Silkpunk and Steam Page 18

“Can all five of us spend the night together?” I asked. “Is there a room where we can all sleep?”

  “Yay! Sumiko-chan is brilliant,” Chinatsu said, hugging me again.

  “Sumiko-sama,” Hekketek corrected, using a more regal honorific.

  The parents of the girls were thrilled to set up bed rolls and furs in a separate room—away from them so they wouldn’t hear our chatter all night. After dinner I went to the onsen with Pana.

  “Where are the others?” I asked.

  “Opere-chan and Chinatsu-chan have chores. They are setting up our room. They will join us shortly. Hekketek-chan just started her monthly course, so she’ll join us after the onsen. The grandmothers will tattoo her this week. Isn’t that exciting?”

  “It certainly is.” I hoped Grandma Pirka would be there. She was nicer than the women who had tattooed me.

  I relaxed into the water. The room was dark, save for a single torch flickering in the corner. The room was empty, everyone else having gone to bed. Thick swirls of vapor spiraled around us.

  I closed my eyes and leaned against the stone seat. Pana said nothing. That was the nice thing about Pana. She didn’t feel the need to constantly talk. It was times like this when we shared a companionable silence that I felt like she could be Shipo. She looked so much like what I imagined Shipo would look like.

  Someone ducked under the noren curtain in the doorway. It was too misty to tell who it was. A stool tumbled over and a second later a crash came from the other side of the bathes.

  “Iya!” a man’s voice said.

  I knew that voice. It was Petennouk. Had he seen us come in the onsen? I ducked down.

  Pana sat up.

  I put a finger to my lips. She nodded in understanding. She didn’t want him to know we were there either. Quietly, she sank lower in the water.

  It wasn’t that men weren’t allowed in this onsen. We’d specifically chosen the family onsen because there were no families bathing here this late in the day. Mother and fathers came here to bathe their children and couples sat together. Petennouk wasn’t doing anything bad.

  Yet.

  A draft chilled my face. Vapor spilled out the window. Petennouk fanned it out impatiently. The air was thin enough to see his silhouette against the light of the torch. He stacked up two stools and climbed on top, using the wall to steady himself. He straightened, reaching toward the curtains of moss hanging from the ceiling. His hand closed around a long cluster of green. As he bent his knees to crawl down, the stools toppled over and he leapt from the stacked stools and rolled onto the ground.

  Pana and I exchanged confused glances in silence. Petennouk ran out the door.

  “What do you think he was doing?” I asked.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know why he would want that memory moss. It’s too old.”

  “Let’s follow him.”

  I jumped out of the stone tub and ran to my attush. I didn’t even dry off. I tied it around myself, shoved my legs through my hakima and raced out the door. I listened for the sound of bare feet padding over the stone hallway. Sound came from the right. I headed that direction. I followed the twists and turns of the passage. Pana’s pant came from behind me. For all the play and fighting practice she did, she wasn’t used to running hard like I did. I stopped when we came to an outdoor corridor.

  Moonbeams illuminated patches of snow under fruit trees. A tanuki statue loomed ahead next to a wall of leaves. The shadows of the walls were as black as Petennouk’s soul. I froze, listening. Twigs popped. A door thudded. I ran forward. I knew exactly where he was. He was in Nipa’s outdoor courtyard, the one with the stone tanuki statue. I tip-toed into the courtyard. I didn’t see him.

  “This is a bad idea,” Pana whispered.

  I ignored her. I listened to the burble of water on the other side of the leaf-covered wall.

  Somewhere nearby, stone scraped against stone. I approached the secret door in the wall. I reached through the vines to find the latch, but the leaves rustled.

  “Who’s there?” Petennouk asked. His voice was very close, just the other side of the wall.

  I held my breath. It was silent for a long moment, then the scraping of stones started up again. He grunted. I wanted to see what he was doing. I didn’t try for the door again. I went to the wall and dug my fingers into the moss-covered stones. I dug my toes into crevice’s, hauling myself up. It numbed my fingers, but I held on. A branch snapped under my grip, but I didn’t fall. I climbed to the top, clinging with all my strength as I peeked over the edge.

  Moonlight flickered against the ripples in the small stone onsen. White flowers on the trees glowed. A breeze made the boughs of the shrubs dance. A chill stole over me. My hair was dripping and it was too cold to be out without a manto. Still, I remained there, watching. I didn’t see Petennouk anywhere.

  I climbed higher. On the far wall, past the little pool was a wall. On the other side of the courtyard was the indoor laundry room, nothing special. Six large stones had been removed from the wall and set aside, revealing a gaping mouth. With the amount of moss growing on the wall, casting uneven shadows over the vertical terrain, one might not have spotted the cavity in the darkness unless they had been looking carefully as I had.

  I hopped down from the wall. “He crawled under the laundry room, I think.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure he’s up to no good.” This was Petennouk after all.

  She touched my arm. “Look at you! You’re freezing. Nipa will be so angry with us for not taking good care of you.”

  “You’re the one who’s going to turn into an icicle,” I said.

  “I should fetch our mantos,” she said.

  I turned back to the wall. “Good idea.”

  “But I shouldn’t leave you alone. He might hurt you if he catches you spying.”

  I lifted my chin. “You did see me best him that day. Don’t you think I could do it again?”

  She grinned. “I’ll get our cloaks and then I’ll tell my cousin to bring staffs for us.”

  I nodded.

  “Sumiko-chan, you will wait for me, won’t you? You aren’t going to go after him and try to confront him alone?”

  “If you don’t take too long.”

  She ran off.

  I waited for her to return. I had never been good at patience. I gave it another minute before I unlatched the door. It creaked on rusty hinges as I entered. It thumped closed behind me. I ducked into the shadows and froze. There were no sounds other than the wind rustling the trees.

  I examined the hole from the safety of the shadows. Hearing no sign of Petennouk, I inched closer. Crouching down, I could see something moving inside a shaft, but I wasn’t sure what. There was a prick of purple coming from far away. A faint rustling scrape echoed from ahead. Petennouk grunted. The sound of fabric tore. I crawled onto all fours and stuck my head inside. It was a small tunnel. It would be a tight fit for a muscular young man, but not for me. I ducked inside and crawled forward. I wondered what he could be doing with moss in this tunnel.

  Pana was probably right. It was stupid to follow alone, but I had to know what he was up to and she was taking too long. If he intended to crawl to Nipa’s room and come out some special passage in the wall in order to murder him in the middle of the night, I would stop him. Then again, if he planned to kill Shiromainu, he could have just as easily walked through the hide curtains of the door without anyone seeing him.

  This had to be something else. Something worse.

  Petennouk grunted again from up ahead. He was noisy. I doubted he had ever hidden in the jungle from gaijin and learned how to not make a sound. I crawled when he crawled and I breathed when he breathed. When he rested I rested. I crawled for many minutes. His body was a black silhouette against purple light. As I crawled deeper into the belly of the palace, thunks and clicks echoed from somewhere below. I jumped every time I heard one of the
se noises, but Petennouk didn’t act as though he even noticed.

  Pana had probably returned with our mantos by now. I bet she was worried.

  I should have been cold enough to want my manto, but the air in the passage was warm. The walls around me changed from all-black to shifting patterns of purple. The symbols reminded me of those on Shiromainu’s and my brother’s belts. The way the patterns washed downward like rain reminded me of something. A memory tickled my brain. I had seen purple artwork like this before. I had been with Shipo, but I couldn’t remember when. I must have been young.

  I kept my eyes on Petennouk ahead of me. He turned to the right, where a bright light glowed. Only now did my nerves fail me. My heart quickened. I forced myself to breath slowly.

  His voice echoed. “Kasha kamuy, grant me power. Grant me strength. Give me the wisdom I need to become nipa of my tribe.”

  Kasha kamuy was the word for protective spirit. Even though I was very warm, goosebumps rose on my arms. I had a feeling I was being watched. If this was a kamuy Petennouk prayed to, I feared the protective spirit of the Tanukijin palace would be evil like him.

  The tunnel grew brighter, the doorway nearer. I smelled the spicy perfume of memory moss. I’d seen him take some, though why the old stuff in the bathhouse I didn’t know.

  I feared what I would find. What if I looked around the corner and he saw me? What if the kamuy saw me? My heart beat wildly in my chest.

  If there was a kamuy or not, what did it matter so long as he wasn’t trying to kill Shiromainu? Let Petennouk fantasize he would become nipa someday. He’d eventually figure out that would never happen. It was safer to leave.

  I scooted back, pausing when I heard the whispering echo. It sounded like wind whistling through tunnels. There was a feminine quality to the wind, like a woman singing a lullaby.

  “I will destroy him. I will crush him and laugh when she cries. Give me the power to do this. I know how can,” Petennouk said.

  He hadn’t said Shiromainu’s name or mine. It might not be our deaths he was plotting. I didn’t want it to be. The whistle of wind came again.

  “Nipa has served long enough. It should be my turn. Give me the bracelet and I will serve you. I know you can do it. Your sister kamuy did this for Unayanke Nipa of the Tatsujin. Why won’t you share the knowledge of the ancients with me?”

  Now I had to look. I had to know. I scooted forward and peeked around the corner. The light above was brighter than the sun in summer. I blinked and allowed my eyes to adjust.

  Petennouk faced the opposite wall, his hands pressed to the surface. Green smeared his fingers—the memory moss. The wall didn’t look like stone or metal. I couldn’t tell what it was. It reflected his likeness in the smooth, polished surface. Purple light danced around his reflection.

  At least, I thought it was his reflection, but as I continued to stare, it looked more like a woman with long dark hair. I knew that face with her large, tanuki eyes and her sad smile. I had seen her in my childhood. I tried to remember, but my brain wouldn’t let me. If this was the kamuy of the Tanukijin palace, I was certain I had seen her once before.

  Her gaze flickered from his eyes to me. Her brow crinkled in confusion. My heart started so hard it felt as though it leapt out of my chest.

  I ducked back from the door. I would have preferred to turn around, but the space was too tight and I had to crawl backwards. I moved quickly, as silently as I could.

  “What is it?” Petennouk asked. “Hello?”

  A second later his head poked out the doorway into the tunnel. “Hello, is someone there?”

  I crawled backward as quickly as I could. Surely, he’d spotted me. I was a black shape against the liquid of the purple patterns. Even so, I moved quietly.

  “Who’s there?” he demanded.

  I continued crawling back. He ducked back into the room, but only for a few seconds before he emerged again. I made no pretense of being quiet now. If he caught me he would probably kill me.

  He had to crawl on his elbows and drag his belly to fit in the tunnel. He grunted as he squirmed forward. After the beating he’d received only two days before I imagined the bruises slowed him. That was to my advantage.

  I kept backing up. My legs and arms were already tired from the journey to the little room, but now they ached with fatigue. My muscles burned and sweat drenched my brow. My breath came out in sharp little pants. His labored breathing and groans masked the sounds I made. He was gaining on me.

  The purple light dimmed and faded. The tunnel was dark. I could no longer see him. His grunts grew louder, closer. He was going to catch me. What would I do if he had a knife?

  It was the draft of cold on my feet that told me I was nearly safe. I pushed myself harder. My knees bruised from the way I jammed them backward and pushed myself off. I jabbed my foot into a solid surface and realized I’d come to the entrance. I felt around with my foot and squirmed out.

  “Sumiko-san?” Pana whispered. I could hear her high on the wall, where I’d been earlier, but I couldn’t see her.

  I backed the rest of myself out and frantically pushed off.

  “Run! He’s coming!” I said.

  I ran for the door, fumbling with the latch. Leaves rustled near me. I didn’t know if it was Petennouk or Pana. I flew out the door to the inner courtyard, into the outer courtyard, down the corridor, and turned over my shoulder to see if he was coming.

  As I ran around the corner to a stairwell I collided into someone. My first fear was that it was Petennouk. My next was that it was Nipa. When I heard the girlish squeal, I knew it was neither. We toppled onto the steps and we rolled onto the landing and into the moonlight. The victim of the collision screamed.

  “Shh!” I said, hoping Petennouk wouldn’t hear and might run the other way.

  “Ouch, Sumiko-chan, your elbow is in my face.” It sounded like Opere or Chinatsu. I couldn’t tell.

  “Sumimasen!” My manto had been torn off in the process of our flailing limbs and I batted it away. “Are you all right?” I tried to pull away, but she was on the skirt of my robe.

  Her manto was thrown back and her attush robe open enough to reveal two ume-sized breasts. She didn’t act as though she even noticed.

  She giggled. “What’s gotten into you?” Her expression changed from amusement to fear.

  I glanced over my shoulder. Petennouk stood there, mouth gaping. Chinatsu tugged her manto back into place as best as she could with me on top of her. A second later, Pana and Hekketek rounded the corner after Petennouk. Opere walked down the steps above us, freezing when she saw him.

  Petennouk glanced at them and then back to us. His expression changed from anger, to surprise to cunning. “I should have known I’d find the two of you in each other’s arms as soon as you were out of Nipa’s sight. With the way you can’t keep your hands off the other girls, Chinatsu-chan, I’m surprised your parents haven’t beaten you for your obvious infatuation with women.”

  Chinatsu pushed me away and scurried back. “No, I wouldn’t do that. I like boys. So does Sumiko-sama.” She used my formal title.

  He snorted. “Just wait until I tell Nipa. He’ll be forced to put you both to death.”

  I leapt to my feet and placed myself between him and Chinatsu so he would stop looking at her like she was something vial. “Go ahead. Tell Nipa. Who do you think he will believe, me or you? You’ve disgraced yourself. No one is going to listen to your slander anymore.” My heart pounded as I said it. I hoped it was true.

  He shouted, “I saw two women beaten to death years ago for their crimes. They will put you to death, like you deserve.”

  Footsteps pounded on the stairs above. An older man and two young men bounded toward us. Chinatsu shrank back, hugging herself.

  Petennouk pointed at me. “They were fornicating. Women together. I saw them touching—” Before he could finish, the old man punched Petennouk in the stomach.

  Petennouk mu
st not have been expecting it because he doubled over and staggered backward.

  “We’ve heard enough of your filth and lies,” the Tanukijin man said.

  The two younger men punched Petennouk in the face. He cried out and fell to his knees. That was a vulnerable position and the kicks landed even harder. I turned away.

  Chinatsu faced the wall. She sniffled.

  I put my arm on her shoulder, but she squirmed away. My heart plummeted. The other girls stood together, staring at us with wide eyes.

  “I’m not like that,” I said. I could hear the lie in my own voice. Had it only taken Petennouk’s words to make her see?

  “I know,” she said. “I just don’t want you to be punished for my overfriendliness. I’m so sorry, Sumiko-sama. I should try harder to behave.”

  “Don’t be sorry. Let’s go to our room and we’ll play games like we’d planned for the evening.” I tried to ignore the sounds of Petennouk being beaten a few feet away.

  “I should go home.” She wiped her eyes. “I don’t want anyone to think my bad habits will rub off on you. Sumimasen.”

  “No one will think that.” I looked to the other girls, daring them to dispute this. No one offered any comment. They looked away, embarrassed.

  For the rest of the night, Chinatsu kept her hands to herself. I felt bad for her. She wasn’t the one who was different. I was. She kept apologizing and bowing. It only made me feel worse. Chinatsu liked to hug everyone. That didn’t make her wrong like me.

  The following morning I was too afraid to tell Shiromainu what had happened. I waited for as long as I could before returning to his chamber for breakfast.

  First there was the matter of Petennouk, and then there was the matter of his accusations which filled me with shame. I was so worried about what would happen to Chinatsu and myself, I hardly cared about otherworldly spirits. Petennouk’s visitation with the kasha kamuy was like a dream compared to the more tangible dangers I feared.

  When I arrived at Shiromainu’s chamber, I found the father and his sons who had beaten Petennouk the night before. They gave him their account of what had happened.