“You are a son of the Keishi line.” She blocked him every time he tried to move. “You have blood on your hands the same as your father. You know this, Shigemune. You know it in your heart.”
“I’m not that man anymore. I left that behind…”
“You cannot leave it behind,” she said. “The gods are watching.”
“Why are you here?”
“Because of you, my prince. ‘Three will die.’ You know these words.”
“Get out.”
“Three will die,” she said again. “Gensei. Keishi. Ten’in.Three great families to which I am bound. I must reclaim their children. You see? A child, for a child.”
His eyes widened. “You’re a demon.”
“There are many demons in the world now,” she said, “and all have suffered.Tell me about the Gensei family.”
He tried to rise. She caught him in her gaze and laid a hand on the wooden table. Her eyes glinted like broken pearls, reflecting light.
“I… told them not to,” he whispered, as though under a spell. “I knew it would lead to nothing but death…”
“Which you took part in.”
He said, “I have no illusions about what I’ve been apartof. Now I dedicate my life to something better…”
“Better?” She gestured at the small shrine room, the decrepit hut. “Yes. Maybe this is better.”
“The gods will forgive me,” he stammered. “I am their servant…”
“As am I,” she said.
He paled at that, said nothing. Outside, the wind howled. “I don’t have much,” he said at last, “but, if you would have it, I can offer you some food. Then I would ask you to go.”
She smiled again, as if amused. But her eyes were dead. “The fighting will be over soon. Even now, your father is out hunting traitors… while you sit here in the rain. Soon the Gensei clanline will be broken. Their leader, Katsusada, will never be forgiven for insulting your father. He will be found. He will be killed.”
“Why are you here?” He was shaking now, unable to move.
The woman withdrew the small sword she kept tucked into her belt. The scabbard gleamed, inky black and lacquered, with reflections of the hearth. She set it on the maggot-eaten wood. “When Katsusada rebelledagainst the Ten’in emperor, he left two heirs behind,” she said. “Your father has decided to spare them.”
“He leftoneheir behind. Kai Gekko’in is achild… She caused none of this. She’ll be a ward, she’ll grow up under my father’s control.”
“It won’t help you if you lie,” the woman said.
The monk stirred, taken aback. “What?”
“There is another heir. His name… is Sen.And you know where he is.”
“No…”
“You know where they’ve hidden him away. You helped them.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Because you don’t like what your father Lord Keishi is doing. You think his ambition has gone too far. You think he deals with gods beyond his control. So, you turn. You think, something must be done… Tell me,where is Sen of the Gensei family?”
“… I can’t,” he said.
“You must.”
