Then Seimei stumbled to them. Akitada rose and asked, “Seimei, are you ill?”

Seimei wiped his face with a shaking hand. “No, sir. I... I caught Ikeda ... I had to kill him, or he would have warned the abbot.”

Motosuke gaped. “You killed Ikeda? By yourself?”

“I couldn’t help it, sir. I struck him on the head with a halberd.” Seimei shuddered. “I never killed a man before. It was horribly easy. May the gods forgive me.”

Akitada put an arm around his shoulders. “You did what had to be done. We are grateful,” he said. “Ikeda was a killer and a traitor. If you had not stopped him, many innocent people would have died today. Thanks to you, we stopped a dangerous conspiracy.”

“Indeed, indeed,” said Motosuke, patting Seimei’s back. “What courage! You will be the talk of the town. And I shall mention you in my report to the emperor.”

Seimei blinked. “Thank you sir,” he murmured. “It was nothing.”

* * * *

NINETEEN

PRAYER BEADS

T

he small group of officials followed Akitada and Motosuke on their inspection tour of the temple courtyards and galleries. They visited the storehouses and peered down the shaft into the underground prison. Everywhere they went the military was in full control, saluting as they passed from enclosure to enclosure.

Yukinari and Tora waited outside the abbot’s quarters. Akitada let the others precede him, then asked, “Has Joto turned up?”

“Not yet.” Yukinari bit his lip. “I’ll never forgive myself, Excellency. If I had kept my eye on the man, this would not have happened. The guards at his viewing stand were distracted when some citizens attacked them. During the scuffle nobody was watching the stairs behind the stand.”

“Never mind! He cannot have gone far. Any other news?”

Tora said, “You’ve heard about Ikeda?” When Akitada nodded, he grinned. “How about old Seimei? Didn’t blink an eye and let him have it. Smack on top of the skull.” He laughed out loud. “And we’ve caught the brute with the missing earlobe. He was lurking about the back of the compound. Turns out he’s the bastard that got away over the wall at the Kannon temple, so he’s one of Higekuro’s killers. Quite the big wheel around here, it seems. He may know where Joto is.”

“They talked earlier during the ceremonies.” Akitada frowned. “What about the old abbot and the buried monks?”

Tora’s cheerfulness faded abruptly. “Poor bastards. I’d like to get my hands on that smooth-faced devil Joto. They’re only half alive. Some of them haven’t seen the sun in years. They were so blind we had to lead them. Some couldn’t walk at all. And they’re the lucky ones. The place was full of graves the living dug with their hands. The old abbot is in bad shape, too weak to talk. The rest are a little stronger, but not much. I found three who’ll tell their story.”

Motosuke joined them. “Horrible!” he murmured. “And to think that none of us knew.”

Akitada sighed. “I suppose we’ll talk to them later. What has been done about the children?”

“Joto’s pretty little boys?” Tora rolled his eyes in disgust and jerked his head in the direction of the building before them. “I expect they’re playing at tops in the abbot’s quarters.”

“Their families must be anxious,” Motosuke said.

Akitada shook his head. “A little late,” he said bitterly. “They should have thought before giving them to monks.” Seeing Motosuke’s surprise, he amended his words. “I realize it is common practice, but it seems to me that at that age ... a little more time in a loving family...” He broke off awkwardly. His own childhood had hardly been spent in a loving home. Besides, revealing a personal prejudice against Buddhism was politically unwise.

Tora slapped his back. “Cheer up! We pulled it off. They’re going home, and we’ll drink to our luck later.”

Motosuke took Akitada’s arm and pulled him aside. “I know, elder brother, that your man is very capable, but he has the most peculiar manners. I’m sure the others must be shocked. No kneeling, not so much as a bow, no idea how to address you properly or how to acknowledge an order. Hadn’t you better mention it to him?”

Akitada found the thought amusing. “I doubt I could change Tora,” he said. “Besides, all that protocol wastes a great deal of time.”

At that moment one of the soldiers ran up to Yukinari. After a brief exchange, Yukinari turned to Akitada and Motosuke. “Forgive the interruption,” he said, “but there seems to be a problem about releasing the boys to their parents.”

“What do you mean?” asked Motosuke.

“They are locked in and nobody has a key. The parents are angry and threaten to break the door down.”

“Locked in?” Akitada got a hollow feeling in his stomach. “When was the last time someone checked on the children?”

“I don’t know, Excellency. I told one of my men to take the boys there as soon as we started rounding up the monks.”

Tora joined them and Akitada exchanged a glance with him. “Dear heaven, let me be wrong about this,” he muttered, feeling suddenly sick. “Come, Tora.”

They ran down a covered gallery toward the abbot’s private quarters. Before a pair of doors a small cluster of people stood shouting, pounding, and scratching at the heavy wooden panels.

When they saw Akitada and Tora coming, they fell back, their faces anxious.

Akitada told them, “We’ll have the door open in no time and your children will join you, but please wait outside the enclosure.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” blustered a young man with angry eyes. “I want my son and then I’ll kill every baldpate bastard who laid hands on him.”

Some of the women began to wail.

Akitada sighed. “Very well,” he said. “Stay here but keep quiet. Tora? Can you pick the lock?”

Tora nodded, pulling his wire tool from his sash. “Almost left it behind this morning,” he said, setting to work, “as not fitting with all this finery.” The lock clicked, and he opened the door.

A strange scene met their eyes. Joto, still dressed in his purple silk robe and the embroidered stole, was seated in the abbot’s chair on the dais. Around his slippered feet clustered the boys, who stared at them from round, startled eyes. On Joto’s lap sat the smallest boy, the one who had served Akitada juice during the festival. Joto’s prayer beads, a string of rose-colored quartz, were twisted around the child’s neck.

Before anyone could speak, the irate father pushed Akitada and Tora out of the way and made for Joto, shouting, “You devil, I’ll show you—” Akitada and Tora lunged quickly to snatch him back and restrain him. Behind them, the other parents crowded into the room, and Akitada regretted bitterly his earlier permission to let them stay.