She attacked like a wild animal, like a creature lost to all other purposes than killing. Shin transformed into his own wolf form. She’d lost control, but this time it was to their advantage. He stood his ground before her, drawing her attention onto him. She snapped at him, and he growled back, before running for the temple walls. She gave chase, following him as he leaped over the temple walls. He led her on a chase through the forest, and up the mountain with his heart beating wildly in his chest. Every so often he looked back to make sure she still followed and that the huntsman had not.
The pair of wolves ran through the night without stopping. In wolf form they could cross miles at a great speed. It was the one advantage they had against the huntsman. He kept them away from humans, and they did not stop until morning light. He collapsed in an exhausted heap on the ground.
All the fight had gone out of Akane, and she was as a docile as a pup. She was a beautiful wolf. It was a shame she hid this part of her away. Her head rested on her paws as she yawned. Shin curled up next to her and laid his head down, planning to only close his eyes for a moment.
Shin yawned and stretched, working out muscles tight from the previous night’s run. It seemed to be midday. Akane was already awake and had resumed her human form. She was staring out at the horizon. He hadn’t paid much attention to where they’d gone while they ran. He’d only thought to keep her from losing herself to the bloodlust.
“How did we get here?” she asked, turning toward him.
“We went for a little run,” he smiled.
“A little run? We’re at the southern seashore.” She gestured outward to the sparkling, blue ocean just past the rolling hills.
Without meaning to he’d brought them straight to the dragon’s domain. Shin touched the metal collar around his neck. Had Akio’s command worked and forced him here? Or had a secret longing of his heart led him here? The bindings still seemed to be intact.
“What do we do now?” Akane asked.
He could see now that turning down Rin’s offer of assistance had nearly killed them both. He couldn’t do this alone if he wanted to be free and keep Akane safe.
“I think I know someone who can help us.”
17
When Shin had served the dragon, this region had been nothing but forest and beaches. Since then, human villages had popped up all along the coastline. And where a solitary shrine that worshiped the dragon had once stood, a town had risen up around it.
Since the dragon had been freed, Shin had avoided returning. He made a myriad of excuses. But for the same reason he had avoided Rin, it all came down to pride. Shin wasn’t the man he’d once been. Now he was nothing but a dog at Akio’s disposal. But for Akane, he’d put his pride aside.
There were several entrances to the dragon’s palace, but the palace had been abandoned so long many of them were nothing but crumbling ruins. All that remained now was a stone pathway which had emerged from the sea floor and was guarded by a series of red torii arches. It would be invisible to the human eye, as was the palace, which was currently silhouetted by the setting sun. It had taken what was left of that day to get here. The main entryway had been grand at the peak of the dragon’s reign.
“Are you sure about this place?” Akane asked as they passed beneath the archways. “It looks abandoned.”
She was right, the once mighty fortress walls were crumbling into the sea. The pathway on which they traveled was crusted over with barnacles.
Shin kicked a shell into the ocean along the side of the pathway. “Appearances can be deceiving,” he said with a confidence he didn’t feel. The dragon had only recently returned after five hundred years sealed in stone. He had a lot of enemies, Akio among them, but he knew his friend. He had a way of instilling hope and loyalty. Before his fall, he’d been the most powerful being in Akatsuki. If anyone could help him save Tomoe, it was him.
Akane took a few steps before realizing he’d stopped walking and turned to face him. “Who is this friend of yours?”
“The dragon, the ruler of Akatsuki,” Shin said with a wave of his hand.
“The Dragon. The same dragon who destroyed the armies of the eight, and rose to power in bloodshed?” She asked, her mouth hanging open.
What would she think if she found out he was there fighting beside the dragon as he struggled for control over Akatsuki? Now wasn’t the time to reveal that particular fact. She’d just started to trust him. He’d tell her about it later. That was if there was a later for them. He hadn’t thought much about what happened once he was free of Akio. Surely once they saved Tomoe she’d return to her shrine and he’d... his gaze drifted toward the palace walls. The empty shadow of his once worthy past. Could he return to this place?
He’d almost forgotten about those days, standing by the dragon’s side as a general over legions of yokai. What was he now but Akio’s dog to be kicked around? He balled his hand into a fist. Not anymore. He would be free soon, and return to the formidable yokai he had been.
“He’s not like the stories.” He resumed a brisk walk toward the main gate.
Akane followed, but he could feel her reluctance as she lagged behind. They approached the gates of the palace, and he planned on walking right in. He’d done so the last time he’d come here on Akio’s orders. Shortly after the dragon had returned, Akio had sent him here to taunt the dragon and remind him and Shin who was in control. He pushed the memory away.
As they got close to the gates however, two hulking oni stepped out from behind the walls.
“Who are you, and what is your purpose here?” one asked in a rumbling voice.
“I could ask the same. I don’t remember the dragon having oni guards.” Shin eyed them up and down.
“Speak,” the oni growled. Typically, they were dumb creatures and easily distracted and confused. These two were not like others he’d met.
Shin stepped toward them, palms up in a supplicant gesture. “I’m here to see the dragon.”
“No one sees the dragon,” the oni grumbled and took a step toward Shin brandishing his weapon.
Maybe he’d given him too much credit. Akane, seeing a threat, had sprung into action and fired a volley of arrows at the oni. And then the oni’s friend, seeing they were under attack, charged them as well. The ground shook beneath their feet as the massive yokai came thundering toward them. Akane’s arrows bounced ineffectually off their leathery skin.
“Akane do—” Before he could finish his sentence, the oni who was closest to him swung, and Shin, being closest to him, was knocked off his feet and sent careening into the ocean.
The shock of cold water forced the air out of his lungs. He gasped as his lungs filled with water. Normally drowning wasn’t a concern for a yokai - it took more than some ingested water. But it wasn’t just oni guarding the palace. While swimming up to the surface, a tentacle wrapped around his ankle and pulled him down fast. As he sank into the depths, the light on the surface faded to a mere pinprick. He kicked and flailed to no avail.
Bubbles were expelled from his throat as his lungs made a feeble attempt to inhale. Shin’s outstretched hand reached upward toward the sky he could no longer see. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision, and his eyes drooped. He tried to fight it, but all the energy was being drained from him. What a pathetic end. He’d been so close to freedom and this is how he died?
A hand grasped around his wrist and yanked him upward. Caught in a strange tug of war between whatever was yanking him downward and what was pulling him up, he peered through the gloom to see Akane’s face twisted in concentration. She removed a hidden dagger from her waist and slashed at the tentacle wrapped around his ankle. The creature screeched, the vibrations slamming into him. It reeled backward, and while it was distracted, Akane wrapped her arm around his waist and pulled him toward the surface. Once he was above water again, he sputtered and coughed out the liquid filling his lungs.
“That’s twice you saved my life now,” Shin gasped as they bobbed on the
ocean’s surface.
Along the pathway where they’d fallen from, a small group gathered. They were outnumbered. Not that he wanted to fight them. But Akane hadn’t exactly made a good first impression. From behind the crowd, an unfamiliar dragon pushed forward.
“Don’t fight them,” Shin instructed Akane. “I’ll explain everything.”
The yokai pointed their weapons at him as he swam closer.
“Stand back,” said the dragon at the head of the group.
“My name is Shin. I’m a friend of the dragon. Let him I know I’ve come looking for help, he’ll let us in.”
The dragon frowned and looked back at the palace. A woman came running toward the crowd on the path. Her hands danced with flames. He was surprised to see it was a woman he knew. But not from the old days. He’d run into her on a mission for Akio. It hadn’t been a friendly encounter. He never thought he’d see a human in the dragon’s palace. Things must have changed. This must be the woman the dragon had been rumored to be traveling with.
“What happened?” She asked the dragon, who seemed to be the leader here.
The dragon ran a hand through her maroon hair, avoiding looking at the priestess. She scowled at the dragon before her gaze fell on Shin and Akane.
“You!” She pointed at him.
“Funny running into you here,” he said with a grin.
“What are you doing here?” she asked. She hadn’t lowered her flaming hands, which he could understand since the last time they had run into one another they were trying to kill one another.
“I could ask the same of you.”
“Are you trying to get us killed?” Akane hissed from his side.
She was right. If this were the dragon’s lover, he would need to get on her good side. From what he’d seen of her thus far, she had quite the temper.
“I’m here to see the dragon,” Shin replied to her original question.
“You work for the horrid pig, don’t you? What does he want with Kaito?” She scanned him up and down. She clearly didn’t trust him.
Before he could explain himself, a familiar voice said, “What is going on here?”
The assembled yokai all turned and bowed deeply, everyone except for the priestess who continued to stand nearby with narrowed eyes on Shin and Akane. The dragon marched in, his hair tied up in a top knot and wearing gleaming, silver armor. It was like stepping back into the past, to the days when they weren’t sure they’d see the next sunrise. The dragon truly had returned.
The dragon scanned over the crowd then to Shin and Akane, who were still treading water a few feet away.
“What are you doing?” The dragon looked torn between amusement and confusion.
“Just going for a swim,” Shin said with a shrug or at least the best he could manage while treading water.
The dragon went to the edge of the path, extending a hand to help Shin out. Once he pulled Shin up, he wrapped him into a fierce embrace. When they broke away, Shin turned to help Akane out of the water. She and the priestess were staring one another up and down.
“You know him?” the priestess asked, nodding toward Shin with disapproval.
“Shin is my old friend and general,” the dragon said as he slung his arm over Shin’s shoulder.
Then the dragon looked between Shin and the priestess with narrowed eyes. “You’ve met before? Why have I not heard about this?”
“It’s a long story,” Shin said with a laugh. “Right?” he asked the priestess.
She rolled her eyes. “You could say that.”
The dragon tightened his grip on Shin. “That’s a story I’d want to hear.”
Shin grinned. The dragon hadn’t changed at all. This must be his woman. The pair of them had always been rivals as much as friends, including when it came to women. He chuckled to himself, thinking of how they’d fallen over themselves trying to woo ladies of the dragon’s court.
“I’d be happy to tell it. But first, I have important matters to speak with you about.”
The dragon’s expression turned from joy to suspicion. “I was hoping you’d escaped Akio at last.”
Shin shook his head and then the dragon’s gaze fell on Akane who was still gripping her bow like a lifeline.
The dragon nodded and gestured for Shin to follow him. They passed through a courtyard that bustled with activity, yokai around them carried weapons and building materials. As they traveled down a twisting hallway that was both familiar and foreign, the sounds of repairs echoed around them. He led them into a chamber which was dominated by a massive map of Akatsuki. It had to have been intentional. How many days had they spent pouring over this map together, planning some strategy or another.
The dragon smiled at him, sharing unspoken memories. Then his smile fell as he leaned against the map table. This was the face of a ruler, hard and merciless. They might have been friends, but his kingdom came first.
“How can I help you and...” He looked at Akane with a quirked brow.
“This is Akane.”
She was standing very still, her eyes scanning the room rapidly.
The dragon quirked an eyebrow in Shin’s direction. As if to say: and who is she to you...? Shin shook his head in reply. Now was not the time for talk of conquests, which is surely what the dragon saw her as. The very idea filled him with irrational rage.
“We are here to ask you for your help,” Shin said, trying to get to the point.
“We?” A smirk played at the corner of the dragon’s lips as he looked between them suggestively.
“It’s not like that.” Shin sighed in exasperation, while Akane’s face had turned a bright crimson.
“That’s not what Rin tells me. She said she met you two at an inn?”
“Shin and I have been working together to find a priestess, a kamigakari candidate. Akio has her and we need your help to rescue her.”
The dragon’s mischievous smile fell. And then his eyes fell to the collar around Shin’s neck. Shin touched his collar.
“I see. Well I’m afraid I’m busy with my own troubles at the moment.” He paced around the table. “I was hoping when you came back you’d be ready to join me again.”
Akane was staring between the two of them. “How do you know one another?”
“Shin was my general, until Akio stole him away from me.”
“Then if you want him back, you should help us. My head priestess can break Akio’s hold over him, but only if he brings back Tomoe.”
The dragon’s dark gaze flicked toward Akane, studying her for the moment. Then he went back to Shin.
“I would like to help, really, I would, but right now I’m being threatened on two fronts. The humans and other yokai are rising up against me. I can’t just go looking for some girl. Even for you, my old friend.”
“If not you, can you spare any of your men?” Akane pleaded.
The dragon sighed. “There aren’t many I could spare. Unless Rin—”
“No,” Shin said, cutting off the thought before it was uttered.
The dragon looked at him, his expression softening. He knew the history that kept him back.
“Why not? She helped us find that temple, maybe she could help us again?” Akane said.
“We’ll find another way,” Shin said, trying to cut her off.
“What is it about her? Why are you so afraid of taking her help?”
“I’m the reason he’s been Akio’s slave for five hundred years.” Shin turned to the door where Rin stood. A part of him knew by coming here he’d run the risk of running into her again. But it seemed there was no avoiding it now.
The dragon came and placed a hand on Akane’s shoulder. “I think we should let them talk.”
Shin was glad to see Akane shake off his touch. She glanced once more back at him before following the dragon out the door, leaving Rin and him alone.
18
The distance between them was a giant chasm. Though he wanted to run from the room, and from this palace, h
e was frozen in place. Rin’s gaze pierced him. It held him captive and wouldn’t let him go. No one knew him better than her. Before a thought was uttered she was ready with a response.
“Did you lure me here just to ambush me?” The bitter words spilled from his lips before he could stop them. Though he kept on running from her, Rin kept on chasing him.
“It’s not an ambush. We’re friends, aren’t we?”
But that had been before he’d served Akio. Shin was haunted by what he had done. He’d killed friends at Akio’s command. He’d tortured the innocent, lied and cheated. All for Akio’s twisted amusement. How could he face her knowing what he had done?
Without Rin’s customary smile, her face looked pinched and muted. Coward that he was, he couldn’t face her. His eyes scanned the old, familiar map, enchanted to change as the landscape did. Human settlements and farms scarred the landscape where once before had been nothing but wild country. At the center—the sprawling palace of the emperor.
“Can you at least look at me?” Rin said. Her voice caught.
Shin gripped the edge of the map table, his nails digging into the wood. “I’d rather not if you don’t mind.”
Her footsteps padded on the floor behind him. He felt each inch she moved closer: that achingly familiar scent, the even cadence of her heartbeat, and her spiritual aura which shined like the brightest day in his mind’s eye. He’d never been a stranger to death. As the dragon’s general, he was often needed to defend his rule, or take out his enemies. Though it had been his choice to serve his friend, it wasn’t easy. Rin helped him heal, she chased away the dark thoughts. Many women had walked in and out of his life. No one could ever replace the space Rin took up in his heart.
Until he forced her out. He’d spent five hundred years trying to forget her. Failing to forget her. Because she kept on coming back. He didn’t want to bring her into Akio’s world. He couldn’t stand her getting wrapped up in his twisted games.
Okami: A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Page 13