XXV
Nos Tacemus
Kouga has questions – questions for which Kagome has proved to possess no answer. He wonders if he can he trust this old miko enough to ask her.
She left my armor alone, didn't purify it – and this's twice she's helped Kagome now.
"Miko, can one of your kind heal one of mine with power?"
Kaede blinks at him, at the intrusion of his question.
"Ah...you...you are asking if a miko's power could be used to heal youkai? I have never tried, and I have never heard of such a thing being attempted; reiki and youki are forces in opposition. A miko's power purifies youkai, that is all I know."
Kouga narrows his eyes at her, and then shrugs.
"All right, then."
And then he pauses, and lets down the tightness of his shoulders just a little, and gives her just the tiniest bit of the grin he is so free with around Kagome.
"Thanks, old woman. I owe you one."
He is gone in a flash of speed that leaves her breathless, as if the whirlwind that follows after him has sucked the air from her lungs. Long after Kouga leave her, Kaede is still comtemplating the oddness of his strange visit.
"Can a miko...heal...youkai? What a strange question..."
She thinks about it for a while – not just the question itself, which she thinks she has already answered, but the reasons he might have for asking it. That girl...that strange girl...
But village life is hard, and full of challenges, and within five minutes a farmer arrives with a gash in his hand, in need of her attention. By nightfall, between one thing and another, she has completely forgotten.
Later, it will occur to her that she should have recognized the signs, the obvious answer – but like all things, it was only hindsight that would make the truth clear.
Kouga delays himself only a few moments on his way back to the den; he stops at the edge of the wood to scent the air, to track feelers of scent and presence that leech the air of goodness.
Trespassers...
Instinct is uneasy within him; something feels...quiet, when he expected the beginning of battle, the faint clash of conflict to be coming to him.
Did I go too fast for them?
Somehow, despite the fact that it has been less than an hour, he does not think so. One had been waiting for him along his outward path; why is there nothing now? His fingers tighten on the bow the old woman gave him for Kagome; he feels the tingling of his unease continue to strengthen even as he runs into the trees and then comes out the other side with all his senses on high alert.
Up through the edge of the trees, and over the low ridge that hides the river – across the river, past the boiling spume of the water – up past the silence, up over the rock and the ledges and still, still the silence – terrible silence -
He begins to see carnage, in bits and pieces – a limb here, some feathers there, a splash of blood dark and wet against the stone. His steps slow despite himself; where is the smell of death, the taint of youki? He turns, and above and ahead of him he sees two familiar figures sprawled against the ground in front of the den, only their heads and arms visible from where he stands now.
"Ginta! Hakkaku -"
His heart lurches within him, and he races up over the last few ledges and stops directly in front of the entrance to the great cavern that opens into the den. He stops unbalanced, all his weight leaning forward for another step, almost topples as the whole strange tableaux reveals itself to him.
Ginta and Hakkaku are unconscious on the ground. Behind them, a low growl sounds from the great figure of Kameko laying across the threshold, blocking the way into the den. Between her great paws Kagome lies unconscious, her arms outstretched toward the inside and over them, and on the floor, and dusted into Kameko's fur shimmers a sparkling dust, fine and gray and blank to Kouga's senses in a disturbing way.
"Kameko – Kameko, what happened here!"
He kneels between Ginta and Hakkaku; he hears heartbeats from them, low thuds of sound that are reassuring, and then leaps to his feet and crosses to kneel again by Kagome's side. She, too, is breathing, but she is pale and clammy and he smells the strong odor of her blood; the wound in her side again, or some other injury? Why is she out here? What happened to Ginta, to Hakkaku? Why is there only silence from the den?
He rears up and stands and stares into Kameko's face.
"You haven't answered me, Kameko."
"Because there are other things for you to be...concerned with now, Alpha. Death is coming; on terrible wings, it is coming...ah, what a power. What a terrible power...this girl...possesses...it has drained even me."
"Drained...Kameko, what happened?"
She shakes her great head and turns her muzzle to look behind him.
"Not now, Kouga. Look to the leader...of the ones she slayed. And be careful – be...very careful."
A/N: Having slept through 20 hours after a 2-day insomnia attack, I have missed a day, so bad of me. Here is yesterday's chapter – today's shall be up shortly, as in as soon as I finish it. Sorry dears, but even I and all my awesomeness can't post while I'm sleeping! I send much love to my reviewers, and apologies for my lateness. Keep your eyes open – revelations will begin soon, and the truth will pile on itself...finally, this chapter's title, "nos tacemus" means "I am silent".
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