A Brother's Secret

Chapter 9: The Drop of Fire

~Edith PoV~

   "Hey Eda!" Shiroya calls. "You ready to go?" I smile at him and nod.

   "Yep. Where's everyone else?" I ask.

   After I had calmed myself down, I had changed into my outfit for fighting and went out into the main hall only to find Shiroya and Kaito there.

   "They're all outside. Are you feeling better?" Kaito asks. I nod with a smile. "Alright then! You ready Little Edith?!" Kaito asks trying to pump me up.

   "Yep!"

   "What about you, Shiroya?!"

   "Yeah!"

   "What are you gonna do?" Kaito asks.

   "Purify the Drop of Fire!" I answer.

   "And after its done, I'll make pork cutlet!" Shiroya says.

   "YEAH! PORK CUTLET!"

   Once we had made it across the Sea of Lapis, we all stood in front of the temple which held the Drop of Fire. I look up at the building with a sigh. I'm a bit nervous, but this is my mission as an Unmei descendant. I nod with a smile and turn to look over everyone. I glance over at Ran to see him with crossed arms and a sad look on his face.

   'I was too rough, wasn't I..?'

   "Hey Ra-" "Edith!" Shiroya yells, keeping me from getting Ran's attention. Roya tugs on my sleeve to turn me around. I put a smile on my face and push away the feeling of guilt inside my chest.

   "Do you think when you purify the Drop of Fire if it'll cool off here?" He asks.

   "Well, I sure hope so. I bet everyone would enjoy the cool." I say. Shiroya smiles widely before wrapping his arms around me. "Roya?"

   "You look anxious about something, so maybe this'll cheer you up." He explains stepping back from me.

   "Thanks, Roya." I smile. I glance around the group and meet Kikyo's eyes. He sends me a smile before turning away and back to Rindoh.

   When we all step inside the temple, the sight is awful. The Drop of Fire, which is usually a beautiful vibrant red, is now clouded with black and there's black mist swirling around the symbol.

   "Oh no.." I mutter. All the mist and fog makes it difficult to breathe.

   "We need to hurry." Shiroya says worriedly. Mika and I nod at him before moving closer to the symbol.

  "Let's look over the scroll one more time," I say pulling the roll paper from my circular pouch strapped to my thigh and unrolling it in between me and Mika.

   This scroll has been passed down through generations even before our grandmother, Princess Unmei. Written in it was our destiny and our mission to save the island. The directions for the purifications were here as well.

   "Girls!" Yayoi shouts grabbing our attention. The mist that was filling the room slowly started to form into shapes; some were human-like, others like beasts. Either way, it was terrifying.

  "So, these are Ayakashis.." Ran smirks and readied his claws. I smile and offer a hand to Mika.

   "You ready?" Mika smiled and took my hand with a nod.

  "We'll fend off the ayakashis. You two focus on the purification." Kiku says drawing his curved knives. Once everyone started fighting, Mika and I sit on our knees, gripping each of our jewels tightly. Over the years, we had been taught a verse to chant for the stones to charge for us to use them.

   Mika and I sit across from each other and softly chant the words together as our stones begin to glow.

   "Does anyone else find it strange that these creatures are able to enter such a sacred place?" Kikyo asks.

   "I agree. The purity that this air normally has should have been enough to keep them at bay." Yayoi agrees. "Perhaps some investigation is in order." I try to block out their voices as I focus on chanting the hymn.

   "Hey! Look out!" I hear causing my eyes to open suddenly. I then see two ayakashis rushing at Mika and I. I quickly draw my short sword, prepared to fight off the beast. At the same time, Mikaela readied her bladed fan.

   "We can block this!" We shout simultaneously. During the ritual, our speech and even our thoughts will align. It's almost as if we were one person.

   Before we are able to fight, however, something, or two someone's swoop in and strike them down before us.

   "Don't you two worry." Ran says with a wink.

   "We'll protect you no matter what." Kiku adds with a smile.

   The two return to fighting and I watch Ran briefly. 'It's good to see him smiling again. He must really enjoy fighting.' I watch him as he strikes down monster after monster all with his charming grin on his face. I shake my head gently and look to Mika again only to see her staring at Kiku with pink cheeks. I reach forward and shake her shoulders gently.

   "Hey! Earth to Mika!" I shout. She turns back to me and squeezes her eyes closed.

   "S-sorry!" She says as her stones starts flowing again. I close my eyes as well and mine glows too.

   'It's charged completely, now.' I reach my hand toward Mika and she does the same. Right before our hands touch, a strong pair of arms wraps around my waist and pulls me away from my cousin. My eyes shoot open to see another ayakashi trying to attack the two of us, but whoever had pulled me away saved me from being hurt. I look behind me to see Ran's worried face.

   "Thanks." I say with a smile. 'That was too close.'

   I scramble from Ran's arms and toward Mika. "Mika now!" I shout reaching toward her. As soon as our hands meet, the room is filled with a brilliant, sparkling light and everything goes quiet.