Haku woke with a start. He blinked in the gloom and allowed his eyes to adjust. He ached all over and having his hands pinned to the wall above his head was less than comfortable. At least he could sit down, but he could not stand. He had been in this position for over four days; it hurt but it was bearable.

He had already counted the black stone blocks the walls were made up of six times; he had counted as high he could before he lost concentration or indeed consciousness. If he could remember what he got up to he would try to beak his record, if not he would start again anyway. He was incredibly bored. He usually had so much going on the back of his mind through his connection with his river but now he was cut off from it he was at the ultimate loose end.

He looked around his cell again; four black stone walls and a sand floor. The chains around his wrists were inlaid with obsidian of the highest quality. The spells on it had been cast by a master and prevented him from using any of his power. But being cut off from his river and his mate hurt even more than the cramp in his arms and the gaping wounds on his head and in his abdomen.

He growled to himself as he remembered the iso flax net that that one of the mercenaries had thrown over him, immediately weakening him. If he had been in top condition he could have shaken off the artefact easily. The insidious plant the net was made from could be as powerful as chloroform was to a human when it touched a dragon's scales. Thus dragon kind destroyed the plant whenever they found it. He had thought it extinct; someone must have had that net hidden away for the best part of a thousand years.

In the state he had been, the net had slowed him down long enough for an air spirit to find an opening and tear at his underbelly with its claws. While he ripped the spirit's throat out, another spirit hit him on the crown of his head with a war hammer. He knew he was too weak to fight on and win, so before the spirit hit him again he released the last of his power, just enough to protect his mate and maintain the opening to the spirit world he had created for her. After that he had passed out.

When he had woken, very surprised that he was still alive, he was still bleeding and he had reverted to his human form. He did not remember much except he was in this cell, tied up and Yubaba had been there gloating. He had been too light-headed and in too much pain to pay much attention to her, but he had nearly taken her hand off when she got too close. He was kind of glad he had not; he did not really want to know what the hag tasted like.

She had said something like he was going to be kept there until the separation from his river and mate drove him mad and killed him. Haku may have felt little better than pond scum at that moment but he was not about to roll over and die just yet. It would have been too much of an effort for him at that moment anyway. The gash in his stomach was slowly healing but the wound on his head was more serious. Dried blood still crusted on his face and it still bled occasionally. He was sure it was responsible for his occasional blackouts and nausea. Not that they were feeding him anyway, but his stomach seemed to have missed that detail when it made him retch for the fifth time that day. He thought he might have a skull fracture.

If he could have used his power he would have healed himself in days. But he had to rely on his body to sort itself out; it was a good strong body, he had constructed it well and it would eventually heal. He had been in a blood hazed rage when he first came back to himself fully two days previously, but it was too much effort to keep up. Now he just sat quietly and counted stones and numbers in his head, he had considered counting grains of sand but the tended to shift in the breeze from the tiny window above him. The dry air and sand only made him more uncomfortable; he was a water spirit and this was like a personal hell for him.

His heart ached constantly with worry for his mate. She would be back by now. How would she react when she realised he had been captured? If she had any sense she would run the bathhouse for him and wait for him to escape. Knowing his mate as he did, however, he knew she would probably take a few days to get over the trauma and then cook up some scheme with her accursed sisters and try to rescue him. He wanted to tell her to stay where she was, that he loved her and that he would find a way out. But he could not; the connection between them had almost been severed the moment the chains were put on him. Almost; he was still vaguely aware of her; she was far away and that was all he could tell, but if the connection was still there that meant the barrier spell in the chains had a weakness.

Haku kept trying to break the spells but they were like the iso flax net; they sapped his strength every time he tried it. They were strong and almost imposable to break. The spell literally wove an impenetrable barrier around his power, but it was not perfect.

As with anything woven, there were weaker areas. Haku thought that if he picked at the edges enough he may be able to unpick the weave enough to get some of his power through. So apart from counting, that was how he occupied himself; he weakly tugged at the fabric of the spells that held him. Every day he got a tiny bit stronger and every day his work on the spells seemed to progress a little bit further.

"It happened just before the bathhouse was built," said Zeniba into her cup. "Humans have always wondered into this world on occasion but I did not expect to encounter one myself. I was walking in the woods near the border when I saw him..." She sighed and put her cup down. "I knew he was human immediately, but despite the smell I thought he was the most beautiful creature I had ever beheld. I was young looking back then too; long blond hair and a tiny waist." She cackled to herself. "He did not stand a chance, really."

"You mated with a human?" said Linca in awe. "I mean if you were a spirit that traditionally associated with them or had some connection to their world..." she trailed off. "Not that I can't understand the attraction, I've had at least twenty of them! Picking up a wonderer and seducing him is classy."

Rin rolled her eyes. "I could never allow myself to fall for a creature with such a brief existence," she murmured and then blushed. "No offence, Chihiro."

"None taken," whispered the human. Zeniba had given her the lock of hair that Haku had cut from his head before the battle. She held it in her hand stroking it inside her pocket.

"So soft," she thought absently, then brought her attention back to the witch.

"My lover did not want to be bonded to this world; he was an eldest son and had a family to care for in the other world. So we conducted our affair when the border was open. After the spring equinox I discovered I was pregnant. I told him at the summer solstice and we both cried tears of joy. Again I asked him to bond to this world and perhaps, in time become my life mate. He refused." She sighed. "I was a little heartbroken but understood his loyalty to his family; he was head of the household; they would be destitute without him as there were no other male heirs. 10 months later I gave birth alone to a baby girl. She was my pride and joy, I could not wait to show her to her father; even my sister was enchanted with her and took her role as aunt very seriously." Zeniba smiled wistfully. "At the equinox, he came and saw her. We lived together for two weeks in family bliss, then the day came he was due to return. I awoke to find both him and my daughter gone."

"What!" squeaked Linca.

"Oh, he left me a note," said Zeniba sarcastically. "He said that he thought his daughter would be better off with him and he was going to raise her in the human world."

"Was that all?" whispered Rin.

"Goodbye, wish things could have been different," said the witch. "I was grief-stricken, then my sister, who was really no less affected, talked me into stealing her back. With our combined power, I travelled to the human world. It took me two years to track him down. He and his family had fled to Hokkaido with her and he had married and had other children. I planned to take her but in the end, I could not, she had a woman she called 'mother' and a father she did not remember me. She was ageing quite quickly; she looked around five years old already; but I knew this would slow down when she matured, she was beautiful. I knew she would outlive all her younger siblings as any half spirit would. It was going to be a very hard road for her growing up among people who did not know her true nature. She would have no understanding of her mixed blood and how it would mark her as different from other humans. I decided to keep an eye on her. So four times a year I travelled to the human world to check on her. She grew to be a beautiful but troubled young woman; her family saw her marry well into a landed family thus elevating her station. She had six children, three of whom died before they were five years old. Her remaining children grew up and her family started to die around her. When her own children started to die of old age I saw her distress; she looked around fifty though she was in her eighties. I thought it too late to intervene, to tell her what she was and that this was normal.

"By this time the bathhouse was built and the witch sisters had been punished for their arrogance before the gods." The Goddess rolled her violet eyes but said nothing. "I was ashamed of what I had become and for not protecting my daughter in the first place. I watched her suffer. As her great great grandchildren started to mature she had had enough. Convinced she was cursed, she committed suicide around the time of the Meiji revolution."

The silence in the room was absolute.

"I grieved for her, but I knew she had many grandchildren who would also have problems being part spirit. I watched and subtly guided her brood. Some even managed to stumble into the spirit world. Your grandmother included, Chihiro. I helped her get home despite wishing I could keep her with me; she looked so much like my daughter it nearly broke my heart. I could hardly believe it when your family stumbled into this world Chihiro. At first I did not want to be involved; you had infringed spirit world law and I could not overturn that. Besides I had a dragon to gut for theft.

"But you shook me from my self imposed confinement and made me become involved. You look like my daughter; I could not help but love you when you came begging me on Haku's behalf. I also saw how things were with you and the dragon and alarm bells started to ring. The prophecy is very ancient but it is very specific about a human/dragon relationship. I decided that if such a thing came to pass I would do all in my power to help you. Maybe that way I could atone for abandoning my daughter."

Chihiro could hardly speak. The witch had been through so much. She marched around the table to the witch. She stood before the crone, arms folded.

"I would have told you but there never seemed to be a right moment and you seemed so happy I did not want to burden you with my past," whispered Zeniba.

Chihiro slipped her arms around the witch and hugged her tightly.

"I love you, granny," she whispered. Zeniba wept at her words.

The goddess cleared her throat impatiently. "As much as I hate to break up this touching reunion between Grandmother and twelve times removed Granddaughter..." Chihiro looked up at the slightly peeved deity. "My time is limited; I have a "brat" now, remember!" Chihiro smiled, she could not help it.

"How is he?"

"Growing and eating solids already. He is speaking too. It seems his father has been broadening his vocabulary when I am not around; some of the things he says are quite shocking." The Goddess laced her fingers together before her and was suddenly all business.

"Which leads me to why I am here. I want my son to have the opportunity to grow up in a world that is not in turmoil. So I am going to help you instead of smiting you for your insolence like I should." Chihiro sat back down.

"Tell me this prophecy and I can get an idea about what I have to do," said Chihiro with a sigh.

"It's not that simple," said the Goddess. "There are rules. I cannot just tell you the prophecy; what good would that do? No, you must discover it for yourself; the journey is as important as the destination," said the Goddess cryptically. Chihiro's face fell.

"I can give you a hint," said the Goddess more brightly. "The one who foretold your destiny still lives and only he can help you."

"And who might that be?" asked the human tiredly. She got the feeling she was going to have to start writing everything down; things were getting more complex by the second.

The goddess threw her head back and sang in a sweet if slightly shaky voice.

"By a tree, near a river is a hole in the ground,

Where an old man of Arron walks around and around.

In his mind he is everywhere with no time or no night,

He cannot tell the difference twixt the wrong and the right."

"Huh?" said Linca.

"The old man of Arron prophesied Chihiro's fate. Find him and he will tell you what he saw for her."

"That's not fair!" protested the sprite. "Yubaba has probably blabbed what she knows to her allies by now, but we have to go and find some bonkers old spirit who walks in circles for a living and sees the future but does not know it?"

"Life is unfair," countered the Goddess. "As a displaced land spirit I would have thought you would be aware of this. If Yubaba has enlightened someone about the prophecy she has done so under strong magic. A vow of secrecy is not an easy thing to break, especially when it was to me the witch sisters swore."

"Fine," said Linca. "So to even be on a level footing with the bastards that attacked this place Chihiro has to discover the prophecy and then fulfil it?" The spirit sounded incensed.

"She will not have to do it alone, and the old man of Arron is not hard to find. The hole he wanders around in the song happens to be the biggest chasm in the spirit world."

"Yumulk gap," said Linca incredulously. "It will take three weeks to get there on foot! Humans can't fly!" The Lady held up her hand and Linca fell silent realising she had been speaking very freely before the deity.

"Finding the old man is neither here nor there at the moment. Chihiro is already marked that she is on a holy quest. Now she must choose three other people to inspire it."

"What?" Said Chihiro a bit baffled.

"Pick who you wish to go with you," said the goddess. "Three companions for you are traditional. You can gather others to you as you travel." The goddess sat forward. "Choose wisely."

"This could take some time," Chihiro murmured. She was about to start calculating the merits of her acquaintances when her ears were assaulted in stereo by her sisters shouting.

"I'M GOING!"

Chihiro smiled. "Don't I have a say in this?"

"NO," came the reply. Her sisters stared at her with such determination that Chihiro dare not refuse them.

"Who will look after the bathhouse?" she murmured.

"I will," said Zeniba. "So you have nothing to worry about."

"You need one more," said the goddess quietly. Chihiro bit her lip.

"Who else?" she wondered. "Kamaji? No, he'd never want to go. Bee-la? No, he is needed here." She was mulling it over when a paw fell on her shoulder.

"Mistress?"

"What is it, Meeka?" asked Chihiro. The spirit stood before her, then fell to her knees, hands clasped before her.

"Pick me, mistress. I beg you! I may be a low spirit and I may have little aptitude for fighting but who will tend to your needs when you travel if not me? There is master Haku's child to think about also; I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you, mistress." The yellow feline eyes looked at the floor and the ginger ears flattened themselves against the spirit's head.

Chihiro swallowed the lump in her throat and almost said yes, but she knew in her heart she could not. She stood and rested her hand on the cat spirit's head, just as Haku had done when he made the spirit Chihiro's servant. The ginger fur was soft and warm, just like a cat's. Chihiro resisted the urge to pet her knowing it would be taken as in insult by the proud little spirit.

"Meeka of the Izu Forest. You have served both myself and my mate well. I have been more than recompensed for your transgression against me. Now in my mate's name, I release you from my service before the allotted term of a year and a day."

Chihiro had no idea if she had said the right thing but she put as much of her will behind the words as she could. She was Haku's mate and whatever he bound she had the right to break. There was a flash of white light and then Meeka was knelt before her wearing a serviceable green kimono she had worn before she was made Chihiro's bondservant.

"Mistress!" Meeka breathed, her yellow eyes round with wonder.

"Not any more," Chihiro smiled at her. "To you now I'm just 'Chihiro', but as your friend, I wish to ask you a favour."

"Anything!" the wood spirit breathed.

"Take Rin's place as head of the domestic staff while she is gone." Meeka bowed so her forehead touched the floor.

"It would be an honour, mistress."

"Chihiro," corrected Chihiro. "Zeniba will need all the help she can get to repair the bathhouse and make it fit for business again. It has a vital role it will need to reopen soon or spirits will have to travel hundreds of miles to find a place to replenish themselves. I leave Zeniba in your care." The wood spirit bowed again.

"Well, come on!" complained Linca. "Put us out of our misery! Who will be number three?"

Chihiro turned to the Goddess.

"Does it have to be someone in the bathhouse?" she asked.

"No," replied the deity.

Chihiro pursed her lips and then asked.

"Do they have to be in the spirit world?" The Goddess frowned.

"It's a little irregular but as you are human I think it would be allowed. The law does not say it cannot be a human. I can bond them temporally under such circumstances. However, if you are thinking of picking one of your parents I would advise you against it, you need people with skills."

Chihiro considered at the goddess's words but her parents had never really entered her thoughts about the quest. Her mind was already made up.

"Don't even think about it, Chihiro!" said Linca. "I know he was in the army for a time but he really would not..."

"He'll be fine," snapped Chihiro, and looked levelly at the goddess's her brown eyes, hard and determined.

"I choose Scott," she announced. "I hope he forgives me for dragging him into all this but I need him."

"Well," said Linca with a small frown. "This will make things interesting. The poor boy lusted after you for weeks only to get knocked back. Now you're going to drag him into a world he knows nothing about to start on a quest to save said world and your mate."

"Yes," sighed Chihiro.

"That's just cruel," said Linca, her smile fading and she folded her arms. "Why not just give the boy a paper cut and rub salt in it! It would have the same affect! He has his pride you know!"

Chihiro put her hands on her hips and felt the marks on her arms throb. This was the right person to chose, some deep instinct told her that it was. She could not afford to take into account male pride and fair play. This was more important. She eyed the blue skinned spirit and glared at her angry white eyes and firm set mouth.

"If you want to come, Linca, you are going to have to do things my way, sister. I don't have to justify my decision to you but as Scott was a good friend of yours I will do so."

Linca's eyes widened at Chihiro's tone but she said nothing.

"Do you know how to find food in the wilderness? Do you know how to build shelter so you stay warm and dry at night? Do you know how to purify water?" Do you know how to navigate without a map?"

"This is the spirit world, Chihiro, not the human world! This world is not the same and things such as clean water do not concern me..."

"They concern me!" snapped Chihiro. "I am human and can easily die from impure water. This world is not so different from the human world. There are woods, hills, forest, mountains and deserts. I need to know how to survive, who knows where these will take me." She indicated to the marks on her arms. "What's more I'm pregnant, which means the clock is ticking before I'm too fat to be of any use. We both know that Scott has had survival training, he told us himself. He went climbing mountains in his spare time and spent two years in the infantry and was going to become an officer."

"Yes and he left because he broke both his legs out on exercise, he may not even be fit enough for all this!" yelled Linca

"He can help us," Said Chihiro stubbornly. "We have to do this as quickly as we can, we need him. Even if he does not know this world he will adjust I'm sure. He was the only human who ever believed that I had been to the spirit world. Rin, you and I can help him adapt after he is bonded."

Linca sighed, defeated.

"Well when you put it that way, I guess you are right. I don't know how to keep a human alive on a long arduous journey. Rin and I can go for weeks without food if we have to and if we are travelling fast that means travailing light and limited food rations for us. I did not think things through and as you pointed out, you'll be eating for two. I'm sorry I accused you of choosing him frivolously." Chihiro nodded to her penitent sister.

"You were only defending your friend; I won't get angry at you for doing that," she mumbled and turned to the lady.

"I choose Scott Mulvey."

The Goddess smiled.

"I've already sent someone to get him."