Yamada Monogatori: The Emperor in Shadow by Richard Parks Read Free Book Online Page B

me. I was neither hungry nor thirsty, but I did take a little of the wine out of politeness. My time in my cups had not blurred the distinctions between good drink and bad but rather enhanced them, and I knew the saké before me was of the finest quality. Even so, I drank sparingly and not simply because I had no real desire for it. The longer I spent with Princess Tagako, the more she reminded me of Princess Teiko. Not physically but rather in the excellence and subtlety of her mind. If I’d learned nothing else from Teiko, it was that I needed to keep my wits about me in such situations. I had only her word on Kuzunoha’s visit, and while she knew Prince Kanemore’s instructions were consistent with this, it wasn’t proof she actually was in his confidence. Until I spoke with Kanemore himself, I couldn’t be sure if I could trust her. Yet my first impulse was to do exactly that, which was more than enough reason to proceed with caution.
    Tagako hesitated. “There was one other thing.”
    “What is it?” I asked.
    “Lord Yamada, if your reputation is even remotely deserved, you know ghosts are real,” she said.
    “I’ve met more than a few,” I admitted.
    “I don’t know if it has any bearing on these greater subjects, but I thought you should know—after Lady Kuzunoha’s visit, Princess Teiko appeared to me in my dreams.”
    “It is not uncommon to dream of those we have lost,” I said.
    She ignored my comment. “I am no seeress, Lord Yamada, but I have been saiō of the Grand Shrine for nearly eighteen years, and I do know the difference between an ordinary dream and a visitation. I’m telling you that Princess Teiko came to me.”
    I don’t claim to always know when someone is lying, but sometimes I do know when they’re telling the truth, and at that moment I had no doubts.
    “If she did appear to you, she must have had a reason.”
    “I think it was to deliver a message. To both of us.”
    Tagako already had my attention. Now I felt as if she also held my heart in her hands and was thinking of crushing it.
    I barely got the words out. “What did she say?”
    “In the dream I was lying on my sleeping mat but I was fully awake. She kneeled at my bedside and spoke to me. She asked me to tell you that ‘you are not finished.’ I don’t pretend to know what she meant.”
    The exact words I had heard when she appeared to Kenji and me on the bridge. Tagako must have noticed my expression. “You’ve seen her too, haven’t you?”
    I saw no point in denying it. I told Princess Tagako about our encounter on the bridge, and she looked thoughtful.
    “The same message, so it must be important. Do you know what she meant?”
    “I think so, but . . . ”
    This time she covered her smile with her sleeve. “Don’t worry—I will not ask. The message was for you, not me.”
    “Thank you. Nor will I ask what she said to you.”
    She looked pensive. “Actually, I was hoping you could help me understand her meaning.”
    I frowned. “Go on.”
    “Dream time isn’t the same as waking time, but I am certain she was only at my bedside for a few moments. By the time she spoke of me, she was already starting to fade into darkness, and I’m not completely certain that I understood her. What I heard could be interpreted in one of two ways.”
    “I’m listening.”
    Princess Tagako looked uncomfortable. “At first I thought she was telling me to look out for you. It sounded like a warning.”
    “You told me you were not my enemy. I can assure you, princess, I am not your enemy, either.”
    “I believe you, but I am not sure your intentions were what she was referring to in this case. Then there was the other interpretation.”
    “I hesitate to ask, but now I must. What was it?”
    Princess Tagako looked even more uncomfortable now, and I think I detected a faint blush. “I think she may have been asking me to look after you. Not quite the same thing.”
    “Perhaps she meant both,” I said, in a