Rin watched Kaito with a furrowed brow, her red lips turned down at the corners.
"So whoever made the charm is inside there?" Suzume asked.
"Yeah, but he's hiding, the coward."
Suzume stared at the door. There didn't seem to be anything special about it. The open sliding doors revealed the temple within, an altar at the front of the room had incense burning. Smoke curled in ribbons and rose up to the ceiling in offering to the gods who presided here. Maybe I awoke the god here, like at the roadside shrine.
Akira came over and tried to put her hand through the doorway. Her hand pressed flat against an invisible wall. She looked over at Kaito and Rin. "You both tried to cross over?"
Rin nodded in response.
"Of course, I'm not a fool," Kaito snapped.
Akira took the brunt of his anger with good grace. She turned back to Suzume. "You should try."
"Me? Why?"
"Because I think whoever built this barrier is waiting for you within."
Suzume scowled at Akira. Suzume hadn't trusted Akira from the first moment they met. Akira seemed to know too much and reveal too little. Now Akira was trying to convince Suzume to go into the unknown to meet whoever had attempted to frame Kaito. What game is she playing at?
"I don't know if that's a good idea," Rin chimed in for the first time.
Akira fixed her with a cool stare. "Believe me, it is very necessary."
A shiver rushed down Suzume's spine. Rin, her auburn brows pulled together, made no further protest. Kaito scowled, his features were even more menacing half-transformed.
"What say you, Dragon?" Tsuki asked, using Akira's face.
"Let her try. It's better than sitting here doing nothing." He waved his hand to the doorway.
Suzume swallowed past a lump in her throat. "Why am I always getting chosen for these dangerous tasks?"
"Because you're meant to do them," Akira said.
Rin nodded her agreement. "She's right; you should go in there."
Suzume shook her head. They've all lost their minds. Some psychopath is in there waiting to probably kill me and they all want me to waltz right in.
"I'm not going—" Before she could complete her sentence, Kaito hoisted her up by the armpits and dragged her to the doorway.
"In you go, Priestess." He heaved her through the doorway. She felt a slight resistance, like walking through a spiderweb. The barrier clung to her skin like a sticky residue. She tried to rub it off and it dissolved beneath her fingertips, evaporating into the air. When she looked up, she was standing in the doorway of the temple.
Everything was silent. It was darker within than she had thought originally. As she walked across the tatami mat, her footsteps echoed back at her. She looked over her shoulder once to where her friends stood, but they had disappeared along with the door. Oh no, what did he do to me?
Suzume tightened her grip on the staff and walked towards the altar, where the incense burned. Smoke drifted on the air, but she could not smell it. It was as if she was looking at it from outside a window.
"You found your way in quicker than I thought you would."
Suzume spun around. A man leaned against a pillar at the back of the room, his face shadowed and long black hair falling down to his shoulder.
"You!" The man who had attacked her outside the shrine.
"I'm glad you passed my tests." He pushed off from the pillar and sauntered over to Suzume. She held her staff up in a defensive pose, with the length of it crossing her body at an angle. It wouldn't do much against this opponent, but it made her feel better.
"Put your toy away; I didn't come here to fight, I just want to talk."
Suzume scowled at him. "Talk like we did earlier, when you shot me with something?" she snapped. "That really hurt, by the way," she added as an afterthought.
He chuckled. It was a dark and husky sound. "No, I promise to play fair this time."
He stepped into a shaft of light that came from a window in the ceiling. Suzume could see his features clearly for the first time, sharp features, a narrow nose and wide mouth.
"Where's the head priest? Were you working together to make the fake dragon?" Suzume pointed her staff at the stranger.
He chuckled and shook his head, his dark eyes intent on Suzume. "He's here." He wiped a hand over his face and it transformed from a young man to the elderly head priest.
Suzume hid her surprise. "Then this was all a trick from the beginning?"
He shrugged and transformed his face back to that of a young man. "More or less. You have to admit it was amusing."
"Why did you do this?"
He strolled around Suzume in a circle, like a cat batting around a mouse for its own amusement.
"Do I need a reason?"
"I suppose you don't need one, per se."
He laughed again. "Oh, I like you, Suzume." The way he said Suzume's name was like a caress and it made her skin crawl.
"What do you want with me? There has to be a reason you would only let me through." She spun in circles to keep her eyes on him as he walked around her.
He stopped and regarded her, his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his hakama. "I just wanted to have a chat, that's all. We got off on the wrong foot before."
She snorted. "Do you make a habit of understatements? I'm pretty sure the dragon you created was trying to decapitate me back there."
"No, only seriously maim you." He shrugged as if losing body parts were a day-to-day affair.
This guy is nuts. "How reassuring." Suzume rolled her eyes.
He moved closer to her. Before she could back away, his hand darted out and grabbed a few strands of Suzume's hair. She twisted away and slipped out of his grip. She turned around and tried to hit him with the staff, but he moved too quickly for her.
"Don't touch me!" she shouted.
He only laughed. He had melted into the shadows of the chamber. For a moment all she could see was his white face against the dark before he was gone completely. Suzume spun around, trying to figure out where the stranger was.
"Oh, Suzume, you have so much to learn. They will let you believe you are Kazue, but you are so much more than that. Only I see your true potential, see you for who you are."
She knew better than to be lulled by this psycho's words, but she could not keep from replying, "You told me that you knew me when we first arrived at the shrine, that you and Kazue knew one another in another life."
"We did." His voice sounded distant as if he were talking to her across miles and miles.
"What was she to you?"
He did not answer right away. When he did, he sounded closer, as if his lips were pressed against her ear. "An enemy, of sorts," he whispered. "A friend, as well."
"What does that make you to me, a friend or an enemy?" Suzume asked.
He reemerged from the dark and rushed her. Suzume threw up the staff in a lame defensive move. He wrenched it from her grip and with one hand pinned her back to his chest and slung the staff over her arms, trapping her against him. She could not move and she felt his lips brush against her ear. She brought her shoulders up to try to defend herself from his offending mouth.
"Oh, no, Suzume, you are not my enemy. You don't have to live Kazue's life. Your choices are your own—that's why I showed you the Dragon. You could do what Kazue could not do and kill the Dragon. You have the power."
"Who says I want to kill him?"
She couldn't see his smile, but she felt it. With his face pressed against hers, she felt the muscles tighten along his jaw. "I can see it in your soul, Suzume. You have the bloodlust. Do it and I will teach you about power you've never imagined."
He moved around to her front, so they were face to face, but she remained bound in his arms, her arms locked against her body. He leaned in to kiss her like he had done in the courtyard. His lips mesmerized her; his hands weren't holding her captive any longer but holding her close, their hearts beating together. Could I kill Kaito? I'm not even sure
anymore. I thought he would kill me, but now that he knows I am Kazue, everything is different. The stranger's lips were about to brush hers when there was a roar and shudder. The stranger pulled back and Suzume regained her senses.
"It looks like our playtime is at an end." He bowed to her. "Until next time."
"Who are you?" Suzume called.
He smiled at her and said, "My friends call me Hisato."
He disappeared into the shadows once more, leaving Suzume alone.
The building shuddered and groaned as bits of wood fell down from the ceiling. Then with a rip and the crash of broken beams, the ceiling came loose, and Suzume saw Kaito had transformed and ripped the roof off the temple. He did all that just to help me?
"What have you been doing all this time, you useless priestess?" he roared.
Suzume's hackles rose. "You're the one who threw me in here!"
He roared something that sounded like a laugh. She shook her head. For once she couldn't bring herself to get mad at him. She laughed as well, not because it was particularly funny but because her life had taken so many strange turns as of late and it only seemed to be getting stranger.
40
"Who is Hisato?" That was the question no one seemed to have an answer for. They knew he was a shifter, but where he came from and how he got his powers was a mystery. The group sat in a circle, discussing the possibilities. Tsuki was in control of his and Akira's body.
The priests had started to trickle back into the temple after Kaito had torn the roof off the temple. The second in command had taken over control. No one knew where the head priest had gone, and Suzume wasn't going to tell them that some shifter had been masquerading as their head priest, for who knew how long. The priest organized the cleanup and rebuilding, and it was going to be a massive undertaking. The temple grounds were torn to bits from three dragon attacks—Suzume counted the one where Kaito tore off the roof of the temple as an attack. Many of the dormitories were in ruins and the walkways were near impassable in some places.
The priests seemed trained to hospitality because despite the state of the temple, they still served Rin, Kaito, and Suzume a meal. For whatever reason, the priests still could not see Tsuki. Tsuki ate Suzume's noodles noisily while Rin sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, scowling. We can't stay here much longer, Suzume thought. We've destroyed enough of the shrine as it is. Where do we go from here?
Kaito paced back and forth, anger written in the lines of his body. Suzume watched him. She hadn't said anything, but she thought she knew who Hisato was. The Kami had told her darkness had risen when Kazue sealed Kaito. That has to be him. She kept this knowledge to herself. She was already dancing along a thread with Kaito and she feared bringing it up now would only shatter their fragile peace. For whatever reason, he was not going to kill her and that would have to be enough for now.
Tsuki slurped up the last of his noodles then said, "Could Hisato be a fake name?"
"Why give me a fake name? I think he wanted me to know him," Suzume said. Along with her knowledge of his potential identity, she had withheld the majority of her conversation with Hisato. She hadn't decided what to do about his offer yet.
"So the question is: how do we find out who this Hisato is?" Tsuki said. He leaned back on his forearms and watched the group with a half-lidded gaze.
"There are plenty of people we could ask," Kaito said. He stopped pacing and considered Tsuki. "What about Yasuharu?"
"Dead," Tsuki replied with a shake of his head.
Kaito's brows shot up to his hairline. "Really?" He shook his head as if he couldn't believe it. "What about Bunmei?"
"Also dead."
"You're kidding? That guy was the size of a mountain, literally! He was some sort of massive stone creature." Kaito's shoulders had relaxed, but it was more of a slump of defeat. "What about Naoki, Gengo, and Chiyuu?"
"Presumed dead, dead, and headless." Tsuki ticked off on his fingers.
"Shouldn't he be dead if he's headless?" Suzume asked. She scrunched up her nose just thinking about it.
Tsuki grinned. "Not for a Yokai. Sometimes they just wander round without heads, crashing into things. Seeing as he's missing a head, though, he cannot give us much in the way of information."
I cannot get my mind around this world, creatures living without a head? She considered telling them what she had deduced about Hisato, but seeing the pain in Kaito's eyes held her tongue. Everyone he knew is dead. Did Hisato kill them? Why does he want me to kill Kaito? If he could kill someone as large as a mountain, then why not Kaito?
Kaito and Tsuki went down a growing list of names and Tsuki ticked off more deaths, to Kaito's continued horror. Kaito crouched down on the ground, his head resting in his hands. He did not stop listing names while Tsuki recounted numerous gruesome deaths, his descriptions getting more graphic with each new name. Suzume felt a sudden urge to be away. She needed fresh air, she decided. She stood up and slipped out of the room. Kaito and Tsuki were so engrossed in their conversation, neither of them noticed her leaving.
Outside, the night closed in. Suzume walked towards the decimated temple where she had talked with Hisato. In the dark, the beams and broken shards of wood look like a barren forest. Would I be willing to join Hisato if it meant I would be free of all of this? The thought kept popping up in her head. Kaito, Akira and Tsuki, even Rin all saw her as Kazue. I'm not her. I'm Suzume. Hisato said he knew her, the real Suzume; no one had said that to her before. No one knew the real her, she hid it deep down where no one could touch it, yet Hisato had spoken her thoughts. He was right; she did have a bloodlust, a boiling anger that sometimes threatened to swallow her whole. How can he know me? Or am I Kazue? And he is just telling me what Kazue was like before me? She growled and raked her hands through her hair.
Footsteps fell on the landing behind her. Suzume spun around, expecting another attack. She had left the staff behind and she felt naked without it. There was no light in this part of the temple but the stars above. The shadows were long and reaching Suzume. She squinted in the dark, looking for an attacker. Rin approached, materializing from the darkness and shadows Suzume had been cloaked in. Rin wrapped her arms around her torso, as if fighting off a chill. Now that the clouds had dissipated, however, it was humid. The heat and moisture stuck to the skin and sweat rolled down to the small of Suzume's back.
"What do you want?" Suzume said. She would rather be alone.
"You're not going to do it, are you?"
Suzume froze up. Did Rin suspect Suzume of allying with Hisato? Suzume wanted to learn more about him, like how he knew things about her that no one else knew.
"What are you talking about?" Suzume's voice was high and squeaky.
Rin sighed. She walked over and surveyed the dark temple grounds. She was close to Suzume but not close enough to be considered a threat. Rin spoke to the darkness. "You're not really going to try to seal Kaito away again, are you?" Rin looked at Suzume from the corner of her eyes.
Suzume turned away. Even though she wasn't looking at her directly, Suzume got the impression Rin could see right through her, as if she were transparent. "Not if he doesn't give me a reason to," Suzume said.
The wind rustled through the gingko trees and there was nothing said for a few moments.
Rin exhaled. "I'm glad, I was worried…"
The relief in her voice irked Suzume for some reason. Rin had insisted there was nothing between Kaito and her, but Suzume couldn't help but wonder. What does it matter if there's something between them? Maybe if there was, he wouldn't look at me like I'm Kazue, his reincarnated lover. No matter what she told herself, however, she felt a twinge of jealousy.
"What do you think about this Hisato guy?" Suzume asked Rin just for want of a change of subject.
Rin did not answer right away. She leaned on an intact pole that held up what was left of the covered walkway.
"I don't know, but he gives me a bad feeling. He's very powerful if he can create an illusion th
at realistic, plus he fooled us all. None of us sensed his presence. I wouldn't say this to Kaito, but I don't think even he could do that."
Suzume laughed and Rin smiled. They shared a brief moment of camaraderie before Suzume cleared her throat and said, "What does he want with me?" She knew, of course, but she wanted to see what Rin thought.
Rin turned to face Suzume and she had narrowed her green eyes at Suzume. "I'm not sure. Are you sure he didn't say anything more to you while you were inside the shrine?"
Suzume met Rin's gaze, not flinching lest she realize she was hiding information. "No, he just taunted me without giving me much information."
Rin stared for a moment more, her eyes searching Suzume's face, looking for the answers there. She flashed a smile again. "I guess Hisato is a bit like Kaito in that—maybe he's one of the first children."
Suzume laughed. "I don't know about that; why would a Yokai that powerful want to taunt me?"
"Maybe he's in love with you," Rin replied with a smirk.
Suzume's eyes grew wide and she shoved Rin hard, as if pushing her away would avoid the truth. "That's not funny, Kaito loved Kazue, not me."
Rin's smirk only grew wider. "I know. I meant maybe Hisato is in love with you."
Suzume's neck burned with embarrassment and she was glad it was dark out and Rin couldn't see. "I know, that's what I meant. They're both so similar I got mixed up for a moment."
Suzume had to get away from this topic and fast before this conversation went down a road she did not want to take.
"Uh-huh." Rin chuckled.
Suzume was in desperate need of a change of subject. "Where do we go from here? How do we find out more about Hisato?" How can I find out more about him?
"Well, as you may have noticed, there are not a lot of people left to ask." There was a hint of sadness in her voice. Rin had lost friends, just as Kaito had. "A lot of powerful Yokai have gone missing or have died since Kaito was sealed, and lower-level Yokai tend to keep to themselves. They wouldn't know much."
"Why is that? Where are they all going?"
"My guess is someone is killing them and trying to gather power."
The Dragon Saga Box Set Page 29