The Harsh Cry of the Heron (36 page)

Hisao drank the tea
and felt warmth gradually return; the shivering abated, but the pain did not,
nor did the woman’s voice. Now she hovered in the dark room - he did not need
lamplight to see her. He understood dimly that if he listened to her the pain
would lessen, but he did not want to hear what she had to say. He drew the pain
around him as his defence against her, and thought about the marvellous little
firearm and how he longed to make it.

The pain made him
savage, like a tortured animal. He wanted to inflict it on someone else.

The tea dulled the
edge of his feelings, and he must have dozed for a short time. When he woke, he
heard Akio and Yasu talking, heard the chink of the wine bowls and the small
noises their throats made as they drank.

‘Zenko has returned,’
Yasu was saying. T can’t help feeling a meeting between you would bring
benefits to everyone.’

‘That is the main
reason we came here,’ Akio replied. ‘Can you arrange it?’

T am sure I can.
Zenko himself must long to heal the divisions between Muto and Kikuta. And
after all, you are related by marriage, are you not? Your son and Zenko must be
cousins.’

‘Has Zenko any Tribe
skills?’

‘None that anyone
knows of. He takes after his father, he’s a warrior. Not like his brother.’

‘My son has few skills,’
Akio admitted. ‘He has learned some things, but he has no innate talents. It’s
been a great disappointment to the Kikuta. His mother was highly talented, but
she passed nothing on to her son.’

‘He is good with his
hands. Koji speaks quite highly of him - and Koji never praises anyone.’

‘But that is not
going to make him a match for Otori.’

‘Is that what you
hoped? That Hisao would be the assassin to finally get the better of Takeo?’

‘I will have no peace
until Otori is dead.’

‘I understand your
feelings, but Takeo is both skilful and lucky. That’s why you must talk to
Zenko. An army of warriors might succeed where the Tribe’s assassins have
failed.’

Yasu drank again and
chuckled. ‘On the other hand, Hisao likes guns. A gun is stronger than any
Tribe magic, I’m telling you. He may yet surprise you!’

You say he threatened
the boys directly?’ Lady Arai drew her fur outer garment around her.

The sleet that had
blown off the sea all week since their return from Maruyama had finally turned
to snow. The wind had dropped and the flakes were falling gently and steadily.

‘Don’t worry,’ her
husband, Zenko, replied. ‘He is just trying to bully us. Takeo will never harm
them. He is too weak to bring himself to do it.’

‘It must be snowing
in Hagi,’ Hana said, staring out at the distant sea and thinking of her sons.
She had not seen them since they had left in the spring.

Zenko said, ill will
colouring his voice, ‘And in the mountains; with any luck Takeo will be stuck
in Yamagata and will not be able to return to Hagi before spring. The snow is
early this year.’

‘At least we know
Lord Kono is safely on his way to Miyako,’ Hana remarked, for they had received
messages from the nobleman before he left Hofu.

‘Let’s hope he is
preparing a warm reception for Lord Otori next year,’ Zenko said, and gave his
short, explosive laugh.

‘It was amusing to
see Takeo lulled by his flattery,’ Hana murmured. ‘Kono is certainly a very
accomplished and plausible liar!’

‘As he said before he
left,’ Zenko remarked, ‘Heaven’s net is wide, but its mesh is fine. Now the net
is to be drawn tighter. Takeo will be caught in it eventually.’

‘I was surprised by
my sister’s news,’ Hana said. ‘I thought she would be past childbearing.’ She
stroked the surface of the fur, and wanted to feel it against her skin. ‘What
if she does have a son?’

‘It is not going to
make a great deal of difference, if all goes according to plan,’ Zenko replied.
‘Neither will this betrothal between Sunaomi and their daughter.’

‘Sunaomi must never
marry a twin!’ Hana agreed. ‘But we will maintain the pretence for the time
being.’

They smiled at each
other with complicity.

‘The only good thing
Takeo ever did was giving me you in marriage,’ Zenko said.

It was a grave
mistake on his part, Hana was thinking. If he had yielded to me and taken me as
a second wife, how different would everything be? I would have given him sons;
without me Zenko would be just another of his barons, no threat to him. He will
pay for it. And Kaede too.

For Hana had never
forgiven Takeo for rejecting her, nor her sister for deserting her when she was
a child. She had adored Kaede, had clung to her when grief for her parents’
deaths had almost deranged her - and Kaede had left her, had ridden off one
spring morning and never come back. After that, Hana and her older sister, Ai,
had been held in Inuyama as hostages, and would have been put to death there
had Sonoda Mitsuru not saved them.

‘You are not past
childbearing!’ Zenko exclaimed. ‘Let us make many more sons - a whole army of
them.’

They were alone in
the room, and she thought he would be moved to begin there and then, but at
that moment a voice called outside. The door slid open and a manservant said
quietly, ‘Lord Arai, Kuroda Yasu is here with another man.’

‘They have come
despite the weather,’ Zenko said. ‘Give them something to drink, but make them
wait a little before you bring them in, and make sure we are undisturbed.’

‘Kuroda comes openly
these days?’ Hana asked.

‘Taku is safely in
Hofu - no one will be spying on us now.’

‘I have never liked
Taku,’ Hana said abruptly.

A faint look of
discomfort crossed Zenko’s large face. ‘He is my brother,’ he reminded her.

‘Then his first
loyalty should be to you, not to Takeo,’ she retorted. ‘He deceives you every
day, and you take no notice of it. He has been spying on you most of this year,
and you may be sure he intercepts our letters, too.’

‘That will all change
soon,’ Zenko said with composure. ‘We will settle the matter of the Muto
inheritance. Taku will have to obey me then, or . . .’

‘Or what?’

‘The punishment in
the Tribe for disobedience has always been death. I could not change that rule
even for my own kin.’

‘Taku is popular,
though; you’ve often said so yourself. And your mother is too. Surely many will
not go against them?’

‘I believe we will
have some support. And if Kuroda’s companion is who I think he is, much of it
will be quite powerful.’

‘I can’t wait to meet
him.’ Hana smiled slightly.

‘I’d better tell you
a little about him. He is Kikuta Akio; he’s been Master of the Kikuta family
ever since Kotaro’s death. He married Muto Kenji’s daughter, Yuki; after she
died he more or less went into hiding with her son.’ He paused and stared at
Hana, his heavy-lidded eyes bright.

‘Not bis son?’ she
said, and then, ‘Not Takeo’s?’

He nodded, and
laughed again.

‘How long have you
known this?’ Hana said. She was both astonished and excited by this revelation,
her mind already seeking ways to use it.

‘I heard all the
rumours in the Muto family when I was a boy. Why else would Yuki have been
forced to take poison? The reason the Kikuta killed her must have been because
they did not trust her. And why else would Kenji have gone over to the Otori,
with four of the five families? Kenji believed Takeo would reclaim him, one
day, or at least protect him. The boy - they call him Hisao, apparently - is
Takeo’s son.’

‘My sister does not
know this, I am sure of it.’ Hana felt a small inner glow of pleasure at the
thought.

‘Maybe you can tell
her at the right time,’ her husband suggested.

‘Oh, I will,’ Hana
agreed. ‘But why has Takeo never sought him out?’

‘I believe there are
two reasons: he does not want his wife to know, and he fears his son will be
the one to kill him. As Dr Ishida so kindly revealed to us, there was a
prophecy to that effect, and Takeo believes it.’

Hana could feel her
pulse quickening. ‘When my sister learns this news, it will drive them apart.
She has longed for a son for years: she will never forgive Takeo for this
hidden boy.’

‘Many men have
mistresses and illegitimate children, and their wives forgive them.’

‘But most wives are
like me,’ Hana replied. ‘Realistic and practical. If you have other women, it
does not bother me. I understand men’s needs and desires, and I know I will
always come first with you. My sister is an idealist: she believes in love.
Takeo must too: he has never taken another woman - that is why he has no sons.
More than that, both of them have been influenced by Terayama and what they
call the Way of the Houou. Their realm is held in balance by their union: by
the merging of the male and the female. Break that union and the Three
Countries will fall apart.’

She added, ‘And you
will inherit all your father fought for, with the blessing of the Emperor, and
the support of his general.’

‘And the Tribe will
no longer be divided,’ Zenko said. ‘We will recognize this boy as heir to both
the Kikuta and the Muto families, and through him control the Tribe ourselves.’

Hana heard footsteps
outside. ‘They are coming now,’ she said.

Her husband called
for more wine, and when it came Hana dismissed the maids and served the
visitors herself. She knew Kuroda Yasu by sight, and had taken advantage of the
luxuries he imported from the Southern Isles: aromatic woods, textiles from
Tenjiku, ivory and gold. She herself owned several mirrors, made with the hard,
brilliant glass that showed a person’s true reflection. It pleased her that
these treasures were kept concealed in Kumamoto. She never displayed them in
Hofu. Now she had this hard, bright secret too, one that would reveal Takeo as
he truly was.

She studied the other
man, Akio. He took one glance at her, then sat with lowered eyes, outwardly
humble, but she recognized at once that he was not a humble man. He was tall
and lean; despite his age, he looked very strong. He emanated a sense of power,
which aroused a flicker of interest in her. She would not like him as an enemy,
but he would make a ruthless and relentless ally.

Zenko greeted the men
with great courtesy, managing to defer to Akio as head of the Kikuta without
relinquishing anything of his own status as overlord of the Arai.

‘The Tribe has been
divided for too long,’ he said. ‘I deeply regret the split, and Kotaro’s death.
Now Muto Kenji is dead, it is time for those wounds to be healed.’

‘I believe we have a
common cause,’ Akio replied. His speech was abrupt, with the accent of the
East. Hana felt he would remain silent rather than use flattery, and was not
susceptible to flattery himself, nor to any of the usual bribes or persuasions.

‘We can speak openly
here,’ Zenko said.

‘I have never hidden
what I most desire,’ Akio said. ‘Otori’s death. He has been indicted by the
Kikuta for absconding from the Tribe, and for Kotaro’s murder. It outrages our
family, our ancestors and traditions, and the gods, that he still lives.’

‘People say he cannot
be killed,’ Yasu remarked. ‘But surely he is only a man.’

‘I once had my knife
against his throat.’ Akio leaned forward, his eyes intense. ‘I still don’t
understand how he got away. He has many skills - I should know; I trained him
in Matsue - he has evaded all our attempts against him.’

‘Well,’ Zenko said
slowly, exchanging a look with Hana. ‘I learned something earlier this year
that you may not have heard. Very few people know of it.’

‘Dr Ishida told us,’
Hana said. ‘He is Takeo’s physician, and has treated many of his wounds. He
learned it from Muto Kenji.’

Akio raised his head
and looked directly at her.

‘It seems Takeo
believes only his own son can kill him,’ Zenko continued. ‘There was some
prophecy to that effect.’

‘Like the Five
Battles?’ Yasu asked.

‘Yes, that was used
to justify his murder of my father and his seizure of power,’ Zenko said. ‘The
other words were kept hidden.’

‘Lord Otori has no
sons, though,’ Yasu said into the silence, looking from one to the other. ‘Though
certain things are whispered . . .’ Akio sat completely still, his face
expressionless. Hana again felt the quick lick of excitement in her belly.

Akio addressed Zenko,
his voice lower and rougher than ever. ‘You know about my son?’

Zenko moved his head
very slightly in acquiescence.

‘Who else knows of
this prophecy?’

‘Apart from those in
this room and Ishida: my brother, possibly my mother, though she has never
mentioned it to me.’

‘What about at
Terayama? Kubo Makoto may know: Takeo tells him everything,’ Hana murmured.

‘It’s possible.
Anyway, very few. And what matters is that Takeo must believe it,’ Zenko said.