CHAPTER NINETEEN
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A leathery wing almost smacked Miroku off his feet. Grimacing, he slashed at the demon's reptilian head, and almost got his cursed hand bitten off -- only to see Sango's boomerang lash out, severing the demon's head.
There were dozens of them now, swooping and diving at the three. Kirara growled and hissed, but she could barely stand on her injured leg. Shippo was throwing fox-fire into the eyes of any demon who came near him. And Sango and Miroku
We need Inuyasha! Miroku thought wildly. If he were here, I could suck these demons away in an instant. But until I know where he is, and whether he's a full demon, I can't risk-
Suddenly his eye caught a glimpse of a bowed, hobbling figure not far away. As he ran toward the old woman, he saw two winged demons looming over her in the mist. "You!" he shouted. "Call off these demons, or I'll kill every last one of them!"
"A brave one, are you?" the old woman sneered.
Miroku started to loosen the beads on his wrist. "Have you killed Inuyasha?" he asked grimly.
"Dead? Oh no." The old woman smiled.
"What do you have against him?"
"That is my own affair, young monk." A demon swooped down low, and Miroku barely managed to fend it off. The old woman just smiled lazily.
"where is he?" Miroku said breathlessly, holding out his staff. "What have you done to him?"
"I haven't harmed a hair on his head. But I doubt that you'll want to see him now. That girl he was with will just be a few scraps of flesh, and drops of blood on his fingers. A fitting fate for the beast Inuyasha."
For a moment, Miroku saw the world in blood-red. This woman had set Inuyasha against Kagome, and the human girl was almost certainly dead now. As Miroku started to loosen the beads from his wrist, something whizzed overhead and smashed into the demons. A boomerang. It was Sango, with a flame in her eyes.
Knocked off-balance by her fallen demons, the old woman crumpled to the ground, and something small and round bounced from her fingers. Miroku's eyes widened. That must be what I saw her holding before -- something that has power over Inuyasha, he thought.
It was a little glass sphere, with a thin crack on one side. Suspended inside it were what looked like drops of blood. And though Miroku wasn't entirely sure, he was willing to bet that the blood belonged to Inuyasha.
But before he could reach it, one of the demons smashed into him and sent him flying against Sango. Shippo cried out in dismay, "Miroku! Sango! Are you okay?"
The old woman bent down and scooped up the sphere. "Nearly as troublesome as Inuyasha," she snapped.
Miroku stumbled to his feet as the old woman slid onto the back of one of the winged demons.
If I'm right, he thought, then Shippo's foxfire caused that crack... and returned Inuyasha to normal for a short time. So if the sphere is destroyed, perhaps he'll return to normal. "Old woman!" he shouted. "Give me that sphere, or I'll draw you into a void!" He half-removed the beads from his wrist.
"If you kill me without the spell being broken, boy," the old woman said as the demon started to fly away, "then Inuyasha will die as well."
"I don't believe you!" Miroku shouted. But, he thought, Inuyasha is as good as dead if he isn't turned back to normal. He started to remove the beads, determined to kill the old woman.
"Stop!" Sango cried suddenly.
Something round and pink was floating up behind the old woman. It was Shippo, puffing determinedly after the demon. Before the crone could notice him, a swirl of blue fire spiraled out and enveloped her hand. The old woman shrieked, her flesh burning. And the sphere exploded into tiny shards of glass.
The old woman wheeled around at the kitsune. "Wretch!" she snarled.
The demon slashed at Shippo with its tail, knocking him down from the sky. The little kitsune fell, wailing along the way -- until another demon leaped high into the air, caught him in its mouth and landed with a crash on the ground. When the dust settled, Miroku saw who it was -- Kirara. She shrank back into her smaller form, and pitifully licked her injured leg.
"Miroku, quickly!" Sango cried. "The spell's been broken!"
Miroku tore off the beads. He got a brief glance of the crone's face, contorted with fear and rage, before she was sucked into the void in his palm. With a grimace, Miroku turned his hand up to the sky and watched as the dozens of flying demons were drawn into his wind tunnel, along with much of the mist.
Finally he wrapped the beads around his wrist again. And a cold, dead silence fell over the clearing. Shippo limped over, covered in mud.
"We have to find out... what's happened to Kagome and Inuyasha," Miroku said heavily. But he suspected that he didn't want to know.
TO BE CONTINUED
.
A leathery wing almost smacked Miroku off his feet. Grimacing, he slashed at the demon's reptilian head, and almost got his cursed hand bitten off -- only to see Sango's boomerang lash out, severing the demon's head.
There were dozens of them now, swooping and diving at the three. Kirara growled and hissed, but she could barely stand on her injured leg. Shippo was throwing fox-fire into the eyes of any demon who came near him. And Sango and Miroku
We need Inuyasha! Miroku thought wildly. If he were here, I could suck these demons away in an instant. But until I know where he is, and whether he's a full demon, I can't risk-
Suddenly his eye caught a glimpse of a bowed, hobbling figure not far away. As he ran toward the old woman, he saw two winged demons looming over her in the mist. "You!" he shouted. "Call off these demons, or I'll kill every last one of them!"
"A brave one, are you?" the old woman sneered.
Miroku started to loosen the beads on his wrist. "Have you killed Inuyasha?" he asked grimly.
"Dead? Oh no." The old woman smiled.
"What do you have against him?"
"That is my own affair, young monk." A demon swooped down low, and Miroku barely managed to fend it off. The old woman just smiled lazily.
"where is he?" Miroku said breathlessly, holding out his staff. "What have you done to him?"
"I haven't harmed a hair on his head. But I doubt that you'll want to see him now. That girl he was with will just be a few scraps of flesh, and drops of blood on his fingers. A fitting fate for the beast Inuyasha."
For a moment, Miroku saw the world in blood-red. This woman had set Inuyasha against Kagome, and the human girl was almost certainly dead now. As Miroku started to loosen the beads from his wrist, something whizzed overhead and smashed into the demons. A boomerang. It was Sango, with a flame in her eyes.
Knocked off-balance by her fallen demons, the old woman crumpled to the ground, and something small and round bounced from her fingers. Miroku's eyes widened. That must be what I saw her holding before -- something that has power over Inuyasha, he thought.
It was a little glass sphere, with a thin crack on one side. Suspended inside it were what looked like drops of blood. And though Miroku wasn't entirely sure, he was willing to bet that the blood belonged to Inuyasha.
But before he could reach it, one of the demons smashed into him and sent him flying against Sango. Shippo cried out in dismay, "Miroku! Sango! Are you okay?"
The old woman bent down and scooped up the sphere. "Nearly as troublesome as Inuyasha," she snapped.
Miroku stumbled to his feet as the old woman slid onto the back of one of the winged demons.
If I'm right, he thought, then Shippo's foxfire caused that crack... and returned Inuyasha to normal for a short time. So if the sphere is destroyed, perhaps he'll return to normal. "Old woman!" he shouted. "Give me that sphere, or I'll draw you into a void!" He half-removed the beads from his wrist.
"If you kill me without the spell being broken, boy," the old woman said as the demon started to fly away, "then Inuyasha will die as well."
"I don't believe you!" Miroku shouted. But, he thought, Inuyasha is as good as dead if he isn't turned back to normal. He started to remove the beads, determined to kill the old woman.
"Stop!" Sango cried suddenly.
Something round and pink was floating up behind the old woman. It was Shippo, puffing determinedly after the demon. Before the crone could notice him, a swirl of blue fire spiraled out and enveloped her hand. The old woman shrieked, her flesh burning. And the sphere exploded into tiny shards of glass.
The old woman wheeled around at the kitsune. "Wretch!" she snarled.
The demon slashed at Shippo with its tail, knocking him down from the sky. The little kitsune fell, wailing along the way -- until another demon leaped high into the air, caught him in its mouth and landed with a crash on the ground. When the dust settled, Miroku saw who it was -- Kirara. She shrank back into her smaller form, and pitifully licked her injured leg.
"Miroku, quickly!" Sango cried. "The spell's been broken!"
Miroku tore off the beads. He got a brief glance of the crone's face, contorted with fear and rage, before she was sucked into the void in his palm. With a grimace, Miroku turned his hand up to the sky and watched as the dozens of flying demons were drawn into his wind tunnel, along with much of the mist.
Finally he wrapped the beads around his wrist again. And a cold, dead silence fell over the clearing. Shippo limped over, covered in mud.
"We have to find out... what's happened to Kagome and Inuyasha," Miroku said heavily. But he suspected that he didn't want to know.
TO BE CONTINUED