The Other World

Chapter 21 - One From Two

Chapter 21 - One From Two

A drop of blood ran down the curved edge of the blade, hit the handle, and fell to the ground. The ground rumbled. Chihiro let go of the dagger as if it had burned her hand, eyes wide and gasping. She took a step back and stumbled, almost falling over the uneven ground before Haku caught her by a thin wrist. She stared in shock at the inch of black glass knife protruding from the front of Haku chest.

Haku, what's happened? Lin's voice asked. The bridges are splintering.

Haku knew that the only reason he hadn't bled out immediately was that the knife was firmly lodged and keeping the blood inside his body. Obsidian, which was formed from the blood of the earth, was one of the few non-magical things able to kill a spirit. He had very little time. But blood had hit the ground, and already the worlds were responding. Chihiro needed to stay calm so that she would understand what she needed to do next. He gently pulled Chihiro into an embrace, carefully avoiding the knife. She slowly relaxed. Haku closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing and slow his heart rate. With every beat, blood was being pumped out of his veins.

How long do we have? Haku asked.

Two minutes.

The eagle flew down from the sky and turned into the dark-skinned guardian of the Gate. He landed lightly on his feet and took the long knife from the boy. Then he whirled around and pointed it at the still trembling Chihiro. "Are you the real one?" he demanded. "Tell me why I should not kill you."

"Stop that, Yauxal," Haku said wearily. "You're frightening her," .

"I'm frightening her!" the eagle spirit exclaimed. Still, he slowly lowered the knife, still watching Chihiro with suspicion.

"It's okay," Haku murmured, and softly kissed the top of her head. Chihiro rested her cheek on Haku's shoulder. He was so warm. She could feel Haku shaking and his heart pounding. Somehow, knowing that he was scared as well calmed her.

"Let's do what we came here to do," Haku murmured into her hair. He spoke slowly and softly. She needed to believe that everything was okay, to trust him. He wanted desperately to know what had happened to her, if she was okay, whether she remembered him, whether it had been worth it. But there was no time left. "We need a little bit of your blood, okay?" Chihiro stiffened a little. "Don't worry," Haku said, and held her for a few agonizing seconds until she relaxed and nodded.

Lin, he thought, is everything ready?

Yes, go ahead, Lin said.

Fujisan hurried toward them across the rocks, looking worried, but Haku shook his head at him.

With one arm still around Chihiro, Haku led her up to the stone altar. The boy that had fought with them stood across from them. Yauxal handed the knife back to him. Without hesitation, the boy made a shallow slash across each of his palms, letting the blood fall onto the altar. Like Risuni, he had been waiting for this his whole life. He passed the knife to Haku. Haku squeezed Chihiro lightly, and then took her right hand and cut across the palm of it with the knife. He quickly did the same to his left and held their hands above the stone. The red droplets hissed as they hit the surface.

"It is done," Haku said.

It is done, Lin agreed. At the various Gates around the world, spirits, humans, and their offspring repeated the phrase and let their blood fall onto holy ground. Generations of children of both spirits and humans had patiently guarded their mixed-blood heritage for centuries. Lives, willingly given, had strengthened the connection between the worlds, and now blood and intent would bind them together until humans and spirits learned to truly live together again.