Coyote Tricks: The Bone Eaters Well

This chapter is rated R of violent images and themes. If you have not read the disclaimers and warnings in chapter 1 please do so before proceeding.

The Queen of Shadows

“So you found a reference to the Queen of Shadows?” Spirit Singer said.
“Yes” Shippo said “when I was going through the oldest records at Lord Sesshomaru’s house. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I was looking for references to the well and it wasn’t mentioned. The record said that Lord Sesshomaru’s Father, Lord Inutashio, joined forces with a powerful Kami Lord to battle the Queen of Shadows and her minions. That was the only information though other than that Inutashio was the only one to return from that battle. Much of the older records were destroyed when the castle was burned shortly after Inutashio’s death.”

“Well” Singer said “at least we have an idea who our enemy is. I suspect that the outcome of the battle was that the Queen of Shadows and this Momoru were trapped in a closed off area of the Demon Realm. My examination of the original portal shows that it does lead into an area of the Demon Realm but there are no other connections to that area other than the well itself. In short it is a prison.”
“So we are going to open the well?” Toshiro asked.
“No” Singer shook his head “we can’t risk the damage to Shippo’s own history and besides that is what she is expecting us to do. I have the ‘signature’ if you will of this prison now. I can find my way to it from inside the Demon Realm. If we open a new portal into it, she may not be expecting that.”
“All ways into and out of the Demon Realm are controlled by King Enma” Shippo said.
“Correct, which means if we fail to contain the Queen she will be unleashed on the Demon Realm and not the Human World.”
“But how do we get into the Demon Realm in the first place?”
“King Enma’s people will not be happy with me forging a new portal” Singer said thinking. “I guess we will need to find someone with access to the current portals.”
“Father” Toshiro spoke up “Do you remember when I mentioned Kurama at the Dark Tournament?”
“Yes” Shippo said “what about him?”
“Well I neglected to mention whose team he was playing on.”

--

“Why Shadow Mother?”
“Because they are human, dear child, they are an evil that must be purged from the world.”
A whimper emerged from the coyote eared youth as he felt the dreams return.
“Hush child” the comforting darkness caressed him. “Nothing will harm you with me here. Observe. Once the world was in balance demons, gods, fairy and humans all had their place.”
Kit saw visions of a world before Human recorded history, an age remembered now in only legends. Japan covered with a primordial forest ruled by giant animals and nature spirits, Europe where the Elves ruled supreme, the Americas where the Spirit People dominated in the North and their blood thirsty cousins the Jaguar demons dominating the South. In every place the humans were simple hunter gathers, fearing and worshipping of the demon and fairy populations.
“But then the humans began to rise above their station.”
Kit saw the changes occurring over history the increasing human populations, the development and use of cold iron in Europe driving the fairy populations ‘Underhill’ and to the Americas. The Japanese forest spirits gradually being overwhelmed by the steady destruction of the forests.
“They were helped in this by misguided Kami.”
He watched as King Enma drove the majority of the Asian demons that preyed on humans into the Demon Realm.

“Once they were freed of the predation of their betters the real evil of humanity was released”
Kit watched Romans feed slaves to lions, Europeans burned witches at the stake, the torture chambers of the Inquisition, Warriors of the People torturing a farmer, American cavalry massacring a village of the People, Nazi gas chambers, the rape of Nan King.
“And ever they became better at destroying themselves and if it were only themselves they destroyed all the better but it is not. Did Toshiro tell you how Shippo’s last life mate died?”
“He told me they were killed in the war” Kit said.

Kit saw a Kitsune female with two small kits hiding in what looked like a drain pipe. He recognized them from the picture in the small shrine in Shippo’s home as Mitsu, Miroku and Sango. The infant Sango was nursing at Mitsu’s breast. Kit noted how similar little Miroku looked like the child Shippo Kit had seen in a picture in his room. The young Shippo had been posing with humans that Miroku and Sango were named for along with Inuyasha. The young kit looked just like his young father right down to the blue bow holding his hair back.

“Mother” Miroku said “how much longer are we going to be here?”
“A few more hours, dear” Mitsu said, “one of those men that chased us has the sight. He saw what we are so it won’t be safe to go on until dark.”
“Ok” the boy said and opening his pack took out a little wooden horse and started playing with it.
They both looked up as sirens began to sound over the city followed by sounds of sporadic antiaircraft fire. The boy ran into Mitsu’s arms.
“Mother I’m scared”
“Its ok son” Mitsu said wishing she could make it sound convincing “we should be safe from the bombs here”
A blinding bright light and a roar came from outside the tunnel. The sound of a scream filled the tunnel quickly overcome as the pressure wave of the first atomic bomb dropped in anger crushed the drainage pipe out of existence.

“The weak and innocent suffer at their hands just as the strong.”
“So” a tearful Kit yelled out, “Demons are no better! And there are good people in the world, Singer is a good man!”
“Then why didn’t he help you then?”
“I don’t know” Kit screamed “I guess he couldn’t but he loves me!”
“Are you sure he loves you? Maybe he just wants you to think that. Maybe he only took you in because Lord Coyote wanted him to. Maybe he only wanted you for the prestige adopting a half-breed orphan would bring him with the elven lords at Spirit Peak.”
“No!” Kit yelled covering his ears “that’s not true!”
“Maybe he didn’t save you because he is glad to be rid of burden he has carried all his life.”
“No!”
“Are you sure? Let us see.”

Kit stood on mesa watching the warriors torture him below. He clapped his hands to his ears as he heard his own cries from below.
”Singer Father, Please!”
Kit turned to the figure of Spirit Singer standing nearby and froze. The old man’s was fixated on the scene below and he…was…smiling?

“NO!” Kit cried as he collapsed into the comforting darkness again. She enveloped him and caressed him like a comforting lover.

--
In the next chapter Shippo meets ‘An Old Friend’. See you there.