Chen said. “That’s ambitious.” Inari, still very pale, sat twisting her hands together on the couch in the main cabin of the houseboat. There was no question that Chen did not believe her, but he wondered whether this shaman-between-worlds had simply been lying. It seemed an odd, elaborate deception, however. He did not like, at all, the thought that his wife could be spirited so easily away; that this individual had some kind of hold on her. He intended to give No Ro Shi a call very soon: the demon-hunter seemed to have a grip on this sort of thing. “Have you ever heard of this person? Lord Lady Seijin?” Chen shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean anything. The depths of my personal ignorance are as yet unplumbed—there’s so much out there, Inari. I’m hoping No Ro Shi might be able to shed some light on the subject.” “Are you going to speak to him?” Inari said. Evidently their thoughts had been running along similar lines.
