Priestess of the Jewel

Priestess of the Jewel

Chapter 3: Dreams made Flesh

Last time:

Inuyasha suddenly felt very foolish. With a silly grin tugging at his lips, he wiped the blood on his haori. He was mildly disappointed that the proclamation Kaede had made five hundred years before did not come true. And the remnants of hope had turned sour within his chest as he moved to jump.

*Hello?*

Inuyasha’s head snapped toward the direction of the stables. He knew that the guards would be making their rounds soon, but as far as he knew, no one else was awake.

Even Kuronue would have been fast asleep after the lashing they had both suffered earlier.

*Hello?*

He craned his neck from side to side in search of anyone, but he could not see a person in sight.

However, he did not feel like chancing it tonight and jumped down from his perch.
“Hello.”

This time:

Inuyasha spun on his heel and assumed a battle stance, ready to strike down the person who dared disturb his solitude.

Although, he stopped suddenly when he saw who was behind him.

A deep flush stained his tanned cheeks, and he felt like a fool when he turned to see the wide eyes of a child staring back at him.

She was scrawny to the point of malnourishment and no more than seven years old. Inuyasha silently decided that she was rather plain in her appearance. However, there was one thing that stuck out even in the shadowy darkness. Two magnificent sapphire eyes peered back at him through long, dark lashes.

“What are you doing here?” He bit out as he barred his fangs to the small girl before him.

The petite girl shrugged her shoulders. “I-I heard you. You wanted a friend.”

“You heard me?” Inuyasha’s mouth hung open as he stared incredulously at the little waif a few feet in front and to the left of him. How in the Seven Hells had she heard him? It was true that he had sent the wish out, but it had been on the Ebon Grey thread. As far as he still knew, he was the only Ebon Grey in the territory. The only Jewel darker than his was Black, and there was only one person who wore the Black and that was Sesshomaru. Unless . . .

No, it was impossible! She couldn’t be.

He turned his golden gaze back to her as she flicked her gaze to the dead demon in the boat, and then back to him.

He barely caught her whispered, “I have to go,” before she started to back away from him.

“Oh, no you don’t.” He stalked forward like a predator hunting its prey.

She turned and fled.

He was secretly amused for a moment. He knew it would be no contest. He caught her within a few seconds, without care of the chains clanking together as his arms encircled her small form. He grunted when a foot connected with his shin, but he didn’t release his vice-like grip.

However, when she started to shriek, he swiftly covered her mouth. In no time at all, she sank her baby teeth into his finger.

Inuyasha swore under his breath. “Hush,” Although the command was whispered, the meaning behind it was not lost on the girl. “Do you want the guards to hear?” He expected her shrieking to increase ten-fold but was surprised when she instantly stilled.

“You’re quite a spitting little cat.” He laughed quietly, turning the frail girl in his arms.

“Why did you kill him?”

He could have sworn her voice changed. The sweet tones still held childishness, but her voice had also taken on a thunderous quality. “He was suffering.”

“But what about taking him to a healer?”

His eyebrow twitched and he snapped. “Healers don’t bother with slaves. Besides the rats didn’t leave enough to heal.” Guilt flooded his veins when he realized she was shaking uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around her tighter hoping that physical warmth might help.

“I’m sorry. That was cruel of me.” She only peered up at him through her lashes before she brought her head up to stare into his amber depths.

“What’s your name?” She asked innocently, staring up at him with her bright blue eyes that had never seen death or known hurt.

“They call me, Yasha.” A small chuckle escaped her lips when she wrinkled her tiny nose at his name. “Don’t blame me. I wasn’t the one who chose it.”

“You must have a real name.” She gently prodded, secretly hoping that he would tell her.

Inuyasha was torn. His name struck fear into most ningens. Stories about his mass killings to escape courts were infamous. If she had heard any of the stories about him . . .

“My name is Inuyasha Ito.”

She smiled brilliantly at him.

“And what is your name, Cat?”

“Kagome.”

Kagome He thought, testing how the name sounded.

“That’s a nice name, but I think that Cat suits you better.” He teased as he pinched her gaunt cheek.

She growled.

“See?”

Then sudden realization hit him. He hesitated, but he had to know. Tsubaki knowing that he killed the man and guessing he had killed the man would make a huge difference when it came time for his punishment.

“Is your family here to visit Tsubaki?”

“Who?” Confusion spread across her face as she tried to figure out who he was talking about.

“Tsubaki, the Queen of Tsushima.”

Kagome frowned. “Well, since you’re not from here, where are you from?”

For the first time since they met, she hesitated. “I can keep a secret.”

She opened her mouth and then snapped it shut, and then she opened her mouth once again. “I’m from Nagoya.”

“Nagoya-,” He bit back a curse. She giggled. “You don’t speak Inu do you?”

“No, but I know a few words.”

He was unsure if he should laugh or strangle her.

Another thought popped into his head, but he was unsure if he truly wanted to know the answer. “So how did you get here?”

Her lips shaped an ‘O.’ “The same way I get everywhere else.”

A strangled cry left his lips. “You mean you ride the winds?”

She raised a finger to the air.

“No, not breezes or gentle puffs. I meant the Winds, the Webs, the Psychic roads.”

“Oh,” she perked up. “Is that what they are?” In her enthusiasm she went from sitting to kneeling in a matter of seconds.

He muttered a long string of expletives under his breath.

Kagome leaned forward so that her forehead was against his. “Are you always this prickly?”

“Well, most people do think I am a prick.” He replied offhandedly, forgetting that she was too young to fully understand what he meant.

“What does that mean?”

“Just forget about it.” He replied. His tone sharp. He grabbed a nearby stick and drew three circles between them. “Okay, this is the Ningen-Kai.” He put a stone where he had designated Ningen-Kai. “This is Makai and Reikai, and this is where the Winds meet.” He drew straight lines from the stones to the circumference of the circles. “These are tether lines.” He then proceeded to draw small circles within the circles. “These are the radial lines. The Webs are like a spider web. You can travel on the tether or radial lines, changing direction where they intersect. There is a Web for each rank of the Blood Jewels. You can ride a Web that is your rank or lighter, and you cannot ride a Web that is darker than your Jewel rank unless you’re traveling inside of a Coach being driven by someone who is strong enough to ride that Web or shielded by someone who can ride that Web. If you attempt to, you may not survive. Do you understand?”

Kagome pulled her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared at the drawing in front of her. She then pointed to a spot between the strands. “And how would I get here?”

“You would have to drop from the Web back into the Realm at the nearest point and travel some other way.”

She continued to stare at the spot. “That’s not how I got here.”

Inuyasha cringed. There wasn’t a strand of any Web that led to Tsubaki’s territory. Her court had been deliberately built in one of those blank areas. The only way to enter from the Winds was by leaving the Web and gliding blindly through the Darkness, which, even for the strongest and best, was a chancy thing to go. Unless . . .

He beckoned her to climb into his lap with a small hand gesture. “Do you often wander?”

Kagome nodded slowly, letting her midnight strands dance around her heart-shaped face. “People call out to me. Like you did.”

Like he did. Oh, Kami! “Heed my words. Children are vulnerable to many different dangers.”

Something flickered in her eyes, but it was gone just as fast as it had come. “Yes, I know.”

“There are times when an enemy wears the mask of a friend until it is far too late to escape.”

“Yes,” she whispered, her eyes haunted with an unreadable expression.

Inuyasha gently lifted her head so that she looked him in the eyes. “Tsushima is dangerous to little cats. Please, go home and don’t go wandering anymore. Don’t answer the calls of people who summon you.”

She was very silent for several moments, and then her big blue eyes became glassy. “But then I won’t be able to see you anymore.”

He closed his golden eyes. He mentally groaned in agony. Fifty lashes and then salt in his open wounds would have caused him less pain than the sad look marring her face. “I know, but we will remain friends regardless. It will only be for a while. When you have grown, I’ll come find you, or you’ll find me.”

“How old is grown up?” She sniffled, letting her bottom lip be pulled in between her teeth.

“We’ll say seventeen. It sounds like a long time, but it’s really not that long.” Inuyasha could have kicked himself in the face. Even Sesshomaru couldn’t have spun a better lie. “Will you promise me?”

A long sigh escaped from her small mouth. “I promise I won’t go wandering in Tsushima.”

“Then there is one thing I would like to teach you before you go. This will work if any male tries to grab you from behind.” Once he was sure she had the motions down, he kissed her forehead and stepped away.

“Now go. The guards will be making their rounds anytime now, and remember a Queen never breaks a promise made to a Warlord Prince.”

For a moment she just stared at him with a slight look of confusion. “I won’t.” She stopped in her tracks, hesitating for a moment. She spun on her heel. “Inuyasha? I won’t look like this when I am older. How will you know it is me?”

Inuyasha smiled a true and genuine smile. It didn’t matter if a hundred years passed, he would still remember her and her extraordinary eyes. “I’ll know. Farewell, Cat. May Kami watch over you.”

She smiled brilliantly at him and vanished.

He stared at the empty space. It was a foolish thing for him to say, but he had felt the need to express that sentiment.

The creaking of a gate caught his attention. He quickly erased the picture and slipped into the shadows. He passed through the wall and into his cell just as the guards opened the barred window to the door.

Tsubaki was foolish enough to believe that her simple holding spells were enough to keep her slaves from using magic to pass through. It was uncomfortable to pass through an enchanted wall but not impossible.

A devious smirk made its way onto his lips.

Let her dwell on that. When the guards found the man in the boat, she would suspect him. She always suspected him when anything went wrong in her domain; However, it was with good reason.

He would put up a little resistance when the guards came to tie him to the whipping posts. A fight would keep Tsubaki distracted, and the violent emotions would cover up any lingering traces of the girl.

A low chuckle managed to escape, and he turned his head to the moon hanging full in the night sky.

Tsubaki would never know that Miko now walked the Realm.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate it so much. I am sure that most of your are happy that Kagome has finally made an appearance. I know it’s going kind of slow right now, but things will pick up within the next few chapters.