Author's Corner
Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay in updating, I've been busy with it being Christmas and all (especially since I work in retail rip). I hope you all had a good time even if you don't celebrate it. Special thanks to reviewers AkatsukiShizu3 and Pink-Skiies. Your lovely comments made my day and reminded me to get my butt in gear and post another chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope you all continue to as we push forward!
The title of this chapter is named after the fifth book in George R. R. Martin's iconic series, A Song of Ice and Fire. I'm a huge fan of high fantasy and I've heard nothing but good things about these books, so I decided to pick the first one up at Waterstones and by golly, it did not disappoint! I rarely have a lot of time on my hands to read for pleasure but I'm halfway through and loving it! I'm also a massive hoe for dragons, which probably makes me very biased lol.
Disclaimer: Surprise, I still don't own Inuyasha (why do we still have to write this is Anne Rice even still around?)
EIGHTH BLOOD
Chapter 28: A dance with dragons
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Nagisa and Taro frowned at the name and looked at one other, bubbling with confusion and picking their brains for knowledge. Their expressions suggested that the name meant little to them, but Octavia had learned not to be so quick to believe things in this world. There were liars all around.
"Sorry, I've never heard of it," Taro said, rubbing his head, and Nagisa gave an agreeing shrug.
"What about a woman?" Octavia pressed, "Asuka. Wears robes with this weird crest on the front. Does that ring any bells?"
"It doesn't," Nagisa shook her head, and Octavia's shoulders slumped a little. She passed Sesshoumaru a dejected glance, but his expression was as neutral as always.
What she would give to know what he was thinking.
Sensing the disappointment in the air, Nagisa smiled and took Octavia's hand. "Let me take you to our teacher. He goes by the name, Mamoru. He can tell you more about the origins of your power. He's been telling the story for many years, to our parents and their parents and so on. He will want to meet you."
"Okay, but what about Sesshoumaru?"
She scanned the Daiyoukai with her metal eyes and gave him a knowing smirk.
"He can come too if he wants."
There was something almost chummy in the way that she looked at him.
Her and Taro led them through the city towards a giant marble temple on a hill. The massive wall of steps looked daunting to Octavia initially but she squeezed her fists and scolded herself for her laziness. She tucked her hair behind her ears and followed Sesshoumaru up the steps. Her heart thundered as they neared the entrance to the temple, and she felt something inside of her singing in response to the source of energy she could feel coming from the top of the steps.
Once at the pinnacle, she breathed deeply and wiped the sweat from her brow. She turned and stared at the city below, which was now partially concealed by the cloud cover. The crystal towers tore through the clouds and looked like they were suspended in the sky, reaching up towards the heavens. She wondered how tall they actually were if even the main temple of the island failed to reach their height.
Far in the distance, she saw something shift in the mist.
The shape was long and serpentine, and it sailed up briefly over the cloud cover before plunging back underneath. She thought it looked a little like how dragons were depicted in eastern artwork, but it was gone before she could properly make it out.
"Was that a dragon?" she asked Sesshoumaru.
"Yes. My mother used to say that sighting one is an omen."
"Good or bad?"
The look in his eyes confirmed the latter.
He came to stand beside her at the top of the steps and stared out at the ocean of clouds. A breeze caught the dark strands of his hair, making them sway like a sweeping curtain of velvet. She squeezed her forearms and turned her head back to look at the landscape. The dragon danced in the distance.
"Do you always listen to what your mother says?" she teased.
The corners of his mouth quirked.
"Why did she think that? Was she superstitious?"
"Not overly. She said that a dragon represents the strength of a woman's scorn. There is a story about a woman called Kiyohime. They say she foolishly fell in love with a man who tired of and betrayed her. Her thirst for vengeance transformed her into a dragon, and she slaughtered him in her wrath."
"That sounds like a lovely bedtime story."
"It is nonsense, but there is wisdom behind it. The story emphasises the power of rage and revenge. My mother is a cynical woman, but she adores metaphorical gibberish."
Octavia had never met the woman, and she didn't have much to go on, but a mother who told her son stories with such meanings couldn't be completely cold to the world she lived in. If anything, she must have taught him such things in the hopes of turning him into a better man. They had drifted apart over time. When was the last time the two of them had seen each other, she wondered, and what would she think of him now?
What would she think of the person her son had become?
"I like the sound of your mother," she said.
He made a noise that sounded like a snort.
"Your opinion would surely change if you met her. She cares little for how others perceive her, and even less for humans."
"So that's where you get your bigotry from."
He turned serious when speaking the next part. "Humans and youkai have always been at odds. Things may be different where you come from, but here it is the natural order. Thousands of years of history cannot be erased by one girl wishing it so. Especially when blood is spilt every single day on each side."
"But there's no fighting here. Everyone we've seen so far is happy. Look at Nagisa and Taro. They're an unusual match, but they work. This whole place works. Why can't it be like this everywhere else?"
He didn't answer and she turned to look at him again.
"You say it's out of our control, but it's not. The world is shaped by us. There are some things we can't change, you're right, but this isn't one of them. We can always do better. But you refuse to even try. Why won't you try, Sesshoumaru?"
His eyes shifted to meet hers and she held his gaze, feeling the wind faintly tugging at her hair. His mother had said that the story represented the strength of a woman's scorn, but maybe it meant something else too, something that could apply to this. No, something that could apply to anything. The strength of willpower. Of the desire to follow what you believed in.
The message that anyone could summon power.
"Kiyohime used her anger to make something happen," she said, "In her case, it was getting revenge, but the meaning is still the same. If you feel strongly enough about something – if you want to change it badly enough – you can. Anyone can break the cycle. Anyone can become a dragon if they want to."
The gold in his eyes burned like fire and she knew her words had gotten through to him. She'd just needed to phrase them properly, to soak them in the one thing he understood with perfect clarity . . .
Power.
No matter what, power was power.
Nagisa and Taro beckoned them in then, so she turned away from the sea of clouds and Sesshoumaru followed suit. He said nothing more, but he didn't have to. She'd seen all she needed to just from looking at him.
The interior of the temple was just as magnificent as the outside. The walls were white and the floor was made up of cream coloured wooden planks, and the giant windows consisted of tiny paper squares. There were golden carpets leading up to an altar, and the ceiling was decorated with paintings of a thousand different paintings. Pillars stretched out along the sides of the building and each one was inscribed with pale, indecipherable markings.
Four great statues sat atop the altar, golden and intimidating. She saw as they walked closer that their eyes were made of purple gemstones which glittered with the sunlight pouring in.
She knew which gods they were meant to be before being told.
"The God Stars," Nagisa said as they stared up at them. "Although I'm sure you already guessed."
The base of the altar was cluttered with offerings and four shide paper streamers hung from a string on a wooden box at the statues' feet.
"What do you think, Octavia-sama?" asked Taro.
"It's really something. And you don't have to call me that. Just Octavia is fine."
"But it would be disrespectful, Octavia-sama!"
"Where is the teacher?" Sesshoumaru inquired, growing impatient.
Nagisa crossed her arms and said, "He should be here by now."
"He's always late," Taro sighed.
Nagisa cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "GET OUT HERE, MAMORU-KUN!"
"You really shouldn't be yelling like that in here!" Taro hissed.
"MAMORU-KUN! ARE YOU DEAF? COME OUT! THE STAR MAGE IS HERE! DON'T YOU WANT TO MEET HER?"
A small crash sounded from behind a paper screen and a figure came rushing out. He was dressed in temple robes and he might get mistaken for a human if it weren't for the bull's head. His horns were long and curling downward, and his brown cheeks and snout were marked with small patches of silver fur.
"Oh!" he gasped, flustered. "Can it be?"
He rushed to Octavia and stared at her, his eyes large and bursting with disbelief. She felt awkward under his intense gaze, but Nagisa gave her a reassuring wink.
"I don't believe it," he said, "I simply cannot believe it!"
"Have you actually gone blind, Mamoru-kun?" asked Nagisa, "It's not a trick. She's right there in front of you as proof."
"God Stars," he muttered, practically on the brink of tears. "I didn't think I would live to see the day. It is a miracle, truly. You, girl, are a miracle. The power has finally returned to these shores!"
"Stop," said Octavia, halting him mid rambles. "I'm no miracle. I'm Octavia. Please, this is still so new to me. All I want is to know what this power is and where it came from."
Mamoru's expression softened and he smiled. His eyes were completely black and reminded her more of a bird's than a bull's. "How humble," he said, "Forgive me. It was difficult to contain myself. I've waited so long for someone like you to come, you see. Six hundred years, in fact. It feels far longer. By all means, ask away. I will tell you all I can."
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He led them away from the altar to a garden at the back of the temple. The air was fresh and the sound of birds could be heard from the tops of the blossom trees. The garden was green and lush, and instead of grass, it was filled with a vast amount of smooth white stones.
There were a couple of monks raking the pebbles who stopped to look at them as they walked past, and one whispered a word that she couldn't translate when they saw her.
Something like 'soot-coin'.
There was a millpond at the centre with a decorative waterfall built in, and the trickling water filled Octavia's ears like sweet music. She also noticed more of the purple crystals scattered about the garden.
Mamoru came to a pause at the base of one of the trees and wiped the blossom petals gently with his fingers. It was too late in the year for them, but they were blooming beautifully. She stood beside him and blushed when he plucked a blossom and gave it to her. She mumbled a thanks and looked back at Sesshoumaru, who had been told to stay on the other side of the garden with Taro and Nagisa.
He didn't take his eyes off her for a second.
"Are you familiar with the story of the God Stars, Octavia-sama?" Mamoru asked, stealing her attention back.
"Yes."
"That is good. You already possess a decent amount of knowledge on the subject. Now, what do you want to know?"
"Well, there's a lot I want to know, but first I should probably tell you about the curse I'm under."
"Ah, yes, there is a seal placed on your power. And on Lord Sesshoumaru. A nasty strick, altering a Daiyoukai's bloodline like that. Only a truly awful creature would do such a thing."
"How do we get back to normal?"
"First I must know how it happened."
She turned back to look at Sesshoumaru. Should she tell Mamoru the truth? It could be any one of them here, his eyes seemed to say. It could be all of them, for all we know. All of them conspiring to lure us into their domain and end us.
But if she didn't tell Mamoru, how could he help them?
"We were attacked by this shadow monster. That's when it happened. Before we fell unconscious, it told us to come here. The monster – whatever it was – wanted us to come. It said its master was waiting for us."
"Here?"
"We think so. At least, this is the only place that fits the description 'city of crystal tears'."
Mamoru scratched his chin. "I see. How upsetting. Have you encountered the creature again since? What did it look like?"
"It's hard to explain . . . It looked like a shadow."
She shivered at the memory of the horde at Chiyo's castle.
What had been their intentions there? If they wanted to lure them out to this island, why try to kill them before they even reached the ocean? No, they hadn't tried to kill her. They'd just wanted Sesshoumaru. But why? What were they hoping to accomplish by stripping them of their abilities and sending them on a wild goose chase to a magic island?
"A shadow?" Mamoru whispered.
"Yes."
His expression turned grave, and something in his eyes made Octavia feel uneasy.
She didn't know why.
"Listen to me, Octavia-sama. Shikon magic is holy to us, but it can be a dark source of power in the wrong hands. Reiki and youki are both powerful in their own rights, but they are mere branches of the power you hold. The scale of destruction you could bring is catastrophic. With power like that, you could bring about the end of this world. Perhaps . . . this restriction on your magic is not a curse but more a blessing."
That didn't sit right with her at all.
"No." She shook her head. "It's not a blessing. I need the seal gone. The absence, it's killing me. I know there are consequences of having magic like this, but it's mine. It's the only thing I have. I have to get it back, no matter what."
"I wish I could help you, Octavia-sama, but I am afraid I don't know how to."
"Then what about Sesshoumaru? It's not fair that he got caught up in all of this. Can you turn him back? Whoever lured us here, it's me they want. Why do that to him when he has no relevance to the prophecy like I do?"
"Maybe he does."
Her lips parted and she looked across the garden at Sesshoumaru again. "What?"
"His path just so happened to cross with yours. The night you entered this land, the first person you encountered was him. Of all the people in Japan. Don't you find that odd?"
"No, it was obviously just a coincidence."
Mamoru's eyes flickered.
"There is no such thing as coincidence."
She didn't know what to say to that.
She also didn't remember telling him that Sesshoumaru had been the first face she'd seen in this time.
He put a hand on her shoulder and said earnestly, "I will pray to the God Stars for guidance. They will have the answers you seek. In the meantime, you are welcome to stay here."
She nodded disappointedly. She didn't know what she'd expected to happen by coming here. It would have been too easy if they'd simply gotten their powers back right away.
As she returned to Sesshoumaru, they made their descent down the temple steps and her mind swum with notions of fate and destiny. Had it been by chance that she'd stumbled upon his campsite that first night she came through the Bone-Eater's Well, or had it been part of something bigger?
There is no such thing as coincidence.
It was a belief the people of the future held on to as well.
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Author's Corner
Bit of a cruel coincidence that his dad was killed by a dragon when he already saw them as a bad omen.
Thanks for reading! Don't forget to review! And stay hydrated!
