"But why?"
"Why else do people look for power? To be in control."
Suzume frowned. It made sense, she supposed. Where did Kazue fit in with all of this, and Kaito? Hisato had to be the one killing the other Yokai. I wonder what he's collecting power for. Kaito had told Suzume once that he ruled over a region, and the priests seemed to pray to him in some capacity.
"Do you have leaders, among the Yokai, I mean?" Suzume asked.
"Not in the human sense. Six of the first children each ruled over the islands. At one time Kaito ruled here, on the largest island. But they don't do much now. Most of the remaining stay locked up in their palaces, never venturing out. The Eight original Kami used to rule in ancient times, but they've disappeared."
"Where did they go?"
"No one knows; maybe to sleep. They've lived for centuries, since the beginning of time, and they tend to view time differently than us."
This is all incredibly boring and unhelpful. None of it tells me what Hisato wants. Do I dare trust him?
"Hey, girls, come back in here. We found some rice wine!" Tsuki appeared down the hall, illuminated by the light spilling from the open door. He carried a jug of rice wine in his hand and his smile stretched from ear to ear.
"Please come and make him show some restraint," Akira said, using Tsuki's form. "It's been a long time since he's drank and I fear he will get out of hand."
Rin laughed. "We're coming."
By the time Rin and Suzume were back, Kaito and Tsuki were already pouring rice wine into small porcelain cups. Kaito and Tsuki clinked glasses and cheered. Kaito tossed back his rice wine in one gulp, and Suzume watched his throat work as he swallowed. His early anger had melted away, but there was a sadness there that she hadn't seen before. I'd want to drown myself in drink if everyone I knew was dead, too.
Kaito saw her staring, and instead of scowling or pretending to flirt, he gave her a smile, a rare genuine smile. His eyes crinkled at the corners and he gestured to her with the cup. Suzume took a seat beside him and accepted his silent peace offering; they were in a rare truce.
"Bottoms up, Priestess," Kaito said, before drinking another cup.
Suzume drank it down, the liquid fire burning its way down her throat. She was no stranger to drinking. She had more than a few late night rendezvous with sake involved. Somehow, this time she felt like she needed to hold back. The others were not as reserved with their drinking and soon they were singing rowdy songs with lyrics that made even Suzume want to blush.
At some point, Rin passed out. A cup fell from her hand and the liquid poured out, soaking the bamboo floor. Tsuki had gotten up, saying something about wanting to relieve himself. Suzume and Kaito were alone for the first time since they had found out she was Kazue's reincarnation.
Kaito took a swig of the sake and set the jug down with a plunk. "How long did you know?" he said, his words sloshing together like the rice wine in the jug. Despite his drunken state, his eyes were focused and intent on Suzume. It was disarming.
"Know what?" Suzume asked. She twirled her cup in her hands, avoiding his gaze.
"That you were Kazue."
She shot her head up, preparing to defend herself. Instead she saw him looking at her with a strange expression. He leaned forward. Crouched on all fours, he crawled over to her, wobbling slightly as he did so. Suzume scooted back against a wall to try to avoid him, but he came over and hovered over her, his arms placed on either side of her legs. They weren't touching, but she could feel that crackle of their powers colliding. She could smell the drink on his breath and she turned her face away from him.
"Your breath stinks. And I'm not Kazue, we just share a soul."
Kaito reached out and tried to touch Suzume's face. "You look like her, especially when I've been drinking."
She slapped his hand away, and sparks erupted where their hands contacted in blue and red. "As flattering as that is, I'd rather you didn't touch me."
He laughed; it was intimidating and thrilling at the same time.
"What's so funny?"
He leaned in close and Suzume felt the sizzle of commingling power, the heat that their combined energy seemed to create.
"You're funny, Suzume." He so rarely said her given name that it was always a shock to hear him say it. She spun her head sideways to look at him and found his lips very close to hers. Even though he was drunk, even though she knew it was a stupid idea, she thought about kissing him. Just to see what his lips would taste like, and to see if the sparks would erupt between them when their flesh met for real.
She closed her eyes and leaned in, intent on trying. He won't remember; he's too drunk. Kaito moved closer as well. She could feel his energy wrapping around her. The combat had ended and instead their powers were melding together, swirling and becoming something different entirely.
The sliding door crashed open and Tsuki called out a drunken slur. Suzume wrenched her head back just in time to crack it against the wall. She rubbed her sore spot, staring at Kaito, who looked at her with a strange expression.
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.
41
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."
The Dragon Saga Box Set Page 30