I swallowed as both men stared intently at me, my skin crawling with nerves. “I…ayokaisaved me.” Slowly, I lifted my wrist, showing them the charm hanging from my bracelet. “Afuritook me to this bamboo forest and told me he was a gift from my father. He was assigned to protectme.”
Mamoru’s eyes looked like they were about to fall into his lap. “You…your father bound afurito that monkey charm?” he asked, pointing to my wrist with a tremblingfinger.
“No…” Raiden breathed, staring at me in a kind of dazed shock. “It can’t be. Itcan’t.”
“It’s the only explanation,” Mamoru declared, his voice vibrating with excitement. “And it explains why I’ve never heard of herclan.”
“But no one has seen them for centuries!” Raiden protested. “Not since…notsince…”
“Not since Kai was sealed away,” Mamoru finished for him. “Which explains why he is after Aika-san, now that he isawake.”
“Is someone going to explain to me what the hell is going on?” I finally exploded, my anxiety overriding my manners. “What are you talkingabout?”
“You, Aika-san, are ayokaishaman,” Mamoru said, fixing me with a penetrating stare that cut straight into my soul. “A shaman who controls monsters instead of spirits. No one has seen ayokaishaman in centuries, so you may very well be the only one around. And if that is the case, your life is in grave danger. Because if Kai needs ayokaishaman for whatever he is planning, and you are the only one available, he will hunt you until the end oftime.”
7
“I…what?”I gaped at the old man, who had clearly lost his mind. “What do you mean, I’m ayokaishaman? I thought shamans used spirits!” Not that I knew a lot about shamanism, but that was what Raiden had toldme.
“Yes, most shamans do,” Mamoru said, adopting a lecturing tone. “But there was a rare group of shamans who broke away from the traditional methods. They learned to harness the souls ofyokaiand bind them to charms. Much like the one you are wearing.” He pointed at the monkey charm on my bracelet. “Himiko, the ancient Japanese queen who ruled from her seat in Yamatai nearly two thousand years ago, was ayokaishaman. She was very powerful, and she could control the elements. Butyokaiandyureishamans have always been at odds with each other, because many shamans consider the use ofyokaito be a kind of blackmagic.”
I swallowed, looking down at the monkey charm. “It does seem like slavery,” I admitted, shifting uneasily. “Does that mean I shouldn’t use mypowers?”
Mamoru shrugged. “From what little I know ofyokaishamans, it seems that they are just as capable of good or evil as theiryureicounterparts.” A wry smile curved his thin lips, causing his mustache to twitch. “Theyokaishamans believed that harnessing spirits to do one’s bidding was, in itself, a kind of evil, as those spirits should be guided to theReikaiand not forced to do a shaman’s bidding in the humanworld.”
I frowned. “Is that what allyureishamans do? Force ghosts into servitude?” If that was the case, how was it any better than whatyokaishamans did? One could argue thatyokaishamans were more justified, because manyyokaiwere evil and caused great damage when left to their owndevices.
“Of course not,” Raiden scoffed. He folded his arms across his chest, his dark eyes sparking with irritation. “We do our best to guide all souls to the afterlife, but sometimes we find one that would rather stay, like Katsu.” He fingered the little stone tablet on his key ring. “We form a partnership with those spirits, until they are ready to move on. And even when they move on, we can call them back when we’ve need of them. A fully trained shaman can summon any spirit they need, regardless of whether or not they reside in theReikaior the humanworld.”
“And just what is that supposed to mean?” I bristled, suddenly feeling the need to defend myself. “You sound like you thinkyureishamans are better thanyokaishamans.”
Raiden stiffened. “I didn’t say that. I’m just defending our ways fromyokaishamanprejudices.”
“Now, now,” Mamoru said before I could fire off a retort. “Let’s not argue. This is a momentous occasion, Raiden,” he said sternly, “and it should be treated like such. Aika-san’s talent could be very useful tous.”
“I didn’t come here to work for you,” I protested. “I came here to find out what happened to mymother.”
“And so you have,” Mamoru said, spreading his hands. “But how do you expect to rescue her from Kai if you don’t know how to use yourpowers?”
I blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m not sure how that’s possible, unless you can teach me how to be a shaman overnight. Kai has my mom right now. I don’t have time to sit around here for months or years.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “And how are you going to teach me when you aren’t even the same type ofshaman?”
“The type of magic is similar,” Mamoru said, sounding unconcerned. He waved at Raiden. “Take her to the training room, Raiden, and get herstarted.”
Raiden stared. “You wantmeto train her? I’m not ayokaishaman!”
“Who else?” Mamoru spread his hands wide. “There are noyokaishamans here, Raiden. And since you are the one who brought her here, she is yourresponsibility!”
“I’m not denying that,” Raiden said stiffly. “But you know more aboutyokaimagic than I do, and I have to get to Tokyo. My parents needme!”
“Your parents have ordered you to stay behind,” Mamoru growled. “And until I hear otherwise, those ordersstand.”
Raiden’s jaw clenched. “But I can be ofuse—”
“Are you questioning my authority?” Mamoru asked, raising aneyebrow.
Raiden looked as though he very much wanted to continue doing just that, but he pressed his lips together and gloweredinstead.
“Good. Then you will stay here, and you will train Aika-san. You found her, and that makes her your responsibility. End ofdiscussion.”
