A/N: Hey! Second chapter in the same day! This is my way of apologizing for not updating over the weekend, so enjoy it! We're back to Li and Chikara (I almost can't believe that dude came out of my mind...) and our favorite queen doesn't seem too happy. Ah, well. It shouldn't take the boys too long to arrive.

Disclaimer still stands (I don't really have to repeat it all the time, do I?) so just read the story already.

-Six weeks later, five weeks until New Year's Eve-

(Li-Sanya's POV)

It had been about five weeks since Chikara had brought me to the Tower of Hyre. For the first week, I hadn't seen anyone except for the occasional servant and then only briefly. My only window to the outside world, literally and figuratively, was a small hand mirror that I could use a scrying spell on. After the first week, though, Chikara had started calling me into his quarters until now I was seeing him every night for dinner and then a usually short talk afterwards. So far, I had managed to keep him off by coming up with things to amuse him and by telling him that I would tell him everything on New Year's Eve. It seemed to work; so far, he hadn't really pressured me to do anything if I expressed a disinterest and he hadn't asked me why I had left him again, either. All I could hope was that the boys were on their way and that they would get here before New Year's. I had tried scrying them in the mirror, but all I got was the edge of the lands surrounding the Tower. Apparently, Chikara had a barrier that prevented anyone from scrying in or out.

The weeks following that first week had been lonely and I would have given anything to hear even Yusuke's annoying whine. My thoughts had started out as plans about how to get the amulet, but they had eventually started to turn more and more often to Kurama until I was thinking about him nearly every waking moment. I wondered if he was thinking about me as much as I was him. In my boredom, I began to replay every moment I had ever been even in the same room as him. I really didn't have all that many memories, considering I had only known him personally for about a week and a half, really. It got so that I could have told you exactly what he'd been wearing and what his expression had been at any moment.

I wasn't sure if Chikara noticed how I would space out every now and then for a few moments, but I knew that the servants did, because I would come out of those trance-like moments sometimes to see a small imp's face looking up at me worriedly or a gentle deer demon shaking me. Chikara did seem to be wanting more and more out of me, though, as he kept on sending me dresses to wear that showed more and more, until I finally had to put my foot down at a skimpy, almost see-thru dress that barely covered what it should. After that, I never saw that or some of the other dresses again, though he did start to serve alcoholic beverages at dinner.

Our discussions after dinner were almost always about innocuous things, such as the weather that day, or the efficiency of the servants, or, once, the rising fame of the Spirit Detectives. Never did he or I bring up the subject of Kurama or why I was there. One night, however, towards the end of the fifth week, he brought up the subject of the amulet.

He had been drinking wine and, after several glasses, he was obviously at least slightly drunk. We had started out talking about the décor of the room we were in, a many-sided chamber decorated with hunt scenes and dark green, maroon and amber colors. He wanted to change it, but wasn't sure what he really wanted to be there. I liked the room; it was probably one of my favorites in the whole Tower. It had been here; decorated like this, since the last time I had been here. After a while of talking about color schemes, he went silent, staring meditatively into his wineglass. I also had a glass of wine, but I had barely sipped at it, not really liking that particular vintage.

Then he had looked up at me with a wild look in his eyes and he had stood up. At first, I thought he was going to try something, but he started to speak and I realized that the wine had finally affected him enough and he was just talking about whatever was on his mind.

"You know, Sanya, when you left, I was devastated." He had said, waving his nearly empty wineglass in the air. "I didn't know what to do when you disappeared. I thought some other demon must have snatched you away from me and you'd come back when you could, but you didn't return." Here he had turned to stare at me intently. "I wanted to bring you back to my side, but I didn't know where you were and if there was someone who would fight to keep you. I needed something else. Then I heard about this fabulous thing." That was the clincher; he never said the word 'fabulous' when he was sober; he thought it was for those who had no vocabulary. His expression grew secretive and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Here, I want to show you something." He had grabbed my arm, pulling me out of the room. Several moments later, he had opened a hidden door in the wall of a corridor that was surprisingly close to my quarters. I followed him inside, curious.

To my surprise, I found myself in the circular room that I had seen him in when he had contacted me the day before the boys and I had set out on our journey. The rugs, cushions and tapestries were just how I had seen them, but I wasn't paying any attention to them, I was staring at the large black throne that dominated the room as the only real piece of furniture in it. Chikara had gone over to kneel in front of it, messing with something on it. He seemed to have forgotten me, so I edged forward to look over his shoulder at what he was doing. Almost unconsciously, I memorized the way he undid the latch so I could do it if I had to.

"Aha!" He reached into the revealed chamber and drew something out, a fine gold chain hanging over his fingers. He turned to me with eyes shining with the excitement of a small child. "Here. This is what I stole to get you back." He said, holding his hand out so I could see what it was. I was expecting it, but it still came as a surprise.

The amulet itself was simple, a piece of carved and fired clay, with a chain threaded through it. As a demon, however, I could see the spells that infused it, were it, and made it what it was. Without the spells, it was just a pretty piece of art. With the spells, though, it became a powerful and deadly weapon. Chikara had shown it to me with the back towards me, so I wouldn't be accidentally turned to stone. As I had looked at the familiar inscription side facing me, I thought about the riddle written at the end. I hadn't found the answer to it yet, but I felt I was closer than ever to figuring out what it had meant. The first few lines leapt out at me and I could feel tears start to well up as I thought about whom they were talking about, the boys I had had to leave.

Then Chikara had drawn it back as if he was afraid I would take it and had quickly replaced it in its secret hiding spot, no longer a secret. He had escorted me back to my room and had left me there.

Now, at the end of my sixth week of imprisonment in the Tower, I was more alone than ever and more helpless than I had ever felt in my life. I lay on my bed, so different from the one back at the boys' mansion. Where that one had been plush and enveloping, this one was lumpy and stiff. Everything about this place screamed different: the walls, the closet, the bathroom, the floor, and the inhabitants. My mind didn't seem to want to work now, all that I could find the energy to think was that the boys were on their way, that I would see them fairly soon, that this thing was half over.

Getting up, I walked over to the desk and sat down, picking up the mirror as I did. Waving my hand over the surface, I waited for it to crystallize into a different scene. When it did, I was just about the most relieved I've ever been in my life. There, just inside the boundary, were the boys and Hakana, getting ready to settle down for the night. I zoomed in on them, wishing I could hear what they were saying and that I could talk to them. Just seeing them, though, was more than I had asked for, so I really couldn't complain.

I watched as Yusuke and Kuwabara got on Hiei's nerves so much that the short fire demon actually drew his sword. I smiled; they hadn't changed much. As much as I enjoyed watching them, I didn't miss the fact that Kurama was unnaturally withdrawn and antisocial, or that after they had eaten, he went off a ways with Hakana. Leaving the others, I followed the fox demon as he walked away with the wood imp. Sitting down, he leaned against a tree and faced towards the Tower of Hyre, facing me. He started to talk to Hakana, asking questions and the wood imp did his best to answer them. Finally, he seemed to run out of questions and he just sat there, looking towards the Tower. I saw the sad look on his face and I wanted to reach out and comfort him, to tell him that I was right there. But when I tried, I met the mirror's surface. Then he stood up and, turning, walked away, back to the others. I watched him go before dissolving the spell.

I sat there, the mirror held loosely in my hands, thinking about how to get the amulet and destroy it. My mind was revitalized and I had a new determination to see this mission through. Suddenly, I realized what a few of the lines in the verse had meant. I laughed.

"'Now, queen, triumphant return, to one you hold dear.'" I put the mirror down and looked at it, thinking about what it had shown me. "Don't worry, Kurama; I'll come back to you. Just believe in me and I'll be fine." Leaning back in my chair, I stared at the ceiling, up to Chikara's quarters. "You are going to go down, Chikara." I said and laughed again. I felt giddy, happy for the first time since I'd arrived in this foul, misbegotten place. "You are so going down."

The next day, I woke up with a new determination. I was going to do as much as I could to prepare my plan for execution once the boys arrived, but to do anything, I would need the help of the servants. Luck was with me; the servant who came with my breakfast was a wood imp, with such a resemblance to Hakana that I was sure they were related. As he set the large tray on the small table where I ate, I bent over, making a pretense of examining the food on the tray. What I was really doing was muttering to him out of the corner of my mouth.

"Hey. Do you know Hakana?" I didn't look up at his startled look, but continued to examine a pastry for any microscopic specks of imperfection. He looked around cautiously, then leaned in closer.

"How do you know his name?" He asked in a whisper, also looking at the pastry intently. I set the pastry down.

"He is with some friends of mine." I said, picking up a tart that was lying next to where I had set the pastry down. The imp picked up a different tart, immediately catching on to what I was doing.

"How do I know I can trust you?" He asked, suddenly suspicious. I blinked; I hadn't expected this question, though, as soon as I heard it, I knew it was a reasonable one. Time for some quick thinking and a gamble, then.

"I take it you know about the Stone Eye?" I asked, remembering Junei's term for the amulet. The imp hesitantly nodded. "Well, I've come to destroy it, just as the prophecy says." I saw the imp's eyes go wide out of the corner of my eye and I gave a silent relieved sigh, glad my gamble had paid off.

"The prophecy is to be fulfilled?" He asked, his voice full of awe. I nodded slightly.

"Yes, and my friends will help, as soon as they arrive with Hakana." I knew I had him, then, as he bowed his head over the tart he was holding.

"Then Ito is at your service, Lady." He said reverently. "I am the center of the Tower's secret information web; I know all that happens here. If you ever need me, send a message with whoever serves you breakfast." I nodded; such a thing would come in handy. Then I frowned slightly as something else occurred to me.

"Hey, Ito?" The wood imp looked up with questioning eyes. "Would you be familiar with Junei?" I saw his eyes go wide at the mention of the Hunter alpha's name.

"What business do you have with that terrible creature?" he asked fearfully. I glanced up at him, slightly surprised at his reaction. I chose my next words carefully.

"My reach is far and my powers unnamable." I said in a low voice. "The alpha of the Dark Lord's Hunters is my servant, willing to serve me should I call for his assistance. I asked because I currently do not know where he is." I raised an eyebrow at Ito. "I thought you would know." The imp seemed to come to a quick decision and nodded.

"I do know where he is. The Dark Lord's Hunters lair in the far reaches of the dungeons, let out only for the Hunt. Junei is the only one allowed out at any other time. They are starving and sickly, but that makes them only the more ferocious and they have already killed several of those sent to feed them." By his expression, I gathered that some of those killed had been relatives or friends. "They have no regard for reason or logic, being instead beasts that care for nothing except for the Hunt." I tapped my chin as I thought.

"Hmm. So, what is the Hunt?" I thought I remembered something about a hunt from when I'd been here before, but it had never occurred during that time, so I really didn't know what it was. Ito took a deep breath and continued in a subdued voice.

"The Hunt. It is held on the winter equinox, every fortieth year. At this time, all the servants are required to cook up a fabulous feast, the likes of which you could only dream of. The Dark Lord invites over many other demons and they eat and drink. Then they all go outside, and the Dark Lord calls his Hunters and they come in a tide of darkness." Ito shivered, but continued on bravely. "Then they set loose the Stag, a pale apparition that is made by the Dark Lord to give his Hunters a good hunt and a full meal. No one knows exactly what the Stag is, but all agree that it is not a physical thing with a sound, smell or feel. It looks like a stag, though, a white one, with red eyes." The imp fell silent as he remembered. I was about to reach out and shake him when he blinked and looked up at me. "That is all Ito can tell you, Lady. No one else can tell you more, except the Dark Lord himself or Junei, or perhaps even my cousin, Hakana, though he is not here. The Hunt will be held this year though, fourteen days before the New Year's." I nodded.

"Good. Thank you, Ito, you have helped more than you realize. Now, you should be going before the Dark Lord realizes you have stayed so long." The imp nodded and scuttled out the door, closing it softly behind him. I watched him go, a thoughtful look on my face.

"The Hunt, then?" I murmured. "Perhaps I will attend this Hunt." I glanced at the mirror, sitting on my desk, and smiled. The plan was coming together.

A/N: This Hunt sounds like fun business! Ito talks just like Hakana, though that's not too surprising considering they're cousins. Li doesn't seem to have lost any of her manipulating ability in the years between her rule and now, though. Things are really starting to come together, now, so more action in the next few chapters and more of the riddle revealed.

Adios! Haliaetus.