Vampire Princess Miyu Fan Fiction ❯ When Friends are True-A Vampire Miyu Saga ❯ The Broken Seal ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Broken Seal

Cait Sith lounged in the chair, legs crossed, the dagger-like seal dangling loosely from his fingers.

"That was certainly an…interesting experience. Too bad that certain sacrifices had to be made." He was not saddened by Gima's death; she had only been a bedmate on occasion. He was, on the other hand, more upset that none of those little Chinese Shinma bastards were not killed instead. There were far too many of them; something had to be done about that. But then he looked at the dagger and all of that was forgotten. "Well, sacrifices must to made to benefit the whole, hmm?"

Slowly he rotated the dagger between his fingers, and a vile smile spread across his face. "They are no longer any of our concern. Not them, or those pathetic Japanese Shinma. The time for our mother's resurrection is at hand! The Japanese Shinma are finished!"

Cait Sith stood up abruptly from the decaying throne, the dagger clenched tightly before him. "Sorry to make you wait, mother!" He proclaimed, seemingly talking to nothing. He was well aware of the rubble of the stone statue strewn along the ground, the broken remains of the Caial's stone body. Cait Sith was not distressed. Whether she was a whole statue or a pile of shapeless rocks, she would be resurrected regardless.

"Now! It's time for the great Quarl's rein to resume! It's time for your resurrection!" He threw the dagger to the middle of the rotting chamber where it floated there, perfectly straight. A faint glow surrounded it, a white light that looked as if it were dipped in oil. The same light wrapped around the stones laying strewn about the ground, casting strange ashen gray shadows along the cracked walls.

Cait Sith reached out his hands towards the dagger, weaving his dark magic into it. The dirty light continued to glow brighter, consuming the dagger's form and spreading out even further than that. Anyone who would have looked at it would have felt physically ill. Anyone, that is, except for Cait Sith. "Now!" He commanded. "From your frozen lair, arise to walk the earth once again!"

There was a blinding flash of light that filled every corner of the room, reaching out and beyond to engulf the entire ship. Smoke and dust billowed inside the rotting chamber, and as the light faded, the dust cleared as well. Cait Sith was no longer the only person standing in the dank, smoking cabin.

A figure was standing in the center of the room; a tall woman with dark skin wearing a long black dress, her hair pulled up into a tall white turban. For as young as Cait Sith was the last time he saw her, he knew the woman immediately, and his black heart swelled with joy.

"My…my mother!"

Caial, the infamous queen of the Quarl Clan, stood before her son in the flesh and blood rather than the cold stone that she had been imprisoned in for so long.

Caial was indeed a handsome woman, her red eyes like her son's narrow, with a strange rose-like marking on her left cheek. She was donned in a long black dress with a less than modest cut with a wide medal belt that resembled butterfly wings, and wore strange twisted jewelry around her lithe wrists and around her head and neck. A dark blue jewel that shone back no light and cast no reflection was centered in the middle of her turban. She smiled when she saw her son standing before her, a smile that could have frozen the spine of the strongest warrior even though it was probably a warm smile in Cait Sith's eyes.

The prince of the Quarls took a few shaky steps forward as Caial slowly extended her clawed hand towards him. Cait Sith dropped to his knees and took her hand in his own, leaned forward and kissed it gently.

"Cait Sith…" Her voice was like poisoned spun from poison. "You've grown up splendidly."

"Mama…" Cait Sith began, almost too happy to speak. "I've…I've missed you, Mama!"

The Queen only smiled again, bending down to take her son's chin in her taloned hands. "I own you my gratitude for my resurrection. I'm so happy…"

Cait Sith leaned into his mother's hand, remembering how those hands would sooth him as a child, just the same as she had done before she left for the war and disappeared from his life. "Mama…I'm glad too!"

"Except for one thing…" Caial's gaze began hard, a look that could have cracked glass. "You annoying…" Power erupted all around her, a blaze of the oily white light that the dagger had emitted when it brought her back to the flesh. "Overconfident fools!"

With a deafening crash, the ceiling above them came crashing in, leaving a large jagged and smoking hole as something - or someone - dropped through, landing just behind Caial. When the dust cleared, Cait Sith felt a searing rage in his mind as he recognized the man standing with them. It was Aoi, the fool Samurai who had challenged him earlier to obtain the dagger that was rightfully his. "Curses!" Cait Sith shouted. "You followed me here? Too bad for you, though…you're already too late! Your name's Aoi, right? I'll never forgive you. You interrupted my meeting with my mother!" Aoi only smirked, his hand moving slowly to the hilt of his katana. This only enraged the Quarl more. "I'll kill you, bastard!" His dagger-like claws flashing, he charged the Japanese Shinma in a blood-rage.

"Cait Sith! Wait!"

Cait Sith came to an immediate halt at the sound of his mother's voice. "Ma…Mama?"

"Let the Japanese Shinma come to me!" She said smoothly. "We'll show him what we can do!"

Aoi bared his teeth at Caial. So the bitch had come back to life…oh well. She had been defeated once, so there was no law saying that she could not be defeated again. With the ring of medal he unsheathed his sword and charged as Caial rushed to meet him.

The air suddenly turned to ice as an Arctic wind howled into the chamber, followed closely by a massive ice crystal that flew through the air. It missed Caial by inches, but it did hit Cait Sith squarely in his shoulder armor. He fell down with a yelp of pain, immediately breaking Caial's attention on Aoi. Aoi turned to see whom it was who interrupted his fight and saw that it was Yoto, the towering Chinese Shinma, his icy powers woven tightly around him.

"You cannot win this, Japanese Shinma!" He told Aoi sharply, his deep voice making the very air quaver. "We're leaving. Now."

"This is none of your concern, Chinese Shinma. Leave now!" When he turned back to Caial, he almost gave a start when he saw she was almost right on top of him. Dark energy swirled about her, melting the very ice that filled the chamber.

Growling deeply, Yoto threw another spell between the two; a shield of ice nearly a foot thick. Under normal conditions, this would have been something to stop some of the strongest warriors in their tracks for a few moments, at most. This was not one of those conditions. They probably only had seconds to get out of there before both of them were killed. "Now, Japanese Shinma!" Yoto commanded, opening a transportation Gate. The wall of ice began to crack. There was no time to waste, even when it looked as if Aoi would protest. Loosing his usually ever-lasting patience, Yoto grabbed Aoi by the back of his neck and hauled him through the transportation Gate. It closed just as the wall of ice shattered.

* * *

"Ow! Not so hard! I already got a headache, ya know!"

"Stop bitching." Yoshi said, giving the bandage an intentional hard tug. "It'll get infected if you're not careful. Besides, I got a headache too, but you don't hear me griping!"

"Not since we gave you those aspirin." Ryuko put in. "Up until then, you were whining like a little girl with a skinned knee."

"Was not."

"Whatever, dude. Whatever you were doing, it was sounding really pathetic."

Miyu almost giggled, but not quite. It was obvious that all of them were in a bad mood, and not that she could blame them. They all got beat up pretty bad, and so it must have been a huge blow to their prides. They were also being careful to avoid the Western Shinma. Miyu could just imagine what ridicule they would go through if those bastards saw them in their current situation.

"Ooh…" Yoshi moaned, sitting back against a tree when he was done wrapping up Kia's head. "My head…where's Yoto when we need him? I'm in serious need of some ice."

"Speaking of which," Tacha said, her furry black ears suddenly perking up. "Do you guys hear that?" They all listened, although it was not too hard to miss. It sounded as if someone was fighting with someone else. And one of those someones was unmistakably Yoto. They exchanged quick glanced at each other, then rose from their spots and headed off into the forest, heading towards the voices.

Sure enough, it was Yoto, arguing with, of all people, Aoi. The presence that surrounded them was heavy and dangerous. Anyone who would have tried to step between them probably could have been crushed under its weight. "You had no right to interfere with my battle!" Aoi was saying. "I could have taken care of the both of them…"

"You are a fool, Japanese Shinma!" Yoto rounded on him. "Kyuko could not even withstand against that witch's power, and she was the elite. What makes you think that you could have handled her?"

Before anyone could cut in and ask what it was they were fighting about, others who were drawn to the argument as well; not only the Western Shinma, but also Ranka, Ichirou, and the Shi joined them.

"What are you two fighting about?" Ranka said, taking the first step forward. The two Shinma men towered over her, but she held herself as if she were six feet tall.

"And what happened to you six?" Pazusu asked, looking over the Chinese Shinma's bruised forms.

"We got weasel bashed, that's what happened." Ryuko spat out, looking reluctant to say so.

"You were defeated in battle?" Spartoi asked, sounding impressed. A majority of the Western Shinma suddenly looked very smug. About the only ones who did not were Larva and Pazusu, who looked troubled, and Lemunia, who was looking downright afraid, his arms moving to wrap around his middle.

"Yes, we were defeated!" Kia snapped, only to wince and reach up to touch her bandaged forehead. "We may be immortal, but we're not invincible."

"You did what?"

Ranka's sudden terrified outburst stopped all conversations immediately. When they all looked at her, she was pale, shaking, her eyes wild She was yelling at Aoi. Yoto had calmly stepped away from the pair to join the others. "Tell me that you wouldn't have done something so stupid! Something that could have gotten you killed just as it had killed my mother!"

Aoi looked down at her for a few moments, then bowed his head. They did not hear the first part of what he said, but it sounded a little like an apology.

"What?" Miyu asked. "What was so stupid?"

"He tried to take on Caial alone."

All conversation was halted, whether it be by confusion or just plain terror.

"What?" Pazusu's voice was flat.

"I said he tried to take on Caial by himself."

"Are you saying that she's alive?"

"No, I'm implying that the statue nearly fell over and crushed him, of course she's alive. I hate it when people needed it spelled out for them!" This was disturbing indeed. Yoto never seemed to be the short, sarcastic type, especially under times of pressure.

All the Chinese Shinma were as pale as Pazusu and Ranka. "Well, I can royally say that we're royally fucked up this time." Ryuko said flatly. "Go us, we are so smooth."

"Why? What part did you have in it?" Night Gia asked.

"We were trying to get the dagger that would bring Caial back returned to Mori, but they got it first."

"What dagger?"

"The one that could release Caial from her stone prison."

"Why did they need it?"

"Because it was the one that Kyuko used to seal her."

"Who's Kyuko?"

"And who's Caial?"

At this point, everyone was talking at once. Questions were being asked faster than they were being answered. What little patience people had left was gone, and soon they were all fighting again in a fury of confusion.

"Quiet! Everyone just shut up!"

The fighting stopped dead. Miyu was standing in the middle of the two groups, her arms held out as if she was trying to keep them from tearing each other apart. She looked very flushed and frustrated. The other Shinma could not help but stare. Especially Larva. He had never heard her loose control before… But since when? And where? He winced. The void pulsed painfully, only now it was worse than before.

"I feel as if I have been a good sport up until now, but this is going too far!" Miyu snapped. "Unlike the rest of you, I was human until just a while ago, remember? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I don't know what these Wars are about, who Caial is or even who Kyuko is, and so maybe it would be helpful for all of us that someone to tell us who knows the whole story!"

The silence hung for a bit longer. Then…

THIS IS MOSTLY MY FAULT/ I SHOULD HAVE TOLD YOU SOONER. PLEASE FORGIVE ME, MIYU. Mori appeared from the shadows as silently as she had been one herself, laying down at the edge of the clearing that they were all gathered in. Her sons were close at her side. I SUGGEST THAT YOU ALL SIT DOWN. THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE. No one asked any other questions as they all sat down exactly where they stood; everyone seemed to wanted to know as badly as the next.

I WARN YOU NOW, THIS STORY WILL NOT BE EASY TO ACCEPT GRACEFULLY. MIYU, I WAS HOPING THAT I COULD GIVE YOU THE ENTIRE STORY LITTLE AT A TIME, BUT I SEE THAT IT IS TOO LATE FOR THAT. OF ALL PEOPLE, YOU NEED TO KNOW THE MOST, BECAUSE IT'S ALL CONNECTED TO YOU.

Miyu breathed deeply, but nodded, preparing herself for the worse.

I AM ASHAMED OF NOT TELLING YOU OF KYUKO SOONER. KYUKO WAS YOUR GRANDMOTHER MANY GENERATIONS OVER, AND WAS THE VAMPIRE SENTINEL ALIVE DURING THE TIME OF THE SHINMA WARS. AND, AT THE TIME, SHE, TOO, WAS THE ONE WHOM THE QUARLS WERE AFTER.

"Well…they say vampires are immortal. Why don't we just find her and ask her for help?" Water Lipper suggested.

NOT POSSIBLE. Mori responded, looking at the water sprite from the corner of one golden eye. SHE IS DEAD. CAIAL KILLED HER BEFORE SHE WAS SEALED.

Silence once again filled the area, but this time it was accompanied by a heavy disturbed feeling. Miyu seemed to sense what everyone else was thinking; She killed a vampire?

"Is…that possible?" Amy asked. "I mean, we know how hard it is to kill a vampire, even after…" Before another word got out, Mori growled a warning so deep that the ground shook. Amy immediately shrank back into the shadows, away from the Elder's hard glare.

YES…KYUKO DID, UNFORTUNATELY, GIVE HER OWN LIFE TO SAVE THE REALM AND THE PEOPLE THAT SHE PROTECTED. BUT IT WAS NOT ONLY HER THAT DIED IN THAT FINAL BATTLE. THE WITCH ALSO KILLED HER SHIMOBE WITH ONE BLOW. Once again there was silence as Mori gave them time to digest the information. YOU, WESTERM SHINMA WHO ALREADY SEEMS TO BE FAIRLY AQUAINTED TO THE STORY. She was speaking directly to Pazusu, her eyes locked on him. THERE ARE MANY PARTS TO THIS HISTORY THAT EVEN I AM NOT FAMILIAR WITH. MIGHT YOU BE SO KIND TO FILL US IN? It was not a request; it was an order, and Pazusu knew it. Taking a deep breath, he began to explain as well.

"Even thought they say that they are Western Shinma, the Quarls are not. They are not Shinma at all, nor have they ever had been. They have been living along side us for as long as anyone can remember, although we are not sure even where they had come from in the first place. There were very few who actually interacted with the higher class of the Western Shinma; most were too primitive and savage to do so. For a long while, we were at peace with them. Then Caial appeared.

"Somehow over the course of time, she moved her way up through the hierarchy of our realm, gaining power through fear rather than merely gaining it. Just before the war started, she had the majority of the higher powers wrapped around her finger and could get them to do just about anything that she wanted, except for one thing. One day she proclaimed that we rally an army and attack the Japanese Shinma Realm without giving any real reasons behind it. This was pushing it too far for some, since there was no reason to attack them for. And yes, as hard it is to believe, we do not go around attacking this land and it's people just merely because we feel like it." He glanced quickly at Miyu and the other Japanese Shinma.

"Then why are you here?" Ichirou retorted with a sneer.

THE HISTORY, GENTLEMEN. Mori put in before the argument got any further. TIME IS RUNNING SHORT.

"Like I was saying…the higher powers denied Caial's request, and that made her furious. Apparently she had been building an Army of Quarls behind our backs, and the first attacks began in the middle of the night when they stormed the weaker castles and killed everyone inside."

"Thus beginning the start of the war, which in fact was only a civil war between long-time allies." Kitsune put in. She sounded fascinated. "This is the side that no one else knows about."

"The fighting continued for many months. What started to be merely a movement to stop their ruthless attacks turned into a full-scale war. Every able-bodied man was called into battle and the women were summoned to help the sick and the wounded. The Quarls already had a upper hand, though, since they fought first. It took us a long time to get our act together and push them back.

"Then I learned of something terrible, a deep motive that Caial had once she was done with us. I learned of it when a good friend of mine discovered it, and Caial killed him, but not before he could tell it to me. Apparently she was still trying to attack the Japanese Realm. Not only that, she was after Kyuko, the current vampire sentinel. Although most Shinma want nothing to do with the Sentinel, anyone in their right mind knew that they are the backbone to the entire Shinma race, not just her own. With her out of the way, the Quarls would be unstoppable. The attack was to be executed within days, and I knew I couldn't wait for it to happen."

"It was you." Ranka said. "You were the one that warned us of their oncoming attack."

"Yes."

AND IT WAS BECAUSE OF THAT WARNING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID BEING COMPLETELY CRUSHED BY THE ARMY. FOR THAT, THE WHOLE CLAN IS GRATEFUL FOR, AND I OFFER MY THANKS ON BEHALF OF THE ENTIRE REALM. Miyu was slightly surprised by this, and by the look on everyone else's faces, so were they. The Elder sounded sincere. WE WERE PREPARED WHEN THEY REACHED OUR SHOTES, AS WE HAD ALSO ASKED THE CHINESE SHINMA FOR THEIR ASSISTANCE AS WELL, WHICH WAS ANSWERED BY A SMALL ARMY OF THEIR STRINGEST WARRIORS. WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THEM AT BAY IMMEDIATELY. WE ALSO RECEIVED HELP FROM A RATHER UNEXPECTED SOURCE; THE WESTERN SHINMA FOLLOWED THE QUARL AS WELL AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY, ALL THREE CLANS WERE FIGHTING TOGETHER RATHER THAN AGAINST ONE ANOTHER.

THE FIGHTING CONTINUED FOR THREE DAYS, AND IN THAT TIME WE WERE ABLE TO KILL OFF A GOOD MANY OF THE QUARL. THE WAR ENDED ON THE DUSK OF THE THIRD DAY WHEN CAIAL DESTROYED TOTOGENKI, THIS REALM'S LARGEST VILLAGE. ONCE IT WAS IN RUINGS, SHE CALLED FOR KUYKO PERSONALLY.

KYUKO ANSWERED TO THE CHALLENGE, ALONG WITH HER SHIMOBE AND HER SON. CAIAL WASTED LITTLE TIME TALKING AND ATTACKED THEM FIRST. TARAKIN FELL FIRST WHEN THE QUARL IMAPELD HIM WITH HER BARE HAND, KILLING HIM IN THE INSTANT. THEN SHE ROUNDED ON KYUKO AND CRUSHED HALF OF HER CHEST.

Miyu suddenly felt very sick as the image entered her mind. She knew that as a vampire she was quick and hardly ever caught off guard; the thought of someone else being that fast and being able to take a vampire - who was no doubt much more skilled than she was - by surprise was terrifying.

THE BATTLE WAS SHORT-LIVED. KYUKO WAS A MASTER OF THE BOW, AND WITH THE LAST OF HER STRENGTH SHE CONCEALED A SPELL WITHIN HER LAST ARROW AND FIRED IT AT CAIAL. THE ARROW STRUCK TRUE, AND IMPRISONED THE WITCH WITHIN HER STONE BODY. IF KYUKO HAD NOT BEEN DYING HERSELF, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KILL HER. THE SAME ARROW TURNED INTO THE DAGGER-SEAL, WHICH I HAD BEEN ENTRUSTED TO WATCH. SINCE THE STONE STATUE COULD NEVER BE COMPLETELY DESTROYED, EVEN IF IT WERE SHATTERED, KYUKO ASKED THE CHINESE SHINMA TO TAKE IT TO THEIR REALM, FAR AWAY FROM ANYONE WHO MIGHT TRY TO RESURRECT HER. AND, AS WAS JUST NOW PROVEN, IT WAS POSSIBLE IF THE DAGGER WAS BROUGHT BEFORE HER AND IF ENOUGH DARK MAGIC WAS WOVEN INTO IT, IT WOULD UNDO THE SPELL. KYUKO DIED MOMENTS LATER, AND SHE AND HER SHIMOBE WERE CREMATED IMMEDIATELY. THEN, TO OUR HORROW, THE STONE STATUE DISAPPEARED NOT MORE THAN AN HOUR AFTER THE WAR ENDED, WITH NO TRACE TO WHERE IT DISAPPEARED TO.

"It must have been some of the surviving Quarl." Tacha said. "We had thought that they were all dead, but I bet it was those four that we encountered today who took her back."

"And Cait Sith was believed to be the last living Quarl in existence, so that thought never entered anyone's mind."

"Or so we thought." Pazusu answered grimly. "He was still young, but still angry at the Japanese Shinma for doing that to his mother. I knew that the statue had disappeared, but I did not think that it was taken back to our realm. Cait Sith must have hidden it from us until the time was right."

"Come to think of it, wasn't it Cait Sith who suggested that we come here in the first place?" Carlua inquired.

"Yes, it was. It was just the opportunity he needed. He would sneak off to retrieve the seal while we were distracted by…other things." He could almost feel Miyu's eyes boring into the side of his head. "I thought it was suspicious that he would think of it. I'm surprised I didn't think of it. God, I was so naïve."

"You couldn't have known." Kia said. "None of us could. We all thought that the Quarl was a dead Clan."

"Well, why did he wait so long? Why didn't he do this a long time ago?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yoto answered. "He was waiting for the next vampire to be born."

Once again, there was silence.

I FEEL THAT THEY WILL ATTACK SOON, PERHAPS EVEN BY TOMORROW. AS POWERFUL AS SHE MAY BE AS WE SPEAK, CAIAL WILL NEED TIME TO REGAIN MOST OF HER PREVIOUS STRENGTH. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU ALL STAY TOGETHER. WESTERN SHINMA, SINCE YOU WERE THE ONES THAT BROUGHT THIS HERE, YOU ARE ALL TO STAY HERE AND AID US. IT IS CLEAR THAT, EVEN WITH MIYU AND THE CHINESE SHINMA ON OUR SIDE, WE CANNOT DEFEAT THEM ALONE. IF YOU ARE STILL ALIVE AFTERWORDS, YOU ARE TO LEAVE THIS WORLD AND NEVER RETURN. NOT YOU ALL KNOW WHAT YOU'RE UP AGAINST. I HAVE NOTHING MORE TO SAY.

Miyu was the one to rise first, walking past the Chinese Shinma and back into the trees. "Miyu? Where…?"

"I…have to be alone for a while. I have to think this all over." They moved to follow her, but Yoto held up an arm, keeping them all back. He shook his head slowly, and they all understood.

While no one else was looking, Larva got up and slipped into the shadows so he could follow her unhindered.

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To be continued…

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