The Dragon Saga Box Set

by Nicolette Andrews

  Hisato's mouth was curled into a smirk. Suzume got up and crept closer, staring down at his tattered corpse. Is he really dead? Before she could check his body melted into a pile of black goop, which seeped into the ground and disappeared. Suzume stumbled backwards, terrified by what had just happened. All that remained of Hisato was a black stain on the ground.

  "Is he dead?" The masked man asked, echoing Suzume's question. He was staring at the place as well with a strange expression, as if he couldn't quite believe what he had seen either.

  "What makes you think he survived? There's nothing left of him but a smudge on the ground."

  "He wasn't exactly human," the man said without inflection, as if watching someone melt into the ground was normal.

  The hairs on Suzume's skin stood on end she felt as if someone was watching her - perhaps Hisato was still here watching over them.

  "Come with me. I can take you somewhere you'll be safe," the masked man said, holding out his hand to her.

  "I'm not going anywhere with you. You're working for him." She gestured towards the black stain on the ground. She held up her hands in a would-be defensive pose. But it looked less imposing without her staff.

  "You have no reason to trust me, I know, but I can take you to someone who can help you."

  "I don't need anyone's help."

  Suzume's hands were still sparking with flames. She flung her arm at the man, who dipped to the side to avoid getting hit by her fire. And when she was presented with an opening she took it.

  Outside was a maze of tents and a thick curtain or mist created by Kaito's power. Along her arms the flames licked up her skin and sparked along the ends of her hair, only to be put out by the moisture in her air, which soaked her clothes and plastered her hair to her face. She refused to believe the dragon was dead. There was no way that one single priest had killed him. She had to find him. Just the thought that Kaito might be dead filled her with an overwhelming rage that only fueled the flames which continued to cover her body.

  She ran in what she thought was the direction she'd last heard Kaito's roar. But as she rounded a corner she was confronted with an even greater maze of tents and realized she was hopelessly lost. Shouting was coming from all directions, but somewhere in this labyrinth of tents Kaito and the others were fighting. She could feel it. But she could not discern where the sounds were coming from when they seemed to be coming from everywhere. Picking a direction at random, she ran heedless through an alleyway created by the tents, before seeing a pair of armed soldiers running in her direction. It was difficult to say if they were running from a battle or running to a battle.

  When the spotted her they shouted for her to stop. Her first impulse was to turn and run in the other direction, but a voice seemed to whisper at the back of her mind. You can fight them. You have the power. Instead Suzume stood her ground, letting flames jump off her body, sending flickering shadows onto the ground and tents that surrounded her. As the soldiers approached her and saw the flames they slowed and raised their weapons, closing in on her.

  Suzume held her hand in front of her, and a ball of flame leapt into her hand without much effort at all. She stared at it for a moment. Before it had taken hours to create. But ever since she had collided with the masked man she had been feeling different, stronger, more confident.

  Suzume and the soldiers stood staring at one another for a few moments, rain falling onto to their faces. It was running down her neck, soaking her to the skin, but now it did not dampen the fire inside her. One of the men drew a bow and arrow, preparing to fire it at Suzume in the same instant she raised her hand about to unleash the ball of fire, when an arrow zipped past her from behind and knocked into the man's shoulder.

  The masked man walked up from behind Suzume, bow held at his side.

  "Makato, what is the meaning of this?" the uninjured soldier shouted at him.

  The masked man, Makato, did not respond to the man's question and instead reached into his sleeve and drew something out. The men drew their swords and rushed towards them. Before Suzume could fling her ball of fire at them, Makato was singing an incantation which illuminated markings on two two pieces of rectangular paper. The paper seemed to come to life as he threw them towards the two men. They slammed against both men's foreheads, freezing them in place. It was a neat trick, and if she'd seen it under different circumstances, she would have asked him how it was done.

  "Do you think this means I will trust you now?" She asked, staring at him more wary than before. She had not let go of the ball of fire and she was considering how she could unleash it and harm him without hurting herself.

  "Once you kill a person, there is no turning back."

  "Do you expect me to thank you for that?"

  "I didn't kill the dragon. I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Something stopped me, and I think you know why."

  Suzume narrowed her eyes at him. She had not lowered her defenses just yet. "Do I look stupid to you?"

  He frowned. "No?"

  She raised her hand up as if she would strike him but she couldn't bring herself to follow through with the action. Hurting him would only hurt her in the end. "Just tell me where the dragon is and I won't burn you to a crisp."

  "If I tell you, will you take me with you?"

  "Why would I trust you?"

  "Keep me as your prisoner if you must. I just have this feeling that you can answer the questions I have."

  "And what question is that?"

  "Who am I?"

  "Tell me where the dragon is and I'll answer whatever you want," she lied. As soon as she was reunited with Kaito she would decide what to do with this strange man.

  "This way," he motioned for her to follow him. They ran around the frozen bodies of the two warriors, the only part of them that could move was their eyes, which watched them as they snuck past. Suzume glanced at them as she ran by, thinking that if Makato hadn't stopped her she would have killed them both. She dismissed the thought and followed after the priest.

  As she ran her feet slid in the mud and her pulsed raced with fire that coursed through her, pushing her harder than she'd ever gone before. Wherever they were going it was close to the fighting because as she drew closer she heard a roar of a great beast coming from her left. Kaito? Suzume diverted from the path to follow the sound.

  Makato, who was leading the way, chased after her shouting, "That's not the way."

  As Suzume came across a fight in progress she discovered not the dragon embroiled in a battle, but Rin. Makato grabbed onto Suzume's arm, trying to drag her away. Soldiers were surrounding Rin from all angles. Rin twisted and snarled as she tore into her enemies, but she was greatly outnumbered. She should help her, but there was still Kaito...

  Suzume clenched her hands into fists, fire was coursing all through her body, an untamed wild animal clawing at her insides. If only she was more powerful she could save them all.

  "We have to go," Makato said, urging her to leave.

  "She's one of my friends." Suzume gestured towards the kitsune and Makato looked at her properly for the first time. When he did his eyes grew wide.

  "Is that a kitsune?" Without waiting for her response he stepped towards Rin as if in a trance. "Go ahead, I will save the kitsune."

  "How do I know you're not going to kill her?"

  He looked at Suzume with wide eyes. "I cannot explain it, but I have to save her."

  Before Suzume could question him, Makato was already multiplying himself, his numerous copies swarming over the soldiers that surrounded Rin. Suzume hesitated only a moment more. Something in his gaze had convinced her, as if he knew Rin. Perhaps it had something to do with Kazue. Whatever the reason, Suzume was confident Rin could handle herself. It was Kaito who needed her now. She ran in the direction that Makato had indicated and came to a space cleared of tents. There were no soldiers here but the air crackled with spiritual energy. She felt it brush against her skin and recognized it as Makato's energy. The ground was gashed w
ith deep marks and indentations in the mud where Kaito's dragon body had landed on the ground. But what laid on the ground now was not a massive dragon, but a fragile human body lying on the ground.

  Suzume approached carefully and as she did, she saw Kaito's body covered in arrows. Blood seeped into the fabric of his haori. At first she thought he wasn't breathing and that the priest had lied to her, but then she saw the rise and fall of Kaito's chest. The wounds glowed green, and sparked against Kaito's energy. Ice was encrusting his body, as if his spiritual energy was trying to shield him.

  "None of us are strong enough to kill him," Hisato whispered in her ear.

  Suzume turned, hands held up and flickering with flames. Hisato stood back from her, his eyes glancing at the flame in her hand. For the first time she felt as if she was in control of the situation.

  "You'll never be able to kill Kaito, if that's your goal."

  "I can see that now. We all share that."

  "Share what?"

  "Kazue's love for him. It is entwined in our souls."

  "I don't love Kaito!" Suzume snapped back.

  Hisato threw his head back and laughed. "You can deny it all you like but Kazue's heart is within you. She will sway your thoughts and your heart. She started all of this for him." Hisato gestured towards Kaito.

  The anger was boiling up inside her once more. Suzume heard a song whispered in her ear by an unknown singer. Placing her palms together, she concentrated all her energy between her hands, growing the ball of fire with the power of the song. The ball grew to almost the size of her torso, when this collided with Hisato it would kill him for certain, turn his body to ash and then finally she would be free. And then I will be the most powerful being.

  He smirked. "If you do this we both perish."

  There was no hesitation left in her as she raised her arms and prepared to unleash Hisato's destruction.

  15

  The warriors swarmed around Rin from every direction. No matter where she turned, bodies pressed in upon her, swinging their spears at her. Animal instinct overrode every other thought, and she was nothing more than a series of reactions: biting, snapping, clawing, trying to save her own life. Even with mundane weapons, the warriors were overwhelming her. The numerous wounds all over her body ate up her spiritual power as she healed herself. The ever-shifting group of warriors stole her focus and Rin was lost in a haze of blood and fear.

  The centuries had made her stronger, as it did with many of her kind. The longer you could survive, live this cruel and brutal world, the stronger you became. But despite centuries of power behind her, she was not inexhaustible. After so long in battle, she was testing the limits of her spiritual energy . The long fight had taken its toll on her, and the men who surrounded her knew it. They closed in around her, giving her less room to maneuver, and she thrashed around in the center of them like a fish on a line. With less room to move, the greater the chance of a fatal mistake.

  They grew bolder, perhaps smelling the weakness on her. The animal part of her roared, baring teeth, while the logical side of brain tried to soothe it just for long enough to escape. She could not win this fight, a distant part of herself saw that. But the beast within was focused on survival and could not see beyond the immediate threat in front of her. If she could find a gap, she would flee. With rolling golden eyes, Rin scanned the warriors who surrounded her, searching for the smallest chink in their defense. Just that momentary distraction exposed her, and a warrior lunged forward with his spear pointed at her chest. At the last second, Rin jerked backwards, but not soon enough to evade the pointed blade entirely, and it sank into her flank. She twisted away and the shaft of the spear broke off, the blade embedded in her flesh. A howl ripped from her throat as the pain coursed through her veins like fire.

  There was little reason left within her as she thrashed about like a wild animal. An impulsive attempt to leap over their heads was cut off by the spears as they stabbed upwards towards her belly. She flopped to the side as she canceled the maneuver mid-air. As she fell something struck her hard in the side, sending her careening to the ground. Then burning ropes were tossed over back, pinning her to the ground. These were no mundane rope, but fibers woven and blessed for the sole purpose of capturing yokai. Thrashing her head, she snapped and snarled, arching her back to no avail.

  As Rin bucked blindly, trying to dislodge the ropes from her back, four warriors held her in place. She had already used up too much of her spiritual energy fighting, and the blessed ropes only made it impossible to escape. Eyes rolling in their sockets, the pain blinding her logical brain, Rin continued to fight like an animal in a trap, too dumb to see the hunter approaching. A warrior with a sword marched up her, and one golden eye focused on him. The reasonable part of her brain told her to pay attention, but the animal part of her was too worried about being trapped and being held down. Rin snapped at him, displaying her pointed canines. It was a final attempt to intimidate him, to stop him, even as he raised up his sword to sever her head from her neck.

  Her claws bit into the earth beneath, creating deep hollows as she arched her back, but pushing her flesh into the ropes only made the burning worse. Smoke rose up off her, and the air stank of burning flesh. Her wild gaze met that of her executioner. There was no escaping death. A sudden calm came over her, as the sudden realization struck her: there was no use fighting. It had been such a long pointless struggle. Even before they had captured her, she had been hurting for so long. Perhaps in death she would find peace. Rin closed her eyes as the sword fell, resigned to her fate. Wait for me Hikaru, I will join you in my next life.

  Metal clanged, followed by a thud. Rin opened her eyes and stared into the blank gaze of her would be executioner, blood splattered across his face and his expression was frozen in shock. The tip of a sword poked through his gut, his hands wrapped around the blade. His head turned down slowly to see where he had been pierced through. His eyes were wide with incredulity. Then he tilted to the side, joining his sword which had already fallen to the ground. Sound rushed over her, as if she had been trapped in a bubble of silence just seconds before. The remaining warriors who had surrounded her now had their backs to her as they fought a multitude of figures dressed all in black.

  One of the men holding onto the ropes keeping her in place was attacked by a man in black who had broken through the ring of warriors. The man gave up holding the rope to defend himself. Seeing her chance, Rin threw her weight in that direction and pulled the three remaining warriors along with her. They stumbled forward, unprepared for her sudden escape, and Rin shrugged her way out of the ropes. She turned on the remaining warriors with a growl and a flash of fire from her several tails which whipped around her like a maelstrom. She did not have the energy to shoot fire at them. As it was she could hardly stand up but they didn't know that. When she inched closer towards them, they backed away, spears pointed in front of them.

  To her left, whether they had intended it or not, the black warriors had left a space in which she could escape. Rin snarled once more at the warriors before fleeing through her exit. The fox in her wanted to run to the forest, find a hole to hide in, and lick her wounds until the fighting was over.

  But once she was out of the thick of the fighting, her head cleared and the animal impulses became distant urges while her logical mind took over. She remembered now why she had been encircled in the first place. They were trying to save Suzume. That had been Kaito's plan. Rin titled her head back as she searched the sky for the dragon but could not see him anywhere. The storm he had called down was starting to dissipate, the blue sky peaking out from behind the clouds. The dragon must have gotten Suzume out. But why hadn't he come for me?

  The stench of blood clung to her fur, her blood and the blood of others. Their plan had failed. And if Rin had fallen into an ambush perhaps the dragon had as well. Fear grabbed her by the throat. She had to find him. Though her spiritual sensitivity was nothing like Kaito's given the circumstances, she should be a
ble to feel his energy. As she spread out her senses, she could not feel Kaito. Something had gone wrong.

  Fatigue weighed heavy on her shoulders as she wound her way through the camp. Without being able to sense his spiritual energy, she had to rely on her nose. She caught his scent faintly on the wind. She was not even certain if he was still there, or had been there, but she could not leave not without being certain. As she followed the trail, the scent became stronger but it was weaker than normal. Pushing down the fear, she picked up her pace and ran deeper into the maze of tents.

  "What are you doing? You have to get out of here," An unfamiliar voice said from behind her.

  Rin spun in place, teeth bared and a growl rumbling in her throat. The man in black stood a few feet behind her, his hands up in surrender.

  "Who are you?"

  "You need to escape before they see you here."

  Rin narrowed her eyes at him. The man was dressed the same as the figures who had saved her, and just the same as the men who had attacked them in the forest. This is the man who has a piece of Kazue's soul inside him.? He might be an ally, or this might all be an elaborate trap. She wasn't willing to take the risk.

  "I'm not leaving without the dragon," Rin rumbled at the man.

  "It's too dangerous. Escape while you can."

  "Are you trying to stop me?"

  "I don't even know why I saved you..." he said after an overlong pause.

  "Whatever reason, I thank you but I have to protect my master." There was a twisting feeling in her gut. This wasn't right. Something about him felt very familiar but she couldn't waste time here.

  "Do you know me?" he asked her as she turned to leave. His were eyes burrowing into hers.

  "Perhaps you knew me in a past life," she said as a way of goodbye before running in the direction of the dragon.