At last, the air began to smell damp. She sensed a large amount of water flowing beyond the palisade: a river—the Nakase River, winding alongside the West Gate and then snaking south. The mouse’s sensitive nose could detect even the river’s width and the speed at which it flowed. It was almost as if she were seeing it. She was nearly at the gate. Grateful that the mouse still had energy to spare, Saya ran under the palisade and scurried into the brush on the riverbank. At the bottom of the bindweed-covered slope was the wide riverbank where the ceremony would be held. It was cordoned off with braided rope, and numerous watch fires burned around it. The place was thick with guards.
To her frustration, she could not get a clear view due to the mouse’s nearsighted vision, but she sensed that the Hut of Abomination was in the center of a circle of lights. She boldly approached it. The shadows of the stones along the riverbank concealed her gray fur. Although she passed by the feet of one of the guards, he did not even notice her.
So this is the Hut of Abomination.
She raised her head and wiggled her long whiskers. It was a small structure covered with tightly woven bark and straw, and from the outside appeared somewhat similar to the birthing huts in the villages of Hashiba made for women in labor. But a pungent metallic stench told of the cold iron beneath the straw. A thin string hung with tiny gold bells, like the ones Teruhi wore on her trouser garters, was strung round the hut, tied to sticks driven into the ground. It resembled a bird rattle set out in the rice fields in fall to chase away sparrows. Ignoring it, Saya passed underneath but, without her even touching it, the bells began vibrating, making a faint but clear sound. Immediately, someone shouted, “On your guard, men! Some evil has entered here.”
Saya’s heart skipped a beat and she jumped in panic, scurrying to hide within the nearest shadow. Only then did she realize that she had run under a long robe worn by a priest who sat perched on a folding stool. She could smell his bony, old ankle right beside her.
“But, sir, we saw no one.”
“I know what I’m talking about,” the man sheltering Saya replied.
“Search the entire vicinity. Someone must be hiding nearby. In the name of Her Highness, search every shadow. Nothing must stop the purification ceremony.”
Saya calmed her racing heart. Thank goodness, she thought. The old priest ordered the others about while he himself remained seated and showed no sign of budging. It never occurred to him that the intruder might be concealed under his hem. While he glared dourly under lowered brows toward the gate, she slipped out behind him and scrambled up the wall of the hut.
As she parted the straw and squirmed her way through, her feet touched iron bars. It was indeed a merciless cage. The sacrifice would remain trapped within while he was burned alive. Just the thought of it made her hair stand on end. It was pitch-black inside, but she could still make out a huddled human form.
“Torihiko! Torihiko!” she shouted loudly, except that she did not seem to use the creature’s mouth, but rather called him from some other place. He responded immediately. Raising his face from the ground, he peered around in search of her.
“Saya?” he whispered faintly. “Where are you?”
“Here. Are you all right?” Her voice trembled with concern. Her nose told her that Torihiko was badly hurt.
“They broke my legs so that I couldn’t escape.”
“How cruel!” Saya’s tiny body shook with indignation.
“How did you get here? And through all those guards? I would never have guessed you could do that.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Saya replied, not wishing to go into detail. “We’ve got to find you a way out of here. We can’t let them burn you alive without putting up a fight.”
Torihiko remained silent for so long that she was afraid even his sharp wits had been defeated. Finally he spoke.
“I don’t understand girls. It would have been so much easier to help me get the Sword in the first place than to come all the way here now.”
“So that’s your way of welcoming me, is it?”
Why was he always so cheeky?
“But it’s true. This place will be guarded continuously until the purification ceremony is over. The Prince, the Princess, everyone in the palace is watching this spot. To try to escape would mean taking on the entire palace army. It’s impossible. I can’t even move,” he said as if merely stating the facts. “Saya, take the Sword and escape. Do for me what I couldn’t do.”
Saya struggled to keep her voice calm. “Look, that Sword won’t die if I leave it behind. But you most certainly will.”
“I’m not going to die,” Torihiko replied cheerfully. “I’ll just return to the Goddess of Darkness. I’ll be born again somewhere and come find you.”
“And just when will that be? Don’t be ridiculous!” Saya was so angry she could have cried. “Do you think we’ll ever meet again? Even if we did, it wouldn’t be me anymore. I’ll have forgotten all about you. I won’t live forever, you know.”
Torihiko seemed surprised. “Saya, you’re strange. You’ll never be able to fight if you think that way.”
“Look, I’m not Sayura. You’ve never met her, and neither have I. She isn’t me. Can’t you see that?”
“The Water Maiden sure is different, a real oddball.”
“You’re the oddball,” Saya retorted.
“That’s why you’re always attracted to the Light, because you think like that.”
She was about to snap at him but recollected herself. “This is no time to argue. But just you remember what I said, because it’s true.”
Torihiko reached out his hand and groped in the direction from which her voice came. But of course he did not find her; instead his hand came up against the iron bars. “Saya, where are you really?” he asked uncertainly. Suddenly he looked like the wounded boy he was, and she regretted not having her own body so that she could grasp his hand in hers.
“I’m right here. But I’m using the body of a mouse.”
“A mouse?” He stretched out a finger, and for the briefest of moments she allowed him to stroke her fur.
“You see?”
“How did you do it?”
“The girl who was the carp in the Mirror Pond taught me. She was in the shrine. Her name’s Chihaya, and she’s the youngest of the Children of Light. She’s a little odd, and is kept tied up.”
“In the shrine? One of the Children of Light?” Torihiko gasped, at a loss for words. “You mean you went into the shrine?”
“Yes. That’s where my body is.”
“Then you’ve got to go back now! Immediately!” he said, his voice strained. “That girl must be the priestess. She’s the one who stills the Dragon Sword. I wondered how she could do it, but she’s one of them. Saya, if you just reach out your hand, you can take the Sword. I can’t believe it.”
“But rescuing you comes first.”
“Listen, if anything can beat the combined forces of the entire palace, it’s the Dragon Sword,” Torihiko said in a subdued tone. Once he had said it, he seemed afraid. “If you use the Dragon Sword—although just the thought is terrifying—this iron cage won’t stop you. In fact, I don’t think even the Children of Light would be able to withstand it.”
She could feel his fear, the first she had ever seen him show, and she wondered what kind of sword it could possibly be. “All right. I understand. If taking the Sword is the only way, then—”
“Saya,” he interrupted, deadly serious. “You’ve unwittingly placed yourself in grave danger. I don’t know who Chihaya is, but it’s dangerous to trust her. She’s your rival. There can’t be two priestesses for the same sword.”
“She seemed very nice. And she doesn’t know that I’m the Water Maiden,” Saya said a little anxiously.
“In that case, grab the Sword before Princess Teruhi discovers you. You should be able to take it without wakening it.”
“I’ll try. Wait for me.”
“Beware of Chihaya. Don’t le
t her fool you.”
With his warning following after her, Saya raced off. And as she ran she began to think that maybe she was naïve to have accepted Chihaya’s words at face value. Chihaya was a Princess of Light. Saya had even told her that she belonged to the Darkness. Yet, despite this, she had left her defenseless body with Chihaya in the perilous shrine.
Perhaps it is I who lack common sense.
Although the guards were still searching everywhere, they were not looking for anyone as small as a mouse, and Saya slipped past them. She crawled within the safety of a roof and ran along the beams. As she passed Princess Teruhi’s hall, she noticed that the Princess’s chamber was empty. Was she still with Prince Tsukishiro? Or had she gone somewhere else? The two old women were still offering prayers before the shrine. She would have to think about them also. Had the third priestess in the shadow of the wooden gate regained consciousness yet? At last, she raced up a column beneath the floor and crawled through the hole in the wainscoting, returning to her starting point.
There’s my body!
Just as Chihaya had said, it was much simpler to return. Her body seemed to summon her impatiently, sucking her inside with such speed that her head swam. She opened her eyes and felt sensation returning to her limbs. And was scared to death at her predicament. She was lying flat on her back, her arms and legs flailing wildly as she struggled desperately to escape the menace bending over her. And holding her down, restraining her, was Chihaya, her beautiful hair in complete disarray. Saya’s blood ran cold, but at last she maneuvered herself into a position from which she could push the girl away.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she exclaimed in a quivering voice.
Chihaya looked relieved. She relaxed and sank to the floor, saying, “Oh, good. You’re back.” She raised her arm and wiped the sweat from her forehead. “The mouse panicked and tried to run outside—without understanding anything.”
“You’re lying!”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are, too! You’re lying!” Saya cried furiously. She was so flustered that for a moment she had trouble controlling herself. The blood rushed to her face and she felt as if her cheeks were burning. She backed away. “You’re a liar. You–you—!” In a strangled voice, she finally managed to gasp, “You’re a boy!”
Chihaya looked perfectly calm. He did not even pay attention to his wildly disheveled hair. “I don’t recall ever claiming to be a girl,”
he replied seriously.
“But you’re dressed like one. Look at you!”
Chihaya looked down at his white sleeves and long flowing robe. “This is what my sister makes me wear to fulfill my duties as the Priestess of the Sword.”
“Torihiko was right. I shouldn’t have trusted you!” Saya snapped, staring him in the face. It was infuriating to think that such beauty belonged to a boy. Her cheeks grew even redder. “What were you doing to me?”
“Nothing.”
“But you had your hands on me.”
“You were kicking and struggling. I was just trying to hold you still.”
He did not seem to be hiding anything. Rather, he seemed perplexed at her anger. Judging from his blank look, he really could not relate to her feelings. “Now I know what they’re talking about when they say I struggle during my dreams. Once the soul has left, the body doesn’t listen.”
Saya, recollecting that Chihaya’s hands and feet were tied, relaxed a little. “Well, once was enough for me,” she grumbled. “I’m never going to become another creature again. It makes me shudder to think that something that wasn’t me was moving around inside my body.”
She looked at Chihaya and wondered if he simply did not care about himself. What could he be thinking of, to allow his sister to dress him in women’s clothing, to give up his freedom, to leave his body behind while he dreamed? She might have understood it if he appeared grotesque but he could have rivaled even Prince Tsukishiro if he wanted to.
“It seems that you’re the black sheep of your family. Well, I’m the same for the people of Darkness,” she said candidly, and then shrugged her shoulders, laughing at herself. Now that she had herself under control, she could be more objective. The fact that he was bound was fortunate, for it meant the odds were in her favor.
“The Dragon Sword is here, isn’t it,” she said, confirming the fact rather than asking a question.
“Yes.”
“Would you show me?”
“So you really did come to take the Sword. My sister warned me that the people of Darkness would try to get it.” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice.
“Yes, I did. I need it to rescue Torihiko.”
“I’ve heard that no one can touch it.”
“I’m supposed to able to,” Saya said somewhat dubiously. “Because I’m the Water Maiden.”
“The Water Maiden?” Chihaya, who until now had appeared rather absentminded and slow, became animated for the first time. His eyes widened in surprise. “You mean you’re the real Priestess of the Sword?”
“According to some people,” Saya replied humbly.
“Now that you mention it, didn’t you spill the water of pacification earlier? Yet, despite that, the Sword didn’t roar.”
“Roar?”
“Yes, it roars, and it howls, too. Because it longs to be reborn.”
Saya’s mouth dropped open. “Just what kind of sword is it?”
“Well, I don’t know what the Dragon Sword’s original form was,” Chihaya said seriously. “But if you want to see what it looks like when it’s sleeping, it’s over there.” He raised his bound hands to indicate the altar. “You seem to have the right. It’s kept inside the coffer on the altar.”
Saya looked up at the shining altar and approached it. When she had climbed to the third step, she saw before her a rectangular receptacle of stone, black as ebony. Despite its flawlessly polished surface, it was so black that it reflected nothing. She peered fearfully over the edge to find the box lidless and filled with clear water. And in the bottom lay a naked blade. The bright light of the torches reached into the water’s depths, and the Sword gleamed faintly where it rested on its jet-black bed. The metal was blue-black and the blade was longer than any Saya had ever seen. The pommel was round and dark, and crimson stones were set in the hilt.
It reminded her of something lurking in wet grass against which one must always be on guard. Like a serpent. A poisonous serpent, she thought. Although it had an unearthly beauty, she felt no affinity for it. She looked back at Chihaya.
“If I take the Sword, what will happen to you?” she asked almost teasingly.
“My sister will certainly despair of me,” he answered after some thought.
“Then will you try to stop me?”
“I suppose, if it were possible,” he muttered without conviction. “Although I’ve never fought anyone before.”
“Really? Never?” Saya said, descending the stairs and staring at him. “Wasn’t it decreed that the Children of Light would fight continually from the day they came down to this earth? And if you are truly a child of the God of Light, then you must have lived much longer than I.”
“My sister is ashamed that I’m his son. She often says that she wishes it weren’t so. She says that although I’m his child, I’m a misfit, obsessed with death. My dreaming is proof of that.”
“Well.” Saya drew in her breath. Then she asked timidly, “Do you wish to die?”
“I don’t know.” Chihaya shook his head. It seemed that he lacked conviction about everything. “But when I’m alone, I think of how my father followed the Goddess to the underworld. If he wanted so badly to have her by his side, how did they come to hate each other? And when I think of that, I begin to wander away from the palace. That’s why my sister won’t let me go outside.” He sighed softly. “I’m a failure as a Child of Light. That much I do know.”
“Why?” Saya looked into his eyes. “Why do you call yourself a failure? Why don’t you
try and realize your desire? You’re as securely trapped as Torihiko. But you have folded your wings of your own accord.”
Confused, he lowered his head. “Because my sister always speaks the truth. She says that if I leave this place, a great evil will occur.”
“Well, if you’re talking about evil, I’ve been cursed as evil, too. But that’s not the point. What do you wish, not Princess Teruhi? You try to escape through dreaming, but wouldn’t you rather walk upon the earth with your own two feet? Don’t you long to see with your own eyes the marks the Goddess left in Toyoashihara long ago?”
Chihaya could only blink under this barrage of questions. Stray wisps of hair hung about his face, accentuating his bemused appearance. Saya smiled. It was the kind of smile she had shared with her friends when they had played together in the mountains around Hashiba. She said in a warm voice, “I feel I can understand you. We’re opposites, and yet we’re very similar. We’re both drawn to something beyond the confines of our own people. I longed to be one of the people of Light, and your brother brought me to this palace. So why shouldn’t you, if you wish, go to the Land of the Dead? Even if, as for me, it doesn’t work out in the end.”
She pointed to the altar. “Give me the accursed Sword. I will take it and destroy the iron cage where Torihiko is held. And at the same time I will destroy my own cage, the foolish cage of my illusions. Then I will return to the people of Darkness.”
Marveling at the strength running like a clear stream through her voice, Chihaya whispered, “You are the Water Maiden.” He had nothing with which he could dam that flow. The vigor of surging water was in her face, in her gaze. She laid her hand upon his arm and said, “Let’s take the Sword and go together. I would break the cage and sever the cords that bind you with the same blade.”
4
“THE MOON has risen over the mountain,” Princess Teruhi said abruptly. “Our dalliance is over. Release me.”
Dragon Sword and Wind Child Page 12
