Author's Corner

The title of this chapter is a sneaky nod to the Hidden Land from the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon Explorers games (which are still as brilliant and heart-wrenching as when they first came out, so you should definitely play them if you haven't already). I always loved the music of that dungeon and the mystery of travelling through the Sea of Time to reach a mystical floating island, which Namida might be slightly inspired by... What? Don't judge me. It's not like I cried at the end or anything! ;_;

EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 26: The hidden land

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Once upon a time, a boy and a girl possessed the power to rearrange the stars.

They were born inside a sandcastle on the skin of a distant world. Their parents were fearful of their powers, so they searched for a way to make their children ordinary. They learned of a ritual that would remove their children's powers, however, when they spoke the incantation, a crack appeared in the air before them.

A monster emerged from the void and captured the boy, leaving the girl all alone.

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Octavia couldn't believe her eyes.

The island was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Snow coated the ground, but it wasn't cold, and the ice crystals blanketing the trees had a purplish tint to them. She and Sesshoumaru followed the overgrown path through the forest. A couple of dragonflies chased each other all the way to a small pond, where they skated along the icy surface. The sunlight bounced off their wings and created rainbows, which attracted butterflies. Mistaking them for flowers, the butterflies chased the multicoloured lights, only to be caught by the dragonflies. Octavia watched as one dragonfly snapped the wings of the butterfly it was holding before taking a large bite out of its head. She shivered as it locked eyes with her from across the pond.

It wasn't the only creature to take note of her presence. A colony of rabbits crawled out of their burrow and studied her from afar. Their white fur camouflaged with the snow, but their eyes were as black as coal. A herd of cranes tailed after them on foot, whilst an owl fluttered from branch to branch, regarding her with huge yellow eyes. She shifted closer to Sesshoumaru as a troop of macaques tried their luck on the path beside them. One sharp look from the Daiyoukai was enough to stop them from getting too close.

"What are they doing?" she whispered.

"They appear to be following you."

"It's kind of creeping me out."

"Shall I dispose of them?"

She stole a glimpse at the owl and bit her lip. "No. They're probably just curious."

They climbed up a slope and found themselves in front of a steep drop. The abyss glittered as jets of water poured over the edges. Chunks of purple crystal jutted out of the water at the bottom, creating miniature islands. "Whoa!" Octavia shouted over the rushing water. "Those are some pretty big tears."

"Not much of a city, though," said Sesshoumaru.

Octavia looked beyond the falls and spotted a cluster of ice pillars that were larger than the ones they'd seen so far. Like the crystals, they were lilac and glimmered in the sunlight. She counted five towers in total, and each one was tall enough to touch the clouds.

Before he could point them out to Sesshoumaru, a scream cut through the immediate vicinity. A child dangled from the cliff on the other side of the falls. There were two great torrents of water on either side of him, so the rock he was clinging to was wet and slippery. A group of kids were gathered in a huddle several metres above him, frozen with fear. Sesshoumaru hooked an arm around Octavia's waist and cleared the abyss with a single leap. The kids trembled harder as he landed behind them and set Octavia down. She raced towards the edge and met the boy's frightened gaze.

"Sesshoumaru!" she cried over her shoulder. "Get down there and help him!"

"I cannot."

She stiffened but kept her eyes on the boy. "What do you mean?"

"I can't fly without my youki."

"You literally just flew us across the falls!"

"That was a jump. There's a difference."

"But you managed to use your whip that one time! And the Bakusaiga worked fine in Ebisu! Maybe you're just not trying hard enough!"

She saw his jaw tighten.

The boy wailed louder. Octavia redirected her gaze to the small group of children beside her. She was surprised to see that they were all hanyou. "Can any of you fly?" she asked them. They shook their heads. "Why are you all just standing around here, then?"

They didn't seem to understand her question.

"Does anyone else live on this island?"

"Yes," one of them replied.

"So go get help!"

"We didn't want to leave him by himself," mumbled another.

"You don't all have to go. Which one of you is the fastest?"

"Probably me or Toki," said a third.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

They all muttered amongst themselves. Sesshoumaru shot them a piercing stare and said, "You heard her. Start running."

They didn't need to be told twice. Two of them raced towards the forest and vanished into the trees. Octavia planted her hands on the edge of the ravine and leaned over to look at the boy, whose paws were trembling as they held onto the rock. "What's his name?" she asked the ones who'd stayed behind.

"It's Haru."

"Hey, Haru!" she shouted. "Up here! Look at me. You're gonna be okay. I know you're scared, but just hold on for a little bit longer. Help is on the way."

"I can't feel my arms!" he whimpered.

"Don't think about that right now. Just concentrate on me."

"His grip is slipping," Sesshoumaru whispered.

"Don't say that!" she hissed.

"When help arrives, it will be too late."

Octavia's eyes blurred with tears. He was right, of course. They couldn't wait any longer. She had to do something. But what? Even if she did have access to her magic, it would be useless here. The cliff was too steep. And unstable. One wrong move and the entire thing could come crashing down. There had to be something she could do. She didn't have any rope, but maybe she could find a decent substitute.

She unfastened the Sword of the Firebird from her obi and lowered it with the hilt facing downwards. "Grab onto this!"

Haru reached for it with a trembling hand, but the moment that his paw made contact with the hilt, the rock he was holding onto gave way, sending him plummeting into the abyss. Octavia tossed the sword aside and leapt after him. She flailed as she fell, trying to get to the little boy before he hit the water.

Her eyes burned as her back hit something solid. Blinking them clear, she was shocked to see Haru by her side atop a giant crystal pillar. It had emerged from the water like a sea monster and was still rising, carrying them both on its back. Octavia wrapped her arms around Haru and pulled him into her chest. The crystal made a loud rumbling sound as it reached the end of its ascent, before emitting a mysterious purple light that enveloped the nearby falls.

Haru pulled back to look at her and gasped when he saw that her eyes were also glowing. "Sutākuīn?" he murmured.

Before she could ask what that meant, a blue-haired woman descended from the sky and joined them on the pillar. Her grey eyes landed on Octavia and narrowed. She had a pretty oval face, pointed ears that resembled fins, pink gill-shaped tattoos on both sides of her neck, and her hands were webbed like a frog's. Her fingernails, on the other hand, were curved and sharp, like the talons of a bird. Her long sapphire hair curled in the breeze, resembling ocean waves.

"Nagi-san!" shrieked Haru. He wriggled out of Octavia's arms and launched himself at the strange woman. "I was so scared!"

Her eyes softened as she stroked his hair. "Shh. You're all right now, Haru-chan."

Octavia's throat felt tight. The light from the crystal had dimmed since the woman's appearance, but it was still there, albeit very faint. "What just happened?" Octavia asked. "And who are you?"

"That's my line," the woman laughed. "I live here. What's your excuse?"

"It's a long story. My name is Octavia, and that man over there is called Sesshoumaru. We came here to—" She cut herself off. The shadows were able to possess others, so they could be anywhere. Who was to say that this mysterious blue-haired woman wasn't one of them?

She looked Octavia up and down. "The crystals only react like this in the presence of a star mage. Judging by the size of this pillar you summoned, you must be pretty powerful. But if that's the case, why can't I sense it? I can't seem to locate your companion's youki, either."

"Maybe they're ghosts!" shouted a voice from the cliff's edge.

Octavia's gaze shifted to a middle-aged man with greying hair. The blue-haired woman's brow creased at the sight of him. "What are you doing here, Taro?" she snapped. "Please tell me you didn't leave the class unattended. And what was that about ghosts?"

"Of course I didn't. Ichika-san kindly offered to cover for me. As for the ghost part . . . Who's to say the pair of 'em didn't perish at sea?"

"They smell pretty alive to me."

"They're not ghosts!" Haru shouted. "The star mage saved me. What if she's the one from your—"

The woman cut him off before he could finish. "Let's put a pin in that, shall we? We have more important matters to attend to first, like giving our guests a proper welcome."

He flashed Octavia a beaming smile, then waved at his friends from across the gap. Some of them were crying. Sesshoumaru made no attempt to comfort them. Octavia's eyes flitted between him and the blue-haired woman. The similarities caught her off guard. Whoever this woman was, she was no hanyou.

"I'm Nagisa, by the way. That's my husband, Taro."

"And I'm Haru!" the boy said with a bow. "I've never met a real star mage before."

"What's a star mage?" Octavia asked.

"It's what you are, silly!"

"Mind your manners, Haru-chan," Nagisa scolded. She turned to Octavia and grinned. "Truth be told, we've been expecting you. The Lord of the Western Lands, not so much. I thought he hated humans."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. Octavia's did, too. "You've heard of him?"

"But of course. Sesshoumaru isn't exactly a common name. Not like yours. The pronunciation is a little different, but I know at least a dozen Okteviahs. It's the name of one of our goddesses, after all." Octavia's heart missed a beat. She'd heard that name before.

"Can we show them the city?" Haru asked.

Nagisa smiled. "I think that's a grand idea, little one."

He clapped his paws together in excitement as she offered her hand to Octavia. "Let's get off this thing before it collapses, eh?"

Sliding her hand into Nagisa's, Octavia held her breath as her body was lifted into the air.

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