Words: 805

Child of the Sky

Chapter 51

Ready, Aim, Fire

"Namontack counted thirty more" Ahanu reported.

Kocoum frowned grimly.

"That makes more than a hundred" he hissed under his breath. He peeked from behind the safety of a tree trunk and gazed warily at the wooden rack of strange long objects that stood in the center of the giant holes these men were digging. The thin items glinted harmlessly in the sun, but Kocoum knew better than to ignore them.

Weapons that shoot thunder Kagome had told them.

If even a single one of these men picked up one of those objects, countless lives would be at risk. Though fleeing from battle was not in Kocoum's blood, nor the blood of any of his men, the stern look in the miko's gaze told him that he would regret it if he did not heed her warning.

If these strange men had been from a rival tribe perhaps Kocoum would have engaged them. The leader, whom Kocoum assumed was the giant of a man dressed in a gaudy purple outfit, seemed to care very little for his subordinates and a surprise attack would not only destroy their morale but down several of their men before they could regroup. The damage to their camp would be tremendous, and they would not dare to make chase in an unfamiliar environment. Despite his scouting party numbering less than twenty, a hit and run against the camp would have had low danger and high returns if performed properly.

Run or die.

Kagome's words echoed in his head. He could not risk it. Outnumbered against an unknown force, Kocoum was more than prudent enough to realize that a confrontation would easily escalate into a massacre.

"Ahanu, tell the men to regroup. We are done here" he finally sighed.

But as soon as he said the words, a tiny, white, four legged… thing began to make the strangest noise. It sounded very similar to the bark of a strangled wolf cub, and would have looked similar to one if not for its flattened face, shortage of fur, and curled tail. The creature was so small and the force of its barks so strong that it trembled and jumped with every cry.

"What on earth is that creature?" Ahanu asked, simultaneously amused and alarmed. Kocoum silently joined in on the healer's confusion. What a grotesque beast – so grotesque and weird that it was somehow adorable.

Kagome would love it, he mused to himself.

At once, the light-haired men were on alert and scrambled from the holes they'd dug to make a beeline to the rack of shining, silvery objects.

"It doesn't matter. It alerted them. Help spread the word to retreat!" Kocoum commanded, drawing his bow and aiming at the wooden prop. He could hear his men scrambling through the underbrush, leaping from their hiding places in the tree branches and crawling from behind shrubbery, when the first of the invaders fired thunder. The bark of the tree behind which one of his men hid shattered, shards of the wooden shrapnel exploding from its surface and raining upon the earth. He and his men froze at the sight and the sound of it, horrified and stunned.

Kagome had been right to warn them.

"Get up!" Kocoum shouted, jolting them from their rattled trance. "Back to the village!"

The young leader released his arrow, quietly swearing under his breath when it hit the ropes holding the weapon rack together, but did not cut them. He had hoped to collapse the rack so that the men had to fumble for their weapons, and not only did he fail to do so, he'd given away his position.

As thunder continued to rain down upon him and his men, Kocoum felt an unnatural chill run down his spine. He could feel greedy eyes upon him and a dark hatred brush against him as if trying to suffocate him.

There you are a deep, menacing voice whispered to him, and he drew his hatchet and swung as he spun around to see nothing but the forest and the backs of his retreating men. His breath quickened and he slowly turned to face the people that littered the beach with their giant pits and massive disrespect for mother earth. Time seemed to slow, and he watched in dismay as these beasts with their angry grimaces and excited sneers aimed death at him and his men as if they were soulless objects.

I found you the voice said to him, dripping with a fake sweetness in its tone.

"Naraku" he whispered. Kocoum did not know how he knew. Perhaps the thick malice saturating the air or the ravenous greed pressing upon his shoulders warned him of the approaching demon, but he knew. Naraku was in the camp watching him.