InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Leiko ❯ The Scent of Evil ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Fourteen

The Scent of Evil

 

"Oh...my God..." Leiko breathed.

Smoke rose from the torched homes. Bones, blackened by the flames that had devistated the village, littered the ground. Satzuka covered her mouth to stiffle the scream that had threatened to come. Kari and Shadow looked at Satourou. When they saw the shock on his face, both felt sorry for the poor human. Yamainu strolled up to the front of the group and kicked at a piece of burnt wood.

"Still warm." he said softly.

Keiyo stayed close to Garou and shuddered at the sight before her. Sasuke moved closer to the mountain of bones that lay steaming in the middle of the village. He picked one up and examined it carefully. Satzuka moved beside him, making motions of blessings over the torched remains. Leiko felt a shiver run down her spine again. The smell of death and decay was beginning to sicken her.

"Who would do this?" Satzuka asked.

Keiyo glanced at the young priestess. "Someone evil." she said flatly.

"Well duh." Satzuka shot back.

"Enough!" Kari shouted. "We need to find out who did this."

All fell silent. Leiko caught a slight whiff of something else interlaced in the dreadful smell now surrounding her nose. She inhaled deeply to catch it better. It smelled like sweet grass and the dank smell of the well house. Only once could she remember smelling those two things combined. She doubted anyone else knew the scent. Images of her dream came back to her. Leiko looked at her compainions. Each was examining some burnt remain of the village, trying to solve the mystery.

"There's no way to tell what happened her." Kari said.

Satourou closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. "Why my village?!" he shouted. "We never harmed anyone."

"It's our fault." Leiko said softly. "The person who did this must know the way we were traveling. Why they decided to torch this village is beyond me."

Leiko looked at her feet and saw the burnt remains of a child's doll. She knelt and picked it up. The child had been killed for no reason at all. Much like Akira. Leiko closed her silver eyes slowly and a tear slipped from beneath her lashes. When she opened them again, Yamainu was looking at her. She quickly wiped the tear away.

"We should at least bury the remains." Sasuke said.

Kari nodded agreement. "Shadow and I will begin work on the graves." she said.

"I'll watch Satourou." Satzuka said suddenly.

Keiyo put out her spear to stop the young priestess. "I'll watch him." she said. "You can stand to get your pretty little hands dirty."

Satzuka stomped her foot angrily.

"You can help us." Shadow ordered.

The three of them walked off to find a suitable site for the bodies. Garou and Keiyo moved towards one of the more intact homes and set Satourou on the ground. Keiyo retrieved two large branches from the ground at the edge of the forest and fashioned a makeshift splint for the young man. He gave her his shirt to tie the branches in place. When Keiyo went to get some water and look for some berries for him, Garou lay down with his back to Leiko. She watched as Sasuke and Yamainu began to pick up the charred bones and carry them to their new graves.

Once everyone was preoccupied, Leiko slipped off into the wood in the opposite direction that Keiyo had gone. When she reached a clearing, the hanyou let herself fall, face-first onto the soft grass. She inhaled the scent deeply. As she did so, her heightened sence of smell caught the dank smell mixed with the sweet grass smell. Leiko shot up suddenly, but was quickly knocked back down. Her attacker kicked her in her ribs while she was down and then jumped on her.

The wind was knocked out of her. She tried to gulp down some air so she could at least face her attacker. Before she could roll over to catch a glimpse, her attacker leapt onto her back and stood on top of her. Leiko heard