“He’s a cranky old man,” Raiden said crossly. “And also our oldest shaman—although officially we’re called ‘investigators.’” He scoffed. “Americans wouldn’t hire us if they knew we relied on spirits to help solve ourcases.”
“No, I guess not.” I wouldn’t have, not beforetoday.
The elevator doors swished open, and we stepped out into a huge room that was something like a cross between a Buddhist temple and a library.Tatamimats covered the floor, and the walls were lined with lacquered oak bookshelves. More bookshelves filled half the space in rows, while the other half was filled with low wooden tables and seat cushions. Half of these had reading lamps on them, like study desks in a library, while the other half hadcomputers.
Sitting at one of these desks was a wizened man with a bald head and a thin mustache. He wore a pair of linen pants and a red silk shirt, and a pair of silver-rimmed spectacles perched on his long, thin nose. I wondered if he’d ever considered transplanting the tufts of hair sprouting from his ears onto the top of his head, then pushed away the mean-spirited thought. It wasn’t his fault he suffered from male patternbaldness.
“Raiden,” the old man said in a quavering voice, turning to meet us. “Where have you been? I have been waiting for you toreturn.”
“Huntingyurei,” Raiden said. “Aika, this is Date Mamoru.” He pronounced the old man’s surnamedah-tay,introducing him last name first, as was traditional.“Mamoru, this is my friend, Fujiwara Aika. She’s a shaman, although she doesn’t seem to realize it.” He shot me a look as if to sayIwas the crazy one for notbelieving.
Mamoru’s eyes narrowed, and he slowly got to his feet. There was a slight hunch in his back, but even so, he only stood a few inches shorter than Raiden. “Is that so?” he asked, padding toward me on bare feet. My face flamed as I suddenly realized I was still wearing my converses, and I quickly toed them off, shoving them toward the space next to the door. “The Fujiwara name is very old, but I have not met a shaman from that line. Who was yourfather?”
“Fujiwara Hidetada,” I blurted, without thinking. If my father had been a shaman, wouldn’t one this old have recognized my familyname?
Mamoru shook his head. “Never heard of him. But you have the Sight,” he went on, studying me with sharp eyes. “That much I can tell just by looking at you. Do you know anything about how to use yourpowers?”
“I didn’t know anything about this until tonight.” I glanced sideways at Raiden, who’d also taken a second to remove his shoes. His expression was blank as he watched us, and I wished I knew what he was thinking. “I was walking home when I saw Raiden talking to theKuchisake-onnain an alleyway, and I thought I’d lost mymind.”
“TheKuchisake-onna?” Mamoru’s bushy eyebrows flew up his bare forehead as he turned to Raiden. “Did you captureher?”
Raiden shook his head. “Aika screamed when she saw her, and theKuchisake-onnaattacked. I had to choose between the ghost and the girl.” A faint smile curved his lips, and I relaxed a little as I realized he wasn’t angry about itanymore.
“Harrumph!” Mamoru folded his arms. “And you say this is the first time you’ve seen ayurei?” he prodded, giving me the stinkeye.
I opened my mouth to sayyes, then remembered what had happened in the café. “Actually, I might have seen one a bit earlier. A guy wearing old-timey Japanese clothes was sitting in my café, and when I approached him to ask what he wanted, he seemed surprised that I could seehim.”
I told them about the strange encounter, right down to him disappearing when he was hit by that bus. “And when I looked at the piece of paper he’d been drawing on, I saw that it was a picture of me, dressed in a really fancykimono. Like an ancient Japaneseprincess.”
“Fascinating!” Mamoru’s eyes gleamed. “You very well may have been visited by akami,” he said, his voice brimming with excitement. “It sounds like he opened yourSight.”
“It sure does.” I sighed, resisting the urge to scrub a hand through my hair. “I don’t suppose there’s any way to closeit?”
Mamoru scowled. “And why would you want to do that, child? Your Sight is a gift from the gods, not something to beshunned!”
I bit back the snarky retort that sprang to my lips and bowed my head. My mother would bend me over her knee if she heard me speaking rudely to anelder.
“I didn’t ask for any of this,” I said quietly. “I just want my mother back.” My hands trembled, and I clenched them into fists, trying to steady myself. I’d already broken down once, in front of a stranger, no less—I wasn’t going to let it happenagain.
“Your mother?” Mamoru’s voice changed, and when I looked up, his expression had softened into sympathy. “What happened to her?” He seemed to realize that I’d been through an ordeal, and gestured to the seat cushions. “Come sit, and tell me yourstory.”
Biting back a sigh, I did as he asked, sitting Japanese-style on the red silk cushions. Raiden joined me, and though his expression was still blank, I could sense his impatience. He probably wanted to ask about his parents but was polite enough to address my needs beforehis.
The tips of my ears turned hot, and I turned back to Mamoru, who was pouring tea from a clay pot that had already been sitting on the table. He handed us two round clay cups with no handles, and I cradled mine carefully between my palms, blowing across the top to cool the liquid before I took asip.
“After Raiden and I got away from theKuchisake-onna, he took me back to my apartment,” I said. “When we arrived, we found anogamaon the second floor and had to fight it. My mother had been affected by its smoke, but when we revived her, she told us that theogamahad come here looking for me, and that it had been sent by a man namedKai.”
“Kai!” Mamoru’s eyes widened. “Are youcertain?”
“Yes,” Raiden affirmed. “She definitely said Kai. We meant to question theogamaabout it, but it took Aika’s mother and disappeared before we got the chance.” A frustrated look crossed his face. “We don’t know where he took her, or what hewants.”
Mamoru scowled. “If he was sent on Kai’s orders to kidnap Aika-san, theogamamight have decided to take her mother as a hostage instead.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Your parents were called back to Japan, along with most of our high-level shamans, to deal with that archaeological disaster, Raiden. We suspect those foolish people found the shrine Kai was sealed away in, and in their ignorance, they may have releasedhim.”
Raiden paled, and my chest tightened, making it hard to breathe. “So…are you saying that a centuries-old evil shaman is after me, and that he’s kidnapped my mother in an effort to get to me?” I chokedout.
“It does appear that way,” Mamoru said ruefully, “though I cannot fathom why Kai would want an inexperienced shaman like you.” His gaze grew thoughtful. “Are you sure you haveneverused yourpowers?”
“She healed herself when theogamastabbed her,” Raiden said suddenly, his eyes glittering with suspicion. “I meant to ask about it, but there was too much going on. One moment she had a knife sticking out of her chest, and the next thing she was fine. How did you do that?” hedemanded.
