori to use. So I got them out. They’re okay,” I added, glancing at Chiyo.
“The ghosts grabbed Mom and Dad?” she said. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’d have sliced and diced the whole bunch of them.”
“I knew I could get in there without being noticed,” I said. “And you’re not meant to face Omori until you have all three of the sacred treasures. You were supposed to go to Ise this morning.”
Takeo frowned. “We couldn’t leave Tokyo when you—”
“You could have,” I said. “You’re kami; you serve Mt. Fuji. I’m human—I have nothing to do with that anymore, not really. You should have been doing what was best for the mountain and all the kami there.”
“Sora,” he protested, and my throat closed up. I could barely remember a time before Takeo had been my best friend, my playmate, and my protector. He would have died for me. I couldn’t even tell him how thankful I was to have had him in my life. But that bond had to be broken now.
I held his gaze, tensing my arms at my sides. “There is nothing more between us,” I said firmly. “Any ties you feel to me, sever them. I am not family, I am not a friend, I’m only a fellow traveler. Until Mt. Fuji is reclaimed, that’s the only way you’ll think of me. Have I said enough?”
For a moment, there was only silence and the pressure of five pairs of eyes, staring at me. I looked only at Takeo. His jaw had tightened and his face darkened, but then he inclined his head. Accepting.
And so the last bit of loyalty he gave to me was to take that loyalty away.
My own eyes felt abruptly hot. I turned. “Now let’s catch the next train to Ise. We can’t risk losing a minute more.”
21
THE SUN BLAZED over us as we approached the courtyard that led to Ise’s massive shrine. Even though it was late in the day, heat rose in thick waves off the streets. Hundreds of people brushed past us and the tourist shops done up with old-fashioned roofs and dark wooden frames, wandered across the courtyard, and ambled along the wooden bridge that arced over a shallow river to the shrine grounds.
“I’ve heard this is one of the most popular shrines in the country,” Keiji said. “Looks like that’s still true.”
“Popular not just with the living, today,” Chiyo said. “There are so many ghosts out there. And people are walking right through them! It’s pretty creepy. Can’t you see them at all?”
I squinted, but I could only make out the faintest glimmers amid the crowd. Anyone not looking for them would have assumed it was only the sun catching on buttons, zippers, purse clasps. The daylight hid the ghosts nearly completely.
“They appear to be using the same strategy as in Nagoya,” Takeo said. “Surrounding the borders of the shrine in large numbers. Larger numbers than before.”
“We just have to reach the bridge, right?” I said. A huge torii shaded this end of the crossway. Once we passed under the gate’s protection, the ghosts shouldn’t be able to follow.
Takeo nodded, but he looked solemn. In Tokyo, he’d found a few
other kami who were capable and willing to join us, even obtained swords for those with hands and taught them a few basic moves, but we were still vastly outnumbered. We didn’t even have Ayame’s support, as she’d been so exhausted after her escape yesterday and tracking down Chiyo today that she’d stayed behind.
“It’s a good thing this place will be closing soon,” Chiyo remarked. “I wouldn’t like to try to fight all those ghosts with so many people in the way.”
The ghosts weren’t bothering anyone now, only waiting for Chiyo to appear. The possibilities that had been stirred up by my conversation with Mrs. Kobayashi itched at me.
“The ghosts could have more planned that we can’t see,” I said. “I want to take a look around. I don’t think they’ll worry about one more human.”
Takeo bowed his head. “Retreat immediately if they show any hostility.”
“Do you want—” Keiji started.
I quickly shook my head. “I’ll be less likely to catch their attention alone.”
I skirted the edges of the courtyard, my stomach knotting as I realized just how many of those glints I was catching from the corners of my eyes. In the packed parking lot, they danced amid the reflections on the car windows. But none stopped me as I trod past the stretch of trees along the river bank and stepped beneath the torii.
The moment I crossed under the gate, my heart leapt. I peered along the bridge’s pale length toward the forested grounds on the opposite bank. Maybe I could just stroll on over there myself...
Something moved within the thick vegetation along the river. A body too tall and hunched to be a person. I caught only a glimpse, but it was enough to chill me.
It wasn’t only the ghosts we had to worry about today. The shrine’s protections mustn’t have been enough to keep out ogres… and whatever other creatures Omori might have summoned to his cause as word of his invasion of Mt. Fuji spread. Even if I could have convinced the shrine kami to give me the mirror if I headed in there alone, I doubted I’d make it to their sanctuary alive.
The crush of tourists on the bridge was already thinning, all of them heading back to the courtyard as closing time approached. I walked a little farther and peered down the river. On our side, glints of ghostlight showed all along the tree-lined bank. They didn’t want to give us the chance to take an alternate route. Not far down from the bridge, a strip of wide, flat stones made nearly as easy a path across the river.
I considered that for a moment, and then I made my way back to my companions.
“If there are other creatures lurking in the shrine, we’ll deal with them there,” Takeo said after I’d shared my observations. “Our first concern is getting past the ghosts.”
“Sora had a cool idea yesterday,” Chiyo said, nudging me. “It’s me Omori really wants to stop. So if the ghosts think I’m already captured, they won’t stick around.”
“They’re not going to believe us just telling them that,” Haru said.
“I’m sure they’ve been warned not to listen to me again,” Keiji said. His forehead furrowed. “Could a kami pretend to be a ghost, and tell them?”
“We couldn’t make our legs disappear completely to imitate their appearance,” Takeo said, but Keiji’s suggestion had sparked an inspiration of my own.
“But a kami could pretend to be another kami,” I said. “Maybe we can’t convince them that Chiyo is already captured, but what if we convinced them she’s somewhere she’s not? All they’ll be looking for is a young woman kami holding a sword. Pushing all your ki to the surface of your skin and into the sword, any of you could give the impression of being that powerful. If they think Chiyo is trying to cross the river at a different spot, they may leave the bridge... not unguarded, but less so.”
Takeo glanced to the side, where our ethereal kami companions must be standing. “Sumire says she will help in any way she can,” he said.
I hesitated as an uneasy realization struck me. We were going to send a substitute into harm’s way in Chiyo’s place—again. “She could be hurt,” I said. “Badly. If she and most of the other kami make a run for that path of stones as if they’re trying to sneak across there, the ghosts will attack her with all the strength they have.”
Takeo tipped his head, listening to the violet kami. “Sumire says it will be worth that sacrifice to see Chiyo reach the mirror and recover Mt. Fuji.” He turned to the rest of us. “We’ll need to send most of the kami with her for the deception to be convincing. If the ghosts don’t fall for the ploy, we’ll be at an even greater disadvantage. You are the only one who has been in Omori’s presence, Sora. How sure are you that this will work?”
I thought of the slight yet immensely powerful man I’d spoken to in the palace audience room. The precision with which he’d targeted the kami guard. His total dismissal of his wife’s spirit.
“He’ll have told the ghosts that only Chiyo matters,” I said. “To ignore every other kami unless they’re in the way of getting to her. To stop at nothing to capture her again. I’m sure of it. And the last thing they’ll want to risk is disappointing him.”
“All right,” Chiyo said with a pump of her fist. “Let’s do this.”
Keiji raised an eyebrow. “Just a thought—maybe we should cover your hair. Someone might notice that.”
Chiyo rolled her eyes at him, but she found a stretchy cloth hat in one of the shops and managed to stuff her ponytails into it. Her jeweled necklace was already hidden under her blouse, and her sword in a cloth carry bag Haru had helped her pick out earlier. There was nothing to indicate she was anything but another kami follower.
With evening creeping in, the cars and tourist buses were leaving, and the shops starting to carry in their displays. The glimmers of ghostlight were easier to see now that the sunlight was dimming and there were few people in the courtyard for them to hide among. They were bunched so close together that they formed an eerie glow in the open space. The remaining tourists gave the area confused glances before hurrying off.
“All except the monkey and the oak have gone with Sumire,” Takeo reported to the rest of us. “When we decide to move forward, we should form a ring around Chiyo to help hide her from view. Chiyo, keep your sword concealed and attack only with ofuda, unless you have no other choice.”
We all watched the courtyard as the last human visitors slipped away. The ghostly glow churned and rippled. What if I’d misjudged?
Then all at once the ghostlights surged to the north, where Sumire had headed. Takeo smiled grimly. “They’re calling for help, saying they’ve spotted her.”
As the lights streamed out of the courtyard, more streamed in from farther south. We waited, braced to run. The glowing haze in the courtyard dimmed before my eyes. Chiyo winced as if she’d heard a painful sound my ears couldn’t make out.
“They’ll discover the deception soon,” Takeo said. “We’ve got some advantage—we must use it now.”
We hurried forward, our feet thudding far too loudly over the stone tiles. I gripped several ofuda in one hand and Takeo’s short sword in the other.
Several of the ghostlights converged around us, whipping away again as they brushed against our amulets. My spirits lifted. We didn’t matter at all to them, not when they thought they had Chiyo within their grasp elsewhere.
We were ten feet from the bridge when Takeo flinched. “They know!” he whispered, and sprang forward. Even as the rest of us raced after him, a wave of ghostlights crashed into the courtyard. Chiyo let out a battle cry and drew her sword. Her hat fell off, her lavender hair spilling loose.
The greatest mass of ghosts rushed into the narrowing space between us and the bridge. As Chiyo slashed through them, I kept close to her side, whipping out charms as quickly as I could. Several ghosts turned corporeal around us, weapons ready. I knocked the knife from one’s hand with my sword, caught it, and threw it into the wrist of another corporeal ghost just before he could shoot his gun. The blaze of ghostlights all around us began to blur my vision. H
eart pounding, I grabbed another handful of ofuda from my satchel, just in time to banish a ghost who’d lunged at Keiji while he was fending off another. Other than him at my right and Takeo at my left, I didn’t have time to look around to check on the others.
Chiyo grunted, and a rancid droplet struck my cheek. One of the ghosts had tossed a bloody rope into our midst, catching Chiyo’s arm. Before her sword could falter, I chopped through the rope with mine. Chiyo flung it away, her hand wavering and then steadying again. She swept through the last line of ghosts, scattering them into glinting dust, and staggered beneath the gate onto the bridge.
I had no chance to rejoice. The whirlwind of ghosts contracted even tighter around the rest of us without Chiyo’s sword slicing them away. I tossed ofuda into their midst and grabbed Keiji’s wrist, hauling him toward the bridge. Takeo was just stepping onto it when a row of ghosts turned corporeal around us humans. One jabbed at Haru’s amulet, severing the cord. Three more struck out at Keiji at once. Two charged at me. I stumbled to the side. Haru’s legs wobbled as a ghost reached into his body. Even as he managed to hit her with an ofuda, two more barreled in to take her place. A blade raked across my ribs and my lungs clenched. There were too many of them. We weren’t going to make it.
Then a voice shouted, “Off with you!” and a small, shining figure whirled around us, parting the crowd of ghosts. We dashed under the gate. Takeo and Chiyo caught us and dragged us up the bridge. Keiji was panting, and Haru grimaced as he leaned back against the railing, his cheek red where a ghost had rammed him with a knife hilt. The glowing figure somersaulted after us, landing on the boards with a patter of leather sandals. Rin gave us a satisfied smirk.
“It appears I arrived at a most beneficial time,” the sage said in her dry voice.
