Alright everyone I'm back. To start off I want to say hi to Tina Chan-0. I was starting to wonder if something had happened to you so thanks for the review. Also thanks to both cocoke5 and Kaihaku No Iroke for their congrats. You all may wish for it to be over now but the year flies by very quickly. About what happened with Healo, you're going to get a little more explanation in this chapter. A few more hints about something unexpected that will come up soon. Oh! By the way I've had a HUGE response in the number of hits for the past few chapters. I just wanted to know if you all are re-reading, are telling other people to read, or it's just happening on its own. So let me know and…REVIEW!!!

CHAPTER XIV

CAPTURED AND FREED

Kagomes POV

Kagome yawned as she awoke to see a bright red sun shining across the ocean. She dressed quickly when she noticed that her room-mate had already left. The miko shrugged off the strange feelings she was experiencing as she continued to get ready. When she opened the door and arrived on the main deck she found a very strange sight. The miko immediately realized that it was far too quiet. That was when they saw her.

There were about fifteen of them. At first she couldn't figure out what they were, but then she saw the distinctive feline figure of them. Kagome's eyes widened as she said sharply ", Panther demons?" A green eyed male turned to her with a predatory grin as he said smoothly ", Ah! The miko. Just as he told us. She will fetch a fair price, especially since she is supposed to have some of the jewel shards." The miko made an involuntary grasp for the shards around her neck.

The demon laughed and said ", Don't worry. We were told not to harm you or this one." The panther moved and pointed at one of the bodies that was on the deck. Kagome began to feel terrified when she realized that all of her companions were unconscious. 'How did they pull that off?' the miko thought as she glanced at her friends. She realized that her captor was pointing at the Northern Lord, whose expression, along with the other three brothers, made it seem that whatever had happened they had at least struggled against it.

The demon grinned again as he said ", Wondering what happened to them? Well, these four put up quite a struggle," he indicated them with his finger then continued ", but after about ten of these even the most powerful demon will lose it." He held out a small circular ball which Kagome examined curiously from a distance before asking carefully ", Poisoned gas?" His smile became surprised as he replied ", Yes actually. Once you experience you won't wake for hours, but we have to get your demon buddies to our lair before the powder wears off."

Kagome tensed as she saw the panther lightly toss the ball at her feet. As the black vapors swirled around her she struggled against the urge to fall asleep. After a few seconds it became to painful and the miko allowed herself to fall into blissful forgetfulness for several hours. Her last thoughts were that she hadn't even tried to defend herself since she had left her bow in the room.

Healo's POV

The Northern Lord's eyes fought off the blood red gleam of his demon heritage. It would do his friends no good to go berserk while most of them were still unconscious. In fact, Healo and his three brothers were the only ones awake so far, but some of the guards were beginning to stir more often. 'Hopefully they will all awaken within a few hours,' he thought as his blue eyes lingered on the helpless miko. He couldn't help but feel partially responsible for bringing her into this.

"She wanted to come," Inuyasha said in a defiant tone. Healo was silent for a moment before sighing and replying ", I know that, but she may have still felt pressured to come. To prove herself to us." The half-demon shook his head and said ", For all your understanding you sure don't know very much about Kagome." The Northern Lord's reply came from his own guilt as he said ", Oh? And I suppose you know everything about her? If you did maybe you'd stop hurting her. Maybe you would have stopped calling her names and making her feel inferior. Did you do any of those things Inuyasha? No."

Sesshomaru gave an approving look but it was small consolation for the hurt expression that overtook the hanyou's usually confident 'don't care' attitude. Healo's eyes clouded as he said very softly ", Inuyasha. I didn't mean any of that. I have no right to make any comments about your decisions. You're right about Kagome. She is a very honorable woman and would not have allowed us to go without her. I'm just glad that I decided not to allow Sulam to accompany us." Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably before asking ", Any reason outside of the obvious?"

The Western Lord commented wryly ", This is a surprise. I didn't know that he would understand the obvious reason." The half-demon only glared before the Northern Lord responded to his question ", A very important reason is that now there might be a chance for the line to continue, and he may become powerful enough to kill me if Naraku is the one backing these pirates." Inuyasha glanced around in confusion and asked "What do you mean?"

The Northern Lord sighed as his silver haired brother answered ", You are impossibly naïve half-breed. Naraku wants an heir to the imperial throne to use Kamikura to unleash some untold devastation. Our brother believes that he may be this heir. Now just put the two together." The hanyou growled in irritation as Magus spoke up ", Yes. And that must be prevented at all costs. We can all imagine Naraku with the jewel. Imagine him with the jewel and the power of the Kamikura."

Inuyasha did not respond to this statement but he seemed to sag slightly as if he was pondering the possible ramifications. Healo turned again to their companions as he waited for them to awaken. The panther demons lair seemed to be a damp cave not far from the ocean itself. There were several guards standing near them and so it was rather easy to pick up on an intriguing conversation that was taking place.

"How long do we keep them here?" asked one panther who appeared to be younger and less experienced then his friend. The response was ", A few days at most. The boss should send someone to come pick them up, or maybe, he will come himself." His younger friend asked ", Why does he even want them?" The gruff response was ", Haven't you been paying attention? The miko has some shards of the sacred jewel."

Undaunted the younger demon asked ", Then why does he want that blue eyed demon?" Healo listened in even more carefully. The older panther said ", Our mole in the palace says that he might be the imperial heir. Besides what does it matter to us. We get to take down the Western line which ensures our independence from the Western Lands." The Northern Lord started at the statements as he said mentally to all his brothers ", There is a spy in the palace."

There was a pause for a few moments before Sesshomaru's voice echoed inside Healo's head ", Do you believe that anyone at the palace would do this?" Inuyasha's voice responded ", Maybe it was one of those talkative servants you have." The Northern Lord responded quietly ", We will not be able to solve this mystery here it will have to wait till we get back to the palace." Magus responded in a hesitant tone ", What makes you think that we will get back?"

The demon lord was fell silent. There was nothing to make him feel confident that they would survive this, but that didn't stop him from feeling that they would somehow make it out. Time passed slowly as the guards were no longer speaking and in boredom Healo decided to see what was going on with his intended. The Northern Lord closed his eyes and concentrated on connecting with the young miko's mind.

For a moment he couldn't see anything but he could hear the young woman's frightened breathing. When eye sight returned he found that he was standing on a dark cliff beyond which was only darkness. Standing about a foot to the right of the demon lord was the miko herself. She was staring wide eyed at a figure that was only about twenty feet away from them. Healo was undaunted as he looked upon the menacing figure in the baboon pelt.

His eyes did not leave the figure but he said firmly ", Kagome this is only a dream. Everyone is waiting for you to awaken." The miko did not turn as she said ", No. This is real, I can sense the jewel shards. He's getting closer." The figure laughed menacingly as he replied ", The woman is correct. You only have a few hours of freedom left. Since you are here this only confirms my thought. You are the imperial heir. I will be able to find a use for you."

Healo did not respond but moved quickly to lay a hand on the frightened miko as he concentrated on pulling her and himself out of the nightmarish situation. This was a very delicate operation since he could end up going insane if he didn't accomplish it in just the right way. The demon lord blinked and hoped that he would find himself back inside the cave. He was not disappointed.

When the Northern Lord glanced at Kagome he was not surprised to find that she still appeared to be disturbed by the experience. He resisted the impulse to wrap an arm around her, knowing what kind of reaction he would get from Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, but he tried to send comfort through his abilities to her. Sesshomaru did not speak when he realized that the miko was awake but he did regard her coolly with his golden orbs. Inuyasha did respond with ", Are you ok?"

Kagome looked at him then smiled as she said kindly ", Yes. I'm fine. So where are we?" She was answered by the leader of the panthers who said arrogantly ", My base. Don't worry you won't be hear for long, but soon enough you'll wish you had been allowed to stay here." The miko did not say anything back to the demon, her look of dismissal was enough, but she did think ', I can sense a jewel shard coming this way.'

Healo tensed. It appeared that they might have even less time than Naraku had said. However, when a commotion began the Northern Lord felt a stir of hope that, perhaps, all was not lost. A large group of demons moved quickly into the cave and the unprepared panther demons gave a very weak attempt at resistance before fleeing.

The Northern Lord struggled to stand in case these demons also turned out to be enemies, but he paused when he looked more closely at them. Many of them were Northern Wolves, and the others were a inu from all of the different lands. Healo was the first to speak as he said ", I can assume that we have arrived in this 'hidden kingdom.' One of the wolves spoke up in an excited voice ", Noble sir, you are correct. I am so glad that my company and I arrived to help you, but I must admit that these panthers were our main target. May I know your names?"

Healo glanced towards his younger half-brother he gave a curt nod. The Northern Lord said ", I am Healo Tepes, Lord of the Northern Lands, these are my brothers Lord Magus, Lord Sesshomaru, of the Western Lands, and Lord Inuyasha." The demon heard a small huff behind him and smiled at the miko's irritation, however, she would not be considered important by the wolves of the North. 'Hopefully we can finally start to figure out this mess,' the Northern Lord thought grimly as he glanced around at his companions.

Ok. First want to apologize for the lateness, and I know it isn't as good as some other chapters because I was trying to update. Next chapter will be more detailed. Don't forget to answer my question at the top. Also. REVIEW!!!