"We do not fear you, Priestess."
"You should, I am a powerful priestess. I sealed a dragon just the other day." She planted her hands on her hips. If growing up in the palace had taught her one thing, it was never to show how afraid you were. Faceless Yokai could not be that much different than vapid courtiers.
The chittering laughter followed these words. How many of them are there?
"We know you are the one who freed the Dragon, you cannot fool us."
"Then if you know who I am, you know I am descended from the Eight. I am the daughter of the emperor."
They laughed again. Their laughter had gone from fearsome to somewhat annoying. Everything she said could not possibly be that amusing. She squinted into the gloom and spotted them at last. Three crouched figures watched her from the bough of a tree. All she could make out in the growing dark were their yellow eyes gleaming at her from the shadows.
"You seem to think you know everything."
"We do. We know your mother. And we know she betrayed the emperor."
She shrugged her shoulders. Who would have thought Yokai keep up with human gossip? "You and half the kingdom. A bride of the emperor does not get exiled without people noticing."
"Yes. But we know the real reason for her exile." Their voices echoed inside her skull. They meant to scare her, but she wasn't buying into this fearsome Yokai routine.
It was Suzume's turn to scoff. "You mean her wanton ways. I know why my mother was exiled. She took a lover and got caught."
"Oh, how simple you are, to think that is the truth. You know the real reason in your heart, don't you, Suzume?"
Hearing her name on inhuman lips sent a shiver down her spine. This was more than a trick. Perhaps they did know what her mother did. She never believed the story being passed around the palace. Half the emperor's wives took the occasional lover. Her father had disowned all eight of her brothers and sisters. That was not the normal course of action.
Her spiritual energy was returning in spurts. She felt the sparks along her arm, but it would not be enough if these creatures decided to attack. She could not control it and if these things could read minds or whatever it was they were doing to gather this information, she wasn't sure if she had the power to defend herself.
"What do you want?" Suzume said.
"We want you."
Then they fell from the trees one by one, and the creatures stepped out of the shadows. They were ghastly with long hands and feet, and faces that were sunken in with yellow eyes rimmed with red that gleamed with their ill intent. Their bodies were covered in black slick skin that reminded her of the swamp creature but much more terrifying. Suzume stumbled backwards trying to flee the creatures, but she did not get a couple feet before she tripped and fell hard. She threw up her hands to shield her face just as they descended upon her.
Chapter Eleven
They grabbed at her, and weakened by her earlier explosion, her natural defenses did nothing to deter them. She kicked, punched and scratched, but they only laughed at her attempts at self-defense. One of the monsters grabbed her ankles to pin them to the ground. She writhed back and forth as a second and third pinned her arms to the ground.
"What do you want from me?" She stared, her eyes darting between the three of them. I never thought I would wish the Dragon was around, but he would be handy right about now.
They grinned, revealing large white pointed teeth. Just the right sharpness to tear into flesh. Are they planning on eating me?
The one holding onto her ankles pulled and yanked her off the ground. He threw her over his shoulder like a sack. Suzume stared at the world upside down beyond the curtain of her tangled hair. The other two Yokai grinned at her in a lurid way. One reached out and placed something over her eyes. She may have imagined it, but it looked like a leaf. What do they want from me? She continued to kick and flail. But being upside down and blindfolded, she could not do much, and she felt like a fish on a line. Just the thought made her stomach squirm.
"I demand you put me down," she said. Even though she knew it was fruitless, her own stubbornness kept her from accepting her fate.
They ignored her protest and started to move. They were going fast from the way Suzume's hair flew about, and she swung back and forth, slamming into the creature's back over and over. She threw out her arms to try to steady herself and to stop the swaying that churned her stomach. It made no difference, and the contents of her stomach were threatening the back of her throat.
She tried to grasp onto any passing foliage, hoping to pull free of the creature, but all she could get a hold of crumbled in her grasp. The blood rushed to her head and the pressure built behind her eyes. The Yokai jumped into the air, judging from the rush of air past her face and the short feeling of weightlessness. Wind rushed through the trees as the Yokai leapt from branch to branch. Wood creaked as they landed on a branch and stopped.
"Careful, Hiro, don't break the branch with all the extra weight," one of her captors said.
Suzume tried to twist in their direction, but her limbs were losing feeling from being upside down for too long. Her entire body tingled.
Hiro, the thing holding her, laughed. "Oh, don't worry, if I go down, I'll just drop her."
"Are you saying I'm fat?" Suzume spat.
"You're not exactly light," grunted Hiro. And he hiked her up higher onto his shoulders.
"I'm a princess, how dare you speak to me that way."
"Go ahead and muzzle her, Jiro."
A hand descended over her mouth, intent on silencing her. When it got close, she lurched forward and bit it. She expected the hand to be slippery and maybe slime covered, but along with the coppery taste of blood, she got a mouthful of fur as well. She spat out the blood and fur as Jiro cursed. Suzume tried to get the hair out of her mouth, but it caught at the back of her throat. She continued to sputter as the other two creatures laughed.
"The little witch bit me!" Jiro said.
"Come over here again and I'll do more than bite," she replied. She imagined she sounded imposing. But in reality she looked like a fool--upside down, her hair in her face, and blood and mud smearing her cheeks.
"Just silence her and be done with it," Hiro said.
Suzume braced herself for them to try to cover her mouth again, but instead something collided with her skull and everything went dark.
***
Suzume awoke with a pounding in her head and a foul taste in her mouth. Her body tingled all over. She rolled over, groaning. I feel like I've been wrung out like an old cloth. That seemed to be her life since she met the Dragon.
She crawled into a sitting position and looked around. Night had fallen since she had been knocked unconscious. She was in a forested area, a ring of trees caged her in, and in the center of the ring a fire burned. She shivered, realizing she was cold. She scooted closer to the flames while looking around for her captors. They kidnap me and then leave? The flames cast long shadows on the trees, and beyond that lay darkness. She squinted, trying to catch sight of their yellow eyes peering at her through the gloom.
A stone circle charred black kept the fire in place. She put her hands near the flames and let the warmth seep into her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warm current that rippled through her body. She hated being cold and dirty. She never realized how much she would miss simple creature comforts until she had to trudge through a swamp.
The all too familiar prickle against her skin alerted her and the whispered warning in her ear. Be careful. She opened her eyes again and saw her hands were rimmed in red light. A red current drifted from the fire into the palm of her hands. She skittered backwards, staring at the flames then at her hands, which looked the same as always. When she moved away from the ring of light, the red aura disappeared. The light around her hands faded. Suzume turned her hands over, looking for a clue as to what had caused the phenomenon.
A rustling in the dark forest beyond caught her attention. Suzume jumped to her feet. A man walked
towards her from the darkness.
"Who's there?" she shouted. She looked around for something to defend herself with, but there was nothing within reach.
"You're awake, then?" he said as he approached her. He stepped into the light and she saw his face. He had the head of a monkey, covered in white and brown hair with bright pink skin circling his eyes and mouth. She had heard about monkeys and had been curious to see one since she was a girl, but this one wore clothes like a man, and from the way he grinned at her, she doubted he had her best interest in mind.
"Who are you and what am I doing here?" she asked. I should have known it was another Yokai.
"Why don't you sit down, Suzume."
She crossed her arms over her chest. She never took orders, especially not from a monkey in pants. "What do you want from me? Are you trying to ransom me to my father? Because it won't work."
The monkey huffed. "Why does everyone ask the villain their plans? As if I would tell you what I have planned just because you asked."
She eyed him suspiciously. She knew this type. She had met more than a few in her time in the palace. The man who thought himself exceedingly brilliant and everyone else was beneath his intelligence. It's rather fitting that he's a monkey. She laughed, thinking about a few lords back at the White Palace with a monkey face.
"What is so funny?"
She stopped laughing and replaced her expression with one of haughty contempt. A face she had perfected over the years. She lifted her chin and looked the monkey up and down. "Well, you're a monkey. Not the most intimidating creature."
He scowled, wrinkling his pink brow, which made him look even more foolish. Suzume laughed again. She imagined this monkey spent more time soaking in a hot spring than doing anything of real evil importance.
He marched over to her and she was too busy laughing to notice. He pulled his hand back and slapped her face hard. Suzume stumbled backwards and pressed her hand to her cheek. She looked at the monkey, too shocked to even find the right words to say. No one had ever dared raise a hand to her aside from the Dragon.
The fire in her gut sparked and the red aura glowed against her skin, encasing her in warmth. The fire nearby leapt and grew, casting the monkey's face into relief. He opened his mouth and showed off his canines. If she had the ability to control her powers, she would have fried the monkey to a crisp then and there, but for the moment she concentrated on keeping her temper contained. Who knew what would happen if she lost control like before.
"How dare you touch me, I am a descendant of the Eight!" she snarled.
The monkey stood back and eyed her, one brow raised. "You're also a brat who should mind her tongue."
"How dare you!"
"Silence or I will do more than slap you!" the monkey roared.
She snapped her mouth closed and glared at him instead.
"I could have tied you up. But I chose to treat you with respect because of who you are."
"Then why have your goons carry me upside down and knock me out?"
He ignored her question. "Sit down."
All her senses were on alert. She was not sure she could sit down without wanting to leap up again. She wanted to fight, to run, to burn. The fire in her felt like the campfire behind the monkey. It danced and twirled, trying to break free of the confines of the stone ring. She and the monkey stared at one another for a moment before Suzume did as he said and knelt down on the ground.
The monkey sat down as well, his hands folded in front of him. His actions were almost human. If it wasn't for the monkey face, she might have thought him a lord. He was arrogant enough to be one.
"Why did you kidnap me?" she asked.
Her first thought had been ransom, but she was starting to doubt this monkey would have any need of human currency or political favor. Which meant this had something to do with the Dragon. This was his world, after all. He had brought her nothing but trouble since she had awoken him.
He waved away her question. "Really, I thought we already covered this."
She rolled her eyes. "If you expect me to play along, you should at least tell me who you are."
"I am the elder of the Northern Monkey Clan."
That explained his superior air and manner. I never knew Yokai were so organized. I always imagined them as wild animals without consideration for much other than tricks and destruction.
He pressed his fingers together. "You'll find my kind can be very territorial." He smiled, revealing elongated canines. "You'd best listen to me if you do not want to be eaten by something along our journey."
Suzume eyed him, wondering if she should consider him a threat or not. The Yokai liked to threaten to eat her, but she had yet to witness them attacking humans. Everyone had heard the commoners' superstitions, but she had never heard of a human actually getting eaten by a Yokai. It was always a friend who knew someone who heard of someone whose uncle got snatched by an Oni, or some similar story. I'm starting to wonder if it's all posturing just like humans do. She had never seen any evidence of a Yokai until she had come to the temple. And even then not until she had awakened the Dragon. She had grown up at the White Palace and never stepped outside its walls until she was exiled, but she thought she would at least have seen some on the journey north from the palace. Why did everything change all of a sudden?
"Why have I never seen your kind before? Can you tell me that much?" she asked, not that she expected him to know.
"Our kind as a rule stay away from humans."
"I don't mean monkeys, I mean I've never met a Yokai until the past couple days. How is that possible?"
The monkey frowned. "That is very strange indeed." He examined her for a moment, dark eyes probing, searching for the answers to be written on her.
Well, he's no help. "Do you have a name, oh elder of the Northern Monkey Clan?"
"I'm glad you asked. My name is Kichiro." He puffed up his chest.
"So, Kichiro, are you just going to keep me here? What's step two of your nefarious plot?"
"That will come in time, once we can be certain the Dragon no longer poses a threat."
She leaned forward, curious. If this monkey could rid her of her dragon problem, she might be willing to help him.
"So that's what this is all about? You're using me to get to the Dragon?"
He stood and kept his back to her. "You don't even realize how valuable you are, do you?"
She scoffed. "I realize, but I don't think you realize how royally angry the Dragon is going to be when he finds out you poached me. Not that I care. I honestly would be glad to be rid of him."
"Then you have no need to fear, the Dragon will not trouble you again."
She should have been relieved, she had wanted to get rid of the Dragon, but somehow she felt like these monkeys would not be much better.
Chapter Twelve
"Wake up."
Kaito dragged his eyelids open. He tried to move his arms but found his limbs unresponsive. Whatever spell she had put on him had him paralyzed. He rolled his eyes to one side and a priestess crouched beside him. She smiled down at him. It can't be her. She should have died five hundred years ago. Is this her reincarnation?
"Sorry for the spell. After the way we parted, I couldn't risk letting you up. Not yet." She smiled.
He opened his mouth with an effort and croaked, "Who are you?" His throat was dry and just forcing the words out felt like shards of ice were scraping against the back of his throat. He did not want to admit it aloud, but after five hundred years of dreaming of revenge, he thought his heart would be made of ice, but one glance from her and his heart had already begun to thaw. I am a fool for loving her even after all she has done to me. And now she taunts me with a mystery and I want to forgive her.
"Don't you recognize me, darling?" She brushed his face lightly with the tips of her fingers. He closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of her skin against his. I've dreamed of you for five hundred years. No matter how I try I could not let you go. Nothing had chan
ged, just as he had been released, she came back for him. Drawn together by fate, they could not be parted. He tried to hold onto the anger, the bitterness, but it melted like snowfall in the spring.
"You were reincarnated, I assume?" he said. He turned his gaze inward, trying to access his spiritual energy, but her spell had locked it away, creating dams in the river of energy that flowed through him and gave him power. She's learned new tricks.
"Something like that," she said, and sat back, legs crossed, hands flat on her thighs. He wanted to trace her digits, relearn her body in this new form. She still braided her hair down her back. Kazue's reincarnation carried an uncanny similarity to the woman he had known. He had never known a reincarnation, but everything about this woman down to the shape of her lips was just as he remembered. It hurt to look at her, as if the barbs of their past love were lodged into his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
"Why did you not come to me, release me?" he asked.
She tilted her head and regarded him. "Why would I let you go?" A smile curved her lips as if she was holding back a secret joke.
A warning bell went off in the back of his head. That was not like the Kazue he had known. The sweet vision of Kazue had blinded him to everything else, to the subtle hints, powers she had not had before. Mannerisms that were unlike the woman who he had loved and had sealed him away. Intoxicated by the idea of seeing her again, he had let himself believe what he wanted. When he looked closer, he could sense something was not right. But weakened as he was, he could not place it. This was not his Kazue. His Kazue would never have done this. A part of him hoped even now that the woman that had sealed him away had not been Kazue. He wanted this woman--whoever she was--to be the one who had done the deed.
"Why did you do it?" He asked the question that had haunted his dreams, causing his restless sleep, and fueled his rage.
"You don't know yet?" She laughed. Her voice echoed in a manic, almost crazed way. This was definitely not his Kazue.
The Priestess and the Dragon Page 8
