Foreseen Betrayal

-Ten-

Kagome felt a rush flow through her as Sesshomaru seized her; she was filled with nothing but fear, Inuyasha was gone from sight, all she could see was black, it was as if Sesshomaru and she were speeding through a dark abyss. A cold, terrifying feeling jolted through her body, and then suddenly, it stopped. The black around them was replaced by a warm, dark, stone room, which had only a small fire as its light source, burning in the hearth of a great, stone fireplace. Sesshomaru released his grip of her and she fell to the floor. As she sat up from the heap she had landed in, Sesshomaru joined the others who were gathered round the fireplace; Sceaduwe, Y'leare and Rin were silhouetted against the firelight.

"It was done quickly and efficiently," spoke Y'leare coldly, "you obtained the sacrifice and ridded us of those who would have posed a threat to us. The Attack was well executed." Y'leare's praise made Kagome sick, though she was too afraid and in too much pain to speak as she normally would have, holding her hands over her bleeding mouth, beyond grateful she hadn't lost any teeth.

"What of the companions?" Sceaduwe asked uneasily, still apprehensive at having beaten back 'the Great Inuyasha' so effortlessly.

"The kitsune was thrown from a warrior, then attacked by the dog demon; he did not reappear again," explained Sesshomaru dully. "The demon slayer and the two-tail cat-demon, perished under swarms of demons and soldiers. The monk, last I saw of him was when he was overpowered by some of your starved mutts," he explained, harbouring immense loathing towards any canine demon that allowed itself to be controlled or used by such…underlings; he was an upper level one himself after all.

"Yes, yes, yes, but what about the half-demon?" asked Y'leare impatiently.

"He was mortally wounded, an arrow through his back, he seemed to recuperate briefly, though the shot was too near his heart, he should be dead by now."

"Good, then there is nothing standing in our way," concluded Y'leare.

Emotion overcame Kagome. She'd heard them carelessly tick off the list of her friends as dead, one-by-one; as they finalized Inuyasha's death her heart froze, tears drenching her cheeks and the blood continuing to pour from her mouth where the soldier had kicked her. The emotional and physical pain was so overwhelming…it felt like death.

"Inuyasha…" she whimpered quietly, distracted from the rest of reality as the realisation hit her…Inuyasha was…dead? Y'leare turned to face her, seeming to be dangerously concerned.

"What is the matter girl, why are you whimpering like some ill dog?" Kagome did not answer, she physically couldn't, even if she had wanted to, her distress seemed to have silenced her. "Are you mute, girl? What is wrong?" Tears continued to fall down Kagome's face; she turned away from Y'leare, not being able to even look at her. This woman, this old hag was responsible for her friends death…she wanted to kill her.

"Is it your friends, are you worried about their deaths?" asked Y'leare in a false kindness. "I know it's the half-demon." Kagome began to cry harder than ever; choking as she tried not to let out the cries that were tearing at her throat to get out, as she felt everyone in the room watching her. All she wanted was to go back to this morning, to when Inuyasha seemed to be ready to tell her all she wanted to hear from his heart; and now she would never hear it. "So that's it…you heard of your beloved half-demon's death and now you are grieving," Kagome made no reply. "Well do not worry girl, his death, the death of your friends, they were easier than yours will be." Kagome looked up at her now; and then she spoke.

"What…what do you want with me?" asked Kagome and Y'leare smiled evilly.

"I lost my power my dear, my power is connected with this world, and lately, there has been a disturbance, something that isn't supposed to be here and that…is you. I need to rid your spirit from this world for my powers to return."

Kagome's eyes widened in horror, "so, you're going to sacrifice me to get your power back?" Why not just send me home and block my way back? Or take the Sacred Jewel shards from me so I cannot return…thought Kagome.

"Because my dear I know you," Y'leare croaked, reading her thoughts, "and I know your half-demon, he would find a way to unblock the portal from your world to ours; besides, there is a force at work in this world that is stronger than my magic, it wouldn't let me cast the blocking spell. In any case, why are you asking that, surely you would rather die than face life without your friends, am I right?" Kagome made no reply.

Suddenly Y'leare's eyes glowed with anger as she looked at Kagome's face. Kagome winced in both pain and revulsion, as Y'leare's crooked, gnarled fingers caught her chin, tilting her face to the firelight. "Who has touched her?" yelled Y'leare questioningly, "her mouth is bleeding, which one of you did it?" She looked to Kagome. "Who did it?"

Kagome didn't care any more, she cared not who these people were, she didn't care about anything…not now that Inuyasha was gone… The priestess didn't answer.

"I saw it," replied Sesshomaru quietly, in a careless, bored voice, "it was a Deorcnes warrior. She was screaming for my brother, the warrior tired of her noise and decided to…silence her. Though, he is dead now, my dear little brother killed him in his rage." Y'leare was overpowered with anger, spinning on her heel to face Sceaduwe.

"You idiot! You can't even control your army, I told you not a drop of her blood was to be spilled; it was all supposed to be for the sacrifice. What if she has lost too much blood? What if too much of it has spilled and lingered in this world?"

"It is too late anyway," said Sesshomaru, the others turned to face him, even Kagome. "The men were supposed to keep her blood inside her, in case it mixed with the earth and her spirit would not leave."

"So, all of the blood is on her clothes, that can be got rid of easily," argued Sceaduwe.

"It wasn't all on her clothes," said Sesshomaru snidely, almost smirking, "your men couldn't restrain her, my brother was also bleeding at the mouth, the girl, she kissed him. Their blood has mixed now, if you kill her in the sacrifice her spirit will still be tied here by Inuyasha; she will be immune to your spell."

When Sesshomaru had finished all looked on at him in amazement.

"That's fine," said Y'leare calming down now, releasing Kagome and standing upright once more, "I'll just have to finish off Inuyasha as well." Kagome snapped back into reality at this, then Inuyasha was alive; her spirits lifted, then they planned his death along side hers and fear rose in her again. "Take the girl to the dungeon, post as many guards as you can at all entrances to the castle, there will be no chance of the half-demon rescuing her." With Y'leare's words, two men seized Kagome and dragged her from the room.

"INUYASHA! INUYASHA!" Her screams ricocheted off the dank walls, the girl wishing more than anything that he would burst in at any moment and rescue her…but he didn't.

After dragging her down the dark stone staircase, the men threw her (literally) into a lightless cell, with a single barred window, the only light was of course in short supply with her being back in Spearaah. The men chained her arms to the wall and there she sat, alone in the dark on the cold floor. She knelt on her knees, looking out the window at the moon. She gazed at it momentarily, and then she held her head in her hands, tears trickling down her face and through her fingers, as she fell into despair.

Meanwhile, back upstairs they were still locked in deep discussion.

"Our plan is nearly complete tomorrow evening on the light of the full moon, we will make our sacrifice and my powers will return." Rin had watched as Kagome was dragged away, had seen what these people had done to her, and she sidled along the shadows of the room, slipping out through the door; Y'leare and the others weren't aware and kept talking.

"Well if we're all done here then, I have done my part, I will now take my leave," said Sesshomaru. The soldiers of Deorcnes enclosed in, blocking his exit.

"Well yes, here is the problem. Sceaduwe was promised demon blood, and not just one beings blood. Tomorrow he will have the half-demon's blood, and of course the blood of the only other living descendants of Inu-no-Taishou; that'd be you, his true son and heir, am I right?" Sesshomaru smirked slightly at Y'leare's words.

"You think I didn't suspect this all along? The secrecy, the strange looks, the demon revulsion; I knew this was your plan all along, and as for draining me of my blood, you will have to catch me first." Sesshomaru was beaten however.

"I knew you would work it all out foolish demon! I do realize you aren't as stupid as you look. We have prepared for this night. Men, take him down and put him in the cell next to the girl."

"You really think any cell can hold me?"

"Oh, trust me, this one will," said Y'leare with a half sneer, half smile, "it's been reinforced by magic, magic stronger than even I can withstand." It took dozens of the Deorcnes warriors to overpower the demon lord, making their move before he could resort to use of either Tokijin or the whip at his fingertips, they leapt forward, seizing him and dragging the struggling demon out of the chamber.

"Bastards..." he growled out, his enraged voice bearing the familiar tone of his father and brother, "you'll be repaid for this betrayal, that I promise you," his usual calm decorum had withered from his voice, the once calmness broken through with pure blinded fury as he left their sight, as his rage echoed through the castle.

Back in the dungeon, Rin poked her head through the bars inclining her head slightly to speak with the imprisoned priestess.

"Kagome," she whispered her voice sweet and kind. Kagome looked up from her state on the ground.

"Rin?"

"Yes, I came to talk to you. I'm sorry about all this, I didn't help, honest!!

"I know you didn't…I just wish Inuyasha was here," said Kagome, the last half mostly to herself. At this moment, the sound of footsteps and shouting could be heard. "Rin, who is it?" asked Kagome.

"I don't know," she replied, looking up the darkened corridor, "wait, I'll hide, I'll return in a moment," the human girl hid herself in the shadows by Kagome's door as the soldiers dragged Sesshomaru into his cell and threw him in. Then Sesshomaru transformed; his huge, white, dog-form not surprising them in the least, thick chains, glowing with crackling, crimson magic were drawn out.

The skin and fur on Sesshomaru sizzled and seared as the men lashed out and the chains made contact with him, snarling at the men as they attacked him, until Rin heard a yelp, and Sesshomaru changed back, skidding to the ground.

"Rise from that you filthy demon vermin!" The men jeered as they locked the door and stalked off. Rin darted to Sesshomaru's door, her voice frantic with anxiety.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Lord Sesshomaru, are you okay?"

"What are you doing here, Rin? Go, run now before they find you here," he ordered her, his voice broken, and hoarse, as Kagome had never heard it before.

"I was talking to Kagome, what should I do, you are hurt?"

"Rin, Rin!" called Kagome, Rin returned to her sight, "Go to Inuyasha in Glisnia, and show him the way here, he'll help us."

"No, he won't…I helped take you away, why would he help me?" asked Sesshomaru.

"He will if I ask him to," replied Kagome, "please Rin, Sesshomaru may hate him but, he's your only hope of both of us getting out of here alive." Rin seemed to contemplate this for a moment and then spoke.

"But how do I get there so quickly?"

"Go to Ah-Un, just beyond the gates of the castle," said Sesshomaru, this sentence obviously his compliance for the plan the priestess in the cell beside him seemed to have formed.

"Okay," replied Rin, and voices could be heard drawing nearer and nearer down the hall.

"I'll be back, I promise," she whispered, dashing off into the castle, using shadow as her cover.

TBC