Shouldering her weapons and satchel, Kagome left her home early the next morning and made the short trek over to Kaede’s hut to borrow her horse for the journey ahead. Onyx eyes regarded her steadily as she approached the backyard paddock. Like his owner, Jiro was an aged yet sturdy creature—and a little on the cantankerous side. After a brief flattening of his brown ears, Kagome was able to placate him with a peace offering of an apple. Appeased by the tasty snack, he allowed her to fit him with his bridle and saddle, and a few minutes later, the two of them were cantering off toward the west.

As the dirt road took them out of town, Kagome activated her concealment spell. While the enchantment would have no effect on humans, to demons it would appear as if Jiro were traveling down the road alone. Kagome’s reiki, sound, scent, and form would all be rendered perfectly invisible to youkai senses—at least, that was the idea. Passing by a flock of demon crows roosting in a tree at the crossroads, Kagome held her breath in anticipation. Yet not a single feather rustled or beady yellow eye turned toward her in hostility.

Even the more powerful youkai—benevolent or otherwise—which she detected along the way paid her no heed whatsoever. As the hours ticked by without lightning splitting the sky or Sesshoumaru appearing before her in some equally abrupt and angry way, Kagome allowed herself to relax. Not long after noon, she arrived entirely without incident at the broad, forested road leading to Tatsumi castle. Jiro’s hooves clacked almost merrily as the dirt gave way to paving stones, a low-roofed sprawling palace and its outlying township rising in the distance.

Seeing her clothed in the traditional miko attire, the guards at the gate waved Kagome through at once. After handing Kaede’s horse over to a stable boy, she was greeted by a tall, wizened samurai who led her to the main building of the palace, where she was received by the daimyo himself. A sharp-eyed, sallow-faced man, Tatsumi Koshirou regarded her from his elevated seat cushion with a distrustful frown.

“I was expecting Kaede-sama,” he said without preamble as she entered the audience chamber. “Who are you?”

“My name is Kagome,” the miko said, bowing respectfully. “I’m the head priestess of Edo village. Kaede is unwell, so I’ve come here in her place.”

“‘Head priestess,’ you say,” Tatsumi echoed narrowly. “You seem awfully young to hold such a title.”

Kagome smiled. “I could say the same about you, Tatsumi-sama. Yet here we are.”

“Indeed,” he said, returning the gesture after a moment’s consideration. “Here we are.” The lord glanced toward one of the screen doors behind him. “Mayuri.”

The shouji screen slid open, a pretty servant woman about Kagome’s age stepping through and approaching Tatsumi with a bow. “Yes, my lord?”

“Show Kagome-sama to her room. No doubt she is weary from her travels and could use a respite.”

“Hai, Tatsumi-sama.” Mayuri bowed briefly again before turning to the miko with a pleasant smile. “This way, my lady.”

Kagome followed the servant back out into the courtyard. A rustic fortress, Tatsumi castle was bordered all around by boulders and towering hardwood trees—a few of which decorated the castle’s grounds still. A couple of pure white chickens scattered before Mayuri’s brisk advance, a pair of loose oxen looking up indolently from the bale of hay they were munching on in a corner yard. As the servant led Kagome around toward one of the one of the palace’s rear buildings, she spoke freely about the recent youkai attack.

“It was terrible—still is,” Mayuri said, shaking her head sadly. “So many lying sick with lesions, unable even to sleep from the pain. Houshi-sama and taijiya-sama told us that the monster intended to dissolve us slowly with its toxin and then venture up later to suck our flesh from our bones.”

“That’s horrible,” Kagome muttered, her brow wrinkling in disgust. “…But you seem well, Mayuri-san?”

The servant nodded. “When our neighbors fell ill, my husband began to suspect that the water in our well was contaminated. From then on, we drank only rainwater, instead.”

“I see…so the demon was poisoning the water from the ground up. That’s how he was spreading his curse. No wonder so many were struck by it.”

“Yes—even the little children,” Mayuri said, glancing somberly back at the priestess. “Tell me, Miko-sama, how could any creature be so wicked and the gods still allow it to draw breath?”

Kagome looked up to the cloudy sky. “I wish I knew.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi