Animal Magnetism by angelica

Chapter One

Kagome knocked over her basket of herbs and froze, heart racing, every muscle locked tight as the long, mournful cry of…something…broke the comforting, familiar humdrum of wildlife. And what a horrible cry it was—long and loud like an animal kicked by a horse, like someone was dying.

Her skin pebbled into thousands of goosebumps, her blood chilling to ice even as her heart threw itself frantically against her ribs. Her ears rang as the sound drew out and bounced off the trees and the mountains. A nauseating, overwhelming sense of wrongness settled over her like an ill-fitting kimono, too tight and cutting into her skin, turning her stomach over like she’d fallen from a great height.

She stared at the long, green leaves covering the branches of the trees above her, blocking out the bright summer sunshine, and blinked hard at the quiet, comforting sounds of the forest around her.

Over the chittering of the wildlife was the sweet, bright melody of birdsong, intermingled with the whistle of wind cutting through the branches. If she concentrated, she knew she’d be able to hear the rumble of the creek in the distance, soft enough to barely be audible.

But what caught her attention was that wretched, skin-crawling noise was gone, and the forest around her was alive and busy, noisy like the wail had never been there to begin with.

Her ears were still ringing as she fumbled with trembling fingers to gather the spilled herbs back into her basket, dirt accumulating underneath her nails and little bits of rock and twig cutting her cuticles.

The panicked thumping of her heart slowed to a normal cadence and the throb of it in her ears and her throat eased, her tight lungs relaxing the longer she soaked up all the normal, everyday sounds of the forest around her.

Her hands still shook as she sat there, her mouth dry, a lump forming in her throat. Her belly turned over as goosebumps prickled up and down the length of her arms, rubbing along the inside of her hanjuban.

Bile climbed up the back of her throat and burned at the memory of the sound.

Living in a village and especially being a priestess, Kagome heard her fair share of bizarre sounds. Animals in pain, the wails of the dying, yokai. But nothing sounded so human and so animal at the same time, raw and angry. It sounded like a promise and a threat.

Whatever it was, she hoped she never, ever came face-to-face with whatever or whoever made that horrible, horrible sound. She had the feeling it wouldn’t end well—for her or it.

Slants of sunlight cut through the canopy and chased away the lingering chill from hearing the roar as she tossed the last wayward herb into her basket.

The quick peek she tossed over her shoulder told her the sun was just beginning to set, that it was time to head back into the village before yokai and terrible men came out of the woodwork. Even though she was a priestess, she was a woman alone in the woods, and no amount of piousness would protect her if a man with bad intentions found her.

That thought clanged through her mind on repeat as she climbed to her feet, squeezed her bloodless hands around the woven handle of her basket, and set off down the meandering path that wound through the trees down the mountainside, a clear shot to Edo.

Her stomach twisted as she remembered all the horrible fates of the women thieves, bandits, and rapists had found, their lives cut short brutally and painfully. She and Kikyo had laid several to rest, and each one took a little piece of Kagome, staying with her even now.

Beneath her zori, tiny clouds of dust kicked up around her ankles and she overturned small rocks, sending them skittering further down the path as she wove through the trees, her basket swinging in the crook of her arm. Her andon-bakama skimmed across the ground and snagged on the underbrush she passed.

But as she walked, as she drew closer and closer to her village, she became aware of a sort of…tug. Right in the center of her abdomen. Hard and incessant. Like someone had wrapped a rope around her, tight, and was yanking on it, tugging her along.

And there was a little whisper at her shoulder, murmuring to her, go. Louder and louder, until it was all she could hear and it drowned out the noise of wildlife around her, a chant that pulled her under its hypnotic spell.

But go where? she wondered as she stumbled along, tightness squeezing the breath out of her lungs until her head swam and her vision blurred.

Every heart beat throbbed through her entire body, rippling and echoing, as she padded down the trail, following the hard, borderline painful tug that stole her breath and rocked her onto her toes.

The whisper grew louder and louder until it was the only thing she could hear, each word reverberating through her legs and arms, and she broke into a run, her body obeying before her mind caught up.

It was true she didn’t know where the voice was demanding she go, but there was no tangled knot in her belly that usually told her if there was danger ahead. There was just warmth of excitement and the jittery need to discover who was tethered to the other end of the invisible rope.

Kagome let the sharp tug lead her over boulders and around the turns of the path.

There wasn’t a single thought of yokai tricks or it being a trap as she threaded around the saplings and used the grown trees to steady herself, her breaths coming heavier and quicker the faster she walked, damn near a full-on run.

She could hear Kikyo’s disappointed, reproachful reprimand even now. Always so careless, so reckless. What if it’s a yokai, wanting to eat the flesh from your bones? Or, worse, a group of bandits without a single scruple? Kikyo meant well, really, she did, but the constant lectures were enough to drive anyone insane.

Well, she’d reach the end of the invisible tether and go from there. Regardless of what waited for her on the other side.

The thick trees thinned out on either side and ahead of her, and her heart rate kicked up in her ears at the familiar sign she was at the outskirts of the village. Her next step had her pushing through the thin line of scraggly trees and into a sprawling clearing she recognized passing on her way into the forest.

As she stood there, she noticed the air was humming with tension like it was anticipating…something. Even the wildlife behind her had gone stock-still and equally silent, like the sound had been sucked out of the world.

Her pulse pounded in her bloodless fingertips as she squeezed her hands into fists, her breathing quick and nervous.

Every muscle in her body tightened as she strained to sense or hear what had—

And then there was the howl again, startling her so bad, she dropped her basket as the sound cut her down to the quick. It punched the breath from her lungs, and her head spun as it went on and on, shredding her nerves and stealing any air she tried to inhale.

As soon as it stopped, she steadied herself and swallowed down a huge gulp of air, sweat streaming down the back of her neck and her spine. Her lungs burned, and her throat prickled, muscles in her thighs screaming their very vehement protests, her face warm and sweat-dampened.

Chills ran down her back and tightened her skin into bumps.

Then she heard the excited, overlapping murmurings and chattering, like there was a crowd and her stomach twisted sharp as she hurried down the dirt path that led into the village past the Bone Eater’s Well and past the rickety, wooden archway that served as the only signal you were in a village at all.

The sounds grew louder and louder until she reached the center of the village, where it looked like almost every single person had gathered.

“Who here among you is brave enough to approach this vile, foul beast with human flesh still underneath its claws and between its fangs?”

Ice washed over her like she’d been doused in river water in winter as she dropped her basket.

He wasn’t serious, was he? He couldn’t have outsmarted or overpowered a yokai, the same predators that picked off humans one-by-one to entertain themselves. He had to be lying, surely. No normal human could do that. Not if they valued their meager existence. Or not being a yokai’s snack before dinner.

She just had to see it. Right now. With her own two eyes.

Ignoring the sidelong glares she received and pushing away the burning knowledge that Kikyo would never elbow or push through the crowd, she fought her way through the throng of tightly-packed humans, barely remembering to mutter ‘excuse me’ each time she “accidentally” elbowed someone or pushed them out of the way. Nobody seemed to pay her much or any attention, thankfully.

And when she finally, finally got the front, her sides bruised and aching, all the blood drained from her face and her stomach dropped like a stone in a creek.

She couldn’t drag her eyes away from the sight in front of her, and she didn’t even know where to look first.

The crudely-constructed cage, looking as though it was one wind away from collapsing, its bars slanted at a variety of angles and consisting of whittled sticks or branches pushed into the soft dirt?

Or maybe her attention should be on the yokai, curled in on himself as he crouched and faced the crowd, his long, tangled hair hiding most of his nudity.

Maybe it was the state of him—the overlapping landscape of bruises on his skin, all blues and purples and greens and blues. As if the bruises weren’t enough, she couldn’t tell which was grime, bruise, blood or puss. Everywhere she looked, there were blood or bruise-hugged wounds or contusions that swelled to the size of a hornet’s nest.

But it was his eyes—hopeless and dead and lifeless—that had her stepping forward, ignore the stares that stabbed into her back, and demand, “Leave him alone!”

And as soon as the words escaped, the crowd went silent, and she felt every single eye staring at her the way they always did.

She knew what they were thinking; it was the same comments she’d heard a million times over, whispered when her back was turned and when they thought she wasn’t listening.

There Kagome goes again.

What’s she going to do now?

She’s too loud and opinionated. Nothing like her calm sister Kikyo or steadfast Kaede. How they’re related is anyone’s guess. Perhaps her mother…

The list went on and on, and each remark stung worse than the last.

But she wasn’t going to let that get to her now. Not when this poor beast obviously needed her help.

So she lifted her chin when the man closest to her gave her a long, hungry glance over that made her skin tighten and belly tangle itself into knots. Stomach acid burned in her throat at the lust in his beady eyes, but she swallowed hard and fought to keep her face a neutral mask.

The last thing she needed was to show fear or trepidation or any sort of weakness. Like animals, they would pounce on her and tear her apart.

“A priestess,” he said, “that will purify such a foul beast. If only you’d be so gracious as to let us watch.”

Her expression almost broke with the flood of hot, intense rage that slammed through her like a tidal wave and she gritted her teeth until the pressure made her head pound.

Purify him? They wanted her to purify a creature who’d been beaten and chained up like it was a fair fight? Maybe to everyone else, it was, but not to her. Where was the honor in stabbing a man when his back was turned, not in self-defense? There was none, and there was no honor here, too. Not when her target was covered in wounds and obviously weak and his gaze was barely focusing on her.

“You want me to purify this creature?” she asked, and if anyone knew her at all, they’d understand that her soft, sweet voice was nothing but a warning of the storm about to come. “Purify him? While he’s been beaten within an inch of his life?”

The man who’d spoken glanced at his silent companion before he straightened, his chest puffing out. “He’s a monster,” was all he said, though the way his hand tightened around his walking staff told her she’d hit a nerve by questioning him in front of so many people.

Good.

He should be questioned for his cowardly behavior.

She squared her shoulders. “Maybe he is but where is the pride in taking a life when they can’t fight back? It’s—it’s cowardice!”

There was a gasp from the crowd, and Kagome watched as the man flushed red with rage, his mouth tightening and furling until his lips disappeared altogether, his brows furrowing over his eyes. Eyes that burned with anger and incredulousness at her audacity.

This was obviously the first a woman dared to call him out and especially in front of witnesses.

“Is it really cowardice when they have all the advantages against us? When they pick us off one-by-one for sport and toy with us until they grow bored and just slaughter us?” To the crowd, he said, “They have claws and razor-sharp teeth and monstrous strength and speed! We’re no match for them!” Then, to her, “You have a job to do, priestess, whether you agree with my methods or not.”

His tone matched the smarmy, smug expression on his face, the raise of his brows that said try me.

Blood hammered in her ears at the unfairness of it all. How could they expect her to kill a creature that hadn’t harmed her or harmed anyone else in the village, one they’d beaten and caged? Her stomach turned at the idea, and every single part of her screamed against it.

She swallowed around the lump in her throat.

It didn’t matter what they said or what they did to her as a result—she wouldn’t purify the yokai. And she had no doubt God wouldn’t want her to, either. Whether the men acknowledged it or not.

Wetting her lips briefly, she ignored the tangled mess of anxious knots in her stomach and the whoosh of blood in her ears, started to deny their request.

But a loud snarl cut off her words.

She watched as the yokai rose as high as he could and, even stooped like he was, the power that wafted off him raised every single hair on her body. Her teeth chattered with the intensity of it, her surprised inhale choked off in her throat.

This wasn’t your everyday yokai. No. He was powerful—very, very powerful.

Kagome had never felt anything like it, and she watched as he clutched the bars with long, graceful fingers tipped with lethal-looking claws that could probably slice through her skin with ease.

Over the stringy bangs that fell into his face, his eyes met hers, and an electric jolt lanced through her, sharp enough that she twitched involuntarily. It was like a small shock raced through her, lighting up every nerve and obliterating any thought in her head.

A whimper pulled her gaze away from him, breaking the connection, and she realized the crowd had scattered when he roared. Such cowards. Almost as much as the men who’d backed away at the yokai’s roar.

“Now,” she said, her voice sweet like honey as she turned to the men and beamed at them, “release him.”