Suzume threw up her hands in a feeble attempt to defend herself. She closed her eyes and waited for the attack that didn’t come. Her skin tingled all over and she opened her eyes to see she was surrounded by a shield of red light. The temple and everything else had disappeared and she was inside the cave once more but she was no longer bound. Her clothes were shredded and she was covered from head to toe in something sticky. At least she had the use of her arms and legs.

The spider was moving back and forth outside the barrier clicking her pincers and hissing at Suzume.

“You shouldn’t have a drop of spiritual energy left,” the spider hissed. Her voice dripped with poisonous intent. “My spell should have drained all of it out of you.”

“Your spell didn’t work very well,” Suzume said climbing onto shaking feet. She tried to gain her bearings. Why am I in a cave? Where are Daiki and Akito? The spiritual shield around her was weak in spots and she could see through a pink sheen to the walls beyond. Not good. She concentrated on the shield and the lighter areas stabilized.

The spider advanced and collided with the shield. Sparks erupted on the spider’s legs and the spider fell back making a horrible screeching sound. At least she can’t get through the shield. Suzume’s head spun. Whatever the spider had done to her it was affecting her still, though the effects were fading. She was beginning to remember things. She remembered her powers and how she had used them against Kaito.

Damn him. He left me here to die in this sticky spider cave. When I get out of here I am going to fry him to a crisp.  

The spider was pacing back and forth in front of Suzume. Her long legs and bulbous body blocking what appeared to be the exit. “You’re nothing but a weak priestess. You cannot hold that shield for long, let alone defeat me.”

Suzume sneered at the spider.  This is not going to be something I talk my way out of. She concentrated harder on feeding energy to the shield, as much as she could without shutting her eyes. She imagined the energy reaching out from her shield and attacking the spider –as she had once done with Kaito back at the temple.  

A weak tendril slithered off of the shield. It was as substantial as a strand of hair. It brushed against one of the spiders legs. The spider screeched and retracted her leg, which was smoking.  

“That tickled,” the spider said and clicked her mandibles menacingly.  

Suzume hid her fear with a smirk. Maybe she’ll think I have a plan if I keep smiling like this. The truth was, she didn’t have a plan. The shield was starting to flicker again, her head was spinning and her knees were bound to buckle beneath her at any moment.

The spider closed in, her fangs were dripping with more of the hallucinogenic poison –Suzume was sure. I cannot believe I am going to die in a filthy cave, eaten by a giant talking spider who puts you into the middle of melodramatic fantasy. Suzume’s knees locked and she fell down scrapping them on the stone floor beneath her. The barrier was fading to a dusty pink. She couldn’t force any more energy to it.

“You never should have left your shrine, little priestess. You should know there are much bigger and badder things waiting to eat you.”

“Thanks for the advice,” Suzume replied –despite her current situation she still couldn’t guard her tongue.

That was when her barrier fell. Suzume scuttled backwards but tripped over something which sent her onto her butt. She looked down to see a human skull staring back at her without hollow eyes.  The momentary distraction was enough for the spider to close the distance. The spider dipped her pincers towards Suzume’s neck. She didn’t even have the energy to fight her off. She was too tired –she used the last of her energy maintaining the shield.  She closed her eyes and waited for the burning sting of the bite. Instead she felt something prickle across her skin. It raised the gooseflesh on her arms. She opened her eyes just as a blue light illuminated the multitude of eyes on the spiders face before flinging her backwards.

The spider was overturned with all eight legs flailing in the air. From over her shoulder, Suzume saw the dragon in his true form. His long sinuous body filled the cave. His head and forelegs were stepping through a break in the webbing that had blocked another passageway in the cave. He held his mouth open and amid the rows of sharp teeth was a glowing ball of blue light, which illuminated his face. His long whiskers brushed against the web that covered the walls and wherever they touched the web burned.

Suzume never thought she’d be more excited to see a monster.

“How dare you try to take a bite out of my prey,” he spoke in a rolling voice full of thunder.

His energy crashed over Suzume like the tide on the shore. It tingled her skin and seemed to extract the poison from her. 

The spider regained an upright position and crouched down low. Her legs were bent above her body, making her a harder target to hit. Suzume was left pinned between the two mammoths.

“Dragon,” the spider hissed. “”How dare you enter my domain!”

“I will dare what I will,” he rumbled in reply. “I rule this land and you must obey me.”

The spider laughed. It was a wet clicking sound. “You’ve awoken from you slumber and found the world changed. Did you think the rest of the lower beings would whither without out? The powers have shifted and you are no longer the ruler of our world.”

“Silence, insect,” the dragon roared and the sound filled the tunnel and Suzume thought her ears would burst.

The spider took a step back, backing into the dark web lined tunnel behind her. “Master, I apologize. I meant no offense,” she groveled.

You say that now that you realize he could snap you in half.  Suzume shook herself. Wait, he left me here with this creature when he could have defeated it the entire time. She rounded on Kaito. “You knew I was in here and you almost let her eat me!” She pointed at the spider.

The dragon stared at her with his large blue eyes. They looked like storm clouds or the rolling of the ocean.

He did not answer Suzume. He lifted his head to look over her at the spider. “You should be punished for your insubordination. I have made it known that this priestess is mine and no one shall touch her.”

“I do not belong to you!” Suzume interjected.

The spider did not acknowledge Suzume’s interruption. “Yes, master, of course.”

“I will let you keep your life then, but you are to return the energy you took from the priestess.”

The spider hissed. She opened her mandibles and a stream of red energy flowed out from her mouth and slammed into Suzume’s chest. She doubled over as the power overwhelmed her for a moment. Then her head cleared and she felt her strength return.

I almost get sucked dry and that’s all she gets a little slap on the wrist?

Kaito turned his head and walked down the passageway. I almost die and he doesn’t even ask if I am ok? Suzume got to her feet and stomped after him. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going however, her foot got caught on a stray web. She pulled but she couldn’t pull herself loose. She was tangled up in the spider’s web. “Yuck.” She pulled at the sticky webbing only to have more and more attach itself to her. “I could use some help here.” She called out to Kaito but he was out of sight.

The spider came closer. “I’d be happy to oblige.”

A long harry leg brushed against Suzume’s arm. She shivered with revulsion. She got the impression the spider wasn’t looking to free her. Suzume turned to try and unleash the spiritual energy and fry the spider but she couldn’t. These powers would be a lot more convenient if they worked on command. She batted away the spider’s leg but she was already wrapping Suzume’s legs in the sticky web. The web climbed up her legs and bound them together.

“He has gone soft in his time of imprisonment. The dragon from before would have smote me where I stood.” The spider clicked softly as she wound up Suzume who was beating at her with both fists.

“And you’re upset about that?” Suzume asked as she tried to wriggle free but it was no use. Even the webbing was making her go numb.

“His compassion is my gain. Once I absorb your spiritual power again, I will be strong enough to fight against him.”

“You mean Kaito, the dragon?”

“No, not the dragon, he is no longer a threat there is one much greater one who holds the power and to defeat him would make me queen—“ she did not finish her sentence because a blue light zinged past and incinerated her to nothing but ash.

Suzume’s eyes went wide as she glanced over to Kaito once more in human form. His hand was outstretched and his face was blank of emotion. He walked over to her and ripped off the webbing and helped her to her feet.

“You killed her,” Suzume said.

“She was playing with my food.” He showed her his teeth and though they looked like normal human teeth she saw the threat behind the gesture.

She knew better than to tempt his temper but she had to know. “You knew everything was fake, you knew that the compound none of it was real. The spider had me under her spell that entire time but you never stopped her until now, why?”

He stopped and looked at her without answering for a moment. “I wanted to see what she knew about the big one.”

“So you used me as bait! What if she had succeeded with her twisted plan? Then what?”

He shrugged. “Then I would be lighter by one troublesome priestess.” He smirked.

She hit him on the shoulder. She wasn’t sure if she was angry or relieved to be free of the spell. “You could have at least told me, instead of taunting me about marrying Daiki.”

He smiled. “That was just for my entertainment. Who’s Akito by the way? You kept mumbling his name while you were dreaming.”

She frowned. Hadn’t Kaito been inside the dream or was that an effect of the poison. She wasn’t sure if he was taunting her or if he was really curious. “None of your business, let’s get out of here.” She stormed past him and down the passageway they had come from.

I never knew an Akito. I’ve never been in love. I chose Daiki because I thought he would be easy to control. In the dream –or whatever it was—I was so unhappy, will I be unhappy when I marry him. And why did Akito feel so real, like there had been an Akito...

She wasn’t sure if it was a linger effect of the poison but the memory of Akito, it felt like vision from the hot spring—like it had all been real. She shook her head.

“There’s no way.” She said aloud to convince herself.

“Talking to yourself? That’s a good sign you’re losing your mind,” Kaito teased.

She scowled at him and continued up the passageway a few more steps before stopping at a fork. Kaito reached her and said, “What do you need me to carry you?”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t know the way out of here.”

He laughed. “Follow me, priestess.”