Read Online Grass for His Pillow by Lian Hearn - Free Book Online Page A

little right to speak these words, but they came easily off my tongue. Jo-An took my hand and touched his forehead and lips to myfingers. I realized then how deeply he trusted me. He released my hand and bowed his head to the ground. When he raised it again, I was on the far side of the street. The sky was paling, the dawn air cool.
    I slipped back from doorway to doorway. The temple bell rang out. The town was stirring, the first of the shutters were being taken down, and the smell of smoke from kitchen fires wafted through the streets. I had stayed far too long with Jo-An. I had not used my second self all night, but I felt split in half, as if I had left my true self permanently beneath the willow tree with him. The self that was returning to the Tribe was hollow.
    When I came to the Muto house the nagging thought that had been at the back of my mind all night surfaced. How was I going to get across the overhang of the wall from the street? The white plaster, the gray tiles, shone in the dawn light, mocking me. I crouched in the shelter of the house opposite, deeply regretting my own rashness and stupidity. I’d lost my focus and concentration; my hearing was as acute as ever, but the inner certainty, the instinct, was gone.
    I couldn’t stay where I was. In the distance I heard the tramp of feet, the padding of hoofs. A group of men was approaching. Their voices floated toward me. I thought I recognized the Western accent that would mark them as Arai’s men. I knew that if they found me, my life with the Tribe would be over: My life would probably be over altogether if Arai was as insulted as had been said.
    I had no choice but to run to the gate and shout to the guards to open it, but as I was about to cross the street, I heard voices from beyond the wall. Akio was calling quietly to the guards. There was a creak and a thud as the gate was unbarred.
    The patrol turned into the far end of the street. I went invisible, ran to the gate, and slipped inside.
    The guards did not see me but Akio did, just as he had forestalled me at Inuyama when the Tribe first seized me. He stepped into my path and grabbed both arms.
    I braced myself for the blows I was certain would follow, but he did not waste any time. He pulled me swiftly toward the house.
    The horses of the patrol were moving faster now, coming down the street at a trot. I stumbled over the dog. It whimpered in its sleep. The riders shouted to the guards at the gate, “Good morning!”
    â€œWhat’ve you got there?” one of the guards replied.
    â€œNone of your business!”
    As Akio pulled me up into the house I looked back. Through the narrow space between the bathhouse and the wall, I could just see the open gate and the street beyond.
    Behind the horses two men on foot were dragging a captive between them. I could not see him clearly but I could hear his voice. I could hear his prayers. It was my outcast, Jo-An.
    I must have made a lunge off the step toward the gate, for Akio pulled me back with a force that almost dislocated my shoulder. Then he did hit me, silently and efficiently on the side of the neck. The room spun sickeningly. Still without speaking, he dragged me into the main room where the maid was sweeping the matting. She took no notice of us at all.
    He called out to the kitchen as he opened the wall of the hidden room and pushed me inside. Kenji’s wife came into the room and Akio slid the door shut.
    Her face was pale and her eyes puffy, as though she were still fighting sleep. I could feel her fury before she spoke. She slapped me twice across the face. “You little bastard! You half-bred idiot! How dare you do that to me.”
    Akio pushed me to the floor, still holding my arms behind my back. I lowered my head in submission. There didn’t seem to be any point in saying anything.
    â€œKenji warned me you’d try to get out. I didn’t believe him. Why did you do it?”
    When I didn’t reply,