EIGHTH BLOOD

Chapter 63: Viraha

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Translation: the realisation of love through separation.

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There wasn't a great deal to do in her room. The Dressmaker dropped by every so often to make adjustments to her dress, but aside from that, she was left to her own devices.

All she could do was sit by her window and stare at the Prophecy-Breaker. It was a curious little thing. No matter how hard she pulled, it simply wouldn't open. Maybe that was for the best. If it only worked once, she didn't want to waste it by treating it like a toy.

She hadn't seen Augustus since she'd found out about the Binding. In the end, he hadn't taken her to the barracks to meet the cadets. She sometimes saw them from her window, honing their battle tactics in groups of five. Asuka led the training program. Octavia couldn't help but be impressed by the young woman's physical prowess. She recalled Augustus mentioning that Asuka had been a cadet herself once. Octavia could definitely see evidence of that in the way that she moved.

The weapon she favoured most was a whip. The rope she'd used in Ebisu had been remodelled into one, and Octavia grimaced whenever she saw her using it. Sesshoumaru had almost died because of that thing. She couldn't let a couple of fancy tricks distract her from that fact.

"Remarkable, isn't she?"

Octavia flinched at the sound of Augustus's voice. "I thought you weren't talking to me," she muttered sourly.

He joined her by the window.

"You don't like her," he said.

It wasn't a question.

"Of course I don't fucking like her."

"She was like us, you know."

Octavia refused to take the bait.

"When I met her, she thought she was on her way to the chopping block."

"She still is," Octavia grumbled.

Augustus smiled sadly. "Do you like your dress?"

"Not really."

He chuckled.

"When are you going to give me back my knife?"

"You won't need it at the party."

"Thanks for telling me about that, by the way."

"I thought it would be a nice surprise."

She scowled at him. "Are you gonna make me wear a leash?"

He blinked. "Why would I do that?"

"Aren't you worried I'll make a run for it?"

"It would be incredibly rude if you did. Everyone is coming to see you. Doesn't that make you feel special?"

"I'm not a museum piece."

"You're wrong. That's exactly what we are."

She frowned harder. "If you know that, why don't you just leave? What's keeping you here?"

"You need power to be able to change the cords of destiny."

She paused. "What is it that you want to change?"

His eyes flashed. "Midoriko's daughter foresaw a future without youkai. However, that future comes at a price. In order to destroy the demons, the eighth incarnation of Erem's Vessel has to open the schism and unleash the monsters that live there on the world."

Through the eighth born in the bloodline, the sky will rain with flames, demonkind will erupt into ashes, and darkness will fall.

"Nothing could survive that. Which is why I have to stop the prophecy from coming true."

The air between them felt tense and heavy.

"Child soldiers aren't going to make a difference," she said quietly.

"I know. That's why I have this."

She feigned surprise when he showed her an exact replica of the Prophecy-Breaker. It was a very convincing copy. He seemed to have absolutely no idea that it was a fake, despite the real one being hidden beneath her blouse, less than a metre away from him.

"What is it?" she asked, pretending to be interested.

"It's a Prophecy-Breaker. You were the one who brought it here. Thanks to you, we're going to use it to prevent that awful future from happening."

"How does it work?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he said, embarrassed. "Apparently, you just open it and think of the prophecy you want to get rid of. It's welded shut, though, so no one can get in."

"You really believe in all that stuff, don't you? Fate and destiny . . ."

"Of course. Don't you?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what I believe anymore."

He slipped the fake necklace back into his pocket and smiled wistfully. "Are you excited?"

"For what?"

"The party."

She turned away. "No. I can't stand pretentious crap like that."

"No way."

"I'd sooner be trapped in an arena and forced to fight a bear."

He exploded with laughter, to which she shot him an icy look.

"You'd win," he said after he'd finished laughing. "You always were a wild thing. It's no wonder you favour that Daiyoukai over me. However, if it had been you that was dragged into the schism that day when we were kids, you'd understand. That's assuming you even survived."

You're more powerful than you think.

"I would've," she argued. "I'm not a little girl anymore. I haven't been since you died."

His eyes softened. "I'm not dead, Vee. I'm right here."

"No, you're not. I don't know who you are, but you're not my brother."

"Of course I am—"

"Brothers don't try to kill their sisters!"

His tender expression faltered. "You're never going to trust me, are you?"

She balled her fists.

It seemed to be a good enough answer for Augustus, who frowned and freed the Reikon Blade from his belt. She tried not to look alarmed when he grabbed her by the chin and pressed the dagger's tip to her throat. He can't hurt you, she reassured herself. The dagger doesn't cut flesh.

The knowledge should have eased her worries, but after being burned by her own magic, her faith in the Reikon Blade had also dwindled. What if it worked differently for Augustus? Or perhaps he had something even worse in store for her. What if the dagger ate more than just dreams?

"Do you know what I found when I was looking through this thing's memories?"

She didn't dare speak.

"I was curious about the tooth, so I did some digging. A long time ago, a Daiyoukai called Touga learned of a Chinese legend. It was about a king who lived on the moon.

"One day, as the king was watching the Earth from his balcony, he saw a falling star heading straight for his palace. The star crash-landed in the lake behind his home, creating a tsunami that destroyed everything in its path, including his palace. Enraged, the king demanded that the star be executed for her crime, but she didn't come quietly. After disabling all of his guards, the star drove a sword into the king's heart, killing him. Only then did she pick up his crown and become queen.

"When Touga heard this, he was convinced that it was a warning for his son, who was a prince of Moon Country on his mother's side, and next in line to rule. Touga searched tirelessly for a way to prevent his son's death at the hands of the star, but his own death was fast approaching. He knew that if he wanted to save his son, he had to enlist the help of the Forest Spirit."

Octavia trembled as she realised where the story was going.

"Touga fulfilled Nidawi's request by presenting her with his son's tooth, which he'd removed with his own hands. To carry out the next part of their plan, they hired a blacksmith to fuse the tooth with Midoriko's dagger, which could only be wielded by someone with star blood."

"Was the blacksmith's name Totosai?"

"It was."

Anger sparked in her chest. Totosai had known all along. He and Nidawi had lied to her. Had Nagisa known, too? She and Haru had both used the name Sutākuīn, as in 'star queen'. Why hadn't they told her what the title entailed? They could have warned her. They could have . . .

She clenched her teeth, fury spilling out of her in the form of hot tears. "What about the tooth?" she choked, struggling to talk around the lump in her throat. "What's it for?"

"It's a fail-safe," Augustus answered harshly. "The blacksmith designed it so that if you ever tried to kill Sesshoumaru, the dagger would kill you first."

"You're lying," she growled. "Besides, I'd never hurt him."

"You already have."

Octavia pushed against Augustus's chest with all her might. He stumbled backwards, still holding the Reikon Blade, and sighed at the sight of her tear-stained face.

"So much pain and suffering," he murmured softly. "Aren't you tired of it? You could be happy here. You don't have to kill a king to become a queen. I can make you one. Please, Octavia. I won't go through with the ritual if you don't want me to. Just say the word and we can both be Erem's Vessel. We can even stay here if you like. It can be like old times. We don't ever have to go back to our world again. Just tell me you love me. Please."

She hesitated. "You'd really give it all up?"

"You're my sister. I'd do anything for you."

Her head swam with possibilities. If she stayed, no prophecy would come true, and everyone she loved would be safe. The cadets could be children again, and the Church wouldn't be able to harm anyone else.

But there would always be another Erem's Vessel. After hers and Augustus's deaths, the cycle would just repeat, over and over, until someone else opened the schism and unleashed the ngea in all their glory.

That was part of the reason she couldn't say yes, but mostly, it was because she was selfish. She didn't want to spend her remaining days here with a brother who had no qualms about killing her. She wanted to drink tea in the gardens with Rin, and make fun of Jaken's bald head to his face, and race Ah-Un through the forest at twilight, before meeting Sesshoumaru in a secret glade and looping her arms around his neck to tug his mouth down to hers. She almost blushed at the obscene thought. It seemed far too intimate a scenario for a mere physical attraction.

"Well?" Augustus probed, reclaiming her attention.

She unballed her fists and sighed. "I'll think about it."

His eyes brightened and he smiled like a child on Christmas morning. "Really?"

"Yes. I do have one condition, though."

"Name it."

She glanced at the dress spread out on her bed and said, "I want to enjoy myself first."

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The butterflies were leading him into a storm.

The wind picked up and jostled him as he flew after them. It was no ordinary storm. The air was being dragged towards a small island that was shaped like a crescent moon. An eerie blue light emanated from its centre, like a lone sapphire atop a mountain of gold. The sand around it rotated rhythmically, whilst the waves crashed against the banks, spraying seafoam.

Sesshoumaru watched as the butterflies travelled towards the blue light, unfazed by the battering winds. The Tenseiga rattled violently in its sheath. Its movements became frantic as he sailed down towards the source of the light, which looked remarkably like a crack in the air itself.

The crack beckoned him closer. He landed gracefully on the shifting sands and saw the butterflies disappear into the strange anomaly. The ground beneath him rumbled, and the wind howled in his ears, begging him not to follow them.

"It's all right," he said. "This won't be the first gate I've travelled through, Kagura."

The wind blew louder in protest.

He ignored it and trekked across the sand to the glowing crack. His pulse quickened as he stared into the vast blue chasm before him, so alike the one in the forest. Where would this path lead? He'd already visited the past. Perhaps it was finally time for him to see the future Octavia had spoken of. His youki shivered with anticipation, whilst the Tenseiga danced at his hip.

There was only one way to find out.

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