The Fires of the Gods (A Sugawara Akitada Novel)

by I. J. Parker

  Seimei saw them first and came to meet them. ‘Are you all right, sir? And My Lady and the little one?’ he asked anxiously with a glance at the bound Tojiro. ‘Did he attack you?’

  ‘We’re unhurt. I caught this one on the way here. The other one is dead. He attacked my wife and child.’

  Seimei and Tojiro gasped. Seimei said, ‘It is a miracle everyone escaped. What monsters the young have turned into.’ He glared at Tojiro with such disgust that the young man paled.

  Tamako asked, ‘Is everyone else safe? Hanae and Yuki?’

  ‘Yes. Well, Trouble got singed pretty badly when he bit one of the gang and was beaten back with a burning torch. Hanae is in the main house with Yuki, tending to the dog’s wounds. I’m afraid the stable and Tora’s place are a total loss.’

  ‘Poor Trouble,’ said Akitada. ‘What a very brave dog he is. Where is Tora?’

  ‘At his place, looking to see if he can salvage anything.’

  Genba joined them, his face a picture in red and black. He was covered with soot and sweat. ‘What happened to you, sir? We were worried. The police finally showed up. After it was all over and we’d driven the bastards away and nearly put out the fire.’

  Akitada glanced at the smoking ruins of the stables. ‘Never mind, Genba. We’re alive. Take this fellow to the kitchen, tie him up, and lock him in.’ Turning to Tamako, he said, ‘You and Seimei better stay in the main house.’ He called a couple of the constables and asked them to guard his family.

  Then he went to inspect the damage. The stables were gone, along with saddles and feed for the horses. He found Tora on the pile of smoking rubble that had been his quarters. He was kicking charred and smoking timbers aside.

  ‘I’m very sorry, Tora,’ Akitada called up to him. ‘We will rebuild it. Better than it was. I’m glad you’re safe.’

  Tora swung around. He was black with soot. ‘What about My Lady and the little one?’

  ‘They’re well, the gods be thanked.’ It had been a disastrous night, but at that moment Akitada felt again a relief so great that he seemed to float. ‘Come and leave that for later. We are safe, and that is all that matters. We need a cup of wine and something to eat.’

  Tora climbed down reluctantly. ‘I had about ten pieces of gold saved up,’ he said gloomily. ‘First I get robbed, and now this.’

  ‘Never mind. I caught Tojiro a moment ago. And I had to kill Takeo.’

  Tora brightened. ‘Well done! Looks like you got all the excitement. Takeo was a piece of garbage, and Tojiro’s not much better.’

  They were crossing the courtyard on their way to the main house when Kobe arrived.

  The superintendent paused to shake his head at the devastation, then came quickly to Akitada. ‘I didn’t get your message until a few hours ago,’ he said.

  Akitada saw that Kobe looked exhausted and still wore the same clothes. ‘You haven’t been to bed since I saw you last?’

  ‘No. More unrest in the city, and then an attack on the western jail. Koichi’s friends decided to spring him by setting fire to the jail.’

  ‘That must be what I smelled earlier, before the fire here. Did anyone get hurt?’

  ‘Three prisoners died. They were shackled.’ Kobe’s face was bleak. ‘It was terrible, the screaming. I wish I’d retired to my farm last year. What about your family?’

  ‘We’re safe now, but I had to kill a youth, and another is tied up in my kitchen.’

  Kobe’s lips quirked in the briefest of smiles. ‘You’ve been busy yourself. Let’s have a look.’

  They stopped first at Tamako’s pavilion. When Kobe saw the dead youth and Akitada showed him the knife he had held to the baby’s neck, Kobe sucked in his breath sharply. Then he examined the body.

  ‘But he died from a knife thrust into his side,’ he said. ‘Didn’t you have your sword?’

  ‘I did, but I told him that I would fight him barehanded.’ Akitada realized that this sounded like bragging and flushed. ‘It was the only way he would relinquish my daughter. I was lucky that he was young and naive,’ he added.

  Kobe stared at him. ‘It sounds horrible. Let’s see the live one.’

  Genba unlocked the door to the small kitchen building. As they walked in, they saw Tojiro trussed up against one of the beams that supported the roof. He looked defeated.

  Akitada had promised Fuhito time to arrange his affairs, but Tojiro had changed all that, including the way Akitada felt about his grandfather’s confession. He was convinced now that Fuhito had tried to protect his grandson. Much would depend on Tojiro’s explanations.

  Kobe stood over the boy with a frown. ‘You’re the one they call Tojiro?’

  Tojiro looked up at him. ‘Yes.’

  ‘How old are you?’

  ‘Sixteen.’

  Akitada was taken aback. Given the boy’s lifestyle, he had thought the youth to be at least seventeen, if not older. But he was tall and very handsome under all that dirt. No wonder Koichi’s daughter had fallen for him.

  Kobe asked, ‘Parents?’

  Tojiro hesitated and glanced at Akitada. Then he lifted his chin. ‘My father was Kiyowara Kane. I killed him. My mother is also dead. She was one of his wives.’

  Kobe’s jaw sagged. ‘What? Don’t tell outrageous lies. You won’t like the taste of the bamboo whip, my boy.’

  Akitada said quickly, ‘He’s telling the truth. He is Kiyowara’s oldest son by a secondary wife.’

  Kobe was shocked. ‘You mean the Kiyowara heir is this one’s younger brother? Where did he come from all of a sudden?’

  Akitada hedged. ‘I think the story is a little complicated. The point at the moment is that he has just confessed to the murder. I haven’t had time to get details yet, but his grandfather is the Kiyowaras’ major-domo, Fuhito. He also confessed to the crime.’

  Kobe gave Akitada a long look, but said nothing. He turned back to Tojiro. ‘Is that true? Did you kill Lord Kiyowara?’

  The boy’s chin came up again. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘He wouldn’t acknowledge me. He was hateful and said things about my mother. I hit him and he fell. He hit his head on the desk, I think. I saw blood and saw that he was dead and I was glad.’ Tojiro spoke quickly, with a passionate sincerity. His eyes shone with pride.

  Kobe turned back to Akitada. ‘Can this be? Why did none of the servants report seeing him?’

  ‘He looks very much like his brother. I think they saw him, but took him for Katsumi.’

  A brief smile passed over Tojiro’s face. ‘I got on Katsumi’s horse and galloped out of the gate. Nobody paid attention.’

  Akitada was not at all sure what to make of this boy. ‘Did you by any chance run away from Seikan-ji?’

  Tojiro flushed. ‘How did you know?’

  ‘The abbot is looking for you.’

  ‘Well, he’ll have to manage without him,’ Kobe snapped. Drawing Akitada back outside, he said angrily, ‘I must say, you should have informed me of all this before.’

  Akitada felt guilty. ‘I intended to, but I’ve only just realized what happened. Someone delivered a threat here – at least I took it for a threat. Tojiro claims he was warning me – and I postponed reporting to you in order to look after my family. Fuhito confessed late yesterday.’

  Kobe mellowed a little. ‘I see. I was fairly busy myself then. Which one of them did it, do you think?’

  ‘I would bet the grandfather lied to protect the grandson. He loves the boy and feels guilty for what happened to him.’

  ‘Very well, we’ll sort it out later. The boy will be taken to the eastern jail, and I’ll have my men remove the body from your lady’s pavilion. Then I have to leave. I wish I could offer help with the clean-up, but we’re stretched very thin.’

  ‘I understand.’ Akitada glanced back over his shoulder towards the kitchen building. ‘You know, I feel there is something not quite right about Tojiro’s confession. I’d like to pay another visit to the Kiyowaras if you will pe
rmit it.’

  Kobe thought a moment, then nodded. ‘By all means make sure. And collect your fee for clearing them of suspicion while you’re at it.’

  A WOMAN’S HONOR

  Akitada stayed only long enough to see his family settled and hire laborers to remove the charred timbers and rebuild the stables and Tora’s small house. The simplicity of their construction and the tips he promised set them to working with speed and enthusiasm.

  He changed out of his dirty clothes, bathed, and set off for the Kiyowara mansion in his second-best robe.

  Servants, still in mourning, received him. Fuhito was absent. A sense of unease and subdued excitement filled the air. Akitada asked to speak to Lady Kiyowara and her son.

  He waited in the same waiting room as the last time. Outside, the day was pleasant. The rain had taken away the dry heat that had oppressed the city for so long. The Kiyowara gardens were green and fresh in the sun, and the water in the little rill ran high and clear over the large round stones.

  Akitada was not happy with the outcome of the case. Not only did he not like to see Fuhito and his family suffer further at the hands of arrogant aristocrats like the Kiyowaras, but he was also dissatisfied with both confessions. Fuhito had been too adamant that Tojiro was completely innocent, and Tojiro had confessed much too readily to the killing. In addition, the boy’s description of how he had murdered his father had not rung true. It was as if both were trying to protect the other. Fuhito was quite likely to sacrifice himself for his grandson. Akitada did not know Tojiro very well, but from what he had seen, the youngster had shown both courage and principles. The truth was, he hoped to find that someone else had killed Kiyowara.

  His wait was shorter than he had expected. A servant came and took him to the reception room. Lady Kiyowara was with her son, but this time her cousin, Lady Aoi, attended her. This audience was markedly more casual than the last one and differed also in the fact that the young lord now had the seat of honor. His mother sat to his side, and Lady Aoi – still in her beads and amulets and with her hair disheveled – sat farther back.

  Akitada bowed to young Katsumi, who seemed to be trying valiantly to appear manly and self-assured, but would not meet Akitada’s eyes. When Akitada had also bowed to his mother, he said, ‘There have been certain developments. Someone has confessed to Lord Kiyowara’s murder. I have come to make my final report.’

  The young lord glanced nervously at his mother. She said, ‘That is most satisfactory,’ and clapped her hands for a servant. A sense of relief was almost palpable in the room. A middle-aged man appeared, and she instructed him to bring a money box from her room. Then she told Akitada, ‘I speak for my son and myself when I say that we are grateful to you. I have sent for the rest of your fee. Please proceed with your report.’

  Akitada had become uncomfortably aware of Lady Aoi’s piercing stare. Unlike the Kiyowaras, she reminded him of a coiled snake. She seemed to be shouting at him, Don’t! He tried to ignore this and began.

  ‘From the beginning, it was clear that the murderer or his accomplice belonged to his household.’ Lady Kiyowara frowned, and Akitada said quickly, ‘I’m sorry, My Lady. It was simply impossible for any outsiders to have entered the property in the middle of the day unnoticed by the servants. There was one exception to this, but for the time being, let us eliminate any and all political enemies of the late lord. It is true that Prince Atsunori, the Minister of Central Affairs, stopped by, but he cannot be considered either an enemy or someone who would dirty his fingers with murder.’

  Lady Kiyowara started to object, but the servant returned with a small box, identical to the first one Akitada had received. She dismissed him, then said, ‘Go on.’

  ‘Allow me first to tell you a story from the past.’ Akitada spoke of Fuhito and his young daughter, of the birth of the young woman’s son, and of Lord Kiyowara’s promise to acknowledge the boy. He watched their faces as he spoke. He had expected outrage and denial, but there was none. He found it especially interesting that young Katsumi did not seem in the least surprised.

  Lady Kiyowara looked down at her hands and said bitterly, ‘It is no secret that my husband had many women. He may also have many children. What is that to us now?’

  The young lord shot her a glance and moved uncomfortably.

  Akitada said, ‘It is important because it is Fuhito who confessed to your husband’s murder. He claims that the broken promise to acknowledge his grandson is why he killed your husband.’

  Lady Aoi sucked in her breath at the news of Fuhito’s confession, but her cousin only sighed. ‘Poor man. I do not blame him. I am sure he was dreadfully provoked.’

  ‘I am not done, My Lady, for only a few hours ago, his grandson Tojiro, your son’s half-brother, also confessed to the murder.’

  Lady Aoi moved abruptly. Her beads and bangles made a harsh, dry sound. Lady Kiyowara turned and said, ‘There is no need for you to stay, cousin.’

  Lady Aoi did not answer. She only shook her head, her eyes burning into Akitada’s with a fierce intensity.

  Lady Kiyowara turned back. ‘Well, no doubt the police will straighten it all out,’ she said, pushing the money box towards Akitada. ‘In any case, that finishes our arrangement. Please accept this in appreciation of your work.’

  At this point, the young lord exploded. ‘No. We’re not finished, sir. I will not allow you to blame my brother. It was not his fault. My mother has paid you to shift the guilt on him. Well, I’ll pay you twice that amount to clear his name.’

  ‘Katsumi,’ cried his mother, ‘watch your words. It is not wise to be associated with your father’s killers.’

  Akitada admired the boy for his speech, so he only said mildly, ‘I neither shift guilt on an innocent man nor clear a guilty one.’

  The youth glared. ‘Then you may as well arrest me too, for I helped him.’

  His mother snapped, ‘Nonsense, my son was nowhere near my husband the afternoon he died. Katsumi had gone out to exercise his horse.’

  Katsumi ignored her. ‘I’ve known my brother for months. He spoke to me one day and told me who he was. I knew it was true because we look alike. After that, we used to meet often when I went out riding. I taught him how to ride my horse. The day of my father’s death, I let him in through the back gate. It was I who encouraged him to speak to my father, and I also let him take my horse to escape.’

  Lady Aoi started swaying back and forth and muttering, ‘Oh, no… Oh, no… Oh, no.’ They all looked at her. She paid no attention and fell to reciting prayers.

  Lady Kiyowara was very pale and at a loss for words. Her fan had fallen into her lap. She shook her head in disbelief.

  Katsumi faced Akitada with the same defiant sincerity Tojiro had shown when he had confessed. ‘Well? What will you do?’ he demanded.

  Akitada sighed. ‘You will have to speak to the police, of course, My Lord. It does you honor that you are standing by your brother. I think he, too, is a young man of principle and courage. It is a pity that the father of two such young men should have been their very opposite.’

  Lady Aoi suddenly rose, towering over them like a vengeful deity. ‘Not only men have principle and courage, Lord Sugawara,’ she said, her deep voice vibrating with passion. ‘We women have had to bear the violence of men and their ruthless rape of our bodies. We have borne their ill-begotten children and raised them while their fathers took other women. And yet we have been patient and hoped that our sons would not turn out to be the monsters their fathers were. We, too, have honor.’

  Akitada sat transfixed. Here, finally, was the truth. He hardly dared breathe. He had suspected something of the sort all along, though not necessarily of this odd and wild creature. And yet, he thought, who more likely? She was a woman of rank, an astonishing and exotic beauty in spite of her eccentric appearance and her tall stature and deep voice – or perhaps because of them.

  Lady Kiyowara looked terrified. She pleaded, ‘Oh, Aoi! Don’t.’

  Aoi ig
nored her. Her eyes did not leave Akitada’s. ‘Kiyowara’s sons may be males, but I will not let them take the blame for this,’ she said. ‘You, Lord Sugawara, were wrong from the start. I came to your house and told you so, but you would not listen. That boy and his grandfather are innocent, because I killed Kiyowara.’

  There was a pause. Strangely, no one contradicted Lady Aoi. The young lord had turned to watch her, but Lady Kiyowara sat silent, hanging her head.

  Lady Aoi went on: ‘I paid my cousin a visit, and on the second night her husband came to my room and defiled me, a shrine virgin. A man would not hesitate to avenge such a dishonor, but I am a woman and he was my cousin’s husband. Still, I went to speak to the monster when I saw the boy leaving his room in a panic. I took up one of the large stones from the garden stream to defend myself and entered Kiyowara’s study. He was getting to his feet, holding his head. When I charged him with the rape, he laughed and taunted me, saying that I had liked it and come for more. That’s when I raised the stone and struck him. The fool did not think a woman would have the courage or the strength to attack him, so he did little to defend himself, and I kept striking to make sure he was dead. So there you have the truth. I am proud that I did what hundreds of women before me should have done to spare others after them.’

  Akitada believed her. He said, ‘Lord Kiyowara committed a very serious offense against you and the gods you serve. I admit it did not occur to me that he would rape a woman of your sacred calling under his own roof.’

  Lady Kiyowara said bitterly, ‘My husband enjoyed rape. Normal relations were not to his taste. He wanted women who resisted him. I grew afraid of bringing good-looking young women into my service, but I, too, had thought he would respect a shrine virgin.’

  Lady Aoi, suddenly quite calm, sat back down. ‘I don’t care what happens to me. It was my karma to kill an evil man.’

  ‘Nothing will happen to you,’ her cousin cried. ‘The regent won’t permit you to be punished when he hears the story. He will regret having given my husband his wealth and power.’