Free Yamada Monogatari: To Break the Demon Gate by Richard Parks Page B

unfortunate young woman. I . . . I know her family well.”
    “I will hold you to that promise, Highness. I would be negligent in my duties otherwise.”
    Kanemore bowed slightly to the old man who merely nodded curtly in my direction and reluctantly withdrew. The chanting never stopped, but after a moment I realized it was coming from outside the building and that Kanemore and I were alone in the Lotus Hall. He smiled at me a little wistfully, and it was only then I saw the weariness in his eyes. I realized to my shock that he looked as bad as I felt.
    “It’s good to see you again, despite the circumstances,” Kanemore said, then hesitated. “Are you well?”
    I almost laughed. “If by ‘well’ you mean ‘sober,’ then yes, I am quite well. Disgustingly, annoyingly well.”
    He smiled faintly then. “Yet I must, under the circumstances, be grateful for this unfortunate condition.”
    “The ‘circumstances,’ I confess, I don’t quite understand.”
    “Lord Yamada, the young woman on the bier is—or was—Taira no Kei, an attendant to Princess Ai. She died, apparently, in her sleep sometime last night. I know there have been rumors.”
    “The rumor is that she was murdered.”
    Prince Kanemore let out a breath. “I should have realized the story would spread. But yes, I believe she was.”
    I frowned. I had assumed that Tamahara-san’s talk on the matter had just been gossipy chatter, and what I had said in return merely idle speculation, and yet here was the matter again, real and immediate in the dead body of this young woman.
    “How? It was my understanding the unfortunate girl died in the foyer adjacent to Princess Ai’s chambers, surrounded by a throng of attendants. From what I know of such arrangements, chances are that no one could possibly have reached the girl without stepping on at least three others. Or am I mistaken?”
    Kanemore looked grim. “No, that’s exactly where she was when she died, and before you ask, no, there was no sign of any of the more common poisons. For that matter, I do not believe she
was
poisoned. The new Minister of Justice instructed me to make certain the body was examined for wounds, even the smallest, while it was being prepared for the funeral rites. My people were meticulous; there was not so much as a bug bite found. There was a bluish cast to her face as if she’d been strangled, but it was faint, and there were no marks on her neck, other than her own.”
    “Her own?”
    “When she was found, she had both her hands at her throat as if she had been choking, but the other girls insist she had eaten nothing since the evening meal. The size of the marks on her neck suggest those marks came from her own fingers.”
    “Then how, if she was murdered, was it done?”
    “That is what I had hoped you might be able to answer. I apologize for the ritual impurity this will entail. You won’t be able to participate in a temple ceremony or enter the Imperial Compound for a month.”
    “Prince Kanemore, you know very well I give less than a pail of slops for either ceremonies or, no offence intended, being inside the compound.”
    He smiled a rueful smile. “As do I in principle, but in practice I cannot afford to be away from the Palace now. Besides, I likely would be forced to quarter with Princess Ai in the Sanjo mansion, so I believe I must decline.”
    I almost laughed, but then I thought of the grim duty before me, and the impulse faded. “Very well. I would ask that you guard the doors, but I see you’ve already arranged for it.”
    Kanemore grunted. “I don’t expect Kei’s nearest family to arrive before tomorrow, but it’s best to be cautious. We shall have ample warning of any early arrivals.”
    Quite sensibly so. The last thing either Kanemore or I needed was for the girl’s father or uncles to arrive and find a stranger taking such liberties with the remains of their child.
    It was clear why Prince Kanemore had interrupted the funeral rites