With Angel's Love

Part X: Drinking Blood

They had continued on with searching for the elusive demons that plagued Sesshomaru's lands, but they had had no luck whatsoever. Of course, they had witnessed the carnage and heard stories of the chaos these demons had caused, but they had yet to actually engage in battle, let alone see, one of these intangible demons.

As well as searching for the scourge that threatened the western lands, Gina, Sesshomaru, Vaul, Azrael, and even Selene were being forced to get used to her new vampire servant, Arthas. It wasn't as if he was a nuisance, since he had done everything Selene had asked, though her requests were few. He had just seemed to be annoyed by actually obligating himself to serving anyone. And he also had seemed weak, though that was probably because of a need of blood. And it was that that seemed to be his biggest problem at the moment.

Gina leaned her head on Sesshomaru's shoulder, taking a small bite out of an apple. The demon lord sighed, smiling down at her. "Are you alright?" he asked. Gina swallowed her mouthful of fruit, smiling a little. "I've never been better," she cooed. He leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm glad," he said gently. He kissed her again, as Azrael walked up behind them. "Do you two have to do that? I mean, it may be easy to forget sometimes, but I am your son," he said sarcastically. Sesshomaru gave a small growl, which turned into muttering. "It's quite hard to believe that in his time neither of us has tried to murder him."

After continuing on for a half an hour or so, they came upon a small village near an even smaller patch of farmland. "Hmm…" Sesshomaru started, "It seems we are a few steps ahead of the demons we seek." Of course, he was citing the fact that the village a good fifty miles south was utterly destroyed, and the demon path had been clear: move north and leave not a single trace of life. "It seems the most logical course would be to wait in this area for the elusive pack, and then when they come to decimate this village, we strike them down," Vaul said.

After finishing off the last of her apple, Gina gave a loud yawn. "Sesshomaru," she said between yawns, "Do you think we could stay at an inn tonight? I'm quite tired." Of course, the demon nodded, not able to help himself but agree to his mate's wishes. "Of course, Gina-chan," he said, smiling wide. Surprising her, and somewhat himself, he picked her up bridal-style. Gina smiled up at him, her hazel eyes glistening in the sunlight. She slid her arms around his neck, smiling. "What is this for?" she asked. Sesshomaru smirked, leaning down and placing a light kiss on her lips. "Well, you said you were tired, didn't you?" he asked. Gina laughed playfully. "I guess I did, huh," she said. Sesshomaru's smile grew, and as he took a step forward, he looked backward.

"Are any of you coming or are you going to stand there and gawk?" he asked sarcastically. Without waiting for a reply from any of them, Sesshomaru went on ahead, Gina still clutched tightly in his arms. "Well, that was certainly disgusting," Azrael sighed, walking up next to Vaul. Of course, the heavenly sword smith nodded. "You're telling me," he replied. Selene, not paying attention to their conversation, walked past them with a slight sigh. "You two really are childish, you know that?" she asked. Then she turned, looking at her vampiric servant. "Arthas, are you just going to stand there or are you going to accompany me?" Selene asked.

He looked up, apparently breaking himself from thought. "Oh, Lady Selene," he said, scratching his chin, "Tonight I will not be able to escort you. Should I be needed in battle, I will be there." Selene looked at him strangely, then nodded. "Alright. Though I doubt we'll need you in battle," she said. With that, Arthas disappeared off into the forest. "Well, that was weird," Azrael said. Selene gave a slight nod. "Yes it is, but then again, it's really not something to waste our concern on," she said. With that, she followed after her parents, and a moment or so later, Vaul and Azrael did as well.

About an hour later, Sesshomaru and Gina, with Vaul standing guard outside the inn, lie together on the futons that they had laid down next to each other, their arms entwined in a loving embrace. "Mmm…Gina-chan, I love you so much," he said planting a small kiss on her lips. When he pulled away, she kissed him herself. "No, I love you more," she replied, a playful smile dancing on her lips. "I thought you said you were tired," he said softly. Gina laughed silently. "Well, lying here with you gave me back my strength," she answered. Sesshomaru shook his head a little, and then kissed her lightly on the forehead.

"You should get your rest," he said, smirking a little. Gina gave a slight sigh. "You're treating me like a child," she said. Sesshomaru kissed her yet again. "It's not you I'm so concerned about, it's our children. They may be…well, a little off beat as adults, but their company is certainly much better than that of your brother's," he said. Gina smiled up at him. "Then perhaps I will," she said, nuzzling against him. He tightened his grip around her shoulders, smirking as he shut his eyes. "Sleep well, my beautiful Gina-chan," he said. I'll never let anything happen to you, my beloved Gina-chan…

Selene and Azrael sat in the room that they shared in the inn, empty bowls in the corner, only a few grains of rice left on them. Azrael sat near a small oil lamp, polishing his soul-stealing blade. "You look worried, Selene. What's with you?" he asked, his eyes not moving from the sword of bluish steel. Selene sighed, running a jade comb through her curly black hair. "I don't know why," she sighed, "But I guess I'm just a little concerned about what Arthas is doing and where exactly he's doing it." Azrael raised an eyebrow, setting his blade and rag down.

"He is your servant, right? I don't see why you're wasting your concern. And anyway, frowning causes wrinkles. Arthas…that creep will come back when he gets hungry," Azrael said. Selene nodded. "Yes. He'll come back. He is my servant after all. Arthas said it himself, he's obligated to serve me," she said. With this, she set down her comb and laid down, pulling the thin blankets over herself. Of course…she thought, He'll come back. But then, what her brother had said played again over again and again in her mind. …He'll come back when he gets hungry…when he gets hungry…

Then it hit her. Selene shot up, and then quickly stood. She pulled her robes on over her nightgown, not even bothering to dress properly. "Where are you going?!" Azrael asked. As Selene ran to the door, he threw down his sword once again. "Selene! Stop! What're you doing?!" he demanded. "I'm going to find Arthas!!" she said. With that, Selene ran down the hall.

Selene ran down the rest of the hall, and then out the door of the inn. She darted past her uncle, who shot up when she saw he running. "Selene?! Where are you going?" Vaul asked. She kept running, only looking back. "There's no time to explain!" With that, she disappeared into the woods. Vaul ran inside, where he was met by Azrael. "Where'd Selene go?" Azrael demanded. "I don't know…somewhere out in the village," he replied. Azrael gave a low growl, slipping his sheathed sword into his belt. "Dammit! I'm going after her!" he growled. With that, Azrael ran outside. Vaul nodded, and then he barged into Sesshomaru and Gina's room.

"You two aren't doing anything nasty, are you?" he asked shielding his eyes. Sesshomaru gave a low growl, and laid Gina down on the futon as she stirred from her sleep. "We've got a slight…well, problem," he said. "What is it?" Gina asked, walking up behind Sesshomaru. "It's Selene. She ran off…and really didn't give me or Azrael a reason," Vaul replied. "Damn…" Sesshomaru growled lowly, "I'll go find her. Vaul, stay here with Gina." With that, he charged out of the room. Gina tried to follow after, but, following his brother-in-law's direction, kept her from doing so.

Selene ran through the village, heading toward the growing scent of blood. Please…do not let it be that Arthas has preyed upon innocent people! She ran a bit more, when she neared a dead end where the scents of blood and death lingered. She took a few steps forward, when she felt a warm liquid at her feet. She moved her foot, which was now dripping with dark blood. Selene heard a thud, and so she ran into the alley, where she saw seven bodies strewn about, their faces contorted with fear and pain, some with large wounds. The one thing that they all shared was that each of them was in the midst of a pool of blood, which was presumably their own at one time.

And standing just above one of them was Arthas, his face and hands soaked in blood. "Arthas…did you do all of this?" Selene asked, taking a few, horrified steps toward him. He glared at her for a moment, and then realized who it was. The crazed red faded from his eyes, and a small smirk crossed his face. "Oh…Lady Selene…I didn't see you there," he said. Selene gave a low growl. "If I knew you were going to kill all of these innocents, I wouldn't have released you from that rock!!" she shouted angrily. Arthas examined her expression for a moment. She seemed almost…betrayed.

"I'm not sure why you didn't expect this. I am a vampire, you know. And I've gone without blood for two centuries. You're lucky I didn't suck the blood of you and your family as soon as you freed me," he said acidly. Selene still looked hurt. "But…all these poor people…there are plenty of animals here! Why couldn't you just drain them?" Arthas gave a sharp scoff. "An animal's blood is far less potent then that of a human. I would've had to drain every horse, pig, and bird in this village just to get my strength back."

Selene bit her lip a little. Then, she felt another evil aura enter the area. Arthas and Selene both sniffed the air at the same time, and came to the same answer. "Demons," they said in unison.