Here we go again..... Many, many thanks to Stardancer and Becky Tailweaver for helping me work this chapter out! On with the show........


Chapter 6: Invocations In the Dark
By Ysabet


It's a funny thing, the way humans regard mirrors.

They revere them, they adore them, they try to ignore them, they fear them. It's hard to walk past one without at least a momentary glance; and yet, to admire one's appearance in one is considered reprehensible. Indeed, one of the names for a table topped by a mirror is a "vanity."

In some cultures, mirrors are covered when there's a death in the house; in others, at a birth. What is it they fear to see on the other side of the silvered glass? What are they afraid they'll recognize? Their inner demons? Their mortality?

Or perhaps it's just their *selves* that they fear to really see?

Mirrors of glass, mirrors of copper, bronze or silver. A mirror has always been a precious thing.

But no matter how good the mirror is...... whatever it reflects, it *always* shows backwards.

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Outside the walls of the oldest edifice within the Aotsuki shrine, the wind wailed as if taunting the sky it raced through; the heavens responded with a low growl of angry thunder. Rain rattled the roof-tiles like tiny hammers, pounding and prying with cold liquid fingers to get in, to touch what lay inside. The storm prowled, a wild animal that growled and clawed to reach past the walls to the life huddled there.

And within the ancient shrine, a council of war was being held.

"IDIOT!!" hissed the bakemono, his silver eyes flashing angrily. "We manage to live this long--- and you want to throw away our lives for WHAT?!!? A bunch of humans that mean nothing to us! So they live nearby; what of it? Hell, Brat, *you* don't even know most of them!!" Tora snorted; the dim light of the single candle that Shigure had provided from a handy pocket glinted off his claws as he flexed them, scraping the stones.

Ushio rolled his eyes. "And maybe you've got a better idea, smartass? I'm not gonna run off and leave the Donshoku to eat my neighbors while we think of a way to deal with it--- it's in our territory, so we have to clean up our own mess!!" He crossed his arms and glared defiantly into Tora's irritated face no more than three feet from his own.

Watching them both, Asako cleared her throat and raised one eyebrow inquiringly. The Spearbearer snorted; "See--- Bakemonotachi hold territories, and this one is *ours*----- If we screw up and let this thing run loose, then it'll look bad. 'Bad' as in 'You're-too-weak-to-hold-your-territory' bad. 'Bad' as in 'Maybe-I-ought-to-take-it-over' bad." He glowered at his partner; Tora growled something uncomplimentary and archaic under his breath and glowered right back.

Shigure watched calmly as his son confronted the ancient monster; it was nothing new. They had these little battles a dozen or more times a day..... although, he thought wryly, said battles usually didn't concern the fate of their neighborhood and its population (more likely they were over the final destination of the last pork bun or something equally trivial). He massaged his maltreated leg; the bleeding had stopped, but it wasn't good for much. That last run (correction on his part: stagger) through the rain had just about finished it.

He hated getting old. In his son's terminology, it 'sucked.'

He glanced over at the girl. Asako had gone silent after Ushio's reply; now she sat against the wall, knees clasped loosely before her. Her dark eyes were unseeing, turned inward in thought. At least *she* wasn't making much noise..... She was holding up much better than the priest had expected, really; anyone else would have been in hysterical fits long ago. Shigure rubbed at a bruise on one temple with his long fingers and smiled a little to himself; it seemed that Asako dealt best with her fear by getting angry with it. Well, whatever worked.....

Asako was thinking hard about mirrors--- oh, and *fire,* she reminded herself; let's not forget fire. She leaned back against the cold stones, trying hard to forget what she had been doing the last time she had sat right there (she could see the bloodstained bowl and shard of glass a little ways away, pushed forgotten into a darkened corner). Best not to think about that too much.

The girl sighed to herself and concentrated on what the others were saying. It was almost a relief to hear Ushio and Tora speaking to each other so, well, so *typically*......

They were in each other's face again. Ushio was brandishing the Spear and Tora was snarling and trying not to flinch. Each one was muttering epithets so similar that (if one closed one's eyes, as Asako did just then) it almost sounded like a single voice attempting an impossible sort of duet:

"Idiot!"
"Shithead!"
"You wouldn't know a good plan if it tore your throat out!"
"YOU wouldn't know a good plan if it jumped up and bit you in the *ass*!!"
"You'll get us all killed, Brat! At least with MY idea we MIGHT make it through---"
"Stupid! THAT's what you think of as a PLAN?!?"
"Rrrrrrrrrr.... it's a hell of a lot better than *your* idea-----"
"Since when do you have *ideas*?!? Half the time you just tear things to pieces, and a lot of good THAT's done us---"

"Asshole!!"
"Yeah, right!! YOU just want to save your own hide---"
"You got a better idea? Listen, Brat---"
"Idiot!!"

After a moment, the humor of the situation got to her; she tried to stifle a giggle, but enough of it leaked through to catch their attention. There was a sudden ear-splitting silence, and Asako opened her eyes.....

..... to find herself fixed by three gazes: Silver monster orbs, irate and ferocious; Shigure's calm, amused gray glance; and a pair of catlike green-blue-purple eyes that gleamed with their own rather pissed-off light. Two voices, one deep and growling, one sharp and human, asked simultaneously: "What's so *funny?!?*"

Asako merely rolled her own eyes. "If you two would stop trying to show how *brilliant* you both are, maybe we could figure something out TOGETHER. That thing's going to find us sooner or later, isn't it?" She turned to look at Shigure, who was carefully wrapping his damaged leg in strips torn from his robe. "Oji-san..... That thing you drew on the floor when we came in..... will it keep the monster out?"

The priest sighed, running his fingers through his wet gray hair. "I'm afraid not" he said, the traces of amusement falling away from his face. "Glyphs like that were meant to be written on paper--- it has much to do with symbolism. A little while, no more..... The Seki Donshoku Mono will find us eventually, and I fear that my little markings won't hold it back for long after that." He glanced up at her; his face looked strained and hollow-eyed in the flickering candle-light. "I'm afraid I'm all out of ofuda. And out of ideas, as well."

They were silent at that, even Tora.

After a moment, the bakemono growled softly; the sound reverberated against the stone walls, lonely and menacing. It contrasted oddly with the dull patter and trickle of rain against the tiles. Thunder muttered above them in a dull clink of trembling ceramic. "Then we will have to think of something new, Priest" he said, sounding subdued and frustrated. His great claws rasped against the stone floor again, digging thin grooves that were nearly invisible in the faint illumination. His tail lashed; Asako sighed and shook her head. "We can't just leave, Tora-san. It's like Ushio said--- this is *our* mess, and we have to clean it up. Besides...." she cocked her head a little and smiled wanely at the monster. "Do you want that thing to *win?*"

Tora stared narrowly at her for a moment, then growled again, louder; this time the tiles on the roof rattled *without* the benefit of the thunder.

A movement beside her drew Asako's eyes. Ushio slid slowly down against the wall to sit cross-legged on the floor, the Spear resting in his hands. He was watching them both curiously, a speculative look in his shining eyes. After a moment he laughed softly. "Hey, Tora; what do you suppose some of those guys back at the Moon-Truce would think about us just *abandoning* our territory?" He snorted, then laughed again; his weary amusement and the bakemono's rumbling snarl blended for a moment into a strange harmony, sounding once again like a single voice, a single 'no' in the darkness.

Sometimes those two were *WAY* too much alike, Asako thought to herself in exasperation as the verbal dual (or duet) continued. Black and white, light and dark--- they were like arrows facing opposite directions. Like reflections in a mirror. They both had the same enemies, felt *mostly* the same way about things (some of them, anyway)----- and fought like the proverbial cat and dog. Like brothers.

And if she said anything like THAT to them, they'd *both* turn on her with identical expressions of disbelief-----

Oh well. Better get back to the issue at hand and quit with the idle psychoanalysis; after all, they were just trying to avoid having their souls eaten. Nothing too important.....

She cleared her throat. The mixture of name-calling and snappish growls had thinned out into a brooding silence; into that silence Asako asked aloud: "So--- what do we do now?"

She continued, speaking more than half to herself. "That thing doesn't like mirrors; it doesn't like holy things; it doesn't like fire. What *else* doesn't it like?" The girl stretched once, wincing as her shoulders rasped against the rough surface of the wall. The flicker of the candle reflected brilliantly for a moment from the Kemono No Yari's blade as Ushio shifted in place, staring into the flame as if for inspiration.

"Well--- it doesn't like sunlight, does it? Maybe we can wait it out....." he said, sounding a little dubious. Sighing, Shigure shook his head. "It will find us long before then, I think; there are still a few hours to go before dawn." The Spearbearer hunched his shoulders and ran the Spear's red tatters of silk through his fingers over and over again, thinking hard. He closed his eyes, and Asako found herself watching how the candle's flame threw the shadows of his long lashes across his cheeks.....

Such a strange face, all planes and angles under the influence of the Spear; less human than before, but perhaps more 'Ushio' than it had been too. She found herself wanting to touch his face, to see what it was like to run her fingertips across those slanted cheekbones, that soft, long hair. Asako flushed; with a wrench she pulled her mind back to business.

"Mirrors..... Tora, *why* does the Seki Donshoku Mono have that weakness? And is it just mirrors, or anything that reflects? There're so many superstitions about mirrors--- breaking them is unlucky, I know that; and there's lots of ghost stories about mirrors too."

The bakemono shrugged and glanced over at Asako; he stretched his length out across the dusty floor, propping his chin on one huge hand and staring her in the face. "I've no idea, girl. Perhaps it has to do with what it eats--- I've heard that humans sometimes believe that their souls can be trapped in mirrors. The Donshoku eats souls--- mirrors trap souls--- so; mirrors can trap that which eats souls." He shrugged again and reached out to tap her forhead with a single talon, making both Asako and Ushio start; the Spearbearer narrowed his eyes and watched the monster carefully.

"But *you,* girl, had best pay less attention to the 'whys' of things and find a way to run; have you forgotton that the damned thing is after YOU most of all?" He snarled a little, sharp teeth flashing candleflame-red in the dim light. "We are lesser prey to the Donshoku; it will take us when it can, but it will pursue you *first.*" His tail lashed, once, twice.

Asako felt the blood drain away from her face; she had forgotton that for a while. Oh God-----

Maybe she *should* have let Tora eat her; at least she would've died with her soul intact. The girl shivered as a cold, cold wind seemed to brush across her heart. As she raised her eyes to look back at Tora, she could see the same thought passing behind his harsh, impassive face. In an uncommonly low, quiet tone, the monster said softly: "Girl. It will not take you. I will make *certain* of that, if necessary."

Silence.

Perhaps that was the best she could hope for, after all.

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Now Tora and Shigure were holding their own discussion on strategy; it was an odd thing, thought Asako, how those two got along. Sometimes it seemed as if they knew rules that no-one else did, rules that gave them a certain common ground. Occasional phrases regarding the Donshoku's habits, history and hunting patterns would catch her ear, but she paid little mind; it was hard to pay attention when your heart was pounding like a scared rabbit's.

Asako got to her feet, walking a few yards away to sit on a dusty crate. From her vantage point she could just barely see the wan light that penetrated from beyond the broken doorway; the rain was still falling--- the drops reflected back the dim illumination in a glitter of faint, falling stars.

*It* was out there. And it would come for her, and it would----- She had to get away from Ushio and from Oji-san and from Tora; she was a danger to them. Asako closed her eyes tightly against the distant flicker of the rain; this despair, this fear, it felt like *drowning*..... If she didn't get away the Donshoku would find her first and then it would eat the others and sooner or later somebody would come in looking for them, and then it would get loose and start on everybody *else* and-----

She jerked hard as somebody sat down on the crate beside her; opening her eyes, she saw Ushio sitting a little slumped, his head lowered. He seemed to be studying the ground, but after a moment she caught a flash of those luminous eyes as he glanced at her from behind the curtain of his black hair. His gaze caught hers; there was concern and a certain curiousity in it, and Asako felt her own eyes fill with tears. She fought them back, hard; her rapid heartbeat slowed a little.

After a moment or two, Ushio scuffed one tennishoed foot on the rough stone floor; he shifted the Spear a bit, the knob on the end making a faint scraping sound. "So..." he said softly. "You okay now? I could tell you were having some problems there for a minute." He looked past her at the distant raindrops, his face quiet.

Asako sighed, a long miserable sigh. "Ushio..... I need to leave. If that thing is hunting *me* first, then I should be somewhere else, somewhere--- where you *aren't*-----" Her voice cracked. He was quiet, waiting for her next words; she could feel his stubborn, silent presence beside her like a lantern in the darkness. "I'm no hero, and I don't want to die. But if it chases me first, then maybe you and your dad and Tora can get out and find some help. Maybe I can find a way to keep it from getting me until the sun comes up....." Her voice trailed off.

He was so quiet. Was this really *Ushio?* He was NEVER this quiet. Silence spread out like a cold, still pool, holding Asako in its grip; she felt frozen, waiting for her friend's response.

When it came, it was in such a soft, fierce tone that the girl started a little in surprise. "You are *not* going to sacrifice yourself for us. We aren't going to *let* you go. *I'm* not going to let you go. Don't be stupid, Asako." He had turned his head and was staring at her directly in the dimness; she could see that he had drawn his lips back a little, his sharp teeth visible in a snarl.

She stammered, recoiling; "I-- I didn't exactly mean that I'd just let it---"

Ushio cut her off. "I *KNOW* what you meant. I know JUST what you meant. And if it was me, I'd probably be feeling the same way. I don't want other people to die either--- but I sure as Hell don't want you to end up being some sort of a monster's dinner either, goddammit! So let's just drop THAT idea right now, okay?" He growled at her then, actually growled, just a little. It sounded very odd coming from a human throat, but maybe he had been picking up some of Tora's bad habits. And speaking of Tora---

The Spearbearer looked from Asako over to the bakemono; the monster was still deep in conversation with Shigure, who seemed to be describing something with much hand-gesturing. "Hey--- what's up with you and Tora, anyway? You two seem to be getting along better or something..... And what was that last bit? He sounded--- almost as if he was promising to *protect* you." Ushio crossed his arms, looking at her curiously. "That was kinda weird, for him....."

She flushed. This was NOT something that she wanted to talk about (she still couldn't believe that she had done what she had.) Ushio would *most* definitely put six or seven new holes in Tora's hide if she explained about the blood and everything----- Shrugging and trying to look nonchalant, Asako glanced down at her feet. "I, ah, I did him a favor earlier, that's all. He was injured by the Donshoku and I helped fix him up." She crossed her arms, hugging herself unconciously. ''That's all there was to it. I guess he feels a little obligated or something."

Ushio snorted. "'Obligated?' Tora?? Yeah, right..... Well, he's got his own ideas on that sort of thing; whatever. Anyway-----" He shifted his weight to one hip, settling back with his hands against the crate, watching her. "You look a little calmer now; are you gonna be alright?"

His concern warmed her, melting some of the coldness that had wrapped around her heart when she had thought of facing the Donshoku out in the darkness, alone. Asako looked back up at him from her examination of the ground. Ushio was smiling that crooked smile at her; she could just see his expression in the dim light of rainfall and candleglow. "What's so funny, huh?"

He closed his eyes for a moment, extinguishing the lambent flames of purple-blue. "Nothing, really. I was just thinking....." He opened his eyes again, blinking.

He was blushing. The light was too faint to be able to actually *see* him blush, but somehow Asako was sure of it. In a second the stress of the moment altered to become an entirely different sort of tension.

When he spoke again she had to strain to hear his voice, it was so soft. "I was, ummm, thinking about what I saw when the Donshoke grabbed me back in the shrine."

Now she blinked. "It got you *too?* So--- what did you see?"

Ushio ducked his head for a moment; the long strands of his hair curtained his face, hiding his expression. "I..... saw *you.* You were looking for me, and..... we were going to go somewhere, I can't remember where. I just remember that you looked so happy to *see* me, and I was gonna take your hand---" He raised his head, staring out unseeing into the shadows. "--- but somehow you just didn't look exactly like *you,* so I pulled back..... That's when I sort of came back to myself, and I was standing over you with the Spear inbetween both of us and that damned monster. I think the Kemono No Yari acted on its own that time." He shivered a moment, then looked sideways at her from between the strands of black hair.

Now Asako was blushing; she felt her cheeks flame with a mixture of embarrassment and..... something else. Something that made her pulse beat in her throat, made her heart twist in the grip of a strange, unfamiliar gladness. It was the same feeling that had prompted her to kiss him in those moments when they had been both locked inside the Kemono No Yari-----

Slowly, so slowly, she raised her hand and did what she had wanted to earlier; she ran one fingertip across his cheekbone, sweeping the black silk of his hair back to tuck it behind his ear. Now he couldn't hide his face from her anymore. Ushio's skin was warm beneath Asako's touch, smooth and real there in the cold darkness. His hand slipped up to cover hers for the briefest moment; then they were apart again, each staring at the dark, dusty floor as if looking for answers in the stones.

Quietly she spoke. "I saw you too. You were waiting for me..... or I thought you were, anyway. I knew something was wrong, though; it wasn't really you." They were both silent for a second or two; it seemed better so.

Then Asako felt the barest of touches against the line of her jaw; she turned her head. Ushio's fingertips rested lightly beneath the point of her chin. His face was shadowed, but that didn't matter as he leaned forward and kissed her very softly, very gently in the silence of the moment. That silence seemed to stretch, to expand and lengthen within its own version of time-----

He drew back--- or she did; perhaps they both drew back. Oddly, neither Asako nor Ushio seemed to feel particularly awkward about what had just happened. Instead, the girl found herself contemplating whether or not they might try that again-----? She had some ideas...

But the moment was shattered none-too-gently as a somewhat sardonic human voice said softly, "..... Ahem. If we might have your attention?"

Guilty and flushing, the two swung around on their crate to see Shigure and Tora staring up at them from where they sat on the floor. The priest had a rather amused, wry look on his face; the bakemono leaned forward on one elbow and chuckled nastily. "Don't mind us; we can wait. We have a good view, after all....." He grinned a wicked grin. "However, If you two human children are finished with your foolishness, we also have a *plan*." The bakemono's smirk widened as Ushio muttered something very rude beneath his breath; Tora just laughed again, silver eyes slitted. "Young things in season....." murmured the monster, his tail twitching. Asako felt her fists clench and her cheeks grow hot; raising her chin, she glared at the bakemono and decided to ignore the whole thing.

Shigure shot Tora a sidelong look and frowned. "A plan..... well, perhaps. A bait, a trap--- all of that, certainly. As to whether or not it will *work,* ahhhh...... I fear we no other options but to try it and see." He climbed carefully to his feet and limped over to the crate, tugging his robes a little closer around his shoulders against the dampness and chill.

The priest cleared his throat. "Asako--- you asked some questions about mirrors earlier. We believe, Tora and I, that perhaps we have an idea of how to trap the Donshoku within a reflection once again." He hesitated a moment, then began once more, rubbing at his tired eyes with the back of a dusty hand.

"Of course, there is a certain element of risk involved. And, regrettably, that risk falls mostly upon your shoulders. Tell me, child..... Do you think that you could manage to act as 'bait'.....?

And Asako felt the coldness of terror welling up, welling up, stronger than before.....

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Pant, pant, pant..... whew! Next chapter coming soon to a theater near you!--- Ysabet, catching her breath