The barrier flickered once more and died. Suzume scuttled backwards away from the snapping jaws of the spider. In her haste, she tripped over something on the ground. She landed hard on her butt. She looked down to see a human skull with a mask over the face. The same mask the lieutenant had been wearing. Nothing remained of the man but a husk of human flesh stretched over a skeleton. She screamed.
The momentary distraction was enough for the spider to close the distance. The spider dipped her pincers towards Suzume's neck. She didn't even have the energy to fight her off. She was too tired--she used the last of her energy in that lame attack. She closed her eyes and waited for the burning sting of the bite. Instead she felt something prickle across her skin; the gooseflesh on her arms rose up. She opened her eyes just as a blue light illuminated the multitude of eyes on the spider's face before flinging her backwards.
The spider was overturned with all eight legs flailing in the air. From over her shoulder, Suzume saw the Dragon in his true form. His long sinuous body filled the cave. His head and forelegs poked through tattered webbing that had blocked a different hidden passageway. In his open mouth, rows of sharpened teeth framed a glowing ball of blue energy. It illuminated his face, casting it in relief, and sent long shadows dancing on the walls. His long whiskers brushed against the web that covered the walls, and wherever they touched, the web froze and cracked.
The rush of relief that filled her would later be eclipsed knowing that the Dragon would hold this against her. For now she was happy he had come to rescue her.
"How dare you try to take a bite out of my prey." He spoke in a rolling voice full of thunder.
His energy crashed over Suzume like the tide on the shore. Normally her body's defense would have fought him off, but this time with her defenses down, she let it roll over her. His energy felt like raindrops or the first snowfall. Surprisingly, it felt nice.
The spider regained an upright position and crouched down low. Her legs were bent above her body, making her a harder target to hit. The two postured and sized one another up. Suzume was left pinned between the two mammoths. Why am I always the one in the middle?
"Dragon," the spider hissed, "I thought you agreed to not interfere."
"I changed my mind. The priestess is mine, and I do not like to share."
"How dare you!"
"I will dare what I will," he rumbled in reply. "I rule this land and you must obey me."
The spider laughed. It was a wet clicking sound. "You've awoken from your slumber and found the world changed. You are weak. You may have regained some of your strength, but the others will see you for what you are, as I have. The powers have shifted while you slept. You are no longer lord here."
"Silence, insect," the Dragon roared and the sound filled the tunnel and Suzume thought her ears would burst. She clamped her hands over her ears to silence them, but his words seemed to echo around in her skull.
The spider took a step back, backing into the dark web-lined tunnel behind her. "Master, I apologize. I meant no offense," she groveled.
You say that now that you realize he could snap you in half. Suzume shook herself. Wait, she said he left me to her. He could have saved me sooner and he didn't! She rounded on Kaito. "You knew I was in here and you almost let her eat me!" She pointed at the spider.
The Dragon stared at her with his large blue eyes. They looked like storm clouds over the churning sea.
He did not answer Suzume. He lifted his head to look over her at the spider. "You should be punished for your insubordination. But I will spare you so that you may spread this message: I have returned to regain my kingdom, and if anyone attempts to challenge me, they will die."
"Yes, master," the spider tittered.
"Also, the priestess is mine, no one shall touch her."
"I do not belong to you!" Suzume interjected.
The spider did not acknowledge Suzume's interruption. "Yes, master, of course." She bowed again.
"Now return the energy you stole from the priestess."
The spider hissed and hesitated, looking from Kaito to Suzume. Then with a resigned sigh, she opened her mandibles and a stream of red energy flowed out from her mouth and slammed into Suzume's chest. She doubled over as the power overwhelmed her for a moment. Then her head cleared and she felt her strength return.
I almost get sucked dry and that's all she gets, a little slap on the wrist?
Kaito turned his head and walked down the passageway. I almost die and he doesn't even ask me how I'm doing? Suzume got to her feet and stomped after him. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, however. Her foot got caught on a stray web and got stuck. She tugged on her foot, but she couldn't pull herself loose. The more she fought, the more tangled up she got.
"Yuck." She yanked at the sticky webbing only to have more and more attach itself to her. "I could use some help here," she called out to Kaito, but he was out of sight.
The spider came over. "I'd be happy to oblige."
A long hairy leg brushed against Suzume's arm. She shivered with revulsion. She got the impression the spider wasn't looking to free her. Suzume turned to try to unleash the spiritual energy and fry the spider, but she couldn't. These powers would be a lot more convenient if they worked on command. She batted away the spider's leg, but she was already wrapping Suzume's legs in the sticky web. The web climbed up her legs and bound them together.
"He has gone soft in his time of imprisonment. The Dragon from before would have smote me where I stood." The spider clicked softly as she wound up Suzume, who beat on her leg with both fists.
"And you're upset about that?" Suzume asked as she tried to wriggle free, but it was no use, the webbing numbed her extremities.
"His compassion is my gain. Once I absorb your spiritual power again, I will be strong enough to fight against him."
"You mean Kaito, the Dragon?"
"No, not the Dragon, he is no longer a threat. There is one much greater, one who holds the power, and to defeat him would make me ruler of--" She did not finish her sentence because a flash of icy wind zinged past, forming ice crystals on Suzume's hair and turning the webbing brittle. She smashed through it with ease, though she shivered afterward. As for the spider, she shattered into hundreds of frozen pieces.
Suzume's eyes went wide as she glanced over to Kaito, once more in human form. His hand outstretched and his expression blank. He walked over to her and ripped off the brittle webbing and helped her to her feet.
"You killed her," Suzume said.
"She was playing with my food." He showed her his teeth, and though they looked like normal human teeth, she saw the threat behind the gesture.
She knew better than to tempt his temper, but she had to know. "You knew everything was fake, you knew that the compound, none of it was real. The spider had me under her spell that entire time, but you never stopped her until now, why?"
He kept walking without answering, and she thought he would not, as he so often did not. "I was too weak to fight her. I had to go and find a water source to replenish my energy."
For the first time in her life, Suzume was struck mute. She had viewed the Dragon as infallible, just the fact that he was subject to weakness surprised her, but he had told her as well...
"I guess I'm lucky you made it back in time."
He stopped, turned and faced her. "I didn't come back to save you. After she absorbed your energy, she would have been too powerful. I had to get rid of her or she would have been a nuisance."
"Are you saying you left me to die!"
He shrugged as he smirked. "It would have been nice to be lighter one troublesome priestess."
Suzume balled her hands into fists. "You... you..."
"Me?"
"You're just selfish. No wonder Kazue sealed you! She probably couldn't stand it anymore. How could anyone love someone so arrogant!"
His expression sharpened. She knew she had said too much, but she didn't care. Suzume brushed past him and down the c
orridor. She did not know where she was going, so she let her angry thoughts chase themselves in circles. I know Kazue loved him because I lived in her memories; that's what the spider's hallucination was, reliving my past life. What I cannot understand is how Kazue could have loved him.
She reached a fork in the passageway and did not know where to go. Who knew what waited down these dark passageways.
Kaito caught up with her and said, "Running away from an argument doesn't make you the winner."
She scowled at him without answering.
"What are you waiting for? Do you expect me to apologize for leaving you? Because I won't."
She crossed her arms over her chest, it wasn't like she thought he would say sorry. She had just thought for the first time in her life, someone cared whether she lived or died. But it seems that had been her own wishful thinking.
"I wouldn't expect you to apologize," she scoffed. "I just don't know the way out of here."
He laughed and with it the tension eased. "Follow me, Priestess."
Chapter Twenty-three
They emerged from the cave into blinding daylight. Suzume lifted her hand to shield her eyes as she looked at the sun's elevated position in the sky. Kaito, ahead of her as usual, strolled down a narrow pathway that weaved down the hillside in which the mouth of the cave was set. How long have I been unconscious? Kaito had made no special concessions despite the fact that she had just been sucked dry of her spiritual energy only to have it shoved back into her.
I should zap him to teach him a lesson. She reached for the inner well of power only to find she could not control it. She could sense the power, like a slumbering animal inside her, but she could not harness it at will unless she was threatened. What kind of power is only around when you're in danger? She huffed.
She stomped down the pathway after Kaito. Since she had stopped to try to access her power, she had fallen even further behind. She ran a bit to catch up and her feet slipped on loose gravel along the path. She threw her arms out to stop herself from falling.
Despite her attempts at reorienting herself, her leg slipped out from beneath her. She changed the angle of her body, preparing for a collision, when an arm slipped around her waist. Kaito had caught her and stopped her from falling. He's always doing that. She scowled at him.
She pushed him away. "I don't need your help," she snarled. He confused her. First he left her to the spider; then he came back for her and told the spider that no one could touch her. Make up your mind, do you hate me or not?
He gave her a half smile. "You say that, but is it really true?"
Rolling her eyes, she stomped past him and down the path. I really wish I could control my powers right about now. No amount of wishing was going to give her that ability, however, and to make matters worse, her dramatic exit was ruined by the switchback trail down the hillside. Each bend turned her so she and Kaito were facing one another, and he watched her from above, with a half-smile that rankled her.
"What are you smiling about?" she demanded.
His smiled broadened. "Wouldn't you like to know."
She huffed again and hurried down the path. But yet again as she rounded a bend she was facing him on the higher pathway looking down at her with a smirk. She lifted her chin and continued without making eye contact. She suffered through several more switchbacks before reaching the bottom of the hill.
Once she was back on flat ground, she hurried her pace to get away from Kaito--at least for a moment. She didn't want him going too far in case there were more giant spiders lurking about. He may have attempted to leave her behind, but in the end he had saved her. Until she could control her powers, she would need to keep him around. He did not seem to sense her need for space, however, and he jogged to catch up with her.
"Are you going to tell me about Akito?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes and didn't respond. The spider's dream world troubled her. Suzume had planned to use Daiki as a means to an end--a way back to the palace and her honored place as the daughter of the emperor. I wonder what happened to Daiki. Did the spider get him and his men too? He might still be out there looking for me. But if that was the case, she wasn't sure she wanted to see him again. She thought she wanted to marry him, but after the dream, she realized that might not be the case. His mother is wretched. On the other hand, she missed being the center of court gossip, flirting with courtiers and being admired in poetry and song.
In the dream, she wasn't content. The romantic notion of Akito had been an exciting twist to her onetime reality. The very idea of him was like something out of a story--a soldier who was sent away but never gave up on his love. Sounds like an idealized woman's fantasy. She snorted.
"Something funny?" Kaito asked. He jogged ahead of her and then walked backwards so he could face her. There was no way to avoid his knowing smirk. If Akito was a representation of Kaito, does that mean he was different with Kazue? It was hard to imagine Kaito saying the things Akito had said. Maybe it really was just a fantasy and I am reading too much into it.
"Nothing that I would care to share with you." She lifted her head imperiously, jutting out her chin.
"Fine, then if you won't tell me, I'll fill in the blanks." He hummed to himself as he tapped his chin. "Akito was a childhood friend, a boy you met by chance when you were young--" He smiled and Suzume looked away and towards the thick trees that surrounded them. "He was always quiet and mysterious, but you couldn't stay away from him. You watched him go from a stoic boy to a courageous young man and it wasn't until he was beyond your reach that you knew how you felt about him. Did I get it right?"
Suzume stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "Akito never existed. I've never been in love. Are you happy now? I knew my father would choose for me from the time I was young and I never held onto the illusion of love. In the White Palace, as a woman, your value is in your ability to bear sons and marry well. Love doesn't come into the equation."
He appeared momentarily stunned as she stormed past him. Her eyes burned from unshed tears, but she told herself it was just leftover effects from the spider's poison. I don't care about love. I don't need it. Power is what matters and I can control that. I just can't marry Daiki... because of his mother... It was a lame excuse and she knew it.
She didn't hear his footsteps behind her and she was glad that for once he was giving her space. Suzume walked at a determined pace for quite some time until she came upon a roadside shrine. It was made of plain unvarnished wood with a slanted roof and an open front that looked out onto the road. There was a bench beside it where travelers could rest under the shade of a tree with low-hanging branches. Since they'd been walking for quite some time, Suzume decided it was time for a rest. She put on a brave front, but after everything that had happened, she was exhausted.
She plopped down on the bench and rubbed her sore feet. I really need to get better shoes and soon. I wish I had some thicker sandals that were meant for travel. She glanced down at the ground and a pair of sandals lay at her feet. She glanced around in either direction. Were these here before? She shrugged and picked them up. They were thick sandals made of a tight weave without any visible wear.
Why would anyone leave such good sandals here? She shrugged again. Their loss. She discarded her worn sandals by tossing them over her shoulder and put on the new sturdy travel sandals. She wriggled her toes and admired them. Much better.
She sighed and leaned back. From her vantage point she could see inside the shrine. An idol sat inside. It was the image of a short fat man with a necklace made of large coins, an empty offering bowl lay before him, and beside it incense burned down to ash. The shrine was relatively clean, aside from the empty bowl and incense. Unlike some roadside shrines, there were no discarded offerings or debris. Someone must come here often to keep it clean.
Suzume eyed the shrine. The empty bowl made her think of her own empty stomach, which rumbled in protest. She hadn't eaten in--well, she wasn't sure how long. The dream food ha
d been nice, but it hadn't actually made its way into her stomach. She glanced down the path from where she had come, but Kaito was nowhere to be seen.
I'm starving. I wish I had something to eat. Suzume sighed. Suzume looked down the road in the direction they were headed, and a hunched form approached. She stood up, prepared to run, but as the figure scooted closer she realized it wasn't a monster but an old woman who hobbled down the pathway. She wore a plain brown robe and her back was bent, so she had to lean on her cane to walk. With her free arm she carried a basket. The blanket over the basket blew back and revealed several large dumplings. Suzume's stomach growled audibly. She's probably going to leave that as an offering. Suzume contemplated stealing them once she was gone. Then again her history with shrines hadn't been a good one. I'd hate to unleash another dragon because I stole his offering. She grimaced at the thought of two Kaitos.
The old woman reached Suzume and the shrine. She nodded in Suzume's direction and then went inside the shrine and knelt before the idol. She folded her hands and prayed. Suzume pretended to be enjoying the scenery while watching the old woman from the corner of her eye. As a test, Suzume made a cursory probe into her well of spiritual power but found no change from earlier. It remained dormant despite her proximity to a holy place. The old woman finished her prayers and then cleaned up the ashes from the old incense. She then reached into her basket and extracted a few dumplings, which she set down before the shrine in the bowl. She lit a new stick of incense and stepped back to admire her offering. I bet she's the one who's maintaining this shrine. And she can barely walk.
The old woman got to her knees and Suzume pretended to be admiring her nails. They were ragged and dirt caked the beds. She pulled a face looking at them. Never in her life had she had such filthy nails.
The old woman hobbled over to Suzume and stopped in front of her. Suzume glanced up at the old woman and forced a smile. She was never very good with the elderly or children.
"You look hungry," the old woman said, "Here, have a dumpling." She proffered the plump white dumpling. It was still warm with steam rising off of it.
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