A Winter of Ghosts (7 page)

Kara returned her smile. Onceshe had thought of Miss Aritomo as an intruder, but now she liked it when shewas with them. Kara knew she would never be able to think of Yuuka as hermother, even if her father ended up marrying her, but she felt a certaincomfort when the three of them were together. It felt like family.

They had breakfast together andKara helped them clean up afterward. By the time she had showered, dressed, anddried her hair, Mr. Yamato had arrived and Miho and Sakura were both there,helping to set out cups for tea. In the eyes of her friends she saw her ownfears reflected back at her. They were all suffering from frayed nerves, and sothere was little of the usual polite chatter as they waited for the finalattendee to arrive for the meeting Mr. Yamato had called.

After the events the past springthat had led up to Kara and her friends being cursed by Kyuketsuki, she hadbeen astounded by the utter incompetence of the Miyazu police. They seemed tohave an absurd explanation for every inexplicable thing and to willfully ignoreany information that would have cast those explanations in doubt. Only after theirencounter with the Hannya in the early fall did she realize that the policewere not stupid, they were simply deceitful.

The Miyazu police had understoodthat supernatural forces were at work in their city, and they had worked tocover it up as completely as possible, swearing to secrecy everyone involvedwith Monju-no-Chie school who knew anything about it. And Mr. Yamato hadsupported those efforts completely. They police did not want to terrify thepeople unnecessarily, or to lose face by publicly acknowledging something thatmany would never believe, and for which they would be mocked without mercy. Mr.Yamato merely wanted to make sure the parents of his students did not panic andwithdraw their children from the school.

As long as there was no danger,they demanded silence and secrecy.

But now Sora was dead, and Mr.Yamato was no fool. The boy had been frozen solid in the middle of a freaksnowstorm, and there had been talk of ghosts, which must have gotten back tohim as well. Kara assumed her father had told the principal about the ghosts. Theyhad all vowed to inform him and the police if they encountered anythingremotely supernatural, anything that might indicate that Kyuketsuki's curse haddrawn yet another evil entity to Miyazu City.

And now. . ghosts.

At half past nine, on the dot,the doorbell rang. Her father answered the door and led the policeman into thedining room to join them. Tea had not yet been served; they had been waitingupon this grim man. They had all met Captain Nobunaga before, but he did notgreet them as friends. The policeman gave them a small, formal bow and waitedto be invited to sit. His uniform was crisp, his graying hair clipped short,and his lips seemed eternally pursed in an expression of disapproval. He andhis colleagues in the Miyazu City police department did not enjoy having anyopen discussion of such things as ghosts and curses, which was likely why themeeting was being held here, in the Harper home, and why the captain had comealone.

Over tea, the girls told thestory of the previous day's storm. Kara told Captain Nobunaga what Hachiro hadtold her about seeing Jiro's ghost, and about the apparition of Sora that sheand Miho had seen on the mountain the day before, and how she had been certainthat the boy was dead, even then. Though she felt embarrassed at showing thedepth of her feelings for Hachiro in front of the principal and the policeman,she revealed her belief that Hachiro and Ren were alive. If they were dead, shesuspected that their ghosts would have appeared as well.

Miho related the news thatWakana believed she had seen Daisuke's ghost on the mountain, just before thestorm. Sakura remained strangely quiet during all of this storytelling, butwhen Kara shot questioning glances in her direction, she only nodded for themto continue.

When all of the tales had beentold, that shifting, nervous silence returned to the house. No one seemed towant to begin to dissect what they had learned or to be the first to suggestexplanations. Captain Nobunaga glanced around at each of them in turn, lettinghis gaze linger on Kara for a moment, and then he turned to Mr. Yamato.

"Has anything happened todirectly link these 'ghosts' — if that is what they were — to thecurse of Kyuketsuki?" the policeman asked, his words clipped and sharp.

Mr. Yamato gave a single shakeof his head. "No."

"Not yet," MissAritomo added, her voice firm.

Kara loved her for that. Thepolice were so used to denying things they did not want to have to deal with,but Yuuka had no intention of letting the captain explain this all away.

"With all due respect,Captain," her father added, "you asked us to keep you informedwhenever anything. . unnatural. . occurred."

Captain Nobunaga nodded. "Yes,Harper-san. But other than these 'ghost sightings,' there is no indication thatanything supernatural is at work here. The young man, Hachiro, saw a boy wholooked like his dead friend on the train. He was apparently half-asleep at thetime."

"But Kara and Miho both saw-" Sakura started, angrily.

Mr. Yamato shot her a hard lookthat silenced her. Her rudeness reflected poorly on him as her schoolprincipal, whether the captain had earned it or not.

"They were and exhaustedand already had the suggestion of ghosts in their minds from the story Hachirohad told them," the policeman said. Then he waved a hand in the air asthough erasing the words. "I assure you, I am not entirely discounting thepossibility of a supernatural explanation for all of this. I simply think wecannot assume one exists without further exploration."

"What of the storm?" Professor Harper asked. "I know that violent changes in weather and freakstorms are not unheard of, but those of us who were on the mountain yesterday
felt
something."

Kara shot her father a look. Thiswas new information. He must have talked to Mr. Yamato and Miss Aritomo aboutit, but had not mentioned it to her.
Protecting me
, she thought, bothloving him for it and frustrated with him at the same time.

"A feeling is not evidence,Harper-san," Captain Nobunaga said. "And even if the girls did seeghosts, that does not mean that what happened on the mountain is supernatural. Theboys were lost in a blizzard. The one you have found, Sora, is already thesecond to die in such a fashion this winter."

Kara realized he was talkingabout the woman who had frozen to death in the first storm of the season. Sheglanced at Miho and Sakura and saw that they had both reacted to the captain'swords.

"Could her death berelated?" Kara asked.

"How do you mean?" thepoliceman said.

Mr. Yamato quietly cleared histhroat. "Captain, it does seem a bit unusual. I have lived in Miyazu Cityfor a quarter century and have never heard of anyone freezing to death in asnowstorm, on a mountain or otherwise."

The principal glanced at MissAritomo. "Some of us have encountered demons before. That is why we arehere together now, after all. And there are winter demons, are there not? Spiritsof ice and snow?"

Miss Aritomo began to nod, andthen her eyes widened.

"What is it, Yuuka?" Kara'sfather asked worriedly.

The woman's gaze dropped. "Ican't believe it didn't occur to me before," she said, and then looked upat Mr. Yamato. "But you've already guessed, haven't you?"

The principal cocked his head,studying her. "There are many different legends, stories about variousspirits. But I was thinking of one in particular, yes. These boys have gonemissing in a snowstorm. How could I not think of the childhood stories I readabout Yuki-Onna?"

Kara frowned. She had neverheard the name before. But it seemed obvious to her that Sakura and Miho knewit well. They looked confused and then almost amused.

"Yuki-Onna is only a story,"Sakura said.

"So was the Hannya,"Mr. Yamato replied.

Kara thought they all shudderedat that.

"What is Yuki-Onna?" she asked. "I don't. . can one of you tell me, please?"

To her surprise, it was herfather who spoke. "I've read the story, or one version of it, at least. Yuki-Onnais the Lady of the Snows. She's sometimes referred to as a witch or a demon — "

"Like in
The Snow Queen
,"Kara said.

"She is a popular figure inJapanese stories," Miss Aritomo said, her eyes haunted, her face pale, asthough she might be sick at any moment. "But my favorite version of hertale is one of the rarest, an ancient story in which a woman is killed by thewinter's first snow — "

Kara gasped. "Oh my God."

Miss Aritomo nodded and went on." — and the spirit of winter joins its essence with the ghost of thedead woman, inhabiting her corpse and transforming it from within to become Yuki-Onna,the Lady of the Snows. The Woman in White."

They were all staring at her asif entranced, and Kara realized that none of them had known this variation onthe legend.

The policeman broke the trance,rising quickly to his feet. He pulled out his cell phone and hit a singlebutton, speed-dialing.

"This is Captain Nobunaga. Sendsomeone to the family grave of Etsoku Reizei immediately," he said intothe phone, turning to regard the others in the room. Kara thought even thecaptain's eyes look haunted.

"Why?" he said. "Tellhim I want to know if the urn containing her ashes is still there."

M
r. Sato had spent his entirelife striving for an inner peace and balance that would make his parents proud.At forty-seven years of age, he had found purpose in moderation and attemptedto be a model of tranquility and proper behavior for his students. Once,several years before, he had overheard two students conversing about him; oneof them had remarked that he was as difficult to fluster as the guards atEngland's Buckingham Palace. Though they had been mocking him, there had alsobeen a sense of wonder in their voices, and he had been proud of that. The bestway to lead, he had always believed, was by quiet example.

It was a very good thing his studentswere not with him on Takigami Mountain this morning.

His feet still hurt from thefrigid temperatures and hours of searching from the previous day. He had notbeen dressed warmly enough for the blizzard and its aftermath and the cold hadgotten down into his bones and made him exhausted. Today he had thought aheadand dressed in many layers, including a thick green sweater and a heavy winterjacket he had borrowed from a cousin who was fond of snow sports.

Instead of keeping him warm infrigid temperatures, the layers made him sweat. The sun shone brightly today,making it far warmer than yesterday. With the jacket he was too hot, butwithout it the cold made his teeth chatter. His muscles hurt from a combinationof unfamiliar exertion and winter chill. Several times he had stepped intosmall windblown drifts that were deeper than they looked and snow had slid downinside his boots, quickly melting and soaking through his socks.

Mr. Sato did not feel verytranquil today.

Yet he kept his mouth set in agrim line and continued pushing his way through the trees, ducking branches,peeking into any hidden spot that seemed large enough to hide a boy. His handshad gotten sweaty in his gloves and now they were stuffed into his jacketpockets and he had pine sap stuck to his fingers.

"Sato-san!" calledOfficer Fuwa, the leader of their group of searchers. "Any sign of them?"

"Nothing!" Mr. Satocalled back.

He could vaguely see thepoliceman and another searcher through the trees. The officer checked theirlocations on a frequency so consistent as to be maddening, but Mr. Sato knew itwas necessary to make certain that no area of the mountain would be missed. Yesterdaythere had been far fewer searchers on the mountain and, though they had donetheir best, the net had been too wide. They had relied on the ability of theboys to respond to their shouts. Now, they all knew they were searching forstudents who might be sick, unconscious, or even dead, though no one wanted todiscuss this last possibility.

Officer Fuwa called out toothers in his assigned group and Mr. Sato heard their distant replies as hetrudged through another small drift that had accumulated amidst a thick standof pines. School had been canceled for the day, but he wondered what wouldhappen tomorrow if they still had not found the missing boys. One death wouldbe hard enough for the rest of the students, but if the others also did notsurvive. . it would be awful. The teachers had all discussed the arrival ofthe new year as a kind of cleansing, putting the horrible events of the prioryear behind them. But now it seemed that fate had further ugliness in store forMonju-no-Chie school. If Mr. Sato didn't know better, he would have thoughtsomeone had put some kind of a curse on the place.

He emerged into a clearing ofsorts, the sun far too bright for January, and finally the sweat of exertion onthe back of his neck became too much for him. With a grunt of displeasure, heremoved his jacket, wishing he had never brought it in the first place. Carryingit around was more work than wearing it, but he needed to cool off again. Glancingaround, he spotted Officer Fuwa in the trees off to his right and a man andwoman together at the western edge of the clearing.

A glance at his watch gave himthe strength for one more push. Officer Fuwa had scheduled a break in fifteenminutes, during which they could smoke or have a bit to eat or something todrink and restore themselves for another hour of hiking the mountain. Theirgroup had only been searching two hours this morning, but already his legs feltlike lead. Slim as he was, he had always assumed himself to be in fairly goodphysical condition for his age, but this experience had changed his mind.

With a deep breath he forgedahead, leaving the clearing and plunging once more into the thick woods. Fiftyyards or so later he came upon a fallen tree and paused to look beneath it,just in case one of the boys had tried to take shelter there the night before. Evensome sign of a fire or camp would have given him hope.

Movement in his peripheralvision drew his attention and he glanced to the right, thinking that OfficerFuwa had closed the distance between them. Through the trees he caught aglimpse of a solitary figure, pale and thin. Mr. Sato had worn the same glassesfor too many years as his eyesight had continued to fail, and he neededstronger lenses. He blinked and took a step in that direction, squinting as hetried to figure out which member of his search party had gone so badly offcourse.

The boy staggered out of thetrees, so white he seemed a ghost. Mr. Sato shouted in alarm and took severalsteps backward before he tripped over his own feet. The boy stumbled into himand the two tumbled to the ground together in a tangle of arms and legs.

Shock silenced him for severalseconds as he extricated himself. The boy's eyes were wide and glazed and hislips were blue. His skin felt like ice, but his chest still rose and fell withevery breath and a quick check of his pulse revealed that his heart remainedstrong.

Ren was alive.

"Officer Fuwa!" Mr.Sato shouted, cradling the boy in his arms. "I've found one of them! Overhere!"

His many years of practiced calmhad abandoned him. His emotions overwhelmed him. And yet he was not troubled bythis at all. There were times when tranquility was beyond the reach of mortalman, and perhaps even of the gods.

"I don't understand,"Kara said. "If this Etsoku Reizei was cremated, how could Yuki-Onna haveinhabited her remains?"

They all studied her closely,but she could tell that it wasn't because the question had upset them; theywere troubled because none of them had an answer. Sakura and Miho glanced atKara's father, but he and Captain Nobunaga were now looking at Miss Aritomo.

"The stories are ancient,"she said, pushing a lock of jet black hair away from her eyes with a delicatehand. "In the tale I spoke of, Yuki-Onna inhabited a corpse. Thissituation is different, but — "

Mr. Yamato sat up a bitstraighter, eyes focused on the policeman. "The simple fact that we arediscussing the possibility of Yuki-Onna entering our world and killing peopleon Takigami Mountain means we must be prepared to accept all manner of thingsthat would seem outrageous at first. It may be her, or it may be some otherdemon, or it may be nothing supernatural at all."

"I don't think that's true,"Kara said.

The principal gave her a sharplook and she quickly inclined her head in a short bow.

"With all due respect,Yamato-sensei, I think every single person in this room believes the supernaturalis at work here. If it isn't Yuki-Onna, okay. But it's
something
unnatural. And given the power — the magic — that we have witnessedalready, I can honestly say I would not be at all surprised to learn that ademon spirit might be able to. ." she searched for a word.". .to
construct
a body out of human remains. The fact that Miss Reizei diedduring the first snow of winter is unsettling. It matches the legend too well. Ihope it's. . well, I hope we're wrong."

"As do I," CaptainNobunaga said.

Mr. Yamato nodded at Kara to lether know her brusque tone had been forgiven. Her father put an arm around her.

"Yamato-san," herfather said, "what are you going to do about school tomorrow?"

The principal frowned, his eyesstormy. "I have a responsibility to educate these children. We need toreturn them to their routine as quickly as possible. We have had far too manydisruptions over the past year. If the boys are found today, classes willresume tomorrow."

"And if not?" MissAritomo asked.

Kara felt sick. If not? What wasshe saying? Of course Ren and Hachiro would be found. They had found Sora andhe had been dead, incapable of searching for rescue. Ren and Hachiro. . Hachirowould be working on getting back to school, back to her. Even if they didnothing but walk in one direction, eventually they would come to the edge ofthe mountain and find a way down, and then they could circle around its baseuntil the found a road or Takigami Park. They would be back today, she feltsure.

Unless they weren't capable oflooking for a way home.

"That is a conversation forlater," Mr. Yamato said firmly.

Miss Aritomo inclined her head. Itseemed to Kara that their worry and grief had made them all seek comfort informality.

Captain Nobunaga's phone buzzed.

"Nobunaga," he said ashe answered.

They all watched him, readinghis body language. His gaze fell and he put a hand to his forehead. Hisexpression fell, his eyes darting from side to side as though searching thefloor for answers. Kara thought he looked a little frightened. By the time heclosed his phone, she suspected they all knew what he was going to say.

"The Reizei grave has beenvandalized."

Silence fell amongst them. Nearlyone hundred percent of deaths in Japan resulted in cremation, with the deceased'sashes buried in a
haka
, or family grave. But the dead woman's haka hadbeen disturbed.

"Etsoku's urn was broken. Herashes are gone."

"This is too much to be acoincidence," Miss Aritomo said.

"Agreed," Mr. Yamatoreplied. "Until we learn something further, we must assume that the spiritwe face is Yuki-Onna. With these ghosts some of you have seen, she may not bealone, or this might be only one aspect of a demon who can appear in manydifferent guises. It is impossible to know — "

"Not impossible,"Sakura interrupted. "It's just information we don't have yet."

Mr. Yamato did not chide her forher breach of propriety. Instead he nodded slowly.

"We will need thatinformation," he said, glancing around at those gathered in the Harpers'dining room. "Finding those boys is our first priority, of course. Butthere are two other things we must do immediately. First, we must learn all wecan about the various incarnations of Yuki-Onna, but in particular the one towhich Miss Aritomo was referring."

"I will begin doingresearch immediately," Miss Aritomo said, a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"So will we!" Mihopiped up. She glanced at Sakura and then Kara. "There are so manydifferent sources that we should all work on it. If she's taken the boys — "

Kara blinked in surprise. "Taken?"

Miho nodded emphatically. "It'spossible. You can't just assume that she's. . that she's killed them. If shehad, with all those people on the mountain, wouldn't they have found Hachiroand Ren already, the way they did Sora?"

"That makes sense,"Miss Aritomo said, brows knitted in thought. "In several of the storiesabout her, Yuki-Onna is fascinated by handsome or beautiful boys, keeping themlike some kind of collector of precious art."

"Do you really think that'spossible?" Kara asked. "That she would keep them captive just for thecompany or whatever?"

Miss Aritomo gave her a grimlook. "Until she tires of them. Yes, if this is Yuki-Onna, that is part ofher legend."

"Then I pray you're right,"Professor Harper said, giving Kara's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Thatwould give the boys a chance."

Captain Nobunaga tapped on thetable. "I would not like to take officers away from the search parties onthe mountain, but if there is a connection to the curse of Kyuketsuki, the girlswill be in danger."

"We must presume this isall related," Mr. Yamato said. "But the search is of primaryimportance and your people are of most use in that task. It may be sheer luckthat the boys were taken and the girls escaped before Yuki-Onna could claimthem as well, or perhaps she was distracted by the presence of the boys, asMiss Aritomo suggests. Regardless, it was fortunate."

The principal looked at Kara'sfather. "We cannot risk them going anywhere near the mountain."

Professor Harper turned to staremeaningfully at Kara. "They won't."

Mr. Yamato nodded. "Good."

Captain Nobunaga spread hishands on the table, commanding the room with his presence. He looked at Mr.Yamato.

"You said there were twothings that had to be priorities."

Mr. Yamato nodded. "Thesecond is related. It is not enough to confirm that Yuki-Onna is the spirit weface, or how she came back into our world. We must find a way to defeat her."

"More than that," MissAritomo said, eyes narrowed in thought. She glanced up at Kara. "We areassuming that the demon cannot come down from the mountain, or away from thesnows. But we do not know that. It may not be enough for you to stay away fromthe mountain. We must discover some other way to protect you if she comes tofulfill the curse."

Sakura gave a soft, humorlesslaugh. "Yes, we've been so lucky with protecting ourselves so far."

"Actually," Mr. Yamatosaid, "you have been
very
lucky."

If Sora's death and theirunderstanding of this new danger had not sobered them enough, those wordsfilled them all with dread.

"We should tell Mai andWakana," Miho suggested. "They're not in any danger, but if Wakanasaw a ghost. ."

Kara nodded. "I agree. I'lltalk to them."

Captain Nobunaga's cell phonebuzzed again. They all turned to him, holding their breath, wondering what newsthis call might bring.

The policeman answered,listening intently. Kara saw the way his shoulders seemed to relax and she letherself believe the call brought good news. Nobunaga thanked his subordinateand ended the call, but even as he closed his phone he stood up from the table.

"If you will all excuse us,Mr. Yamato and I are needed elsewhere," Captain Nobunaga said.

"Did they find Hachiro andRen?" Kara asked, almost pleading. "Are they okay?"

Captain Nobunaga looked first toMr. Yamato, then to Kara's father, and at last he answered her question, sterneyes suddenly kind.