Other Side of the Page: Chapter 21

Kaydence and I sat in our room, reading over the Book of the Orochi to learn more about Sukooru and her family of power-lusting demons when we stumbled across an account of her uncle Yuki.  1

“Oh my Chaos.  It would appear that Yuki and Argus had a run-in with each other once upon a time.  Kayde…this is a whole new ballgame now.”2

“What do you mean?  Argus met Yuki?  So I suppose it isn’t that farfetched that he teamed up with Sukooru and Matori.”3

“No.  I’m not just talking about Argus teaming up with the Orochi clan.  I’m talking about Damien.  Yuki fell in love with a human woman.  None of the Orochi could understand why or how.  They all cast him out for it.  He was laughed at and looked down upon simply for having feelings of love for a woman.  Just because she was human!  Her name was Mamimi.  Well, Yuki brought her in one day and it was pouring outside.  Mamimi was in labor, and after hospitals found out who Yuki was, they wouldn’t take her.  So he brought her to the castle.  Matori took pity on her because she knew the truth about the baby.  Yuki had said that it was his, that nothing had happened to Mamimi, but Matori knew otherwise.  Mamimi was raped, and the child wasn’t Yuki’s, but Yuki knew that if he told Yamatano or Matori, that they wouldn’t allow the child to be born.  As long as they thought it was his, the child would be safe from their tortures.  But it wasn’t his.  The child was born, and what a set of lungs it had!  Sukooru was quoted on telling of how loud the child was growing up.  The child spent a number of years there in the castle, growing up with his would-be cousin Sukooru.”4

“Let me guess.”5

“The child whose hair is the blackest of black, and whose eyes were the reddest of the red fire was taught the ways of the flame.  He was taught to control his power, but the Orochi could not teach him to harness his anger.  It was said that such anger would have destroyed lesser men.  Rumors carried that the child had inherited the temper from his father.  And Yuki wasn’t the angry type.  So the Orochi set out to get the truth from the couple.  Eventually, the lies were cast away and the child was found out to be the son of a fire demon who had raped Mamimi.  The fire demon was Argus.”6

“And the child was Damien?”7

“You’re damn right.  But this book must be off by a few hundred years!  It says here that the child was born in the mid-eighteen hundreds, and that he was born with Yamatano as a witness!  He was born in the midst of a war, and grew up to battle for his king in that war.  But it was suspected he was a traitor when he was seen with a neighboring kingdom’s prince and the Black Knight was thrown out of his own kingdom.  Still, rumors were spread that reached the Orochi clan about a young man who was able to slay whole armies by himself.”8

“Holy shit!”9

“Far from holy, Kaydence.  We need to talk to Damien and find out the rest of this story!”10

I flipped back a few pages, looking over Yuki’s history again.11

“It says here that Yuki was killed for trying to weaken the bloodline, and years later Mamimi was killed as well.  Apparently Argus found out about Damien.  She refused to help Argus find his son and she was killed for it.”12

“My God!  So much death!”13

I nodded, giving a shrug.14

“I know.  But you must remember, this was a different time apparently.  Back then life wasn’t as valued as it is now.  Apparently Argus had formed a pact with the Orochi clan once before.  Back then when Yamatano was still around Argus’ presence in Tokyo was greatly protested.  Yamatano didn’t like the pact that was made with Argus.  Yamatano hated Argus with a passion.”15

“Does it say why?”16

“No.  I’m afraid that is a question only Argus can answer.  I mean Argus’ pact with the Orochi came before he raped Mamimi so I do not understand the reason for the hatred between he and Yamatano.”17

“So it would appear that even this book leaves the proverbial cheese to be Swiss.”18

“Yes, indeed; there are still holes in the timeline that must be filled in order for us to fully understand all of what happened back then.  Perhaps a full understanding of their pasts can help us defeat them.  And I believe a good place to try and start filling those holes is with Damien.  Obviously there are records of his presence in the eighteen hundreds, though I do not know how that could be.”19

I closed the book and stood up, pacing around the room before Kaydence came up with an answer.20

“Maybe Matori has a hand to play in that part of history as well.  I mean you just said that Argus had formed a pact with the Orochi clan before, regardless of Yamatano’s objections.  Could it be possible that she cast the same spell on Argus that she used on herself and Sukooru, along with the rest of the Orochi?”21

“No, that isn’t possible.  The records state that she didn’t have that power until AFTER Yamatano was gone.”22

“Maybe she didn’t perfect it until after he was gone.  She could have been working on it in her spare time or something.  Maybe Argus was her first test subject and that was the reason Yamatano allowed the pact to be formed with him.  For reasons involving observation of Argus, is that so far-fetched?  Yamatano allowed the pact to be formed with Argus to keep him close-by, to keep an eye on his wife’s first subject in the hopes that he could one day be endowed with that same spell himself.”23

My jaw dropped and I just stood there looking at her.  Her powers of deduction right then would have challenged the great detective himself!  Yes, there was no denying it, Johnny would have been proud to see her right then.  She just smiled, looking at the expression on my face.24

“I take it that means you think it was plausible.”25

“Plausible, yes.  Until we have the records or testimony to back it up.  But I must admit…it sounds like a good solution to that particular wrinkle in the fabric of the timeline.  So tell me something.  Why aren’t you ever this smart when we’re talking on the phone back at home?”26

She just shrugged, smiling.  Akira started wailing and she got up to go to the crib and check on him.27

“You were always the brains of the operation.  Maybe you’re just going soft.”28

“Going soft?”29

I couldn’t believe it.  Usually my mind was sharp as a tack; a trait that came from hanging around Johnny for too long.  I sat down on the bed, still a little in shock of all of it.  But nonetheless, she had come up with a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.  I just smiled.30

“Not bad, Kayde-babe.  Not bad at all.  But what do you mean by that comment about going soft?  I’m always one to give it my all and you know that!”31

She set Akira back down in the crib after cooing him silent and made her way over to me.  Still sitting on the bed, I backed up just a bit, raising a brow to her, trying to read her mind.  But of course, that was impossible.  I’m no mind reader.  And besides, you tell me what a dead person is thinking and I’ll tell you you’re insane.  32

“Giving it your all?  Well, my little necromancer, I’m not one to argue with you on that one.  I can attest to your efforts myself.”33

She proceeded to kneel over my lap, placing a hand on my shoulder.34

“However…I would like some proof.”35

I smiled, shaking my head as I looked away.  Sure, why not?36

“What about Akira?  You’re going to have to keep quiet.  And I know how terrible you are at that.”37

She got up with a smile and went to the baby bag to pull out a baby monitor.  Placing the transmitter in the crib, she slipped the receiver into her pocket.38

“Well, then I guess we’ll just have to take this somewhere else?  Perhaps the lobby would be a better place?”39

I just shook my head, getting up and following her to the door of our room.40

“You know me.  Never the one to disappoint an audience.”41