Her destination, apparently, was the yawning darkness at the end of the stairs. There was a flicker of light within, but it was erratic and wavering. Not exactly inspiring confidence. But this was a crossroads: she could descend, and find her weapon... whatever that meant.
Or she could go back, and sleep. Possibly forever.
She took a deep breath and tasted salt.
Slowly, slowly, Madison descended the stairs, her mouth suddenly dry with nervousness. This kind of place, so remote and silent, was exactly the type of place she'd expect to find monsters. There'd been a sea monster at the last beach she'd visited, impossibly long of both body and fang.
But Caelius' voice echoed through her memory. It is your fears that will defeat you. Fear is only fear when you do not understand it. Knowledge is power, skill is power, surviving is power.
Understand your fears and you will understand what it is to be a Hunter.
Madison squared her shoulders, swallowed, and darted down the remaining stairs, heedless of danger. "I'm not scared, I'm not scared, I'm not-"
The stairs ran out, and she nearly tripped, her footsteps ringing in the surprisingly small space. It was not the cave she'd imagined; there were no dripping stalactites hanging over her like teeth. Instead, there was just a small chamber, the size of her own room back in the dorms, lit by the flickering light of a single torch. The walls were covered in palm-sized stones, each marked with some sort of... writing? Images? A faint whispering brushed the edges of her hearing.
And that was all. There were no weapons. Nothing.
Her throat tightened as tears threatened to rise. Was she in the wrong place? Had she made a wrong turn somewhere, or missed a fork in the path that led her here? Was this just one more sign that she wasn't at all suited to being a Hunter?
Maybe it's another test. She wiped at her eyes angrily and squared her shoulders once more. It would be just like Caelius to make this a test, too. Some kind of puzzle, perhaps? She strode over to one wall and stared at the stones. The faintly-glowing markings weren't writing, she realized. They were stylized weapons, etched into the surface of each stone.
A puzzle, then? Madison reached out to a stone at random, marked with a single curving blade, but it glowed hotly at her approaching fingers. The message was as clear as if the stone had grown a mouth and spoken to her, and she backed off quickly. The odd whispering rose around her. Was it laughing at her?
"Okay, okay, geez! You don't have to be such a jerk!"
Maybe it was only her imagination, but it seemed like the whispering backed off, just a little. Madison swallowed and turned, scanning the stones, keeping her hands clasped behind her back this time. There were swords in many different shapes, more than she'd known existed. There were axes, spears, bows, those stupid nunny-chuck things she'd had during the test. A few stones were even marked with guns and other, more modern weaponry. She couldn't name half of them, and there was no obvious pattern or answer in their placement.
No. She wasn't going to get frustrated yet. She clenched her fists, hard, fingernails biting into her palms. "Okay, okay - think, Maddie, think." The sound of her voice overrode that endless damn whispering, giving her space to think. "Weapons. Weapons. I need to find my weapon..." Her mind raced. What had she picked up in the dream? "Blades. Knives? Swords? Swords are longer than knives, right? More than one sword..."
As she tried to envision the weapons that had fit so perfectly into her hands, something changed. One of the stones on the wall behind her was starting to glow more brightly, she realized, pivoting on one foot to face it. It was set higher up on the wall, above her eye level, but still reachable if she stood on her tiptoes. If she craned her neck, she could barely make out the picture carved onto it: swords. More than one; she couldn't tell how many, but they were crossed in the center.
She reached up, tentatively, ready to jerk her hand away if she was wrong. But no searing heat met her fingertips, and as she tapped the stone, it tilted forward into her palm. Startled, she closed her fingers around it.
Hajimemashite.
The voice echoed through her thoughts - not one voice, but many, as if a small group of men were speaking to her in perfect unison. Madison rocked back on her heels and opened her hand, revealing the stone within. The picture on it was glowing fiercely now, without heat, and as she watched the image of blades shifted to something more organic, more flowing.
Snakes-A sudden flash of light threw every shadow into sharp relief. Madison was dimly aware of crying out; something was in her head, an insistent presence that burrowed into her thoughts. The torchlit room slid away like mist, and she was held fast in the grip of scaly coils, a massive serpentine form twined lightly around her waist, crushing power currently at rest.
Eight yellow eyes regarded her.
You were expecting to find a monster, were you not? The voices spoke carefully, every syllable expressed with precision, and yet they were jovial and warm in her mind. We are your monster, and you are our human. You dreamt of us; we dreamt of you. Is it not right that we should be together?
And then she was in the room again, on her knees, with no light except the flickering torch, no sound except the pounding of her own heart. She was, she realized, hugging something to her chest.
Several somethings.
Madison took a long, shaky breath, then looked down at her new burden. There were four - four?! - swords cradled in her arms, identical blades with a very slight curve to them, each seated in a scabbard. A curve of leather linked all four scabbards together.
We told you. Madison jumped as the voices slid effortlessly through her mind, rich with pride. We are your monster, and you are our human. Our Hunter, and we are your weapon. We are Kouki-sama, tsumata-no-orochi. Are we not magnificent?
Madison stared at the swords. The feeling of something else talking to her in her head was... strange, but not unpleasant. The creature's presence was heavy in her mind, but not overwhelming; more reassuring than frightening. As if there had always been a place there for it, a place that had been empty and wanting until now.
"Yes. You're beautiful," she breathed, shifting, slowly rising to her feet. The sword-belt fit around her waist as if it had been designed for her and her alone, two swords perfectly balanced on each hip. She flexed the fingers of her right hand, wonderingly, then reached for a single blade. Her touch was tentative at first, but as she gripped the leather-wrapped hilt everything fell into place. It felt right - exactly as it had in her dream.
Right. Powerful. Hers. At last, at last, something that was really hers, and hers alone.
She drew the sword with infinite care, marveling at the way the blade gleamed in the torchlight, fascinated by the wavy pattern in the metal. A sense of satisfaction rose in her, the emotion oddly twinned. She wasn't the only one who was pleased with the pairing.
There, now. Shall we depart, Madison?
Somehow, she wasn't surprised that it - he - knew her name. Relief and euphoria flowed through her. She'd done it. She'd found her weapon. She wasn't a failure after all. "Yes. Let's go, Cookie."
There was a long pause as she sheathed the blade once more.
Kouki, the creature said at last, its tone petulant.
"Cookie," she repeated, carefully.
... We shall have to work on that.
