EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 31: Reunion

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Octavia searched for Sesshoumaru on the sidelines.

She asked around, but without his pelt and silver hair, he didn't exactly stand out. Sighing, she managed to convince Haru and his friends to help boost her onto a wall. The height made it possible for her to see the entire courtyard. Squinting her eyes, she scanned the crowd for the elusive Daiyoukai, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Had he left without telling her?

"Any luck?" Haru shouted from the ground.

She looked down at him and shook her head. "No."

"Weird. Maybe he went back to Nagi-san's?"

"Maybe." She fought the urge to frown. She knew he wasn't a people person, but he could have at least told her that he was leaving. Especially when there were shadows on the loose. "I'm gonna go look around," she said. "If anyone asks, just tell them I went for a walk."

Haru nodded. "Okay. I hope you find him soon."

She walked along the wall before jumping into a deep pile of snow. Her body still couldn't comprehend why it wasn't cold and shivered out of habit. Dusting the snow off her clothes, she set out to find Sesshoumaru.

The Reikon Blade pulsed faintly when she rounded a corner and found herself in front of the temple steps. She slipped the dagger out of its sheath and cradled it in her hands. The crystal blinked on and off like a faulty lightbulb. The blinking became more intense when she pointed it at the wall of steps in front of her. Inhaling sharply, she began climbing the many steps leading up to the island temple. The Reikon Blade shone brighter the higher she climbed, before going out completely when she reached a certain point. Puzzled, she gave the dagger a light shake.

No response.

"What the—"

The ground shuddered beneath her. She screamed and nearly dropped the dagger as giant cracks appeared in the steps. Her heart thrashed in her chest, and her breaths came out short and laboured. The tremor passed by relatively quickly, but the damage was already done. The stone underneath her feet groaned as the cracks continued to spread. Panicking, she leapt onto a rocky ledge and held on as the ground shook again. She peeked down at the city and gasped when she saw that it was unaltered. Whatever this was, it was only affecting the hill.

The Reikon Blade surged to life and rattled in her hand. She could feel Sesshoumaru's thoughts through the rock. We're still connected. The realisation strengthened her resolve.

As soon as the second tremor ended, she shuffled along the ledge with her stomach pressed against the rock. A light below drew her attention to a cave entrance. She manoeuvred her way down and wandered inside. There was a single lit torch on the wall, so she took it and used it to explore the cave. Sesshoumaru's thoughts were louder inside. She could feel his frustration and the distress that came with being underground, but those were the least of her concerns.

He wasn't alone. His thoughts all but confirmed it.

The Reikon Blade glowed brighter, overpowering the torch, and Octavia swallowed thickly. She understood what he'd meant when he'd said the walls were closing in on him. Her feet dragged as she walked through the shrinking passage, and her chest burned. She clutched her yukata and coughed. The pain wasn't all physical. Her mind swam with memories of a dimly lit space full of rotting bodies. The smell invaded her nostrils and she felt bile rising in her throat.

You weep needlessly, murmured a voice that she didn't know. Your father won't let anything happen to us. We're safe. I promise.

Tears clogged her eyes as Sesshoumaru's memories barrelled into her.

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Sesshoumaru snarled as the shadow lunged for him, knocking him back with his sword.

The numerous cuts he'd inflicted on the priest's body didn't seem to have hindered the creature inside at all. It wasn't the only one in the cavern. More shadows were hiding above his head, reluctant to get involved without host bodies to protect them from the Tenseiga. The sword was glowing, filling the cavern with blue light, which the other shadows flinched away from.

If the priest truly was dead like the shadow had claimed, he ought to cut him down with the Bakusaiga and be done with it. But what if it had been a lie to goad him into killing an innocent youkai? He disliked harming those that didn't deserve it, and he liked executing them even less.

Octavia would be angry if she found out that he hadn't even tried to save him.

She'd be even angrier when she discovered that his youki had been in her the entire time. It explained why she'd been able to wield the Bakusaiga, and other instances. He was surprised that harbouring all of that youki hadn't driven her mad. Human bodies weren't designed to hold so much raw power. She should have died instantly, but she'd somehow carried on as normal.

He hadn't given her nearly enough credit.

"Am I boring you?" the shadow taunted. "Or have you finally noticed the star's presence?"

His eyes widened slightly. Octavia's scent drifted into the cavern, swarming his senses. The Reikon Blade built a bridge between their minds. He tried to tell her to stay away, but his mind refused to cooperate, too busy sending her unrelated memories.

Trying not to think about the tombs, he withdrew the Tenseiga and swung it at the shadows hanging from the ceiling. They screeched and scurried away like vermin.

The one in the priest laughed and cracked its knuckles. "Would you like to watch her die? Or shall I spare you the agony and kill you first?"

"The only one dying today is you."

Sheathing his swords, he embraced his connection with Octavia and felt his youki flowing back into him. It wasn't enough to turn his hair silver, but red filtered into his eyes and his hands bubbled with poison. He snarled, revealing knife-like teeth, before suddenly flexing his hands. Acid sprayed onto the rocky ground and melted it, making it incredibly unstable. The shadow growled when it realised what his plan was and tried to run to safety, but the entire floor was cracking apart.

Sesshoumaru smiled dangerously, knowing that he'd won.

"The star will still perish!" the shadow screamed.

Any moment now and it would leave the priest's body. He just had to be patient. The middle section started caving in, followed by the rest. Soon, there would be nowhere left to stand. The shadow was more determined than he'd thought. But his resolve was stronger.

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Sesshoumaru's thoughts ceased abruptly, frightening her. She threw the torch to the ground, extinguishing it, and sprinted towards the blue light at the end of the tunnel. The entire hill was quaking violently. Something was obviously happening up ahead, but the majority of the tremors were coming from somewhere below.

Before she could find out if the light was coming from the Tenseiga like she suspected, a pair of arms grabbed her from behind. She didn't hesitate to elbow the person they belonged to in the face. Her attacker shrieked and loosened their grip, allowing Octavia to wrench herself free.

She gasped when she saw that it was Nagisa. Blood dribbled down her chin from her lip, marring her otherwise perfect face. "Ouch," she grumbled. "You're stronger than you look."

"What are you doing here?" Octavia snapped.

"What does it look like? I'm saving your life. Come on. We have to get out of here—"

"I'm not leaving. Not without Sesshoumaru."

"You're in more danger than he is."

"What do you mean?"

The tremors worsened.

Nagisa's eyes widened in horror. "It knows you're here."

"What does?"

The demoness seized her by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Listen to me. You can't be here. If the scriptures are true, you need to get as far away from here as you can. If it gets even a drop of your blood, we're all done for. The best thing you can do is run."

"What scriptures? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"There isn't time. You have to—"

"I'm not going anywhere without him."

Nagisa's expression turned desperate. "You don't understand. The whole hill is going to come crashing down on us. You can't die here, Octavia. There are still things you have to do. Him, too. I won't let anything happen to him. I promise. I'm on your side. Please do as I ask."

She took a step closer, but Octavia reacted by pressing the tip of the Reikon Blade against her throat. Nagisa stiffened and held her breath. She clearly didn't know that it couldn't cut flesh.

"If you were really on my side, you'd never ask me to do something like that."

"Octavia, please. We'll both be crushed—"

"Not if I can help it."

She reached inside herself for the power that had enabled her to best Asuka. Her eyes filled with purple, and her teeth turned jagged. Nagisa's eyes bulged as Octavia lowered the dagger and bared her teeth at her. A few seconds later, shards of crystal broke through the rock around them, skewering the hill. The tremors ceased now that the hill was stable again. With the crystals acting as support beams, it was finally safe to run through the tunnel and locate Sesshoumaru.

Nagisa shook her head in disbelief.

"You have his youki."

Octavia frowned. "What?"

"You have Sesshoumaru's youki. But that's impossible! That would make you . . ." Her voice faded away. "It's all you," she said after a brief pause. "Sutākuīn. Purple Eye. They're all about you. I can't believe I didn't realise it sooner. Maybe it's not too late, after all. I can still—"

Octavia cut her off. "I'm sick of hearing about prophecies. Tell me what's really going on here."

She saw Nagisa's throat bob. "There's a spring at the bottom of these caves," she explained. "A dark god lies dead in its depths, so the water is cursed. Only the blood of a star mage can purify the water and restore its healing properties. If that happens, the Shadow will be revived, and the first thing it will want to do after it wakes up will be to devour you."

". . . How do I know you're not lying to get me out of the picture so you and your lackeys can kill Sesshoumaru?"

Nagisa looked horrified that she'd even asked.

Octavia took her silence to mean that she was complicit and ran in the opposite direction. She arrived at a steep drop and gazed into the black pit below. The blue light was fainter now, but it was still there. Sliding the Reikon Blade back into its sheath, she rolled up her sleeves and knotted them at the top before moving down to tear a slit in the side of her yukata.

Nagisa caught up to her and stared helplessly as she kicked off her sandals.

"Don't," she pleaded. "Don't throw your life away."

"I'm not." Octavia didn't even glance over at Nagisa as she began the descent. "I'm saving his."

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Sesshoumaru had landed in a decently sized puddle. He hoped it was just the dark that was making the water black. Fortunately, his body hadn't been injured by the fall, or if it had, the youki in his system had healed any wounds he might have sustained.

He'd lost both of his swords at some point during the fall. His eyes flitted around this new, larger cavern, searching for them. One was easier to spot than the other was. He located the Tenseiga's light and marched towards it, avoiding the streams of heated water that were strewn across the ground. Once he'd found the sword, he picked it up and held it in front of him like a torch.

A pair of shadows darted away from him when he cast the Tenseiga's light in their direction.

The one in the priest lunged at him from the left, but Sesshoumaru's reflexes were faster. He swiped at the shadow with his claws, spraying poison onto the already dirtied robes.

"Looking for this?" the shadow asked, waving around the Bakusaiga.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "It won't work for you."

"I don't need it to put you down like the mad dog you are." The Bakusaiga was promptly tossed into the darkness. "It's over, Lord Sesshoumaru. You've lost. The star is ours."

"It's far from over."

"Don't make me laugh. You lived alone, and now you'll die alone."

"No, he won't, you ugly fuck!"

The Bakusaiga flew straight into Octavia's hand. Its blade shone green as she held it with both hands and aimed it at the priest. The sheathed Reikon Blade was similarly dazzling, emitting bright purple rays that mixed with the green and created an aurora.

Sesshoumaru's stomach dropped. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't—

The shadow's black eyes sparkled like pieces of coal. "You're different from the other stars we've met. No wonder the boy is so eager to get his hands on you. We've met before . . . Haven't we?"

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