Spirit's Chosen by Esther Friesner Page A

carried them back to his house. I stood and helped her to her feet. My stepmother cast anxious eyes all around. “Where is he?” she quavered. “Where is my son?”
    “It’s all right; he’s with Kaya,” I soothed her. “Let’s walk home and wait for them while you rest.”
    “Home …” Yukari drove the fingers of her good hand into my arm. “Oh, Himiko, will
she
be there too?”
    I saw the desperate fear in her eyes and wanted to weep. My mother and Father’s junior wives had been as close as sisters. They shared joys, turned their backs on foolishjealousies, and offered one another comfort in times of grief. They had made our home a place of harmony and love.
    Now it was a dark haven of dread.
    I took a deep breath. “I think Masa will keep her at his house. He was heading in that direction. Fusa and Toyo are good daughters-in-law; they’ll see to it that she’s well tended. You and Takehiko will be safe tonight.”
    “Yes, tonight … but tomorrow?” She shivered. “What are we to do, Himiko? We can’t banish her from her own home, but if she’s there, how can I close my eyes for an instant, knowing that the madness could change her again, without warning?”
    “We will do everything we can to prevent that.” I spoke as if I were the mother and she the child. “Perhaps we can have Toyo come live with us just to look after her. That would help keep the peace in our house and Masa’s.” I gave her an encouraging smile.
    Yukari relaxed and let go of my arm. “Thank you, dearest child. I’m sorry for acting like such a rabbit. Your mother was kind to me from the first day I entered her home. I want nothing more than for those good days to return, but …” She sighed. “But I must protect my boy. Oh, Himiko, if only the Ookami hadn’t taken her Noboru! It was hard enough for her, having to bury two sons and a husband, but to have her youngest torn away—! Do you think they will ever permit him to come back to her?”
    “We can hope for that,” I said, though I didn’t believe it. I knew that my littlest brother was much too young to be of any value to the Ookami as a slave, but he was a precious hostage. “When that day comes, we’ll see her fullyrestored. Noboru’s return will heal her mind far better than any shaman’s chants or potions. Meanwhile, Master Michio and I will do what we can for her and pray that the spirits show mercy.”
    I brought Yukari home and insisted that she lie down on her bedroll. I was preparing a warm herbal drink to promote the swift healing of broken bones when Kaya and Takehiko came in. My friend had performed wonders, changing our scared little mouse back into a glad-hearted, laughing boy. By the time we all went to bed, the only reminder of the day’s turmoil was my mother’s absence.
    The spirits were compassionate to me that night. Though my waking mind was filled with concern for Mama’s fate, I found serenity in sleep. More than that, the night’s journey carried me to a place where I had once known the greatest happiness, the realm where I had heard prophecy from the sun goddess’s own lips and found the one I loved with all my heart. I woke still filled with the delight of my dreams.
    Kaya was also awake, lying on her side with her cheek resting on one hand. “Ha! Watch that grin before you blind someone with it, Himiko,” she said. “Good dreams, eh?”
    I bobbed my head, unable to stop smiling. “I saw him, Kaya! I saw Reikon again.”
    “That spirit prince of yours?”
    “You remember him?” I don’t know why I was so pleased to hear it.
    “Just his name. You never introduced us,” she responded.
    “How could I? He isn’t human, and you—Oh. You’re teasing me.”
    “I am not,” she maintained with a comical offended look. “I’m feeling left out, that’s all. You told me about him, but that’s not the same as getting to
meet
a handsome prince of the spirit world. Did you even think to ask him if he’s got a brother