10

Volando Petra ducked behind a tree and stopped to rest. He had a feeling he had passed this way before. He was heading back towards the well. He didn't understand what had happened. How had he ended up in this nightmare? One moment he was jumping down a well to hide from hunters and the next, he was running for his life from monsters. All night, he had wandered aimlessly through the woods, hoping that the hunters had not followed him. But at dawn there were more horrors waiting.

A loud hissing made Petra freeze. The long body of a centipede demon skittered past him through the undergrowth. Petra stuck his hand in his pocket and felt for his stone pegs. He only had a few left now. But it didn't matter. The centipede didn't notice him as it moved on. The good news was that he didn't have to fight this time. The bad news was that the demon was wandering somewhere between him and the well. But that didn't matter either. He could just come back later. He left the shelter of the tree and walked back the way he'd come, moving farther away from the well. He had all the time in the world.

11

"The shard's getting fainter again," Kagome said.

"Damn, what's going on?" Inuyasha growled in frustration.

Amon said nothing but he felt the same. They had been traveling roughly in the same direction for an hour and this was all they could come up with. The footprints had only led them in circles and Inuyasha's nose got confused by the crossed trails. They had decided to rely on Kagome's jewel shard sense, but that didn't seem to be leading anywhere either. When the shard's aura had started to become stronger, they'd thought that maybe the end was in sight. But now Amon was losing patience. Could it be that Petra was just jerking them around? No, that was impossible. The witch was probably scared out of his mind. After all, he'd been alone in the woods all night while Amon and Robin were among allies.

Amon found himself watching Robin out of the corner of his eye as she walked beside him. She always looked so peaceful and serene when she walked in the woods or in a park. She'd had that same look on her face the day they had explored Central Park. And on that hike in the Lake District. She was always suggesting things like that, as if she wanted to show him something. But he could never figure out what that something was. He wouldn't have the opportunity now either it seemed. The entire group had stopped and they were looking around warily.

"What is it?" Robin asked nobody in particular.

"Something's coming. Can't you feel it?" Inuyasha said.

Robin glanced at Amon and he nodded. Now that he was paying attention, there was a strange smell in the air. It was similar to a witch but not the same. Could this be…?

A flash of movement was all Amon saw before the centipede charged. He had time to draw his gun but not to use it. Robin was suddenly standing between him and the demon. The giant insect hit her fire shield and recoiled, shrieking. Amon took the opportunity and fired a single shot into the centipede's mouth. The creature twisted and writhed and squealed in agony.

Amon watched it with his usual blank expression. But some part of him was enjoying it. He was almost sorry when Inuyasha stepped up to finish it. It was only the second time he had seen the transformed Tetsusaiga and it surprised him again. But it made sense now. A giant weapon for a giant enemy. Amon noticed the others step back and he and Robin did the same. The centipede had recovered slightly and it tried to charge again.

"Windscar," Inuyasha yelled and swung his sword. The flash of light made Amon shield his eyes and then the pieces of demon flesh fell all around. Inuyasha sheathed his sword again.

"I hate those things. They're so annoying," Kagome commented as she started walking again.

12

Sesshomaru looked down at the human approaching him. This was no demon, not even a half-demon. But the scent didn't lie.

"What are you? And why do you smell like a demon?" the dog demon demanded.

The human drew back, scowling.

"I don't know what you are, but I'm a witch."

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes slightly. A witch? He was 400 years old but he'd never seen one of these before. A human who smelled like a demon. Was that the next step after half-demon?

The witch kept moving back under the demon's cool gaze and eventually turned and walked away.

"Sesshomaru-sama?" Jaken inquired as he came up by his master's side.

"Follow him," the dog demon commanded.

"Yes, my lord," the imp replied, overjoyed to be doing something useful.