InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Leiko ❯ Dreams, Souls, and Angels ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven

Dreams, Souls,

and

an Angel

 

Leiko let out a sigh of relief when the group finally stopped to rest. The quiver and bow fell to the ground with a little clatter. She plopped onto the ground and fell backwards. Yamainu nudged her with his foot and she smacked it away. Keiyo was already curled into a ball beside Garou. Leiko looked over at them and smiled. So far they hadn't experienced any trouble. Yamainu sat down beside her after he'd made the fire and lay his hand on hers.

"So have you got any idea of where the Souls could be?" Yamainu asked.

Leiko placed her free hand on the Shikon no Tama. Something was bothering her but she couldn't quite figure out what. She could feel a difference in the Sacred Jewel. Its dim light seemed to be getting a little brighter. Could that mean that a Soul was nearby? She looked up at Yamainu and saw concern in his brown eyes.

"I have been getting this very strange feeling in the pit of my stomach since we started traveling north from the Bone Eater's Well." she told him.

"What do ya mean?"

She sighed and closed her eyes. "It's like I can feel another heart beating with my own." she said.

Yamainu cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion. She rose to her feet and began to pace. The wolf youkai waited until her back was to him to get up and follow her. When she pause at the edge of the fire light Yamainu placed his hands on her shoulders. Leiko let herself fall back against him while his hands knead her tense muscles. A little moan escaped her lips as Yamainu worked out the tension of seven days stress.

"Let's go to sleep." he said and walked her back to the fire.

Leiko sighed heavily. She lay down not too far from Garou and Keiyo. Yamainu took off his jacket and covered Leiko with it. When he lay down beside her, Leiko rolled over and buried her face into his black tunic. She fell asleep listening to the sound of the wolf youkai's steady heartbeat.

 

She was dressed in the robes of a priestess, standing in a dark overgrown froest. The boughs had grown so close together that no starlight or moonlight could reach the forest floor. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and she could see some of what was around her. The only light she had was from the Jewel she wore around her neck.

Leiko called out to her friends but no one came to her aid. She could feel someone's eyes upon her but could not place where the feeling was coming from. Whirling around frantically she came face to face with the mirror image of herself. A scream escaped her lips when she saw the faces of four hidious monsters reflected in the woman's eyes.

"Don't be scared, child." the woman said. "I mean you no harm."

"Who are you?!" Leiko demanded.

The woman smiled softly. "I am you." she replied.

Leiko shook her head franticly. Was this the priestess who Yamainu had said she was the reincarnation of?! The woman held out her hand and showed Leiko what she held there. It was the Shikon no Tama! Leiko heart began to beat with the pulsing of the Jewel. Her mind rang with the lines of Tenma's chant.

 

Spirits long since caged,

Spirits holding back great rage.

Come forth and claim thy prize.

Look into the hanyou's eyes.

See the soul of the one who bound you,

Let your hate bring you forth.

 

Spirits long held captive,

Spirits held in a lovely prison.

Wreck havoc as once you did.

Show you captor the power within.

 

I call forth the Four Souls!

Let this hanyou girl feel true pain.

Spirits long caged,

Send forth thy rage!

 

Come to me!

Four Souls of the Jewel,

I set you free!

On this last full moon night ,

You will reign eternally.

 

Her head spun with the memory of that night. The Four Souls were free and she was to blame. Leiko felt tears running down her cheeks. She'd failed to do her job.

"Child, I am here to help you." the priestess said. "You can recapture the Four Souls but you must find the way for yourself. All of my powers lay dormant inside of you. Use them...and save our people once more. Maybe your Sacred Arrow will do the trick."

She ran her fingers down Leiko's face and slowly fade away. Leiko tried to grab a hold of her and beg her to stay with her but the woman was gone. Tears rolled down her cheek and it felt like a piece of her heart was gone. She was alone now.

 

"Come back!" Leiko cried out and shot up.

Yamainu's jacket fell away from her as she sat there panting. Sweat ran down her face in tiny rivulets and her breath came out in gasps. Yamainu's eyes shot open as soon as Leiko's breathing changed from the slow breathing of sleeping to the quick breathing of wakfullness. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder as she sobbed quietly in his tunic.

"Leiko, tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

Keiyo let out a mighty yawn, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What happened to you, Lei?" the cougar demon asked.

"The priestess...she...left me..." Leiko said in a low voice.

"What priestess?" Yamainu asked as he stroked her hair.

Leiko swallowed her tears and pulled away from the wolf youkai slightly. "The one that sealed the Four Souls centries ago. She came to me in my dream and told me that I...I was her..." she said.

Yamainu hugged her to him once more. Keiyo yawned mightly and curled up to sleep once more. The hanyou girl let herself be pulled back down by Yamainu, only to lay awake in the darkness. She watched the dying embers of their fire as they faded to dead ashes. Just as her eyes began to close once more, Leiko felt another heartbeat join her own. She shot up once more and stared into the darkness. Yamainu's eyes opened suddenly. He'd been playing opossum.

They stood together in the darkness, waiting to see what approached in the shadows of the night. Leiko unsheathed Yakeima. The blade glowed a faint blue color with silver sparks interwoven within. Leiko glanced at Yamainu. His look of surprise told her that he had no idea what kind of power his fang had given the blade Totosai had made. Heavy footsteps shook the ground beneath their feet and Keiyo woke with a startled scream.

She and Garou stood in the darkness also waiting, but not quite sure what for. The clouds moved off of the face of the left quarter moon and cast a ghastly light over the mysterious creature coming their way. Leiko swallowed a scream when her eyes beheld the creature for the first time. It was a massive spider demon. Poisonous, green saliva ran down its long fangs and hit the ground hissing.

Keiyo produced a short spear from under her baggy clothes and growled at their attacker. Garou's coarse hair stood on end as he went into an attack stance. Leiko's heart was beating with that of the creature's.

"A Soul!" she gasped.

Yamainu looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure?" he asked.

Leiko nodded.

"Dammit!" the wolf youkai swore under his breath.

The spider demon moved forward, causing the ground to tremor. Leiko lost her balance and fell backwards. Her eyes widened in terror when they met the sixteen pairs of the Soul. This was what she had to defeat?! The spider demon hissed angrily, sending a spray of noxious venom their way. Yamainu dodged and Leiko narrowly rolled out of its way. Garou took hold of Keiyo's shirt collar and pulled her out of harm's way.

"So...you are the priestess who locked us away!" the spider hissed.

Leiko rose to her feet and glared at the demon. She growled lowly in her throat. He was insulting her! Leiko took hold of her sword and leapt at him. She felt her muscles bunching and contracting as she ran at her opponet. The spider demon pulled back one of his massive legs and swung at her. She leapt aside and brought her sword down on his leg. Black blood splattered all over her face and clothing.

"How...?" Yamainu hadn't known how skilled Leiko was in the art of swordsmanship, but he should have guess it from who her father was.

A cry of pain came from the spider. Yamainu snapped out of his shocked trance and joined his friend. Raising his hand and poising his claws for a deadly attack, the wolf youkai let out a howl and slashed into the spider's side. The two landed side-by-side and glared at their opponet. He let out another hiss and leapt at them, baring his fangs. The spider landed on top of Leiko and sent her sword flying from her hand. She lay sprawled on the ground. It was over!

The poison-dripping fangs were about to sink into her skin when Yamainu leapt between her and them. A sickening crunch filled the air as the demon's fangs sank into Yamainu's arm. He slammed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Leiko's mouth dropped open as she looked up at his pained expression. The spider demon released his grip on Yamainu and leapt back.

"We will meet again hanyou!" he hissed and was gone in a whirlwind of dust and spiderwebs.

Yamainu rolled onto his side, gasping for breath. Keiyo and Garou stood nearby. Neither of them made any move forward. Leiko knelt beside Yamainu and looked down at him. There was nothing she could do for him. He was turning pale, a sign that the poison was taking a quick toll on him.

"L-leiko...there's...a wolf pack...den...nearby..." he said.

Leiko turned to Garou. "Signal for help before Yamainu dies." she told the wolf in an urgent voice.

An eerie howl pierced the night. Soon, other howls joined Garou's. Leiko looked over at Keiyo and then back at Yamainu. His eyes were half open and he was sweating. She had to save him. There was no way she could lose him.

"Yamainu..." was all she could manage to say.

The moonlight was covered for a moment and Leiko tensed, fearful that the Soul had returned. What she saw made her breath catch in her throat. A creature with strange silver wings descended into their midsts. She had pointed eyes, long black hair, and red eyes. She wore a red dress with red sakura blossoms all over it and a black dragon on the back of it. On her right hand she wore a silver silk glove and at either side of her waist hung a katana. Leiko stared at her in wonder.

"Follow me." she said in a low voice.

Leiko lifted Yamainu into her arms and placed him on Garou's back. The winged creature took to the air once more, but stayed within Leiko's sight. Keiyo rode on Leiko's shoulders.

"What is that thing?" Leiko asked.

"An elemental angel." Keiyo replied. "I've heard of them but I've never seen one. If she answered to Garou's call it's possible that she is also part wolf from the looks of the claws and fangs."

Leiko looked up at the woman above her. "An angel?" she whispered.