The Dragon Saga Box Set

by Nicolette Andrews

  The woman did not respond. She handed Suzume the branch and stepped back. Her eyes were blank like that of a doll. The second shrine maiden glanced at her and she was the second in command at the temple shrine, Zakuro. She whirled around to look at Daiki and he was gone, replaced by a large looming spider with dripping fangs.

  "You weren't supposed to wake up, Priestess. You're much too powerful. If the Dragon hadn't woken you to question you, this would not have happened. He should learn not to meddle, it would have made your passing so much quieter." The spider sighed or that's the closest thing she could compare it to coming from a monster.

  "What did you do to me?" Suzume screamed.

  "It doesn't matter now, Priestess, your end has come." The giant spider hissed as she dove at Suzume with her poison fangs.

  22

  Suzume screamed, her last defense. She wriggled in her bindings, but the strong sticky fibers had her bound up tight. She closed her eyes and waited for the attack that didn't come.

  Her skin tingled all over and turned into a slow burn, which grew until she felt like she was ablaze, as if she was at the center of an inferno. The spider screeched and Suzume opened her eyes. A shield of red light surrounded her. Through an opaque red barrier she saw the spider pacing back and forth.

  The temple and everything else had disappeared and she was inside the cave once more, but she was no longer bound. Her clothes were shredded and she was covered from head to toe in stringy, sticky remnants of the webbing that had cocooned her previously. She pulled a string of webbing from her face with a grimace. Disgusting, how did I end up here?

  The spider scuttled back and forth outside the barrier, clicking her mandibles and hissing at Suzume.

  "You shouldn't have a drop of spiritual energy left," the spider hissed. "My spell should have drained all of it out of you."

  "Your spell didn't work very well," Suzume said, climbing onto shaking feet. She tried to gain her bearings. Why am I in a cave? Where are Daiki and Akito? The spiritual shield around her was weak. In certain spots it was an opaque crimson, in others a faint pink. Not good. If the spider noticed, she did not know how to reinforce the weaker spots. She didn't know how she had made the shield in the first place, it had happened instinctively.

  The spider lunged for the weak part of the shield. On reflex, Suzume threw up her arms to protect herself. But when the spider came in contact with the barrier, shafts of tentacle-like energy shot out, burning the spider's legs. The spider fell back, making a horrible screeching sound. At least she can't get through the shield.

  Suzume's head spun. Whatever the spider had done to her, it was affecting her still, though the effects were fading. She was beginning to remember things. She remembered the attack on the road and the large shadow that descended upon her after getting caught up in a web. It was the spider's spell all along. None of that was real. What a relief. Suzume looked up at the spider, whose long legs and bulbous body blocked the only exit. Now how do I get out of this mess?

  The spider taunted her, "You're weak from my spell and you cannot hold that shield for long. I will wait for it to fail and then you will be mine. You are just delaying the inevitable."

  Suzume sneered at the spider. "You talk too much," she said, unable to stop a snide remark from slipping out.

  The spider only laughed, convinced she had Suzume beat. Suzume concentrated harder on her barrier. Back at the mountain temple, when Kaito got too close, she was able to send probes of energy toward him. Seeing as her spiritual energy burned the spider, perhaps if she could control it now, she could get past this spider. She imagined the energy reaching out from her shield and attacking the spider—as she had once done with Kaito back at the temple.

  A weak tendril, the size of a thread, slithered off of the shield. It floated over to the spider and brushed against one of the spider's legs. The spider retracted her smoking leg.

  "That tickled," the spider said and clicked her mandibles menacingly.

  Suzume hid her fear with a smirk. Maybe she'll think I have a plan if I keep smiling like this. The truth was, she didn't have a plan. The shield was starting to flicker again, her head was spinning, and her knees were bound to buckle beneath her at any moment.

  The spider crept closer, and her fangs were dripping with more of the hallucinogenic poison—Suzume was sure. I cannot believe I am going to die in a filthy cave, eaten by a giant talking spider who puts you into the middle of a melodramatic fantasy before you die. Suzume's knees locked and she fell down, scraping them on the stone floor. The barrier had faded to a dusty pink, and when the spider loomed over her, it hardly flickered in her defense.

  "You never should have left your shrine, little Priestess. You should know there are much bigger and badder things waiting to eat you."

  "Thanks for the advice," Suzume replied—despite her current situation, she still couldn't guard her tongue.

  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 real
ize 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 corridor. 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."

  23

  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.