Freezing Fire

Chapter 21

Yami couldn't recollect what had happened over the past few moments. The next thing he knew, he was sitting alone in the throne room, dressed and cleaned off all blood. The demon king gazed blankly up to see the empty room was a lot smaller than he ever remembered it was. His head throbbed as Yami leaned back, taking a deep breath. How did he get here? What happened back in his chambers?

Crimson eyes closed as the gentle whispers of Yugi's last words clouded his mind. Yami…you're killing me. The king gasped and stood examining every corner of the room in search of the owner of that voice. Nothing. His heart pounding in his ears was the only thing he could hear. His ears strained for any other noise. Nothing.

Once sure there was no one there, Yami seated himself and looked at the base of the throne. Yugi normally sat that. Killing me ….another weak whispered caressed and mocked his vulnerable state of mind. The demon took a sharp intake of air before clasping both hands on his head. "Shut up! Just shut up!" The fire demon yelled at no one in particular.

This wasn't real. He didn't kill Yugi. There was no Yugi. There never was. Yami removed his hands and swallowed hard. What was he to do now? He couldn't go back to his chambers and sleep off this horror spell. He definitely wasn't hungry after that meal so hunting was out of the question. Yami sighed and stretched one wing over his body. Yugi used to do that whenever they went to sleep.

Yami growled and shook his head. There would be no thoughts of the angel any longer. Yami nodded firmly and stood from his throne. "I never needed him anyway."

"Never needed who?" A voice asked from across the tiny heated room. Yami turned sharply to see Bakura and Ryou entering the throne room. Ryou was staring at the floor, not wanting to look up at anyone. It was no wonder. Bakura had chained the angel in up every way he could so that he was not to leave the priest's sight. "Need some company?"

Yami panicked. If Ryou read this thoughts and found out about what he did….shit. Yami immediately thought of blood, lava, fire, anything to keep his mind off Yugi. "I don't wish to be entertained right now. Go away."

Bakura snickered and sat on the step by the throne, pulling his angel down with him. The creature still refused to look at Yami which the king was grateful for. If the angel knew Yami had killed his created brother he would certainly have him killed. Bakura noticed Yami's permanent stare at his property and yanked on Ryou's chain a little hard. "Don't worry about him. He won't be leaving my sight anytime soon." He turned to Ryou. "Will you my little pet?"

Ryou didn't answer but gave his master a fierce look of anger.

"Oh come now. It's not that bad. I've given you water and food." Bakura listed, rubbing the side of Ryou's wing softly. The angel almost seemed to purr in reaction as Bakura continued. "I've given you a good home. Be a good little pet and stay still." He commanded, giving the angel a pat on the head. He turned back to Yami who felt sick to his stomach. Yugi used to relax like that when he stroked his wing. "So where's your little piece of ass?"

"I don't know." Yami lied quickly. "Off somewhere."

Ryou looked at Yami sharply, trying to figure out what the demon king had meant by that. Yami immediately starting thinking of other things. The demon looked at his black pants while wrapping his wings around himself in discomfort. Heat, meals, fire, bed, silk, black…Yami's mind thought through everything over and over again.

Bakura sniffed lightly and then gave Yami a short smirk. "You feed recently."

Yami's heart skipped a beat as his mind directly starting thinking of things he wished he had forgotten. Blood, death, sweet, lifeless. Yami blinked hard, trying to rid himself of the thoughts he knew Ryou must have heard. Yami…you're killing me, the whisper traveled through his mind. The fire demon didn't have to look up to notice Ryou shaking his head in disbelief. Recollection of the sound of Yugi's deceased body falling to the floor replayed in his head over and over again.

"You murderer!" He screamed, launching himself at Yami, wings beating the chains that held them something furious.

Yami shifted in his seat as Bakura grabbed Ryou's chain and wrestled the angel to the floor. His stomach churned uncomfortably while he listened to his dead angel's friend scream in absolute agony. When Yami looked up, he noticed Bakura had done nothing to harm the pure creature. His priest looked confused as he looked back and forth from Yami to Ryou who was lying limp under him. "Ryou, calm yourself." He directed, trying to soothe the angel. "What is going on here?"

"You killed him!" Ryou shouted, tears streaming down his face. "He trusted you!" The angel leaned against Bakura as the demon held him in his arms. The creature let out scream after scream while Bakura finally put the pieces together. He held his trembling angel as his eyes searched the creature for some sort of explanation.

Crimson eyes stilled on Bakura, expecting him to yell at his angel for showing weakness. However, the demon held his angel tightly acting exceptionally caring. The man gazed up at Yami with a frown on his face. "What happened?"

Yami snorted out a small laugh, trying to be the demon his father had raised him to be. "I'd thought you would have been proud of me."

"What happened?" Bakura repeated.

Yami crossed his arms, feeling the contents of his stomach shift as he sat up straighter. He didn't know how much more of Ryou's howling he could take. Yami looked at his fingers and noticed traces of Yugi's blood under the finger tips. Yami quickly hid his fingers from his eye sight, afraid of any traces of Yugi that remained in this world. "He lied to me."

"He was trying to tell you the truth but you didn't give him a chance!" Ryou screamed, latching himself onto Bakura, crying into his chest. He mumbled something over and over again while Bakura placed an arm around him. "He's gone. He left me alone." Yami finally figured out what Ryou was saying.

"What did he say?" Bakura asked rather emotionlessly.

Yami huffed in frustration as Yugi's accusations returned to his memory. "He claimed my mother was an angel." Bakura gave Yami a startled look. "Yes. An angel. Can you imagine?" Yami questioned, his voice cracking as he tried to keep his cool. "He claimed I was a half breed and that my father had fallen in love with her."

Bakura nodded softly, holding Ryou. "What did you say?"

Yami shook his head. "I don't even remember." He admitted, dismissing the thoughthis eyes searching for the memories in his mind. "I don't know." Yami thought aloud. He felt cold suddenly, his body shivered as he wrapped his wings tighter around his body. "I wanted him dead."

"So you killed him?" Bakura asked, his tone caught between amusement and disbelief.

Yami felt outraged. "Why are you acting as if I committed some sort of crime? I thought you'd be damn well satisfied that I finally got rid of him. I will not have slaves around my palace that try to cloud my mind with nonsense and rumors." He nodded firmly at his decision. He had done nothing wrong and no one, not even Ryou could make him think otherwise.

"Hm." Was Bakura's response as he held Ryou tighter. "Hush, now." He said sternly to his angel who sobbed uncontrollably.

The demon king blinked at Bakura's response to his questions. The priest was avoiding his inquisitions and it bothered him deeply. Yami swallowed the lump that formed in his chest. "Bakura." He said quietly. The priest looked up at him with a soft look on his face. It was the softest look Yami had ever seen on his features. "Bakura, you knew my father. These…accusations, these lies….they aren't true. Right?"

Bakura was silent as he looked back down at Ryou.

"Bakura, answer me." Yami demanded in a whisper, his eyes trailing throughout the empty room. It started to spin and darken more than usual.

"You father…" Bakura sighed and then started again. "You're father knew the risks with mating with an angel. He thought she had turned against her kind. But when she was pregnant with you, she demanded to take you to her kind, the angels."

Yami shook his head. "No." He whispered, his voice tearing at the seams.

Bakura took a deep breath. "It's not a big deal, Yami. Only a select few of us knew. Your father demanded that no one was to know for you would be killed. With his old age he needed an heir and your mother seemed to be the only one who…carried his blood line." Bakura explained. Ryou cried louder and the priests hushed him once more. "When you were born, she tried to take you back to her kind after your father said you would inherit the kingdom. She didn't get far. Your father was so compelled by anger that he created a dagger that would kill all those angel's who blood crossed the blade. Primary, it was made it kill your mother."

Yami didn't trust his voice but spoke anyway. "So I….am an abomination." He declared, staring at his hands.

"You are a demon as your father raised you to be." Bakura corrected. "Your blood line, though not pure, has had nothing to do with your ability to be king. You have ruled over this realm with just as much spite as anyone else who has pure blood."

It wasn't what Yami wanted to hear. He didn't know what he wanted to hear. All Yami knew was that Yugi probably would have told him exactly what he needed to hear and that it would have made everything okay. But Yugi wasn't there anymore. The demon king stood on shaky legs and unwrapped his wings from about his freezing body. "I wish to rest." He stated, walking slowly back to his chambers.

"You have nothing to be worried about, Yami." Bakura called after him. "You are nothing like your mother."

At the moment, for some odd reason, Yami wished he was. Would it have made things different for him? Would it have made that big of a difference between his relationship with his father, his priests, and his…and Yugi? Yami turned his head slightly and looked back at Ryou who gave him a destroyed look. I am truly sorry. He thought as loudly as he could.

Ryou started crying loudly again, a clear indicator that he had heard the demon king. Yami turned his head and began his slow journey back to his chambers. His stomach gave him a feeling that he had never had before. It felt too full, something that Yami had rarely felt, much less to this degree. Yami swallowed, stopping his walking to hold his hand on the wall to steady himself. He shook with a cold fear he had never felt before.

After he was steady, Yami again made his way back to the place he wished he didn't have to go. But the demon needed closure and rest. Yami's black wings dragged on the floor as Yami spotted his door. Three guards made their way down the hall and spotted the king they bowed their respects before looking at him. "I won't be needing any guarding tonight. Find some better use for yourselves." Yami advised in a whisper.

Yami shut his door and leaned his forehead against it, afraid to turn around. The demon king could smell the blood still fresh in the room, making his dizzy. His stomach churned again causing the king to place his hand over it to steady himself. What was wrong with him? His stomach hurt. His chest felt like it was under some sort of pressure he had never felt before.

Slowly, Yami turned around, looking for the biggest mistake he had ever made. The king spotted an arm peeking out from behind his bed. A single pale arm. His heart told him not to but his legs would not listen; Yami began his slow walk towards that arm. His eyes drifted to the bed where he saw his newly changed sheets all in a bundle. The black sheets that were never supposed to show dirt had stains on them. They looked wet. Yami stopped walking and gently grazed the sheets with his finger tips. His fingers traveled over a wet spot. The demon lifted his hand to see crimson staining his fingers. Yami brought the shaky hand to his nose and inhaled.

His stomach twisted in agony as he quickly rested his hand at his side. His breathing became irregular as he looked to see one of Yugi's legs on the other side of the floor by his bed. He still could not see the angel's face. Yami tried to stop the dizzy feeling that was over coming him but it was becoming too strong.

Yami whimpered as his stomach twisted again. He felt strange…as if something was coming up. Yami fell to his knees and before he realized what happened, the contents of his stomach were expelled from his body like a lethal poison. His body shook terribly as his stomach heaved and heaved until every drop of his angel's precious blood had left his body.

Yami gasped for air as he collapsed in his own bloody vomit, shaking something horrible as his stomach clenched again. Gaining some energy from his odd cold spell, Yami got to his hands and knees. He tried to stand but he slipped in blood and fell, his arm sliding through what remained of Yugi's blood. Yami let out a startled cry as he got to his hands and knees again, quickly crawling away from the mess he made to the end of his bed. Fear and disgust were the only emotions running through his body now.

The demon king leaned against the back of the bed, the physical pressure on his body relieved. Yami took breath after breath of air, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat. His gasps became something he had never let out before, cries.

Yami turned slightly, getting back on his bloody hands and knees and slowly crawled around to the other side of his bed. There, Yugi's naked body lay on the floor in such an awkward position. Yami stared at the body before crawling over to it. He cried out in realization as he touched the frozen corpse. Yami sat on his side and shuddered, swaying back and forth as he looked around him, unsure what to do. He felt so lost.

After a moment, Yami dragged Yugi's cold body into his arms. He stroked the soft wing harshly, gazing at Yugi's pale-grey face. "Open your eyes." Yami commanded, his voice shaking more than his body. "Open them!" He shouted.

"He can't hear you." A soft voice came from his balcony. Yami looked up from his crippled position to see Ryou situated there, his wings clamped tightly at his side. Tear were still streaming down his face as he looked at his dead friend. "Thanks to you, he can't hear anything anymore."

Yami glanced back down at Yugi, brushing the blond bangs out of his face. "Little one, wake up." Yami urged his eyes becoming blurred.

"He can't hear you!" Ryou screamed, the cries coming again.

Yami picked the angel up and brought him to the bed. He wrapped a sheet around the teen and held him close to his body, looking the broken form up and down. The neck wounds oozed slightly with whatever remained of the creature's blood. Blood smears coated his face and arms, obviously from his futile attempts to get away from the monster that killed him. Yami tucked the sheet around Yugi tighter.

"What are you doing?" Ryou whimpered, walking up to Yami and the dead angel in his arms.

"He's cold." Yami murmured. "I just need to warm him up."

Ryou stared at him in disbelief. "He doesn't need a blanket, you bastard! He's dead!"

Yami shook his head. "No. He's playing. He's a good actor." Yami smiled, brushing the angel's bangs from his eyes once more. His voice was unusually bright and cheery. "He just needs to rest. I should let him rest."

"You killed him!" Ryou screamed in his ear. "He's gone because of you!"

"Shut up!" Yami hissed at him. Ryou jumped back, afraid. Yami's eyes blurred again as he looked back at his angel, his Yugi. "You'll wake him."

"He's dead."

"Shut up!" Yami screamed. Ryou tried to take Yugi's body from the demon king but Yami slashed at him quickly with his claws. "Don't touch him! He's mine! Mine!" Yami screamed. He pulled Yugi tighter against his body, wondering if he was going to break a rib soon. "Mine."

"Yami." Ryou cried softly.

The demon would hear no more. He screamed. There were no words in the scream, it was just a scream. A scream of agony that his chest had been holding tightly in ever since he left his chambers. Yami buried his face into Yugi's hair and rocked back and forth. Sobs escaped his throat when Ryou placed a hand on his shoulder.

And Yami cried.

Warm bloody tears rolled down his cheeks and onto Yugi's hair and the demon let out scream after scream. He needed his Little One back. His Yugi needed to come back. Nothing was right; nothing was okay without him there. Yami wasn't even sure why but the angel was needed by Yami's side. "You should have killed me when you had the chance." Yami whispered.

Ryou was quiet, keeping his hand on Yami's shoulder as the demon cried for what seemed like hours. Finally, the hand was removed and Yami felt himself being left alone. He looked up to see that indeed, Ryou was gone. Yami smelled Yugi's hair and shook with cold. He placed Yugi on the bed and looked over his covered form. His wings, whiter than ever, lay limply by his side. Yami straightened them and stroked them as more bloody tears leaked down his face. He had never felt so weak…and he didn't care.

Yami gazed over the angel once more. He wished he could rewind back. One more smile. One more sarcastic remark; one more rebellious act; one more anything would have made the demon happy. Yami laid next to the broken body, sighing and wiping the remaining bloody tears from his eyes. He had never felt more exhausted in his entire life. The fire demon placed his head by Yugi's face and brought the teen into his arm once more.

Yami smelt the blood of his angel on his nose and quickly wiped away the remaining blood on his angel's neck and blinked when more appeared. Hadn't he drunk the remainder of the creature's blood? Then how was it still oozing out of his neck? It didn't make any sense. Yami sat up and drew Yugi's body with him. How could a creature bleed after death? They weren't supposed to.

Yami shook with a sudden spark of hope. He slowly drew his hand to Yugi's face, caressing the cheek and placing a finger right below his nose.

A small amount of heat left the body and onto Yami's finger. The demon felt his eyes widened as he allowed Yugi's body to lie in his lap limply. Carefully, Yami leaned down and placed his ear onto Yugi's chest.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

Thump, thump.

TBC

Feed me?