Mantis by India Millar

Author:India Millar [Millar, India]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Red Empress Publishing
Published: 2019-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Just as the moon has

The sun for a lover, so

Are you my reverse?

“Matsuo. What’s the matter with you?”

My akita had stopped at the entrance to our home. He wasn’t growling, but his hackles were raised and he was sniffing the air with his head up. I glanced around; there was nothing out of the ordinary that I could see. Still, if my dog was anxious, then I would be careful.

I slid the shoji back smoothly, without hesitation. If there was someone inside, I wanted them to think I was unaware of their presence.

“Come along, Matsuo,” I said cheerfully. I tapped my way in with my staff, keeping up my pretense of blindness. All my senses were working with great clarity, and I understood at once there was something wrong. I could smell a clean, sharp odor. The charcoal-burner had been moved and looked different. I bent to pat Matsuo and heard a movement off to my left. I snapped upright immediately, my staff raised ready to strike.

“Niko!” I stopped my swing abruptly, my staff barely a hand’s width from her head. “What in the names of all the gods are you doing here? And how did you find me?”

Obviously realizing Niko was no threat, Matsuo had abandoned his defensive stance. He was sitting on the old kakebuton that served as his bed and was scratching behind his ear. I poked him with my foot, but he took no notice. I was furious, both with Niko and myself. She had no right to be here. And my shock at seeing her had been so great that I had forgotten I was supposed to be blind. I caught myself up at once; this would be a lesson for me in the future. No matter how distracted or surprised I was, I must always remember that I was an anma. Niko appeared not to have noticed. She flung herself against me and wrapped her hands around my waist, muffling her face in my robe.

“Kamakiri, I’ve been waiting ages for you! I thought you were never going to come back. Look, I’ve cleaned everywhere for you. And the kettle’s ready to boil for tea. I would have prepared a meal for you, but there’s no food.”

I glanced around. She certainly had cleaned. There wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere. And everywhere was so tidy. The house was as clean and sweet as my apartment had been when I had had servants to care for my every need.

“Thank you.” I tugged her away from me. “But what are you doing here? And how did you find me?” I took a sharp breath as I saw her clearly, then remembering I was blind stopped myself commenting on the cuts and bruises that puffed out her face.

“I followed you yesterday.” She beamed. “The shoji was unlocked, so today I just came in.”

Of course the shoji was unlocked. What was the point of locking something that could be torn apart with a sharp knife? Unlike my family home, where the great doors to the outside walls had been securely barred at night to deter intruders.

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