The Horrid Cries of the Nothing Woman
Chapter 11
Tension ran hard and strong in the din of silence.
A strange light suddenly began to tingle the night. At first, Inu-Yasha was relieved for he thought it was the sun peeking over the horizon to bless him with his strength . . . but it was not.
"It's the light of the hells." Miroku remarked coldly, bounding forth in the direction they had been running. "Come on, Inu-Yasha! We must hurry! Hopefully we're not too late!"
Inu-Yasha hesitated for a flicker of a moment, staring up in the darkness of the tree, but there were no more eyes staring back at him through the empty darkness.
Perhaps it was his mind playing tricks, he thought bitterly to himself.
The light grew stronger . . .
Consuming . . .
Radiating through the trees, setting them ablaze with its fire that did not burn. The haloed flames of hell danced about the two men as they grew closer . . .
"She's there!" Miroku announced, pointing his staff through a cluster of trees, towards the center of the light . . . "We have to hurry!"
"What exactly are we going to do? She's already turning!"
"Try, Inu-Yasha . . . that's all we can do!"
The light was everywhere, greeting them into the midst with relish as if it had a life of its own . . . like the very sun had fallen to the earth . . . and there, in the center of the blistering wake was Sheya, on her knees in the dirt, reaching out into open space . . .
And there, amidst it all was a young boy . . . watching her with sky blue eyes, reaching for her with a tiny hand . . .
Inu-Yasha felt for the hilt of his sword out of habit, rushing forward with Miroku.
"No! Lady Sheya! Do not reach for him!" Miroku shouted. "He is not your son!"
The boy glared at them, his blue eyes were no longer filled with innocence as the Monks words echoed about them becoming lost in an unseen darkness. But the woman had not noticed at all, with tears flowing from her eyes she stared lovingly above her . . .
At her son . . .
"Adahan . . . don't leave me . . . please . . ." she sobbed pitifully, stretching her hand out further . . . but he always seemed a breath out of reach . . .
The earth began to tremble ever so slightly the closer she got to him . . .
"No, Lady Sheya! Please! He is not your son! He is a demon! Please, don't touch him! If you touch him he'll turn your soul!"
"She can't hear you!" Inu-Yasha growled, rushing past him into the burning light, drawing the dull sword as he ran. "Sheya!" he shouted, but a great wind knocked him from his feet.
"You're right, human. She can't hear you . . ." the boy said with a sickening grin upon his face. "She can only see me. Her son."
"What are you?" he pushed himself back to his feet taking a staggering step back from the blow. "Why can't you leave her be?"
"Why shouldn't I? She is in need of her son . . . well, here I am."
"You're not her son! No son would turn their own mother into a nothing woman! Only a demon would be that cruel to change a human soul into that!" Inu-Yasha shouted angrily, leaping forward as fast as he could, managing to grab at the woman's tattered garments. "You're condemning her soul into torture . . . I wont allow it!"
"Insolent fool!" the demon blazed . . .
Sheya shuddered as Inu-Yasha touched her, glaring at him blankly . . . deliriously . . . "Wha . . . where's Adahan? Who are . . ."
The child that had once been the image of innocence quickly melted away to reveal its sickening reality . . . it's true form . . . sending a waves of fiery winds upon them . . .
Inu-Yasha jumped to his feet, pulling the woman behind him, shielding her with his kimono and yet the fires merely pushed them a few paces back. "Heh, so that's your true form, huh? You're the one who takes the souls of heartbroken women to their second deaths?"
"I am."
"Do you take pleasure in that? Watching them suffer, that is?"
"It makes my blood hot and tingle with bliss, if you must know." Many horns exploded from his lengthened reptilian head, his four great yellow and red eyes blinked lustfully as it floated before them. Slick green skin covered him from head to each of his four armed appendages and snake-like body . . . it slithered and undulated like a streamer as it remained . . . fixated upon his prey . . . salivating over the turning soul of the woman before him . . . so close . . . "It is my duty to call forth the Nothing Woman . . . they are my minion . . . I savor their lingering deaths . . ."
"A . . . Adahan . . ." Sheya's voice trembled behind Inu-Yasha, she stepped out from his protection. "Adahan!"
"What? What are you crazy, lady? That's not . . ."
The demon laughed, his voice echoed . . . "You may see me for what I am . . ."
Sheya stumbled forward to him, reaching out her shaking hand before Inu-Yasha could stop her . . .
"But she still sees me as what she wants me to be . . . her son . . ."
"Sheya! NO!" Inu-Yasha howled as their fingers were a hairs breath from touching one another's . . . "NO!"
**** I apologize with it taking so long to get the next chapter up. Things have been real hectic around here so I haven't had much time to write. So – yay – I hope you like this chapter!!! PLEASE review! Goodness, I hope Sheya doesn't actually touch that weird demon . . . if she turns, then how will they defeat the Athema? A human soul turning into a tragic demon soul like a nothing woman doesn't exactly sound very fun to me. Well, I hope you enjoyed!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!! ^_^ ***