EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 22: Deliverance

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The city was named after one of the Shichifukujin—a pantheon of gods who were said to bring good fortune, wealth and happiness. Ebisu was the god of fishermen; therefore, he was often depicted carrying a fishing rod. According to the legends, the twin lakes on top of the mountains flanking the city had belonged to Ebisu, and were full of rare fish.

Octavia stayed close to Sesshoumaru as they approached the city gates. The entrance alone was teeming with youkai. She'd never seen so many in one place before. They eyed her with suspicion as she stepped over the threshold with Sesshoumaru, but said nothing to either of them. She had a feeling that it was because of her travelling companion. Although Sesshoumaru appeared human at a glance, the markings on his cheeks and gold eyes made it clear that he was anything but. The knowledge should have brought her comfort, but it only made her feel even more out of place, like a rabbit that had wandered into a fox's den.

As she walked behind Sesshoumaru, she muttered, "Hell is empty, and all the devils are here."

"What was that?" he asked without turning around.

"It's from The Tempest. You know, Shakespeare?"

"Is that some kind of weapon?"

"No. He was a famous playwright. Mind you, he probably hasn't even been born yet, so—"

She stopped herself before she could say any more. Except for name-dropping Tokyo, she hadn't gone into much detail about her home in case it messed with history. As a time traveller, she couldn't help but feel she had a responsibility to ensure that the timeline remained unchanged. If anyone found out that she was from the future, it could bring about a catastrophe. At least, that was usually how it went in stories that involved time travel.

"Explain," demanded Sesshoumaru.

"It's nothing," she said.

"I can tell when you're lying, human."

"I'm not!"

He ceased walking and turned to face her. Aside from a few disgruntled looks, the other demons in the plaza strolled past them without a word. "I remembered something earlier," Sesshoumaru told her. "It's about the miko. After Naraku was defeated, she disappeared. Even I couldn't sense her presence during that time. Inuyasha and his companions seemed to know where she was, but they never attempted to retrieve her. I never understood why. Three years later, she finally returned. Since you are her relation, you must know where she went."

Octavia bit her tongue.

He continued. "That isn't all. After her disappearance, Inuyasha became obsessed with the well in the forest where he had slept for fifty years. I lost count of how many times I saw him there. Jaken also mentioned that you were searching for that same well the night we met. Why? What does it mean to you and the miko? Or rather, where does it lead?"

"Nowhere," she answered. "It's just a well."

"Then where is your home?"

"I can't tell you."

His eyes narrowed. "Can't or won't?"

"Both. It's complicated."

"How so?"

She wasn't comfortable having such a weighty conversation in the middle of a street full of demons. They were already starting to blur into a dream-like haze. The more that passed them by, the less real they seemed. Still, she stood her ground and frowned. "You wouldn't understand."

"I doubt that, human."

"I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru, but I'm not going to put the world in danger just to satisfy your curiosity. You don't have to know everything. You're not a god. And you never will be."

"That may be true, but someday, I will be more powerful than all of the gods combined."

Her frown deepened. "That's what I'm worried about."

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Sesshoumaru fell into step beside her. She was deep in thought, so she didn't notice any of the fleeting glances he gave her. Despite finding her constant chatter obnoxious and irritating, he liked her silence even less. It was as if she had become someone else. Someone he couldn't read. Whoever had claimed that eyes were the windows to one's soul had been wrong. They weren't windows. They were doors. And hers were closed to him now. He waited for her to reopen them, but they remained locked and bolted as the two of them traversed the crowded plaza.

Their fight last night was the closest he'd ever gotten to truly seeing her. She'd never been afraid to voice her opinions, but that outburst had been different. It was the angriest he'd ever seen her. And the saddest. The salty aroma of tears had invaded his senses and urged him to take action before she interpreted his bewilderment as apathy. He hadn't been prepared for the wave of desire that had crashed into him when he touched her, but it had helped him understand. She wanted to forget her pain. By any means necessary. Had he been anyone else, he might have been tempted to give her what she wanted. The Shikon no Tama had been similarly enticing, seducing thousands with its dangerous allure, but Sesshoumaru had never been one of them.

He leaned against a wooden pillar as she took an interest in a fruit stall. The vendor was standoffish at first, but the human soon won him over with her knowledge of foreign fruits. Sesshoumaru's gaze slid to the shifting crowd. A familiar figure on the far side of the plaza caught his eye. A crone with granite skin was weaving through the stalls. Sesshoumaru watched as she plucked wares from under the vendors' noses and stuffed them into her satchel. Catching the human's attention, he pointed out the crone and saw her green eyes darken.

They followed the crone through the plaza, heading towards one of the twin mountains. Once there, the crone slipped into an opening in the rock, like an insect returning to its foul nest. Sesshoumaru reached the opening first and peered into it. The passage inside was pitch black, but there was a draught blowing out from within. The cold air caressed his face and made his bangs dance over his forehead.

The human came to stand beside him and gasped. "It looks dark in there."

"It is," he answered.

"Won't we get lost?"

"Possibly."

She crossed her arms. Not wanting to seem reluctant, Sesshoumaru climbed into the opening feet first. It wasn't as tight as he'd expected. Turning around, he locked eyes with the human and gestured for her to join him. Sighing, she stuck a tentative foot into the opening. Once both legs were in, she used the walls on either side to wriggle into the passage. "It's actually not so bad," she mumbled. "At least we can stand up."

He tried not to focus on how his head was almost touching the ceiling as he said, "For now." He saw her reaching for her sword from the corner of his eye. "Only draw your weapon when it is time to strike," he said. "It should be an extension of your arm, not an unnecessary weight."

Nodding, she lowered her hand and followed him into the gloomy passage. Water trickled down the walls in erratic streams, making the rock cold and slippery. A few minutes later, the combined stench of sweat and faeces drifted into Sesshoumaru's nostrils and made him freeze. The human yelped in surprise as she bumped into his back. The sensation of her body pressed against his plunged him back in time. His mother's arms were clamped around him like a vice, and her singing filled the cavern, mingling with the moans of the dying.

"Sesshoumaru?" the human whispered. "Why have we stopped?"

Her voice dragged him back to the present. He blinked away the memories and reached for her in the dark. Her breath hitched as he found her arm and squeezed it. She called his name again. And again. And once more for good measure. "Can't you smell it?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Yeah," she answered. "It's pretty gross." He couldn't bring himself to let go of her arm. "Are you okay?"

He laughed. "Since when do you care about that?"

"I'm only asking 'cause you're crushing my arm."

His grip loosened enough for her to free it. The skin would be bruised tomorrow. He hoped that she wouldn't be too upset about it. He ignored her question and resumed walking. After a while, the passage grew wider, and the darkness seemed less intense than before. The human's eyes widened in horror as they arrived at the entrance to a huge grotto with lights fixed to the walls. The lights illuminated the terrible truth before them. Hundreds of slaves dressed in off-white clogged the space, like grains of rice in a bowl, and they were all shackled to each other with large, interconnecting chains. They were being guarded by ogres, whilst a group of crones were huddled together on the opposite side of the grotto, engrossed in conversation.

"Oh my god. Ryuuya was right."

Sesshoumaru's gaze travelled to the podium at the centre of the grotto. There were no customers yet, just slave masters and their stock.

"Has your youki come back yet?" the human asked.

He shook his head.

"Figures. At least the Bakusaiga still works."

"Hardly," he said. "Without my youki flowing through it, it is just a sword."

"A sword that can cut metal," she reminded him. "We can use it to break that big chain."

"We'll be intercepted by the masters before we can even try."

"That's where you come in."

His brows creased. "Explain yourself."

"If you do a good job distracting them, they won't notice me hacking away at the chain. All you have to do is lend me your sword." He grimaced at the suggestion. "What? I'm not gonna break it. Don't you trust me?"

A deafening squeal echoed through the grotto as the ogres dragged a giant boar youkai in by its two front hooves. Its legs and snout were bound with ropes, but it still required three ogres to restrain it whilst the crones attached shackles to its feet. The human shot him a pleading look. Did she expect him to hand over his sword so that she could wave it around like a stick? Right now, the Bakusaiga was the only thing standing between him and certain death. Although it hurt his pride to admit it, he knew that if he tried to fight so many enemies at once in his current state, they might succeed in overpowering him.

The look intensified. "Fine. If you won't trust me, trust the Tenseiga."

Where had that ever gotten him?

"It's never hesitated to save you before," she said.

He kept forgetting that she'd been inside his head. She was right. If the Tenseiga hadn't protected him in the past, he would have perished several times over by now. He glanced down at the sword and wondered if his father had intended for it to work like that, or if the Tenseiga had acted alone. Sesshoumaru realised that he and the sword weren't so different. They'd both been second best in his father's eyes. Underappreciated. Unloved. But the Tenseiga was more than just a shadow of the Tessaiga, and he was more than just an heir.

"Very well," he said, unsheathing the Bakusaiga.

The human's eyes brightened as he curled her fingers around the hilt. The zigzag lines on the hilt seemed to come alive in answer to her touch, and the blade shone green for a fraction of a second. "Whoa. Did you see that?"

"I did."

"What do you think it means?"

He had no idea, so he opted for silence instead.

The boar was still struggling. Using the disarray that it was causing to her advantage, the human set her plan into motion. She nodded once before scurrying out of the passage and into the grotto. Sesshoumaru did the same, except he turned right where she'd turned left, creeping around the slaves to the spot where the ogres and crones were all gathered. It didn't take them long to realise that he was an outsider. He drew the Tenseiga and was delighted to see that the blade was a faint blue. His mouth curved into a dangerous smile. Meanwhile, the human cut the shackles of every slave and herded them all towards the exit. The Tenseiga's light shone brighter when her eyes found his from across the grotto, enveloping him in blue. The Bakusaiga once again emitted a pale green hue, which shouldn't have been possible without his youki flowing into the sword.

"Here!" she yelled, throwing the Bakusaiga to him. He caught it one-handed and pointed both it and the Tenseiga at his foes. With the latter erecting a barrier around him, he was untouchable.

The ogres were the first to taste his power. He lopped off their heads with the Bakusaiga and watched as their bodies decayed before his eyes. Moments later, they were little more than mounds of smoking ash. Enraged, the crones growled and lunged for him, but the Tenseiga's barrier repelled them, preventing them from getting too close.

The human cheered. Her shouts of victory caught the attention of a crone, who licked her lips and grinned. The human yelped and searched for something she could use as a weapon. Sesshoumaru bared his teeth at the other crones, cursing them for being in his way. "Go!" he bellowed.

"I'm not gonna leave you!" she cried. "What if you need help?"

"I can't fight them and protect you at the same time!"

Her expression faltered. He swung both of his swords at the same time and made a green and blue cross. "I won't tell you again! Now, go! And whatever you do, don't let her catch you!"

She saw the crone sprinting towards her and gasped. She was the largest of her brethren, meaning that she wouldn't fit into the narrow passage they'd squeezed through. If the human could get out of the grotto without being caught, she had a chance of making it back to the surface in one piece. Provided that she could escape a youkai twice her size. The Tenseiga pulsed, releasing a wave of energy that immobilised his enemies for a few seconds. The human seized her chance and bolted for the exit. Sesshoumaru grappled with the remaining crones in front of him as the one that had set her sights on the human regained mobility and resumed her pursuit. She was almost at the exit. A few more seconds and she'd be safe.

She made it by the skin of her teeth. The crone chasing her crashed into the rock and screeched in fury. Now he could worry about finishing off the last few crones. He raised his swords and was about to bring them down in a striking motion when the light cut out. The Tenseiga's barrier failed, leaving him open to the crones' attacks, and the Bakusaiga was just a sword again. Irritated, he threw the former to the ground and lurched forwards to slash at the crones with his claws before they realised what had happened.

More ogres came running into the grotto. They were armed with clubs and spears and roared when they saw what they were up against. After all, he was only one man. The increased number of enemies wasn't all he had to worry about. He felt something long and thick coil around his waist. When he glanced down, he saw that he'd been snared with a rope infused with red light. He grunted in shock as the light spread to his body and paralysed him. His skin felt hot, like he was covered in flames, and his consciousness was slipping fast. What manner of trickery was this? He barely had the strength to turn his head and see the face of the person who was doing this to him. He didn't recognise them.

With his strength depleted, he sank to his knees and howled in defeat.

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Author's Corner

Shichifukujin = the Seven Lucky Gods