“Yes,” she said firmly.
Toko realized suddenly just how hard it would be to say goodbye to her cousin.
At that moment, a low voice spoke from the darkness. “Excuse me for interrupting, but please allow me to invite Lady Kisako to stay at the hall of the Kuni no Miyatsuko.”
“Who’s there?”
Peering into the darkness, the two girls finally made out the figure of a man. He was dressed all in black, which made him hard to see, but from his voice and manner he seemed both well bred and sincere.
“I am the Ear of Lady Toyoao. She asked me to discover how you fared in the bead-makers’ village. I left the hall yesterday.”
“Her … ear?” They looked at him, astonished.
“Lady Toyoao said that if you need a place to settle down, she would like to invite you to stay with her, Lady Kisako. She who listens to the wind feels that, as the last shrine maiden of Mino, there is much you can teach her.”
“I would be more than honored to accept!” Kisako said. “I could not have hoped for anything better. Under Lady Toyoao, I could continue my training as a priestess. And I think I could also help serve her. After all, I spent many years serving the high priestess of Mino, who could be quite difficult to please sometimes.”
“Her ladyship will be very happy.”
He’s a good man, Toko thought. Kisako’s going to be all right. “I’m so glad,” she said out loud. She would not have to worry about Kisako if she were staying with Lady Toyoao.
The man turned to her. “Lady Toko,” he said. “Her ladyship knew that you would decide to go to Himuka. She told me to convey this message: fear no hardship. Search for the magatama in Himuka and win the bearer to your side. There is none like her in all of Toyoashihara. She is a great priestess who retains the memory of everything that has happened since the beginning of time.”
BY THE TIME Toko said goodbye to Kisako and Ear at the crossroads, the sun had already risen in the sky. She walked on alone to where the pine forest dwindled and the sea, sparkling in the morning light, came into view. Small fishing boats with the wind in their sails raced toward the point at the end of the bow-shaped beach, and the port gleamed in the sun. Narrowing her eyes against the glare, Toko noticed three young men standing with their backs to the blue water. In the middle stood Sugaru. A short, wiry youth on one side laughed and waved to her. “I won,” he said. “I told you so.” It was the youth who had bet on her.
“Me too,” said the other, a sturdy-looking young man. “We divided the winnings between us.”
Toko did not know what to say. She walked up to Sugaru and looked up into his face. “You never cease to amaze me. Kisako says she’ll never forgive you, you know.”
Sugaru appeared unperturbed. “As far as I’m concerned, I was just telling her the truth. I can’t help it if we don’t see eye to eye. I’ve decided to go to Himuka with you.”
Toko looked at him dubiously. “How can you change your mind so easily? I thought you were a man. What about making your grandfather happy and finding a wife?”
“There’s bound to be good-looking women in the west too. If I’m to marry the most beautiful woman in Toyoashihara, then it makes sense to travel more. There’s no need to limit myself to Izumo,” he said, as if this argument were just common sense.
“How can I ever trust someone like you as a fellow traveler?”
Sugaru ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe you can’t. But I can sail a boat. How about it? If we go from port to port, we can cut the time it takes in half or maybe even down to a third. Or would you rather go ahead and cross all those mountains on your own?”
A boat! The thought had never occurred to her, and her heart raced with excitement. “You’ve got a boat? Really?”
“Women can’t sail without bringing down the wrath of the sea god. But you, little one—”
“Of course. The god of the sea won’t try to stop me,” Toko said in a rush. Hope bubbled up inside her. A boat, what a fabulous idea. There would be no need to climb endless mountains like she had on the way from Mino. “Please, take me with you. If we can reach Himuka even a little quicker, I’ll be forever in your debt.”
“The sea is dangerous too, you know. It’s going to be a gamble, and I don’t want you to underestimate the risk involved. Are you still willing to try it?”
“Of course.”
“You’ll be fine,” the wiry youth chimed in. “You’ve got Sugaru and us on your side. A lot of others wanted to come too, but we won the right to go. I’m Tasuki and this is Imatate. You’ve no need to fear rough seas with the three of us here.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind? Even though you aren’t on a quest for beautiful women?”
“Ha! All men are looking for beautiful women. And they’ll also jump at any chance to test their strength. I don’t know any man who would turn down an excuse like this to set out for a foreign land.”
5
THEY WERE PUSHING the boat over rollers toward the shore, when Tasuki asked, “Sugaru, is it safe to take it out in broad daylight like this? None of us are ship owners yet.”
“Don’t worry,” Sugaru answered carelessly. “It’s all set. From today, this boat is ours, whether it sinks or floats.”
“That’s pretty good negotiating. How did you manage it?” Imatate asked.
“Nothing to it. I paid for it with a splendid magatama that would have satisfied the emperor himself. By now, it will have reached the Kuni no Miyatsuko.”
“Sugaru … you didn’t,” Toko said, regarding him with disbelief. “It wasn’t the one from the shrine, was it?”
Sugaru grinned. “Did you look inside that shrine? You didn’t, right? Well, neither did I. If nobody ever looks inside the shrine, then what difference does it make if there’s something in it or not?”
Toko was at a loss for words. How Sugaru’s mind worked was a complete mystery to her. She decided that he might be as much devil as human. “If your grandfather finds out, you’ll be really sorry.”
“I’ll worry about that when it happens,” Sugaru said as he pushed hard against the boat. “But, personally, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong. The shrine must have been a decoy to distract people’s attention from the real magatama. That’s why my ancestors kept a fake in it. But now, the real magatama is leaving the country, so there’s no longer anything left to protect. It makes perfect sense to put the fake to good use, don’t you think?”
He spoke with such confidence that Toko was almost convinced. His shirt, slightly damp with sweat, lay open across his chest and a purple string hung round his neck. He wore his mother’s magatama in a pouch on the end of that string, never letting it leave his body. Gazing at it, Toko thought that perhaps it was his brazen confidence that made him fit to be the bearer of the magatama. She felt a pang of grief and loss but put the thought out of her mind, turning her attention to the boat instead.
The boat was a sturdy eight-seater made of camphor wood and built for speed. The bow arched gracefully and a red whirlpool was painted on the side as a plea to the sea god for protection. “It’s a good little ship, isn’t it?” Toko said as they all climbed in. She had decided that praising the ship profusely would be an auspicious way to start the journey. “It’s such a nice shape and just the right size. I’m sure it can carry us safely to where we want to go. Does it have a name?”
“It’s called Oguna-maru,” Sugaru said.
Toko blinked in surprise. “Are you teasing me?”
“Why would he be teasing you?” Tasuki said. “Don’t you think it’s the perfect name for us?”
Toko burst out laughing. “So I’m going off to sea on Oguna-maru. That’s very funny. When Oguna and I were small, we used to make boats out of leaves, even though we’d never seen the sea. We called our boats Toko-maru and Oguna-maru and raced them on a nearby stream. We thought that they would be carried all the way downstream to the ocean … Oguna was a perfectionist. His were always really sophisticated. At first mine were faster, bu
t before I knew it his were better—more balanced and less likely to sink.” She laughed again. “He figured out the best shape for a boat without anyone teaching him. But that made me mad, and I told him I didn’t want to play with boats anymore.”
Toko watched the waves lap against the side of the boat. Today is part of that day. It’s a continuation of the dream we dreamt as we sat on the grassy riverbank and watched our leaf boats drift away.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen you look like that,” Sugaru said as he rowed. “Your expression suits you. So Oguna was a childhood friend of yours, was he?”
Startled out of her reverie, she faltered, embarrassed. “… Yes.”
“There’s nothing like the bond between childhood friends,” Tasuki declared. “Like Sugaru and me. People may grow up but they don’t change much inside.”
“Some people do,” Toko muttered and then fell silent. Holding her windswept hair out of her face, she gazed back the way they had come and watched the shore fade into the distance as Oguna-maru surged out to sea.
chapter
six
NEWBORN
Newborn
THOUGH TOKO and her company had embarked in high spirits, the first leg of their voyage was plagued with bad weather, as if they were being punished for their recklessness. Clear skies never lasted more than a day, and rough seas kept them landbound for a week, so that they sailed only three of the first ten days. Exasperated, Toko declared that they could have reached Himuka faster if they had walked—but she stopped complaining after facing high seas that nearly capsized Oguna-maru. She realized that just because her presence would not invoke the sea god’s wrath did not give her license to be reckless.
They had set out a little too early in the year. Winter had not yet given way to spring, and the clash of cold and warm air currents generated storms. Once that period had passed, however, the seas quieted and they were blessed with fair weather. The boat sped over the water, and soon they were crossing a large strait. By the time the far shore came into sight, there was not a trace of winter left. Everywhere the land was covered in lush green trees that looked like they had never known the cold.
“I’ve heard tales that the west is a land of fire,” Sugaru said lazily. “Fire burns in the mountains and in the seas. It’s hot even in winter and the land groans, or at least that’s what they say. As a child, it made me wonder why people would even bother to live here.”
“I can understand what they mean by fire burning in a mountain, but how can fire burn in the sea?” Toko asked.
“I’ve heard the same story though,” Tasuki said. “There’re supposed to be mysterious lights on the sea, and the water burns on moonless nights.”
“Impossible!”
“But it’s true.”
Toko fell silent, feeling uneasy, and wondered if they had come so far from home that even common sense no longer held true.
“Speaking of water, the jug’s almost empty,” Imatate said, peering into the water container. “We’d better stop somewhere soon.” The seas might burn for all the practical Imatate cared. What really mattered was whether you could drink the water or not.
“I thought it was about time to land,” Tasuki said from the prow where he served as the lookout. “Let’s look for a landing spot on the other side of that point. We might find a village too.”
“What do you think the ‘land groaning’ means?” Toko asked, but the others, absorbed in getting the boat to shore, ignored her.
The point grew larger until its cliffs towered above them. The young men edged the Oguna-maru toward land, watching out for reefs. They were now close enough to make out individual trees in the thick, overgrown forest, their glossy leaves glinting in the sun, and Toko’s apprehension increased. That forest looks like it would suck the life out of anything that entered it. She shuddered at the thought.
“There’re people there!” Tasuki shouted. “Just as I thought. There must be a village nearby. They’ve seen us. They seem to be gathering—”
Toko looked in the direction he indicated and saw men clustered on the cliff above the shore where Oguna-maru was headed. They were pointing and talking animatedly among themselves.
“This doesn’t look good,” Tasuki said. The words had no sooner left his mouth than an arrow arced toward them. Immediately, all the men on the cliff raised their bows and let loose a hail of arrows.
“What’s going on?” Sugaru yelled. “Have they mistaken our innocent little ship for an invasion?”
“Maybe they’re frightened by your face, Sugaru,” Imatate said. “Come on. Smile at them.”
“Why would I waste my time smiling at men?”
“Ah. I know. They must’ve figured out that you’ve come to take away their women.”
The arrows continued to rain down. Shielding his head with his arms, Tasuki yelled, “Hard aport! Hard aport! It’s no good. If we land, we’ll be killed.”
Sugaru turned the boat left so sharply that it tilted precariously. Toko hit her head on the gunwale. Once the men saw Oguna-maru pull away, they held their fire, but they remained on the cliff to make sure that the small craft did not try to come ashore.
“Well, that was a surprise,” Sugaru said. “If we had come with a fleet of ships, I could understand such a welcome, but there are only four of us.”
“Maybe something’s happened to make them afraid.”
“I bet that’s it!” Toko said. “Maybe Prince Ousu has already arrived. That would certainly explain it. We’ve got to find out what happened.”
“The first thing we need to find is water,” Imatate reminded them. “Not even I can pull water out of thin air.”
“No worries. I’ll find us a place to land,” Sugaru said, pulling hard on his oar. “They’ve made a big mistake if they think they can shoo us away like flies.”
Rowing back the way they had come, and this time more cautiously, the party landed on the opposite side of the point. Hiding the boat under the shadow of the rocks, they all looked around carefully before crossing the beach and climbing up to the tree line. They had reached the edge of the forest when Tasuki said, “Why don’t Imatate and I go ahead to check things out? If we’re lucky, we may find a spring.”
But Sugaru shook his head. “No, we’d better not split up. This forest gives me a bad feeling. And like Toko, I think we should find out why those men shot at us.”
“Are you saying that we should go back and ask those jerks who gave us such a cold reception why they did it?”
Sugaru smiled. “To ask is to suffer a moment’s humiliation. Not to ask is to be shamed for life. Or so I’ve been told.” He had barely finished his sentence when a group of seven or eight men stepped out from behind the trees. Their eyes gleamed mercilessly and in their hands they gripped clubs and axes. Sugaru cocked his chin at them. “Would you like to start asking?”
“Mmm. I can see why you don’t like this forest.”
The men attacked without a word. Toko gasped and her stomach cramped into a tight knot, but her companions countered swiftly. Imatate smacked one man in the head with the water jug, shattering it against the man’s skull. Sugaru and Tasuki, obviously more than used to fighting, likewise outdid their reputations. But of the three, Sugaru was by far the strongest. He had not been bragging at the marketplace. Although Toko drew her sword, she had no need to use it. The battle was over in moments.
Once he had made sure that none of their opponents were still standing, Sugaru said, “All right then. Perhaps now we can get some answers.” He grasped one man’s collar and pulled him close. “Tell me, what do you hold against us that you’d attack us like that? It’s a pretty rude way to greet guests, don’t you think?”
The man groaned. “What are you? Devils?”
“Ah, now you see what your ignorance has cost you. It’s because you’ve never heard of Sugaru of Izumo that you met such a sorry fate.”
“A-all right. I’m sorry. We thought you were the remnants of the
Tachibana.”
“The Tachibana?” Toko repeated, her voice a squeak.
“You mean you’re hunting Tachibana?” Sugaru asked.
The man nodded vigorously. “The prince from Mahoroba slew Kumaso Takeru, the leader of the rebel Tachibana, and the rest of them scattered. We were told that we’d be rewarded if we brought the heads of the survivors to our chief. Especially women or children. The reward for them is double.”
The four companions looked at one another. Or rather the three young men from Izumo looked straight at Toko. She stood, white-lipped, unable to conceal her shock. “When?” she asked. “When did the prince from Mahoroba kill the Tachibana leader?”
“About a month ago. The prince had just reached Himuka. It took everyone by surprise. We all thought Kumaso Takeru was invincible. He invited the prince into his hall, and that’s where they say he died. I guess that’s the power of the gods.”
It takes one Takeru to kill another … The words of the Keeper of the Shrine echoed in Toko’s mind. Pushing the voice out of her head, she addressed the man once more. “Where’s the prince now? Where’s Kumaso Takeru’s hall?”
“I don’t know where the prince is. After all, none of us were called in to fight,” the man said. He did, however, tell them how to get to the hall—one day’s travel southeast plus two days travel due south. Having heard all he needed to know, Sugaru let the man go. Then he walked over to Toko, who had sunk to the ground, her face stricken.
“That does it,” he said. “I’m mad. Doubling the reward for killing women and children. Whoever’s behind this is rotten to the core.”
Toko buried her face in her hands. “We’re too late. He’s wiped out the Tachibana from the land where the sun sets. Why?” she whispered. “Why is he destroying the Tachibana? Why is this happening to my people? Is this what the Sword does?”
“This is no time to brood, Toko,” Sugaru said. “We’ve come this far, but we haven’t checked things out for ourselves yet. The way I see it, if they’re hunting Tachibana, it means there must be some left. And if they’ve doubled the reward for women and children, it sounds like the most important person they’re seeking must be a woman and she must still be at large.”
Mirror Sword and Shadow Prince Page 24
