The Girl from the Well

“On some other occasion we would try to appease her ghost, but Tarquin-kun’s ritual must take priority.” Kagura hesitates. “You are more than welcome to leave before it takes place, if you wish. Obaasan feels that you ought not to be involved in this for your own personal protection. She thinks it is unfair for you to be here and to put yourself in danger for something that does not truly concern you.”


“Tarquin is my cousin,” Callie says. “And I’ve seen the woman in black myself. If my presence can help in any way, then I would much rather be there.”

The two mikos watch her, this time with newfound respect. “You are a very brave woman,” Kagura says. “If I had a choice myself, I would choose to run.” She looks over Callie’s shoulder directly at where I am standing and nods to acknowledge my presence. I incline my head but do not move.

“Kami willing, we might survive this yet.”





CHAPTER NINETEEN


    Exorcism


Pressing business summons Tarquin’s father back to Tokyo. The head miko, Machika-obaasan, is alarmed when she hears him making plans to leave to return to the city. “But we have not finished yet,” she protests. “Tarquin-kun has been doing very well since arriving here, and I do not think it will be in his interest to return to Tokyo, where his health may take another turn for the worst.”

Tarquin’s father pauses. He does not want his son’s unusual sickness to return, for doctors to worry and prod and run tests and find nothing wrong. Here in Yagen Valley, Tarquin has continued to steadily improve. Surrounded by the adoration of the other mikos, he seems happier here than he has ever been in Tokyo or in Applegate.

In the end, Tarquin’s father appeals to Callie. “I know that this is an imposition on you, but would it be possible for you to stay with Tarquin for the next few days? There’s a business merger I need to oversee, and I’ll return as soon as that’s finished.”

Much to his surprise, Callie is amendable to the idea, assuring him that he would not be forcing her to do something that she is already set on doing. “I like it here,” she says, a bright smile on her face even as her stomach churns over what the next few days might bring, “and it’s such a nice change from the city. I’d be glad to stay here with Tark.”

“Thank you,” the man says with a faint smile. He looks around the shrine, perhaps realizing for the first time how little he knew of his wife and how little he knows his son. “Take good care of him,” he says unexpectedly, a strange note entering his voice. “I never seem quite able to, myself.”

“That’s not true, Uncle Doug,” Callie says, startled.

“Not in the way I should have, perhaps.” He takes another glance at the room. “I didn’t really know Yoko, did I? I wish she’d trusted me enough to tell me about this part of her life.”

“Dad?” Tarquin has stepped into the room. “You’re going back to Tokyo?”

His father nods. “Don’t get Callie in any trouble.”

Tarquin rolls his eyes. “Yeah, ’cause that’s all I’m usually good for.”

“No,” his father says quietly but with unusual firmness. “I don’t always say it, but I’ve always been proud of you.”

The words throw Tarquin off guard. His face is a mosaic of expressions: surprise, gratification, embarrassment. “Sure, Dad,” he says awkwardly, though the grin on his face is genuine enough. He gives his father a quick hug. “Don’t be getting yourself conned by those Japanese businessmen in Tokyo,” he says, and both his father and Callie laugh.

Finally the man leaves, if still a little disquieted by the uneasy feeling there is something here that he is missing.

The obaasan is in good spirits. “This will give us all the time we need to finish the ritual,” she exhorts after Tarquin’s father has gone. She is optimistic for a reason, for she believes this ritual will succeed, unlike others that have gone wrong before.