My mind was reeling. I was sure there was something I needed to do, some plans I needed to make, but I couldn’t do anything except stand there and stare at the mirror, shocked at what I had seen. Amaterasu-Awaumikami watching us as we took the oath! Studying my reflection in the polished brass, I said, “There’s one thing I’ve liked about you from the moment we met, Surei. Do you know what it is?”
Surei sat down and carefully replaced the mirror into the box. She glanced up at me, looking as dazed as I felt. “Huh? Umm … I have no idea.”
“It’s never boring when you’re around. Even if it’s because a completely crazy plan of yours has collapsed and we’re running for our lives, there’s always something going on when you’re involved.” I looked at the box containing the mirror. “You’re going to have a hard time topping this one, though.”
Surei stared at me as if I had lost my mind.
In a shrill voice, she exclaimed, “It wasn’t me that brought the mirror here. Don’t blame me for this mess—”
Kuzu-no-ha said soothingly, “Now, dear, there is no point in getting upset. We need to deal with things as they are, not as how we might wish them to be.”
Surei stood up and faced her grandmother. “How are things, then? What should we be doing?”
Kuzu-no-ha cocked her head to one side. “You looked in the mirror. Why do you think it showed you what it did?”
“So, we are supposed to go visit the Dragon King of the Lake?” she asked Kuzu-no-ha. “One of the most powerful kami in the world, and we just drop by and say, ‘Remember my grandfather Abé no Seimei and that box he left with you? Could I have you get it for me please?’ What would his reaction be if we showed up at the gate to his palace?”
“Oh, I’m sure he would love to see you,” Kuzu-no-ha responded. “They don’t get many visitors down there, you know. Seimei said the Dragon King enjoyed having guests.”
“Why would an immortal, magical being of immense power talk to me? And what is in this box? Why would I want it? Why would I want to see him?”
Kuzu-no-ha smiled. “I am sure I have no idea. But Seimei said he discovered more about magic from the Dragon King than from any of his professors at the imperial university. The Dragon King is very learned in the principles of magic. He might be able to help you.”
Surei stared at her grandmother for a moment then threw her hands up in the air and started pacing around the room. “How would we get there? He lives at the bottom of Lake Awaumi, and I can’t even swim.” She opened a wardrobe and began pulling out various robes. “What shall I wear, I wonder?” She held up two light robes against her chest. “Do you think this green one with a gray hakama would be suitable? Should we go by gyusha or by palanquin?” Her voice rose in pitch as she continued, “Would it be impolite to show up without a message telling him we are coming? Will we need to compose some poetry to mark the occasion?” She was almost hysterical at this point.
“Ssssh, you’ll wake the children,” said Kuzu-no-ha. “I’m sure whatever you decide will be appropriate. Seimei had a spell that allowed him to breathe underwater as I recall.” Kuzu-no-ha waved her hand towards some scrolls that lay open showing diagrams with the seiman symbol prominently featured. “No doubt, if you look, you’ll find it in his writings.” She stood and stretched. “It’s been a long day and a busy night. I think I will go back to sleep.”
Surei just stood there with her mouth open as Kuzu-no-ha walked to the door.
On her way out, Kuzu-no-ha stopped in front of me and looked me straight in the eye. “You realize that you must kill Jushichin, don’t you? He has simply gone too far this time. His obsession with Sureiko means she won’t be safe as long as he is alive.”
I shook my head. “How can I kill him? He is too fast and powerful for me.”
She patted me on the shoulder. “I am certain you two, working together, can handle him.”
I nodded uncertainly. Surei and I watched in silence as she walked down the steps into the night.
Still looking at her retreating figure, I asked, “Surei, do you trust your grandmother?”
Surei looked at me in surprise. After a moment, she appeared to consider the question. “I trust her to behave as a kitsuné should, however that is.” Lord Mao bumped his head against her ankle. He purred loudly as she sat down and started stroking his back. “However, she is no more human than Lord Mao here. Sometimes I wonder if she understands us any better than we understand her. Why do you ask?”
“There must be a lot she isn’t telling us. It seems like an awfully convenient coincidence she shows up just as the high priestess is going to be attacked by Jushichin, just as I am about to ambushed by him, and finally just before he attacks the Spring Palace. I don’t believe much in coincidences.”
Surei pulled Lord Mao into her lap and rubbed his belly. “The kitsuné serve Inari, the rice god, who is said to serve Amaterasu.” She looked out the door. “Amaterasu is involved here.” She shook her head angrily. “Who would believe a silly oath would create so much trouble? I wish I had just let my father turn me into a proper lady.”
She put Lord Mao down and stood up. “I am not Abé no Seimei. I can’t do this. This isn’t one of our childish pranks where we sneak into a monastery. This is too big for me. I am not a real onmyouji. What if I cast the spell wrong and we drown? Anyway, I can’t leave the Spring Palace, not just after an attack like this and with all the unrest in the city.”
My leg still hurt. I leaned against one of the pillars for support. “We swore an oath, Surei. Amaterasu must have instructed her high priestess to give me the mirror. There really is no other explanation. She intended us to see that vision. I don’t see how you can consider ignoring her commands.”
“I’m not a soldier,” Surei shrieked. “I’m just a dancer. I don’t battle onmyouji, I don’t visit the Dragon King of the Lake, and I don’t serve Amaterasu.”
“So, your plan is to wait here for Jushichin and Kamo to return, this time to finish the job? Professor and I together barely held our own against the mujina. How do you think you’ll fare matched against the most powerful onmyouji in all Japan?”
“Badly, very badly.” Her shoulders slumped and she hung her head. “I can’t do this, Yoshi.”
“You aren’t alone. I am part of this too.” I said. “Let’s go see what we can find out from the Dragon King of the Lake. You’ve said there are a lot of things about magic you don’t know. Maybe he can teach you.”
Surei raised her voice in frustration. “You want us to go to the Dragon King? Fine. How do you plan to get us there? Do you have a map to his palace? Lake Awaumi is huge, Yoshi. You can’t even see the northern extent from the southern end.”
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“I think I know how to get there,” I told her.
She stared at me.
I continued, “According to the old tales, onryou carry the males they ensorcell to the palace of the Dragon King of the Lake, supposedly to offer them to his daughters. Of course, the men always drown along the way, but that is the story.”
Surei said scornfully, “And where are we going to find some onryou to helpfully convey us to the Dragon King’s palace?”
I coughed and reddened a bit. “Well, I know where some are. Remember where Mouse found me? That onsen we found near Lake Awaumi? You remember, the one where you wanted to stay until night to see the onryou people said were there? They really are there. I saw them.”
Surei stared at me again, then shook her head in disbelief.
From outside the door, Professor called out, “Hyacinth-sama?”
Surei straightened up. “Come in, Professor.”
He strode in and placed himself in front of her. I could almost see him standing at attention and saluting her in his mind. “We’ve searched the Spring Palace. There is no sign of anyone. The intruders are gone, I have doubled the guard and sent everyone else to bed.”
Surei nodded. Professor continued to stand there, regarding each of us in turn. I suspected he wanted some answers. Surei and I looked at each other.
With a sigh, she said, “Get Cook, Mouse, the Ume twins, Governor Abé and his wife. Bring them all here. We need to have a talk.”
Professor bowed and left.
Surei threw herself down on the floor. I could see her shoulders shaking.
“Surei, it’s going to be fine.” I sank down beside her and gave her a hug. I half expected her to shake me off, but she accepted my touch. “I’m sorry I got you into this. I had no idea.”
“That dumb oath wasn’t your idea.”
“The Dragon King must have something we need. Amaterasu would not go to all this trouble to pit us against enemies we can’t possibly beat. There has to be a way to do this.”
Surei sat up and wiped her eyes. “I don’t even know what she wants us to do, but if it gets the saké house burned down, I might as well be dead. Everything I own is here. I can’t start over again.”
The Ume sisters stood framed in the doorway, concerned looks on their faces.
“Mistress, what is wrong?” Pink Ume asked.
Mouse slipped in behind them. “What’s this about tigers? What’s happening here?”
I held up my hand to quiet them. “Wait until everyone gets here.”
Cook and Professor came in a short time later and finally Governor Abé and Mayumi arrived.
By then, Surei had regained her composure. “Tonight’s events have made it clear the problems we face are far worse than we expected.”
Cook shrugged. “We still here. The Spring Palace still standing. Things not so bad.”
Surei smiled at her. “It’s going to get worse. We have just discovered the High Priestess of Isé gave Yoshi Yata-no-Kagami when he rescued her. It is here at the Spring Palace. That is what the raiders were after.”
Shocked silence greeted that pronouncement, followed by everyone talking at once.
Surei held up one hand. “Governor Abé, if it is not too much trouble, we would like you to return the mirror to the Great Shrine when you return to Isé.”
“I can do that. I’ll take half my bushi with me as a guard and send for others to meet us on the way,” he said. “If we move quickly and ride late, we will be in Isé before anyone could try to stop us. But … why would the high priestess give the mirror to Yoshi-san?”
Everyone looked at me. I tried to think of a way to explain without giving everything away.
“Yoshi and I have actually known each other for a very long time, since we were small chil—”
Professor interrupted. “Yes, you are Sugawara no Sureiko, and you and Yoshi grew up on adjoining estates.”
Surei looked at him in surprise.
Mouse smirked.
“After seeing the two of you spar and hearing the kids calling you Auntie Surei, you must have known we would figure it out,” Professor said. “The Lady Akiko didn’t have many relatives. Your story isn’t much different from many of the people here. I don’t understand why you kept it secret.”
Surei smiled sadly. “The mystery of the origins of the Dancer of the Scarlet Hyacinth was much more intriguing than if people knew I was just the daughter of yet another man who lost favor,” Surei replied. “And all my relatives would be at the gate clamoring to borrow money if they realized who I was.”
Governor Abé raised an eyebrow. “Well, most of my relatives,” Surei corrected herself.
He smiled.
Surei continued, “As much as I would enjoy laughing in their faces as I turned them down, people would disapprove. It was easier to have it remain a mystery.”
“But it doesn’t explain why you have the mirror,” Professor said.
Surei blushed, then told them the story of the oath and what Amaterasu appeared to want us to do.
Pink Ume exclaimed, “This is even better than being members of the imperial family. You are heroes!”
Cook dropped her face into her hands and Mouse shook his head. Professor and Governor Abé exchanged worried looks. Mayumi smiled serenely.
Surei sighed and said, “So now it appears Yoshi and I must leave today to see the Dragon King of the Lake. I don’t know when we will be back, or even if we will be able to return.” She pressed her lips together. “Under these circumstances, I can’t ask you to stay and defend the saké house against a mujina and an onmyouji. We’ll send everyone with Mayumi-san and the children to my estate on Lake Awaumi.”
“And leave the saké house undefended?” Cook asked in shock.
“It will be burned to the ground,” Professor objected.
“That simply won’t do,” The Ume sisters demurred.
“But, we can’t be here to help defend it,” I said.
They can’t be thinking of defending it without us.
“You can’t be, but we can,” said Mouse. “Onmyouji ain’t so tough.” He gave a nasty grin. “You just got to hit them before they see you. Could be that I could get some stuff to improve the odds … the mujina might be a bit more difficult.”
“A mujina is flesh and blood,” Professor said with a grim smile. “We just need to extract the blood.”
Surei looked at them with tears in her eyes. “You don’t need to do this.”
“The Spring Palace is our home. We like it here. We like you. If they want to destroy it, they have to deal with my knives first.” Cook insisted.
Governor Abé said, “I wish I could leave some of my troops here, but I need all of them for the mirror and to protect Mayumi and the children. I really don’t have enough even for that.”
“We know they are coming now,” intoned the Professor. “We will be ready for them. Zhugé Liang tells us, ‘There is no greater weapon than a prepared mind.’ We are prepared now.”
“Besides,” Mouse said with an evil grin, “we’ll just tell them you went to Lake Awaumi with the mirror. Then they’ll go after you and leave us alone.”
The Umes made disapproving noises.
“Thanks, Mouse,” I said. “But the best preparation right now is to get some sleep.”
“Yes,” Surei said. “Words cannot express my gratitude. I have no idea what I would do without all of you.”
After everyone left, I turned to Surei and said, “You were mistaken. You do have friends. And I don’t think they are going to fail you.”
Sure smiled softly. “I have never been happier to be wrong.” She looked at me. “I am truly a fortunate woman.”
Surei glanced at the lightening sky in the east and said, “All right, I don’t have any better ideas, so we will go see the Dragon King of the Lake.” She shook her head. “But I still say this will not end well.”