They pushed past her and began searching the house. While they were alone, his mother removed the cross from underneath her blouse and put it around Cormac’s neck, under his shirt. “Always keep it hidden.”
When they couldn’t find his father, they took Cormac instead. Took him from his mother’s arms as the tears ran down her face. Took him to a town many miles away. Took him to a Hinin House.
He’d always wondered why Kyatapira wanted his father, but now a thought occurred to him for the first time. What if my father was a Black Lotus agent and that’s why the Kats were after him? Perhaps I inherited my gift from my father?
There was a gentle knock on the door and then it opened, the room brightening as light spilled in from the corridor. Cormac sat up. Kate closed the door gently.
“You guys ready?” she asked, her face lit by the thin crack of light coming through the bathroom door.
Ghost climbed down from his bunk.
Cormac moved to the door. “Is the coast clear?”
Kate pushed a strand of blond hair off her face and nodded. “Where are we going, exactly?”
“That circular room—the hub—is probably a good place to start. There’re four tunnels we haven’t been in yet.”
“But there’s a camera at the end of this corridor.”
“So we go the other way, around by the classrooms.”
Kate shrugged, and Cormac eased the door open and poked his head out, looking left and right, before leaving the room.
They crept down the corridor, past rooms full of sleeping students. At the end of the hallway they turned left and saw the metal door with the keypad and “No Entry” sign.
Ghost turned to Cormac, eyebrows raised.
Cormac nodded, and together they pushed and pulled at the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
Kate put her fingers to her lips, her eyes wide with alarm.
“What is it?”
She pointed to her ear and then down the corridor toward the bedrooms.
Cormac heard it too—the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Getting closer. “Hide!”
They ran ahead and turned left toward the classrooms. Cormac tried a door, but it was locked. He tried another narrower wooden door. It swung open and all three of them bundled into a small, dark room full of buckets, mops, and detergents. Cormac pulled the door but didn’t fully close it. They heard the footsteps stop, then beeps, a click, and the bang of a metal door shutting.
Cormac whispered to Kate and Ghost. “We can’t get into that room without a code.”
“Yes, we can,” said Ghost.
“What do you mean?” Kate asked.
“I can become invisible.”
“You mean, with your shōzoku?”
“No, properly invisible. I can really disappear.”
“Are you serious?” Kate turned to Cormac. He shrugged, speechless.
“I can become invisible and wait at the door until whoever’s in there comes out. Then I can sneak in before the door shuts.”
“Awesome,” said Cormac.
“I must go naked first,” Ghost said.
Kate held up both hands. “Hold on. What do you mean by ‘go naked’?”
Ghost grinned, his eyes and teeth glowing white in the darkness. “Close your eyes.”
He fumbled for the zip on his shōzoku, but Kate stopped him. “Can’t you turn invisible first? And then take off your clothes?”
“Yes, but it is not so much fun.”
“Tough! That’s the way you’re gonna do it.”
Ghost looked at her and then Cormac. “In private, please?”
Cormac and Kate turned their backs.
Ghost breathed heavily behind them—long, deep breaths, followed by a period of silence, and then a sharp hissing inhalation.
“You can turn around now,” he said.
Cormac gulped. The light coming through the gap in the door revealed a figure dressed in a shōzoku and boots, but with no head or hands.
Kate leaned forward. “That’s so weird.”
“And talking to the animals is so normal,” said Ghost.
They heard the shōzoku unzip.
Kate turned her back again. “You could have warned us.”
Cormac laughed. “But you can’t see anything.”
“It’s still weird.”
The sleeves of the shōzoku wiggled and became limp as Ghost undressed. The boots were kicked off next, followed by two white socks. The suit rolled the rest of the way down to the floor, uncovering a pair of white underpants.
“Well, there’s something you don’t see every day,” said Cormac, but Kate refused to turn around.
The underpants hovered in midair, wiggling from side to side. Cormac tried to smother his laughter.
Then the underpants dropped to the floor, floated back upward, and flew toward Cormac, hitting him in the face.
“Yuck!” He peeled them off and flung them to the ground. Ghost sniggered.
“Are you guys done messing around?” asked Kate.
Cormac leaned toward her. “You can look now.”
Slowly she turned around. Her eyes darted to the pile of clothes on the floor. “This is so weird.” She put her hand out in front of her, feeling for Ghost. “I don’t even know where you—Ah!”
She recoiled instantly, stepping back into an empty bucket.
“Shh!” said Ghost.
“What did I touch?”
“My belly.”
“It felt like a butt.”
Ghost’s voice sounded serious all of a sudden. “I should hurry. You wait here.”
The door opened, and they heard Ghost leave.
Cormac pulled the door closed, plunging the room into darkness. He shifted his weight. He could hear Kate’s clothes rustling. “You OK?” he asked.
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Silence.
“You were pretty awesome on the track today,” said Kate.
“Thanks.” You’re pretty awesome yourself.
“This ninja school is kind of weird, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it’s growing on me. For the first time in a long while, I feel I belong.”
“Me too,” Kate agreed.
“You miss your family?” asked Cormac.
“Yes. But I missed them long before I came here.”
Her voice wobbled and Cormac decided not to ask any more questions.
They waited in silent darkness for a long time until they heard the sound of the metal door opening. Footsteps receded into the distance. Cormac gathered up Ghost’s clothes. “Let’s go.”
They stepped back into the corridor. Cormac crept to the corner and peered around. Nobody. And the metal door was closed.
“Ghost?” he whispered.
No reply.
Kate knocked softly on the metal door and smiled when it clicked open.
“Ah, Cormac and Kate. Come in. Have a cup of tea,” said the still-invisible Ghost. They followed him inside and Ghost shut the door behind them. “Sorry it took so long. The Jōnin guy was in here for ages.”
“The Jōnin was here?” asked Kate.
“I knew there was something important in this room,” said Cormac.
Kate looked around. “What is this place?”
Cormac peered at the gigantic high-ceilinged room. A map of the world covered three entire walls.
“I get dressed,” said Ghost.
Cormac felt the garments being pulled from his hands, then watched them float magically toward the door.
“I’ll stay on guard out here,” said Ghost. “I’ll knock if I hear people coming.”
The door clicked closed behind him. The floor-to-ceiling map was covered in little colored pins, each labeled with a year. The pins were all connected to one another by colored string, forming a multicolored web. Some of the strings led to pieces of paper—small handwritten notes and newspaper articles in many languages.
Cormac walked around the room, his eyes zooming in on the text in English.
A rapid knocking made Cormac jump. He and Kate raced back to the door and pulled it open.
Ghost was now clothed and visible. “Someone’s coming,” he whispered urgently.
Pulling the door closed behind them, they hurried back to the boys’ bedroom.
“Were we seen?” said Cormac once they were in.
Kate sat on the bed. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t know why they lock the door,” said Ghost. “Who would want to steal a map?”
“I think it’s more to do with what was written on the map,” said Cormac, looking at Kate. “Could you make sense of it?”
“Not really.”
“Some of the information was weird,” Cormac said. “Something about an electromagnetic disturbance in medieval Japan. And a guy stealing toy soldiers and a map of New York City.”
“What’s that got to do with the Black Lotus, and the Moon Sword?” Kate asked.
Cormac shrugged. “Who knows?”
That map room contained something important—he knew it. Why else would the Jōnin be there alone? There was something about the Black Lotus that they weren’t being told.
After a thoughtful silence, Kate stood up.
“Thanks for coming,” said Cormac.
She smiled. “See you at breakfast.”
“Yeah, in about four hours’ time.”
The next morning, the Bear took them back to the large cavern, but instead of getting them to run laps he gave them each a rope that was to be stored in a pocket in their shōzoku. For two hours they practiced throwing their ropes over a pole suspended thirty feet overhead, tying some complicated ninja knot, climbing to the top of the rope, sliding back down, undoing the knot, and then doing it all over again.
Kate coped all right with the rope throwing and knot tying, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t manage to climb more than a couple of feet off the ground. She thought the class would never end.
After breakfast, the students were divided into groups. Ami took a small group that included Cormac, Kate, and Ghost. They were all yawning after their late night, but woke up when they learned they were to go up to Niwa, the Garden.
Kate’s heart did a little somersault. She missed the outdoors, the open space and fresh air—having lived on the streets for a while, she’d gotten used to the feeling of the sun on her face and the wind in her hair. But even more, she missed the everyday chatter of animals and birds. She hadn’t heard a single one underground.
“Though it’s a safe zone,” said Ami as she led them from the dining room, “it’s still visible from the air. If you hear aircraft in the sky, hide under a tree. If this is not possible, just lie on the ground and stay still. Your shōzoku will do the rest.”
“We’re going outside!” whispered Kate.
“I know,” replied Ghost. “I feel like I have been in the ground for a long time.”
Ami, clipboard in hand, led them along the West Tunnel.
“This is not the way Makoto brought us,” said Cormac.
“There must be more than one entrance,” Kate agreed.
At the end of a long flight of concrete steps, Ami punched a number into a keypad on a metal trapdoor above her head. When the lock beeped and clicked open, she pushed the trapdoor up. Sunlight streamed into the tunnel, dazzling everybody. Kate closed her eyes and felt the warmth of it on her face. A cool breeze ruffled her hair and the sweet smell of the forest filled her nostrils. She smiled. Even from here she could hear two birds arguing over a spider one of them had just found. If there are animals here, it must mean there are no ninjas hidden in the trees.
When everyone had climbed out of the tunnel, Ami closed the trapdoor and made sure that the creepers that had grown over the door covered every bit of metal.
Kate had no idea what time it was, but she knew it was still early because the sun was low in the sky. It pierced the overhead canopy of oaks and conifers in diagonal beams of white light, illuminating the ferns and grasses that grew between the trees. The forest was moist with dew and smelled fresh and fragrant.
Nearby, some green tape was tied from tree to tree in a long line, disappearing out of sight. Ami led them under it.
“Stealth is the shinobi’s best weapon,” she said, bringing them to a stop. “Even hundreds of years ago, they could enter guarded castles unseen, or hide for days without moving. Some say they could even become invisible. Your shōzoku will help you blend in, but you must also learn patience, how to slow down your heart, control your breathing. Much of it is psychological.
“Go and hide. Become a shadow. Blend into the forest—become a part of it—but do not go outside the green tape. Imagine your life depends on it. Shan will be seeker today.”
A small boy stepped forward.
The other students moaned. “Not Shan,” said someone.
“Why not Shan?” Kate whispered to Chloe.
“You’ll see.”
“Seeking is the second skill you must learn,” said Ami. “At all times, a shinobi must be aware. This is called zanshin. Learn to look where no one looks. Learn to see the unseen. If you are found, you become a seeker with Shan. The game is over when everybody is found.”
Ami clicked her stopwatch. “Go!”
The group split up, running in all directions into the forest. After a few minutes of searching, Kate found a hollow under the roots of a tree. She crawled into it, pulling loose branches on top of her. The ground was cool and damp. She listened hard. No one seemed to have followed her into this part of the woods.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the smell of the earth and trees. She wondered what was going on back home. Had America been invaded yet? And then she thought of her parents in prison, her brother in foster care. Were they OK?
She sank deeper into the leaves, trying not to think about it, letting go, relaxing, becoming a part of the forest …
A rustling in the leaves woke her. A few inches away, a small brown mouse watched her intently with dark glassy eyes. Its whiskers twitched with curiosity. Kate smiled and twitched her nose back. The mouse didn’t move.
“Hi,” said Kate.
The mouse crept a little closer. “In my house you are.”
“I’m sorry,” said Kate. “I’m not staying.”
The mouse scampered right up to her, so close its whiskers tickled her face.
“What’s your name?” asked Kate.
“A name what is?”
Of course wild animals don’t have names.
“Hungry I am. Food you have?”
Kate smiled. Wild animals were a lot like boys. Their speech was limited and they were always hungry. “No, but I’ll be getting some later.”
The mouse’s ears pricked. “Coming somebody is. With you I go?”
Kate placed him in one of the shōzoku’s concealed pockets.
Minutes later, Shan uncovered her hideout. “Renkondo soap is easy to smell.” he said, sniffing the air.
“So unfair,” she muttered.
She followed him as he sniffed his way over to a very tall tree. Looking up, they saw Cormac hiding in the branches.
“Spotted you a mile away,” she said as he climbed down and dropped to the ground.
“Yeah, I suppose climbing a tree was a bit obvious. After all, any eejit can climb.” He laughed and Kate punched his arm—she didn’t need to be reminded about her performance in the climbing class that morning.
Soon everyone had been found, except Ghost. They searched for an hour to no avail. Shan kept claiming he could smell him, but, wherever Ghost was hiding, he couldn’t be found. Kate smiled to herself at the thought that he was probably standing right in front of them, star
k naked.
Eventually they had to give up and Ami called for him to reveal himself. A minute later, Ghost emerged from behind a bush, adjusting his shōzoku. Even though he was shivering, he grinned cheekily.
“Well done, Ghost,” said Ami, marking her clipboard. She glanced at him, a small smile on her lips, then headed back to the trapdoor.
“I don’t understand,” said Shan, frustrated. “Why couldn’t I find you?”
“A bird in the bush is worth two in the hand,” replied Ghost, running after Ami.
Shan looked at Kate. “What is he talking about?”
She glanced at Cormac, who was smiling. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Shan.”
* * *
KATE HAD JUST SLURPED THE last noodle from her bowl at dinner when she felt a scratching in her pocket. The mouse! For some reason she didn’t want to tell anyone about him yet.
She wiped her mouth and stood up. “I’m off to bed.”
“Already?” asked Chloe.
“Yeah, I’m tired.”
Chloe smiled. “I’ll try not to wake you.”
She stuffed a handful of leftover rice into a napkin and said, in answer to Chloe’s questioning expression, “You can never have enough rice.”
In her bedroom, the mouse climbed out of her pocket and Kate put him on her bed. She sprinkled some of the sticky rice in front of him. He devoured the lot, then asked for more.
“Savage,” she said, laughing. “That’s what I’ll call you—Savage.”
The mouse looked up, his cheeks full of rice.
She knelt down beside the bed. “I’m taking you back to the forest tomorrow.”
“Here nice is,” he squeaked.
She smiled at the funny way he spoke. “That’s just the rice talking.”
“No, to stay I want.”
“Fine, but don’t let my roommate see you. Not all humans like mice as much as I do.”
It’s me. Miguel.
Ghost opened his eyes. He could hear Cormac breathing in the dark in the bed below him.
The scar on his chest burned. Miguel?
Every night since he’d arrived at Renkondo, his little brother had spoken to him in his dreams. But it never felt like a dream—it felt real. It was as if Miguel were trying to contact him from the dead.
If only I could talk back …
The Black Lotus Page 7
