CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
*
"KAGOME!"
Inuyasha's voice split the sound of the wind. He saw Kagome's face vanish under a thin veil of ice. It darkened and grew thicker, blurring her face from sight. As he turned toward her, he saw the ice solidify and harden, a crystalline stalagmite with a dark shape at its core.
"Go away!" the demon screeched. "Or you will be frozen next!"
"NO!" Inuyasha threw himself toward the pillar of ice and smashed his fist into it. Thin cracks spread around his fingers like spider legs. Inuyasha hit it again, then dug his claws into the cracks and began tearing chunks of the ice out of. Hang on, Kagome! he thought. I'm going to get you out of there...
A blast of ice hit him in the back. Inuyasha shuddered but kept digging through the ice, groping for something -- anything. "Kagome!" he shouted again, hoping that she might still hear him.
Suddenly his fingers closed on hers. Inuyasha gasped. Her skin was cold and wet, like a statue left out in the snow. He clawed at the ice, hearing it crack and shear away. Then Kagome tumbled out onto the snow, covered in shards of ice and touched by frost. Inuyasha picked her up, feeling her cold body shift slightly in his arms. She's still breathing, he thought. Damn him...
"Now you see!" the demon howled triumphantly. "You see! You see!"
Inuyasha brushed the snow off his legs as he got up. "How dare you do that," he growled softly, turning around. Tetsusaiga transformed in his hand as he lunged forward, shouting at the top of his voice.
*
Kagome woke up to the sound of echoes. Inuyasha's voice shattered the howl of the demon wind, seemed to split the darkness.
She felt cold and numb all over. It feels like my eyelashes are frozen shut, she thought, trying to open her eyes. She was lying on a windblown drift of snow, which was making her skin prickle as her arms and hands came back to life.
She rubbed her half-dead hands over her eyes, brushing tiny icicles out of them. "Inu.... yasha..." she whispered.
As her blurry vision cleared, she saw him. He was slashing at the demon's whirling, tornado-like body. But he wasn't making much headway. The wind was whipping into his face and body, almost throwing him backwards. Kagome could see a broken mask of ice on his pale face, and a thin sheen of frost covering his hands and the hilt of his sword.
He's losing, Kagome thought desperately. He can't fight against the cold -- he looks like he can barely breathe and see when it blasts him with ice. If only I had some heat -- matches or something -- or a torch...
Suddenly the demon's attacks lessened; it seemed to shrink back into the cavern. Inuyasha shook the snow from his hair and shoulders and threw himself forward... only to leap back as an enormous boomerang shot past him, cutting through the snow-demon's stormlike body. It howled again, more out of anger than pain.
"Kagome!" a girl's voice called. "Are you there? Are you all right?" Three dark, familiar shapes appeared at the far end of the cavern.
"Sango! Miroku! Shippo!" Kagome cried. She tried to stand up, only to have her nerveless legs drop her on her face.
Sango ran over to Kagome's side, while Miroku started to pull the rosary from his wrist. "Don't worry, I can suck it in!" he shouted. "Inuyasha, back away!"
"NO!" Inuyasha bellowed, staggering a few steps away from the demon. He stared at Miroku with wild eyes. "It has a jewel shard! You suck it in with that damn hand of yours, and the shard will never be seen again!"
Grimacing, Miroku replaced the beads on his wrist. "Inuyasha, battling a snow demon is like trying to threaten a thunderstorm. Do you think you can stop it with the Tetsusaiga?"
"That's the idea!" Inuyasha shouted. "Get off your butt and help me cut the jewel out!"
The demon's shrieking cry rang out again, almost deafening Kagome and Sango. A blast of ice shards spattered them like hail. Shippo huddled against Kagome's numb leg, fluffing out his bushy tail. He clutched at Kagome's hand with his tiny, cold, pointy fingers. Wait a minute, Kagome thought. Cold... pointy...
"Sango!" she said. "Quick, do you still have my arrows?"
"They're with Miroku."
"Get them for me! I can stop this demon!"
Sango fastened her mask over her mouth and nose, and lunged into the white whirlwind. Kagome saw her stagger toward the taller, flapping figure that was Miroku, then stumble back out. Her dark eyes were almost frozen shut, and ice had clogged up the filter mask. She dropped the bow and arrows at Kagome's side, then fell to her knees. "Y-You think this will work?" she said, shivering.
"It'll work!" Kagome said, hoping she sounded confident.
More ice fell from the bowstring as she nocked an arrow and aimed it. She could see Inuyasha faintly through the snow. All I have to do is aim by him, she thought. If I can burn away the snow around him, it will give him a moment when he can see clearly. He can cut the jewel out and take it! Just hit the mark!
The arrow shot through the snowstorm, leaving a glowing trail in its wake. For a moment the air cleared, as heat blasted past Inuyasha. For a moment, Kagome saw him standing there, a little confused and with water dripping down his flushed face. Then he smiled a little bit, seeing the jewel shard in front of him -- and he slashed at it with the Tetsusaiga.
The demon shrieked again, this time with pain.
"I got it!" Inuyasha shouted triumphantly. Kagome could see the purplish glow from inside his fist. "Miroku, do your thing!"
"Happy to!" Miroku shouted. He tore the beads off his hand and held it up.
A blast of icy air threw Inuyasha toward the girls, but he was already running in their direction. The demon had shrunken in and was no longer shrieking so loudly. But then the rushing void in Miroku's hand was sucking it in, dragging in rocks and stalactites. With a last piteous scream, it vanished.
A deathly cold silence fell over the cavern. It was broken when Kagome piped up, "My feet are numb. Anybody got a blanket?"
TO BE CONTINUED
*
"KAGOME!"
Inuyasha's voice split the sound of the wind. He saw Kagome's face vanish under a thin veil of ice. It darkened and grew thicker, blurring her face from sight. As he turned toward her, he saw the ice solidify and harden, a crystalline stalagmite with a dark shape at its core.
"Go away!" the demon screeched. "Or you will be frozen next!"
"NO!" Inuyasha threw himself toward the pillar of ice and smashed his fist into it. Thin cracks spread around his fingers like spider legs. Inuyasha hit it again, then dug his claws into the cracks and began tearing chunks of the ice out of. Hang on, Kagome! he thought. I'm going to get you out of there...
A blast of ice hit him in the back. Inuyasha shuddered but kept digging through the ice, groping for something -- anything. "Kagome!" he shouted again, hoping that she might still hear him.
Suddenly his fingers closed on hers. Inuyasha gasped. Her skin was cold and wet, like a statue left out in the snow. He clawed at the ice, hearing it crack and shear away. Then Kagome tumbled out onto the snow, covered in shards of ice and touched by frost. Inuyasha picked her up, feeling her cold body shift slightly in his arms. She's still breathing, he thought. Damn him...
"Now you see!" the demon howled triumphantly. "You see! You see!"
Inuyasha brushed the snow off his legs as he got up. "How dare you do that," he growled softly, turning around. Tetsusaiga transformed in his hand as he lunged forward, shouting at the top of his voice.
*
Kagome woke up to the sound of echoes. Inuyasha's voice shattered the howl of the demon wind, seemed to split the darkness.
She felt cold and numb all over. It feels like my eyelashes are frozen shut, she thought, trying to open her eyes. She was lying on a windblown drift of snow, which was making her skin prickle as her arms and hands came back to life.
She rubbed her half-dead hands over her eyes, brushing tiny icicles out of them. "Inu.... yasha..." she whispered.
As her blurry vision cleared, she saw him. He was slashing at the demon's whirling, tornado-like body. But he wasn't making much headway. The wind was whipping into his face and body, almost throwing him backwards. Kagome could see a broken mask of ice on his pale face, and a thin sheen of frost covering his hands and the hilt of his sword.
He's losing, Kagome thought desperately. He can't fight against the cold -- he looks like he can barely breathe and see when it blasts him with ice. If only I had some heat -- matches or something -- or a torch...
Suddenly the demon's attacks lessened; it seemed to shrink back into the cavern. Inuyasha shook the snow from his hair and shoulders and threw himself forward... only to leap back as an enormous boomerang shot past him, cutting through the snow-demon's stormlike body. It howled again, more out of anger than pain.
"Kagome!" a girl's voice called. "Are you there? Are you all right?" Three dark, familiar shapes appeared at the far end of the cavern.
"Sango! Miroku! Shippo!" Kagome cried. She tried to stand up, only to have her nerveless legs drop her on her face.
Sango ran over to Kagome's side, while Miroku started to pull the rosary from his wrist. "Don't worry, I can suck it in!" he shouted. "Inuyasha, back away!"
"NO!" Inuyasha bellowed, staggering a few steps away from the demon. He stared at Miroku with wild eyes. "It has a jewel shard! You suck it in with that damn hand of yours, and the shard will never be seen again!"
Grimacing, Miroku replaced the beads on his wrist. "Inuyasha, battling a snow demon is like trying to threaten a thunderstorm. Do you think you can stop it with the Tetsusaiga?"
"That's the idea!" Inuyasha shouted. "Get off your butt and help me cut the jewel out!"
The demon's shrieking cry rang out again, almost deafening Kagome and Sango. A blast of ice shards spattered them like hail. Shippo huddled against Kagome's numb leg, fluffing out his bushy tail. He clutched at Kagome's hand with his tiny, cold, pointy fingers. Wait a minute, Kagome thought. Cold... pointy...
"Sango!" she said. "Quick, do you still have my arrows?"
"They're with Miroku."
"Get them for me! I can stop this demon!"
Sango fastened her mask over her mouth and nose, and lunged into the white whirlwind. Kagome saw her stagger toward the taller, flapping figure that was Miroku, then stumble back out. Her dark eyes were almost frozen shut, and ice had clogged up the filter mask. She dropped the bow and arrows at Kagome's side, then fell to her knees. "Y-You think this will work?" she said, shivering.
"It'll work!" Kagome said, hoping she sounded confident.
More ice fell from the bowstring as she nocked an arrow and aimed it. She could see Inuyasha faintly through the snow. All I have to do is aim by him, she thought. If I can burn away the snow around him, it will give him a moment when he can see clearly. He can cut the jewel out and take it! Just hit the mark!
The arrow shot through the snowstorm, leaving a glowing trail in its wake. For a moment the air cleared, as heat blasted past Inuyasha. For a moment, Kagome saw him standing there, a little confused and with water dripping down his flushed face. Then he smiled a little bit, seeing the jewel shard in front of him -- and he slashed at it with the Tetsusaiga.
The demon shrieked again, this time with pain.
"I got it!" Inuyasha shouted triumphantly. Kagome could see the purplish glow from inside his fist. "Miroku, do your thing!"
"Happy to!" Miroku shouted. He tore the beads off his hand and held it up.
A blast of icy air threw Inuyasha toward the girls, but he was already running in their direction. The demon had shrunken in and was no longer shrieking so loudly. But then the rushing void in Miroku's hand was sucking it in, dragging in rocks and stalactites. With a last piteous scream, it vanished.
A deathly cold silence fell over the cavern. It was broken when Kagome piped up, "My feet are numb. Anybody got a blanket?"
TO BE CONTINUED
