Page 42 of Curses & Kitsune

“What happened?” I ask. The blood has stopped moving. The little blob loses all consistency, seeps into the parchment, and doesn’t go any further. “What’s going on?”

Panting, Charlie gives his head a shake. “There must be some kind of protection ward around Noboru that prevents him from being tracked. I’m sorry. Whatever magic it is, it’s powerful, and I can’t risk trying to push through it.”

Disappointment wells inside me. “Then, does that mean we can’t find him?”

Charlie frowns. “Unfortunately, yes.”

I exhale, my shoulders slumping. No. This can’t be where our search ends. “What about another relative? Maybe someone who might know where he is?”

Charlie hums thoughtfully. “I can’t guarantee that this person will know where to find him, but I should be able to locate them unless they’re warded, too. I just need a name.”

I turn to Ren. “Can you think of anyone in Raiden’s family?”

Ren’s lips are thin. “Yes. Her name is Shoko Noboru.”

“And she is?”

“Raiden’s mother.”

The woman who abandoned him and threw him to the yakuza. Anger flares within me, but we have no other options.

Ren adds, “Although she might have gone back to using her maiden name, which was…” She taps a finger to her forehead. “Ah, yes. Miyamoto.”

“Shoko Miyamoto. Got it,” Charlie says, then squeezes his hand, producing more blood. As the blood drips onto the map of Japan this time, he speaks in Latin and says Miyamoto’s name. The blood drops come together and congeal into a blob, then trickle over the map, moving much faster this time. My heart skips as the blood flows along the map and stains the city of Hiroshima red.

Murmuring to himself, Charlie grabs another map and unfurls it, revealing a detailed map of Hiroshima. He repeats the ritual, spilling blood, chanting, and the blood flows, forming into a precise little dot over a specific area. I pull out my phone and open up a map app, check the physical map, and then zoom in on my phone’s screen.

“She’s in a hospital,” I say.

“You’re sure?” Ren asks.

I double-check. “Yeah. Positive. Unless… is the blood only showing where she’s at this very moment? Will it change along with her location?”

Charlie shakes his head. “Maybe if this spell were done by an amateur, sure, but my magic is very precise. The blood will only show a place the person has a strong connection to, like a home. So she must have been a patient at this hospital for some time.”

That doesn’t sound good. “Can werewolves get sick?” I ask Ren.

“Not from human diseases, but there are some conditions that only affect our kind. Some can be fatal.”

Nerves twist in my stomach. We’ve got to get to Hiroshima. There isn’t any guarantee that she’ll even know where to find Raiden’s father, but she’s our only lead, and we’ve got to chase it.

I just hope she doesn’t die on us before we get there.

It’s late by the time Ren and I get to her apartment. Together, we make some stir-fry for dinner. The door opens, and Raiden walks in just as we’ve set the table. My stomach twists when our eyes meet. Before I can greet him, Raiden breaks our stare and bends over to take off his shoes without so much as a hello. It’s just as I feared, things are strained between us, and I don’t know how to fix things.

“Welcome home,” Ren says.

Raiden only grunts, then sits down opposite me. We dig in, though I only pick at my food. Raiden doesn’t look at me and focuses on his food. Even though we’re close enough for our feet to touch beneath the table, it feels like he’s miles away from me, and I can’t catch up to him.

“Jinta, did you want to tell Raiden about our appointment with Charlie?” Ren suggests.

“Not really,” I answer.

Raiden stops chewing but only briefly, a sour expression twisting his lips.

With an awkward cough, Ren launches into the details about what we learned from Charlie.

Raiden’s expression turns dour. “So, my mother is our only lead.”

---