Rivers Keep Flowing

Chapter 26: Conquistador, Dark Coatl, and Venom Curse

What do you think? If we're in chapter 26 of a fan fiction, do I really own the famous characters? Even a new lawyer should understand I don't.

Rain doesn't even own her fingers anymore, the hospital does until she pays them for putting them back on. (joking)

'I slapped him. Haku! I'm sorry!'

"Why that lily-livered, perverted, back-stabbing FREAK! I really wish we had rattlesnakes, here, because I'd be more than happy to push him into a whole den filled to the brim!"

'I slapped him.'

The room shook with the roars around her, but she was aware of none of it. The only thing she could do was run her argument through her head like a broken record, or some screwed up DJ remix. She didn't even know why she had done it, it was like something had just taken over her hand. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, but some force held her tight, kept her mouth from releasing the words. Nothing appeared to her vision, just the darkness that she found herself fighting. Reaching out with her mind, she sought his to try to tell him how sorry she was, that it would never happen again, to beg his forgiveness.

There was a wall. A thick fortification encircled her being, enshrouded in deep mists of vaporous venom. Smoke filled her inner nose, burning wood mixed with the instigating venom, ripping away her hope, causing her to doubt.

She was losing, her body was going numb around her. Chihiro could no longer feel her husband's arms around her, even though logic dictated they were clamped like vices. Why could she not see or feel? Opening a nonexistent mouth, she screamed the words that was foremost in her mind. At last, even hearing left her, and she was alone in the deadly dark.

"Chihiro."

There was a straining sound, like something was beginning to break and give way. The roaring was like a mighty river cresting its banks. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a desolate place. The forest, once so lovely, had been laid waste, the blackened stubs of burnt trees standing like monuments to spirits that she didn't even know. The ash that blanketed the ground was acrid, and a few embers still smouldered from place to place. Was this her mind?

Turning her head to the river that flowed through her inner being, the water was dingy and black, choked with ash and dead fish. It was as if something from the very depths of earliest time was being brought to the surface through her, to be healed. Was that possible?

"Chihiro."

There was the odd voice again, a light and musical respite from the horror around her. Looking past the river, a light shone, vaguely in the shape of a human. She couldn't be positive though, as it kept pulsing and changing, never holding still for long.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?"

"I believe we have already met. You know who I am. I was too slow to keep the poisons from reaching you. I am sorry."

"What poison?"

"It traveled through a man with a one-sided energetic bond with you. I wasn't expecting anything from that route. I am sorry I allowed you to be controlled by his jealousy."

"What poison? What are you talking about?"

"Tezcatlipoca. He is using every means he can to turn you and your friends against each other, or kill you in the process. Now, if you want to live long enough to help your mate, you must enter your Source."

"Why?"

"Only by temporarily rejoining with Creative Force, God, Ometeotl, or also known as Creator, will the spread of the curse be slowed enough. You have to help me so we can help the others win this Cosmic War we are engaged in."

Looking upstream, Chihiro saw what used to be a serene pool held back with an earthen dam. Walking the short distance, a growing feeling of dread nested on her shoulders and caused her chest to burn. When she stopped at the edge, one glance down revealed all of the terrible things that had happened throughout history, as well as all of the wonderful things. It all jumbled together in a tangled mess of mangled thread, the loom that the precious material was to be woven on cracked virtually beyond repair.

Instinctively, she knew that if the loom was succeeded in being destroyed, there would be no hope whatsoever for this Creation. Filling her lungs with whatever air she could, the Priestess leapt into the spring, sinking down past everything and into the place where dark and light were as one. A dog spirit, resting in one particular snarl of yarn, saw her passage and took on his human shape. He had a debt to pay to the one who had set him free of the curse that had turned him into a vengeful ghost. Because of her, Creator had given him a license for a new name, that only she as his savior from slavery could provide.

As the snow-maned man sank into the primal unity with her, Chihiro gazed at oddly familiar golden eyes.

"Kyuujo."

Queso wasn't sure that he believed what he was seeing. It wasn't everyday that you saw an old and dried up priest talking without fear to a big gray dragon that looked a lot like the rock that he stepped out of, after all. It didn't help him that the guy who had met Koji seemed to have several fox tails. No indeed, it most certainly did not reassure him of his sanity.

After a while, a fish came up to the surface, and allowed the priest and the fox guy onto his back. With the last wink of light off of the golden carp's scales, the dragon vanished into the rock once more.

What the hell was going on here? Had he gotten himself stuck in some weird fantasy movie?

Never mind that. Chihiro was down there, and most likely that brujo malefico as well. He wasw probably holding her prisoner. Yes, that was what was happening. How could such a mysterious man who appeared at such a strange time be anything but an evil warlock bent on enslaving the innocent maiden he had set his heart on?

"Do you want to go down?"

The low and silken voice pulled his head around, directing it to another tree. A dark and mysterious personage sat in the shadows, a darker pool forming below him to poison and taint the ground. A malicious aura surrounded the man, causing the hairs on Queso's neck to stand at attention and scream about the danger of even talking to this stranger.

Tezcatlipoca, for his part, had been sitting under the tree for quite a while now, casting his dark spells. It had been particularly easy to use the unguarded human with a tie to the river maiden in order to skew her reality enough to cause her to lash out at her lord. His spells did not have the strength they did when he possessed his mirror, but they would be strong enough to cause some very interesting effects on the inhabitants below. Long ago, jealousy and a thirst for power had turned him against his brother, and this member of the Hero Twins had allowed his heart to darken. Thus, it was a particular talent that he had for twisting hearts, actions, and intentions. Twisting actions was his favorite past-time.

Smiling, the Dark God sniffed, taking note of what he could smell from the young human. This one would make a fine priest, and there were so many hearts in this strange land that just cried out to be eaten. Too bad there was no one to prepare them and serve up the still beating organs, but that would soon change. With a dark priest in his possession, he could regenerate his foot as well. Then, with the link the man had to one of the women below, he could force entry into the stronghold as the human's misguided desires drew him to the bride of the local water god.

"You desire her, and hate the man that holds her heart."

Queso's brown eyes widened. How had this person known what lay in his heart?

"One of the maidens below. The water god has taken your woman, charmed her into his lair, taken from her what should have been your honor. Can you feel the hate?"

Yes, Queso could easily say that he hated the man. He had wrapped Chihiro around his finger so easily. She had to have been ensorcelled. He would make Haku pay. He would cheerfully see little Chihiro smack the cocky SOB like she had done to him so many times before.

"You don't have to say anything. I can smell it. Would you be willing to make a deal?"

Here, Queso made another mistake, drawn along by destiny's fierce flesh-hooks, and looked into the eyes of the strange person. Instantly, the things that were good and pure within withered, not having enough protection against the ancient and powerful magic.

"Anything."

"I am in need of a priest at this time, as my followers were wiped out long ago. You have the potential to be great. You could learn powerful magic, and I will even let you have the woman that you desire, as she certainly is no longer a maiden. All I ask of you, is that you bind yourself to me."

"Yes. I accept."

The two shook on the deal, and Tezcatlipoca released the full power of the dark spell he had been building. While the human's guard had been down, he had been able to channel a small portion of it to confuse the mind of the most stable woman down below. Now though, when he released it, the full force shot into the human, and through his heart. All pity and tender things were quickly killed, and from that energy point the spell traveling on the thread of a one-sided love to the River Priestess.

From there, after overloading her body, it traveled to the other two on the strings of their friendship. If he had done this right, the three women would slowly sicken and die as their souls sought to withdraw from his contaminants, separating from their shells over time while they fought his venom. This was his favorite curse, and the only way to remove it were to be if Jewel, the only unwed mother of the three, were to lie in physical marriage with a member of his own house.

The beauty of it was, both Huetziatl and Quetzalcoatl were bound by oath to never lay in such manner with a woman without her full consent. Jewel was as good as his, and once he lifted the spell, he would show her just what happened to those who mocked him.

Laughing with glee over his heinous deed, the crazed god became insubstantial, giving up the atoms that he had called together to form his physical shape. The snake-like cloud of darkness wrapped about his human, constricting tighter and tighter until he passed through the trance-frozen body, binding his servant thoroughly to himself. Tezcatlipoca took possession of the man, trapping his soul in a sea of darkness, then disengaged himself once more.

The perfect channel, the perfect slave, the perfect priest, this human, who's people had once conquered his own, would conquer for him now. The ways that debts were repaid was truly wonderful. Assuming material form again, the god smiled at his new foot, fully healed and ready to take possession of what rightfully belonged to him.

"Are you ready to rescue your woman, priest? Are you ready to serve your master?"

"Yes my Lord! I am reading and willing!"

Queso himself, blinded by the Overwhelming power of Hate and Jealousy, laughed maniacally with his master. Hidden within the heart of the once good Hero Twin, Greed and Lust whispered about how, after the human had served his purpose, Tezcatlipoca could have all three women as his wives in the reign of Chaos.

Kohakunushi could feel something wrong as soon as his eyes rested on Queso. The two main feelings that had always bothered him were stronger in the Spaniard. Still, there was something off about his rival's aura, something that was not altogether his own. It was almost as if he were channeling something, in the way that Chihiro sometimes unconsciously called on him.

Speaking of Chihiro, why couldn't he feel her presence? She was right in his arms, but he couldn't feel her. Pushing down the rising tide of panic, he looked down at a deathly pale face.

He knew something had been wrong when she slapped him. That just wasn't something that his sweet priestess would do. Something BlowingWind would do, yes, but not Chihiro. She was breathing at least, that was a good sign.

Looking back up, he saw the Dark God begin to possess the easily twisted human at the handshake. With the clasping of hands, Kohakunushi's young bride shot open sightless eyes, rigid as a corpse.

"I'm sorry Kohaku!"

The dark wave that crashed through her being like a tsunami slammed him backwards into the floor, priestess still cradled in his arms as her natural protective shield shattered, a victim of too many attacks and too many possessions in so short a time. Twin dark beams shot from her chest as her body fought for survival. The rays of pure darkness zeroed in on her two friends who hailed from over the salty seas.

Ryu saw the attack, and threw his wife out of the way of the ray, reflecting the insidious beam away with a silver tray that had been holding rolls of bread. Increasing speed with the reflection, the dark magic then bounced off of one of the glowing crystals that was embedded in the ceiling, still managing to strike its target. The sheer power of the curse scorched the stone around her still body, and when Ryu turned her over, the white of the moon washed her features instead of her usual healthy glow.

Jewel fared a little better, as her mother, Finnigan, and Ten threw themselves in front of the deadly arrow of energy that bore down on her like a doctoral thesis. At the same time, Huetziatl gathered her up and dodged the projected flight path, turning his back to further shield the mother of his child. The expected wave of evil never claimed them though, passing right through the trio as if they were completely insubstantial wraiths, leaving them unscathed.

The down side to that was that the curse merely curved about to pass through the Lord of the River of Tears and the long mythical city dubbed by the Spaniards as El Dorado. Jewel's eyes widened as she felt the approach of the roving evil and the breaking of her barrier of both denial and protection. A small smile showed the tenderness that her fierce demeanor sought to hide as she uttered what her breed mate thought sure to be her last words.

"I forgive you."

Her words were cut off by her tortured scream as the curse lay siege to the fortress of her heart, just as it was even now doing with her cousin and friend. Her little dragon protector sent up a keen wail as he took in the stiffened form of his ward and the shocked dragon that fate had sent her to.

"By Drake Obsidian himself and all our ancestors I will have vengeance for my human nieces!"

When BlowingWind could open her eyes, she found herself back at the mountainous source of the stream of her soul. The waterfall, majestic as the last time she had been in this part of the landscape of her consciousness, was thick and black. Some wildfire had razed everything on the side of the stream that she was stretched out on, and the burns on her flesh led her to believe that she had gone through the inferno.

But what had protected her, and why was the other side of the stream untouched?

"Good to see that you're awake. I was beginning to worry."

"Who are you and what happened?"

"I almost impale the physical shell of your friend, and you don't know who I am? I am the cosmic force of Life, and some moron being controlled by my brothers-in-law-to-be just hexed your rump."

BlowingWind looked around for Life, but could not see where she was hiding. The voice seemed to come from everywhere, and nowhere at the same time. It even came from the dead stumps of the ashen aspen.

"Where are you?"

"I am everywhere and no where. Now we don't have any more time. Enter your Source, it will be the only way to survive for long enough to make any difference. From there, you can help Us."

"Us?"

"The Weavers of the Web."

BlowingWind had doubts about talking to a disembodied voice, even with all of the strange things that she had seen, heard of, and experienced in her life. Standing up, she looked into the base of the waterfall, doubtful as to if she really wanted to jump in the seemingly polluted waters. If the horrors and beauties of the ages weren't enough to resolve her mind, or the nearly broken weaving loom, the image of her friend shown passing past the mangled fabric did for her.

Jewel fell through a darkness rich in marauding demons that tore gleefully at tender flesh. At the last, she spied a castle looming out of the gloom, surrounded on two sides by raging flames that devoured green hills. The really bad part was that there was only one gate into the citadel, and that just happened to be one of the sides blocked by fire.

The ground rushed up to meet her, painfully familiar, but this time there was no Huetziatl to rescue her. Who would have thought a dragon would rescue the virgin? For that matter, whoever would have even thought that she would want a dragon to rescue her.

Bill. He would have said that. His favorite joke was that she never dated because she had a dragon fetish. So, other than him, who would have thought so? That's right, nobody.

Was this the way that she was supposed to die? A juicy and tenderized splot of meat on the ground was not how she had imagined she would die. Suddenly, her freefall was slowed down as two arms wrapped around her and under her arms. When she saw the sudden sweep of white wings, she was positive that she had died sometime during her descent.

"Hey now, don't give up just yet! As much as you pray, did you really think that we would let you fall?"

As the angel gently lowered Jewel down closer to the ground, she saw a gorgeous fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Another being was sitting on the ground near the water that once shimmered and reflected the sky. The water was murky and sluggish now, brackish and certainly unfit for such a receptacle.

"Chastity! Quit showing off and bring her down! Father wants us to hurry up and get her to the others so they can help fix the mess."

"I'm coming, I just don't want to break her bones or anything. Humans are so fragile you know. Does everything have to be a drama with you Sacrifice?"

"Look who is the one talking! Why can't you just let her make up her mind as to which of those men she makes her sacrifice to?"

"Ignore her Jewel. She's just cranky because she is made out of light, and so doesn't have pretty fluffy wings."

By this time, Jewel was safely on the ground. Crossing her arms at her bosom, one red eyebrow rose as she surveyed the shining purity of her savior. The long blonde hair gave the entity a decidedly feminine look, but the warrior's muscles she wasn't sure whether to classify as man or woman. Chastity's wings were indeed fluffy, somehow both white and gold, and even when folded back were much larger than the body of the bearer. The billowy robe did nothing to help her decide if this Chastity was male or female either.

"Dragons, deities, ghosts, angels, bright lights, miraculous conceptions, demons, impossible quests. Why does this stuff seem to happen to girls that just want everyday life?"

The light that was Sacrifice made a gesture that she thought was a shrug.

"Because they are the ones that don't get lost in the whole romance in the face of danger obstacle? Come on, let's join the others."

Jewel took one look where the being indicated she go and gulped. Falling through the murk and tangles of Lord only knew what, she saw a couple familiar forms. Taking a deep breath, she pinched her nose, jumped in, and closed her eyes.

Words

Kyuujo - rescue, rescued.