Song Choice: With or without you~ Amy Lee

Chapter Three: Cunnartach Cuanal (Dangerous Company)

Sweat collected at the base of Abhaya's neck until finally pooling over and rolling in between her breasts. Her fingers furiously stitched up the holes in the black fabric of Hiei's pants. Her work shop was still incredibly hot because of having to keep the forge at maximum heat. She sat at her desk, chocolate hair pulled back into a high ponytail. An uncharacteristic scowl seemed to be forever plastered on her face as she mentally kicked herself.

Abhaya silently wished she would have listened to Elias's protests. She wished she would have let the stupid demon die. Abhaya let out a small snarl, her brow twitching with irritation. Elias poked his head through the door, the moonlight turning his black hair silver. The fire light seemed to make his eyes a molten gold. "How's it coming?" He murmured, watching Abhaya behind worried eyes.

"Fine," She growled, leaning back into her chair at the oak desk beside her magical library.

Abhaya's hands ached, her back giving a sweet pop as she straightened it. She reached for her pipe and lifted it up to her mouth. Summoning a little elemental magick, she lit the herbs in the bowl and look a long drag. Elias sighed and sat down on his hind legs. "Are you so stressed that you must smoke to ease it?"

The herbal blend consisted of lavender, rose hips and mullein; a blend to ease anxiety. Abhaya gazed over at her apprentice, her face stoic in the fire light. "I'm sleeping with the eggs tonight. Someone needs to stay with them to keep them warm. In the morning you will take over for me," She said, her breath giving away to long swirls of smoke.

Abhaya enjoyed the way it smelled. However, when she suddenly thought of Nag Champa, her frown deepened. She could remember the same smell perfuming her mother's sari and how her mother would twist baby's breath into her hair when they had company over for dinner.

Abhaya's stomach dropped when she thought of her mother's eyes, warm and buttery lined with a heavy crescent of dark lashes, staring back at her. First alive and then with the film of death covering them like frost. "Abhaya, are you almost done with the demon's clothes?"

Both Elias and Abhaya had stopped calling Hiei by his name. They were both far too angry with him to give him any terms of endearment or name for that matter. "They are finished. I'll take them in soon."

"Are you planning on changing your clothes?"

Abhaya still wore the same loose blue pants and black tank top from earlier. Blood had dried into a crusty black line where Hiei had held her knife to her own neck. Abhaya stood up from her desk and gently folded his clothes. "Yes."

Abhaya gave a small shiver when the night air hit her skin; she welcomed it with open arms. The cold gave Abhaya comfort as she stared at the half moon that rose above the trees. A sense of calm slowly seeping into her as she stood there looking up at the night sky. She smiled at the moon, moving to the cabin.

The cabin was quiet as Abhaya entered, her feet giving the only sound as they padded against the floor boards. She sat the bundle of Hiei's clothes in front of the closed door which she was sure he resided in and went up the stairs to her own room.

The room was cluttered with magical items that were too valuable to keep in her workshop. To the right of the door was a small shrine. A purple cloth covered the pine of the small table. Two pictures, one of her mother and the other of her father, sat on either side of the shrine with a candle and a singing bowl in between them. A set of japa mala beads hung over her mother's picture and a thick crystal sword was mounted above the shine; her father's sword.

A feather bed sat near the large triangle shaped window, looking over the forest. Below the window was a small desk, cluttered with Elias's practice. From a small post to the left of the room sat a heavy purple cloak with runes embroidered in plum thread; the cloak was woven from thunderbird feathers and could withstand the harshest of conditions. Above the post was a mask made to look like the skull of a hawk. It was made from porcelain and demon ox bones grinded down to make a clay. Hawk feathers jutted out from behind the mask, each one fanning out and trailing down to cover hair.

Next to the cloak was a small dresser where Abhaya took out a pair of black cotton pants and a gray sports bra. Abhaya didn't care who saw her scars, the only thing she wanted was to be comfy. She ripped her clothes off, discarding them into a small basket next to the dresser, and put on the new clothes. Abhaya took down her hair, feeling it fall passed her waist and then padded down the stairs.

The night breeze ruffled Hiei's hair as he lounged in a towering oak. He could sense Abhaya moving down the stairs and slipping into the small corridor to her kitchen. Hiei rose an eyebrow as she came out of the door. He could see almost all of her scars in the moonlight. Over her left shoulder was a large bite mark, similar to his own. Below the bite were three claw marks that twisted around to the inside of her arm, twin long jagged slice marks dug into the sides of her ribs and crossed down her lower back only to disappear underneath the black fabric of her pants. The bells that wound around her ankles were sown into the skin of her lower calves. Her dark hair flew back from her left eye brow, showing a small scar that dug into the rise of the eye brow; stopping the growth of hair there.

Abhaya stretched her arms over her head, letting out a small grunt when her back popped into place. She smiled wearily and bounced back to her shop. Abhaya's hair danced around her, the small tendrils sweeping over her back. She felt Hiei's heat as soon as she reached the door to the small shack. "Your clothes are sitting by the door to your room," She said, not turning around.

Hiei eyed Abhaya, standing a few feet away from her with a frown. "What are the bells for?"

Abhaya slowly turned around, leaning against the door of the shack. She glared openly at Hiei, her mouth puckering into a chafed snarl. "None of your business," She said, turning back to the door.

Hiei scoffed, darting forward only to grab a fist full of her hair. Abhaya let out a small yelp of pain as Hiei pulled her close to him. His breath was hot on her face as he triumphantly stared into her eyes. Abhaya only glared back, her eyes filled with rage. "What do they do?"

Hiei's voice had dropped an octave, heat rippling off him like that of a forest fire. Abhaya was starting to hate the heat. Sweat had started to bead over her skin once more, her scalp going numb from constant tugging. Abhaya let out a small huff that was mixed with an annoyed growl. "Mind putting me down? You're too warm," She said, sleep trying to pull her under.

"Not until you answer me, woman."

"Tell me about what you encountered with the possession sigil and I will," She countered.

Hiei roughly grabbed her jaw, applying pressure so that Abhaya let out a small grunt of pain. On the inside of her lower lip was a small scar, nearly white against her naturally tanned skin. "You are in no place to talk," He snarled.

The bells around Abhaya's ankles shook uncontrollably as her anger rose. "Let me go," She growled into his hand.

An amused smirk tugged at Hiei's lips, his eyes gleamed with mockery. "No."

"Last warning, Hiei."

Hiei grinned. "What do you plan to do, woman?"

Abhaya bit down hard into the hand that was wrapped around her mouth. Hiei let out a hiss and let her go. Blood lined her mouth as she snarled at him, her eyes were a reflection of the girl she had once been. Hiei stared down at the wound welling with blood between his thumb and pointer finger. He then glared at the woman before him who looked more animal than human. He could feel her energy rise to heights he had not felt from her, then he realized that the bells had become agonizingly loud. He gazed down at them, watching them writhe in the moonlight. "They hold your power," He realized with an eyebrow perched high over his cerise eyes. "Who put them on you?"

Abhaya straightened up from her pouncing position. Her eyes still held the same hatred for him as the moment before, yet still she let out a sigh. "No one. I made them for myself," She said, spitting some of Hiei's blood from her mouth.

Hiei scoffed and folded his arms over his chest. "Why?"

Abhaya's eyes darkened even more; giving Hiei a murderous stare. "That's enough for tonight, I grow weary of you," She said, wearily.

Abhaya turned to go into the shack only for Hiei to reach for her once more. Abhaya faded into the door; Hiei had not seen her move as he grasped for her and caught only air. Cold hit the back of his neck before he had a chance to move. "The next part of you that tries to touch me, I will rip off," Abhaya threatened, her breath tickling the side of his neck. She then moved past him and went into her shack. In the morning, Hiei was gone.


Two weeks later. . .

Elias sat lounging on the front porch, his eyes lingering onto the pass that hours ago Abhaya had disappeared into. A hard malaise had settled into the pit of his stomach, one that he could not shake. Abhaya had gone down to the village below the mountain on less than an hour of sleep, not to mention that she hadn't had sleep in the past five days. Small white dragons scampered around the yard, twelve in total. The thirteenth had latched itself to Abhaya's side as soon as it came out of its egg. It was the smallest out of the litter and Abhaya had taken it onto herself to take care of it.

Elias sighed when a few started to cling to his long black fur. Why had he been the one to stick around and take care of the pests? Just as he started to relax into the boards of the porch, he heard voices in the distance. A low growl came barreling out of his chest as he stood up, staring at the edge of the forest. Five people came from the mountain pass, Hiei leading the way with a bored expression. Hiei's eyes narrowed as soon as he caught a glimpse of Elias. "Great. You're back," Elias snarled, his eyes narrowing at the fire demon.

Hiei scoffed. "Where is the mage?"

"Out. She went down the mountain to run an errand."

Elias's blood ran cold as Hiei gave him the darkest expression possible. "She left?"

"She should be back soon. She left to work on a patient and gather supplies that had, um. . . depleted overnight."

Elias glared at the scurrying dragons and let out a gruff sigh. He then turned to the others, noticing them stare at him. The tallest out of the bunch with an awestruck expression turned to the closest person and whispered something in his ear. The tallest had carrot hair slicked back and an unimpressive stare, yet there was something about him that Elias liked immediately. The one who he spoke to had a similar hair style, one that reminded Elias of some of the movies Abhaya watched from the states. Nonetheless, his hair was dark and his eyes had a violent hungry shimmer beneath the brown.

Before he could get a good look at the woman and the red head, another figure appeared at the edge of the trees. Abhaya did not smile as soon as she saw Elias, instead her frown deepened at the sight of Hiei and the new guests. She wore a black leather jacket and black leather chaps with combat boots. Her hair was pulled into a high pony tail and she rose a dark eye brow as she walked up. Black raybans covered her eyes, fluorite earrings hung from her ears and a pack that was twice her size was over her shoulders. A fat cigar hung from her lips, covering her in a cloud of smoke.

Abhaya said nothing as she walked up, only sat down the heavy pack onto the porch. "What's with the sunglasses?" Elias asked, noticing how the others stared at his master.

The cigar between Abhaya's mouth wiggled as she spoke. "Compensation," Was all she said, as she dug into the pack and lifted a towel out with a leather clad hand.

She cupped the towel to her chest, a small baby dragon sleeping in her arms. "You left," Hiei growled.

Abhaya rose an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder at the demon who was furious. "How perceptive of you, Tine beag."

Hiei growled moving toward her only for the red head with green eyes to put a hand on his shoulder. Abhaya rose an eyebrow and took in the people around her. She pointed to the man who touched Hiei without fear and smirked. "Fox, am I correct?"

The demon's eyes widened a fraction and he produced a couth smirk, his emerald eye narrowing. "You are observant. Tell me, how did you determine that?"

"Your smell, not to mention the way you stare at me. Every fox I have known looks at me with the same stare; like I am a puzzle to be decoded."

Abhaya turned to the others, examining each of them. She took a step forward, only for Hiei's sword to be held at her throat. Elias growled at her side, glaring at the fire demon. "Honestly. I don't have the energy to harm any of you right now, let alone stay awake for much longer. You mind lowering your blade? I just want to get a better look at your friends. I don't have the luxury of a jagan eye."

Hiei shot a murderous glare at Abhaya, only for the others to stare at her with disbelief. "So, you aren't gonna hurt us? I thought that she was supposed to be a scary witch thing, right Kurama?" Said the tall one.

Abhaya let out a small fit of laughter. "You guys were the ones who came knocking on my door! Why, pray tell, would I hurt you?"

The sleeping dragon in her arms gave a small yawn and looked around, taking note of the new people. Everyone stared down at the creature with curious expressions. "What the hell are those things? Some kinda snakes? By the way, what's with your skin? Don't wear enough sunscreen?" Said the one with greased black hair.

Abhaya looked at him with her head tilted to the side. "You've never seen a dragon before? I know they are rare, but being a demon I would think you would see them once in a while."

The carrot top started to speak when he was interrupted by the woman who was among them. "Lady Abhaya?"

Abhaya met the woman's bubblegum pink eyes beneath her sunglasses. The woman shuddered, feeling Abhaya's eyes on her. "My name is Botan, I'm the~"

Abhaya finished for her. "Pilot of the river Styx. Yes I know you work for. . . Koenma."

Abhaya growled Koenma's name out, her mouth twisting into a frown. Botan whimpered a little and took a step back. Beneath her sunglasses Abhaya's eyes softened. "Hiei, please lower your blade," Abhaya said in a cool voice.

Hiei scoffed, and leaned closer to her. "No. You are not to be trusted, Mage."

The dragon in Abhaya's arms stared at the fire demon, her tongue jutting out as she crawled up Abhaya's chest and sat on her left shoulder. She looked at Hiei and made a step to try to crawl on him, only for Abhaya to grab her and delicately pet her head. "No, no," She cooed. "That's not a good place for you to be, sweetie."

Abhaya the turned to Botan, a warm smile on her face. She had the dragon in her palm, her thumb running over the creature's belly. "Would you like to hold her, Botan? She won't bite unlike her brat siblings."

Abhaya held the dragon out to her, the dragon writhing at the sight of the blue haired girl coming closer. Hiei held his sword closer to Abhaya's neck, his blade reopening the scab that he had left two weeks ago. She gave a small hiss and glared at the fire demon. Abhaya could see mockery swimming beneath his eyes. Botan held out her hands and cupped the baby dragon, only for it to lick her finger and nuzzle her hand.

Abhaya watched as Botan's eyes lit up. Botan looked at her and smiled. "She's such a cutie!"

Abhaya grinned and took off the sunglasses that covered her eyes. Everyone except for Hiei and Elias gawked at her. "Woah! You're eyes are weird! Are you blind or something?" Said the carrot top, pointing at her.

"Geez Kuwabara could you be any less of a dufus?" Said the greaser with a mocking grin.

"Why you little punk! Ya wanna say that to my face Urameshi?!"

Abhaya let out a loud bellow of a laugh and grinned. She then sat down and ripped off the boots that had bothered her as soon as she had put them on. They all stared at her with curiosity. Hiei glared down at her, his blade still close to her neck. As soon as both the boots were off, Abhaya let out a happy sigh and wiggled her toes. The bells writhed a little but made no sound against the wood of porch.

Abhaya stood up and grabbed the pack that had been abandoned. She then moved into the cabin, Hiei trailing behind her. The others did not move from their spots as they watched them. Abhaya sat the pack on the ground next to the cabinets. "Please, you may come in. Elias will you put the little ones to rest?"

Elias gave a short nod and walked off to the small work shop. Abhaya turned to her pack and started to unload the large jars of honey and beeswax. "Got enough honey?" The greaser said.

"Now I do. Dragon's love honey and the little ones ate all of mine last night."

Abhaya turned around to see everyone still staring at her like she was a bomb waiting to go off. Hiei stood leaning against the wall, his arms folded over his chest and a glare boring into her own. The fox was still examining her, Botan seemed cautious however was more open than the others. The greaser and Kuwabara had a more mild expression of Hiei's.

Abhaya sighed and shimmied off her leather jacket. "I take it you want all I have on the possession sigil? However, I have a request before I give it."

The fox spoke first, raising an eyebrow at Abhaya. "What might that be, Miss…?"

"Sinclair. I ask that you tell me what happened to you that has to do with the possession sigil."

They all looked at one another. "Well~"

Kuwabara was cut off by Hiei. "Fool! Don't tell the Mage anything. She has no room to bargain with us."

Abhaya let out another sigh and sat at her table. She slowly undid the chaps around her legs and folded them. The fox watched her intently. "What would make you wear chaps?" He said.

"I drove my bike down the mountain. It's stored at the end of the road on this mountain."

Abhaya took off her gloves and sat them on the table. She then rested her chin on a closed fist. "Sit, I know that you are planning on interrogating me. You should relax a little. I don't have the will to hurt any of you."

The baby dragon that was curled into Botan's hands leap from them and crawled over to Abhaya. It then crawled up her arm onto her shoulder. Hiei sat down across from her as well as the fox. Botan and Kuwabara stood while the greaser sat next to Abhaya. "Tell us about yourself," The fox said, watching Abhaya closely.

Abhaya scoffed and leaned back into her chair, her eyes never left the fox's. "My name is Abhaya Damhnait Sinclair. I am twenty years old; I grew up in the Highlands of Scotland."

"Parents?" The fox prodded.

Abhaya's smile fell a little. "My father was a mage and a Scottish man. My mother was Hindu and a natural healer."

"Wait. So that's why your skin is that color? Not a sunburn?" The greaser said.

Abhaya let out a small laugh. "Yes, this is my natural coloring. And no I am not blind, I just have my father's eyes."

"Is it true that mages live longer than most humans?" The fox said, pressing on.

Abhaya nodded, feeling Hiei try to work his way into her mind. Her eyes snapped over to him and she gave an angry glare. "Do you mind?"

She built the wall higher around her mind, watching Hiei growl in frustration. The fox glanced at Hiei and then back to Abhaya. "You can block Hiei from your mind?"

Hiei bared his teeth at Abhaya. "She's making a wall."

Abhaya sneered. "I wouldn't have to if you didn't try reading my mind. It is quite annoying so stop."

Hiei sneered, the fury in his eyes making Abhaya's stomach drop. "I don't have to listen to a stupid human like you," He growled.

Abhaya rolled her eyes and turned her attention to the fox staring back at her. "So, what's your name fox? I'll just give you a nick name like Hiei if you don't tell me."

The fox kept a stoic expression on his face, but complied. "Kurama. Why won't you let Hiei read your mind?"

"My biggest pet peeve is when people try to read my mind. If you want to know something, ask."

"How would we know if you are telling the truth? You could easily lie to us, could you not?"

Abhaya mulled that over, folding her arms over her chest. "I swear upon both my mother and my father's graves that I will not lie to you," Abhaya said, her brow twisting.

Kurama's eyes widened as the word tumbled out of Abhaya's mouth, she looked down at her hands. He then nodded, leaning forward slightly. "Have you told the truth so far?"

Abhaya nodded, still staring down at her hands. "Why did you help Hiei?"

"He was dying and I made a promise that I would help whoever needed it. I do not care if it is demon, human, spirit. It doesn't matter."

"Who was your father?"

Abhaya sighed. "Beiste Conall Sinclair."

Botan's eyes grew pained and she looked down. "As in the Beast Mage?" Kurama said, still staring at Abhaya.

Hiei glanced over to Kurama, his expression curious. "Beast Mage?" He said, eyes flickering from Abhaya and then back to Kurama.

"My father could turn his body into whatever he wanted; that was how he was dubbed the name Beast Mage. It doesn't help that his first name means 'beast' in Gaelic. He was a creator type mage, meaning he forged magical weapons and sold them to other mages and demons," Abhaya said, finally meeting Kurama's eyes.

"He also forged the five elemental swords," Kurama said, his eyes filled with understanding. He then added. "Which daughter are you? The eldest or youngest?"

Abhaya straightened up, her eyes twisting with sadness. "Youngest."

Kurama's mouth twitched up into a cruel smirk. "So you are the slayer."

Guilt overwhelmed Abhaya, yet she did not show it on her face. She averted her eyes, and then closed them. "Aye."


So, before you guys freak out on me about how Hiei would have possibly bitch slapped her for biting him. I plan to make him retaliate in a different way so don't fret. Next chapter. You shall see if you are willing to keep reading. I would love some feedback about this chapter. Did I get the others right? I certainly hope so, I've been watching the show over and over again trying to get dialogue correct. I'm hoping to put some crazy shit in here the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you liked Abhaya and her bitch tude. Thank you for reading. ~ELA