The Gatekeeper's Son (36 page)

A half-hour later I was on the bench in our Zen garden, my head in my hands. It was colder now and the air curled around me, giving me goose bumps.

It was motion more than any feelings that made me look toward the house, brightly lighted and warm. Okaasan was silhouetted in the doorway.

“What happened?” she said.

“I just wanted to go for pizza.”

She let out a sigh. “That girl likes you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be surprised if she kills me one day.”

Okaasan chuckled. “That’s how I know she likes you.”

She stepped down into the garden and sat on the bench, crossing her arms against the damp night air. “You two are very different, and both young. You’re both struggling, but she has a code she can never violate. She’s a warrior, Junya.”

I was shivering now.

“We were trained like soldiers—obedient, no need to think—but we had good reason for our discipline,” she said, her voice soft in the night. “How many times did I see my mother come home, her clothing splattered with human blood or the black blood of Evil Ones? Whether you like it or not, you will never change her.”

“But I don’t
want
to change her.” Did I?

She sniffed and rubbed her arms. “I can feel evil, close by, closing in, and I feel the darkness inside you, growing more and more each day.”

I looked at the sky. “That’s what Shoko said.”

“Anger strengthens you. I’ve seen it.”

“That happens to everyone when they get mad—it’s just adrenaline.”

“But you are not just anyone. I heard you were able to stop Tomi with a burst of energy that hit her like a wall. If you had done that in anger, what would have happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“Neither do I.” She put her arm around me and held me. We stayed that way for a while, and then she pulled back and looked at me. “Have I ever told you how proud I am of you?”

I made a face. “Never,” I said, only half-joking.

“Well, I am. And no matter what you think, I love you and I love your father, more than anything in the world.”

I squeezed her back. “I know.”

“And I believe you’ll do the right thing.” With that, she walked back inside, leaving me alone in the quiet of the Zen garden.

CHAPTER

34

I left my house a little after eight the next morning. I’d awoken with an urgent need to see Grandpa—he wasn’t doing any better, but I needed some reassurance that I was doing the right things. I hoped I could get that much from him.

As I started up the hill, I scanned the area with my eyes and my mind but didn’t sense anything—the stream ran clear and quiet. In fact, there were no messages at all.

That changed the minute I reached the bus stop. Negative thoughts and energy bombarded me. I dropped to the bench, holding my head in my hands. A dark sensation descended, growing stronger every moment—but it wasn’t coming from these people.

“Are you all right?” It was a woman, the only source of positive energy here.

“Yeah, just tired,” I said, keeping my head down.

“He’s obviously on drugs,” an old woman said.

“Not every kid’s on drugs, you know.”

I looked up and saw a man across the street dressed in a long black coat. His face was expressionless, ageless, his eyes like black holes in his head. Then the bus arrived, slicing between us, and the woman called to me again.

“Come on.”

I looked up. A young black woman, the one who’d asked me if I was all right, beckoned me towards the bus.

“I’ll catch the next one,” I said. “Thank you for your kindness.”

She looked surprised but disappeared into the bus without looking back. When the bus pulled away, the man in black was gone, but the dark sensation lingered. I was just turning to search for him when a black car almost as long as the bus stopped in front of me. The rear window slid down.

“I suppose I’d be wasting my time if I asked you to step inside,” a deep male voice said.

When I offered no response, the elderly driver, wearing an old-fashioned uniform, hurried around and opened the rear door. A tall man stepped out, wearing a blue suit so crisp it could have cut glass. He straightened his tie, not that he needed to, and inspected me, his face expressionless. Then he smiled, revealing a perfect set of white teeth.

“Good morning, James.” He had an accent, slight and indefinable.

“What do you want?”

He took a business card from his suit pocket and passed it to me. It was cold, and when I flicked the edge, it sprang back. It was metal that was thin as paper, embossed with the name Mr. Müller and a telephone number with an area code I didn’t recognize.

“Do you have a first name, since you know mine?” I said.

“I have many given names, European aristocrats being what they are. I wouldn’t want to burden you with all of them.”

“I see.” I felt a slight tingle in my neck and looked up. The man in black was back, and another guy just like him now stood farther up the block.

“They’re with me,” Mr. Müller said. “One can’t be too careful, especially in this country. Who knows when violence may erupt?”

“Yes, who knows?”

He studied the bench and then sat beside me, placing as little of his pants on it as possible.

“My employer noticed your banking transactions last night.”

That caught me off guard. “Bartholomew knows about all my transactions?”

Mr. Müller raised his brows. “We always notice when someone moves several hundred million dollars. But we have a special interest in Edward Thompson and his family.”

“Because you’re helping Walter Roacks destroy his company?”

“The other way around, actually.” Mr. Müller scowled. “Personally, such treachery disgusts me. Mr. Roacks seems to think that he is somehow entitled to the company.”

“I noticed that when he tried to have me killed.”

He smiled again. “Mr. Roacks has focused too much on his own goals and has failed to deliver what he promised. My employer does not take such things lightly.”

“Meaning?”

He shrugged. “He is no longer of use to us.”

“Because of me.”

He smiled. “Did you enjoy taking it all away from him? There’s nothing like beating an enemy at their own game.”

It had felt good at the time, but I wasn’t so sure now.

“I was told to inform you that you may keep the money.”

I laughed. “I intend to—since it’s mine.”

He frowned, and for the first time his steely fa�ade cracked, but only for a moment.

“Edward chose to alienate us, but with one phone call”—he snapped his fingers—“my employer destroyed his dream. With another call he could bring it all back.”

“I have enough money to save my grandfather.
We
don’t need you.”

“I disagree. What will happen when my employer contacts the bank in the Turks and Caicos? And with Mr. Roacks in such a panic, no one can foresee Edward’s future … or yours. Whatever happens next is up to destiny, I’m afraid.”

“I make my own destiny, Mr. Müller.”

He gave that some thought. “Perhaps we can make a deal.”

“Like what?”

A smile spread across his face. “You possess something my employer has sought for a very long time.”

I let out a snort. “The gold?”

Mr. Müller waved his hand in dismissal. “Gold is a transitional metal, nothing more.”

“So he doesn’t care how my grandfather went
across
to get it?”

Mr. Müller’s lips tightened. “He is far more interested that
you’ve
been across.”

I sucked in a breath.

“He wants to meet you.”

I nodded slowly, trying to think fast enough to keep up.

“If I do … he’ll leave my grandfather alone?”

“Edward is already lost, but perhaps you can save his company.”

My fists clenched. “Then tell Bartholomew he can go to hell.”

An unpleasant smile came to his face. “He will be amused to hear that.” He turned and strode toward his car. “We’ll be in touch,” he called out as the car door slammed.

As it sped away, I saw the longhaired man across the street. My anger rose up instantly. I breathed out and sent my energy hurtling toward him.

He jerked as if I’d hit him and then turned and strode away, pushing through the pedestrians like a battering ram. Most people moved out of his way. Others swore at him, but he kept walking, unfazed.

I stood up and ran after him, even as he disappeared among the cars and shops. I followed his energy, a dark magnet that pulled me to him. He was moving faster now, but I was closing in. Everything else faded away—pedestrians, cars, blaring horns, screeching tires. We were the only ones moving and breathing.

The man turned to face me. I felt his energy, negative and powerful, but mine was more intense than I’d ever felt. The man jerked backward into a store’s brick wall, dazed. After a long moment, he swung his long hair like a stallion, his eyes wide and fierce. Then he hissed, a horrible, high-pitched sound, and bared his teeth. From between long incisors, his forked tongue flicked out, tasting the air, smelling me.

I took a step back. The man—if that was what he was—let out another hiss and turned and ran down the side street, his black coat billowing behind him. As I watched him go, my heart thumped like a drum.

CHAPTER

35

The only bodyguard outside Grandpa’s hospital room when I got there was John, and he looked exhausted. I forced a smile as I approached him. He didn’t return it.

“Hey,” I said. “Everything OK?”

He crossed his thick arms and glowered at me. “You can fire me, but I’m not leaving.”

I blinked. “Why would I fire you?”

“Save it,” he said, loud enough that the nurses at the central station looked up. He stood up, and I backed up a few steps. “You want it all so bad you just leave him unprotected—fire everyone—with those special-ops guys running wild?”

“John!” the head nurse called. “Keep it down please!”

He actually looked sheepish, but my anger exploded. “You honestly think I want him dead? I didn’t fire anyone today—especially not you—so back off!”

He looked confused and a bit taken aback. “Well someone did. I got let go this morning.”

I let out my breath, releasing some of my anger. “Where’s Barrymore? I need to straighten this out.”

John shrugged. “I don’t know. He got fired, too.”

I put my hands to my face. “Damn it!” When I opened my eyes, John was looking at me.

“You really had nothing to do with this, did you?”

“Indirectly maybe.” Walter was moving fast, eliminating all the obstacles. It was an act of desperation, as Mr. Müller had warned me—which made it scarier.

“Look, John, consider yourself unfired. You’ll get all your pay plus overtime, even if I have to take it from my piggy bank. Please stay—and don’t let Walter Roacks near him.”

His expression softened. “I already told you, I’m not going anywhere … but if you plan to pay me, you’d better make it quick. I have a mortgage payment due and the wife’s already pissed.”

The door to Grandpa’s room was only half-open when Lin attacked me. Seeing a hand come at my face, I ducked—right as a knife came up at me. I jerked sideways, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it around so that the blade of the knife brushed her throat. Our eyes were inches apart.