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EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 89: Haunted

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Once upon a time, there lived a little girl who loved to play in the woods with her two older brothers. However, everything changed when a group of outlaws arrived without warning and killed the girl's brothers in cold blood. Fortunately, their deaths bought the girl's parents just enough time to usher her into a narrow space beneath the floorboards. It was a decision that would ultimately go on to save their daughter's life.

Once the bandits were gone, the girl emerged from her hiding spot only to have her worst fears confirmed. Her entire family was dead, and everything they owned had been destroyed or stolen, making her a penniless orphan. The other villagers pitied her, but not enough to take her in and raise her as one of their own. Therefore, the girl did what she had to in order to survive. She stole rather than starved, drew water from the well only in the dead of the night, and took beating after beating without ever fighting back. She never cried nor complained, not even during the more extreme punishments she was forced to endure. In fact, she hadn't uttered a single word since she'd lost her family. No, not lost. Lost implied that the subject in question had the potential to be found. But that wasn't the case here. Her family wasn't lost. They were gone forever.

The girl was fairly certain that her own death was fast-approaching – either from malnourishment or exposure to the elements – so she decided to take a walk through the woods that she and her brothers had loved so dearly. Veering away from the path in pursuit of a shortcut, the girl stumbled upon a creature that had been wounded in battle. The man-beast was dismissive of her initially, but his hostile manner soon changed to one of mere disinterest. Until one fateful morning, when the girl showed up with fresh cuts and bruises marring her sweet, youthful face. To her, they weren't anything out of the ordinary, but the man-beast wished to know what had caused them.

Moved by his concern, the girl smiled for the first time in over a year, firing an invisible harpoon through the casing of ice around the man-beast's heart. And thus, after emancipating her from the greedy clutches of death, he had no choice but to let her follow him. Partially because deep down, he was actually rather lonely, but mostly it was because she seemed to be under the impression that he'd saved her, when in reality, it was the other way around.

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Rin fought to contain her excitement as she regarded Tsunayoshi's washed-out features. The effects of the poison were subtle, but they'd been enough to raise the eyebrows of his advisors. One of them had even suggested postponing the duel until his strength returned. Offended by the comment, Tsunayoshi responded by picking the advisor up by his collar and launching him through the nearest wall. The advisor in question hadn't spoken another word since.

They were right to be worried. The usurper's laboured breathing and bloodshot eyes weren't the only causes for concern. He was shedding scales at an alarmingly fast rate. It wasn't unheard of for members of his species to lose the odd scale here and there, but they were falling out in droves. Rin had noticed it whilst they were breaking their fast in one of the stronghold's many dining rooms. A couple of scales had detached themselves from his neck and landed in his bowl of miso soup with a splash that echoed through the room like the vibrations from a gong.

As the day progressed, his symptoms worsened. None of the healers' remedies came close to being successful, and Rin's heart leapt when she heard that he was bedridden. No one could identify the cause of the mystery illness, and for a short while, it seemed that the duel would have to be postponed, after all . . . Until his condition miraculously improved.

Several hours before dawn, the usurper exited Lord Sesshoumaru's quarters and summoned his highest-ranking generals for a meeting in the war room. The duel was back on.

When the time came to say their goodbyes, Rin was disappointed to see colour in his previously pallid face. The only indications that he'd been unwell were the bare patches of skin where his scales had fallen out. How had he managed to heal himself so quickly? Had she gotten the dosage wrong? Or was that particular type of poison simply too weak to do any lasting damage to him?

"Are you feeling better, my lord?" she asked.

He nodded haughtily.

Her stomach lurched. Had he somehow figured out that she was responsible for his illness? Could Cyril have told him about the akai shi flowers? She tried to reign in her panic, but Tsunayoshi saw through her facade.

Or so he thought.

"Were you worried about me, my bride?"

She flashed him a sheepish smile and nodded mutely.

His jaws morphed into a grin. "It pleases me to hear that."

She needed to find out how much he knew. "I presume that the healers were able to shed some light on your ailment, seeing as they were so successful in their treatments."

"Actually, they have no idea."

Her brows lifted slightly. "Truly?"

"My symptoms were indicative of poisoning, but I find that highly unlikely. Not only is my sense of smell impeccable, but my food and drink intake are identical to yours. Therefore, if I was poisoned, you would have suffered the same fate as I."

"But if they can't figure out what's wrong with you, how did they cure you?"

"They didn't."

Confusion painted her features. "I don't understand. If they couldn't cure you, then how are you . . ."

His amused but menacing expression sent a chill down her spine. "The shadows have their uses."

"Shadows?" she echoed, deciding to play dumb for the time being. "What shadows?"

"You must have seen them lurking about the castle."

"I thought it was just my mind playing tricks on me."

"On the contrary. They are the embodiment of truth. They first approached me around two months ago, offering their services. Only a fool would turn them away. They're incapable of lying, you know."

Wrong. All they did was lie.

"What are they?" she whispered.

Tsunayoshi's eyes darkened. "Do you remember what I told you? About the Radiant One and Erem's Vessel?"

She nodded.

"Before claiming a human host–" he continued, "–the Radiant One murdered its twin on behalf of the God Stars. After the battle, the Shadow's body was buried in the earth on an uncharted island to the north. But this is where the story gets even more interesting. You see, although the Shadow was technically dead, a part of it survived. The most dangerous part of all . . ."

"What?"

"Its mind."

She blinked. "How?"

"The spring it perished in had the power to grant immortality to anyone who drank from it. Of course, the Shadow was already immortal, but with its blood contaminating the water, the spring did something else entirely. It took the Shadow's hatred for the Radiant One and transformed it into matter. Said matter subsequently emerged from the spring's depths, fuelled by the desire to enact vengeance on the traitors that called themselves gods."

"And that's why they want Octavia-san? Because they think she's a host?"

"Precisely."

Rin thought about what the shadows had told her when they'd appeared before her in the bride's bedchamber. Their words matched Tsunayoshi's explanation of past events, except for one particular remark they'd made whilst they were on the topic of the Radiant One.

There is another. A second split occurred nineteen years ago. Two were born instead of one.

"Why are they helping you?" she asked. "What's in it for them?"

Tsunayoshi's grin widened. "In exchange for their assistance with Sesshoumaru's capture, I promised that once I was finished with him, they could use his body to track down the mage and kill her. They want her to know how it feels to die at the hands of someone she trusts."

Rin shuddered. If that truly was his endgame, there was nothing she could do to avert it. Even if Lord Sesshoumaru managed to kill Tsunayoshi and defeat his colossal army, the shadows wouldn't rest until they'd gotten what they wanted. If Tsunayoshi failed, they would simply murder Lord Sesshoumaru themselves and wear his skin like a costume, all in the name of revenge.

Wherever Octavia was now, Rin willed her to stay far, far away from this particular conflict.

"I'm afraid I must leave you now," Tsunayoshi mumbled, reaching out to ensnare her cheek. "Goodbye for now, sweet Rin. The shadows will watch over you in my absence."

She suppressed the urge to grimace as his claws skirted across the bruise on her cheek—the one he was directly responsible for. Although his tone had been warm and gentle, the words themselves were far from reassuring. "Goodbye, my lord. And good luck."

He captured her other hand and lifted it to his mouth, then greedily lapped at her knuckles with his tongue. Had she known about his bargain with the shadows beforehand, she wouldn't have felt the need to coat every inch of her skin in poison.

In the end, she only had herself to blame. It was her own fault for believing that she could fool him. Where she was young and naive, he was older, wiser, stronger. She needed nothing short of a miracle if she was to emerge victorious against the likes of him.

But miracles aren't real, she thought as she watched the army depart from the highest reaches of the stronghold. If you wanted something, you had to work for it. That was what Lady Kaede always used to say.

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Tsunayoshi had left behind a skeleton staff to watch over her and the other prisoners. The two guards that had been assigned to her seemed to think that standing guard outside her door would be enough to keep her caged. Rin wasted no time assembling a barricade made from various pieces of furniture, before tying her sheets together to create a makeshift rope. Neither guard attempted to enter the room and demand to know what she was doing. They either didn't care or were simply waiting for an excuse to kill her. They weren't exactly fond of her. If she acted out, they'd have a perfectly good reason to hunt her down and punish her for her disobedience.

After securing the rope to the post of her bed, she threw the tail end out of the window and climbed onto the wooden ledge. She checked that the knots were secure before beginning her descent. Several close calls later, her feet finally touched the ground and she scurried towards what remained of the garden's prized hedge maze. It was the most direct route to the jail sector, and since the majority of it had been destroyed during the invasion, she couldn't possibly get lost.

She would have been fine if the sky hadn't suddenly turned black, plunging the entire maze into darkness. Squinting her eyes, Rin fumbled around for the leafy walls on either side of the path. Eventually, her fingers came into contact with something hard and covered in bumps. Jolting backwards, she opened her mouth to scream, only for someone's hand to clamp over her mouth and trap the sound in her windpipe.

The cloud of darkness parted then, revealing a huge serpentine beast with a blue hide and flowing white mane. The sea dragon's antlers reminded Rin of barren winter trees, and her wholly black eyes were like two empty chasms in the earth.

"The canary has escaped her cage," a voice purred in her ear. "She's cleverer than she looks."

Craning her head, Rin saw that the hand covering her mouth belonged to Kannika. The demoness' eyes were as black and empty as Nagisa's, and her lips curved upwards into a malevolent smirk. Rin felt her pulse quicken as Kannika's hand slid down to her neck and gave it a slight squeeze.

"What have you done?" Rin asked, her voice cracking on the last syllable.

"What we were made for," the creature inside Kannika replied. "The Radiant One couldn't resist it, either. The rush of emotions. Bodies hot with blood."

"Let them go."

"I don't think so, little bird. Where would you be without us? We saved your life. If we hadn't killed that soldier, you would have suffered the same fate as your poor mother."

Fury sparked in Rin's chest, and she glared at the creature wearing Kannika's face fiercely. "Don't you dare bring my mother into this," she snarled. "You don't know a thing about her. Or me. If my life meant anything to you, you would have let Tsunayoshi die."

"You misunderstand. We have no love for you, or any of your kind, for that matter."

"Then why didn't you tell him the truth about his illness? You must have known it was me. What do you gain by keeping it a secret from him?"

"Your defiance is entertaining."

"You're lying. There's something else." It was far too easy to pry herself out of Kannika's grasp. The demoness made no move to apprehend her again, and Nagisa remained uninterested and motionless. "Why haven't you taken me yet? You've had plenty of chances. What's stopping you?"

"You have no grounds to question us."

"It's that butterfly, isn't it?"

A growl rumbled out of Nagisa's mouth.

Rin balled her hands into fists. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"You are a great number of things. But right is not one of them."

Frowning, she turned to Nagisa and said, "Get out of my way."

The sea dragon narrowed her eyes and hissed. No longer afraid, Rin shucked off the outermost layer of her junihitoe and let it tumble to the ground. Before either shadow could figure out what she was doing, she bolted down an alternate path and raced towards the maze's exit.

By the time she realised that neither of them had bothered to chase her, she was already at the entrance to the jail sector. Unlike the last time she'd been there, the gate was unmanned and had been left slightly ajar. Without hesitating, she opened it fully before sprinting inside to search for Kohaku. Her heart was in her throat as she struggled with the latch on the door to his cell. What if she was too late?

She forgot how to breathe when her eyes were greeted by the sight of an empty cell. Tears blurred her vision as she stared at the broken shackles and blood-stained floor. Sinking to her knees, she covered her mouth with her hands to muffle her sobs.

It was Shippo who saved her from drowning in them. He burrowed into her side and wrapped his youki around her like a blanket. It was so unfair. Hadn't she suffered enough? Why was life all take and no give? Why couldn't it be kind for a change?

"Come on," Shippo urged once her tears had finally run out. "We have to go."

"I'm not going anywhere without Jaken-sama and the others," Rin sniffed. "I don't care if it's not them anymore. We can't just leave them here."

"Then we'll save them. I promise."

Trembling, she reached for the kitsune's hand and let him tow her out of the jail sector.

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