Disclaimer I don't own much. Of course this means Inuyasha and his crew.

Of Fates Unknown

Chapter Seven

The Sword and Bow was packed well beyond its normal capacity, but the only sounds to be heard were the haunting melodies of the lythra. Men who would otherwise have been laughing and playing games of chance were silent and still, all their eyes on the dark-haired beauty whose slender fingers plucked the strings with an ease that belied the legendary difficulty of the instrument. Woman who usually came to gossip were silent as well, their minds drifting with the poignant music.

Kagome felt nearly suffocated by the unexpected crowd, but did her best to ignore them as she bent over the lythra, her long, black hair falling forward in soft curls to rest against the deep red gown.

She was in fact quite overwhelmed by her success. She knew she played well, but playing the ancient instrument had not been uncommon among her people. This was the second night she'd played, and while the crowed had been generous with their praise and their money on the first night, she had not expected it to swell to such proportions tonight.

When she finished, a brief silence was followed by thunderous applause that threatened to crack the smoke-stained beams of the tavern. There were pleas for more, but she put up her hand to signal that she needed to rest. Myoga quieted the crowd with a promise that she would return, while Keade brought her a cup of the light, fruity win she preferred. The proprietors of the Sword and Bow beamed upon her.

"There hasn't been a crowd this big in here since Lord Inuyasha won his last battle," Myoga remarked, shaking his craggy gray head.

Keade ushered her into the back room where they stored supplies and kept the books. "Ye look like ye need a rest, dearie. No on will bother ye here."

"I should go check on the boys," Kagome said as she sank gratefully into a chair.

"They're just fine- sound asleep. I looked in on them just a short while ago," Keade assured her.

Kagome thanked her and sipped gratefully at the wine. Myoga appeared with a leather sack full of coins, hefting it with a smile.

"More than last time, I'd say- and the evening isn't over yet. It helps that they just got paid today. From Lord Inuyasha's coffers to yours," he chuckled. "And to ours as well."

The vast majority of the tavern's clientele were soldiers from the garrison at the keep. And as Keade had promised her, they weren't an unruly lot. There were always officers among them, and if any man became too drunk or disorderly, he was quickly hustled away. Furthermore, the presence of the soldiers tended to guarantee good behavior on the part of other customers as well.

After a brief rest, Kagome returned to play some more, drawing loud cheers as she sat down on the stool and took up the lythra again. And when she had finished, the leather sack was indeed nearly full.

The patrons treated her with a reverence that she found rather disconcerting. Although there was no mistaking the desire in the eyes of many of them, no one attempted to force himself upon her. She had no experience of taverns, but she was sure such behavior wasn't very common.

When she went to say good night to Myoga and Keade, they were talking to a tall man she'd seen earlier, one of the officers. Myoga introduced him as Captain Manning.

He bowed slightly. "Allow me to escort you to your cottage, miss. My men won't trouble you, but I can't vouch for the others."

She glanced at Myoga, who nodded briefly. He had escorted her himself the previous night for the same reason, but it was obvious that he trusted the captain. She thanked him graciously and accepted his arm.

As he pushed open the door for her, he smiled. "Your talents will make you a rich woman."

"Hardly that," she protested. "I want only to support myself, my brother, and Shippou."

"Myoga tells me that you lived in Aegir and lost your husband there. Have you found your relatives here?"

"No," she replied, nervous as always when confronted with her lies. "I fear that there aren't any. But I like this place, and it's as good as any to settle down. I want my brother and Shippou to continue their education and they already like the school."

The captain nodded, "I was told that you had taken in a young fox youkai that was orphaned. A bit surprising that someone as young as you would do so, seeing as you already have a young sibling to care for, especially since you are human."

Kagome smiled, "We came across Shippou on our travels. We no not about who killed his parents, just that he was orphaned and had nowhere else to go. We were not about to leave the poor dear alone, so we offered to care for him. He is an exceptional child and he and my brother get along very well. And I find that I too am very attached to the little one. I myself do not see a problem with him being a youkai."

"Well, it is nice to know talk to another with the same view on youkai. Seeing as Lord Inuyasha is a hanyou himself, we have come across many who do not share your view."

At this Kagome looked shocked, "I didn't know, myself that he was. If I may ask, a hanyou means part youkai and part human correct?"

Captain Manning took in her shock and shook his head. "Yes, his father was a inuyoukai, his mother a mortal woman."

Kagome sighed. "Well that explains why Shippou had no problems with entering school. I was actually worried about if he would be allowed to school with Souta or not."

"Aye, Lord Inuyasha sees to it that the schools are well-run as well as allowing all. In no other place that I know of can children of all races be schooled for free- even the girls."

She bristled slightly at that, but said nothing. Back in her lost village, boys and girls hand always been educated together. No one there thought it strange that girls should learn to read and write. Granted they didn't have any youkai in the village, but they did often time did come in contact with them. Most were peaceful but once in a great while, they were not.

They reached the door to her cottage and she paused to thank him. He gestured to the bag that contained the lythra.

"Would you let me examine your lythra more closely? Myoga said that it's very old."

"Yes, of course," she said, opening the door and inviting him inside, though not without some misgivings. Myoga trusted him and he seemed very polite, but he was a soldier and an officer, and therefore a bit too close for comfort to Lord Inuyasha.

She took the lythra from its bag and handed it to him. He held it close to the light from the oil lamp and bent to study it.

"Do you know how old it is?"

"Not really. My grandmother gave it to me, and it had been passed to her by her grandmother."

He traced a finger over the intricate carvings. "Many years ago, it was the favored instrument of the Ceadda. But you must know that."

He looked up at her and she nodded, keeping her expressions calm even as fear jolted through her. Keade had told her that, but she knew that others had played it as well.

"Yes, I'd heard that. I don't know much about the Ceadda, though- and I'm not sure I believe the tales I was told about them."

"About their sorcery?" He shrugged, "No one really knows but they once ruled Domna. It was Inutashio, Lord Inuyasha's father, who defeated and killed them."

Kagome managed a smile. "Well then, they can't have been sorcerers, can they? Otherwise, they couldn't have been defeated."

"One tale I've heard many times is that they overreached themselves, that the source of their powers was hear- up at the keep." He nodded in that direction. "And when they ventured too far in their attempts to conquer, they lost their powers."

An image of the tower came unbidden into her mind. She hadn't seen those strange lights again, but she continued to be tormented each night by unremembered dreams.

"I don't understand," she said. "Do you mean that there's something in the keep itself that was the source of their power?"

"Possibly, though what it could have been I don't know. Whatever it was must have died with them."

Before she could stop herself, she told him that she'd once heard a tale that some of the Ceadda had managed to escape from Domna and had fled.

He appeared to be genuinely surprised. "I never heard that one, but I suppose it's possible. Still, they've never come back and you'd think they would have wanted to reclaim their powers, if they had any to begin with."

He took his leave and she followed him to the door, where her gaze was once again dragged up to the looming tower. And again, her curiosity got the better of her judgment.

"Do you know what's in that tower?" she asked.

The captain followed her gaze. "Nothing. It's in bad shape. It's been locked up for years. Lord Inuyasha says it would be too costly and too dangerous to have it repaired.

After he had gone, Kagome made a cup of tea and sat for a time by the fire. Apparently, no one here knew that some Ceadda had survived, which gave her considerable comfort. All of them seemed to regard the Ceadda as being nothing more than an interesting piece of history.

She was intrigued by his statement that the tower was kept locked and had been for years. If so, then what could explain that light? And what about his statement that the source of Ceadda power was believed to have been in something that been there, Inutashio would have destroyed it just as he destroyed her people.

Kagome found herself strangely unwilling to examine her thoughts too closely. It felt to her as though she were circling a very deep and very dark abyss, where one misplaced foot would send her plummeting into her worst nightmare.

)O(

Review responses:

Yume no Mei - I am very glad you enjoyed this story. I must say that I am rather pleased with it as well. : ) I am attempting to update this daily as long as I do not come across any unforeseen problems. (you know how it goes.) I hope you continue to enjoy this story as time progresses.

jeff16 - Thank you for your review. I am glad you will continue to read this story. I know for myself I often enjoy getting viewer responses about my work. That way I know what they like or what they didn't. For me it helps me learn what works and what doesn't when writing.

Well, that's all for now. I will try to post another chapter later this evening. As long as all goes according to plan. Again thank you two for your reponses.

Brightest of Blessings,

Lady Banshee 999