Chapter 18

The dragon demon was in his favorite room in his fortress when his thoughts were interrupted. "Master, master! Hotomatu has returned with news my lord. Shall I send him in to you?"

"Hotomatu! Yes send him to me immediately." Shamotokai smiled broadly. His servant had never failed him. 'He must have the shards.' He thought.

Hotomatu came in to his lord and bowed deeply. "My lord I have news of the shards, sire. I found Shotimoto. He was dead. Whoever killed him buried the body and took the shards. I followed the scent back here to the mountain. There are many of them, a full demon and several half demons. There also appears to be a monk as well as three human females traveling with them. I spotted them from the air at sunrise, sire. They are about a day away on foot. How do you wish me to proceed?" Hotomatu bowed again. He knew his news wouldn't please his master but judging by the condition of the corpse these ones would be no easy mark. He needed backup.

"You did well in returning to me Hotomatu. Take some of my army with you and attack them. I don't want them to make it to the fortress."

The loyal servant bowed once again and took his leave of his master. He went to the barracks were the demon army was kept and spoke with their commander. "I require some of your very best demons for a mission. The master is expecting company and prefers that they never get here. They do however have in their possession something that the master greatly desires. We are to retrieve it and kill those who carry it."

The commander smiled evilly at the servant. "Excellent my men have been growing restless lately. They could use a little exercise. I'll have a troop of them ready for you in an hour."

It was sunrise and as promised Inuyasha and Katame had everyone up, dressed, fed and ready to go by the time the sun peeked over the horizon. Sesshoumaru was surveying the efficiency of the two when he felt something. He looked up. Overhead a demon was circling. He was a scout for the demon Shamotokai Sesshoumaru was sure of it.

"Damn! We've been spotted." Inuyasha ran up to his brother. "Can you get him?"

"No. He's too far away. Damn it. We have lost our advantage. We will be expected." Sesshoumaru started to pace.

"They'll probably send someone out to meet us. They won't want us near the fortress." Miroku noted.

"Yes I know that monk. Do you think me a fool?"

Miroku lowered his head. "Sorry, I was just trying to help. If we know they will come then we still have an advantage of sorts. He saw us but does he know that we saw him? They may think we will be unaware of their arrival. But we could prepare a nice reception for them. What do you think, Inuyasha?" Miroku turned his attention to his friend. "We've done this before do you think we could do it again?"

Sesshoumaru was intrigued. This monk had become a bit of a mouse around him since he caught him looking at Katame the night she was injured by Naraku. He had his brother discipline him severely that night. The beating had been harsh but necessary and the monk had learned his lessons well. However, every once in a while the rouge in him would still surface. But he had a good mind for battle and had proven his worth before.

"What did you have in mind, monk?"

"Well if we think for a minute. What would you do if it was your fortress and you knew we were coming?"

Inuyasha looked at his brother. "He'd send out his army to destroy us."

"Exactly. So how long would it take to do that?"

Sesshoumaru walked away from them for a moment and then turned back. "They should be here by nightfall."

"Ok we have time to come up with something. Let's sit for a while and think things through. I'm sure we can defeat them if we work on it." Miroku walked over to the fire and sat down to think.

The other demons joined him at the fire. They sat at length discussing how best to handle the coming threat. They finallysettled ona plan and everyone was clear on what to do. They ate and waited.

Sesshoumaru and his sons and nephew took up watch positions in the trees. Inuyasha was with the others on the ground. They had set up several sleeping mats and stuffed them to look like there were people sleeping in them. And so they waited.

Their efforts were not in vain. That night sometime around midnight the camp was attacked. Hotomatu had brought twelve of his masters best fighters with him. They stormed the camp, swords drawn ready for battle. Several of the demons attacked the people sleeping on the mats only to find that they were the ones being attacked. Sugumi flew from demon to demon dispatching them quickly using his nails as a knife.

Inu and Samoto worked together chopping and hacking at the demon solders as they tried to get close to the hiding spot they had put their mother and aunt in. Shippo's job was to hide the women. He had disguised them as a boulder but the illusion would disappear in an instant if someone tried to climb on him.

Sesshoumaru attended to the matter of Hotomatu who was flying overhead on the back of Shantu. Sesshoumaru confronted the demon. "So you're master is afraid to face me butI shall deal with the murderous traitor soon enough." He lunged at the demon. Sesshoumaru was getting angry and true to form angry demons make stupid mistakes.

Hotomatu was very adept at riding the beast and more than that Shantu was used to battles and had no fear. They dodged the demon and landed a heavy blow to the back of Sesshoumaru's head.

He fell to the ground. His eye went brilliant red and he was about to fly off again when he was grabbed by his brother. "Stop! Sesshoumaru stop. You are loosing control. You're making foolish mistakes. Think! We have to get him off that thing first then we can get him."

Sesshoumaru growled at his brother but something in what his brother said struck a cord with him. He relented. "Fine, suggest something."

"Attack his mount. The beast is used to being controlled by his rider he may not know what to do about it."

Sesshoumaru was about to take off when Inuyasha shouted for him to wait again.

"What now, PUP!?"

"Take me with you I'll land on his back and between the two of us we will defeat them."

"Fine then, let's get this over with." Sesshoumaru was anxious to get on with his battle. He had instructed everyone to completely annihilate the attackers. He wanted to buy some time. He didn't want any survivors to report their position and numbers to Shamotokai.

Miroku and Sango were in the center of the camp doing their fair share of fighting. Sango was very skilled with her boomerang and had killed off five of the solders. Miroku was a bit frustrated. He was used to using his right hand in battle and although he was a skilled fighter he wished he could have done more.

Sesshoumaru threw Inuyasha at Hotomatu, He landed neatly behind the demon. He drew his sword as he brother began his attack on Shantu the dragon-dog mount. Sesshoumaru clawed at the neck of the beast and gave him a powerful dose of his poison. The poor creature never had a chance. He started to fall.

Hotomatu was too busy fending off Inuyasha's attack he hadn't noticed that his mount was in trouble. When he did it was too late. The four of them hit the ground. Shantu was dead and Hotomatu was not far behind. Sesshoumaru had joined his brother and had torn a hole in the demon's side. He delivered an extra large portion of his trademark poison. The demon was dead in seconds.

The brothers walked back into the camp and surveyed the mess. Sango and Miroku were piling up the bodies. Miroku suggested that the women remain hidden until they could dispose of the carcasses. The boys were busy digging graves for all the dead.

Inuyasha went to work helping the humans move the bodies. Once they were all in the ground and out of sight of the wives of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were allowed to come out of hiding.

"That was really intense." Katame said to her husband. "Do you think they will try again?"

"Not tonight my love. But yes they will try again. They don't want us to get to the fortress and the closer we get the more fierce the fighting will become." He took his wife in his hands and pulled her close. "We will be safe for now my pet." He breathed in her scent. He loved the way she smelt and the old familiar urge was beginning to assert itself again. He took his wife outside of the camp area and that is where he and Katame spent the night.

Sesshoumaru was careful to respect his wife's need for privacy when they were out in the woods so he picked a nice sheltered spot. Sesshoumaru gently removed her clothing and stroked her delicate skin. She quivered under his touch. He could always do that to her. She blushed at the thoughts racing through her mind.

Sesshoumaru noticed her. "What are you thinking of that makes you blush?"

Katame looked up into her husbands beautiful deep red eyes. (Demon eyes turn red when they are angry or in this case they want to have a little fun before bedtime. Heh, heh. ) She was startled that he would notice. She blushed all the more and hid her face in her hands.

"Are your thoughts so bad little one? I'm sure they are not as bad as mine. Shall I show you what I was thinking?" He didn't wait for a response. Sesshoumaru nudged her legs gently apart and inserted himself into his waiting wife.

Katame may be shy about such things, as far as speaking about it was concerned. But she really loved what he could do to her. Soon she found herself at the frantic pinnacle of her climax. She squirmed under him unsure if she could stand another moment and yet desperate for it to last forever.

Sesshoumaru knew exactly what to do to his wife to drive her to her climax. He stroked and pet her coaxing her onward with each thrust into her. Finally she began to struggle under him and he knew she had reached her limit. He held her there for just a moment longer then stopped. She was gasping for breath and she was covered in perspiration. He rolled over onto his back pulling her onto his chest as he did. He covered her so she wouldn't get cold, and gently stoked her back to help her relax.

"Are you alright my pet, I can smell your blood?" Sesshoumaru often made her bleed. She was still a fragile human. He on the other hand was a full-blooded demon with a tremendous appetite for his wife.

"I'm fine Sesshoumaru. But I am tired. Can I rest for a while?" Katame knew her husbands appetite and was sure he was far from finished with her.

Sesshoumaru laughed quietly and whispered into her ear. "Sleep well my girl. I will not take you again tonight. You need your rest if we are to travel to the fortress tomorrow." He rubbed her back gently and within minutes Katame was asleep.

(Thank you to every one that reviewed for me.

Serinay: you have a wonderfull story. Unfortunately I can't review because my ##! computer is blocking pop up windows and won't allow me access to send a review. Don't you just love modern technology? Not!!!!

I've started a new story. This one will be an original piece. It's a sci fi, a bit of a departure from my usual fantasy stuff but the charactors are wild. The main male characture will seem like a combination; Darth Vader meets Sesshoumaru with a little extra just to make him unique. The main female is a young girl of 13 who comes from a planet with limited technology and no space travel. Imagine the fun when she discovers she is not allone in the universe. Yes the main guy is abadie ,but I like it that way.It must be the rebel in me. My daughter has already started illustrating it for me. She can draw these amazing anime style charactors. It's wonderfull. When I get further along I will start downloading to the other site. Fiction press I think it is called. Untill then Happy Writingeveryone. LadySesshoumaru41)