“Her?”
“There was another ghost. As odd as it sounds, she…defended us from the first aragami.” Kagura exhales noisily. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. Except Okiku, of course. I don’t know who this ghost is, and I don’t know why she came to my aid, but I didn’t have time to ask—not with the others scattered and injured.”
“Was there anything unusual about the ghost?”
“Yes. She had blue eyes.” At my sharp intake, she glances in my direction. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ve seen her before. She was lurking inside the shrine, and I think she may have helped repel an attack by another ghost too.
It looks like we have an ally in Aitou, at the very least. But one thing is clear—we need to find the dolls, Tark, and use them to exorcise these spirits. There is a chance that the curse might lift the moment they are all contained, and we can leave.”
“I’m way ahead of you.” I produce the two hanayome ningyō, not without some smugness. Kagura looks surprised and pleased. I quickly relay all that happened—from Callie and me finding the notes Kagura had left behind to my adventures inside Aitou.
She frowns when I tell her about the old woman and the tate ebōshi wearing scholar, and she insists on a more detailed description of the latter. “He could be one of the ceremonial assistants of the kannushi,” she concedes.
“Whoever he is, he seems like he wants to help.”
“I hope so. I have exorcised two of the ghost brides myself.” She opens her bag and shows me two more dolls not unlike the ones I have, their beady eyes dark. “Nariko Konno’s and Kita Morimoto’s.” She holds up another. “I have found the doll belonging to Yukiko Uchiyama, but as you could see, she’s been a little harder to catch. Counting Yukiko, that leaves only three more.” She pauses. “How long have I been missing?”
“Two weeks, give or take. Auntie’s worried sick, and there are all sorts of television reporters and searchers out looking for you.”
“Looking for the Ghost Haunts crew,” Kagura corrects me with a rueful smile. “I should have trusted my instincts and refused to allow them access to my father’s work.”
“I think they would have found another way, regardless of whether or not you helped them. They’re not…dead or anything, right?”
“I do not know. We were all supposed to head for the shrine, but it’s been boarded up. I brought them to a house beside the Konno residence and told them all not to step outside until I said so. It was the most structurally sound of all the remaining houses. I warded the room as much as I was able to, but when I returned, they were all gone.” She rakes a hand through her hair. “This is all my fault. I was responsible for their safety—”
“You were responsible for providing them with information about Aitou,” I interrupt. “They’re grown men who chase ghosts. They knew what they were getting themselves into. At any rate, I found one of them—Alan George. I got his map and left him in one of the houses, having ofuda’d what I could. He’s pretty banged up.”
“That is some consolation, at least, to know he is alive. I have not had much luck in finding the others. Oh, Tark—I wish you weren’t here!”
“Don’t worry about that, Kagura,” I tell her with as much confidence as I can. “I chose to come here. I gotta say that it’s been a crappy vacation so far though. I think I’ve had enough of the sights Aokigahara has to offer. What do we do next?”
“I need to tell you the rest of what I know about Aitou. My father disappeared in Aokigahara, Tark. I fear he knew more than what he let on and that Aitou holds his grave. But he also knew more than I thought about the ritual. It was very much like him to keep secrets, especially if he thought they might worry me or Mother.”
“I saw some old photos of him, back in your room. You look a lot alike.”
“Thank you. He did not like having his picture taken, and those are all I have of him.” She smiles faintly. “He always wore a small magatama around his neck. Someone very special gave it to him when he was young, and he believed it afforded him protection against spirits. Did you read the old parchment I had in my trunk?”
“I remember reading something from an old red one, but it was more like a riddle than anything.”
“It was his proof, I think. Proof that he had been inside Aitou before and had survived. He was never clear on how he found the village in the first place, but I have no doubt that on his last trip, he wished to find more evidence. But”—a flash of pain crossed her face—“toward the end, he was so obsessed with finding Aitou and proving himself right that he didn’t always make the best decisions, and I fear he paid the price for that.
“I do not intend to do the same. The only recourse open to us is to find the other ghost brides and see that they are laid to rest. And to do that, we must gain access to the shrine.”