Spirit's Chosen (28 page)

With a silent indication of consent, I withdrew toward the back of the house to the curtained space where I was supposed to sleep. I tried to move as quietly as possible. It was bad luck that Chizu chose that moment to sneeze loudly.

“What’s that? Who’s lurking there?” Lady Sato did not wait for an answer to her shrill questions but came swarming down on her daughter-in-law’s hiding place. “Is this how you welcome me home, you mannerless thing? Why didn’t you—? Oh!” I had retreated silently enough, but too slowly: the wolf chieftain’s mother caught sight of me and gasped in surprise.

“Himiko?” Noboru peered at me from behind Lady Sato’s flaring dress. His uncertainty changed to joy in a heartbeat. “Big Sister, you’re here! You didn’t leave me!” He ran into my arms.

Chizu groaned and covered her face with her hands.

Lady Sato gave the young woman a peevish look. “
Now
what are you whining about, you mouse?” Bit by bit, Chizu told her mother-in-law about my introduction to the
household, including the ban on my speaking to anyone but members of the wolf clan.

“And now
this
has happened, and I’m going to be blamed for it!” Chizu concluded with a whimper, indicated Noboru and me.

“As you should be,” Lady Sato said, imperturbable. “If you had come forward to greet me when I returned home, that would have given the girl enough time to get out of sight. You really are a bungler, Chizu. I told my husband it was a mistake to encumber our only son with such a bride, but
he
knew better.
He
said that you were almost as nobly born as Ryu, that your father had promised him many rich gifts for the honor of uniting our houses, and that the women of your family have as many sons as there are seeds in a gourd.” She eyed Chizu’s flat stomach meaningfully and remarked: “A
ripe
gourd, not a hollow one.”

I saw the tears roll down Chizu’s face as she received her mother-in-law’s piercing attack in silent dejection. What sort of childhood had created such a woman? How had she been turned into a living ghost, as weak and lost as a single drop of milk in a bottomless pond? Who had robbed her of the strength to love herself, and to demand the love of others?

Spirits, hear me!
I prayed.
Bring truth to the words I am about to say. Yet if you choose to leave me with the burden of a lie on my lips, I accept it. I cannot find the spell that will mend this woman’s broken spirit in a day, but I can give her at least a day of shelter from her tormentors
.

“Lady Sato, you are wrong,” I announced with conviction.
“When spring returns, your daughter-in-law will give you a grandchild.”

Ryu’s mother scowled so intensely that the hairy mole between her eyebrows vanished. “A
wise
slave shuts her mouth unless her mistress wants her to speak.”

“I am more than a slave, my lady,” I said, holding my ground. “I am a shaman, and the spirits command my voice more than you ever will. They have given me visions, revealing what is hidden, and I tell you that Lady Chizu is going to have a son!”

Lady Sato’s thin lips moved as if she were chewing a tough piece of meat. Finally she spoke: “Nothing happens in this house without my knowledge. I will find out soon enough if what you say is true or false and you will be treated accordingly. For the time being, I’m going to believe you, because it will mean we didn’t make a
totally
worthless bargain when we took
that
one into our family.” She waved a hand at Chizu, who was still gaping in shock over the great blessing I had just prophesied for her.

“Meanwhile, I have made a decision,” she went on. “My son will not be told about this accidental meeting between you and your little brother. Just see to it that it doesn’t happen again.”

“Thank you, Lady Sato.” I pressed my face to Noboru’s downy cheek. Who could say when I might have the chance to hold him like that again? “You have given us a gracious gift.”

“Hmph. I have a bit of a reputation for being very generous to those who walk with the spirits. My son does not
approve, but I feel that a
capable
shaman should be rewarded.” She took Noboru from my arms and gave me a hard look. “And a lying slave should be punished. Now get out of my sight.”

I made a quick gesture of reverence and hastened to obey.

It did not take long for my new dress to become as homely and work-stained as my old one. Lady Sato’s kindness did not last. The way she viewed things, the world was divided between the strong and the weak, conquerors and conquered, masters and slaves. Those who lost wars lost everything, and those who won were entitled to command. She always had plenty of heavy work for me to do, with summer heat making each chore twice as taxing. She treated me as a slave first, a shaman second, and a princess … not at all.

One day, she startled me by letting me sleep until well past the time to make breakfast for the family. I woke up to find her kneeling at the foot of my bedroll, a bowl of millet porridge in her hands, a smile on her face. I began to apologize for shirking, but she signaled for silence.

“Enjoy your food and then go back to sleep if you like, my dear,” she said. “Or get up, if that’s what you’d rather do. The day is yours. I’ve sent my son off with a hunting party. He didn’t want to go, but I have my ways.” She winked. “While he’s gone, why don’t you and your little brother spend some time together? Poor child, it’s very hard on him to know that you’re so nearby and yet he’s never allowed to share your company!”

I rubbed sleep from my eyes, wondering if this was
part of a vivid dream. It
seemed
real enough. “Lady Sato, why are you …?”

She laughed at my confusion. “And they say that we old people are forgetful! I once told you that a good shaman must be rewarded. Your words have been proved true and this is how I have chosen to show my appreciation.”

“My words … Oh! You mean that Lady Chizu is—”

She nodded with satisfaction, followed by a thoughtful look. “Why do you sound so surprised? You were the one who told us she was pregnant.”

I met her challenge boldly. “I’m not surprised, I’m merely half awake.”

“Hmmm.” She looked as if she were going to say more about it, but changed her mind. I was permitted to enjoy a day of freedom and delight with Noboru. It was over much too soon, and my life under Lady Sato’s rule returned to the same exhausting routine as before.

I must admit, there
was
one heartening difference: as soon as Ryu heard that his wife was expecting their first child, he stopped browbeating her and sometimes even tossed a careless compliment or two in her direction, like throwing scraps of gristle to a dog. Chizu was pathetically grateful for the change and insisted on giving me all the credit for it. She could do nothing to break her mother-in-law’s power over me, but found countless small ways to make my days brighter, everything from leaving a ripe peach beside my bedroll to “forgetting” her husband’s orders and sending Noboru to me with an unnecessary message whenever Ryu was out of the way.

Chizu was also always willing to help me with my
chores, whenever she could do so without her mother-in-law spying on her. Lady Sato had certain fixed ideas about how a chieftain’s wife should act. Sharing the household slave’s work was definitely
not
a part of this, but Chizu was clever and found her own modest ways of dodging the older woman’s rules.

One of my chores was to wash the family’s clothing. Chizu told me to go to one particular bend of the river, thickly overhung by willow trees. She insisted that the flat rocks I would find there were ideal for scrubbing and beating the dirt out of clothing. It was really no different from any other spot for doing laundry, but it
was
so well concealed and out-of-the-way that she could meet me there and shoulder half the task.

As we worked, I asked her a question that had been on my mind since the day I was dragged into Ryu’s household. “Lady Chizu, I’ve noticed that each of the Ookami noble families have at least
three
slaves to serve them. Your husband is their chieftain, so why am I the only one who works for you?”

“It wasn’t always this way, Himiko. We used to have five slaves, but Lord Ryu gave them to his most favored counselors right before he brought you home. He said”—she looked ill at ease—“he said that your friend’s escape was
your
doing and that you needed more work and less time to make mischief.”

“At least that explains why I’m busy from sunup to sundown,” I remarked, wiping my brow with a piece of wet laundry. “And it also probably explains why Lady Sato is
so snappish. I’ll bet she hates being reduced to owning one measly slave instead of having five to boss around.”

“That’s true.” Chizu sighed. “But she had to accept her son’s decision. All she can do about it is pick at him for everything else.”

“That poor, mistreated man,” I said with a flat voice and a straight face. Chizu raised one brow and gave a nervous giggle.

Summer steeped the land in heat, with gusty rain showers filling the rice paddies and irrigating the fields and fruit trees. The earth was patterned in shades of green, and the prospect of an abundant harvest made everyone in the Ookami village more friendly to one another. Ryu was more smug than usual, strutting among his people as though he were personally responsible for how well the crops were growing. I wondered how long it would be before he began taking credit for the rain and sunshine too.

Every evening it was my job to serve the family their dinner, then I retired to my sleeping chamber to eat my own. Once I was safely out of sight, Lady Sato called Noboru to come from his room, sit beside her, and share the meal.

One night, after this had happened, I overheard Lady Sato lavishing fond names on my little brother and coaxing him to eat the best morsels from her own plate. Because the inner walls of the house were flimsy curtains it was easy for me to catch every word. It made me happy to know that even though he was far from his true family, Noboru was not condemned to a life without affection.

Ryu did not share my feelings.

“Must you treat that Matsu brat as if he were a member of this family, Mother?” I heard him growl. “Remember he’s a slave like the rest of them!”

“I suppose you’d rather have this little one out in the fields?” came the sarcastic reply. “I’m sure he could weed all the paddies in a day! Hmph. You never were very good at thinking
sensibly
, Ryu.”

“And how do you intend to act toward him once my son is born?” Ryu countered. “I will not have Katsuro believing that a captive is his equal!”

“May the gods help us all, you’ve
named
the child?” Lady Sato shrilled. “And a boy’s name too, when there’s no way you could know if you’ll have a son or a daughter? The gods will punish you for being so arrogant, but they’ll make the child suffer for it as well. Could you
be
any stupider?”

Ryu made an impatient sound. “Do you really think I would do anything so foolish? As soon as I knew Chizu was finally doing her duty as my wife, I went to Master Rinji to find out about the child. He read the future signs and told me I will be the father of a strong boy!”

Lady Sato’s cackle sounded like someone shaking a basket full of pebbles. “ ‘Master’ Rinji? That miserable excuse for a shaman couldn’t predict water in a rainstorm! He stutters through the chants, trips over his own feet when he dances, and as for being able to heal anyone—! Old man Ta had a swollen belly from eating bad meat and Rinji spent half a day trying to help him give birth!”

I couldn’t help myself: I laughed out loud.

In an instant, Ryu was standing in the doorway to the narrow sleeping quarters, his face livid with rage. “How
dare you eavesdrop on us!” The next thing I knew, he was roaring for Noboru to go to his sleeping chamber at once while he pulled me out of mine. I caught a flash of my little brother’s disappearing form and heard him crying in fright just before Ryu jerked me upright and pulled me behind him, into the presence of his wife and mother.

“Is
this
how you train an upstart girl?” he shouted at Chizu. “Letting her think it’s acceptable to listen at corners so that she can go blabbering our business to the whole clan?”

“My lord husband, I’m sorry.” Chizu wept without making a sound, tears washing over her cheeks. Her skin looked pale green. “Please forgive me. It’s my fault. I—”

I could not stand to witness any more. “It is
not
Lady Chizu’s fault!” I exclaimed. “But it will be yours if all this bullying makes her sick while she’s carrying your baby.”

“You insolent
snail
. Is this the only way to shut your mouth?” Ryu raised his fist.

“No!” Chizu tried to spring to her feet in order to prevent her husband from striking me, but swayed dizzily and nearly fell. Ryu reacted at once, letting me go and catching her. She looked stunned by this unaccustomed display of caring, but only for a moment before she was messily sick all over him.

Lady Sato watched all of this with a dry little smile. “Oh,
well
done, my son. Your father’s spirit is
so
proud of you, I’m sure. Beating the very shaman who foretold the birth of your child? Yes,
that’s
the way to win the favor of the gods! And there’s your reward.” She waved one hand at his befouled tunic.

Ryu helped Chizu sit down before tearing off his clothes and throwing them in my face. “Wash that, bring me something clean to wear, and fetch cold water to bathe your mistress’s face!” he snapped.

“In that order?” I asked archly.

This time Chizu was too weak to interfere when Ryu slapped me.

“Fools,” Lady Sato muttered. “I am trapped in a house of fools. Didn’t I
tell
you not to strike her, Ryu? Now she’ll use her powers against the baby!”

My cheek stung, but I swallowed my tears. “I would never do such a thing, Lady Sato.”

“And I would never spread wings and fly,” Ryu sneered. “
Think
, Mother! If she had any power worth naming, would she be our slave? That so-called prophecy was nothing but a lucky guess!”