Chapter Nineteen

Tatsuya didn’t know what to expect from flying on a Dragon. He expected a bumpy ride, which is quite the opposite of what had happened. It felt like he was sitting still except for the huge rush of wind that was always blowing in his face.
He could barely hear Maddy shouting behind him in the huge gust of wind. But from the few words that he caught from her, he could tell that she was absolutely amazed at the things going on. “Amazing!” “Flying!” “Unbelievable!” were just a few of the words that crossed Tatsuya’s ear.
Tatsuya was even so mesmerized by the wind, he didn’t even bother to look at the surroundings, or even if they were above land or an ocean.
Before too long, Kaida landed with a large thud, and Tatsuya slid off of her dragon body and onto the grassy floor. He helped Maddy slide down, and smiled at her.
“So I’m assuming we’re in Japan,” he told her.
“Yeah,” she said, smiling back at him. “Kinda freaky. We just flew on a dragon! This is like in fantasy books and stuff. Whew, I can’t believe that just happened!”
Tatsuya turned around to see Kaida smiling at him in her full human form. She looked away from him and raised her head to look at the giant trees that showed the entrance of the forest.
“This is where we need to go.”
Kaida led the way through the shrubs and trees of the entangling forest. Tatsuya did most of the path clearing to make it easier for Maddy to get through it.
Maddy held her breath as she walked, and Tatsuya got worried when he first noticed.
“Hey, Maddy,” Tatsuya panted. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah,” She panted back. She held her lips tightly together, absolutely refusing to exhale. “I’m all right, what about you?”
Tatsuya noticed all of the scratches he had obtained on his arms. He began to hold his own breath. “Yeah, I think I’m okay,” he said.
Kaida was already yards ahead of them, practically advancing by bouncing from one tree to the next.
“Kaida, you’re going to have to slow down. We’re going to loose you if you’re too far ahead of us.”
“Don’t worry,” she called back. “I can feel it. We’re not too far away from the shrine now.”
Tatsuya stood still for a moment and Maddy ran into him from behind.
“Is something wrong?” Maddy asked.
“No, nothing,” He said. He shook the bad thoughts out of his head, and continued to attempt to catch up to Kaida.
“Here,” Kaida said, gesturing a group of trees that were bent over in an archway.
“Whoa,” Maddy said, mesmerized by the festoons and exquisite designs that were decorating the archway which led to more trees.
“It’s in this group of trees somewhere,” Kaida said. “But we need to start being careful.”
“Why?” Maddy asked. “I mean, no… I know why. There’s stuff guarding this place. But do you know what sort of stuff is in there? What should we be keeping our eyes out for?”
“That would be me.”
To Tatsuya’s surprise, someone walked out from under the archway. It was a girl—she looked no older than Tatsuya.
She bent down with one leg sticking out and one leg bent, as if she were ready to pounce on them. If her deep mauve dress was torn even a little more, it would be considered indecent. The most astonishing thing about her wasn’t even her swift motions, or her flaming red-orange locks of hair, or the fact that she looked like a lioness prepared to attack her prey. The most astonishing thing about her was her radiant, sparkling violet eyes that pierced the soul with a simple glance. And yet, she continued to be surprisingly outstanding.
She hissed at them.
Maddy’s eyes widened as she took two cautious steps back.
“A-are you the one guarding this shrine?” Tatsuya stuttered.
The girl stood up straight so her piercing violet eyes met with Tatsuya’s, their faces only inches apart.
“Leave,” she commanded, her voice unusually deeper than it was before.
“We can’t,” Tatsuya said, attempting his hardest not to seem afraid. “W-we need to get that pendant—that piece of the pendant.”
“Do you think I’m just going to let you walk right in?” she exclaimed. “Who do you think you are anyway?”
“Stop,” Kaida said, taking a step forward. “It’s not him who requires the pendant piece. I’m the one who needs it.”
“You?” She exclaimed again. She removed her glare from Tatsuya and placed it on Kaida. “Dragon of Autumn. Dragon of Death. How good it is to see you again.”
“It’s good to see you, too, Ember,” Kaida said. “It would be even better if you let us through.”
“Why would you require your brother’s pendant?” she asked, a slight hiss still in her voice.
“That,” Kaida started, “is business that doesn’t apply to you. Now I would greatly appreciate it if you let us through.”
“Kaida, dear, you know as well as I do that I’m not letting anyone through this archway.” She turned back and averted her glare towards Tatsuya again. “Who is your friend, Kaida?”
“This is Tatsuya,” Kaida said.
“Is he your master?”
“No!” Kaida snapped, gripping tight to the pendant around her neck. “He may posess my power, but no one is my master. I am my own master.”
The girl shrugged and then smiled, keeping her ultra violet gaze on Tatsuya. “So hello, Tatsuya. My name is Ember.”
“H-hello,” Tatsuya managed to spit out.
“I’m assuming you’re a human,” she said. “You don’t look very old. Then again, I’m not an expert on how humans age. Are you about one hundred? Two hundred?”
“Fifteen,” Tatsuya corrected. “W-wait, are you not a human?”
“Good guess.”
“So what are you?”
Her smile faded. “I’m not really anything. Nothing official, at least. But I used to be a fairy.”
“A fairy?”
“Yes, but I became, what would you call it? An ex-fairy. After breaking one of the most important laws. And with my former status, I just couldn’t afford to break any laws.”
“Ember,” Kaida cut in. “As much as we all would love to hear you ramble on about your life’s story, we’re on a tight schedule, so we would like to just go in, get what we need, and get out as soon as possible.”
“Hush, Kaida,” she snapped, not taking her glare off of Tatsuya. Her lips slowly curved back into a grin. “I like this boy,” she said, raising her hand and playfully tapping him on the cheek. “I can see why you’re sticking around him, Kaida.”
“Well, it’s not really my choice,” Kaida said quietly.
“I can see his curiosity,” Ember said. “The hunger in his eyes. He’s quite… how do I say this?… cute, too.”
“Excuse me,” Maddy said, her voice quiet. She cleared her throat and spoke up. “Um, we’re not exactly here for that sort of stuff. We’re here to just get the pendant piece and leave.”
“And would this be the girlfriend?” Ember asked, moving her deathly gaze over to Maddy.
“No, not the girlfriend,” she said. “But that’s not the point, the point is, we’re not here just to fool around. We just want to get a job done and leave.”
“I have a job, little girl,” Ember hissed. “I am not allowing a single soul into that shrine, and that includes you and my good friend Kaida.”
“Why can’t you just let us in?”
“I can’t let anyone get ahold of that pendant. I can’t trust anyone with the power to control the Dragon of Life.”
“Not even Kaida?” Tatsuya asked, almost begging. “I mean, she is his brother, isn’t she? She’s not about to do anything evil or control him in a way that’s bad. Why can’t you just let us in?”
“I have said this once, and I will say it again,” Ember said, raising her voice. “I am not letting a single soul into that shrine. I will protect the Dragon of Spring—the Dragon of Life! I must protect him. I can not let anything happen to him.”
“Nothing is going to happen to him,” Kaida said. “Ember, you have to believe us.”
“Kaida, you have no idea how insane I am going out here,” she said, her eyes beginning to bulge. “I’m so alone every day, for hundreds of years. And all I need to do is guard this place. You have no idea what sort of insanity I go through every day.”
“Why do you have to guard this place?” Tatsuya asked.
“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know?” she snapped.
“You sound like you’re going through a few problems.”
Ember scoffed. “Hm. A few problems. Your curiosity is going to get you in trouble one day.”
Tatsuya shrugged. “I’m just concerned.”
“There’s no need to be concerned about this one, Tatsuya,” Kaida said. “She’s tougher than I am, and that is definitely saying something.”
“Oh, Kaida, don’t be such a narcissist. Maybe I’ll let this one in,” she said, running her hand down Tatsuya’s face and down his neck until she held him tightly on the shoulder. “I can’t promise you that he’ll walk out with anything, but I’ll let him into the shrine.”
Kaida glanced at Tatsuya, who glanced back with a begging look.
“All right,” Kaida said. “Let him in. Will you give him the pendant?”
Ember curled one end of her lips. “We will just have to wait and see if that happens.” She walked and beckoned Tatsuya with one finger to follow her. He stepped into the archway and was immediately engulfed by the darkness.