Kaito picked her up. Normally she would have fought him off, but she did not have the energy to do even that.
"Why is this happening to me?" She did not mean for her question to make her sound so vulnerable and weak, but it had just come out.
He did not answer straight away. Or perhaps he was just toying with her; it was difficult to tell where he was concerned. She did not even want to question why he was carrying her or where he was taking her.
"I don't know," he said at last.
It was probably the most honest thing he had ever said to her. Her eyes drooped as he carried her. What if I fall asleep and he takes advantage of me? Her lids would not stay open, no matter how much she didn't want to trust him. He watched me sleep last night and nothing happened. She felt hollow and empty, and the beating of his heart and the swaying of his stride lulled her. I'll just rest my eyes for a moment.
9
He stared down at the weakened priestess. What a fool to fall for such a simple trick. I wanted to test her ability, but she really has no control. I would be better off leaving her here with the salamander. Not that she would stay put for long. She was stubborn enough that she would come chasing after him.
The swamp had changed since he had been there last—the course of the river bent a different way and the inhabitants were all but nonexistent. He sensed a Kappa nearby and other low-level Yokai that would never reveal themselves to him. But there were far too few for an area so thick with wildlife. Something has been hunting here.
He glanced around, spreading his spiritual power outwards, probing the surrounding swamp and forest, but his power was limited. His imprisonment had left him weak, his power curtailed by hundreds of years surrounded by the spiritual energy of humans. I should have recovered by now. What has Kazue done to me? Then he felt it—a cluster of energy not far, just beyond his current reach. As soon as he sensed it, it retreated, disappearing into darkness. We've been followed. He had been so caught up in finding the salamander, he had not considered the possibility. I wonder if it is whatever has been hunting this area.
He looked down at the priestess once again. Her eyes were closed, the perpetual scowl softened in her sleep. You cannot even tell what a nuisance she is when she's sleeping. Where do her powers come from? I've never seen that sort of untamed power before. Even Kazue when she was untrained was not nearly as dangerous. Either way, he could not investigate with her dead weight and he dared not venture back into the swamp, for risk of losing the trail.
There used to be a shrine somewhere near here. He ran in the direction he thought it was, hoping his memory of the swamp still proved true. Carrying the priestess proved cumbersome, but he managed to leap over the river and up an embankment to the place he had remembered. A large tree dominated a small island in the river. It was much larger than he remembered—it was the width of ten men—and its canopy hung overhead, keeping the area for fifty meters in shade. Humans had tied ofuda around the trunk of the tree, but they were old and frayed. He laid the priestess down among the roots, her head cradled by them. He touched the trunk, searching for the Kodama.
At first, there was no response, and he feared it had left, perhaps scared away by whatever had been hunting in the area. Then it stirred, a small wriggle at first; then the energy rolled and stretched as if it was waking from a long sleep. A small translucent hand poked out from the bark, followed by another and then a head and feet. It appeared like a wisp of white smoke with almost humanoid features though they lacked definition.
"Sorry to disturb your slumber," Kaito said with a bow. "I have a favor to ask of you."
The Kodama bowed his head, indicating Kaito should continue.
"I need a safe place to keep this woman, will you watch over her until I return?"
The tree spirit floated downward and sat upon a twisted root beside the priestess' head. He tilted his round head from side to side, examining the priestess, and then looked up at Kaito with black eyes. He nodded his head again.
Kaito bowed once more. "I won't be long."
He jogged away, leaving the Kodama to watch over the priestess. As he ran over streams and through tangles of moss, and glided over the puddles of mud, he got a better sense of the watchers. How long have they been following us? He had been searching for signs of other Yokai since he woke. Either they had all cloaked their energy, or his senses were not what they used to be. He hoped it was the former. But as he closed the distance, he got a clearer read of their spiritual energy.
There were several of them, six in total, minor Yokai, from what he could sense. But he doubted they would prove a challenge for him, even when he was not at his full power. How did they disguise themselves all this time? Have they been following just beyond my reach? In the past they would not have ventured this close, but as he had learned since waking, things had changed. His kingdom had fallen into chaos since he had been sealed. Once I get my revenge, I will set everything right.
He reached an embankment, where he landed and spun around. They had stopped running away. They circled him, probably thinking they could overpower him by numbers. He smirked. It had been too long since he had a good fight.
He tilted his head back. "Come out, I know you're there."
Three figures dropped down from the trees. They were monkeys, or monkey Yokai rather, and they wore matching yellow haori and hakama. It was strange for a lower yokai to don clothes. They usually preferred to run wild like animals in the forest. And these three were a long way from home. They were mostly mountainous creatures. They've followed us from the mountain, I suspect. Though they were apelike in appearance, they moved like men and even grinned at him with identical smiles revealing their pointed canines.
"What are you all smiling about?"
"You shouldn't have left the priestess alone," said the one in the middle. He seemed to be their leader, but he would be giving them too much credit to say they were that organized.
Kaito narrowed his eyes at them. "Do you know who I am?"
They reached for short staffs that they carried strapped across their shoulders. They did not draw their weapons, but Kaito knew a threat when he saw one.
"We know who you are, Sleeping Dragon," the middle one replied.
"Is that what they've been calling me since I've been gone? I suppose Magnificent Dragon was taken? Was it my brother who styled himself that way? He was always vain."
They did not laugh. Kaito crossed his arms over his chest. "You're a long way from home, what brings you to this lovely swamp?" He gestured to the bubbling pools of mud and the moss hanging down like curtains from the branches of the trees.
"Business," the middle monkey replied. He shifted his weight from one foot to the others. And in unison the others did too.
Kaito pretended he did not see the small tell. "I bet, and that business has to do with me?"
"No. You are a minor annoyance. But draining you of what little spiritual energy you have left may help us ascend."
"Ascend? Pardon me, I know things have changed while I was away, but what does that mean exactly?" When the salamander had told him, he had thought it just rumor, but seeing a lower Yokai dressed like a human, it all clicked into place. They really think they can gain more powers from other Yokai. Perhaps that's why they're so few left. They're devouring one another.
The monkey grinned and clenched his hand tighter onto his staff. The monkeys flanking him did the same. I knew it, they're just copies.
"We are going to become as powerful as the Eight," the monkey replied.
Kaito laughed long and hard as the monkey glowered at him. This was just the sort of idiotic drivel he expected from a Yokai of his level.
"You will not be laughing when you're nothing but a husk." The monkeys screeched as they rushed towards Kaito.
He stopped laughing and twirled out of the way as they passed him. He shot icy blasts into the monkeys flanking the middle one. Two disappeared and pebbles clattered onto the ground in their place. That's rather
advanced, generating clones out of physical objects. Where did they learn such a trick? I wonder.
The middle monkey remained and he pointed his staff at Kaito. "You saw through my deception."
They circled one another as Kaito uncapped his power, letting it flood his limbs. His hands transformed, tipped with claws. His breath came out in clouds of frozen vapor.
"Tell me," he rumbled. His voice deepened and sounded like the crash of thunder. "Who's been filling your head with lies about ascending?"
The monkey swung at Kaito's head with the staff. He sidestepped the attack and darted for the monkey, coming at him beneath his swing. He swiped a clawed hand at the creature, but when his claws should have ripped into flesh, the monkey disappeared with a pop and a stone clattered onto the ground. Kaito spun around; he had underestimated the monkey. A talking clone was very advanced indeed.
Five clones stared at him, with identical grins. He probed them with his spiritual energy, trying to find the real one, but they all blended together, sharing power without a source. He growled.
"You think yourself clever, but we have watched you prance around with the priestess, you are not as powerful as you think you were," the monkeys said in unison; their voices echoed and overlapped.
"I'll show you my true power." Kaito snarled and with a swing of his hand slashed through all five monkeys. Five stones fell to the ground, plinking one by one.
He clenched his hand into a fist. "Come out and fight me, coward."
Kaito spun in place. They're playing games with me. A monkey leapt at him from the trees, fangs bared and staff swinging. He batted it away as if it were a fly, but as he suspected, it was not the real monkey, and when one disappeared, another one replaced it. Two dozen monkeys loomed overhead in the treetops; half a dozen dropped down onto the ground surrounding him. He felt the power center nearby, but they moved about, darting back and forth, so it was hard to tell which one was the original and which were copies.
They screeched as they shook the tree limbs; others pounded their feet into the ground. The drumming and screeching and wailing made it difficult to concentrate, and while he tried to find the source of the chaos, the clones swung at him with short staffs, which he tried to fend off with his claws. If he had the room, he could transform into his dragon form, but they gave him not a moment to transform and they closed in all the time. For each clone he destroyed, another took its place. They kept coming like waves, one after the other, overwhelming him.
The real monkey was somewhere in the mix, and his spiritual energy burned brighter than the others. He would sneak in and land a blow to Kaito's stomach or his back before retreating into the mass, shielded by his many clones. Kaito's temper rose and he lost focus.
A staff hit him hard in the chin, knocking him backwards. He stumbled back, trying to regain his balance; the monkeys pushed their advantage, falling onto him in a pile. He staggered beneath them, his knees buckling as more and more climbed on top of him. He had overestimated his ability, just as the monkey had said. Had he had his full power, they would not have lasted a second against him.
He lost sight of anything but the bright yellow of the silk haori; their stink of musk and rotten fruit filled his nostrils. I will not die this way. Not without my revenge. He had one chance left, he had wanted to avoid using up what little energy he had. He concentrated on the river of energy flowing through his body, once a mighty river now more like a stream. He redirected the stream, pulling forth the energy deep in the pit of his stomach, and with an exhale he expelled it and they flew off him in a blast. Fifty monkey copies disintegrated into nothing. A cascade of pebbles fell onto his back as he lay panting on the ground.
Kaito stood, his legs weak and his head pounding. Among the rubble, one dead monkey, mouth open in shock, covered in ice. He stared down at the monkey. Where did a monkey Yokai get this kind of power? As he walked away, he staggered and leaned against a tree. The monkey laughed feebly. He turned back around to face him; the creature had only been stunned at first. He leaned over the creature and placed his foot against its throat.
"Not so cheeky now?" he panted.
The monkey grinned as Kaito glared down at him. "What are you smiling at?"
"The great Dragon fell right into our trap."
His senses had been numbed by the explosion of energy and he had not felt anyone sneak up behind him until it was too late. He felt the familiar spiritual pressure. It can't be. I'm just imagining it. She's dead.
Suzume screamed in the distance. They were after the priestess from the beginning. He whipped his head backwards, prepared to go and stop them. The source of the spiritual pressure stood in his way. A priestess in red and white stood nearby; in her hand was a charm, a white ofuda painted with black characters. He stared at her. This cannot be real. This has to be a dream.
She stared at him, stoic and removed. She lifted the ofuda and sang a few words. His feet would not move to stop her. Just as they had been that day Kazue had sealed him. Her song ended and the charm vibrated with energy twisting and tugging, trying to break free of her grasp. She looked down as she let the charm go. It came straight for him.
"Kazue?" he said—the words betrayed him. He should have been mad. He should have torn her apart for returning to him only to replay that final betrayal once more. But instead the charm slammed into his chest and he was thrown backwards as he uttered a single word. "Why?"
10
When she opened her eyes once more, she was alone in a strange place. Her head rested against the bark of a tree. She looked about for Kaito, but he was nowhere to be seen. He left me! Was that his plan all along, to bring me to this forsaken place and abandon me? Suzume grabbed the tree behind her, wrapped her arms around the trunk and pulled, but she did not have the strength to even lift herself off the ground. She slid back down to the ground and stared out into the forest. I refuse to be left behind. I'll get out of here on my own. I'll show him that I'm not useless.
She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to decide what to do next. She couldn't move, and who knew how long she could stay here without attracting some man-eating Yokai. I'll just rest a while and then I'll go look for a way back to the road. And from there, then what? She wasn't even sure she could find her way to the road let alone to any village or the governor's palace that she had never been to.
A twig nearby snapped and Suzume whipped her head in the direction of the sound. The branches rustled and then a pair of small brown birds burst from beneath the canopy. They twirled around one another, fighting over a piece of grass. Suzume exhaled a breath she had been holding. She hated to admit it, but the swamp monster's warning about creatures lurking about had spooked her. And now she felt as vulnerable as a newborn. A week ago she would never have worried. Then again, a week ago she did not know Yokai were real and had an appetite for human flesh.
I cannot just sit here and wait to be made into a meal. She wriggled her toes and flexed her legs. That's it, I'm leaving. She pushed hard on the ground with the palms of her hands. She managed to lift up by perhaps a meter before she tilted over to the side like an overfilled wagon. The ground here was harder and her only consolation was she did not get an ear full of mud. She rolled over and climbed onto all fours. Come on, Suzume, if you can wake a dragon, you can walk out of this swamp.
Her arms trembled as she crept on all fours. Her legs burned and her stomach muscles contracted. She made it to the other side of the clearing before collapsing face forward onto the ground.
Suzume lay head tilted to one side, too tired to care that she was filthy and lying on the ground. How did I end up here? Where did I go wrong? Suzume lay on the ground, listening to the burbling of the river nearby. A fish or some aquatic creature splashed in the water. Her eyelids had grown heavy, and the sun, which peeked through the canopy of the trees, warmed her back. She dozed off for a few moments.
She woke with a start when she felt a prickle race up her spine, as if an icy finger had been brushed again
st her skin. She gasped and rolled over, expecting to find Kaito leering down at her. But she was alone and the sun was high in the sky. She must not have slept for very long. She flexed her fingers, they were not as stiff as before, and her legs did not feel wobbly. She eased herself into a sitting position. It took more effort than it normally would have, but at least she wasn't face down in the dirt anymore. She looked around, the short hairs on the back of her neck pricked and a voice at the back of her mind screamed danger.
I cannot stay here out in the open. She maneuvered her feet under her and attempted to once more rise up onto all fours. She stayed like that for a moment, making sure she could hold her own weight. Then she heard a rustling sound behind her. She looked over her shoulder, her eyes darting back and forth. A frog hopped across her path. It stopped in front of her and stared at her with large bulbous eyes.
"Go tell your swamp lord to keep his subjects away from me," Suzume said.
The frog blinked at her before hopping off. She heaved a sigh. It's now or never. She lurched forward, and with more effort than she would like to admit, she climbed back onto her feet. She stood upright, wobbling with her hands out for balance. I can do this. She had started to chant it in her mind like a mantra.
She took a few steps, but she was so focused on walking she did not see the embankment that sloped down towards the river. She tripped and went tumbling down the hill. She splashed in a pool of water at the bottom of the hill, along the river's edge. She gasped and inhaled a mouthful of stagnant dirty water. She threw her head back, tossing water and mud around as she sputtered and spit out the brackish water. She shook her head as she clawed her way up onto the riverbank, where she proceeded to wring out her clothes. Though there wasn't much use. She was probably only going to land in another puddle or slip in more mud or, worse, get attacked by something that would cover her in goop.
The Dragon Saga Box Set Page 7