EIGHTH BLOOD
Chapter 30: Parasite
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Sesshoumaru watched as the sea dragon spun Octavia around with her arms stretched out like a helicopter seed. Her green eyes sparkled when her feet touched the ground. She smiled at the sea dragon and copied her steps. Sesshoumaru's eyes followed her every move, noting the many blunders she made. Her complete and utter disregard for perfection should have made him turn his nose up in disgust, but the wildness of her flawed dancing appealed to some primal part of him. She moved with a savagery that he scarcely saw in young women such as herself, lacking all shame as she threw herself into the motions like a blaze tearing its way across the countryside.
Their eyes met all of a sudden and the space between them no longer felt like enough. Her smile grew when she realised that he'd been looking at her. Not wishing to feed her ego, he kept his expression neutral, hoping she'd get the message and divert her attention back to the sea dragon. She did, but it didn't grant him the release he'd thought it would. If anything, the loss of interest only served to make him feel . . . What was that word she'd used in the boat? Superfluous.
He used the opportunity to slip away from the crowd into an empty side street. His feet carried him to the hill at the heart of the city. He spotted an orange glow emanating from an opening in the rock, about fifty metres from the ground. He landed on the rocky ledge preceding it and stared at the fissure before him. The entrance to the cave was marked with peculiar symbols. They reminded him of the ones etched into the torii gate they'd passed under yesterday. Torches were fixed to the walls on either side of the cave, illuminating the inside.
His airwaves tightened as he travelled farther into the cave. The path started to decline, making it harder to traverse, but he pressed onwards. His father would have been disappointed to learn that he was snooping, but sometimes it was necessary. Unlike Octavia, he had no intention of waiting for the shadows to come to them. The Tenseiga rattled at his hip. His eyes narrowed as the sword lurched towards the exit, as if telling him to turn back.
The tunnel fed into a much larger cavern with paintings on the walls. Like the murals inside the temple, there were eight-pointed stars everywhere, but these images seemed to be telling a story. Sesshoumaru's eyes were drawn to a section of the wall depicting a black dragon with bat wings and flaming eyes. Up close, it looked less like a dragon and more like a wolf. The creature's large paws and elongated snout lent even further credence to that theory.
"Fascinating, isn't it?"
Sesshoumaru whirled around to face the owner of the voice. The High Priest raised his hands in surrender as he reached for the Bakusaiga's hilt. "I didn't mean to startle you, my lord. I saw you at the entrance and decided to follow you."
"What is this place?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"It's a crypt."
"For whom?"
"The answer is behind you." The High Priest pointed to the painting of the black dragon and said, "These murals tell the story of the Shadow's fall from grace. After the God Stars finished building the universe, they created four lesser deities and placed them in charge of different things. Time, Fate, Light and Darkness. One day, the Shadow tried to plunge the world into an endless night, or so the stories claim." He walked over to another painting, which depicted a creature not unlike the Shadow, but with gold feathery wings, a curved beak and purple eyes. "This hill is where the Shadow met its demise at the hands of its counterpart. It wasn't always a hill, though. After the Shadow's death, the earth grew around its corpse, creating this plateau. According to the scriptures, its body is still there, buried deep underground."
"And you believe that?"
"Of course. As the High Priest, it is my duty to ensure that the crypt remains undisturbed."
"What happens if it's disturbed?"
"The Shadow's corpse isn't all that's down here. When Sakimitama's tears fell to Earth, they did more than create this island. They formed a sacred spring that was rumoured to grant immortality to those who drank from it. The five Shikon Goddesses – Ximaenah, Lusian, Rhoeminae, Ivannah, and Okteviah – were mortals who drank from the spring. When the Shadow died, its corpse poisoned the water, giving it new powers. A swarm of creatures emerged from its depth to seek vengeance on behalf of the god of darkness."
Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on the Bakusaiga's hilt. "Are you saying that—"
"That's right, my lord. Those creatures you've been seeing are none other than a manifestation of the Shadow's hatred. Don't you see? It lives on through them." Sesshoumaru drew his sword and pointed it at the High Priest, whose eyes widened. "What are you doing? I'm—"
"A liar and a fraud," finished Sesshoumaru. "I understand now. The task is complete. I have found your master. If you're to be believed, he is somewhere beneath us, hiding in the darkness. Now cease this mummery and show yourself. Or are you too much of a coward to face me?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, my lord."
"What do you want with the human?" he pushed.
The High Priest's expression changed in the blink of an eye. "Her blood will bring him back to life," the creature inside of him answered. "She has starlight in her veins, that one. The god of darkness can only be saved by that which created him."
"The human belongs to me. Touch her and I'll make you regret the day you crawled out of that corrupted spring, if it even happened that way."
"We would be doing you a favour. There is more to her than meets the eye. If she isn't dealt with, she will bring about your destruction. Don't you want to save your race from extinction? If she lives, the future from the prophecy will absolutely come to pass."
"The future isn't set in stone."
"It is sometimes. Even you cannot alter destiny. The Web of Fate is beyond your reach."
Sesshoumaru growled at the High Priest, whose eyes had turned as black as oil. He contemplated swapping the Bakusaiga for the Tenseiga, but his father's fang would be useless unless the shadow left its host's body. "How long have you been possessing him?"
"Since the moment he was born," the shadow answered. "The babe came too soon. He would have died if not for us. We took his body as a reward for saving him. His mind faded long ago."
"And my youki?"
The shadow erupted with laughter.
Sesshoumaru glared. "I wasn't trying to be humorous."
"It has been with you all along, sealed behind bars." His eyes widened in realisation. "You understand now, don't you?"
"You lie. I would have sensed it."
"There's no need to be embarrassed. She didn't feel it, either."
Sesshoumaru slashed at the priest with the Bakusaiga. The creature's black eyes narrowed as one of its horns tumbled to the ground with a thud. Sesshoumaru watched it roll to the other side of the cavern before rolling to a stop in front of the painting depicting the god of light.
"You shouldn't have done that," the shadow whispered.
Darkness flooded the cavern.
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