Curse of the Zodiac Serpent

“You’re awfully quiet now,” Kenji commented giving her a sideways glance.

Ayako couldn’t even crack a joke at this point. Her hands were still bound and he was leading her through this strange valley. She’d just left a shop of cursed pirates and was headed to meet some sort of snake god?

“This suddenly became all too real.” She muttered.

She could see the temple they were headed towards. The building was accented with carvings of serpents that wrapped around the tall pillars at its entrance.

The valley was tucked away in the centre of the island and was surrounded by mountains, one would never find this place unless you already knew about it. But their surroundings were quiet, eerily so. At first glance, you would think this place was abandoned but Ayako knew differently.

The subtle rustling of the leaves around her told her that they were not alone. The inhabitants were staying hidden, unseen and mostly unheard. They were clearly watching them as they moved through the winding paths.

Kenji didn’t stop as they reached the Tori gates to the temple that was their destination. Heading straight for the endless number of stairs that led up and to her unknown fate.

This hadn’t been what she expected, she thought she would be taken to a port where she would be sold off to the highest bidder, instead, this was like something out of a fairy tale. Her plans of escape falling down by the waist side. There were no other vessels that she could commandeer, she’d only seen the captain’s ship. Though it wasn’t entirely outlandish to try to escape on it, the snakes that would turn into men when the sun set did however pose a problem.

She wasn’t giving up hope, she just needed an ample opportunity to make a move. even if she had to craft a makeshift raft, she was going to live through this!

Her gaze reached upward, looking at the structure that was now towering above her. The temple itself was of an open plan, large square pillars lined the outskirts. No doors or walls on the outer ring. The shine at its centre was hidden from view by a large set of sliding doors. She assumed there were stairs to the upper floor behind those doors.

“Stay here!” He ordered sternly.

She remained silent as her gaze remained fixated on those doors.

He released his hold on her ropes and walked to the small offering box that was just outside the shrine entrance. Retrieving something from his pockets, likely a coin, he tossed it into the box before ringing the bell.

This was her chance.

She spun on her heels only to stop in her traps. A figure in a white hooded robe stood at the top of the stairs, her way down. Where did they come from? It didn’t matter, she ran for the cover of the leafy foliage to the right of the temple, she didn’t need stairs to escape.

In a split second, the way went from clear to obstructed. She collided with another figure in the same rope as at the stairs. How many of these guys were there? The newcomer grabbed for her ropes, but she’d already undone the knot. Her hands slipped free and she attempted to sidestep around the body stopping her. In the corner of her eye, she could see that the stairs were now clear, but that couldn’t be, no one could move that fast.

“Stop!”

The voice held a power to it she didn’t understand. Her body immediately jolted to a halt, frozen in time by a single command. She tried to resist whatever magic he was using on her but to no avail. Before she could fathom what had happened Kenji was trying the ropes around her wrists again while giving her a menacing scowl.

“Wouldn’t try to escape, huh?” He questioned mockingly.

Technically she hadn’t said she wouldn’t, however, she couldn’t even respond, her whole body was frozen in place unable to move. All she could manage was to move her eyes to look at the two as they began to converse. Her limbs started to burn from the position she was stuck in.

“You took your time.” The man in the white robe said.

“I’m from Singapore and you sent me after a Princess I didn’t even know was Japanese. Had to figure that part out on our own!” Kenji hissed back.

“And I recall that it was not my fault you ended up in this mess in the first place.” The man in the robe kept his head low, hiding his features. “You’re scrapping it thin.”

“I’m well aware, we even rigged the ship to sail during the day.”

The robed man laughed. “By yourself! That would be a sight.”

Kenji grunted. “It took some getting used to.”

“So this is she?”

“As far as I am aware, the emperor handed her over himself.”

“Did he really now? Interesting.” The man leant forward to study her more closely.

She caught sight of his tattooed complexion and pale skin, but his piercing red eyes stood out the most.

“Let’s get this over with.” Kenji injected.

“As you wish, bring her inside the shrine, we will perform the ritual.”

At his words her body was finally released, she gasped as her body lunged forward as though still in motion from before she had been stopped, but the newly tied ropes yanked her in the opposite direction and she was pulled toward the shrine.

Inside the shrine was a small altar surrounded by offerings such as golden artifacts and coins. The wall at the back of the complex was a painted mural, it depicted what appeared to be a race amongst animals.

“I came sixth.” The man informed as he noticed her studying it.

“That can’t be...” She frowned shaking her head. Sixth in the painting was a snake. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Her answer was a light chuckle, it sent her stomach into knots.

The robed man retrieved a shallow dish along with a rather sharp-looking ceremonial knife from the altar.

Then he turned to her.

All blood drained from her face as Kenji shoved her forward and the snake god grinned.