“Well Minister, that didn’t go very well.”
After his humiliation at the exorcism, Ikeda had simply made his excuses and slunk away. He had slipped into the damaged Minbushou building and gone to his office in a daze. Once there, he sat slumped over, staring at the floor. At the sound of the onmyouji’s voice, his head snapped up, and he straightened and glared at the white-haired figure in the doorway. He shouted, “I thought I told you not to contact me again—”
Kamo replied calmly, “Ah, but that was before we knew you had a vengeful spirit after you. Now, who else could protect you?”
Ikeda slumped back over. “I don’t care if she gets me. I would welcome the relief. When I close my eyes, all I see is the burning…”
“I can put an end to that.”
Hope kindled in Ikeda’s face. “You can?”
“I can. And, if she comes after you in a more direct manner than just in your dreams, I can protect you from that, too.”
Ikeda looked at Kamo with narrowed eyes. “Why are you so obliging all of a sudden? I have never seen you take a single step out of your path to help another person, and suddenly…”
The white-haired onmyouji smiled. “Ah, but we can help each other. I agree to protect you, and you agree to provide me with an introduction to the Minister of the Left when I ask.”
Ikeda looked baffled. “The Minister of the Left? But why?”
Kamo shook his head. “That is my affair. All you have to do is to supply the introduction.”
The Minister shook his head in resignation. “Fine, I have little choice in this. You will get your introduction.”
*****
As Kamo walked away from the Minbushou, the mujina stepped away from the tree where he had been waiting and fell into step beside the onmyouji. “I thought we were going to force the Minister to take us back. Instead, you volunteered to act as his guard and protector. What changed?”
Kamo shrugged. “Now that everyone has heard the accusations against Ikeda, we have no way to exert any pressure on him. Besides, Ikeda is worthless to us now. He is a broken man. So, I decided to try another approach.” He paused for a moment, then continued, “The Minister of the Left may loudly proclaim in front of others that Ikeda is innocent, but that is only to protect his own reputation. When this blows over, he will quietly remove Ikeda from office and appoint him to some position in a far province. There, Ikeda will disappear and be forgotten. However, Ikeda can still introduce us to the Minister of the Left, which will be very helpful to us.”
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The mujina stopped walking, turned, and looked at his companion, cocking his head. “How? What do we have to do with the Minister of the Left?”
The onmyouji smiled. “It all has to do with the mirror.”
The mujina shook his head. “The mirror? A piece of metal with some minor enchantment on it? How could that be important?”
Kamo chuckled. “Ah, my friend. You mujina lack subtlety. If you can’t kill it, eat it, or possess it, you have no interest in it. It is not the thing itself—it is what it represents. The mirror is one of the three Imperial Regalia, magic items given to the imperial family by the gods. No new emperor can be enthroned without the regalia. There is going to be a struggle for the throne, and possession of the mirror may well decide the outcome.” He stared out into the middle distance, a contemplative expression on his face. “Retired Emperor Sutoku and Emperor Go-Shirakawa are both trying to seize power. We are supporting Retired Emperor Sutoku, so it is important to us that he prevails. Possession of the mirror will simultaneously strengthen Sutoku’s claim to the throne and throw doubt on Go-Shirakawa’s legitimacy.”
The mujina looked at him. “How do you propose the retired emperor get the mirror?”
“It is time for us to take matters into our own hands. If we seize the mirror, then we can give it to the retired emperor.”
The mujina shook his head in confusion. “Then why do you want Ikeda to introduce you to the Minister of the Left?”
“The Minister of the Left is Sutoko’s greatest champion, his most trusted advisor, and the senior official in the imperial government. He has the retired emperor’s ear and instant access to his person. You or I would never be permitted in the imperial presence, but if we give the Minister of the Left the mirror, he can give it to the retired emperor. Then when the Minister of the Left informs Sutoku we are the ones who procured it for him, we will be the recipients of appropriate imperial gratitude…” He stopped speaking, a smile on his face as he contemplated his triumph.
Kamo continued in a brisk tone, “It all depends on us having the mirror, though. We must acquire it.”
The mujina snorted. “We have searched the Inspector’s belongings twice for it. He doesn’t have it. We don’t know where it is.”
“You have been watching him. You know that he spends a great deal of time at the saké house. I think he has hidden it there—we just need to find it. If we get the mirror, then I get my position as head of the Onmyoudou, and you gain possession of the Scarlet Hyacinth, to do with as you choose.”
The mujina nodded his head slowly as he considered what Kamo had said. “Very well. I may have a way to get the mirror, but I can’t do it alone, I am going to need your assistance.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“If I go to the Spring Palace late at night…”