A Dragon's Clutch

by Alica Mckenna Johnson

  I smacked Shin’s arm and tried to get Taliesin’s attention, but he focused on the shirt he’d been fussing over for the past hour. Like I care about his shirt.

  “We’re here,” said Grandfather as he pulled into a parking space. The tall thin trees cast deep shadows in the faint moonlight.

  “Sapphire,” said Philip. “You know what to do, right?”

  I nodded. It wasn’t that difficult a plan.

  We piled out of the car and I started walking towards the Gaki’s cave, the others behind me. I passed the skeleton of the business man and the teen age girl. Coughing I looked around, there was a gut-churning smell. Where was it coming from?

  “Sapphire, don’t stop,” said Taliesin. “You don’t want to know. Trust me and keep walking.”

  I nodded and moved on. Sorrow and guilt settled cold and unforgiving in my body. I’d taken too long and the Gaki had claimed another victim. Following the path we took last time, I took a deep breath before stepping into the barren space. It seemed to warn that death awaited anyone who stepped onto the dead soil.

  “Jewel wait.” King Sōjōbō dropped from the trees. “My warriors are ready. And I have something for you.” He held out a short sword, a wakizashi, in a chipped black scabbard.

  I’m not supposed to attack the Gaki. Frowning I took the sword and its purpose became clear. Fear, pain, and a despair so overwhelming, so dark and oppressive I fell to my knees.

  “Sapphire.” Shin ran forward and grabbed my arm.

  I focused on Shin. I set the sword on the ground and pulled the sleeves of my sweater over my hands.

  “Look at me,” Shin said. I turned, my eyes filled with tears. He hugged me tight. “I can’t imagine feeling what someone went through when they killed themselves. Can you do this?”

  How did he know? I picked up the sword, my sweater giving me the tiniest bit of a barrier from the horror trapped in the folded steel.

  “We’re watching you,” Shin said. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”

  I nodded and walked onto the dead soil. About halfway to the cave entrance, I sat and began to pull in Akashic energy, hoping to entice the Gaki.

  The sweater didn’t provide much protection from the story held in the sword.

  Her father had sent her to Edo to seduce and destroy the current Shogun. The leader had a wife and several concubines, but none compared to her beauty, her skilled touch, or her wisdom. The young leader admired her strength and power. It had shocked her so much she let her guard down and before she knew it she was in love and pregnant. Unable to betray her father or her lover she came to Aokigahara forest and performed the ritual of seppuku to regain her honor and earn forgiveness for betraying both of the men she loved. As she slid the blade through her abdomen she heard a noise. The Gaki stood before her, its eyes wide with hunger and insanity. Green lights circled the beast, souls it had captured and fed off of.

  For the first time since she was a child fear flooded her body, but it was too late to escape.

  I wanted to push the sword away, but I couldn’t, not yet. The Gaki came closer. The fear and pain from the trapped souls and the suffering of the Gaki threatened to choke me. The creature glowed from the souls it now possessed. For a moment I saw the face of the woman who used the sword on herself.

  I swayed. So much pain. So much despair. So much regret. My chest tightened and I wasn’t able to draw in a breath as visions of their lives slammed into me. The souls desperately tried to reach me, begging for help.

  Collapsing to the ground, I felt the Gaki’s cold hand wrap around my foot. I tried to scream but no sound came out. My body shook, overloaded with emotions. Acidic smoke burned my nose.

  A damp cloth covered my nose and mouth. “Do not breathe this in, Jewel,” the tengu King said. “The incense we’re using to contain the Gaki has dried Fugu poison in it.”

  I grasped his hand. I wanted to tell him how sorry I was about his daughter. How much she loved him and how heartbroken she’d been thinking he would be disappointed in her.

  He blinked his golden eyes. “Is she trapped in that beast? I can only see the Gaki. I didn’t know it contained the souls of those who ended their lives here in the forest.”

  I nodded and handed him back her wakizashi.

  “Tie this around your face.” He put his hands under my arms and pulled me away from the Gaki. “We’ll be a minute.” Sliding his daughter’s sword through his sash he walked over to his warriors, adding his own power and calls to the spell. The Gaki screamed, swinging at the tengu who jumped out of the way.

  “Are you okay, little sister?” Kayin sat behind me wrapping me in his arms.

  I shrugged and leaned against him. We watched the Gaki move slower and slower as the incense began to take hold. Finally, the Gaki stopped and hit the ground.

  “Are you ready for us?” Zennyo Ryūō called out, slithering through the sky in his white and silver dragon form.

  “Yes,” said Sōjōbō. “Let’s get the Gaki secured. Then you can gather the humans.”

  “Of course,” Zennyo Ryūō growled and a shadow fell over us. “Your warriors will have to fly the Gaki up. She’s too large to land.”

  Six tengu warriors hung incense holders on their belts and walked forward, faces hard and filled with concentration. They grabbed the Gaki. As one they beat their large black wings, lifting the Gaki onto the back of the red dragon.

  The tengu king walked over to me and held out his hand. “You will come with me, to monitor the Gaki.”

  “This wasn’t part of the plan,” Philip said.

  I took Sōjōbō’s hand. I understood this was part of his game. The need to control everything. Even faced with saving his daughter’s soul, he still couldn’t overcome his nature.

  I patted Philips arm and smiled. I would be on the back of a massive dragon with six fierce warriors, the tengu king, and a sleeping insane beast. What could go wrong?

  * * *

  The wind whipped around me, making my eyes water. I curled into a ball tucking my hands into my sweater. Mizuchi flew over us, his rich blue scales reflecting the moonlight as he slithered through the air with grace and power. Miu, Hiroshi, and their grandparents rode on his back. I smiled as Grandma and Grandpa cheered with delight when Mizuchi dove towards the ocean waves and skimmed over the top of them.

  Kiyohime blew out a puff of steam, startling Kayin. Shin wrapped his arms around his boyfriend. I bet he whispered something reassuring or naughty. Kayin smacked his hand. Naughty then.

  A flash startled me and several of the tengu. Philip shrugged and waved the camera from the back of Zennyo Ryūō.

  I stood on the back of the red dragon and walked closer to the Gaki, looking over the dragon’s shoulder. In the night the body of the black dragon was invisible, but even the pale light of the crescent moon made Taliesin’s white hair glow silver. I knew Sasha sat in front Taliesin, but I could barely see him.

  I took a deep breath of the damp salty air. Hokkaido’s lights glowed in the distance. Soon we’d be at the dragons’ village and the gateway stone. I hoped their eggs were all right. The dragon we rode on, Hakuja no Myojin, was the one who had been protecting the eggs all these years with her magic, trying to keep them alive until I came and opened the portal.

  I looked at the Gaki as it groaned and moved. The tengu warriors moved closer. Each threw some more incense into their burners, and the smoke became thicker.

  “Is something wrong?” Sōjōbō asked.

  I shook my head.

  I stumbled as a gust of wind hit, and the dragon moved. The king grabbed my arm to steady me. “Go sit back down.”

  Frowning, I pointed towards the lights of the seaside village. The lights which bounced. That couldn’t be good.

  “It’s an earthquake.” he walked to the edge of the dragon. The sea swirled and churned below us. “Something big is waking.”

  A huge beast burst from the water with a roar. Seaweed and sand dripped from its gray and brown s
cales encrusted with crustaceans. The tengu unfurled their wings as our dragon reared up. Using powerful wings, they were able to keep their balance and stabilize the Gaki.

  I wasn’t so lucky. Rolling down the side of the dragon I reached out, my fingers scraping on her rough scales.

  My fingers wrapped around the edge of a scale, my legs hanging over her heaving side, I tried to scream but only a tiny squeak snatched by the wind came out. Pulling myself up, I reached out with one hand for Sōjōbō. The red dragon turned sharply.

  I fell through the air, my arms still reaching for the tengu king. He flew towards me arms outstretched. His eyes became wide and he stopped. A wave loomed above me motionless for a moment before curving and crashing over me. It slammed me into the icy ocean below, forcing the air from my lungs. I tumbled over and over. Once I stopped I couldn’t tell which direction was up or how deep underwater I was.

  My arms and legs thrashed about as I desperately sought air. My lungs burned with the need to inhale. I fought the instinct to open my mouth. Black spots danced before my eyes. I was going to die. Hiroshi’s drawing was coming true.

  A glowing light came towards me. This was it. Would I see my parents now? I reached towards the light. A hand grabbed mine. Taliesin pulled me close. A blue star glowed on his forehead where his horn would be. His energy wrapped around me soothing and calm.

  I let him turn me so my back was against his chest and he began to swim. His legs moving like scissors. I could do that. I matched my legs to his and we moved faster. I felt Taliesin’s happiness as I helped.

  We broke through the surface. I sucked in air and sea water. Coughing, I tried to stay relaxed.

  “Sapphire, hold your arms up,” Taliesin said.

  I did as asked. We bobbed in the waves a few times when Zennyo Ryūō’s silver paws grasped my arms and lifted me out of the sea. He pulled me up, holding me against his fire heated body. I curled into his arms and looked back to see Taliesin pulled from the sea in the same way by the black dragon.

  Coughing, I tucked myself into Zennyo Ryūō’s warmth. Something leapt from the sea the size of a whale but had had two long whiskers like a catfish. I tightened my grip on Zennyo Ryūō.

  “You’re safe, little Jewel,” he growled. “Try to relax. I’ve got you. I forgot he slept down here or I would have woken him earlier,” Zennyo Ryūō said. “Namazu, always causes earthquakes and tsunamis if he isn’t woken carefully.”

  Was the village okay? The lights appeared to be steady. How big had the wave been that grabbed me? Did it hurt the village?

  “At least this earthquake wasn’t too bad. Some things knocked off of shelves and you’re the only one to be affected by the wave.”

  Good. I relaxed as well as I could flying through the night being held by a dragon. It’s almost over. Of course we still have reversing the spell of the tengu to get through. And won’t that be fun. I thought as we flew through the night.

  * * *

  Zennyo Ryūō landed in the clearing in front of the gate to their village. He set me down gently.

  My legs shook as I took my first steps. Being curled up next to a fire-breathing dragon had kept me warm, but my hair and clothes were still wet and the night air had my teeth chattering.

  “Sapphire.” Philip wrapped me in his arms and held me tight. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

  I nodded twice against his chest. Yes, I was all right, and yes, I needed dry clothes.

  “Come,” said Kiyohime. “Both of them need dry clothes.”

  Shin and Kayin got off her back and bowed deeply before thanking her for the ride.

  I looked around for the Gaki and tengu.

  “They landed next to the gateway stone,” said Zennyo Ryūō. “Now go get cleaned up. The rest of your family can eat while we finish here.”

  The black dragon landed. Sasha jumped down and hugged me tight. “I have never been so scared in my entire life.”

  I squeezed him back then stepped away. I didn’t want him getting wet.

  Taliesin stood next to the dragon bowing and giving his thanks. I waited until he turned to me before I ran at him jumping into his arms. Taliesin stood strong and held me tight. “Hush, it’s okay. I’ve got you.”

  I buried my face in his neck.

  “We need to get you two dry,” said Kiyohime.

  I nodded but didn’t want to let go. Taliesin rubbed my back and started walking. I focused on the scent of his cologne trying to ground myself.

  “Sapphire,” Miu said. “Let me help you.”

  My fingers tightened in Taliesin's shirt.

  He chuckled and ran his fingers through my damp curls. “I’m fine if you want to stay with me, but we are about to enter the baths.”

  Oh! I let go and slid down Taliesin until my feet touched the floor. My cheeks the only warm part of me as I looked up at him.

  “I’ll be quick and meet you downstairs, okay?” Taliesin asked.

  I nodded and let Miu lead me to the end of the hallway. The heat from the water made my fingers and toes sting as they warmed up.

  “I was so scared,” Miu said as I washed. “You seemed to fall forever then this giant wave snatched you.”

  “You should have seen Taliesin. As soon as you started to fall his forehead began to glow and his dragon flew closer to the water. Taliesin ran across the dragon’s back and when he got to its tail the dragon flicked Taliesin off into the air.” Miu clasped her hands to her chest. “Sapphire, he glowed as he dove into the raging sea. I couldn’t breathe as he swam to you. His light was barely visible he went so deep.”

  “Ready to get dressed?” At my nod Miu opened a paper wrapped package. “We all cheered when you two came back up. Kiyohime gave this to me for you to wear. Oh, it’s beautiful.”

  Indigo blue silk was the background for an embroidered Phoenix across the back of the kimono. Flames of red, orange and yellow seemed to dance along the bottom.

  I rubbed my hair dry. I didn’t want water dripping onto the silk.

  “Come on, let me help you.” Miu held up the obi and I stood still as she wrapped me in the smooth silk.

  Once I was secured in the kimono, we joined the others in the main room where they were drinking tea.

  “Here, little sister.” Kayin handed me a steaming cup of tea.

  I smiled at him then pointed to the door.

  “No you have time to drink your tea and warm up,” Philip said. “Michael and Nyota are in the village and have found transportation for us. They are headed to us, but we won’t wait for them.”

  I nodded and sipped my tea, anxiety burbling in my gut.

  “Feeling better?” Taliesin asked from behind me.

  I turned to look at him and froze. Taliesin was wrapped in a luminous grey silk kimono. A few delicate branches of pink-tipped cherry blossoms decorated the fabric. Along the collar, barely visible was an embroidered grey dragon. His snow white skin and moonlight hair glowed against the fabric. His blue eyes as bright as day. His pink lips turned down as he frowned.

  “Sapphire, are you okay?”

  I nodded and smiled. While Taliesin looked beautiful and regal, I was fairly used to him taking my breath away. I would recover.

  “Oh, those look stunning on you both.” Zennyo Ryūō slithered over, his dragon scales glowing in the firelight. “Cherry blossoms are prized for their beauty and innocence, but they are also a symbol of hope and new beginnings.”

  “It’s a beautiful kimono, thank you.” Taliesin ran his fingers over the dragon on his kimono.

  “Ah, yes. The power and strength you have hidden inside you.” Zennyo Ryūō grinned, showing sharp teeth. “Dragons and unicorns are either the best of friends or fierce enemies. I am glad that we are friends.”

  “Me too,” Taliesin said.

  “We’re ready,” said Mizuchi.

  “I can't believe we actually get to help open a portal,” Grandmother said.

  I turned and watched her and Grandfather clasp hands, t
heir eyes sparkling as they followed Mizuchi to the gateway stone. Miu and Hiroshi followed them.

  “Ready?” Kayin asked as the boys gathered around me.

  Shin tipped up my chin and looked into my eyes.

  He is such a dork.

  “Sapphire says we’re doing Miu’s ritual tonight.”

  “Of course,” said Sasha. “Her family deserves to see their history come to life.”

  Smiling at Sasha for understanding, I slipped on a pair of wooden sandals. My steps were smaller than normal due to the restrictive kimono.

  Taliesin held out his arm, his hair glowing sliver in the faint moonlight. Tucking my arm through his I let him help me down the stairs. Why does so much of women’s fashion seemed designed to make it hard for us to run away?

  We passed the tea house which had sat upon the gateway stone, hiding it for hundreds of years. Thankfully the dragons hadn’t torn the beautiful building apart as Kiyohime had threatened to do.

  Fear, anger, excitement, revenge, and hunger began to fill the air. I tightened my fingers around Taliesin’s forearm, his muscles shifting under my grip. A blue star began to glow on his forehead.

  “There are a lot of magical beings here and very few get along. I’m glad we have enough people for the circle, so I can focus on controlling them,” he said.

  Yes, it’s a very good thing.

  The tengu stood close to the gateway stone, hands on the hilts of their swords and their eyes watching everyone with a predatory glare. The Gaki, surrounded by the tengu and the smoke from the incense, was still unconscious but shifting and groaning as if trying to break free.

  The dragons were next. The few that sat still looked like statues guarding the gateway stone. The other dragons surrounded the large red dragon, who curled around herself. I bet she is protecting the dragon eggs.

  “Thank goodness you’re here,” said Zennyo Ryūō. “I’m not sure how long everyone can behave themselves. Taliesin, be a dear and see if you can work your magic. Miu and her family are almost finished cleansing the area. You boys go ahead. I need a moment alone with Sapphire.”