She folded her hands over her chest and exhaled. Then she waited. It was shady under the tree and light filtered through the leaves, creating a mosaic of shadows on the ground. The wind whistled by, rustling the branches. Suzume looked around. From her vantage point on the hill she could see the temple. It was not as far away as she would have hoped for how much effort she put into climbing this hill.
The temple buildings spread out across the compound in neat rows. Well, they had been. She could see the full picture of the destruction Hisato had wrought. The splinters of wood scattered about contrasted against the remains of the formerly orderly gardens. Beams and support frames stood out against the blue sky like sentinels over the destruction. Priests moved about, carrying away rubble and sifting through debris. There were scars in the earth from where Rin and Kaito had battled. The main shrine was nothing but broken wood from when Kaito had removed the roof. We really did a number on that shrine. No wonder they chased us out.
Suzume turned away and surveyed the forest instead. She did not like the feeling of guilt that she associated with looking at the shrine. The forest was dense and massive. It stretched out in each direction further than she could see. It was like being in the center of a sea of trees. Off in the distance, she saw a flock of birds take flight just as the trees themselves began to convulse and bend over.
The trees parted, divided in half by what she could only assume was a huge creature. Whatever was breaking the trees was headed up the hill in her direction. She stood up and reached for her staff, which she had strapped across her back. According to Tsuki, having it strapped to her back would make it easier to draw when necessary. It also kept the staff from encumbering her walking.
She held onto the handle without drawing it. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's the wind in the trees? The crack and snap of trees breaking echoed over the treetops towards her, followed by a deep guttural roar. The ground beneath her feet trembled beneath the force of its footsteps. Now is a good time to run. Which way should she go? It would be faster and easier to go downhill, in the opposite direction, but that put them on even ground. With her luck, it was after her, and if she was going downhill, it would make her easier to catch. Her other option was uphill, which would be slower but might put some distance between her and whatever was breaking the trees.
She pondered for another moment until a group of deer burst through the underbrush, leaping and attempting to flee whatever was drawing closer. Suzume left her staff strapped to her back and ran uphill away from the creature that was tearing through the forest in her direction. Her limbs were tight and angry, her breathing labored. She forced herself to stick with the stream of deer and followed the paths they did, swinging around trees and stumbling through the undergrowth. They were much more agile and less prone to catching their clothes on low-hanging branches and they quickly outraced her. Suzume's energy flagged and she slowed down.
The creature was almost upon her. The vibrations of its stomping footsteps reverberated through her entire body. She would have to stop and fight or hope it did not blow her over. She considered climbing a tree, but hearing the sickening crunch of trees being destroyed behind her, Suzume decided against that idea.
She ran ahead as fast as she could. Up the slope was a fallen gingko tree. The tree had fallen lengthwise on the slope and gotten wedged on a boulder. Dirt had slid down the hill and gathered behind the log, making a natural platform. It was her best chance at gaining an upper hand--literally--against whatever was coming her way. There, at least, she could see her attacker and make an assessment as to her danger--with her luck it was almost absolute. She whipped her staff out from the strap on her back and put herself into a defensive position, feet spread apart and staff crossed in front of her.
The Oni burst through the trees just as Suzume prepared herself to stand and fight. It was massive, over twelve feet tall, with bright blue skin. Gray horns jutted out from his protruding brow and large fangs stuck out from beneath his bulbous lips. He smiled when he saw Suzume standing there and revealed several more sharp teeth.
"Priestess," he bellowed, "you should not have come to my forest. I smelled you the moment you left the temple. Now I will devour you!" He laughed as he slapped his enormous blue gut, which hung over the edge of his ragged loincloth.
His squat muscled legs were as big around as tree trunks. He held a battered and filthy giant club covered in what appeared to be dried blood.
Now would be a good time for Kaito or someone to come and intervene.
"I have no intention of being your meal. I would never let someone so ugly and stupid eat me," Suzume taunted. It wasn't her best idea, but she didn't have a lot of options at this point.
His beady eyes glowed red as he rushed towards Suzume. She twirled her staff and sang the incantation Akira had taught her to make a barrier. A shimmering barrier flew up to deflect the blow of the Oni's club just as he swung it in an arc towards Suzume's head. The club struck the barrier and red sparks flew where they collided. The Oni took a lurching step back. He had not been expecting a barrier, it seemed.
Suzume used his momentary confusion to her advantage and lunged forward with the staff. She jabbed at his gut with the end of it and focused her energy, channeling it through it as Akira had taught her. A red streak of light erupted from the tip and the Oni fell backwards onto his back before rolling down the hill a few feet.
Suzume panted. Unused to utilizing her powers, even the small burst of energy drained her. She wanted to run away, but the Oni was back on its feet, roaring with anger. It charged again towards Suzume when she felt the barrier flicker and die. She turned and ran up the hill. She weaved in and out of trees, but it did nothing to dissuade the Oni. It plowed through everything without stopping.
I have to do something.
Up ahead, there was a low-hanging branch. She grabbed onto it and with some difficulty climbed up into the tree. The Oni lumbered towards her. She held onto her staff with sweaty hands, debating her plan. The Oni grabbed a hold of the tree she was in and shook it. Leaves fell onto his head and Suzume wrapped her arms around the branch to keep from falling. There's nowhere else to go. With a blind leap of faith, she jumped down and onto the Oni's shoulders. She clung to his thick neck by swinging the staff across it and holding on to each end of her staff. She pressed her face against his rough back. It was like cuddling with a giant rock. Her powers were so depleted she felt nothing but a faint tickle as her natural defenses tried to protect her from close contact with the Oni.
The Oni swung his club wildly and shook back and forth, trying to get her off his back. Now what? All she could do now was pray she came up with a better plan before he tried to squish her against a tree. Her legs scrambled up his back, looking for purchase. But she couldn't find a toehold. Her fingers were going numb from holding on. This is not how I imagined I would die.
Then the Oni swung hard right with his club, seemingly having forgotten about Suzume, who was riding piggyback.
"Suzume, let go!" Tsuki shouted up to her. He ran back in forth in front of the Oni, trying to draw his attention.
"Are you crazy? He'll smash me to bits," she called back to him.
"Throw the staff to me; I can defeat him with it."
She hesitated. Not only was the staff the only thing keeping her on the Oni's back, she hated the idea of giving up the staff to anybody, even Tsuki. He is the staff's guardian, though. Then again, if it was down to her and the staff, she supposed she chose herself. Suzume used her flagging energy to climb up higher on the Oni's back and grabbed a fat fold in the Oni's neck. She let go of one side of the staff and tossed it as hard as she could. It fell to the ground a few feet from the Oni, between it and Tsuki. Tsuki scuttled forward to retrieve the staff. The Oni swung its club, and Tsuki rolled out of the way, the edge of the club just grazing the top of his head.
Suzume let go and slid down the back of the Oni like some grotesque slide. Her skin was raw and chafed from where the Oni's rough skin ha
d brushed against her and her powers had feebly tried to protect her. She ran away from the thundering Oni, who twisted back and forth, trying to choose a target for his rage.
Tsuki jumped and hit the Oni in the head, drawing its attention at last to him. Tsuki held the staff horizontally in front of him. The Oni swung his club and brought it down hard on the staff. Tsuki deflected the Oni's attack with a forward thrust and pushed it back. They traded blows, Tsuki landing quite a few on the belly of the Oni, which had little effect.
The Oni caught Tsuki unaware as he tried to lunge for the Oni's shoulder, and knocked Tsuki onto his back. Tsuki jumped back up and narrowly avoided having his skull crushed by the Oni's club. After a while the Oni slowed down. His labored breathing was loud enough to shake the trees around him. Tsuki took his opportunity to attack the Oni's head as he leaned down in an ineffectual attempt to swipe at Tsuki. Tsuki struck the Oni in the eye with the end of the staff. The staff sank in deep and gore spilled out, soaking Tsuki in gray blood.
Suzume swallowed back the bile that rose into her mouth as the Oni stumbled backwards and collapsed on the ground, unmoving. Tsuki stood over the dead Oni with a grin plastered across his face, covered in gore, and a bit of something that looked suspiciously like brain matter clung to his long black hair.
"Why are you always such a slob?" Akira asked, using Tsuki's form. Hearing her voice coming from Tsuki's mouth was disturbing in itself, but seeing him covered as he was, Suzume had to turn away to hide her disgust. They make killing look so easy.
Just then Rin and Kaito arrived on the scene. They both surveyed the dead body and Tsuki's bloody person with relative calm.
"What happened here?" Kaito asked. His tone was difficult to read, and Suzume was not sure if he was upset, excited, or indifferent.
"This thing was trying to eat me, you know, the usual." She pointed to the dead body with a shrug of her shoulders. She hoped no one noticed her shaking hands. This was probably her closest brush with death yet.
"That's what happens when you fall behind," Kaito said in dismissal and he turned to head back up the hill.
"Thanks for the concern!" Suzume shouted after his retreating back.
"Anytime!" he replied.
He always has to have the last word, doesn't he?
Chapter Forty-three
They wandered around the forest until dusk fell. At which point, Suzume gave up the pretense and demanded they rest. Who knew what lurked about in the forest, waiting to come and try to devour her. Then again, she had been almost eaten so many times it was hard to get excited about it anymore. They set up camp, which wasn't much more than a fire pit and a few sleeping mats rolled out. Not for the first time, Suzume wondered why the immortals even pretended to rest. Surely they did not need sleep.
Suzume plopped down on her sleeping mat. She was considering rolling up in a blanket and forgetting the world when Tsuki came and sat down beside her.
"You did good today," he said with his characteristic grin.
Suzume scowled at him. "At what point did I do good? When I was clinging for dear life from the monster's back or the part when you had to sweep in and save me?"
Though she knew she did not have the skills to fend for herself, she was tired of playing the weak and helpless damsel in distress. Whoa, that's a new concept. Before this nightmare started, I would have loved to play damsel in distress. Men like feeling as if they saved the day. Of course, I never knew what real danger was waiting beyond the palace walls. It's eat or be eaten out here, literally.
"You have the raw talent. You just need to tap into your potential as a fighter," Tsuki said, and the surprising thing was he sounded sincere.
She snorted. "I have raw talent because I am Kazue's reincarnation, right? Everything flows from her." She could not hide the bitterness in her tone.
Tsuki shook his head and his long black hair swung from side to side. "No, that's not what I meant. You have fire in you. I can see Kazue in you, but I also see something different. It's a spark that sets you apart from her."
She narrowed her eyes and regarded him. It was no secret she despised the fact that everything about her life seemed to be predestined by her past life. Which begged the question: was Tsuki just trying to get on her good side? And why?
"What do you want?" she asked bluntly.
He had the good sense to pretend to be offended. He pressed a hand to his chest and opened his mouth in feigned shock. "Can't I pay you a compliment?"
"No."
He laughed. It was an almost sensual sound, dark and husky. That was one thing he had in common with his sister, oozing sex appeal. Though Tsuki seemed to lean more toward playful, Suzume could not shake the feeling that the entangled siblings had an alternate agenda.
"You caught me." He turned to look at her. His eyes were hooded and his lips parted slightly.
Suzume cocked her head back and gave him a look. "What's with the bedroom eyes?"
He leaned forward. "Maybe I'm paying you a compliment so I can get closer to you. It's been five hundred years since I've been near a woman I don't share a body with."
Suzume leaned back on her hands to put distance between them. "Can someone explain why all of you immortals seem to have no personal boundaries?"
Before he had a chance to answer, Kaito stomped over and plucked Tsuki off of her sleeping mat and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Tsuki hit the ground, rolled, and then jumped back to his feet, smiling. He threw his arms out with a flourish.
"Did I hit a tender spot, Dragon?" Tsuki asked. He had his hands on his hips, but his body looked tense and ready for action. Kaito stood in front of Suzume so that she had to crane her neck around Kaito to see Tsuki.
"The priestess is mine, and I don't like to share," Kaito snarled.
Suzume jumped to her feet and shoved Kaito hard in the back. Her final nerve had been struck.
"How dare you!" she shouted. She balled her hands into fists at her sides, trying to curb the impulse to swing and hit Kaito. She could feel the rivers of energy coursing through her body. Flames leapt along her skin and sparks flew from the ends of her hair.
The two men swiveled to face her. Kaito raised an eyebrow in question, as if he did not understand her indignation. This is all a game to the lot of them. I hate them all, the inconsiderate jerks.
"I am not yours; I do not belong to anyone," she said through clenched teeth.
Kaito's expression was bland, but she could see the fire--or in his case, ice--burning in his eyes. She knew from experience what the result of pushing his buttons was, but she just could not stop herself. It was like a bad habit, one that she was powerless to correct.
"Have you forgotten you were given to me on that mountaintop? You were meant to be my bride." His tone rumbled with thunder. Had Suzume not known Kaito, she might have been afraid, but she knew this was all just posturing on his part. Something about Tsuki getting chummy with her had struck a chord with Kaito and this was the resulting pissing contest. It's like he's jealous.
She did not want to think about that possibility, so instead she shoved him again. And this time she pushed with a thrust of her power. She had recouped more energy since her fight with the Oni. The red streak of energy rolled over her skin, smashed through all the dams inside her, and grew into a tidal wave. The energy manifested in a ball in the palm of her hands and in her rage-filled push, she hit Kaito in the chest, sending him flying through the air and into the forest beyond the light of their campfire.
Kaito landed in a bush but leapt to his feet quickly enough. When he got back on his feet, the air temperature dropped several degrees. Kaito was mad. It had been a clear night before, but storm clouds started gathering in the sky--big, gray and ominous. This was quickly escalating beyond posturing and turning into a full-blown battle royal and she was the challenger. She knew she should step down, but she was too angry to do so. She stood with hands on hips, glaring at Kaito and Tsuki.
"All of you think it's fine to play games.
That people's feelings don't matter. Well, here's the truth. I am not your possession and I am not a tool." She glared at Tsuki. "I do not want to be Kazue. I do not want anything to do with her task. I'm tired of having my life threatened by Yokai and I'm tired of the secrets. Now either everyone lays everything out on the table or I quit!" She finished her tirade and panted from the effort of forcing the words out.
Her power swirled around her, over her skin and through her veins. Every part of her vibrated with energy. It felt like she was made entirely out of flame. Red light fanned around her, flickering and moving like fire. Kaito stomped over to her, but as he drew closer, he stopped, his face washed in a red glow. Rin had been staying out of the fight, sitting on her own sleeping mat, but she rose to her feet now and stared at Suzume. Tsuki's eyes were wide and terrified.
"Why are you all staring at me like I am some kind of freak?" she asked them.
"You're on fire," Rin said.
Suzume lifted up her hand; it was tipped with flames. She did not feel the heat, but it rippled and contorted as she waved her hand back and forth.
"What is this? What did you do to me?" She looked over at the most likely candidate, Tsuki, but he looked just as shocked as the others.
None of them would move any closer to her; in fact, they all took a step back. Thanks a lot, guys, for your help. What if I really had been on fire? In truth, she would have fled the scene just as quickly had the roles been reversed. As it was, she was afraid to move for fear she'd ignite a forest fire.
Tsuki switched to Akira and she alone among the group was willing to cautiously approach Suzume. Akira stood a few feet away from the burning priestess. She reached out to touch Suzume. When she got close, the flames erupted, burning like an inferno around Suzume. Her hair whipped around her as if she was in the middle of a tropical storm. The flames that encased her lit up the entire clearing, casting everything in crimson light. The flames wrapped around Akira's arm like a vine on a tree, and unlike Suzume, it burned Akira.
The Priestess and the Dragon Page 31
