"Mirei. . ." the young man said, looking shell-shocked. "Mirei is dead? What happened?"
"That's what my brother is trying to help the police to find out."
He shook his head disbelievingly.
"That's. . .It's just so astonishing, that I could be working all morning while Mirei was being killed." There was a sick note in his voice, the kind that often presaged survivor guilt.
"I'm sorry," Hokuto said gently. "Did she mean a lot to you?"
The handsome young man smiled wanly.
"Not in the way you're thinking. She was a good friend. I'm not sure if you've ever lived in a foreign country, but it can be very hard to get along in a different culture. Mirei always went out of her way to make me feel comfortable, to help me through the rough parts. Maybe it was because she was a woman in the business world, she could sympathize with the troubles of a gaijin. For whatever reason, though, she was special."
"Her death is a real tragedy, then. Kind people are two few in this world."
The young man's eyes glittered.
"Then I must be very lucky, to have met two here in Japan."
Subaru would have blushed at that, or at least looked down shyly. Hokuto did neither.
"Do you come up with lines like that naturally, or do you have to think about them?"
The blond man tossed back his head and laughed. His laughing was a little too loud and went on a little too long; it smacked of hysteria, some kind of reaction to the girl's death.
"Thank you," he finally said, recovering himself, "I needed that."
Hokuto grinned at him for just an instant, acknowledging their connection. Then her expression softened and she told the American, "I'm going back to my brother now. If you'd rather not come. . ."
He shook his head.
"No, it will be good for me to face it directly, I think."
Hokuto shrugged acceptingly. Some people were like that.
"All right, follow me."
-X X X-
Subaru could feel the barriers of his consciousness wavering as he continued to chant his spell. The litany echoed in his own mind; his perception slowly began to shift as the real world faded from his vision. Strange colors that were no part of nature formed images of the past and present, overlaid on one another. That much accomplished, Subaru changed his chant, guiding his spell in a different direction. The tumbling flood of images slowed, almost stopping, and began to sort itself out, taking shape as they swam through Subaru's awareness.
He saw Mirei Kigai enter her superior's office. No one else was there, she noted, letting down her guard enough to pout slightly. She hated wasting her time; more than that, she hated the common assumption that because she was a woman, her time could be wasted without real cost. There were, she knew, men in this company who believed that she was going to marry the one her uncle would groom as his heir apparent -- whomever that might be.
Her attention was caught by an incense burner on Sakamoto's desk. It was a little bronze thing, curiously out of place among the prosaic salaryman's things. A faint wisp of sandalwood smoke drifted upwards from the little ornament. A nice scent, Mirei thought.
There was nothing slow or mystical about it. A sudden cloud of smoke burst upwards with all the subtlety of a sword thrust or an exploding bomb. The shape it formed was vaguely humanoid, but misshapen, the flesh smoke-gray and rubbery, the mouth wide and leering, the legs bent and twisted. Its arms nearly reached the floor, ending in oversized tipped with yellowing, cracked talons three inches long. It towered over her, nearly eight feet tall, and moved with astonishing speed. The chipped, broken claws were already tearing into Mirei's body when she gave voice to her first scream.
Subaru's perception cracked, shattered, and fell apart, like a mirror that had been struck a pulverizing blow.
"Are you all right, Subaru-kun?" Seishiro asked, quickly showing concern as the young man sagged limply. Subaru quickly regained his equilibrium as he readjusted himself to seeing the normal world, and avoided a fall. Seishiro's hands, he noted with grateful surprise, were already on his shoulders, supporting him. How like him, Subaru thought, to react so quickly when he needed help.
"Y-yes, yes I am, Seishiro-san." He glanced around at the faces of the other men, seeing in them concern mirroring his lover's. "I'm sorry to be such a bother," he added reflexively. What must they think of him, collapsing in the middle of his spell? Detective Yamakawa was being very tolerant to allow him onto the crime scene at all; Subaru did not want to repay that trust by making a spectacle of himself.
"Not at all," Seishiro said. "We should not be putting such pressure on you. An onmyouji should not be expected to walk in and perform like an animal in the zoo."
"Subaru! Are you overworking yourself again?" The voice was Hokuto's, of course; it was unmistakable. Subaru got a surprise, though, when a handsome young Westerner followed his sister up to them.
"You seem to have a great many people concerned about you, Subaru-kun," Yamakawa noted dryly, but not with the sardonic overtones that would have meant he was mocking the young man. Subaru blushed anyway.
"Well, Subaru, did you learn anything?"
Subaru nodded, took a deep breath, and began.
"I used an incantation that would let me relive the moments just before Mirei-san died."
Hokuto frowned at him. She knew that when Subaru used that particular spell, he placed himself into rapport with the psychic impressions left by the dead person's mind. It was a kind of postcognition, a spell Subaru had invented himself after a murder case during which he had met a psychic -- ironically, one who had also been named Mirei. It was a harrowing experience, to relive the death of another, and Hokuto always worried about the effect it had on her brother.
"The reason that you weren't able to find any trace evidence of the killer's presence is that Mirei-san was killed by magic."
"Magic did that to my niece?" Kigai exclaimed, with disbelief evident in his voice.
"Yes, sir. It was a creature known as a Shadow Golem. It is formed from smoke and the nightmares of people. It forms, attacks, then dissolves away into smoke again. It isn't real, not the way you understand it, so it leaves no traces behind."
"But like illusion," Seishiro contributed softly, "it has an effect on reality."
"Do you mean," the gaijin asked, "that some monster just appeared in Mr. Sakamoto's office, tore Mirei apart, and vanished?"
That wasn't all of it, Subaru thought, shaking his head. It was Seishiro, though, who answered the question before Subaru could.
"No," he said softly. "Consider this: no illusion, no falsehood, exists outside of human creation. One gives an impression, another perceives it. A Shadow Golem must be conjured up by someone. It is a weapon, a construct, a projection."
"So that's why Subaru-kun said that it was 'not real,'" Yamakawa said, slapping his fist into his palm. "This. . .Shadow Golem isn't a monster or spirit, but a manifestation created by a human assassin. Am I right?"
Subaru nodded at once.
"That's it exactly, Yamakawa-san. This required some advance preparation, also. Ordinarily an onmyouji could shape a Shadow Golem from any source of smoke in the area around them -- a fireplace, a barbecue grill, even a cigarette. This was different, though. The person who killed Mirei prepared an incense burner ahead of time, so that when he or she cast the spell, the creature would manifest from that smoke no matter where the murderer was at the time. The killer could have been in the next office, or as far away as Kyoto, using the senses of the Shadow Golem."
Yamakawa's eyes flicked around the office.
"What incense burner?" he asked.
Subaru turned to Sakamoto's desk and pointed.
"That one there. . ." His voice trailed off. "I don't understand. I saw the Shadow Golem form from the smoke. The censer was right there."
"Then no doubt someone has taken it," Seishiro asserted.
"Right," Yamakawa agreed, beginning to think things through. "The murderer had to plant the censer and light it, so that when he or she cast the spell here would be smoke to use," he deduced. The detective looked to Subaru for confirmation.
"That's right, Yamakawa-san. If the incense was not burning, then the incantation would fail."
"Okay, I understand that. Then, in the confusion after Mirei's death, the killer took it away again, because it was physical evidence."
"And magical evidence," Hokuto chimed in. She wagged her finger reprovingly. "Anyone who could summon such a monster would know that the censer could be used to trace the spell back to its caster, because of the link that was created when it was enchanted and strengthened when it was actually used in summoning the Shadow Golem."
Seishiro smiled approvingly at her and said, "That's very good, Hokuto-chan."
"Well, I'm not the big sister of the head of the Sumeragi clan for nothing, you know!"
"So," the handsome blond concluded, "when you find the person who planted and stole the censer, Detective Yamakawa, you'll have your case solved!"
"That's it. It should be a matter of routine police work from here, cross-questioning witnesses and that kind of thing."
The company president regarded Subaru gravely, all traces of his earlier doubt
gone.
"Thank you very much, Sumeragi-san. Your contribution to this case has been invaluable. I am glad that the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan was equal to the reputation of his ancestors."
"I. . .well. . .that is. . .thank you very much, Kigai-san," Subaru stammered out.
Now, if he could only solve his overblown sense of modesty so easily! thought Hokuto.
Leaving Sakamoto's office even by so short a distance as to step to the far side of the door had an emotional impact on everyone in the little group. The scene of a death always had an effect; what kind of effect varied from person to person, but it was always there, a human constant. President Kigai had a look of satisfaction on his face, melded with a bitter pain that would not soon go away. Yamakawa was grim and thoughtful, as fit his status as a police detective; no doubt he was already planning what orders to give his subordinates towards solving the case. Subaru looked sad, which was no surprise; young, innocent life snuffed out hurt him deeply. Seishiro was like a tall, dark shadow behind Hokuto's brother, attentive as always to his lover's feelings. Support and reassurance. . .
Hokuto smiled faintly. Something about the picture of Seishiro being the caring, sweet lover struck her as incongrous. Like a bird of prey, an eagle. . . and yet, Hokuto noted to herself, eagles mated for life.
"Miss Sumeragi?"
Hokuto and the handsome young American were the last two to leave the office, and lagged behind the group.
"Yes?"
"I know this is a really awful time to bring this up, but I doubt we'd ever see each other again in the normal course of things, and. . .well, I don't want that."
Hokuto's eyes widened.
"Are you asking me out on a DATE?"
"Um. . ."
He flashed her a dazzling, although sheepish smile. Clearly, he didn't ordinarily get caught in such an awkward situation with the opposite sex. She could see his point -- this was a horrible time to meet someone, emotions on edge and social conventions requiring that death be treated with the dignity it demanded, and yet to remain silent might be to push away that one wonderful person who might change his life forever. And, being an American, he made the choice that he did.
"I suppose that I am, though I hadn't thought of it like that."
Hokuto thought it over. Did she want to see more of this beautiful young man?
"Well, all right," she decided, "but only on one condition."
"Name it," he offered at once.
"Tell me your name!"
He blinked in surprise.
"My name?" He thought for a moment. "I haven't mentioned that yet, have I? Oh, well, I can't go on being rude to such a beautiful lady; I'm Jack Delevant."
"Delevant-san," Hokuto turned it over on her tongue.
"Oh, please, call me Jack."
"All right. . .Jack."
He smiled at her, brilliantly. It made her feel strange, kind of warm and tingly. As if a young god had descended from the skies to look fondly upon her. Was this what her brother felt like, when Seishiro smiled at him?
-X X X-
The two males had gone down to the lobby, but waited there for Hokuto to catch up. Seishiro watched Subaru quietly, a smile playing around the corners of his lips. The boy seemed preoccupied with something, troubled.
"Is something wrong, Subaru-kun?" he asked, laying his hand lightly on the young onmyouji's shoulder.
Subaru stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"I feel like I'm abandoning this case," he said. "I'm not sure that leaving my work for the police to finish is right."
"You feel, perhaps, that you have a duty as the head of the Sumeragi clan to see this matter through to the end? To protect the people of Japan from a killer who uses magic?"
"Seishiro-san. . ."
Subaru nodded.
"That's exactly it; I accepted the responsibility."
"Yamakawa-san is a skilled detective," Seishiro observed, playing devil's advocate. "He believes what you tell him, so he will look for what he needs to find, instead of following blind alleys in search of a nonmagical solution in the way that many others would."
Subaru frowned.
"The police won't be protected against magic, though. The murderer might have the opportunity to use spells against them. To prepare a special censer for casting the Shadow Golem at long range, the assassin must be a skilled practitioner, not an amateur."
Seishiro lightly touched Subaru's chin, turning the boy to face him. He then stroked the young man's cheek with the back of his hand.
"You have such a pure spirit, Subaru-kun. It's amazed me for as long as I've known you, how wondrous it is."
"Seishiro-san. . ."
"You must be true to your feelings, I know. You cannot rest easy until this matter is resolved. Just remember that if you need me, I am here."