Spirit's Chosen (33 page)

“I don’t understand,” Daimu said. “How did you and your friend come to be in the Taka ruins and meet Lady Ayame? Did you manage to escape from the rest of the captives Ryu brought home after defeating your people?”

“I can explain everything, Master Daimu,” I said. “But would you mind if I did so while we walk back to your village?” I rubbed my arms. “It’s gotten colder since I came here.”

“Oh! What a fool I am; I never noticed. Forgive me, please.” He removed his cloak and threw it over my shoulders before I could refuse it. The warmth of his body still clung to its ample folds. “Let us return.”

He waited patiently while I wrapped my bell and mirror and hid them under the rock once more. We worked together, gathering Lady Sato’s firewood, but when we had enough, he skillfully prevented me from carrying it by requesting that I take charge of his traveling bag instead. It was small and light, nowhere as heavy or awkward as the armful of branches he had to bear. All the way back to the Ookami settlement I talked and he listened, telling him about Mother, Noboru, and all the rest of it. By the time we
reached the foot of the ladder leading up to Ryu’s house, he knew what had brought me down this path and how far I was from fulfilling my mission.

As I set my foot on the ladder’s first step, I turned to him and said, “You should give me the firewood now, Master Daimu. It’s my job to bring it in.”

“You have better work to do than that, Lady Himiko,” he responded gravely. “I hope to see you accomplish it. Go ahead. I will bring the kindling.”

“I’ll get in trouble if you do,” I protested. “I wouldn’t care about that, except I won’t be the one punished for it. My brother—”

“I know.” He cut me off. “I lived near Ryu’s family for too long. Their ways are painfully familiar to me. But they know
my
ways too, and I do have some sway over what happens in this clan.” He made a regretful face and added: “Not enough to put a stop to some things, but enough to affect others. I promise you that neither you nor anyone you love will suffer because I wanted to help a fellow shaman.”

“Is that how you see me?”

“Isn’t that who you are?” he countered.

“If you ask anyone in this house—in this village—they will tell you that I am their chieftain’s captive; nothing more.”

My words brought a slight, gentle smile to his lips and the winter moon made him seem even more like an otherworldly being. “Then they must learn the truth that you and I already know, Lady Himiko,” he said.

Seeing him like that, wearing silver light like a garment and a blessing, I had to wonder:
Who are you, really? You seemed to come out of nowhere when I danced for my lost ones. I have walked
into the spirits’ realm time and again. Have you chosen to enter mine at last, Reikon? Or are you truly Daimu, a mortal like me?

As I expected, my empty-handed return was greeted by a shriek of outrage from Lady Sato, who began berating me viciously for being lazy, scatterbrained, defiant, and a host of other faults and crimes. She was so wrapped up in her attack that she did not notice the sound of a second pair of feet making the ladder creak until keen-eyed Chizu let out a gasp, clapped one hand to her mouth to hold back a cry of astonishment, and pointed wildly at the doorway.

“Good evening, Lady Sato.” Daimu stepped across the threshold and dropped the load of wood.

The very sight of him had the magical power to transform everyone still awake under Ryu’s roof that night. Lady Sato cut off her ranting so sharply that I think she bit her tongue. For the first time since I’d known her, Chizu looked completely tranquil, relieved, and happy, safe in a world where everything was suddenly all right.

As for Ryu himself, I saw his face turn very pale, then flush before returning to its natural color. He was seated with his wife when I came in and had been enjoying the spectacle of Lady Sato giving me that unexpectedly interrupted tongue-lashing. Now he had gone from relaxed and smug to fully alert, defensive, and tense as a stretched bowstring.

Lady Sato was the first to recover. “Master Daimu!” she cried, raising her hands to the heavens. “Thank the gods, my prayers are answered!” She rushed forward to greet him, shoving me out of her way as she burbled blessings. “Come in, sit down, eat and drink with us. Himiko! Bring refreshment for Master Daimu! Go!”

“That will not be necessary, Lady Sato,” Daimu replied calmly. When he smiled at her, she dimpled and giggled like a little girl. “All that I require tonight is a place to sleep.”

“Yes, of course, at once!” The old noblewoman whirled to face her son. “Ryu! Wake that incompetent Rinji and tell him to leave the shrine immediately. We Ookami have a
real
shaman once more.”

Ryu glowered at his mother and made no move to rise. I saw his hands become fists and imagined from his tight-lipped expression that he was probably gritting his teeth. He opened his mouth to speak, but we never found out if he was about to argue or obey, because Daimu spoke first:

“
Master
Rinji will not be disturbed tonight,” he said, his smile gone. “I will not trouble him or any other member of our clan until morning. The only reason I came here, rather than spend one more night sleeping under the stars, is that the spirits saw fit to have me cross paths with Lady Himiko.” He nodded at me.

Now Ryu was on his feet, looking ready for a fight. “Is that what she told you to call her, Master Daimu?” He uttered the shaman’s title as if spitting out a mouthful of fish bones. “Is she still pretending to be
Lady
Himiko, trying to hold smoke in her fingers? And you believed her, even though you found her gathering firewood?” He chuckled. “Well, maybe you encountered some clans where princesses perform such tasks, but let me refresh your memory: among the Ookami, that’s a job for a
slave
.”

“Ryu!” Lady Sato was scandalized at her son’s pugnacious attitude. “Speak with respect to Master Daimu. If not for him, this clan would have had no shaman at all for
ages
!”

Ryu snorted. “You make it sound as though he’s been our savior since the world was born. The only reason he stepped into Master Ku’s footprints so early was the old man’s eyes failed and he picked the wrong mushroom to eat.”

Lady Sato ignored her son’s additional scorn for Daimu’s teacher. “So what?” she snapped. “That doesn’t change the fact that he is our protector and guide. It used to be that our chieftains were also our shamans, but your grandfather was the last man who could fulfill that calling. He saw that your father would never be able to speak with the spirits, so before he died, he saw to it that Master Ku was there for us. You turned out to be as great a failure as your father when it came to such vital matters, so you ought to be grateful Master Ku had the presence of mind to train Master Daimu, and that Master Daimu was so quick to learn a shaman’s skills, and—”

“Enough!” Ryu roared like the dragon for which he was named, the mighty presence whose stirring beneath the mountains caused the earth to tremble. “Why don’t you just declare him to be a god?” He turned to confront Master Daimu. “Welcome home,” he gritted, and stalked off to his sleeping chamber.

Despite Lady Sato’s insistence that Master Daimu sleep in the chieftain’s house, he graciously declined. His refusal sent her into a panic that would have been comical if it had not also upset poor Chizu.

So much tension and uproar in this house is not good for her baby
, I thought. I would have intervened, but nearly anything I could have said or done would only make things worse. I had to be content with sitting beside Ryu’s timorous wife
and putting my arm around her shoulders in a gesture of comfort while her mother-in-law was too distracted to notice. Chizu gave me a thankful look.

“Master Daimu, how can you even
think
of leaving us tonight?” Lady Sato cried in distress. “What will people say tomorrow when they find you have returned but that you did not stay in our house? We will be shamed! I will give you anything you desire, but please don’t go!”

An odd expression crossed Master Daimu’s face. “Will you, Lady Sato?” he asked. “Will you give me anything I wish?”

“Who would not? You have no idea how happy we will all be to have you among us again.” She clasped his arm. “Say that you have changed your mind and will sleep here!”

His mild eyes were filled with regret. “I am sorry, honored lady, but no. There is nothing I desire that you have the power to give me. I cannot share a roof with anyone who ill-treats a shaman by word or deed.”

“Tsk. Don’t listen to Ryu; his anger eats his common sense. I will make him apologize to you!”

He gently held her back before she could suit the deed to the word. “I was speaking about you, Lady Sato.”

“Me? But how …? I never! What did I do? What did I say? I swear by all the gods, I have only the highest respect for you and all those of your calling!”

“And I am sure you believe that.” Given their respective ages it was strange to hear him speaking to her like a father who is genuinely disappointed in some misdeed his favorite child has committed. “You will need to realize the truth for yourself, but in the meantime, please do not worry: I will be
discreet. No one will know that I would not stay here. I will sleep in the shadow of our village shrine, a fitting place for me to let the spirits know that I have returned.”

He slipped away into the night, leaving Lady Sato silent, humbled, and so abashed that she did not even try to lay the blame for what had just happened on me.

The next morning, the wolf village awoke to a miracle: their beloved shaman, Master Daimu, had returned! He was simply
there
, as naturally as air or sunshine. No one could recall seeing him enter the village, least of all the lazy watchman, who had most likely been dozing in his tower under several layers of cloaks when Daimu and I passed through the gateway.

He stood on the platform in front of the shrine, Rinji at his side, and hailed his clanfolk one by one as they emerged from their homes and happened to glance in his direction. I was in the midst of it: Lady Sato had sent me to fetch water while she and the rest of her family had their breakfast. Soon the settlement was criss-crossed by people running here and there to spread the glad word. Houses echoed with exclamations of surprise and rejoicing. A crowd gathered at the foot of the shrine ladder and grew until it contained nearly every one of the wolf clan. Infants and the old were brought along. Even a few of the sick insisted that their families carry them there.

Only the slaves hung back. Some drifted uneasily around the edges of the mob. Some peered warily from the shelter of their lodgings. Most kept entirely out of sight until they might know how this news would affect their captive lives.

I went back to Ryu’s house with the water. I was not
about to let Noboru be punished for my absence, but I was also determined to return to the shrine and hear what Daimu had to say. As I entered the house and put down my water jar, the Ookami chieftain greeted me with a familiar scowl.

“What took you so long, girl?” he thundered. “And what’s all the racket out there?” He did not wait for my reply but got up and pushed me aside to stand on the platform, one hand shading his eyes against the winter glare. He could not see the shrine from where he stood, but he was not a stupid man. An ugly curse burst from his lips.

“Mother! Chizu! Stay here. Your
precious
shaman’s stirring up hornets. Don’t move until I come back.” With that, he was gone.

Chizu obeyed him, of course, but Lady Sato was out the door almost the instant that Ryu was at the foot of the ladder. She was a nimble old woman, especially when she had the chance to witness something exciting. I followed her at a safe distance. Meek little Chizu didn’t attempt to stop me. It would not have mattered had she tried: I was going back and no one would stand in my way. I melted into the crowd of Ookami gathered in front of the shrine just as Daimu raised his arms to call for their attention.

“My people, as you can see, I have come home at last,” he said. This simple declaration was met by prolonged cheering from the crowd. I caught sight of Ryu in the throng. The young chieftain’s jaw was set. He looked ready to bite chunks out of a sword blade.

When the happy uproar finally subsided, Daimu spoke on: “I have missed all of you. I left because I was deeply
troubled by the path our people were taking, a path that led from conquest to conquest, destruction to destruction. I turned to the spirits, seeking the right road, and saw that if I remained to oppose what was happening, it would tear our clan apart. How could I bring harmony between gods and mortals then? They took pity on me and blessed my departure.”

“But Master Daimu, why were you so unhappy?” a voice came out of the crowd. “We
won
!”

Daimu’s expressive eyes became sad. “There was a time when the clans we conquered were the conquerors. It is easy to claim that success is proof of the gods’ favor, but those are fools’ words. The gods are more ancient than the mountains, the spirits have always dwelled deep in the heart of the land, and the land is old. Her bones are wisdom and memory. We dance like gnats on a single breath of the gods, but if we make our dance of cruelty and oppression, the gods hold back their sustaining breath and we fall.”

An uneasy silence fell over the crowd. In that time of stillness, I saw Ryu climb the ladder to the shrine. “Is this what you’ve learned on your pilgrimage, Master Daimu?” he demanded. “To call your people fools? You seem to have forgotten who we are: we are the Ookami, the wolves of the mountain! We are born to hunt together and to keep faith with one another. The only wolf that leaves the pack is too old, too sick, or too cursed by madness to live with his kin. Which is it for you?”

Master Daimu lowered his eyes. “You can see for yourself that I am young and well, Lord Ryu. If you think that I
am afflicted with insanity, perhaps you would feel safer if I went away again. Say the word and I’ll go, never to return.”

A flash of cruel joy showed in Ryu’s face at Daimu’s offer, but it was short-lived. The crowd burst into wild wailing. Countless voices shouted pleas for the chieftain to stop Daimu from leaving, including those of his finest warriors. Some of those entreaties sounded ominously like threats. The Ookami were not prepared to lose their trusted shaman a second time, and if Ryu were to blame for it …