She looked away. "Your breath really stinks."
"You were going to kiss me and we both know it," he said in a husky whisper in her ear. He chuckled and sat back on his haunches.
Suzume's face burned with embarrassment. I'm an idiot. I am not going to be like Kazue, no matter what they tell me.
Chapter Forty-one
Suzume, hands on her hips, glowered at the young priest bowing in front of her. His bald head gleamed in the afternoon sun. His hands trembled. The man dared not speak. He had delivered the remaining temple elder's decree and silence had fallen afterward. Five minutes had passed since. Kaito stood at Suzume's shoulder. She could feel his smirk and she knew Akira was smiling with her red lips pulled back to reveal straight white teeth. Only Rin seemed to understand the implications of their eviction, because that was what it was; the priests wanted them off the temple grounds, the sooner the better.
"Where are we supposed to go?" Suzume said at last. "Do you think the creature that destroyed over half of your temple won't come back for more?" Of course, Suzume could not be certain they would stay away if she and her companions remained either. It appeared they had drawn Hisato here and he was not done with Suzume, not by a long shot.
She straightened her shoulders to look more imposing. If she looked confident, maybe inspiration would strike because she had not the slightest idea where to go next. The truth was, none of them knew where or what to do next. The trail, so to speak, had run cold. They needed answers, but as they had all concluded the night before, there was no one to turn to. Kazue had taken her secrets to her grave, it seemed.
"We are unable to host you any longer," the young acolyte said and his voice cracked. He did not invoke a lot of respect, and Suzume suspected he must have been at the bottom of the pecking order to be stuck with telling the dangerous visitors to skedaddle. He reminded her of one of her younger brothers. He had a round dumpling face with rosy cheeks and thick lips. There was not even a hint of stubble on his face. Suzume's fiery gaze slid over to him. The boy checked himself for a moment and visibly swallowed a lump in his throat. He had made a mistake in incurring her wrath.
Suzume had been in a foul mood since the night before. Kaito's fumbled attempt at a kiss had left her with a burning sensation. She felt on edge, and the slightest movement had her jumping out of her skin. Kaito is playing games with me because he wants to disarm me, she thought. She frowned and the boy mistook her lack of response for an invitation to continue speaking.
"You and your--" the boy fumbled with the right words "--friends, have brought evil to this place. Whatever possessed the head priest killed him. It left nothing behind, how will he reach the next life now if his soul has been destroyed by a Yokai?"
Kaito snorted.
The boy's eyes flickered in his direction and he licked his presumably dry lips. "You have to go," he said more firmly.
She had to give him credit--it took a lot of guts to stand up to a dragon, but maybe this boy was more ignorant than anything, it was hard to tell.
"We will leave, then, but do not seek us if disaster returns to this place." She turned on her heel, huffing with discontent.
Akira glided alongside Suzume, smiling to herself, as Suzume knew she would be.
"What is amusing about this situation?" Suzume snapped.
"You, Priestess; I think those priests are more afraid of you than they are of the Dragon." Akira laughed her throaty laugh.
"Well, they should be; I am the emperor's daughter." It felt strange to say that aloud. It seemed a lifetime ago she had been wandering the palace with nothing better to do than flirt and gossip.
"That's not why they fear you."
Suzume glared at the other woman from the corner of her eye. "Then why else would they be afraid?"
"Maybe they have heard the rumors about your past life."
Suzume stopped in her tracks. Rin and Kaito had been trailing a few steps behind Suzume and Akira, and Kaito nearly ran into the back of Suzume when she stopped unexpectedly. He caught Suzume around the waist, and for a moment, he held her close. She felt the beating of his heart against her back before the spark of her power fought him off. It was subdued for once, and instead of the electric feeling, it was more like glowing warmth wrapping itself around the two of them. She hated to admit it, but his arms holding her felt nice. She could not remember the last time she had been in a man's arms. A real man, not a hallucination or a dragon. A normal life would be wonderful. I would give up my eternal soul for one regular lifetime, since it seems I've never had that luxury before.
The others were looking at her. Rin quirked an eyebrow and Akira was smiling smugly. Suzume pushed away from Kaito and twirled to face him.
"Don't touch me!" she snarled.
He smirked in his infuriating way. "I wouldn't if you really didn't want me to."
Suzume stumbled over her retort. Could he read her thoughts? Then it hit her. It wasn't her thoughts he was reading but the change in her powers. When she didn't find him a threat but welcomed him, their powers melded together. His smile was borderline crude. He was obviously drawing the wrong conclusions about her welcoming his touch. Her cheeks were awash with heat. She turned away and shouted, "As if I would want my past life's leavings."
***
Kaito watched Suzume slip off by herself. He had been intent on following her when Rin touched him lightly on the shoulder.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Akira had drifted away and was pretending the wreckage was of interest.
"Playing with Suzume's emotions. I know you haven't forgiven Kazue for what she did."
He scoffed but could not meet her gaze. How had he not realized how intuitive Rin was before? For him, it had been a short time since they'd parted ways, his onetime messenger had left him for the love of a Hanyou, a half Yokai. Though they had been lovers, he had never considered her as anything more than a temporary amusement. But time had matured her, and she understood more now than perhaps even he did. He was at war within himself, simultaneously looking for Kazue in Suzume and trying to disprove the connection. He didn't want to hate the priestess, she amused him with her antics, but if she was her reincarnation, then he had to have his revenge. From the start, he had planned on winning Kazue's incarnation's trust and destroying her. This constant battle would not end until he got his revenge.
"Don't worry yourself with what I have planned," he said and hurried to catch up with the priestess.
He followed her to her chamber. Still naïve, she did not feel her eyes on him. He watched her pass through a clumsily made barrier that Akira had helped her construct. It would hardly even keep out flies and it still glimmered in the light. Amateur. Kazue could have done better, even untrained. He slipped through the barrier, it felt like a warm bath, but her spiritual energy was prevalent in the design, that spark of defiance that seemed to make up her being.
Suzume knelt on the ground near her futon. She held the staff crossways over her lap, her finger tracing the markings on the staff. Just seeing Suzume holding it recalled painful memories. He stamped those down; he did not need the priestess to see that weakness in him lest she exploit it.
"I wish you could tell me what I am supposed to do." Suzume sighed.
"You could ask her yourself," he said.
Suzume jumped up into a defensive position. She bent her knees and crossed the staff in front of her. She looked comfortable, as if she was born to fight. That is Kazue. Kaito leaned against the back wall of her chamber. She had not even heard him come in, had not even sensed him. All this power and yet no sense. That's not like Kazue at all. She did not lower her defenses for a moment. Just like Kazue. She had not trusted him at first either.
"What are you doing here?" She pointed the staff at him.
"I thought you would need some help packing." He laughed. He knew as well as she did that she had little more than the clothes on her back and the staff in
her hand. "You don't look like you slept very well last night." He pushed off the wall and walked over to her tangled futon. He kicked aside the blankets then smirked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Were you up all night thinking about me?" Pretending to be drunk had worked to his advantage. If only she had kissed him, things might have progressed farther by now.
Suzume made a retching sound. "You're much too full of yourself. What are you doing here, really?"
He shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I'm concerned for your welfare?" He stepped very close to her. He could feel her energy, the spiritual power that was so uniquely Suzume. Wild and impulsive. It churned about her like an angry storm, and his own power rose to meet it, seeking a challenge. Kazue was different; she melded with me, our powers in harmony. Like they were last night with Suzume.
The constant back and forth in his mind was giving him a headache. He had never been this indecisive before. Ever since we left that roadside shrine, I feel like there's something missing. He reached out to touch her face, hesitating for a moment. She cannot be Kazue, not really. He brushed back a stray hair that had fallen over her eyes. Red sparks followed his fingers up her cheek.
Their powers warred, hot and cold, fighting for dominance, each reaching out and repelled by the other. Different from Kazue, but not unpleasant. Hisato said you are not her, yet everything tells me you are. He searched her face, looking for a hint, a sign. Suzume's eyes darted across his face, like a cornered animal.
He shook his head. "I know you think you're her, but I find it difficult to believe. You look nothing like her, for one thing, your eyes especially. They're too different." He wasn't sure who he was trying to convince more, her or himself.
"Well, according to Akira, I'm the genuine article."
"What should I do with you, then?" He pitched his voice low.
She leaned in towards him, enchanted by him. She shook her head suddenly and backed away, keeping the staff between them. "Nothing, I don't belong to you because I share a soul with Kazue."
He grinned at her, an interesting concept. "I wish it was that simple."
She stared at him for another moment, trying to decipher his cryptic words most likely. He smirked, easing the tension. He wasn't ready to make a decision where Suzume was concerned; he needed more time. His initial rage had ebbed, and his confusion only complicated matters.
"Where do we go now? You've been the one with an agenda this whole time," she asked.
Glad for a change of subject, he shrugged. "I'm not sure. I don't know much about Hisato, other than he's the shifter everyone has been talking about, and there isn't much we can find out about him beyond that."
"Is there any way we can find Kazue's descendants? Maybe she left instructions somewhere?"
"You mean my child?" he asked. She had an uncanny ability to anger him. Just when I was considering sparing you. The room froze over, the breath escaping Suzume's mouth came out in clouds, and frost crept across the walls.
"I take it you don't want a reunion with your long-lost offspring?"
"No," he growled.
The tension was palpable. She knew she had made a mistake in bringing up his child, but made no move to apologize. It was her stubbornness that normally drew him to her. But in this case, he would rather not be reminded of the embodiment of Kazue's betrayal.
"What about the staff? Do you think this might hold some kind of key to unlocking Kazue's task? She did leave it to be guarded by Akira and Tsuki."
"True, perhaps we should ask Akira about it."
"Ask me about what?" Akira said as she glided into the room, Rin following close behind.
"Please come in, I don't mind," Suzume said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Thanks," Rin chirped as she took a seat on Suzume's rumpled futon.
"This staff," Kaito said, answering Akira's question. "Why did Kazue ask you to guard it?"
Akira shrugged her shoulders. "I could not say. Kazue did not deign to explain why when she chained me and my brother to it."
"Then you're bound to the staff, not the temple?" Suzume asked.
"We are the guardians. Until her task is complete, we must remain with the staff or who wields it." Akira smiled at Suzume.
Kaito did not trust them, but he trusted few people. There was more to their story that they were not sharing.
"There's markings here; I don't recognize them, do they mean anything to you?" Suzume asked.
Akira slid closer and examined the markings. "It's written in an archaic language which hasn't been used in centuries," Akira said after a few moments of examination.
"Great, what does it mean?" Suzume asked.
Akira shrugged. "I don't know. I can't read it."
"What?" Suzume shouted.
Akira held up her hand to halt Suzume's tirade. "But I can find someone who can. There's a man who lives up in the hills beyond the temple. He used to be a priest here, but he left the priesthood some years back."
"Are you sure he's still alive?" Tsuki asked his sister.
"How long ago was it?" Kaito asked.
"Maybe one hundred years? I lost track of time, this place can be deadly boring," Akira replied. She fanned out her hand, examining her nails.
"Wonderful. So we may or may not have instructions from Kazue herself written on the staff, but there's no way of knowing without finding this man who is most likely dead," Suzume summarized.
"Exactly," Tsuki said. Akira had shifted into Tsuki as Suzume was summarizing their predicament. Tsuki grinned from ear to ear.
Suzume threw up her hands.
Ah, then that is their motive. There's something in the mountains they want. Fair enough, I'll play along for now, Kaito thought.
"I think we should try. What could it hurt?" Kaito said to the group at large.
Suzume glared at him.
If anything, this quest for the missing priest might give him a chance to lure Hisato out of hiding. He wanted Suzume, and if he played his cards right, he might just figure out why.
Chapter Forty-two
According to Akira, the old man lived in the mountains behind the temple--that is, if he was still among the living. Either way, they had to get out. And chasing after this alleged expert was a good enough reason for now.
The priests followed the party off the temple grounds. Much to Suzume's dismay, they did not exit out the main gates with the red arches but out a small back gate like a group of lurking thieves. This is humiliating. We saved their temple from complete destruction; it was only partially destroyed. No one has any gratitude these days.
The rear gate, despite Suzume's fear, was not a crack in a wall. There was a small red arch with charms dangling from it and twirling in a slight breeze. Suzume tilted her head back, trying to read the black markings on the white paper, but she could not get a clear look at them. What are they trying to keep out?
Akira was the first to step through the arches, and when nothing cataclysmic happened, the others followed. A short stone walkway ended at the edge of the forest and beyond that was a twisting narrow forest path. It divided at random and ended without warning. It appeared to have been created by some forest animal. A wider path switched back and forth up the hill and disappeared into the forest.
Suzume looked up at the hillside. It loomed green and massive before her.
"How far exactly do we need to go to confirm this former priest is dead?" Suzume asked the group at large.
Kaito, a few feet behind Akira, grinned. I bet he would not mind if we never found this priest; it's all about the journey for him. He always seemed to enjoy the prospect of an adventure. Rin walked between Suzume and Kaito. She too looked to Akira for an answer, with a hint of skepticism. Akira was the leader for this hapless venture, it seemed.
Akira lifted a shoulder. "Until we find him," she said and proceeded to pick her way through the trail. She walked with confidence through the maze of animal trails, even though she had been trapped inside the temple for a very long time.
Suzume huffed. Maybe if I lingered behind, I could find a reason to make the priests keep me. I am Kazue's reincarnation and this is her temple. She looked longingly back at the temple to the line of priests who were blocking any attempt at return. Though she could not see it, she could sense a barrier being erected around the temple. There was a tingling in the air, and the wind didn't blow through the trees on the grounds of the temples the way it was through the trees outside of it. The four or so priests standing by the gate were chanting together. No going back there, I suppose. She heaved a sigh and continued after her companions.
The climb was long, hard, and endless. Her companions all were possessed of superior strength and stamina, and Suzume found herself falling behind more and more. Rin hung back, waiting for Suzume to catch up more than once, and at last Suzume snapped at her.
"Hurry up, or the others are going to get away without us," she said, picking up her pace though her limbs screamed in protest.
"You're not strong enough to keep up with them," Rin said matter-of-factly.
It was true. But it pricked at Suzume's pride, and when her pride was pricked, she struck back. "I don't need help from you. I know you're only doing this because you feel guilty about Kaito knowing I am Kazue. Or you're jealous and you feel guilty for that because you love him."
A complicated mix of emotions crossed Rin's expression. Suzume hadn't really meant to hurt the Kitsune. She had just lashed out without thinking, like she usually did. She did not really think Rin loved Kaito, not romantically, but Rin had taken the words to heart, it seemed.
"You know what? You're probably better off on your own." Rin turned, flicked her tail, and bounded up the trail, leaving Suzume in her dust.
Suzume swore and kicked a nearby rock. It slid down the hill and rattled the undergrowth as it rolled away. Suzume plopped down on the side of the road. Forget them. Forget the probably dead guy, and forget Kazue and her task. I'm not going another step.
The Priestess and the Dragon Page 30
