This story has been getting alot of follows and favorites. I really appreciate your support. *bows* This was lightly edited so please be gentle in your reviews. Enjoy.

Halloween (continued)

There were very few things that set Sesshomaru off. Usually it was his mother that brought him to something close to rage. But this was different. His beast was howling and ravenous. Someone had taken their pack mate, their soon-to-be mate if anyone were to ask his beast.

Nakamura had called the police when he saw the blood and the state of her office. Sesshomaru had already called his mother, Shippo, and other Council members on the matter. His kind was already in the area looking for her.

Shippo made his way over to the museum to see if he could find any magic used after Sesshomaru mentioned the residual smell. He hadn't gotten pass the courtyard when he smelled it. It was a faint burnt smell, like charcoal.

"Someone used a concealment spell," he said.

Sesshomaru's ears perked, "Like ours?"

"No, like kitsune magic but darker. Usually charcoal is used in the ritual. It's a spell more about blending in than hiding."

"So, they would've known Kagome would be here tonight for the party."

"Possibly. She normally works Tuesdays. Maybe they hadn't thought there would be so many people here for a party or even you."

"This doesn't tell us where she is."

Shippo sighed, "No. But I can call around and ask some contacts if anyone purchased any charms or items for this kind of magic. We can track them down that way."

Sesshomaru growled. He could only track the smell to the loading docks in the rear of the museum and then it was gone. No tire marks, or even footprints.

The office smelled like her and the burnt smell. That's it.

"I'll start calling around and let you know."

Shippo could see the disappointment and worry in his Alpha's features. Prior to Kagome, he could never really tell what he was thinking, if he was mad, bored, or even happy. Kagome had provided the lens to really see his Alpha as more of a brother than anything.

"I want to find her, too. I want to turn the person who hurt her into charcoal myself. But you can't do anything that will hinder to the search," he told his Alpha. Shippo wanted to give him confidence in his abilities. Kitsune were natural trackers, Shippo was one of the best in his field.

Sesshomaru gave an annoyed look. "If this had been Rin..."

"It isn't Rin, and if it was I would feel the same as you do. But I'll find something and we'll take care of it together. Pack first."

Sesshomaru gave a curt nod and left the museum. He drove to his office to look at his notes on the Rogues they were tracking. He knew Shippo was right. They had nothing on who it could possibly be and he didn't want to stand around like the police and Nakamura waiting for something to show up. Kagome didn't have any enemies but whoever had been following her a few weeks ago had never been found. The only thing that made sense was that a Rogue got wind of Kagome and her powers. Not many knew about the jewel anymore but maybe the mating ceremony had stirred some daiyoukai's lust for the power it possessed. Their investigations on the Rogues were anything but limited. If any of them were known to use magic, he would start there and thoroughly make his way down the list.

Kagome stirred on a cold surface. Her vision blurry and a deafening headache that made her ears ring. There was a light above her that made her want to throw up from its brightness. Not much of the room was discernable from the wash white walls. It looked like a hospital room.

She tried to move but found her arms and legs strapped down and a dark figured in the corner with their back facing her. Instinctively, she willed her reiki to the surface but found nothing. This scared her more than the stranger who was keeping her here. She could still sense the jewel inside of her. Her holy protection was dormant but not gone. She could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry you can't get out of those. They're made from dragon skin," a soft female voice said. Her captor had turned around and walked over to her. Kagome knew her face. The sleekness of her high ponytail, her demeanor and posture were familiar. But something was different. Her cheeks and forehead had iridescent black and green scales, two large fangs jutting from her mouth, and blood red eyes. She didn't know daiyoukai could maintain the eyes without fulling transforming. She must be powerful.

"Recognize me, yet?"

The voice gave her away. "Mizaki?" Kagome didn't understand why Sesshomaru's assistant had her tied up with her powers suppressed and a dark gleam in her eyes.

She gave a chuckle that sound like the rumble of a dark beast. "You must be curious."

Kagome bucked against the retraints, "Let me go."

"Or what? Your Alpha will come to save you? He will not find you here. But I will dump your remains at his doorstep when I am done with you."

"What do you want with me?"

Mizaki smiled, "The only thing that makes you worth anything." A long clawed nail ripped the side of Kagome's kimono exposing the old scar where the jewel had been ripped from her a long time ago. Mizaki cut the skin there and Kagome cried out.

"You're just a human without this, aren't you? The jewel is the only thing that gives you an ounce of desirability. I don't blame your Alpha for holding onto you so tightly. But once I have the jewel, I will bring back the chaos from before the Council and he will not stop me."

Kagome suddenly remembered what Shippo had told her about a daiyokai being executed by the Council whose daughter had been dating Sesshomaru at the time. She hadn't realized that she was still Sesshomaru's assistant. "The Council killed your father."

Mizaki turned away to a small work table with various medical instruments. "Yes. And when you're dead I will come for the three responsible for his murder. The young Shippo you hold so dear who testified to "evidence" of my father's crime. The old Lady of the Forgotten West who judged my father as guilty. And Sesshomaru who executed my father where he stood."

Kagome tried her best to tug at the restraints. If Mizaki was planning what Kagome thought she was planning, she didn't have time to sit there and wait for her to carve her open.

"He killed someone. Another Daiyoukai. It is against your laws."

Mizaki turned around swiftly, slamming her hands against the metal slab that held her latest dissection project. "What do you know of our 'laws'? You only heard of the Council a few months ago. The Council is a merciless band of thugs and I will destroy them."

"You will invite chaos into the world if you use the jewel. Others who are far more driven by rage will try to kill you for its power."

"I don't want power, I was destruction."

"It won't bring your father back," Kagome reasoned.

"I am less interested in you talking and more interested in you screaming," Mizaki sung as she trailed a scalpel down Kagome's scar. Kagome could feel the sharp tool tear through her flesh and dig deep into her. She bit her lips to keep from screaming but it wasn't long until she was singing the song Mizaki had wanted to hear.

Sesshomaru's phone went off no more than an hour after he had reached his office. He answered quickly after seeing Shippo's name on the screen.

"What do you have?"

"Well, my contacts said there was a dragon daiyoukai digging around some Underground kitsune magic shops in the area looking for charcoal made from kitsune fire, dragon teeth and skin, and other rare items."

"Go on." Sesshomaru was impatient.

Shippo sighed, "From what it looks like there were several invocations of magic they are trying to deploy. The concealment one used at the museum, an old binding spell used for mikos, and a purging spell."

"Purge?"

Shippo hesitated for a moment, "I learned from an older kitsune, much older than you, it's used to kill daiyoukai. I'd rather not go into the details but these items were being asked for right before Kagome was attacked the first time."

"So, it's the same person."

"You might want to start looking around for a new assistant."

Shippo explained all of the possible coincidences, the possible explanations. Shippo had no doubt that the daiyoukai who had once been Sesshomaru's potential mate had his current potential mate captive for some reason. His contacts were very thorough and very clear about who was looking around for the sinister items in the Underground. But Sesshomaru was already grabbing Bakusaiga from its spot on the wall above his brother's and father's swords. He would not wait around for someone else to die. Not this time. Not Kagome.

"I will call you when I have Kagome safe."

Before Shippo could try to reason with him, Sesshomaru hung up and made his way to what he knew to be Mizaki's most secure place.

Kagome could barely keep from falling unconscious at the pain in her side. It was far worse than when the centipede youkai tore through her. At least it was quick. Mizaki was taking her sweet time.

But Kagome would not beg. She would not allow this monster the satisfaction of her desperation.

"Did you love him?" Kagome asked as Mizaki was turned toward her work table for a moment.

"Sesshomaru isn't someone you love. He was cold, even to me."

"I love him," Kagome whispered.

"It's a shame you didn't tell him before this. You will die and he will never know." Mizaki turned to her, her face almost sympathetic.

Tears pooled at the corners of Kagome's eyes. "How do you-?"

"I tracked both of you for a long time. I know his schedule very well. I booked the flight you two took to the shrine he holds so dear. I know that's where you kissed."

Kagome licked her lips, "Then you know that he'll be looking for me."

"By the time he figures out it was me, you'll be dead." Mizaki's lips curved into a dark smile.

The door in the corner of the white room swung off its hinges as Kagome let herself slip in darkness. The last thing she remembered was the sound of a fight and the smell of burning flesh. She was consumed by darkness before she could hope it wasn't her own.