Heart of Darkness
By Icewyche
Chapter Seven: The Visitor
They were in the dojo again, and once more the air rang with the clash of metal blades. Sage smiled inwardly as he evaded a particularly tricky move of Carey's, then countered it with one of his own. It wasn't a move he had shown her before, but she blocked it quickly, proving that she could think on her feet. Her eyes twinkled at him as she danced out of his reach, forcing him to pursue her in order to continue their battle.
Their fight earlier had cleared the air between them, and he was grateful for that. By the time he called the exercise to a halt, Sage was more than pleased with Carey's progress. She had surpassed even his expectations for her and he told her so, smiling as her lovely face glowed with pleasure. If it came down to it, he felt that she at least had a fighting chance against the demon. He would continue to work with her, but for now they were both sweaty and exhausted and needed a rest.
"I'll be in the shower," he told her. Carey nodded absently as she stretched, working the kinks out of her muscles.
The hot water felt heavenly. Sage just stood under the shower for a moment, letting the heat loosen muscles that were knotted not only from hard exercise, he realized, but also from tension. He closed his eyes and let himself relax. He knew the battle was far from over, but at least now they had more of a chance.
He was rinsing the shampoo from his hair when he felt a slight draft, followed a second later by a pair of slim arms sliding around his waist and a tiny nipping kiss between his shoulder blades. He turned to see Carey smiling at him. "I decided I could use a shower too," she purred, but the look in her eyes told him she had something else in mind. His smile matched her own as he reached for her.
They kissed and caressed until they were beyond ready, maddened with desire. Spurred on by his lover's soft moans, Sage braced Carey against the tile wall, holding her close so that she wouldn't fall. Her arms wrapped around him, her small hands sliding over his wet skin as she kissed him deeply.
Sage's body jerked with a sudden, searing pain. He looked down and saw the tips of bloody talons emerging from his chest. Stunned, not comprehending, he gazed at Carey. She smiled, baring her teeth --- and her face became that of the demon. Her eyes glowed red as she held him helpless and impaled. His vision dimming, Sage could only watch through wide, shocked eyes as she bent slightly and licked his blood from one of her talons. The last thing he saw was the demon's evil grin, just before the razor-sharp teeth tore out his throat.
Sage bolted awake with a scream. He sat rigidly upright, staring into the darkness, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would jump out of his chest as he gasped frantically for air.
"Sage --- Sage, are you all right?" A dim light snapped on to his right, and he turned to see Carey beside him, rubbing her eyes as she struggled out of sleep. She squinted at him in alarm. "Madre de Dios, honey, what's wrong?"
He could only stare at her with wild eyes, shaking uncontrollably as he recalled the horrifying image of the nightmare --- the woman he loved transforming into an otherworldly beast. His pallor and the obvious terror in his eyes was enough to awaken Carey fully. "Sage, what is it? Was it a bad dream?" She reached out and took his hand, her eyes widening at its coldness. "Darling, snap out of it, you're safe, it's all right."
He couldn't help it --- all he could see were those hellish red eyes and his own lifeblood on that savagely grinning mouth. He yanked his hand from her grasp with an inarticulate cry of horror and bolted from their bed, struggling clumsily into his robe as he fled to the guest room. He locked the door behind him and crawled into the cold, unused bed, wrapping the sheets tightly about his shivering body. Carey knocked at the door, but he ignored her gentle, worried entreaties until she finally gave up and went back to bed. Huddled in the tangled blankets, he stared into the darkness until his eyes finally closed from sheer exhaustion, a single thought whispering over and over through his mind like a poisoned mantra.
I can't trust anyone anymore. Not even her.
Rowen rubbed his eyes and glared balefully at the stack of papers in front of him --- the results of today's quiz. He was sorely tempted to just toss the whole pile out the window and the hell with it. Half the students hadn't read the assignments, and the ones who did were for the most part too lazy to try and comprehend it. He strongly suspected the majority of them had just read the Cliffs Notes instead.
It really wasn't fair, he thought resentfully. He was smarter than most of the Engineering faculty, but for some reason the chairman of the department had taken a dislike to him --- probably knows his days are numbered, the senile old goat --- and had saddled Rowen with the remedial classes. Of course, the official explanation was that a graduate student wasn't ready to teach the advanced courses, never mind that he had done his last year of regular studies and his first year of grad school simultaneously…Rowen sighed. Well, the sooner he got this out of the way, the better.
He was shaking his head over one student's blatant disregard for anything approaching scientific fact when he noticed that the room seemed to be getting lighter. He looked up, and his jaw dropped --- a pillar of light was coalescing beside his desk. As his brain was processing this information, the pillar spoke.
"Rowen?"
"AAAAHH!" Rowen jerked backward with a startled yell, a move that caused his chair to overbalance and dumped him unceremoniously onto the floor. As he shoved the chair off him and scuttled backwards, a girl peered over his desk. Wide, dark-blue eyes regarded him from a piquant little face framed by long, straight black hair. A shakujo jangled softly in one small hand. "Rowen, are you all right?" the girl queried.
"Kayura?" Rowen exclaimed in disbelief. He got to his feet and hauled his chair upright. "Don't do that!" he huffed.
"Sorry," Lady Kayura apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you like that --- I just figured that this was the most direct way to reach you."
"Next time try the door," Rowen replied dryly. "So, now that you've taken about ten years off my life span, what can I do for you? You didn't come by just to visit, am I right?"
Kayura looked solemn. "I came to warn you. Rowen, something has been unleashed on the mortal world, something extremely dangerous…and I think it's after the Ronins."
"Yeah, well, you're a little late there," Rowen informed her. "It already has one of us, and the rest of us have made its acquaintance --- the hard way."
"What do you mean, it has one of you?"
"We think it has Ryo. What, you didn't know? Aren't you supposed to be overseeing all these demonic beasties in the Nether Realm?"
"Yes, and just the fact that it's gotten this far…" Kayura frowned. "Rowen, we may be running out of time. I need you to tell me everything you know about this demon. Can we talk privately here?"
Rowen glanced at the door. "I doubt it. The department head likes to barge in on me every so often. Let's take a walk around campus." He eyed Lady Kayura's flowing white robes. "Or maybe not. That outfit's a little conspicuous."
"Not a problem." The air around Kayura shimmered, bathing her in an opaque, opalescent white glow. When it cleared, she was clad in a short, frilly rose-print dress and high heels and carried a small matching handbag. "How's this?"
Rowen raised his eyebrows. "A woman who can get changed in three seconds instead of three hours. Will you marry me?" Kayura smacked him with her purse.
They strolled along the walkways, the Warrior of Life and the last of the Ancients, looking just like any other students enjoying the warm spring day. "Hard to believe it's been almost ten years," Rowen mused.
"You've all done well," Kayura said. "You kept the world safe, and you've gone on to live normal lives. Here you are, teaching at your age, and Sage is getting married."
Rowen slanted an eyebrow at her. "What, you've been keeping tabs on us?"
"Nothing so esoteric, I'm afraid." When Rowen continued to look skeptical, Kayura added, "I saw the announcement in the newspaper on one of my visits to the mortal realm."
"Oh." Rowen thought about that for a moment. "Visits?"
"I like to roam around the mortal world every so often, just to see how things are going." Kayura shrugged. "It's only been within the past year and a half that I've actually felt safe leaving the Nether Realm for any length of time. And after spending so many years trying to fix the unholy mess Talpa left behind, I decided I deserved a break once in a while."
"So why didn't you let any of us know you were here?"
"I wasn't sure you'd want to see me. I know I represent a very difficult time in your lives for all of you, and I'm sure there are still some hard feelings. I didn't want to bring up the past." Kayura sighed and brushed back a strand of her hair. "Besides, I come here to…well, to escape, to get away from being the 'last of the Ancients', ruler of the Nether Realm. I never had a chance to really be a normal person, Rowen. Here at least I can pretend I'm one," she added wistfully.
"But that's not why you're here now," Rowen said. "You said you wanted to know what I knew about this demon that's loose. All we've been able to find out from Mia is that it's some sort of Aztec demon with a name I'm not even going to try to pronounce, but it translates roughly as 'Soul Taker'. Apparently it's a shapeshifter, and right now it's decided it wants to look like Ryo, who has coincidentally disappeared without a trace. And while we've been trying to find Ryo, this thing has been terrorizing us. It's not much, I know, but it's all we've got."
"That's all right…it tells me enough," Kayura murmured, almost to herself. She sighed again and turned to Rowen, her expression grim. "You're not going to like it," she warned. "Your enemy is a very ancient entity, almost as old as mankind itself. It has many names, but we call it the Devourer. It feeds on human souls, specifically those in pain or despair, and it has the ability to take on the form of its chosen prey while it saps that person's life force. As the legend has it, many centuries ago the Devourer actually had a corporeal form, but that form was destroyed when it challenged a mystic and lost. The loss of its body meant that it could move about much more freely, which it did, but it always missed being able to walk among the living. So it took on the shape of its victim, which also helped it to sow discord and unhappiness among the victim's friends and family and increase its power. It terrorized humanity for centuries, until one day it went up against a shaman in ancient Mexico. They fought, and the shaman managed to imprison the beast in a mask. The shaman hid the mask away where it would never be found, and after that all the records are silent on the Devourer. Rowen, are you all right?" Kayura added, seeing that Rowen had paled considerably.
"You said this thing was imprisoned in a mask?" he repeated.
"Yes."
"In Mexico."
"Yes, that's right," Kayura agreed. "But the mask has been hidden away for centuries."
"Not anymore it's not," Rowen muttered, looking slightly sick. "That shaman never counted on twentieth-century archaeologists. Kayura, if I'm right, that mask is here."
"What? Here?" Kayura echoed, startled. "But how?"
"Sage works at an art gallery in the city. From what he's told us, an old friend of the owner's found a mask at an archaeological dig in Mexico not too long ago. He sent it to the gallery, but it was broken in an earthquake the day it arrived. The demon that's stalking us used Ryo's form to attack me and Kento, but it showed its real face to Cye, and he said it looked exactly like that mask." Rowen shuffled through the file folder he had brought with him for a moment, then extracted a picture and handed it to Kayura. "Like this."
Kayura studied the photo and her face took on an expression of dismay. "Yes, this is the Devourer," she agreed heavily. "It must have gotten loose when the mask broke. Oh, Rowen, this is bad."
"No kidding. What I want to know is, why is this thing after us? I mean, there's got to be enough despair in this city that it doesn't need to take Ryo and stalk the rest of us."
"I'm sure there is," Kayura replied. "But how many souls are there as strong and bright as yours? It's the difference between a birthday candle and a bonfire, Rowen. My guess is, the Devourer was originally awakened when it was taken out of its tomb. After all, it hadn't felt the touch of a human in centuries, and even a mass murderer would have gotten its attention. But the people who took it weren't pure enough, so it decided to wait until it found something more to its liking, someone who could give it the power it needed to break free of the shaman's curse. Someone like a Ronin Warrior," Kayura finished. "You said the mask was sent to the gallery where Sage works. Do you know if he touched it?"
"He didn't say, but I'd be willing to bet the answer's yes," Rowen replied grimly. "Sage is the owner's right hand, and he's involved with a lot of the gallery's acquisitions. And he's the most psychically gifted of all of us. Oh, damn." He raised his broken hand to his forehead. "This Devourer must have sensed Sage's power and that woke it up with a vengeance. Then when the mask broke, it was somehow able to muster up enough energy to get free."
"But if that's the case, why didn't it possess Sage instead of Ryo?" Kayura wondered.
"Sage probably sensed it and was able to shield himself, and since it had just been awakened, it might not have been strong enough to overpower him. But Ryo doesn't have that kind of defense mechanism. And the Devourer is drawn to unhappiness, right? Well, up until recently, Sage has been happy getting ready for his wedding. It's only within the last couple of weeks that he and Carey have started having problems --- ever since this demon started hunting us, in fact. We suspected the attacks on us were somehow related to the armors, but Sage refused to tell Carey the truth about them until he was forced into it. Now she's angry at him for not telling her, and he's mad at her for not understanding and at the rest of us because we spilled the beans. Plus, we're all worried about Ryo and edgy because we don't know what this demon's going to do next, so we're all tense and snapping at each other and it's just a big fat mess," Rowen finished glumly.
Kayura shook her head. "Rowen, this has to stop. One of this demon's favorite games is to take the form of its current victim and use that shape to cause fear and mistrust among those close to him --- which is exactly what it's doing to you. All of you need to resolve your differences and work together on this, because otherwise you're just playing right into its hands. Remember the Tower of Pain Talpa built, the one that essentially fed off human negativity? Well, that's exactly what the Devourer does --- where do you think Talpa got the idea? I just hope it hasn't faced Sage yet."
"Why?"
"As psychically powerful as Sage is? If he's as unhappy right now as you're making me believe he is, do you realize how much strength the Devourer can draw from that? Sage's empathic abilities make him especially vulnerable; one good psychic blast from the Devourer can destroy his shields and leave him helpless."
"Oh, my God."
"But we still have time. Right now the demon only has enough strength to handle one of you at a time. And although it can and probably is drawing a tremendous amount of power from Ryo, it's not going to drain him right away. I'm willing to bet that it will wait until it can stir up enough trouble between the four of you that the bond you have falls apart, and then it will strike."
"That'll never happen," Rowen said confidently.
"Never say never, Rowen," Kayura warned. "It's already started --- the Ronin Warriors are already viewing each other with mistrust. The Devourer is very skillful and very hungry. It's faced each of you, gotten your scent, so to speak; it knows the power you each possess and it won't give up until it's taken that power for its own."
"So where do we start?"
"Start with Sage. He seems to be going through the most pain right now, and since he was the one who awakened the Devourer it's going to see him as the ultimate prize."
Rowen looked at the ground. "Uh…that might be easier said than done. Sage isn't exactly speaking to me right now."
"But you're his best friend."
"Yeah, I was…until I made the stupid mistake of telling him I had a crush on the woman he's going to marry," Rowen said unhappily.
"What? Rowen, you didn't."
"Oh, yes, I did. And I didn't just tell Sage and Carey, either --- I blurted it out in front of the entire team."
Kayura stared at him for a moment, then she began to laugh. "Kayura!" Rowen protested.
"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't laugh, but --- oh, Rowen, that was not the most brilliant thing you've ever done," she giggled. "What in the worlds possessed you to do that?"
"Well, it was either that or let Carey keep thinking I was gay and lusting after Sage," Rowen muttered in chagrin, then stopped as Kayura burst into new peals of laughter. He folded his arms and glared at her with a look of extreme annoyance until she finally brought her mirth under control. "Are you done?" he demanded irritably.
"Yes," Kayura murmured, still giggling. She wiped her eyes and bit her lip, trying to school her expression into something more serious. It didn't work. "Now I know why I like coming here --- it's so entertaining."
"Well, I'm glad we mere mortals amuse you, oh great Ruler of the Nether Realm, but can we get back to business now?" Rowen said. "There's a shapeshifting demon on the loose that wants to eat our souls and it's kidnapped our friend to help it do that. Can't you stop it, Kayura?"
"I'm afraid not," Kayura replied regretfully. "As long as this thing is in the mortal realm, I'm forbidden to actually fight it."
"What? Since when?"
"It's always been that way, Rowen. Technically, we of the Nether Realm aren't supposed to involve ourselves with combats on the mortal plane."
"That never stopped Talpa," Rowen muttered.
"Yes, and you remember what that led to," Kayura reminded him. "I don't like this any better than you do, but it's part of the balance between our worlds. I can advise, and I can defend and protect if it's necessary, but I can't fight unless there's no other choice. The risk is too great."
"Even though we're fighting a supernatural force?"
"Even though. Remember, the Ancient and Anubis both never really fought Talpa on this plane. They protected you and helped you find your way around, but the actual battle was up to the Ronins. I have to abide by these rules, Rowen. If I don't it could sabotage everything I've spent the last several years trying to create."
"Terrific," Rowen sighed. "So I guess we're on our own against this thing. What can we do to stop it and get Ryo back safely?"
"I'm not really sure," Kayura said. "The Devourer is tricky --- it knows how to shield its magical signature so that we can't get a definite location on it. I'm going to have to do some more research and see if I can find a way to draw this thing into the open. And there's something else at work here, too, some part of this equation that I can't identify. But in the meantime, the Ronin Warriors need to pull together and stop this infighting. Remember, Rowen, it only has one of you, and you've seen how much power that gives it. Can you imagine what will be unleashed if it gets all five Ronins?"
Rowen frowned. "Not something I want to think about," he admitted. "It's already done enough damage." He sighed resignedly. "Okay, then, I guess it's time I had a serious talk with Sage. I just hope he doesn't decide to break my other hand…or worse."
"Let me see that," Kayura said. She took his splinted hand in both of hers and examined it for a moment. Then a soft blue glow surrounded their linked hands, and Rowen felt a gentle warmth pulse through his injured hand. He blinked in surprise as Kayura reached up and slowly traced one glowing finger along the healing wound on his forehead. But before he could ask what she was doing, the glow faded away and Kayura stepped back slightly. "There. As good as new," she said with satisfaction.
Rowen reached up and felt his forehead. The skin was perfectly smooth, with no trace of the gash that had once been there. "You won't need the brace anymore, either," Kayura told him. "After all, we can't have the best hope for the mortal world in less than fighting shape, can we?"
"Kayura…"
"Stop this thing, Rowen," Kayura interrupted him, her blue eyes intense. "Stop it once and for all, because if you don't…neither of our worlds will be safe." She moved away from him, but paused to throw one last glance over her shoulder. "Call me if you need me," she said. Then, in a swirl of white light, she was gone.
After realizing that he had been reading the same paragraph for the past thirty minutes, Sage gave up and shoved the report aside. He sighed deeply and put his head in his hands, rubbing his temples wearily.
The morning had been a disaster. He had managed to get an hour or two of uneasy sleep after his nightmare, and it left him feeling strung-out and jittery, his nerves as taut as an overstretched bowstring. Carey's tentative "Good morning" had gone unanswered; he could feel the weight of her concerned gaze on him and he would not meet her eyes. They had picked at their breakfast in silence until Carey finally spoke up. "Sage, what's the matter?"
"Nothing," he had muttered sullenly.
"That's not true and we both know it," Carey had replied quietly. "Last night you ran away from me and locked yourself in the guest room, and this morning you won't even look at me. There's something about that dream you had that's obviously scared you. Honey, please talk to me. Tell me what's wrong."
"Damn it, will you leave me alone already?" The words burst from him in a shocking, venomous rush. Sage felt oddly disconnected, as if he were standing outside himself watching helplessly from a distance. "You know, for someone who doesn't want to cling to me, you're doing a pretty good job of doing just that. Maybe that's what's wrong, Carey, maybe I'm sick of feeling like I'm in some kind of group therapy session. When I want to share my feelings I will, until then leave me alone!" The utter viciousness of his words horrified him, but he could not have stopped them any more than he could have halted a tsunami with his bare hands.
Carey's face went stark white, and for a moment Sage thought she was going to cry. But instead her amber eyes narrowed dangerously as her expression grew hard and set. Without another word to him, she swept up her breakfast and hurled it into the trash can --- plate, silverware and all --- then stalked out of the kitchen, snatching up her dance bag without even breaking stride. A moment later the door to the apartment slammed with enough force to rattle the pictures on the walls.
The intercom on Sage's desk buzzed. "Mr. Date, there's a Mr. Rowen Hashiba here to see you," the desk secretary told him.
Sage's head came up. He did not need this, not now. "Tell him I'm in a meeting," he said hastily.
"You sure are," came a voice from the door. "With me." Startled, Sage looked up to see Rowen standing in the doorway.
Rowen had to mask his own shock at the sight of his friend. Sage looked awful. Oh, he still looked like he had just stepped off the cover of GQ, but there were shadows in his eyes and he was surrounded by a strange aura of --- was it grief? Desperation? Fear? Whatever it was, Rowen didn't like it one bit, especially knowing what he did about their demonic foe. "You look like hell," he blurted out.
"You barged into my office to tell me that?" Sage replied, one eyebrow lifted coolly. "Well, now that you've fulfilled your mission, don't let the door hit you on the way out."
"Sage, we need to talk, and we need to talk now."
"Rowen, I'm busy, and I don't feel like listening to you try and explain why you decided to fall in love with my fiancée."
"That's good, because I'm not here to talk about that," Rowen shot back. "Look, Kayura paid me a visit this morning. She knows what we're up against, and she was able to tell me more about it."
Sage leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest, fixing Rowen with a cynical, impress-me gaze. "And?"
"It's called the Devourer. It feeds on emotional suffering, and it has the ability to transform itself to look like its current victim in order to cause more unhappiness and build its power. Many centuries ago, an Aztec shaman managed to imprison it in a mask. He hid the mask behind stone walls, thinking that it would never again see the light of day. But he was wrong. Now that mask is here…and the demon is free."
"And you couldn't have just phoned me with this fascinating but redundant information?"
"Would you have stayed on the line long enough to listen?" Rowen retorted. "Sage, we can't keep on fighting among ourselves like this. Kayura says this monster is playing us against each other, trying to separate us so much that we won't be able to put up a fight."
"Don't start with me about what 'Kayura says'," Sage said coldly. "Maybe if Kayura spent less time flitting about the mortal realm and more time keeping things in order at home this demon wouldn't have gotten loose. Someone was sleeping on the job up there, Rowen, or maybe Kayura opened a door she shouldn't have."
"Sage, answer a question for me. When that mask came in, did you touch it?"
"What?"
"You heard me. Did you touch that mask?"
Sage rolled his eyes. "Yes, I touched the damned mask," he replied in a voice heavy with annoyance. "So what?"
Rowen took a deep breath and mentally braced himself. "Sage," he said very quietly, "Kayura didn't awaken the Devourer…you did."
Sage could have been carved from marble. "Get out of my office," he said in a low, deadly voice.
"Not until you hear me out." Sage's hand moved for the intercom button, and Rowen caught his wrist with the speed of a striking snake, just hard enough to stop him. "Listen to me!" he hissed. Sage glared but didn't move, and Rowen knew he had to speak fast before Sage threw him across the room. "Kayura thinks the Devourer was originally awakened when it was taken from its tomb in Mexico. But it must not have found any souls there that were to its liking --- these guys were essentially grave robbers, after all --- so it decided to hibernate until something better came along. When it arrived here, it sensed your power when you touched its mask, and that awakened it fully. Then that quake hit and the mask that held it was broken --- and so was the shaman's curse." Rowen frowned in concern. "Sage, are you all right?"
Sage's face had gone white, and his violet eyes were dark with something Rowen could not name. "Every time I touched that mask it gave me a sort of shock, like static electricity. Then when the mask broke, the lights went out and I felt something touch me, mentally, but I was able to shield against it. Then it was gone." He looked up at Rowen, his features still with dread. "Are you telling me that I did this, that I unleashed this thing?"
"No, Sage, you didn't unleash it. Those shocks you felt were probably caused by the Devourer reacting to the strength of your soul. But it still would have stayed trapped in that mask if it wasn't for the quake. This wasn't your fault. There was no way you could have known," Rowen reassured him. He let go of Sage's wrist and stepped back a pace, furrowing his brow slightly in thought. "At least we've got one ace up our sleeve," he continued. "This Devourer hasn't faced you head-on yet…has it?" The stricken look on Sage's face told Rowen everything he didn't want to know. "Oh, no. When?"
"At my parents' house," Sage said quietly. "Carey and I had just had a big fight in the dojo."
"Who won?"
"She did," Sage admitted with a tiny, rueful smile. "She's a lot tougher than she looks, Rowen. Anyway, after she left I remember thinking about how everything was falling apart around me, and the next thing I knew the demon was there." He twisted his hands together nervously. "It said I 'called' it…and I guess I did, didn't I? Oh, my God."
"It didn't hurt you, did it?"
"Not…not physically, no. But mentally --- " Sage shuddered at the memory. "I saw its real face, Rowen. That mask --- it doesn't even come close, this thing is so horrible. And what was worse, I could sense it." His gaze turned inward, darkening with remembered horror. "I can't even describe what it felt like…it was so black, so corrupted. It brought me to my knees without even trying."
"And that's not easy to do," Rowen commented. He looked hard at his friend. "You and Carey had another fight today, didn't you?" he asked suddenly.
"That's none of your business."
"Actually, the safety and happiness of two of my dearest friends is very much my business. Look, I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but whatever it is you have got to resolve it. The more you fight, the more vulnerable it makes you to the Devourer."
"Rowen, I'm sure you mean well, but I really don't think you're the best person to advise me about dealing with Carey."
"Okay, fine," Rowen shrugged. "I'll just go ask Carey what happened."
"You stay away from her," Sage warned sharply. He got to his feet and planted both hands on the desktop, glaring suspiciously at Rowen. "You know, this is interesting. Not only are you after the woman I love, but you've also conveniently managed to shift the blame for this demon's escape onto me. What's your next move?"
"What?"
"You stand there and tell me that I have to 'resolve' my problems with Carey, but why do I get the feeling that's the last thing you want to see happen?"
Rowen blinked in surprise at this sudden attack. "Are you accusing me of trying to split the two of you up?"
"Why not? I should have seen this coming," Sage said bitterly. "You've never really been able to find happiness with anyone; it must drive you insane with jealousy knowing that I have."
"Sage, no," Rowen protested. "Nobody was happier for you than I was when you and Carey got engaged."
"Yeah, right. You were so happy for me that a month before the wedding you decided to tell my fiancée that you're in love with her."
"Would you rather I told her I was in love with you?" Rowen retorted angrily. "Do you think that would have made her feel any better? Damn it, Sage, she thought you and I were gay, and she would have kept on thinking that if I hadn't spoken up! I wouldn't have told either of you about my feelings if I'd had the choice."
"How noble of you," Sage sneered. "You drive a wedge between us, but it's really for our own good. And I suppose that now you plan to go to her and tell her you know all about our fight and offer her a shoulder to cry on. After all, you're only doing it because you care about us. I trusted you, Rowen. How could you do this to me? How could you betray me like this?"
"Betray you?" Rowen echoed incredulously. "Were you even listening to a word I said that night? I didn't say I loved Carey, in fact I said I couldn't love her the way you do. What I feel for her is just a crush, Sage --- a stupid schoolboy infatuation that doesn't mean anything at all, and if you would just open your eyes and look you might see that. Besides, even I'm not desperate enough to come on to a woman who doesn't want me and never will." He folded his arms and glared at his friend. "You know, I think you've been so busy nursing your own jealousy and paranoia that you've forgotten something very important. The first time you proposed to Carey she turned you down, do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I remember," Sage replied sourly. "I also remember your boneheaded attempt to 'help' me get through it --- it took me a full day to get rid of the hangover."
"Well, I didn't tell you to drink nearly half a bottle of tequila, but that's not my point," Rowen shot back. "My point is, why did she turn you down? Let me refresh your memory, Sage. She turned you down because she had a job waiting for her in Seattle with Pacific Northwest. A world-renowned ballet company, one of the best in America…and they came to her. If she had taken that job she'd probably be an international star now. But she didn't take it, did she? She turned her back on that without a second thought and came right back to Japan --- right back to you.
"You know, Sage, you're right about one thing…I've always envied you," Rowen went on. "You know why? Because you have everything. Looks, talent, charm, not to mention a real family. And now you have a woman who loves you so much that she's willing to give up her own dreams to be your wife. You have everything I've ever wanted, but you don't have the grace or humility to appreciate any of it --- and I hate you for that. You're an arrogant, coldhearted bastard who doesn't deserve a woman like Carey, and I almost hope she does leave you. She'd certainly be better off." His words ended abruptly as Sage's fist smashed into his jaw, knocking him to the floor.
A look of utter shock came over Sage's face as he realized what he had done. He stared at his fist as if he'd never seen it before, then at his friend sprawled on the carpet. "Rowen…" he began.
Rowen shook his head to clear it, then gingerly put a hand to his bruised jaw. "Well, I guess I deserved that," he said with a crooked smile. "Feel better now?"
"Rowen, I…" Sage's voice trailed away as words failed him. He had just slugged his best friend. What could he possibly say?
"You know, Cye hit me like that once --- sent me flying onto Mia's dining room table," Rowen remarked wryly as he got to his feet. "You and Ryo were getting your butts kicked in Tanzania at the time. And I remember the look on his face was exactly like yours is now."
Sage sagged against the edge of his desk, looking like a man who had just missed getting run over by a bus. "I don't know what's happening to me anymore," he said faintly. "I'm screaming at the woman I love, I'm physically attacking my best friend, I'm constantly on edge…it's like I'm trapped in some sort of bad dream and I can't wake up."
"Sage, what happened this morning?" Rowen asked gently. "When I walked into your office, you looked like you hadn't slept in a week and you were giving off so many bad vibes the Devourer would have to be deaf and blind to miss you."
"It's that obvious, huh?"
"You may as well have a neon sign over your head saying 'Come and get it!'," Rowen told him. "Look, I know you're not one for sharing, but you can't keep holding this in, not when it's hurting you like this. Talk to me, buddy."
Sage pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. "I had a nightmare early this morning…I dreamed the demon had taken Carey's form, and I didn't know it until it was too late. It scared me out of my mind, but when Carey tried to calm me down I ran and locked myself in the guest room. I couldn't help it, Rowen --- when I looked at her all I saw was that thing's face with my blood on its mouth. And when she tried to get me to tell her about it at breakfast I just exploded. I accused her of clinging to me, said I was tired of being psychoanalyzed…godawful things that I'm ashamed ever left my mouth. But it was like something else was controlling me and I couldn't stop it," he said helplessly.
"And what did Carey say?"
"Nothing. She just stormed out and slammed the door so hard it's a wonder the ceiling didn't collapse. But I saw the look on her face --- if she'd been armed I would be dead now."
Rowen shook his head. "And you really think I want to steal her away from you? Sage, Carey is a beautiful, charming, and talented lady, and I don't think there's a man alive who wouldn't love to have her at his side. But I've seen some of your smaller arguments, and I'm going to let you in on a little secret --- there are times when that woman scares the hell out of me. You remember when she went after Kento for trying to eat her ballet shoes? All I could think was, she may be gorgeous, but better you than me." He chuckled briefly at the memory, then grew serious again. "Look, I'm no expert on relationships. All I know is that you two love each other so much that nothing else matters --- not your family, not her career. You've got to find a way to fix things between you, because the longer this goes on the more appetizing you are to the Devourer. Honestly, the way you are now I'm surprised it didn't just come charging right in here and sink its teeth into you." He paused at the look on Sage's face. "Okay, that was a bad choice of words," Rowen added hastily.
"But…what if it does take Carey?" Sage asked. "This thing can take any shape it wants, Rowen. How do I know who to trust anymore?"
Rowen smiled grimly. "Our friend has a weakness, Sage. It can only handle one victim at a time, and right now it's busy with Ryo. Besides, it doesn't want Carey. Even as strong-willed as she is, she can't give it the kind of power it wants --- it needs us for that. I think it also knows that if harmed her, you'd be on it like flies on day-old sushi and it wants unhappiness, not vengeance. And anyway, you're an empath, remember? You can probably sense this thing better than any of us." Sage didn't reply, and Rowen went on, "Look, don't worry. Kayura's doing what she can to help us fight this beast, and we'll find a way to get Ryo out safely. What you need to do now is mend your fences with your bride-to-be…your wedding's in just over a month, buddy. It won't look too good if you're fighting all the way to the altar," he added facetiously.
A shadow flickered briefly across Sage's eyes, but it was gone before Rowen was even sure he'd seen it. "You're right," Sage replied, straightening his shoulders. "And after this morning's fiasco I'm sure I'll have my work cut out for me. Thanks, Rowen."
"Anytime. Besides, I've already got my tux for the wedding --- I'll be damned if I'll let you screw this up," Rowen said wryly. He glanced at his watch. "I have to get back to the university, and I still need to give Cye and Kento the heads-up on this demon. Will you be okay?" Sage nodded. "All right, then."
"There's one thing I don't understand, though," Sage said. "If this Devourer really does feed off unhappiness and negativity, I can see why it would come after me. But why did it take Ryo, and why is it attacking the rest of you?"
Rowen glanced away for just a moment. "I…don't know," he said with a deliberately casual shrug. "I guess that's what we need to find out. Talk to you later, Sage." He headed out the door before Sage could question him further.
They were on its trail now; they knew its name and they knew what it wanted. Or at least they thought they did, the Devourer mused with an evil smile.
"They're on to you," its captive said, showing a rare flash of spirit. "It won't be long now. They'll come for me."
"Of course they will," the demon replied. "And when they do I'll be waiting." It turned its crimson gaze on its prisoner and subtly called up its power. "Just think…you'll be leading your friends right into my clutches."
The surge of despair was immediate and sweet. "No…"
"Oh, yes," the Devourer said. "They'll walk straight to their doom without hesitation, and all for you, Ryo of Wildfire."
"No," Ryo protested helplessly. "They'll fight you. They won't let you win. They'll find a way to stop you."
The waves of anguish rolling from the captured Ronin were as delicious as the finest wines, and the demon drank them in greedily. "How? They don't have you to help them," it pointed out. "Without you the Ronin Warriors are incomplete. They'll be helpless against my power --- power you have given me. A fine leader you are, Wildfire."
"No!"
"So weak you let yourself be taken," the Devourer continued relentlessly. "You were supposed to protect them, but instead you draw them to their doom. How does it feel, to know that your friends will perish because of your weakness? You have failed, Ryo of Wildfire. You have failed!"
Ryo sank back with a moan of dismay, and the Devourer reveled in his grief. It threw back its head and laughed, feeling the power fill it, feeling its strength grow even more. Soon, it knew, the rest of the Ronin Warriors would come looking for it. Soon the battle would begin.
Which was exactly what the Devourer wanted.
There was an old saying that love meant never having to say you were sorry. Whoever said that was an idiot, Sage thought. Knowing that he had to apologize to Carey was one thing --- actually finding a way to do it was another. He had just rejected his ninth start-up line when the phone rang, startling him out of his musings. "Hello?"
"Sage, it's me," came Carey's voice on the other end of the line. "Look, I just wanted to let you know that I won't be home until late tonight --- we're premiering a new ballet, but Aoi sprained her knee and we don't have anyone else who knows her role, so I'm going to be dancing for the next few nights until we can train an understudy."
"Oh." Sage felt a stab of disappointment --- that meant they would barely cross paths until the ballet's run was over. "Carey…about this morning --- "
Someone bellowed in the background. "I have to go," Carey said hurriedly. "They need me in rehearsal."
"Honey, we really need to talk about this."
"Sage, I can't deal with this now, okay? I only called so you wouldn't wait up and worry tonight. I promise we'll talk later, but I'm late for stage rehearsal now. 'Bye, honey."
"Carey --- " Sage began, but she had already hung up. "I love you," he whispered to the dial tone. He replaced the receiver in its cradle, then walked down the hall to the storage room.
The Devourer's mask had been repaired, and it sat on a table waiting to be placed somewhere in the gallery. Sage ran a finger along one edge, noticing that the mask no longer gave him those strange shocks. But then, why should it, he thought; it was empty now, just an ordinary mask. Even the mask itself no longer seemed so frightening, compared to what had inhabited it. He stared at it for a long moment.
"I know you're out there," he said softly, fiercely to the mask. "I know what you're trying to do. But I'm not going to let you win."
He almost thought the mask laughed at him.