The Priestess and the Dragon

by Nicolette Andrews

  "I refuse it! You said I have a choice, well, here it is: I wish Kaito never realized that I was Kazue's reincarnation."

  The god's face grew pale. "Do you understand what this means? He may never heal. And there is no guarantee that he won't learn the truth eventually. This could mean dire consequences for both of you."

  "I don't care." Suzume glared. The god said it himself. I'm a powerful priestess, and if Kazue could seal him away, so can I. I'll just find a way to lock him up again and be done with it.

  The god lowered his head. "Then I have no choice. Your wish shall be granted."

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  A blinding white light surrounded Suzume and she threw her arms up to shield her eyes. It faded just as quickly as it had appeared. She lowered her arm and glanced about. The garden had disappeared, and so had the Kami. She blinked, letting her eyes readjust, and her gaze fell on a simple wooden structure. Is this the shrine? She went inside. The idol sat on his pedestal, face serene and hands folded in his lap. How did I get back here?

  "Don't take all day," Kaito called from outside the shrine.

  Suzume peeked outside the shrine door. Kaito leaned against a nearby tree, waiting for her.

  He glanced up at her as she peeked around the door. "You've been taking forever; I never figured you for a pious woman." He grinned and her stomach constricted. Does he know, does he suspect the truth about me, or did the god's wish come true? "Why are you staring at me like that?"

  He strolled over to her and she took a step back. Her powers did not flare up to protect her. They had stopped trying to defend her when he acted sappy. She studied his face, looking for a hint of change.

  Kaito frowned in return and then snapped his fingers in her face. "Don't tell me you've fallen for me. Oh, little Priestess, I'm sorry if I've led you to believe--"

  "Shut up," she snarled and pushed past him. He's back to normal, I think. At least he's not caressing my face any more.

  "A bit testy today, aren't we?"

  She could just imagine the expression he wore while he spoke. There was probably an ironic twist to his mouth and an eyebrow cocked. His dark eyes most likely were dancing with laughter.

  I didn't think it was possible, but I miss the gentle way he looked at me. Suzume blushed; then, mortified by her maidenly actions, she shook her head and smacked her cheeks with her palms. Now her face was red and her cheeks stung. Get it together. Everything is back to normal, just like you wanted. Now I just need to learn how to control my powers and seal him away once more, and then all my problems will be over. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts.

  While she tried to regain her composure, Kaito sneaked up behind her. He rested his hand on her shoulder. His touch sent electricity shooting down her arm, but not like before. This wasn't a defensive action, more like reactive. She stiffened and twirled around to face him. He loomed over her and she had to tilt her head up to meet his dark gaze.

  "You're acting strange, are you feeling all right?" He searched her face and the softening of his features reminded her of the Kaito under the spell. He really loved Kazue. That's why he acted that way. He can never love me because I am not her. Even if we share a soul. She shook her head again. No. Now is not the time to go soft. If he knew, he would kill me for sure. It's me or him, and I am not going down. She shoved him away and with it her own guilt over wiping his memories.

  "I'm fine. What's wrong with you? You're acting awfully sentimental. Are you falling for me maybe? Because I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Dragon, because I have no interest." She gave him a cocky grin.

  He smiled back at her and she bit her lip to distract herself from the butterflies in her stomach.

  "Do you two need a moment alone? I think I'm going to puke," Rin drawled.

  Suzume sighed in irritation. Great, maybe I should have modified my wish to get rid of Rin too. Suzume rolled her eyes towards the sound of Rin's voice. The Kitsune sat on the roof of the shrine, her robe hitched up to her hip, displaying her pale thigh.

  "Rin, what are you doing here?" Kaito called out.

  Rin stood up on the roof with hands on hips and regarded them. "I came looking for you, master. I heard that you had been released from the seal and I came to avow myself to your service once more."

  I feel like we've had this conversation before. Suzume frowned.

  "You were always faithful, Rin." Kaito chuckled. He threw his arms open to receive Rin in an embrace. She jumped down and landed neatly on her feet. Then she picked up the edge of her robe and ran over to Kaito, flinging herself into his arms. The speed at which they collided was a blur to Suzume's human eyes. The two Yokai laughed as Kaito spun Rin around, and Rin's tail flung about in the wind. After an overlong embrace, in Suzume's opinion, Kaito set Rin on her feet.

  Rin giggled as he did so. She turned her back to Suzume and tossed her auburn hair behind her shoulder. Her long red tail twitched behind her, mocking Suzume as she brushed Kaito's hair back onto his head.

  Suzume scowled at the pair of them. My wish turned the clock backwards. Meeting Rin, everything that happened in the village, it all went back to normal. She sighed. I'm beginning to feel like this journey will never end.

  Rin brushed against Kaito, fussing over his topknot, which had come loose while they were playing around. He only laughed and playfully asked her to leave it be.

  "Master, I cannot believe you've gone without someone to style your hair and your clothes." Rin tutted as she brushed her long-fingered hand along Kaito's sleeve.

  Suzume bit her lip and kept herself from a scathing retort. What does it matter to me if that harlot is all over him? Suzume couldn't stand to watch any further and turned her back to the pair of them, only to continue to watch them over her shoulder. After a few moments, Kaito remembered Suzume standing there.

  "Oh, Rin, where are my manners? This is my pet priestess," he said while motioning with a loose wrist in Suzume's direction.

  She scowled at the pair of them.

  Rin looked over at her. She gave Suzume a once-over before turning back to Kaito. "You're keeping a pet human again? Are you sure that's wise, after last time?"

  Kaito pushed Rin back and held her by the shoulders. Her fox ears flattened to her skull and her posture shrank. Suzume could see why; Kaito's eyes had clouded over like thunderclouds. "You forget your place, Rin."

  Rin fell to her knees and placed her forehead against the ground. "I'm so sorry, master. It's been so long since you've been gone and there's been no one here to correct my impertinence. Can you forgive me?" She glanced up at him and smiled, revealing her white teeth and a pair of canines. Her ears were pointed towards the back of her skull. If Suzume had really been meeting her for the first time, she might have thought Rin chastised, but Suzume knew enough about the Kitsune to know this was an act.

  Kaito patted her head and she sat back on her haunches to regard him with a sly grin.

  "I never could stay mad at you, Rin. I'm glad you came back to me. But as I'm sure you've realized, my kingdom has fallen and the world has changed while I slept. I have no need of your particular services..."

  "What do you mean by services?" Suzume interrupted. This had been the last straw. What other service could this promiscuous-looking woman provide a male like Kaito?

  Kaito glanced at Suzume. "I was wondering when you would butt in. Rin here is one of my former vassals. As for her services, that I'll leave up to your imagination."

  Suzume glanced up and down Rin. From what she'd witnessed of the fox-woman thus far, she did not think she was his maid.

  "Well, what is she doing here?" Suzume had been hoping Rin would go away now that the Kami matter was settled--not that anyone remembered other than Suzume.

  "Like I said, I've been looking for my master--"

  "Kaito," Suzume corrected. If she calls him master once more, I am going to puke.

  Rin looked at her and gave her a toothy grin. Suzume gave her a questioning
look in return.

  Rin's smile only grew. "Right. Kaito. I planned on returning to his service, but now I'm not sure what I'll do since he's rejected my vows." Her bottom lip quivered and she looked to Kaito, who stood with hands on his hips.

  "That's too bad. We really should be going," Suzume said.

  She strolled past the pair of them and down the path a few steps before Kaito's next words stopped her. "I think Rin should join us."

  Suzume whipped around. "Absolutely not!"

  "Do you let the human tell you what to do?" Rin asked Kaito innocently while giving Suzume a narrow-eyed look.

  "Rin has skills that we could use on our journey. I can't watch you all the time, and since you seem apt to get into trouble..." He motioned vaguely in the direction from which they had come.

  She couldn't argue with that logic, but she tried anyway. "Well, if I had a better mastery of my powers, then I wouldn't need you to babysit me."

  "You should be honored to be under Master Kaito's protection," Rin interjected. Her ears were back flat again and the hairs on her tail bristled.

  Suzume ignored her and continued. "What can this concubine do for us? What can she do that I can't? I was handling the spider just fine before you showed up. Plus I killed that monster thing in the forest all by myself."

  "I will not be insulted by a mere mortal woman." Rin raised her voice.

  "Enough." Kaito's voice cracked across the squabbling women.

  They both twirled to face him and his expression was foreboding. He seemed taller than Suzume remembered and his shoulders broader. The clouds behind him were gathering and looked gray and ominous. Suzume glowered back at him, even if she knew better than to challenge Kaito when he was in a foul mood. I just fixed everything too.

  "You would be dead if I hadn't saved you from the spider, and if you're so sure you'd be better on your own, then I'd be happy to find another spider for you to battle. As for this imaginary monster in the forest, you haven't been out of my sight long enough to find a Yokai to kill, and besides, if you had killed anything within a mile of here, I would have sensed it. Your lies might work on humans, but they will not work on me, Priestess. Rin is coming with us and there will be no further arguments." Kaito gave Suzume a pointed look and for once she clamped her mouth shut. Then to Rin he said, "You will treat my pet with respect and not eat her."

  Rin looked at Suzume with a toothy grin. "She looks like she would be stringy and flavorless anyhow."

  "Fine." Suzume huffed.

  "Good, now let's head out." He turned and stormed down the pathway.

  He seems more on edge than usual. When Kaito was out of earshot, Rin fell in beside Suzume. Suzume turned her head away and hurried her pace, but Rin kept up with little effort. Damn Yokai. Rin cleared her throat and Suzume pretended the rice paddy fields were of intense interest. Rin ran in front of Suzume and waved her hands back and forth. Suzume stopped to adjust the strap on her sandal and Rin squatted in front of her.

  Suzume sighed in defeat. "Can I help you?"

  "It's more what I can do for you," Rin replied.

  "I doubt you can do anything for me." Suzume stood back up and continued walking, thinking the conversation was over before it began. She was wrong.

  Rin laughed. "I know what you wished for, and if you hope to make it out of this alive, you'll need to trust me."

  Suzume stopped in her tracks, truly shocked for the first time. Rin looked at her, with her foxtail twitching back and forth. I was right. The spell only worked on Kaito. She knows.

  "Why would I trust you?"

  "Because if you don't, I'll tell the Dragon what you did."

  Chapter Thirty

  What is she getting at? Why not tell on me? What does she stand to gain from blackmail? Suzume wondered.

  Rin walked ahead of Suzume, her long red tail swishing back and forth. Kaito had disappeared shortly after they left the roadside shrine, without an explanation other than to tell Rin to watch over Suzume. As if I am a child that needs babysitting. I may not have complete control over my powers, but I'm getting better... sort of. Rin glanced at Suzume over her shoulder and grinned at her.

  Suzume scowled back at her. "What is wrong with you Yokai? Do you live to make my life miserable?" Suzume growled in frustration and threw her hands up. "Speaking of annoying Yokai, where is Kaito? We've been walking for days and we haven't seen any sign of him. He said he wouldn't be gone long." Suzume's voice had reached a high-pitched tone.

  Rin flattened her ears against her head as she shrugged. "I don't question the master's motives. He told me to lead you east and that's what I am doing."

  "Where are we going? There's nothing out here but farms and villages. I thought he wanted to go to the White Palace and seek his revenge."

  Rin's tail twitched from side to side. "Why would he want to go to a place full of humans? Personally I cannot stand their stink."

  "I resent that."

  Rin ignored her and continued. "If the Eight hadn't been sealed by Kazue, then your people would never have been allowed to flourish like this." She motioned towards the fields that surrounded them. "It's disgusting. You're inferior in every way possible, yet you continue to breed like vermin."

  "I am not vermin. I am the daughter of the emperor, I'll have you know, and a descendant of the Eight," Suzume snapped. True, she had been disowned, but that didn't change her lineage. Besides, Rin didn't need to know all the details.

  Rin laughed. "Human rulers mean little to me. Back when the Dragon ruled the biggest island of Akatsuki, your people had just barely crawled out of holes in the ground a couple centuries before."

  Suzume rolled her eyes. "Nice story, Grandma, how old are you, one thousand?"

  "Three thousand, thank you," Rin corrected with a smirk.

  Suzume's mouth hung open. How could she look this good after thousands of years? I'm jealous of Yokai if they get to live forever and look like this.

  "I bet you wish you had these good looks at my age." Rin preened.

  Suzume scoffed. "I have no desire to be anything like you."

  "It looked like you were rather jealous to me, especially when it comes to the Dragon." Rin leaned in close, peering up at Suzume's face.

  Suzume flipped her hair and looked anywhere but at the Kitsune. "You're delusional. There's nothing between me and the Dragon."

  "Humans are so sensitive. Maybe that's what makes you so delightful to tease." Rin smiled again, showing Suzume her fangs.

  If Suzume had been a bit more sensible, she would have shut her mouth, but she never did think before speaking. As she was about to reply, a roar from above stopped her. A strong wind picked up and whipped her hair around her face. She pushed back the flyaway strands and glanced up to the sky. Rin ran past Suzume and towards the serpentine body of the Dragon as he landed on the road nearby.

  Suzume shuddered to see Kaito in his dragon form. He always appeared more menacing as a dragon. Maybe it was his massive jaws or the powerful coils of his body. It might also be the fact that he could squish her like a bug if he wished.

  "Master!" Rin cried. She ran to greet Kaito as he transformed back into his human form.

  Kaito held Rin at arm's length as she wiggled her tail back and forth. It reminded Suzume of a lapdog.

  Suzume giggled and covered it with a sleeve. She cleared her throat to further cover up her laughter and said to the Dragon, "Nice of you to join us. I was starting to hope that you'd never come back."

  Kaito pushed Rin aside to get a better view of Suzume. His expression was serious, and for a moment, he scrutinized her, his brows furrowed. Suzume paused. This isn't like him. Does he suspect what I did? Rin pulled a face at Suzume over Kaito's shoulder as if to say, 'I know you really missed him.' Suzume ignored her, instead focusing on the Dragon. Let her think I care for Kaito. It will be that much easier to learn about my powers in secret and subdue both of them once I know how.

  "I'm glad to see you missed me, pet." He grinned, breaking hi
s solemn expression. Kaito reached out to presumably ruffle Suzume's hair, but Suzume dodged the action and the air crackled with Suzume's power. Red sparks flickered and died between them.

  His smile faded once more and he watched her gravely for a moment. She leveled an arrogant look at him. I guess everything is back to normal if the sparks are back.

  "I have good news," Kaito said at last, breaking the awkward tension. "I found a place for you to train."

  "What?" Suzume asked and then quickly schooled her features to neutral. "What do I care about these powers? All I want is to go back to the palace. A general's wife doesn't need a mastery of spiritual power," she scoffed.

  "You'll need them if Akito comes to take you away and the general challenges him to fight for you. I doubt any man you would choose could fight for himself," Kaito replied, and Rin sniggered behind him.

  Suzume opened her mouth to retort and then bit her tongue. Kaito did not realize just how close he had been to Akito. And he'll never find out if I can help it. Distracted by this fact, she couldn't come up with a snappy retort fast enough and Kaito jumped his advantage.

  "Did I leave you speechless?" He laughed and Rin joined in.

  Suzume threw both of them a dirty look, which they promptly ignored because they were too busy mocking her. Suzume huffed and pouted until their laughter died away.

  "So where is this place? Who is going to train me, oh Great Dragon?" Suzume asked with her arms crossed over her chest. She turned away and watched them from the corner of her eye.

  Kaito wiped laughter-induced tears from his eyes. "It's a temple not far from here. The priests there are well known for their mastery of spiritual powers. The best part is their order used to be dedicated to my worship." He puffed out his chest.

  Suzume rolled her eyes. "So we're going to a temple run by your minions. Great."

  "What a brilliant plan, master," Rin piped up.

  On second thought, I hope they can teach me how to fry one annoying Kitsune.

  "Thank you, Rin." He patted her on the head. Rin closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.