Fifty-Third Spell: Summoning Spirits
That night, the Obon Festival celebrations started. Everyone got into their summer yukatas, including the girls, and gathered in the courtyard where a wooden tower had been constructed by magic with paper lanterns strung to each corner. As drums played by themselves from the top of the tower, the students and teachers performed a special dance called Obon Omori which involved dancing in a line around the tower's base.
Once the dance was done, Haru, Nayu, and Seita left the courtyard. They went through the northern opening of the castle's inner wall and approached the sloped garden where Sabe-Sensei taught his Herbology classes. But because it was so dark, they could barely see the plants or the trees along the slope.
"Are you sure the Shrine of Idesei is near here?" Nayu asked, shivering in her yellow yukata from a cool breeze that suddenly picked up.
"The school map I found in the library showed the shrine was to the right of the garden," said Seita. "It's supposed to be tucked in a cave hidden by some trees."
"Well, it'll be hard to find it if we don't have light," Haru pointed out. "Higuāng!"
From his wand, Haru produced a small fire that struggled to stay lit against the breeze. So Haru cupped his hand around the fire while Seita led the way down the sloped garden and Nayu brought up the rear. About midway down, they came upon a northern path that was carved along the slope leading to a cluster of trees nearby.
But as they got closer, a small cave became visible behind the trees. A torii gate made of granite stood over the entrance to the cave with knotted ropes similar to the ones Hikari temporarily removed from the storage house hanging from it. Underneath this gate stood Shō-Sensei, who was wearing the same black robes she always wore for teaching and was using the Firelighting Charm to illuminate herself.
"You got here quicker than I expected," Shō remarked, though she didn't sound happy about it.
"I consulted a map earlier today," Seita explained. "And the shrine wasn't hard to find."
"How thoughtful of you, Fumito-Kun," Shō said with slight sarcasm in her voice. "Now who wants to go into the shrine first?"
Nobody volunteered to do so.
"All right, then we'll go in alphabetical order starting with Fumito," Shō declared, pointing her index finger at Seita.
Seita gulped nervously, but he followed Shō into the cave. Then a few minutes later, he came out with a fearful look on his face.
"That doesn't look promising," Haru said to himself when he noticed Nayu was quaking in her wooden sandals.
"Rakkashi, you're next," Shō said. But when Nayu refused to follow her, Shō grabbed her by the hand and dragged her through the cave's entrance.
"Which spirit did you try summoning at the shrine?" Haru asked Seita.
"My mother," Seita said. "The only problem was that…she never appeared, which means she's still alive—even though my dad told me she died after I was born."
"But why would he lie to you?"
"I'm not sure. But I will get an answer from him no matter what."
Later, Nayu emerged from the cave with Shō behind her. She had tear-stained eyes, which she quickly wiped away before joining the boys.
"Don't worry about me," Nayu assured. "I'm fine."
Haru wasn't convinced. "You can talk about it if you want to."
"In my own time," insisted Nayu. "Just let me process things first."
"So far, Rakkashi has been the only one of you three to successfully summon a spirit at the shrine," Shō stated. "Thus, I will award five points to Byakko as promised. But if Ryuji manages to succeed in summoning his spirit, another five points will go to Byakko."
Keeping the flame on his wand still burning, Haru followed Shō into the cave. Inside, the cave tunnel was cool and damp. They then entered a room with a circular ring of stones before a shrine made of black wood.
"What are the stones for?" Haru asked while dowsing the magical firelight from his wand.
"This is where the spirit you summon will appear once you've opened the shrine doors with the right incantation," Shō explained. "And if you want to send the spirit away, just close the doors and say another incantation to keep the spirit from haunting you after you've summoned it."
"All right," Haru said, nodding in understanding.
"Now kneel before the shrine doors and say, 'Seichū' as well as the name of the ghost you wish to summon," instructed Shō. "You must say the ghost's first and last name, and very clearly lest you accidentally summon another ghost instead. Once you've done that, use your beaded necklace and chant the ghost's name as many times as it takes to summon them."
"How will I know if I've summoned a spirit if my back is to the stone circle?"
"You'll know when you've succeeded. Now let's get this over with."
As much as Haru wanted to remark about Shō's insincerity, he decided to let it go out of fear of getting in trouble. So he knelt on the damp floor of the cave and raised his wand at the shrine.
"Seichū Uenō Dende," Haru said, concentrating on his adopted father's image.
The doors to the shrine opened, revealing an altar with a statue of a man with wings growing out of his back. Haru guessed the statue was a depiction of Headmistress Dōmeki's ancestor Rikimatsu, who had mastered Tengu Magic to save his master Jiraiya from death with an antidote brought from India. While he wasn't quite sure what Tengu Magic was exactly, Haru ignored the statue and instead took out the beaded necklace he always carried for Necromancy.
Rubbing the beads together, he chanted Uenō's name multiple times. For a while, all he could hear was the clacking of the beads against the oppressive darkness that surrounded him. Then he heard a faint breathing, and felt a tingling sensation rolling up his spine.
"My little boy," said a familiar voice.
Haru looked over his shoulder and saw Uenō standing inside the circle of stones, wearing the same blue blazer and khaki pants he wore the day Warumo attacked the house. Uenō's slicked-back hair was scorched along with his pencil-thin mustache, but his eyes were full of tears.
"Dad…," Haru murmured, turning around to face Uenō.
To be continued…