It was almost dawn when the onmyouji and mujina arrived back at Shirakawa Palace. They walked in silence, having long since exhausted their recriminations and accusations as to responsibility for their failure at the Spring Palace. They went directly to the building where the onmyouji had left Ikeda Minbukyou. The structure was surrounded by mystical symbols designed to prevent the incursion of supernatural beings.

Ikeda Minbukyou sat shaking in the middle of the floor. When he saw Kamo Onmyoushi, he gasped, “Where have you been! It was terrible. I could see her circling the building, looking in through the shutters.”

The onmyouji wrinkled his forehead. “Was there a problem with the wards? Did she manage to come in?”

“No, but it was horrible, seeing her face at the shutters and the way she tried to enter through the door. I had to sit here and behold what she had become, powerless to do anything to help her.”

He dropped his face into his hands. “It is a terrible curse. I never thought anything like this would happen. If only that bushi hadn’t intervened.”

He stared at the empty doorway and whispered. “Why did I order that fire? I shouldn’t have done it.”

The onmyouji sighed. “Minbukyou, you are completely safe here. In a day or two, when the portents are favorable, I will summon the ghost and subjugate it. It is one of the strongest apparitions I have ever seen, and I can use its power. Once that is done, you will never have to worry about it again.”

Ikeda Minbukyou stared at Kamo, open-mouthed, then violently shook his head. “No! She must be put to rest. I want you to immediately arrange for an exorcism to send her to the next world. She must find peace.”

The onmyouji sighed. “Impossible. The monk Benkon was the best exorcist in the city, and even he failed to lay her to rest.”

Ikeda Minbukyou looked down at the floor. “I have left orders for her property to be restored to her and the records of the shouen to be changed, but that cannot be done until the Minbushou opens after Retired Emperor Toba’s funeral. I am afraid that by then, it will be too late to make a difference.” He looked up, his jaw set. “No, I can’t take the chance she will remain in this state. She must be laid to rest. I am going to order the guards to keep you and your friend here from leaving the palace until you get this done!”

The onmyouji stared at Ikeda, his eyes narrowing. “I will need to go into town to get the materials for the exorcism ritual.”

“No. If you absolutely have to have something, then I will allow your lackey to go and get it for you.”

The mujina bared his teeth at the word “lackey.”

The onmyouji shook his head. “You are being foolish, Minbukyou. However, it will be as you say. We will perform the ritual here in this building tomorrow night. It cannot be done sooner. It will take me all day today and most of tomorrow to prepare.”

*****

The onmyouji and mujina walked back to their quarters.

“We should kill that idiot Ikeda. He is nothing but a liability now,” the mujina said.

“No, he still might be useful to us. However, he does have an unhealthy fascination with Fujiwara Minbukyou’s widow. Hopefully, he will come to his senses once she is confined and under my control.”

“Confined? I thought you said you were going to lay her spirit to rest.”

“No,” the onmyouji corrected him. “Ikeda Minbukyou said that. He just assumed I agreed with him. I don’t. That spirit is the strongest I have ever encountered. If I can draw on her fire, I will be able to help defeat the emperor’s forces and earn the gratitude of the retired emperor. The rest of the onmyouji will fear me and do as I tell them. I will be even more respected than Abé no Seimei was in his time. I will not pass up such an opportunity merely to satisfy the moral compunctions of a fool.”

They arrived at their quarters and seated themselves facing each other. “Enough of Ikeda. We need to decide what our next step will be. Although tonight was a failure, we have learned several things about our foes.”

The mujina growled. “Yeah, we know they have the gods’ own luck. This is the third time that damned Imperial Inspector has been rescued by the timely appearance of unexpected reinforcements.”

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The onmyouji smiled. “There is more to it than that. As I was waiting for your signal, I had the chance to look around a bit. I discovered a building that had burnt to the ground. It had significant traces of magical energy. There were also the remains of a spiritual confinement spell inside.”

“And?”

“Someone at the saké house summoned the ghost, tried to control her, and failed. However, the spell used was quite sophisticated. No one alive today could create such a spell. It made use of techniques I recognized from other spells created by Abé no Seimei. Someone at the saké house has some real talent in onmyoudou as well as access to Seimei’s secret writings.”

Kamo stared off into the distance, then nodded his head sharply. “The Imperial Inspector. He is only pretending to be a bushi. He was very close to Fujiwara Minbukyou’s widow, and she was the great-granddaughter of Abé no Seimei. Undoubtedly, he is a trained onmyouji and came here for Abé no Seimei’s writings. She must have given them to him. Nothing else makes sense.”

The mujina shook his head. “I don’t think so. He did smell of magic, but he fights too well. No onmyouji could get within range of my tetsubou and live. He has been fighting a long time. Not casting spells.” His eyes narrowed. “The woman, the Dancer of the Scarlet Hyacinth, she stank of magic more strongly than the bushi. She could be your onmyouji.”

Kamo pursed his lips, then shook his head. “No, that’s impossible. Women don’t have the force of will to perform onmyoudou. The execution of a spell of that complexity demands a mastery of technique an untrained amateur could never attain. But I have never seen him until recently. He could not have trained at the school for onmyouji.”

The mujina objected, “Do you know everyone who has trained at the school?”

“Yes, I do. I have made it my business to keep track of the students of onmyoudou at the Imperial University. I am particularly interested in students with great talent.” He grinned savagely. “I will permit no rivals.”

His face became grave. “This bushi must be the person with great magic I foresaw coming to spoil our plans. But I don’t see how he fits in.” His eyes widened as a thought struck him. “He must be an Abé! That would explain so much. That was why he was staying with the widow. That is why she gave him Seimei’s writings. I wondered at his presence at her funeral. It seemed unlikely a recent acquaintance would be allowed to take part in the ceremony. But, if he were a cousin from the provinces, then it all makes sense.”

He looked at Jushichin. “You were lucky he wasn’t expecting any sort of attack. Had this ‘bushi’ prepared a spell in advance, things could have gone badly for you.”

The mujina’s snort indicated his opinion of whatever “something” the bushi might have been able to prepare.

Outside the building where they spoke, a large mastiff came running over, barking furiously at something beneath the floor of the structure. A white fox fled from under the raised floor and raced for the outer wall of the estate with the dog in pursuit. Using some supply barrels as a stepping stone, she launched herself over the palace wall. In the dark, no one noticed her or her five tails.

Kamo nodded. “Yes, tonight was not a total loss. We have discovered the existence of a heretofore unsuspected onmyouji and also found out those at the saké house have access to quick reinforcement by trained troops. The assault is going to be much more challenging than we had originally supposed.”

He stood up and began pacing back and forth. “It is going to take a substantial military force to have any chance of winning our way into the Spring Palace. I am friendly with a captain of bushi here serving Retired Emperor Sutoku. I will enlist his aid for the attack on the saké house.”

“How is that going to help us?” the mujina objected. “If I understand you correctly, we need to retrieve the mirror, kidnap the Dancer of the Scarlet Hyacinth, and obtain the secret writings of this Abé person. All of which will be impossible in the middle of a full-blown attack.”

“That might be true—if they were there when the attack took place. But they will be gone.”

The mujina looked at the onmyouji strangely. “How do you know that?”

“Because it won’t be a real attack at first. It will be just enough of an attack to keep the defenders busy on the walls and everyone’s attention focused on the invaders. During that time you, my shape-changing friend, will infiltrate the premises and return with the items we are seeking.”

The mujina answered slowly. “Yeeeessss. That might work. But what about the Scarlet Hyacinth? She won’t come along just because I ask. And her claws are sharper than I expected. The bushi is sure to interfere again, also.”

Kamo smiled. “I have a spell that will bend the will of the weak-minded to the caster. Use it on the Scarlet Hyacinth and she will be glad to accompany you. As for the bushi, don’t worry. Many years ago, I developed a spell to be used against another onmyouji in case of a sorcerous duel. It is time-consuming to prepare, but when cast, it temporarily cuts the target off from his sources of magic. It has another advantage. The backlash will render the target unconscious for a little while. I will give you both these spells. You can use the first on the Scarlet Hyacinth and the second on the bushi.”

The mujina said, “Maybe I can use the spell on the Scarlet Hyacinth and then have her tell me where the bushi has hidden the mirror and the secret writings.”

Kamo laughed. “I doubt the Inspector is so much a fool that he would tell his secrets to her. After all, what is she but a glorified asobi? No, first you sniff out the items, then get the Scarlet Hyacinth. If you run into the bushi, stun him and kill him. You will need to time the operation carefully, though. The mock attack will last only a short while. Once darkness falls, I will perform the ritual, harness the spirit, then join the attack and destroy the Spring Palace. I don’t want to leave any witnesses to what happens there.” Kamo grinned, an unpleasant sight. “Tomorrow night, we will have everything.”

Jushichin shook his head. “Shouldn’t we attack tonight?”

“We can’t. It will take me until tomorrow to prepare the binding spell, and I want the ghost’s power for the attack on the Spring Palace. Also, the portents for tonight are inauspicious. Tomorrow night, there will be a comet overhead, a favorable sign for bold action.”