Chapter 10
Kimmuriel's eyes shot to the demon within the ring of binding. The demon was staring at him … unpleasantly.
"Rin, are you hurt?" The demon asked, never taking his eyes from the increasingly uneasy drow.
"I am fine, My Lord." Rin answered, smiling brightly. She glanced up in surprise when Kimmuriel caught hold of her arm. The drow's face was unreadable as he pulled her closer to him, preventing her from approaching the trapped demon.
"Rin, move back." The demon commanded.
"Can he harm us from within the circle?" Jarlaxle queried, intently studying the powerful demon lord. He moved closer to the psionist. Using the silent hand code of the drow he told Kimmuriel to start preparing an escape route--just in case.
"It would be in our best interest to close the circle. We are not dealing with a minor demon." The wizard advised. At the mercenary's nod Rai-guy began chanting, preparing to close the portal. As he prepared to finish the spell the wizard started moving in Kimmuriel's direction; the wizard was well aware of the danger the demon presented if he breached the barrier before his spell was complete.
At Jarlaxle's nod Kimmuriel opened the dimensional doorway and waited for the others to join him. Rin looked up at the psionist in confusion, but he patently ignored her questioning look. Rin studied the dimensional portal intently. Unlike the gates used on Talis, which were controlled using that world's technology, this portal was just a small dark hole that had been ripped into the air. Still, it was interesting that Kimmuriel was able to open it using nothing but his psionic abilities.
Immense energy began filling the room. The wizard's eyes shot to the demon in alarm. The cold golden gaze met his as the demon lord stepped out of the circle. Without any further adieu the wizard gave his leader a meaningful look and darted for the portal.
Rin realized that the elves were planning to run, which would only anger her lord further. "Kimmuriel, it's me he wants! You need to let me go!" She cried, struggling frantically against his hold. Rin didn't fear for herself, but her elven friends were in grave danger.
Kimmuriel didn't answer as he tightened his hold on her and pulled her into the portal, Rai-guy and Jarlaxle close behind.
The demon's enraged growl followed the three drow into the portal. The frightening sound making them jump nervously and glance around to make sure they hadn't been followed.
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Sesshomaru snarled in fury; red began to bleed into his golden eyes, indicating the imminent change. Energy sparked and danced along his black clothing as he stepped the rest of the way out of the portal. The sentient alloy that had replaced his white silk after the battle on Talis shielded him from the violent energy contained within the circle. Easily breaking through the barrier, the demon lord's form began to shift. His face elongated and snowy fur spread over his changing form. The demon rapidly grew in size until his head touched the ceiling of the cavern. In place of the elegant demon lord stood a monstrous canine covered in gleaming white fur. The colossal dog-demon was a sight that elicited awe and terror in all who encountered it.
The enormous beast opened its maw, exposing long, razor sharp canines, then it roared. The deafening sound reverberated through the chamber; the sheer intensity of the sound ripping into the stone of the cavern. The walls vibrated and hairline cracks splintered through the rock. Another roar from the beast caused the stone walls to crumble under the onslaught of the overwhelming sound waves. Its eyes burning with demonic rage, the great beast stalked from the cavern and toward the city known as Menzoberranzan.
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"What just happened?" InuYasha exclaimed, crouching to sniff the area that his brother had just been standing in.
"The gate has reopened." Kephren said coldly, extending a hand out in front of him. Moving to the boy's side, the Talisian noted the similarity of the energy fields. Using his fingers to detect the miniscule vibrations left from the gate he felt confident that this gate was the key to the disappearances. The energy had felt the same when Kagome had disappeared. Kephren had enough experience with gates to suspect that the original gate had taken Rin by mistake and was once again opening here in error. Generally such a miscalculation was only made by an inexperienced race. The Talisian disliked any race who acted rashly and without sufficient knowledge of such things.
InuYasha growled at the vague answer, his slit-pupiled eyes glittering angrily. This arrogant creature irritated him almost as much as his brother. Why couldn't he just give him a straight answer? InuYasha's glare deepened; and why did it look like that? The thing was so pretty it was unnatural. It just wasn't right. If it kept hanging around, then how was he ever going to get Kagome to notice him? If it came down to comparisons, then he would come out sorely lacking.
"Where did he go?" Confused, the half-breed turned to the Talisians.
The soft earth still held the scent of his demonic brother, along with another scent. The same one that he had picked up when Kagome had vanished. Scooping up some of the loose soil, InuYasha let it slowly sift through his fingers as he concentrated on picking up an aura. If he could get a sense of where his brother had gone, then there might be a way to follow him. Unfortunately, being a half-breed, he didn't have the superior senses of a full demon. Brushing the dust from his hands, he stared in frustration at the uncooperative dirt.
Indifferent to the boy's rage, Kephren stared intently into the space where the demon had been standing. The boy jerked in shock when the air around him suddenly pulled inward, as if being sucked into a vacuum. The wind picked up as the vortex began to form, opening the portal. The boy's silvery-white hair lifted as the force of the wind drew the white strands into the ever widening hole.
"Wha…?!" The half-breed stared in open-mouthed shock at the swirling darkness. A shadow fell across him, causing him to look up. The creature stood in front of him, a mocking smirk on its darkly beautiful face, shining silver hair whipping wildly around him. Cocking an eyebrow challengingly at the boy, Kephren turned and stepped into the vortex.
"If you wish to accompany us child then do not tarry." Thryss tossed over her shoulder as she followed the creature into the vortex.
"Yeah, right." InuYasha muttered, staring at the ominous dark portal. He could feel the evil miasma that was seeping through. He shuddered at the thought of his dear friend being trapped in there at the mercy of someone or something. Standing up resolutely, he pushed the heavy hair out of his eyes and stomped into the frightening darkness.
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"I think I'm gonna be sick." InuYasha moaned. The boy clutched his heaving stomach and pressed his cheek against the cold stone. Would it have killed that evil creature to warn him about traveling through portals? No wonder his brother hated gates. He would never tease Sesshomaru again. He should have known that his pompous brother would down-play the side effects of a gate.
Kephren didn't even glance at the miserable half-breed lying on the cold stone. Illuminating the darkness, he scanned the area. "It would appear that we are underground." He noted, bending down to inspect some deep grooves that had been dug into the rock floor. Claw marks? His silver gaze traced the length of the marks. Laying a hand beside the indentations, he calculated that the claws that made them had to have been longer than his hand. The marks were not just long, but deep as well. What had happened here? Hairline cracks ran along nearly every surface, and parts of the stone actually seemed melted. Had his companion's demon done this? It seemed unlikely, but there was much he didn't know about the grumpy fool.
The Talisian slowly inspected the cavern, stopping when he came upon a circle scorched into the rock with thin wisps of smoke still rising from the burn marks. "It does appear that your demon has been here." He noted, inspecting the smoldering ring.
Coming up behind him, Thryss crouched at his side curiously. The energy in this place was similar to her demon's, but there was something about it that seemed out of place. Glancing over at the boy who was curled into a fetal position and moaning piteously, Thryss wondered if he had as keen a sense of smell as Sesshomaru.
"Can you smell which way he went?" Thryss asked the boy, indifferent to his suffering.
InuYasha groaned, getting cautiously to his feet. His face was still a sickly shade of green, evidencing that he had not fully recovered from the dimensional travel. Tilting his head, he tentatively sniffed the air, and then sucked in a shocked breath.
"What is it?" Thryss asked, seeing his horrified expression.
"Sesshomaru has changed into his true form." He said in shock.
Kephren looked at him curiously. "His true form? He has more than one?"
InuYasha sighed in exasperation. "He isn't a human, ya know. He's a dog-demon."
Kephren arched a silver brow. "He has turned into a dog?"
"Sesshomaru's true form is monstrous." InuYasha explained. "In his demonic form there is no telling what he will do."
Walking over to the boy, Kephren waited expectantly, his attention fully engaged.
"His demonic form is a basically a dog, but much, muchbigger. See there." He pointed at a crevice in the ceiling. "That is where his head brushed the ceiling. He is much more powerful in this form. His breath can melt just about anything." InuYasha answered, staring at the Talisian seriously. "He's unpredictable in this form. He could kill friend or foe without even realizing it. Well, that is if he had friends in the first place."
Kephren turned to Thryss with a droll look. "Did you know that your demon was a dog?"
Thryss shrugged indifferently. "I have never seen his true form."
Kephren's lips twitched unexpectedly, making Thryss look at him hard. "What are you thinking?" She asked suspiciously.
"I am most curious to see your demon's true form." The Talisian said innocently, a wide grin spreading across his face.
Thryss gave him a suspicious look, wondering what her unpredictable companion was up to.
"Well boy, can you follow his trail?" Kephren inquired dryly, his gaze resting on the deep grooves that had been gouged into the floor.
InuYasha scowled; he had the feeling that he was somehow the brunt of a joke, but wasn't quite sure what the joke was. The half-breed led the way with an increasingly sour expression; following the demon's trail turned out to be extraordinarily easy considering the wide path of destruction he had left in his wake. In some places entire sections of rock had been completely melted. The cracks they had seen in the cavern continued deep into the tunnels, along with claw marks, and missing sections in the ceiling. How often had his hard-headed brother hit the ceiling? From the looks of it, he might have just scraped his head along the rock. InuYasha shook his head. What had happened to drive Sesshomaru into such a rage? He almost pitied whoever had tried to capture his brother. At least that's what he suspected had happened. Sesshomaru didn't change into his true form often, but the one sure way to enrage his demonic sibling was to try and control him.
"Do you see that?" InuYasha asked, drawing their attention to the blue light that surrounded Kephren. The outer edge of the Talisian's illumination was tinged with varying shades of purple. Peering down the tunnel they could see a faint flickering light.
Kephren nodded and moved ahead, following the soft glow. Making his way out of the tunnel, he walked out onto a wide ledge overlooking a bowl shaped cavern. A myriad of colorful lights coming from within the bowl reflected off the planes of the Talisian's face. Coming to stand beside him, Thryss and InuYasha inspected the vast bowl-like cavern curiously. The entire area was blanketed by thousands of dim, yet colorful lights.
"What do you think it is?" InuYasha wondered.
"A city." Thryss replied, studying the surprising discovery.
"A city so far underground?" Kephren murmured, his silver eyes gleaming with interest. They gazed in astonishment at the most unusual city any of them had ever seen. The stalagmites within the cavern had been cleverly converted into dwellings. Their surfaces were covered in intricate spider motifs. Narrow bridges stretched like the legs of a spider to span impossible distances between the small groupings of stalagmites. Fairy fire glowed softly, highlighting the painstaking craftsmanship that had gone into the creation of the amazing homes in this beautiful, yet alien place.
"Huh. Ya think they like spiders?" InuYasha muttered sarcastically as he looked at one particular structure that had actually been carved into the shape of a spider.
"They do appear to have a fondness for arachnids." Kephren agreed in amusement. There wasn't a surface that didn't have some kind of web-like design worked into it. Even the massive gate that blocked off what looked to be a main entrance stretched along the edge of the cavern like a giant web.
"I wonder where Sesshomaru is?" InuYasha wondered as he stared at the exotic city.
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"Let me go!" Rin exclaimed, struggling to free herself from Kimmuriel's hold.
"Be still!" The drow hissed, tightening his grip painfully. When force didn't appear to be having any effect, he slipped into her mind, letting his consciousness slide against hers in a mental caress. Threats may have been useless, but a little caress, on the other hand, worked wonders. Rin immediately stopped struggling as her pupils dilated and she collapsed against him limply.
"What did you do?" Jarlaxle inquired curiously. He had never seen the psionist use thattechnique before. He wondered why his lieutenant hadn't set the girl down yet. They had safely arrived at one of the many headquarters used by Bregan D'aerthe. For the moment they were perfectly safe, although why Kimmuriel would endanger them for the sake of a mere girl was a mystery.
"A form of mental control." Kimmuriel said vaguely. Shifting Rin, so that she leaned against him more comfortably, the psionist noted in relief that they had all arrived without incident. He had transported them to one of the more remote locations used by the mercenary band. Although this location didn't offer the luxury that their leader preferred it would serve their needs. Kimmuriel calmly met his leader's searching look; he was going to have some explaining to do.
The mercenary gave him a speculative look. His lieutenant wasn't telling him everything. Now that was interesting; for Kimmuriel to not want to disclose information on something as simple as mental control was cause for investigation.
"Rin. Rin! Are you alright? What did he do to you?" A small voice asked urgently. Rin moaned softly but didn't answer. The disembodied voice severely startled all three drow, who looked around frantically for the intruder.
Jarlaxle blinked in surprise, unable to locate the source of the voice which sounded like it was coming from the girl's hair. Looking at the other two drow he noted that they looked as confused as him.
"Master Myoga?" Rin slurred.
Kimmuriel leaned down and tilted Rin's face up. "What did you say?"
Rin giggled and pointed to her shoulder. "Master Myoga. I guess you summoned him after all." She shook her head, trying to clear away the fog that seemed to have settled over her brain. Raising her eyes to meet Kimmuriel's she asked. "What did you do to me? I feel so weird."
Ignoring her question the drow demanded. "The demon flea is here?"
Rin smiled and nodded. "Right here." She said pointing to her shoulder.
All three drow gathered around her and leaned in. "I don't see anything." Jarlaxle said, nearly hitting her with his hat as he tilted his head to look closer.
"Well fleas are small." She said, before turning her head to speak to her shoulder. "Master Myoga?"
"I was so worried! Lord Sesshomaru would be quite angry if harm befell you." The small voice said in relief. "By the way, where are we?" the flea asked hopping from her shoulder to sit on her nose. Without asking permission he bit into her and began drinking her blood. Immediately Rin's hand came up and swatted the flea. The small voice cried out in outrage.
"It serves you right!" Rin said. "It's rude to drink someone's blood without asking."
The dark elves watched the odd exchange in bemusement. The flea suddenly became aware of the glowing red eyes, shrieked and dived back into Rin's hair.
"Drow!" The little voice shrieked. "Rin, run! Hurry!" It implored, which only caused the drow to lean in closer.
"Master Myoga, I know these dark elves. They are my friends." Rin soothed.
"Rin, you foolish child! They are drow! They are friend to none! These creatures are evil! Run, quickly!" The small voice seemed on the brink of panic.
Rin giggled. "They haven't harmed me, and I have been with them the whole time. Calm down." She started, a sudden thought occurring to her. "Master Myoga, how did Lord Sesshomaru get here?"
Kimmuriel watched in fascinated amusement as the hair by Rin's ear began to shiver along with the flea. Without doubt this was turning out to be one of the strangest days of the dark elf's long life.
"Oh, I was actually looking for Lord InuYasha. As it turned out he was with his brother Lord Sesshomaru. Most unusual." The flea, for all his diminutive size, tended to be long-winded. Although it was rude to interrupt, Rin knew if she didn't do something that Master Myoga might never get to the point.
Rin broke into his monologue. "Master Myoga."
"Oh, sorry. Well as I was saying I was looking for Lord InuYasha to tell him about Kagome's disappearance."
"Whoa! Wait a minute. Did something happen to Kagome?" Rin demanded.
"Who is Kagome?" Kimmuriel interrupted. Exactly how many demons had Rai-guy summoned? He wasn't concerned over the flea, but the demon lord had been staring at him in a most unnerving way.
"She is the close friend of My Lord's brother. She holds the Shikon Jewel." She explained quickly, too worried about InuYasha's friend to see the look that passed between the elves.
"Um, Rin, there is no need to go into such detail." The flea said uneasily. Unlike the girl, he had seen the look of interest that had passed between the elves. Myoga had heard tales of these evil creatures who thrived on the suffering of others. Seeing them in person had seriously unhinged the flea; they looked every bit as frightening as he had imagined. These creatures with their handsome angular features and glowing red eyes gave off an aura more evil than anything he had ever encountered. There was a malevolence and viciousness to them that defied explanation. The flea had seen any number of terrible and violent things in his life but nothing had unnerved him as much as these deceptively delicate creatures.
"Okay. So what happened to Kagome?" Rin pressed.
"She went missing yesterday. Lord InuYasha has been in a panic. From what I understand she appears to have been kidnapped, but neither Lord Sesshomaru nor Lord InuYasha recognized the scent." The flea finished, staring suspiciously at the drow.
"Master Myoga mentioned something called the Shikon jewel. Do you know what that is?" Jarlaxle asked, moving away from Rin. Taking off his preposterous hat, he brushed off an invisible speck then repositioned it rakishly on his head.
Rin glanced over to Jarlaxle, who had leaned nonchalantly against the wall, patiently waiting for her to answer.
"Don't tell them anything!" The flea shrieked.
Rin shushed the flea and looked at the deceptively friendly mercenary. "I don't think it is what you were looking for. You can't control a demon with it."
Jarlaxle straightened and pushed back his hat. "Then why the secrecy?"
"Secrecy?" Rin frowned.
"Is this jewel dangerous?" The mercenary asked.
"It can be, if someone with an evil heart gets hold of it." Rin said, not quite sure what the elf wanted to know.
"Evil like a drow, you foolish child!" The flea screamed, hopping frantically up and down on her shoulder.
"Drow aren't evil, Master Myoga." Rin said, trying to calm the hysterical flea.
At her words the elves exchanged a sly smile.
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"Is that the demon?" Kephren took a step forward, his eyes lighting up.
"Yeah, that's him alright." InuYasha muttered as a massive white head rounded one of the buildings. The demon circled the delicate structure. A deafening roar shook the ground as the colossal beast screamed in rage. A shift in the air caused InuYasha to glance over. The Talisian was gone.
"Where'd he go?" The half-breed wondered, staring blankly at the empty space. A long-suffering sigh came from behind him. "What?" InuYasha demanded, seeing Thryss bring a hand up to massage her temples.
"I fear Keff could not control himself." Thryss said, her eyes following Sesshomaru's rampaging form.
"Stop himself from what?" InuYasha asked.
Judging from the dumbfounded expression the boy truly didn't understand. Thryss sighed heavily; her companion enjoyed nothing more than annoying the pompous demon lord.
"The demon is going to grouch about this for years." She grumbled.
"What?!" InuYasha resisted the temptation to shake the answer out of her. As much as he wanted to he knew better. Thryss was Sesshomaru's mate, and his vicious older brother tended to get prickly when it came to her.
"Kephren probably wants to pet him." Thryss finally admitted. She watched gloomily as the monstrous white dog smashed through the city.
InuYasha's mouth dropped open. "He wants to pet Sesshomaru?" he asked, aghast.
Thryss nodded unhappily and started towards the city.
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Sesshomaru was furious. With an ear-splitting crack another building gave way, crashing into the street below. Slender dark figures darted from the structure, scattering like cockroaches. One of those thingshad dared to touch Rin. Sesshomaru planned on wiping out everything in sight until he found the thing that had dared to lay hands on her. He smiled wolfishly, white fangs gleaming. When he found that thing he would make it suffer the torments of hell.
The colossal beast suddenly stopped. Cocking his head to one side, a baffled expression entered his eyes. He could have sworn something had touched him. The monstrous dog froze. No. It wouldn't dare! Then he felt it again. That cursed creature was threading its fingers through his fur! Disgusted, Sesshomaru shook his huge head vigorously. He felt something stroke the white fur by his ear. It was still there! The nerve of the creature! How dare it PET him! There was only one thing to do. Shifting back to his humanoid form, he watched in satisfaction as the creature tumbled off him.
"Why did you change back?" Kephren complained. "I liked you as a dog better." Picking himself off the ground the Talisian approached the demon.
Not missing a beat Sesshomaru grabbed Kephren by the throat and flung him into the nearest building. He scowled as the Talisian flipped easily, landing on his feet.
"Never touch me again." The demon lord snarled. He would have to continue his search on foot. Under no circumstances did he want it to pet him again. Indignantly spinning around Sesshomaru turned his back on the impertinent creature and walked away.
"Wait, I wish to come with you." Kephren happily announced, trotting alongside him.
"No."
The Talisian's silver eyes gleamed mischievously. He watched as the demon pushed his absurdly long hair over his shoulder.
"You should cut it." Kephren remarked innocently as the demon ran his claws through the heavy silvery-white strands. Kephren shook his head; the demon was unbelievably vain about his hair.
Sesshomaru stiffened in offence. How dare that imbecile treat him with such disrespect? Slowly turning around his golden eyes narrowed menacingly.
"It would make it so much more manageable." Kephren continued, blithely ignoring the growing look of murder that was being directed at him. "One day you are going to trip over it …"
Kephren's words were cut short as the demon loosed the glowing green whip. The Talisian grinned, easily catching it. "I would have thought you would try something more original by now, demon. This is getting rather old." Kephren said, watching in delight as the demon's face contorted in rage.
"Keff, stop tormenting my demon." Thryss told him sternly, placing herself between the two.
"Your demon?" Sesshomaru echoed blankly. Shock temporarily overcame his rage.
Thryss glanced back. "Of course, you belong to me."
Sesshomaru groaned and looked skyward. "I am cursed." He lamented, wondering how he had ever become involved with these two. Was it too much to ask that they show him a modicum of respect? He wasn't asking for groveling, just a little bowing now and then. A flash of red caught the demon's eye. Of course, his worthless brother was here. He really shouldn't have been surprised considering how the day was turning out.
InuYasha stood slightly behind Thryss, staring wide-eyed at the spider-themed city. He had never seen anyone who liked arachnids as much as these people did. The web and spider design had been incorporated into everything.Some of the buildings had actually been carved to resemble giant spiders. As far as InuYasha was concerned the décor alone proved these people couldn't be entirely sane. Seriously, who decorates in cobwebs? Suddenly, the boy went rigid, his eyes bulging in alarm.
"Kagome." InuYasha whispered, his voice filled with horror. At the sound of his voice the others looked at him curiously. All the color had drained from his face. He looked stricken.
"I can smell her blood. There's so much of it!" The half-breed whispered.
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Authors Note: Oh...I had fun with this chapter. Hopefully you did too.
06-Lost-In-Eternal-Bliss-15: Thanks for the compliment. I love reviews, especially the nice ones. LOL. :)
New Fan: Oh dear. There are two of you. Hmmm...so how do I address both of you at once? Of course, you might be the same person, and just really liked the last chapter. Anyways, I'm glad your still with me on chapter 10, and Sesshomaru is definitely back in the picture! Along with Kephren of course, I couldn't leave him behind. :)
Missing'Nin'Akiko: Sesshomaru is back. Drow beware. :)
musa uchiha: I guess I will pass on the pocky for now, although I like chocolate, so maybe I'll try some later. Poor evil drow, nothing like cheerful innocent whose has been raised by demons to shake up his world. :)
sansho: I couldn't leave Myoga behind. Where's the fun in that? Drow + Demon Flea = my sense of humor. Of course, Kephren is fun too. Thank you for the kind review! :)
CGandaz: Kephren to the rescue! Maybe not. I guess we'll just to wait and see. Hehehe. :)
Rhetorical-Ducky: LOL. The great dog demon is not happy, and I don't think things are going to improve. :)
ColdHeartedVixen: I'm afraid the whining is going to get worse. I'm not done yet. :)