Chapter 3

Imperare sibi maximum imperium est

"To rule yourself is the ultimate power"

How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears,
no dreads, to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly,
and brings nothing but sweet dreams.
-Dracula

There was too much noise. Too much noise for this early in the morning.

And good Lord, did everything just ache.

A loud crash made the ground under her cheek vibrate, and as she shifted, the dampness of her clothes was made obvious. Her body refused to work like she wanted and her head—her head felt like it wanted to just explode. Actually, she just wanted to lay back down and just not wake up for a couple days, you know, enjoy a light coma until her head stopped feeling like someone had beat it in repeatedly.

But something was wrong, the ground shook under her again and she slid a hand under her shoulder to help prop herself up, but that proved near impossible. Everything just hurt, more than it ever had before. This was worse than Tsubaki. That time, she could feel the resistance there striving against her own wishes, but here, there was just pain. Her body just flopped around, like it couldn't communicate with itself properly. Her eyes cracked open, and she could see the river now. The water moved around her waist and under her belly.

She was cold. The water was cold. Everything was cold and wet.

Pushing herself up with one hand, she let out a small cry as she shifted her weight painfully onto her side.

Another crash and the high-pitched crack of a tree snapping off; it's a peculiar sound, one that she would recognize anywhere.

Her mouth started to form a word, but her voice cracked, and she coughed, sharp spots of pain rambling through her spine and hips.

Hissing came from behind her head, and despite the pain it caused, she turned towards the noise. She could only hope that someone was here to help, because there was no way that she could even hope to defend herself against a garden snake, much less an actual youkai. And from the sheer volume of that sound, she highly doubted if it was a garden snake. Past experiences also dictated that she rarely wound up in positions that didn't require some sort of rescue.

Great yellow fangs appeared as the mouth opened and it gleefully looked at her as its next meal. She let out a quiet whimper, realizing that she was utterly doomed.

But then a cloud of feathers moved in front, knocking the snake aside, letting out its own high pitched cry.

Two youkai. And she could only hope that one of them would be friendly and not want to kill her or eat the remains.

While they were distracted, she had an opportunity to get away. Thoughts of climbing to her feet and at least hobbling away from the dueling demons proved a distant dream as she barely got her shoulders off the ground with her own shaking limbs. Getting on her hands and knees proved monumental, and she barely made it a few feet from the river before a body knocked into her, sending her sprawling back across the bank and into the muddy earth. Groaning, she rolled back onto her stomach, but even that was proving a near impossible task. She had to get away.

Where was everyone anyway? She hadn't spotted anyone else nearby.

She dragged her abused body across the grass and mud, heading for the trees the cover that they provided. Halfway there, she briefly thought that maybe the river might have been a better choice, but drowning seemed highly probable since there was barely any energy left in her body as it was. Swimming wasn't going to happen; sinking was far more likely. Brain still reeling and trying to catch up with current events, her limbs were at least slightly more responsive than what they were a few moments ago.

A loud piercing shriek made her gasp, covering her ears to protect them from the deafening volume.

"You're mine, girl!" A tenor voice came from right over her. It was the same moment that she registered the shadow looming. Talons wrapped around her upper arm and sharp gusts wrenched her off the ground as he leapt straight up. His wings beat the wind above her and she watched the trees moved as she rose above them. She beat at the foot holding onto her arm, pulling her already damaged body up without regard. The other foot dug its talons into her shoulder, the sharp, excruciating pain making her let out a small scream as it pinned her other arm from reaching anything above her elbow. She tried to grab at the foot impaling her shoulder, but there was no way.

The youkai laughed above her as they cleared the trees and flew over them. She kicked her feet, but it only pulled on her shoulder. They were moving quickly, covering too much ground. She needed to get free. They were already so far away from where she'd been. She couldn't even see the river anymore. She had to get free.

"Let me go!" She shouted, but again the youkai just laughed as he beat his wings. "I don't want to hurt you. Please, just let me go!" The talons dug in deeper and she cried out, as she swore that she felt his nails rubbing against each other in her shoulder, resting against her very bones and nerves. Her right arm grabbed the leg that was holding it; the talons were poking into the soft flesh of her arm, but she still gripped it firmly. The wind rushed past them, cold against her wet clothes and skin. She shivered.

"I'll let you go when we reach the nest. The fledglings are almost ready to try solid foods."

Oh God. I am not going to end up bird food! She twisted, whimpering at the pressure in her shoulder and the sharp snap of pain zipping up her spine. I am not going to be bird food!

She felt warmth bubbling up through her chest; it warmed her where her clothes were wet and blown by the wind. The warmth grew and grew until it was almost hot. It curled around her chest, and it wanted out. She forced it outwards, channeling it as far away from her body as possible, feeling it flow into her extremities. Kagome watched her hands begin to glow, and then spread out onto the youkai, whose flight faltered, a beat of the wings missed, like a skipped heartbeat. She watched in fascination as the youkai's movements stuttered and her stomach leapt into her throat as they plummeted towards the ground. The pinching pressure in her shoulder dissipated and then faded away as the youkai burst into a cloud of dust.

Idiot.

They'd been above the tree line and now, she fell towards them and the earth below. Her arms reached out, trying to snag a branch to halt her fall. But it was all too much, and what branches she did grab, broke under the velocity and weight of her poor, abused body. She landed her shin on a branch, sliding more so than actually landing, but the sharp, throbbing pain radiating already told her that it was going to hurt even more than it already did.

But she was tumbling now, twisting herself to find the closest thing to grab, because she was not going to die. Not now. Not when she'd survived the lynx, a cliff, a river, two youkai, and that was just in the last few hours. Kagome Higurashi was not going to die by tree branch or terminal velocity! Screw gravity! A large branch, one thick enough to not only stop her descent but support her weight came under her, and she landed, pausing, stopping as her body wrapped around it and the distinctive feel of a relieving snap from her midsection made her gasp as she bounced off and towards the ground. She landed, on her back, one leg bent under her, head cracking back against the ground. She stared at the tree above, leaves drifting down towards her face, from where she'd disturbed their branches during her fall. The fingers in her left hand twitched and she wasn't quite sure what that meant as she fought to take a breath, but found the edges of her vision darkening, until one good breath made her whimper and close her eyes.