Authors: Zenobia Renquist
To say Hotsuma was surprised was an understatement. “You knew? How long have you known Lulu works for Voda?”
“Since I was introduced to her while she wore your stink. Nothing in this hotel smells like that except the barrier room. I wanted to know why she was there. Imagine my surprise when I found out Voda had sent its best and brightest to snoop around for what makes Onsen tick.” Masato returned to his desk and picked up a stack of papers. He waved them in Hotsuma’s direction. “Even more surprising is her family history.”
“What about it?”
“Come now, Uncle. You have to wonder how she can break the wards, how she can see the hallway that leads to the barrier room when it’s under an invisibility barrier itself. It takes a strong spiritualist to accomplish what she can do through touch alone. She’s a spiritual nullifier. Generations and generations of Swade men going as far back as your own gift. And similar to your gift, it was only supposed to be passed to the males of the family, until it passed to Lulu. No one knows how the family came to have the power, only that they have it.” He flipped to a page and read, “‘Nullifiers have been used throughout history to ward off curses aimed at prominent families able to pay for the service. Some nullifiers were reported to be excellent cat burglars, able to bypass any electronic lock with a simple touch. One family had the greatest power until four generations ago when the gift died with Nash Swade’ -- that would be Lulu’s great grandfather.” He tossed the papers back onto his desk. “No one has heard from the family since.”
Hotsuma whispered, “She didn’t know. She said there was nothing special about her or her family.”
“I’m not surprised. What family wants to relive the glory days after the glory has faded? They used to be paid large sums of money to negate curses and cleanse houses of evil. It’s amazing how much her story sounds like yours. But unlike her family, they probably won’t be binding her soul to a talisman to keep the power in the family.”
“And you won’t be any longer either, Masato. Set me free. I’ve already said I won’t run.”
“I know you won’t run, Uncle. You see, I forgot to mention one thing.” Masato pulled a single sheet of paper from the pile he’d discarded. “It says here a nullifier doesn’t just dispel magic. Using the right spells, a nullifier’s powers can be reversed to strengthen magic as well. Strengthen it to the point where the spell can never be broken again.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“No more worrying. No more hiring priests to bless you. No more barrier spells. No more hiding. I could make the barrier room a part of the hotel and open it to anyone and everyone without worrying about you disappearing. I could even charge people to bathe in you and bring them luck for a few hours.”
“Lulu won’t do it. She won’t let you use her.”
“Who said anything about ‘let’? She won’t have any choice in the matter. And once the ritual is over, she won’t be alive to complain.”
The temperature of Hotsuma’s water dropped until he thought he might turn to ice. “What are you saying?”
“Let me spell it out for you, Uncle. Reversing a nullifier’s powers to be used as a binding agent kills the bearer of that power. It’s unfortunate but a necessary evil to make sure you never do this,” Masato gestured to Hotsuma’s water form, “again.”
“I won’t let you.”
Masato laughed. “You know, that threat might almost be scary if you hadn’t left her alone and helpless.” He glanced at his watch. “My men should have delivered her to the priest in the barrier room by now. In a few more minutes, you’ll go back into blissful slumber, never to be awakened again.”
Hotsuma forced his spirit back through the fire extinguisher spigot, leaving the water that had formed his body to puddle on the floor of Masato’s office. He rushed to Lulu’s room. Masato was bluffing. This was a tactic to scare Hotsuma. That was it. She would be there.
Except she wasn’t.
The bed was empty. Hotsuma hurried to the pool room. He had to stop that priest. Not only for his own sake but Lulu’s as well. No matter what she had planned or what lies she had told, she didn’t deserve to die.
Hotsuma entered the pool and was stunned into immobility. The power crackling through his water confused his senses, causing him pain and disrupting his hold on the water around him.
“What are you doing? Let go of me!”
Lulu’s angered voice helped Hotsuma focus. He pushed past the pain and surfaced so he could see what was happening. A man in Shinto priest robes stood with one hand nestled between Lulu’s breasts and the other holding a slip of paper with words and symbols written on it to his lips. They stood with their sides facing the pool, allowing Hotsuma to see. The priest mumbled words Hotsuma didn’t hear, but he didn’t need to hear them. The ritual had started.
Though Lulu struggled, she wouldn’t be able to break free. The magic the priest called upon bound her the way it was binding Hotsuma. If she were better versed in the use of her nullifier powers, she would be able to stop the priest.
The shelf against the back wall of the pool room swung open, and Masato exited the secret hallway there. He closed the door and then leaned back against the shelf with his hands stuffed in his pockets and a grin curving his lips. “Are you back yet, Uncle?”
The priest said, “He’s here.”
“Good. Good. Get on with it. I have a dinner date after this.”
Lulu yelled, “What are you doing to me?”
“Sorry, Ms. Swade. It seems your stay in the hotel is going to be a permanent one. I’ll send along my condolences to your boss and your family. I’m sure they’ll be devastated when they learn you had a seizure and drowned while enjoying the hot springs. It’s too bad we couldn’t get to you in time.” Masato shrugged with indifference. “Accidents happen.”
“No one will believe it. I’m perfectly healthy.”
“Yes. Your family, like mine, has always been blessed with long life. But the autopsy will show that you died of heart failure, because your heart will stop once the priest is done with you.”
“You bast --”
The priest smacked the paper talisman onto the middle of her forehead then stepped back. Lulu’s whole body shivered before becoming still. Her eyes rolled from side to side but no other part of her moved. Hotsuma could barely see the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
Masato walked over to her, letting his gaze sweep over her naked body. “If you had just left well enough alone, this wouldn’t have happened. In your next life, when someone gives you a warning, you better listen.” He pressed his palm to one of her breasts and squeezed.
Hotsuma struggled to form his body so he could beat Masato away from Lulu but the water wouldn’t obey him.
“Such a pity I couldn’t get a piece of you before this. Oh, well.” Masato brought up his free hand and shoved Lulu’s shoulder so she fell sideways into the pool.
Her body hit the water and then sank. Hotsuma managed to summon up enough control to grab hold of her. Her body was stiff thanks to the talisman attached to her forehead, and her eyes showed her fear. Hotsuma could feel the heat of her tears as they mingled with the pool water.
He wanted to comfort her, to let her know everything would be okay. The lie wouldn’t leave his lips. He hugged her instead.
Masato said in a loud voice, “Cheer up, Uncle. Thanks to this new spell, at least you’ll have company into eternity. Sure, neither of you will be awake to enjoy it, but at least you’ll be sleeping together.”
The man’s laughter rang around the room. It grated on Hotsuma’s nerves, fueling his anger, making it hotter. This same laughter had accompanied the ceremony that entombed Hotsuma the first time. His family, his loved ones, had rejoiced as he suffered the agony of his soul being ripped from his body. And it was happening again.
Hotsuma couldn’t act then. He’d been too weak, too stunned that his family would turn on him. He’d had nothing to protect. Staring into Lulu’s terrified eyes, he knew this time was different. She would make it out of this alive even if he didn’t.
He kissed her lips, opening her mouth so his tongue touched hers, and the air he pulled from the surface filled her lungs. She breathed as deeply as she could several times.
“Hold your breath and wait, Lulu,” he whispered. “You’ll be out of this soon.”
She pulled in one breath and held it. He backed away from her and turned his attention to the priest. To break the magic keeping Lulu frozen, he had to take out the priest first. Unconscious was better than dead, since the man was only doing a job, but Hotsuma would go with whichever worked.
He used the heat of his anger, both past and present, and fought past the pain. The water bubbled and rolled.
Masato yelled, “Hurry up, old man!”
The priest waved a wooden pole with several zigzag paper talismans swishing in the wind as he recited his chant. Hotsuma wanted him to be silent. He fisted his hands at his side and formed a water tendril. It shot forward, aimed at the priest’s mouth.
The priest’s eyes widened in shock as the water entered his throat. He dropped the pole and clawed at his neck, trying to breathe. Masato rushed over to help. He swatted at the water, but his efforts accomplished nothing. Hotsuma had control of the water. It didn’t matter if Masato broke the connection to the main body. Hotsuma could still manipulate the part that had entered the priest. He suffocated the man until he passed out then removed the water.
When the priest lost consciousness, the pain in Hotsuma’s water stopped, and the talisman on Lulu’s forehead fluttered away. She went limp and floated a second before scrambling to the surface. The sound of her panting as she gulped in mouthfuls of air was sweet to Hotsuma’s ears. He didn’t let it distract him, though. He still had to deal with Masato.
“You think this is over, Uncle? You think this is the end?” Masato’s voice cracked as he screamed the words.
Hotsuma formed his body and raised himself up so he stood on the surface of the water. “I offered you a bargain, Masato. You should have taken it.”
“Fuck you and your bargains. This is business. I don’t negotiate with my computer when I want to go on the Internet. I don’t make deals with my car when I want to drive across town. And I sure as hell will
not
have some overblown good luck charm dictating terms to me.”
“I told you already, Masato. I’m more than that.” Hotsuma pointed at his nephew. The water rose up, grabbed Masato, and pulled him under.
Lulu pulled herself out of the water and then looked down. “What are you doing, Hotsuma? Stop. You can’t kill him.”
“He was going to kill you. How can you say that?” He shook his head and sliced his hand across the air. “I can’t let him live. He won’t stop. You heard him. This isn’t over for him. That priest was only the beginning. If I let him live, Masato will try this again. He won’t ever let me go free.”
“He’s your family.”
“He’s about to be a corpse.”
Lulu pushed to her feet. Hotsuma thought she was going to jump in the pool after Masato; instead she grabbed the straw rope surrounding the pool and tugged. Electricity crackled through the rope, the majority of it focused on where Lulu held it. She didn’t let go. She gritted her teeth and continued pulling.
“Lulu, what are you doing? Stop.” Hotsuma reached for her but the power surrounding her pushed him back.
A loud crack shook the room and Lulu fell back, tangled in the rope. Steam rose from her body as she lay on the ground panting and crying. Hotsuma felt the last of the barrier fall away and basked in the sensation of freedom for the first time in centuries.
His mind expanded until he could feel all the water flowing through the hotel. If he wanted, he could manipulate it with a thought. He was free, truly free.
“Lulu.”
“Get out.”
Hotsuma frowned at her. “What?”
She pushed herself to a sitting position. “You’re free. Leave. Go now.” She crawled over to the edge of the pool and dove in, going after Masato.
Hotsuma could stop her. He could expel her from the water. He stood and watched as she cupped Masato’s chin and towed him to the surface. She dragged him from the water and hovered over him, waiting for him to breathe. When it looked like he wouldn’t breathe on his own, Lulu tilted his chin and prepared to revive him.
Her lips touched his, and a tiny electric discharge jolted them apart. Masato jerked upright, sucking in a mouthful of air and then coughing. Lulu started to rub his back, but he shoved her away.
Masato snapped, “You should have left me to die.”
Lulu glared at him. “I’m not like you.”
He stood and hobbled over to the trunk. “You remember what I said about taking advice when it’s given?”
Hotsuma said, “Whatever you have planned won’t work, Masato. Lulu set me free.”
“She let you loose. She didn’t set you free.” Masato opened the trunk and pulled out an all-too-familiar chalice. He waved it side to side. “You didn’t think we just got rid of this once you fell into the well, did you?”
“What can you do with that?”
The man pointed the chalice at Lulu. “Grab her.”
Hotsuma found his body moving on its own. He took Lulu in his arms and held her.
Lulu wriggled and pushed at him. “Hotsuma, let go. Why are you listening to him?”