The Priestess and the Dragon

by Nicolette Andrews

  Suzume raised a skeptical brow in the old woman's direction. She was offering her the food from her basket. "Isn't that for your offering?"

  The old woman shook her head and the wisps of her gray hair fluttered back and forth. "Not all of it. I always bring extra in case I run across a hungry traveler. We get quite a few merchants who come through this area from time to time." She took Suzume's hand and placed the dumpling in her hand. "Enjoy."

  The old woman hobbled away without another word. Suzume stared at the dumpling in her hand. Its warmth seemed to run up her arm, revitalizing her. She was beginning to wonder if she hadn't escaped the spider dream at all and now she was trapped in some kind of world where her every desire was instantly met.

  "There you are," Kaito called out to her. "I'm shocked you didn't get into trouble while you were alone."

  Suzume glanced up to see him a few feet away, grinning just as he had been when they were coming down the mountain.

  Suzume prepared herself for the torment. Sometimes I wish he was more like Akito from my dream. At least he would be nicer to me.

  As he approached her, his expression changed suddenly. "Suzume, you shouldn't wander off like that."

  She frowned. "You left me in a cave with a spider who wanted to eat me and now you're worried about me getting ahead of you? You should get your priorities in line."

  He cradled her hand in his. She yanked it backwards as if it had burned her. Suzume glanced up at him with a skeptical brow--not unlike the one she'd given the dumpling lady. What game is he playing?

  "Oh behold beauty / With hair like the ebony night / How I adore her."

  Suzume snorted. "What was that?"

  "A poem inspired by you, my dearest one."

  Suzume's eyes grew large as she looked at the dumpling in her hand and the shoes on her feet, then at Kaito, who looked at her with a simpering expression. Oh no, what have I done?

  Chapter Twenty-four

  "You look pale, dear one, why don't you sit down?" Kaito asked as he approached with a hand outstretched towards her.

  Suzume wasn't sure what feeling was stronger, repulsion or frustration. This has to be a joke. He's mocking Akito from the spider dream. He grabbed her shoulder and she batted it away before scuttling backwards.

  "This isn't funny; I told you Akito wasn't real. You don't have to keep mocking me!"

  He shook his head as he smiled. How do I fix this? He's acting crazy. She took a step back and the backs of her knees collided with the bench and they buckled beneath her. She wobbled on her feet, throwing her arms out for balance. Kaito snaked his hand around her waist and brought her to his chest, her heart resting against him. The scent of his musk filled her nostrils as his hand crept up to the small of her back. Surprisingly, she did not feel that telltale tingling or a rise in her spiritual defenses when he was touching her. She tilted her head back and stared up into his dark eyes.

  He's like a different person. She sighed. Why is this always happening to me?

  Kaito brushed a stray hair away from Suzume's face and she shivered. A new feeling was bubbling up, one that needed to be squashed immediately. She had seen what lengths he would go to, to deceive her, like back at the temple when he had tried to seduce her for the fun of it. This isn't like back at the temple. He's not trying to seduce me. He is genuinely acting like Akito from my dream.

  He dipped his head close to her and his breath stirred the loose hair that had fallen across her face. "Are you all right?" he asked.

  Having him this close with his arms around her was doing strange things to her head. He was an attractive, if not infuriating man, and she found when they were close together, her body made decisions that her head did not agree with. Suzume shoved him away before she gave way to her conflicted desire. He took a step back and his expression reminded her of a lapdog she had back at the palace. In particular the face it made when it was in trouble.

  "What's the matter, Kazue?" he asked, with his palms facing up in a gesture of pleading.

  Did he just call me...? She was too shocked to respond. Kazue! Is that why he's acting this way, because he thinks I'm her? Maybe he wasn't pretending to be Akito. Maybe he was lost in some kind of delusion as she had been. Could the spider have gotten him with her poison when she wasn't looking?

  Suzume snapped back to reality as Kaito reached out to grab her shoulder and twisted away from him. "I am not Kazue. I'm Suzume, remember? I broke your seal." She crossed her arms over her chest.

  His smile was not mischievous like usual. He sat next to her on the bench, his thigh brushing against hers. She scooted away. "I know that is not your name now," he said as he chased after her as she moved away from him--she thought it might not be a good idea to run, considering how mercurial he could be. "That was your name once."

  She slid away from him, and he followed down the bench until she ran out of room and fell onto the ground. She muttered a curse as Kaito jumped up and offered her a hand up. She ignored him and brushed off her pants. He kept grinning at her in a dopey way. Her stomach was in knots and she couldn't say why. She had met more than her fair share of charming men, the ones that thought they could win over every woman with a glance. She loved to trick them, let them believe that she was under their spell, and then expose them for the fools they were. But when Kaito did the same thing, it made her heart race. It must be an aftereffect of the spider dream. It has to be.

  He frowned. "I know it's difficult for you to accept, but you're Kazue's reincarnation. Where did you think your spiritual powers came from? Why do you think it was so easy for you to break the seal? Because your soul sealed it five hundred years ago."

  Suzume shook her head. To save her own skin, she had to keep denying it. How did he find out?

  "You can't deny it. The visions, the memories that don't belong to you but feel real nonetheless, those belong to Kazue, they are a part of your past." His tone was soothing, almost as if he were coaxing her into believing him, which only made her more wary.

  This is the Dragon that woke up eager for revenge. He wanted to kill all of Kazue's descendants! How can I possibly trust him? "I don't know what you're talking about, none of those things have happened to me."

  "From the moment I awoke, I knew it was you. I was blinded by my anger. I did not want to admit it, not even to myself, but I can see the truth now. Fate has brought us back together and I refuse to lose you again." He opened up his arms to envelope her in his embrace. Suzume ducked and scrambled backwards out of his reach.

  "No," Suzume shouted and then covered her mouth with her hand. Why does this bother me so much? What do I care if my supposed past self sealed him away?

  And yet, she refused to believe it.

  "You can't stop destiny. We are meant for one another." Kaito grinned and there was a hint of his old self in the expression.

  Staring at a reality she did not want to face, Suzume did what she always did in these situations, she ran away.

  "You're lying, I'm not her." She didn't wait for him to respond. She turned around and walked briskly down the pathway, away from the little roadside shrine.

  "Wait, Suzume, we should talk about this," Kaito called out to her.

  She spun around and fixed him with a hard stare. "Just give me some space. I need time to think about this."

  She expected him to force her to stay or to argue more. Instead, he lowered his hand to his side and nodded. It was unexpected but welcome, and she all but ran down the road, with no direction in mind, just needing distance to breathe and to think. She could not accept Kazue was her past life; she refused to be believe destiny bound her to the Dragon. She was the master of her life, not some intangible force like fate. Kaito was confused by whatever spell had ensnared him, and once she figured out how to break it, everything would go back to normal. She hoped.

  What if it is true? a voice at the back of her mind whispered. How did you unleash him from his seal? You've never shown any signs of spiritual power until you entered th
at temple. What if your soul was waiting until you went back to where it all began?

  Suzume shook her head again, hoping to dislodge the unwanted thoughts. There was no way. Once she was a fair distance from Kaito, she slowed her pace. Her legs, unused to so much abuse, screamed in protest. In fact, her entire body ached, the dumpling had only curbed her appetite, and her stomach grumbled again. I can't do anything to fix Kaito in this condition, and if I just run away, he'll come after me eventually. There's no escape.

  She collapsed onto a log on the side of the road. She glanced around her--there was nothing but a dirt road and paddy fields in either direction. Further down the path lay a village made up of tiny rows of wooden houses.

  I bet the old woman came from this village. Maybe I can convince someone here to feed me and give me a place to rest. I doubt it will be too hard, these country folk never see regal beauty like mine. Suzume preened in her mind while conveniently forgetting that she had just spent the better part of a couple days wrapped up in a spider's web.

  Suzume arrived at the village as the night was beginning to creep in. Orange light filtered through the collection of huts. Farmers with their tools slung over their shoulders trudged in after a hard day's work. Suzume also stumbled into the village. Children ran out to greet their fathers with shrieks of delight and were carried in swinging from their father's arms. People walked past her without so much as a second glance. So much for entrancing them with my regal beauty. Then she spotted the old woman outside a tiny hut at the edge of town. She walked over to her and the old woman looked up as Suzume approached.

  "I saw you at the shrine today," said the old woman. She looked even smaller and more bent in the dying light of the day. "You look ready to fall off your feet. Do you have a place to stay for the night?"

  All Suzume could manage was a shake of her head.

  "Come with me, I can give you a place by my fire." The old woman motioned with her hand for Suzume to follow.

  Suzume followed her wordlessly. The old woman's hut was not far away. It was a small one-room dwelling with a fire pit sunk into the center of the room and a hole in the roof where the smoke escaped. The old woman waved to a place across the fire pit for Suzume to sit. Suzume sat down, her legs burning from overuse and her joints complaining like that of a woman twice her age. The old woman hummed a tune under her breath as she ladled broth out of a pot that was boiling over the fire.

  "Here, something warm will make you feel better," the old woman said as she handed Suzume the steaming broth in a lopsided bowl. "You look like you could use a wash and a change of clothes. I think I have some old clothes of mine around here," the old woman muttered to herself as she went to find means to accommodate her guest.

  Suzume took the soup without a word. She held it in her hands, letting the warmth seep into her fingers.

  The old woman shuffled about the hut as she hummed, leaving Suzume alone with her thoughts. She was still surprised Kaito had not come after her. It wasn't like him, but then again whatever this spell was, it made him into a stranger. What can I do to turn him back when I can't even unleash my own power at will? She frowned as she stared into her broth.

  After Suzume finished eating, the old woman brought a small bucket of cold water for Suzume to wash in and a change of clothes. They were too small, and Suzume's ankles and wrists peeked out from beneath the fabric, but it felt good to be in clean clothes, even if they were a bit itchy. Clean and dry, Suzume sat by the fire, warming her hands. I might as well see if this grandma can give me any information about the shrine, since I'm here.

  "That shrine by the road, do you visit it often?" Suzume asked.

  The old woman nodded as she swallowed a mouthful of food. "Yes, I used to go daily, but now that my bones are getting older, I go much less, perhaps once a week. Why do you ask?"

  Suzume shook off the question and lapsed into silence for a while. A thought had begun to form in her mind, but she feared speaking it aloud. It was too ludicrous, yet it wouldn't stop gnawing at her.

  "Do you know who built that shrine?"

  The old woman looked into the fire, thoughtful for a moment. "The first villagers would have constructed it, and I believe my grandfather once told me it was blessed by a wandering priestess. It's dedicated to our local Kami." The old woman gave her a gap-toothed smile.

  Suzume swallowed hard. "Do you know the priestess' name?"

  The old woman thought for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't. It's said the shrine brings good luck, though. There are stories of it granting wishes and things like that."

  Suzume choked. That's it! The shrine was granting my wishes. I wished for sandals and they appeared; I wished for food and she showed up with dumplings. I wished Kaito was more like Akito and... Suzume groaned aloud.

  "Something wrong, child?"

  "Nothing," she blurted before clamping her mouth shut. First thing in the morning, I am going back to that shrine and demanding that idol turn him back.

  ***

  Leaving her shrine after five hundred years had been difficult. She labored over the decision for days, sitting in front of the shrine she and Hikaru had built in contemplation. She had kept the guise of an old woman for too many years, and it scared her to think about resuming her place among the Yokai. Who will watch over the clan when I am gone? Who will clean the shrine? But knowing the Dragon was alive, she could not stay idle here.

  She put her affairs in order, spoke with the Kaedemoris' current patriarch and told him she would be leaving on a journey. She promised to return, she wanted only to see to the Dragon and come back. Lord Kaedemori would not protest, she knew. He knew about Hikaru and her, though he had been a young man when Hikaru died. Only the elders of the Kaedemori and Shin knew. To the rest of the Yokai world, she was as good as dead. Dedicating your life to service to humans was unheard of, but Hikaru had sworn to protect his former clan and she had done the same.

  While she had watched the Kaedemoris spin out their brief lives, generation after generation, the world had changed around her. She had kept herself separated from the world of her birth. In part to keep Hikaru safe and in part because she had never felt like she belonged. But while he slept, the Dragon's kingdom had fallen, and though Rin had remained safe in her shrine, the Dragon would have many enemies. The Dragon would need a guide. So she had left, with nothing on her back but her clothes. She had traveled at first as an old priestess, helped by passing humans and travelers, given places to sleep around the fires of villagers, treated like a respected guest. It was a sham; had they known what she was, they would never have let her into their homes.

  She went first to the place where the Dragon had slept, where Kazue's spell put him into an endless slumber. The shrine was at the top of the mountain, and the songs of the priestesses filled her with memories of better times. She never expected him to linger there, but what better place to begin her search than where it all began. She felt his power surrounding it, leaving traces of him in every stone. It may not have started out as a holy place, but it was now.

  She did not stop to talk to the humans there and passed by with her spiritual energy cloaked. But upon seeing the empty shrine building, she knew it was true at last. And in that moment she gave up the guise she had lived under for nearly five hundred years. From then on she journeyed in something akin to her true form, following the Dragon's trail.

  She heard the whispers from her kind on the road, others like her who had adapted by cloaking themselves as human to move about unseen. They saw her and recognition would spark in their eyes. For a brief moment they were kindred, lost and wandering without a home. When the Dragon was sealed, many lost the security they once enjoyed. More than once she joined a Tanuki or a Kitsune at a roadside teahouse. They would eat and drink and talk of better times, though they had never met before. They would swap rumors and give warnings about powerful creatures and how to avoid them.

  "There's a dangerous Yokai north of here," said one Tanuki
as he slurped his tea. He disguised himself as a merchant, a pack on his back and a straw hat strapped onto his chin.

  "Is it the Dragon?" she asked.

  He shook his head. "No, though I have heard he is awake and travels with a priestess. Those who have seen him say he is not as strong as he was before. He uses the form of a human, and his energy seems depleted. He is no longer a threat."

  "Do you know where he was headed?"

  The Tanuki scratched his chin in thought. "East, I think."

  Rin nodded. She was headed in the right direction.

  "I wouldn't worry about him. The one you should stay clear of is the shifter. He takes any form and can change his spiritual pressure. You will meet a human on the road and not realize what he is until it's too late, or so they say. Be careful, I heard he has been seen east of here as well."

  She nodded and smiled. "Thank you."

  They parted and she continued on her way. The world was not a safe place for Yokai anymore. They were not the masters they had once been. After days of travel she finally found a trace of the Dragon's energy, mixed with humans as well. The earth was browned in places where his ice had frosted it over prematurely. Hoofprints in the ground led in the opposite direction. The humans know he's awake and they're looking for him.

  There were signs of him everywhere. She followed his trail through the hills, into a spider's den where she found a dead spider, and out down the hill and to a roadside shrine. That was where the trail had gone cold once more.

  She stopped to rest, and a prickling sensation raced down her spine. The energy within the shrine churned like a pot about to boil over. She stood and went to the opening that faced out onto the road. The figure inside, a squat fat man with a chain of gold coins around his neck, rocked back and forth on the pedestal. She tilted her head as she looked at it. She crept closer, wondering what was causing the disturbance. She did not feel anything living coming from it, but the figure itself seemed to be cloaked in the spiritual energy of a priestess.