At dawn there was a scream that woke the palace. It occurred in the second yard, just beside the quarters of the emperor, and the shrill panic echoed from the gilded rooftops of the surrounding complex. A second scream followed the first and then a third, trailed by the crashing of pottery against stone.
“Fox!” a maid shrieked. “Fox in the court!”
Palatial women fled, dashing for the doorways, while the courageous hugged the yard walls—watching. A lone guardsman stood with his spear raised, but made no movements from his post.
The creature causing such havoc was small, lithe, with a fresh coat of fiery spring fur. It bounced in the center of the space, shaking its head wildly—yipping and growling, cackling and laughing. The first party of servants had surprised it, passing through on their normal work routine when they spotted it slinking across the cobbles. It stooped low, frightened, but then began its tantrum at the first sign of chaos.
Chaos had woken the whole court.
Within moments, Aka came running barefoot and half composed across the stoneway—broom in hand. “Begone trickster!” the ailur yelled, thrashing at the animal with her weapon. Straws flew in a flurry. Yet the fox was quick—too quick, and it slid past each attack, circling her defiantly. Its laughter increased. Like molten silver the animal escaped each thwack, moving around and out, hopping manically, and joining the dance with its opponent. Every dodge brought hits closer, and the ailur was beginning to hone in on her prey, so the animal squeezed beneath her and darted across the yard. She followed.
The fox dashed towards a wall where women huddled. In terror, they scattered, screaming, but an unfortunate maid was too slow.. The creature, like an arrow, flew towards her and without challenge jumped up and through her robes. The woman flailed wildly, screeching. Aka was just behind, and without hesitation, wholloped the maid with her broom. The girl fell to the ground, assaulted from every direction, and the sound she made was horrendous. But the fox was driven out and realizing its imminent defeat—ran back across the court and towards a wall. Aka followed.
Yipping, it leaped up and onto the roof of a wall a-man-and-a-half in height. Twirling, it stared back at the ailur, calm, knowing—then dropped down the otherside.
“Run back to your master!” Aka shouted. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she composed herself, pushing long strands of chestnut hair back behind her pointed ears.
How did it get past my charms? she wondered to herself. Nothing had breached the barrier she placed around the palace in the 50 years it had stood. Not in physical form.
“A good omen!” she said aloud, aware of the courtier crowd gathering around her.
Probably a bad one.“Mistress,” a serving girl had been the one to gather the courage to speak first. “It was a red fox, neh? Not a white one. Surely it was just an animal?”
“Perhaps…or perhaps not.”
It was then that a man pushed his way to the front. “Well you had better figure it out, sorceress! It shouldn’t have even been here destroying the tranquility of the court!”
He spat.
Aka turned, opening her fan in a motion faster than the wind. The crowd stepped back. “Do we not have, I don’t know, people responsible for watching what comes and goes beyond myself? Guardsmen, constables? It should not have been here, you are right Yatori-ka-Moshishige. Even an idiot bumpkin such as yourself can recognize that!”
The man stepped forward, his chest heaving in anger, but before he could shout she continued. “What you fail to recognize, however, is the danger in crossing a witch! Or do you not remember what I did to your cousin when he angered me?”
Yatori-ka-Moshishige stumbled back as Aka moved closer—a look of hatred on his face. Women giggled, men watched with disgust. They
hated her. They had always hated her. Not all, no, certainly not all, but they
all feared her. Even the emperor. For the children of the dawn—the Yan—always feared what they could not understand. Aka was someone they could never understand, and in their lusting for power, her innate strength drove them madder still. The ailur moved towards the crowd—half her mind screaming to attack. But she was saved by a figure in scarlet who parted the crowd into bows as she came through—Lady Ai.
“Aka-na” Lady Ai greeted her, eyes shifting critically to Yatori who kept his head low.
“Mistress.”
“My husband wishes to see you urgently.”
“Of course, but..may I have a moment to dress before meeting with his Radiance?”
“He said urgently.” Ai glanced over again to Yatori, then back. A warm smile crossed her face. “But of course you may prepare Aka-na. Please come when you are ready. You know the way.”
The two women bowed formally, liking each other very much.
Aka made her way alone, unguarded, through the emperor’s private quarters as had been her privilege for many years. His residence hall, like so many of the other buildings, was a maze of sheeted walls, woven flooring, and wood.
So much wood. Yet everything here was finer, more elegant, and the effect was heightened by the fact that the hall was surrounded on three sides by private gardens, which were visible by the many windows and open walls. Birdsong could be heard easily through everything and sunlight lit the space with ease. Aka could feel the warmth of the floor beneath her as she walked, having left her clogs at the entrance, and even she had to admit the effect was wonderful. This was the only building in the realm, perhaps the world, with heated flooring—formed by hot spring water pumped through bronze tubing. Water drawn from the very mountain spring forming the emperor’s baths at the far end of his residence.
Aka arrived outside the sleeping chambers still entirely unchecked by another. If she had been malevolent, it would have been the easiest attack anyone could ever ask for. But she was not, and so she kneeled down and opened the lattice door.
The emperor was seated in the middle of the room, servants having already cleared the space. A table sat in front of him, and he was working on what she thought might be a poem.
“Aka.” he grumbled, not turning his attention from his task. His voice was gruff and worn—ill.
“Radiance.” she scurried over to him and knelt down to his side. “You are sick. Please, drink this.”
She reached over to pull a small gourd vial from a bag she carried with her in preparation. A vial she had pulled many times. Half of what the Yan had considered her “magic” was simply medicinal knowledge. In this way, she acted as physician to the court as well as magic dealer, even though the court had official physicians. But they had dealt in Yan medicine, and hers had come from a myriad of different places. This coupled with distrust, and so it was that she found herself treating the less scrupulous problems of a court. Most of them were created by the young.
“It will help—”
“That’s not why I summoned you Aka. I didn’t sleep, that’s all.”
“—ease your mind.”
He watched her find the vial, then downed the bitter herbs with water brought by a servant almost as quickly as their talk had begun.
“I thought you said my nightmares would get better?”
“I did.”
“They’ve gotten worse, Aka. Last night—the worst of all.” he was beginning to sweat.
“We will have to try something else.”
“How many more times will we have to try!”
His outburst shocked her, grabbing her by surprise. She jumped where she sat, staring at the spilled ink bottle from where the table had been hit. Whatever was working on was now ruined. Guardsmen rushed in, but he motioned them away.
“So sorry, Aka-na.” his voice softened with a sigh. “I am growing very tired, and perhaps older than my years.”
“I will keep trying, Radiance. As hard as I can.”
“I know. I trust you. I have
always trusted you. You were there at my birth, you will be here at my passing. You served my father, who favored you as much as I. I need a sorceress—the realm does. My grandfather hated your kind, you know. Witches, sorceresses, magic wielders. He killed a large number of you.”
“I know, sire. It is why I was sent away, to Inari, as a teenager until the turmoil ended.”
“But my grandfather was wrong, Aka-na. So very wrong. He would be weaker than I now, but I am still so very weak. I do not know what I have done in this life, or a past one, to merit this calamity. I ask if I should move the court, to cleanse us, to appease the dead. I get told—begged—to not. So what do I do?”
“Leave it to me, Radiance. I have many more tricks to play. This is my game, my realm. I am your sorceress, sorceress of the Hollyhock Court. Allow me to serve. Please, sire, get some rest.”
“I can’t. I must meet with Katsuya soon, before he leaves.” Emperor Yanagi stared off, out of his balcony, watching the sun disk rise further in the sky. Lost in thought, before he turned back violently. “I nearly forgot why I summoned you. It is so much worse.”
“I have removed the fox, Radiance. I don’t know how it got in. Please forgive me.”
“ It’s not that. There has been a death.”
A chill ran through Aka. “What do you mean?”
“Lord Oboshi’s second daughter, do you recall her?”
Aka combed through her mind. There were close to a hundred aristocratic ladies at the court, and that spoke nothing of the countless more servants and maids to serve them. “Ah, the one you call ‘Lady of the Twilight Skies’? Yes, I recall her. She came to court in spring of last year.”
“She was found dead in the outer complex, killed by a spirit.”
Impossible! Aka screamed to herself. “Sire, there must be a mistake. Nothing like that can get through my barrier. A spirit of such power in the palace? Certainly not.”
“That is what I thought, Aka-na. Until it was confirmed by trusted men. They say it is still haunting the building, somewhere on the sixth palatial street. No one can enter or risk death themselves.”
“And we are sure she wasn’t killed by something else? An enraged lover? Thieves—Tadan forbid it on the sixth street—or looters?”
“The spirit still haunts the building, Aka, this was no human. One of the outlying ones, along the woodline, if I am to understand correctly. Ei!! If her father resigns his post as a broken man, I will have to find a new governor for his holdings. So much trouble. That’s not even to mention finding a priest or monk to exorcize the spirit. That will cost the Court large amounts of silver, I am sure. Perhaps Lord Haka can attempt it, or knows someone.”
Yanagi stooped low, resting his elbows on the table. He squeezed his temples with one hand, shutting his eyes in frustration.
“Radiance, speak no more. It is my failing that it was allowed in, and it is my responsibility to clean up. I will banish it. What good is a court sorceress if she cannot remove pests of this nature?”
He glanced at her out of a weary eye. “Your Heaven and Earth magic will work?”
A gentle smile crossed her face. She was tempted to once again tell him it wasn’t magic, but decided now was not the time for philosophical teachings from her long dead homeland. To the Yan—none of it made a difference anyway.
“It will.”
“Thank you, Aka.” he said, summoning for more paper and ink.
Aka bowed low, pressing her head against the floor—preparing to depart, when she stopped for one last question. “Sire, do you have any idea who may know something? I need to know what I face…if I can.”
“No. She was found by a maid, who retired from service immediately after to join a cloister. The girl stated her mistress was alone in the night.”
Retired so soon? It made sense. The Yan aristocracy did this sort of thing—retiring on the death of one’s employer—though Aka would never truly understand it. Retiring almost always meant retreat, usually monastic, for a time. If a woman was young enough, she could become a shrine maiden and serve a particular god, but if she was too old, then there was little choice but the life of a nun.
But why so quickly? Why not stay and help until her mistresses’ funeral was concluded?Then a feeling of clarity washed over Aka.
She is covering. Full memory returned to her and she was able to recall facts that her mind had deemed irrelevant.
Recent facts.
“Radiance, are any of the princes currently in residence?”
Aka crossed field like a divine wind—fast, unstoppable, powerful. Her target had just loosed an arrow, which flew far at the twang of his longbow and lodged itself perfectly where he had demanded. He was a taller man, thin and stringy, but deceptively strong. In his archery clothing she could see his arms and part of his chest, and there a blanket of thick hair covered over swarthy skin. His face likewise hidden by a beard and topped by heavy waves, which blew uncaged without a court hat. She recalled then how in young adolescence he had suffered because he looked so different to his brother.
He raised his bow above his head, ready to draw another arrow when he caught her moving towards him. Like a cornered animal he turned and backed. Fearing he might bolt like a rabbit, Aka called to him. “Ie, we must speak sir.”
“I do not wish to speak with you, Aka-na. You are disturbing my archery.”
“Come now,” she said, having reached him. “Nothing can disturb your archery prince.”
“Not so.” he was sweating under the sun. She would sweat him more. “You are. So sorry.”
Aka narrowed her eyes, then fanned herself.
Fine, you brat.“Prince Foscan,” she began.
Foscan, a title granted to him at his coming of age, much like Mei was given to his brother, named after a certain kind of tree which bore leaves of golden color. The emperor had hoped that by granting him such a title, to be passed to descendants, it would boost him to match his extraordinary older sibling. “I was practically your nursing maid. Like the poem on one’s fan, I understand you to the core. I
cannot distract your archery.”
She stared him down.
He returned the glare, and without pause, drew an arrow and fired—never looking away. She turned, ever so curious to see if he had missed. He had not.
“What do you want, Aka?”
“Where is Akira?”
“I do not know. Try the inner courts.”
“Do not toy with me Ie. I’m going to exorcize the spirit, and I
know your brother was with the girl. I suspect he saw everything, and you’re going to tell me where he is at.”
“So sorry, but I do not know about any of that. If you wish to speak to him, I do not know where he is this morning. Perhaps with his mother, neh?”
twang another shot.
Aka could feel anger rush over her. It was not an emotion she felt often, but the boys—now men—who she had seen raised, whose father she had seen raised, had a magic of their own to work.
“You’re covering for him, dolt. This is more important than gossip and youthful folly, Ie. People are dying, and I need to know exactly what I face.
I know he was with Oboshi’s daughter last night. It is not a well-hidden secret, no matter how much your father is willfully blind to your brother’s indiscretions. I only need information.”
“So sorry, Aka-na. But I do not know of what you speak..”
“Moron!
She had half the mind to clobber him there—she had done it before—but now he was older and stronger and though she would win, it would weaken her too much. Instead she turned to leave.
What now? she thought. She could keep looking for the crown prince, but that would be wasting time. He was hiding, and merited enough loyalty from the court to hide well. The dead girl’s former maid would be useless too—if she took the effort to find the right monastery.
She’s likely in league with the princes on this. Options were running out.
“I will have to go in blind.” Aka said aloud.
Sixth street wasn’t really a street at all, but a long dirt path skirting the west side of the palace, butted against near wilderness where Kawanakami ended and nature began. Like all of the palatial
streets it marked a location in the outer courts, rather than a true feature—for the Hollyhock Court was a massive complex. It sat on the foot of Mount Tola, on the northern edge of Kawanakami town, and nature covered it on three sides, with only the south facing cityscape. At the upper center sat the inner courts, the true palace, with the emperor’s residences.. Radiating from that was a network of intermediary courts, cloisters, halls and buildings. Then beyond those sat the lower courts, designated by streets, ten in total, and varying from urban to rural. There, in the lower court streets, aristocrats owned and constructed personal residences for their times in the capital.
Aka was looking at one such residence—one abandoned many years ago. It was a squat, small building, nestled deep into what was once gardened land. She passed a pond darkened by age, filled dark with slime, and wondered how much time had passed. Weeds grew tall among stands of black bamboo. The morning dew had not left this place, and everything carried the not unpleasant scent of the damp.
The building itself was unremarkable. It sat on short stilts, like all Yan manors did, and beyond neglect it seemed entirely serene nestled under the watch of a bent willow.
Perfect for a lover’s tryst. Aka thought, fanning herself.
This one got someone killed.They often did.
She began to slowly circle it, listening—watching. At first there was nothing. The wind blew, birds sang, the world acted as one. Then, when she thought she had heard or felt something, it turned out to be nothing.
Do I wish I had found that half-wit prince. she chided herself.
Then you’d know more about what waits inside, Su.Something snapped, then the rustling of gravel. Aka whirled around, fan held to her front, only to find a group of four guardsmen approaching her. They carried long spears, and the lead guardsmen wore a breastplate of iron.
“Ah, Court Sorceress? Yes, we have been sent by the constable to aid you in your task.” the lead bowed. He was a young man, with wisps of hair on his chin, but broad shouldered. His hairstyle was an old one—two loops of black hanging beside the ears, formed by a part in the middle. “Don’t worry, miss, we won’t let any harm come to you. If you will follow our lead, I am sure we can kill whatever it is inside.”
Aka blinked. “The constable sent you?”
“Yes.”
“And your name, sir?”
“Ishii Todamisha.” he bowed again.
“And your relation to—”
“My grandfather’s cousin is Ishii-go, lady. The constable.”
Good to see Ishii isn’t above nepotism. She turned, half facing the building. “That explains it then.”
“Miss?”
“Your entire family is dense as rock.” her attention snapped back towards him. “Leave it to one of your ilk to underestimate a woman—even one who is a witch. Do you truly think those spears will do anything? This isn’t a flesh and blood monster, none of you can help except perhaps distract it. Maybe your deaths will serve a purpose.”
The boy flushed red—first with anger, then embarrassment, and he bowed low. “Please, excuse my bad manners lady. I meant no offense. My orders are to aid you, and I will strive to do that, even if that takes my death.”
“Hmpf.”
Aka moved towards the house abruptly. The men followed. “We are taking the direct route.” she said. “I don’t think this will need more than the simplest of exorcisms.”
“How do you know?”
“It’s hiding from me.”
Entering had been easy. The sliding doorway had been busted open long into the past and the party walked through freely. The interior of the house was plain— lit by sunlight spread through crumbling windows and screens, and only a few places bore a dappling of shadow that clung to the dusted floors. All was quiet. Aka walked slowly and carefully, listening. Her pegged clogs creaked the floor boards as she went, and the wind knocked on a shutter, causing the men behind her to jump.
Please don’t stab me by accident you imbeciles. she grumbled to herself. It would have been better if they had not come at all, but the boy being what he was—a Yan man—meant he was infinitely arrogant, infinitely foolish, and infinitely determined. He would never leave, even if she threatened him with all the sorcery in the world.
After a time, Aka was beginning to dread the idea that she would have to return at night.
I wanted to deal with this now she thought.
Reveal yourself.She felt nothing. No presence at all.
Exploring, they made their way to the back chamber, where silken blankets were laid on the floor.
Here’s where they slept. And where the girl died. Aka studied the space. The door to the back gardens sat ajar, undamaged, but the rest seemed mundane. Nothing.
She turned in frustration, bemoaning her failure. The men stood behind her, hands on their spears, waiting. One of them was shaking badly. Aka frowned. “I think we will have to retu—”
She felt it.
The room grew dim. She laughed her shrill giggle in satisfaction, the sudden excitement building, and this caused the men to shift away startled. Her eyes darted around, waiting, then when they crossed over the rafters above, she saw it. There, a beautiful robe of violet silk came floating down as if caught by a stream of wind. It danced about the top, twirling around beams gently.. Deceptively.
The guardsmen huddled closer and raised their spears, watching it. Aka paid it little attention, instead centering herself, as she had done a million times. A breath, then another, focusing her energy into melding back with the universe. Melding herself back into everything, from which she came and still was. All her teachings and studies flooded through her mind. She sought to be one with heaven and earth.
The sounds of the outside ceased as the robe continued its graceful dance in the shadow. The room grew cold, very cold, and the guardsmen grew more on edge as the seconds passed. Aka laughed again, watching her breath crystalize in front of her, and this grew the men’s anxiety further. The robe descended—quickly. It flew towards the huddle and the men stuck out their spears to catch it, but it fluttered around the points. Aka ignored it, instead following the presence she felt and turning to a dark corner of the roof.
Peeking from the edge of the shadow, watched a monstrous blue face. Three vertical eyes trained squarely on her, and the creature they belonged to shifted from its dark hiding—claws drawn up and forward.
“Ah.” she said calmly. “It reveals itself.”
This caused some of the guards to shift their focus from the flying robes, which retreated back up and to the rafters. One of them screamed. The blue-faced demon contorted and skittered across a rafter—the body lithe and compact. It ran down, then across the back wall, claws scraping against the wood grain. It stopped half way, and its head turned up and around to face Aka at an impossible angle. It roared—a sickly sound, not loud to the ears but evil.. In that sound, Aka could hear a voice.
Geeettt ooouuuttt!“Pass.”
It was then that she glanced back to see that only Ishii Todamisha remained—the others having fled in terror. The boy clung to his spear, sweat pouring from his ghostly pale face. He could hardly stand from the shaking.
Brave, I will give him that.The demon continued.
Yoouur next breeaath will be yooouurr lassstIt lunged at her. The boy guardsman ran forward with his spear, a defiant yell resounding harshly from his lungs. The demon’s maw was agap, fangs the size of knives backing claws thrust forward. Aka had a heartbeat to react—and that was all she needed. A smirk crossed her ruby lips and then time paused in an eyeblink.
Her fan flashed out and open, pushing an invisible force that sent the demon backwards to its previous post. The boy too was blown backwards. The demon clung back to the wall, startled, rotating its head in confusion. The look flashing in its eyes was one Aka had seen many times over—fear. It slunk back up the wall, away from her, like a cornered yard cat. Aka stepped forward and the demon hissed. She opened her mouth to speak, but when she did, the voice that answered was not her voice.
It was the voice of a man—impossibly deep. It chanted. Aka’s lips moved and the sounds flowed—a language that no living man knew, for it had died six centuries ago. The sorceress moved forward, an intangible wind blowing her long hair back from her face.
She fought against that wind. The incantation continued, louder, stronger.
The world froze. The demon sat on the wall, transfixed by the intensity in the ailur’s eyes. It did not move—could not move. Everything melted away. The house, the Ishii boy, the palace, the world—time and space. Existence became non-existence, and non-being became being. There was no past, and no future. The demon screamed in terror. Then—it was gone.
The chanting stopped, the darkness faded from the room, and all that was left was the gentle chirping of the garden birds and an empty chamber. Aka sighed and slumped to the floor—drained.
“Mistress.” Todamisha fell down beside her. “Mistress, are you alright?”
He stunk awfully.
“Yes, yes, I am fine. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with the world of gods and spirits..”
“What
was that?”
Her eyes glazed over to him drowsily. “A parlor trick.”
She could feel herself drifting, wanting to sleep, but she was pulled back away by the boy’s yelp and the sound of him sliding away. She watched as the floating robe fluttered down from above.
Yani manja? an ethereal voice called out in her mind. It was female, meek, sad sounding and it took Aka far longer than she would have liked to realize it was speaking Yan.
Ga manja?Is it gone?Aka stood as quickly as she could muster.
There are two of them? Two spirits. But how did you survive? her mind raced, but the energy no longer rested in her. She was far too out of shape.
“It is.” she said. “Who are you?”
Nikiyo-ka-Goroda, of clan Obo“You are a Yan spirit, a deceased person?” Aka asked, knowing the answer.
Why can’t I feel her presence?This is my house, my residence.“And you have allowed a demon to reside here?”
No, nothing like that. the voice grew weaker.
It is an intruder. I do not know how it appeared. I know of your barrier sorceress. So sorry, but it is an intruder.“And how have you escaped my barrier then, Obo Nikiyo?”
Excuse me, so sorry, but I walk the land between death and undeath, trapped in this sad manor sorceress. Trapped by my sorrow, for I died young and loveless and abandoned in every which way by this cruel world. Now I am doomed to dwell in this place, till time forgets it entirely.“And you witnessed the death of the girl here? The man she was with is very important, ghost. Why did you not intervene?”
I did, lady, I did. But the demon, it frightened me. It killed the girl, and when it appeared, it did nothing but mutter about a “master” relentlessly. To me, so sorry, it appeared to have a goal in mind.Aka thought for a moment, then tucked away all she had learned into a compartment and let it leave her mind. She studied the robes in front of her, gliding gently about the room. “You should move on.” she said flatly. “I will hold a cleansing to help you. Would you prefer a monk or priest?”
Priest.“Then good rest, Nikiyo-ka. You cannot stay in the world of the living any longer. I wish you the greatest of serenity.” Aka bowed. She turned on the boy guard, who held his spear raised, having heard only her half of the conversation.
“Let’s go.” she ordered.
“But what about
that?”
“By the gods, you Ishii whelp, if you hold me any longer I will use my next parlor trick on you and you will have wished you had skewered me in incompetence before it had lead to your fate.”
He gulped, turned paler than she thought was possible, and then bowed.
“Please accept my—”
“Let’s go!”
Aka stepped back out into the gardens, the air feeling as it had when she arrived. A million questions bounced through her mind, and she knew this would not be the end.
No. Too many riddles to be solved. But that would have to wait. For now she needed sleep, then a bath, then to report. But sleep? Sleep would be first.