Chapter 16
::July 24::
Leinto lead the four girls, five Ronins and Whiteblaze down the streets of the outer regions of the demon community. His gray eyes flicked wearily over his surroundings, alert to any dangers around them. They had set out early that morning in search of where Rylea could have gone and now it was already beginning to become dark. The setting sun brought growing apprehension to the aging charge. He knew they only had a matter of hours to find her before it became too late for all of them. This little piece of information wore heavily on him. He didn't want to lose another one of his innocents to the demons. He couldn't stand to watch another one of them be corrupted and changed to their side ---especially not Rylea. Not when her and the girls had so much riding on their safety and being able to bare the armors. Not another one, not Rylea, not this time.
Bringing himself from his thoughts, Leinto glanced over and behind him to the people that were following him. "All of you must stay on your guard. We're in the demon realm now and anything can happen," he said to them, his voice harsh with caution.
Keish smirked indignantly as she placed her arms behind her head and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about. Everybody and everything here looks normal to me."
"Yeah," Rona added as her purple-blue eyes scanned over the area and people around her. "I don't see how they can be demons."
Sage's violet eyes darted uneasily over the people they passed and he shook his blonde head. He could sense the evil that surrounded the people and even some of the things around them. "No," he started and then looked directly at the other guys as he said, "They're here, I can sense an evil aura all around us."
The guys' faces hardened with Sage's words as they became aware of the danger that was upon them even though they couldn't see it. "Shouldn't the girls put their sub armor on at least, Leinto?" Rowen asked with a pointed glance in the charge's direction.
Leinto stopped walking mid step as if a thought had just struck him and turned around to look back at the four girls who walked behind him. He smiled lightly at the confused glances he got from them at his sudden stopping as they slowed there walking as well to stop before him. "Do you four think you are ready?" he asked them seriously.
The girls exchanged glances and shrugs between them; no one really spoke up and said yes or no to Leinto's question. None of them were really sure if they were ready to put on subarmor under the understanding that they may have to use armor as well. An armor that they hadn't had on even in a training situation. Rona was the first to speak up as her unsure but determined voice said, "I am."
Keish smiled in the royal blue haired girl's direction as she added confidently, "You know I am."
"I guess I am too," Kami's soft, accented voice chimed in next while nervously tucking her auburn hair behind her ear.
Silence followed as the girls waited for the last member of the group to chime in with her reply, but it never came. Four eyes looked over as one at the blonde haired girl who stood chewing nervously on her thumbnail. Noticing that all eyes were on her now, Heather raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow at them and said, "Nani?"
"What's your decision?" Rona asked her point blank, not really meaning to sound rude or mean to her.
"Either you're putting subarmor on or not," Keish added impatiently from beside her blue haired friend.
"Please Heather?" Kami piped up next to the blonde, her sea green eyes pleading with her.
Heather sighed audibly before finally replying, "Oh alright. I guess I can put on subarmor too if it'll make you all happy."
"Arigatou Heather," Kami said happily as she hugged the pretty blonde.
"Um, yeah," Heather replied, hesitantly hugging the smaller girl back. "Don't mention it."
Leinto let a smile spread across his weathered and winkled face as he nodded his graying head in acknowledgement to their answers once all had been given, "If that is your decisions, then go ahead and put it on."
The girls all looked at each other as they pulled from their pockets the armor orbs they had been given not too long ago; each orb glowed in the girls hands as if knowing that they were about to be used. Glancing one last time at each other the girls tossed their respectful colored orb they held in their hand into the air, grabbing it then with the same hand ---bright lights of blue, light blue, orange and green followed them. The lights died out finally to show that the girls' clothes had now been replaced with subarmor. Each girl looked at the other with a slight smile on her face. It still amused them each time they had to put subarmor on.
Their fathers could only stare at them with mixed emotions. A part of them felt pride at seeing them wearing an armor that they themselves had once worn with pride and the other half dread at seeing them in their old sub armor, knowing what long grueling wars they had fought through with those very same armors. They hoped that their daughters wouldn't be plagued with the same kinds of wars and battles they had conquered because they wore the same armor they had. Each father hoped for the best for all of them, knowing that the worst was just beginning for them.
Ryo just turned his head away from them, wishing that his own daughter could have been there with them. He looked up at the darkening sky, wondering where his daughter could be and if she were ok. He hoped she was. He hoped that who ever had taken her before hadn't gotten to her again, but wouldn't know for sure until he found her. A small, amused smile came over his face as he thought, If none of this would have happened I would have been at home right now, getting things around for her birthday tomorrow. Grief filled his face as the amusement he had just felt quickly died away.
Ryo felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder and turned his head to find cobalt blue eyes looking back at him. Rowen smiled at him reassuringly as if he knew what was going through the Ronin of Wildfire's mind right then. The dark haired man just gave him a small smile in return before turning his gaze back on the now subarmored girls.
Keish examined her now orange and white armored arm with a happy smile. She loved the thrill she got every time she put it on. Feeling the metal form over her body as she clasped her armor orb in her hand gave her an exhilarating rush and knowing that every time she did so she was that much closer to going into a real battle or actually putting the full armor on excited her even more. "Man I love this," she exclaimed aloud to the people around her.
"Yeah so we know Keish. You only say it about every time we put it on," Kami replied joking to her hardhead friend, a soft smile came over her face as Keish glared back at her.
Rona glanced over her own blue and white armored arms and then looked around at the faces of her friends. Something about all of this didn't seem right to her. It seemed like something was missing from this picture. Something or more like someone who was supposed to be there with the rest of them but wasn't. Rona's eyes dropped once she realized why it didn't seem right to her. "This doesn't feel right without Lea," she announced to everyone and her friends gave a solemn nod to her in return.
"You'll all be together again soon. We're going to find Rylea," Leinto told them with confidence as he came up to stand along side them. The four armored girls gave him a smile or a nod in response to his words, gaining small comfort and reassurance from their charge. Leinto gave them all a small, almost caring, smile back before motioning for them to follow him once again. He began to walk ahead of them and the four now armored girls followed after him with their fathers and Whiteblaze taking up lead after them.
Tadin hurried down the alleyway on the north side as he headed for the warehouse where the portal that led deep into the demon community was. Already the sun was setting low in the sky and he had no idea where Rylea was or if Sirous even had her. What if he did? He knew he was no match for Sirous, but if he had Rylea then he was going to fight to get her back. That's why he was heading for the portal. If Sirous had her then he would take her back to the temple, which was situated deep in the heart of the demon realm. A dark and lifeless place that he hated to go to.
Coming to the end of the alley he was walking down he heard voices and the sounds of feet or clanking metal. Thinking nothing of it he rounded the corner and ran smack into the last people he thought he would. All he saw was blonde hair as he slammed into something hard and stumbled back.
"Hey! Watch where you're going jerk!"
Tadin jerked his head up in the direction the voice had come from; realizing it sounded familiar to him. He added a familiar face to it when he saw who had yelled at him. "Heather?" he asked back in slight baffled confusion once he got a look at what she was clad in.
"Tadin is that you?" she asked back as the anger left her face almost immediately once she recognized the wild haired blonde in front of her.
Tadin didn't reply to Heather's question as he scanned over the people that made up the group, recognizing the dark haired man as Rylea's father, blue haired one as her uncle Rowen and the girls, of course. Something sniffing at his leg behind him brought his attention down to the tiger that stood behind him. Whiteblaze sniffed at Tadin's clothes, smelling Rylea's scent on him and rubbed his giant head against the blonde's thigh with an affectionate purr. Tadin seemed surprised by the white tiger's actions, but didn't seem to mind it.
Leinto eyed the blonde boy in front of him uneasily. He could sense the demon on him, but didn't see him as a threat to them. Using his staff to lean on slightly he walked up closer to him, keeping his face emotionless as Tadin's eyes came to rest on the old man curiously. "You're a hybrid aren't you?" Leinto finally said more as a statement then a question as his gray eyes bore into the boy's steel blue ones.
Tadin just stared at the old man be for him as he felt all eyes turn on him. He wasn't sure how Leinto could have known he was, but figured that Leinto couldn't be just a normal human if he had. He didn't bother looking around him as he stared back into Leinto's gray eyes. For some reason he felt almost compelled to stare back at Leinto. "Yeah," he finally replied and immediately felt the tension around him grow as he added regretfully, "Unfortunately I am."
Ryo's eyes immediately narrowed at Tadin and before anyone could stop him the dark haired man had the blonde boy pinned against the wall with one strong hand clamped tightly around his throat. "You're a hybrid and just happened to be hanging around my daughter?! Did you have something to do with her disappearing?" he shouted at the dumbfounded blonde with a pointed glare of his tiger blue eyes. Rage and anger now etched into his every feature.
"Ryo!" Rowen and Cye shouted as they both took a hold of one his arms and drug the angered man off the thoroughly confused blonde. Ryo let go of Tadin's throat as he was pulled away and made no attempt at lunging back at him. Instead, he reserved himself to just glare angrily at the boy.
Tadin rubbed at his throat where Ryo's hand had been clamped tightly around it and caught his breath. Looking directly into Ryo's eyes he replied back to his questions, "No, I had nothing to do with your daughter disappearing. I was the one who brought her back."
"You brought Lea back?" Rona repeated as if she couldn't believe that he would have. She didn't really like Tadin all that much and to be honest, didn't think that he would have really done something like that.
"Yeah," Tadin replied a little insulted, catching the hint of distrust in her voice. Looking back over at Ryo he continued, "Rylea showed up at my place earlier today. She said she had to get away from all of you and wanted to know if staying with me would be ok. I told her it wouldn't be a good idea for obvious reasons and that's when Sirous showed up."
"Who is this Sirous?" Leinto butted in with his question before Tadin could finish with what he had been saying.
Tadin sighed as if he didn't want to talk about who he was or for that matter, be talking to any of them. "Sirous is a purebred. He's also the one who had Rylea kidnapped in the first place," he replied, anger seeping into his voice at the mention of him.
"Ok, where's Lea now then since you say you had nothing to do with her disappearing?" Ryo sharply asked him, not trying to hide the fact that he was starting to dislike Tadin even more.
Tadin turned his blue eyed gaze back over onto Ryo and stated simply, "I don't know."
"What do you mean, you don't know?" Ryo spat back at him, becoming more enraged by the blonde boy with every second that went by.
"I mean," Tadin sardonically replied back as he shifted his weight on his feet. He was becoming restless with just sitting there and bantering back and forth with these people when he needed to be on his way to the temple. "She took off before Sirous could lay a hand on her. I chased after them but I lost sight of them soon afterwards. So to answer your question again, I don't know where Rylea is."
Leinto studied this new boy in front of him. He didn't think he was lying about not knowing where Rylea was, but he had a hunch that he knew of a place to look for her. Clearing his throat to catch the young hybrid's attention he said, "You don't know where she is, but do you know of a place where she might be?"
"And what if this Sirous guy has her again, what's he going to do to her?" Keish spoke up suddenly, breaking into the conversation that had been adults only up til then.
Tadin sighed impatiently with them all. He knew he'd probably need their help, but the thought of breaking a golden rule amongst the demons and bringing outsiders into the demon realm wasn't setting well with him. Then again, it was a Supreme rule and since when did he abide by their rules? "Ok look," he started and glanced around at all of them. "I think that Sirous has her again and if he does then he'd take her to the temple. Now the temple is deep in my world, which means you'll have to pass through a portal. I was on my way there when you all stopped me."
"Your world?" Rowen spoke up, intrigued by what he was saying. "Do you mean to tell me that your world is in another dimension?"
"I guess you could you say that, yeah," he replied after taking it into consideration.
"As much as I would love to hear the conversation that I feel coming up about his world and dimensions Rowen," Kento spoke up and glanced over at the blue haired genius as he continued with, "I'd love even more to actually go there."
Rowen just glowered at the ash-blue warrior of justice while secretly pondering ways to get him back later. On the other hand, Sage didn't seem to enthusiastic about his proposal at all. Somehow this seemed way too much like a set up or a trap to him. Go into a different dimension? That had trap written all over it in big bold letters to him. "How do we know that what you're saying is true and that you're not really helping this Sirous person out?" he voiced his apprehension and distrust to him.
Tadin turned angry steel blue eyes over at the person who had spoken to him and replied coldly with, "You don't, but ask your self why a hybrid would help a purebred like Sirous out. Why would I be sitting here wasting my time talking to all of you if I didn't want your help or think that you could help me find her? It's against the rules for me to even take you into my world and yet I'm willing to. Isn't that telling you something?"
"Not really," Ryo mumbled out as he crossed his arms over his broad chest. He wasn't too keen on believing or trusting the boy either.
"You know what I've just about-"
Leinto's staff hitting the concrete ground beneath him stopped Tadin from finishing his statement to Ryo. The old man's gray eyes sternly stared down everyone around him as he took the commanding role of leader. "That is enough," he commanded and the people around him went quiet as he continued on. "Now, I've made my decision. We will be following this boy, Tadin, into his world where I pray we find Rylea because our time is quickly diminishing."
Silence followed the old man's words and he nodded his head approvingly to it. He had been prepared to settle someone's argument with his decision, but liked this much better. "Now," he started again while his gaze lightened some but still held a commanding tone to them as it came to rest on Tadin. "Please lead the way for us."
Tadin gave a silent nod to the graying charge as he began to walk ahead of them again. He needed to get to the warehouse that sat on the very edge of the north side and he was beginning to become worried that they may not have enough time. Leinto fell into pursuit after the young man, expecting his innocents and the Ronins to fall in line after him. The girls did so without a second thought but the Ronins lingered for a few moments. Ryo wasn't moving to follow after them and they were waiting for him to go before they followed.
Whiteblaze looked up at his master, silently asking why they weren't going. Ryo didn't look back at him though. The young man held an undistinguishable look on his face now. The large tiger gave a small whimper as he pushed his head against the back Ryo's leg, trying to tell him to go. Ryo took the hint. Looking down at the tiger he frowned before glancing back up at the faces of his friends who awaited his decision. Without a word being said, the dark haired man started in the direction the others had gone with his faithful tiger behind him and his friends followed after him.
The warehouse Tadin had spoke of was just that, a very normal looking warehouse that may at one time have held shipping loads within it. Sliding the large, steel door of the warehouse open he walked inside and the rest followed. Crates sat here or there inside the building, the last remnants of what had been stored there once. Cobwebs dotted the walls and some of the grungy looking windows had glass missing from them. A rat scurried by them and Heather screamed, leaping behind her larger friend Keish for protection. Rona shook her head at the blonde as everyone turned back to look ahead of them to the boy they had been following. He now stood at the far wall, scanning it as if he were looking for a certain spot.
When he found the place he was looking for, Tadin placed his right hand against it and waited. Almost immediately a dark light emitted from his hand and ran along the wall as a door began to form in its path, the outline of it glowed and pulsed. With the doorway formed, the hybrid removed his hand and glanced over his shoulder at the others. "You have to go through first otherwise the door will shut immediately after I enter and then you won't be able to get through," he told them as he stepped aside, giving them access to it.
Leinto nodded to him and then glanced back at the girls and Ronins who stood behind him. Without a word said to them he walked past Tadin and through the doorway, disappearing onto the other side. Sideway glances to each other came at his leave. The girls weren't exactly sure if they should follow after their charge or not. Before they could make a decision, Ryo walked past them and through the doorway, the others and Whiteblaze following after him. Not wanting to be left behind, the girls quickly followed after their fathers and through the portal.
With everyone now through, Tadin stepped in and walked over to the other side. The doorway that had formed on the opposite end closed as he stepped out and into the streets of the demon realm. The sky was dark and hung heavy with thick, dark clouds. A depressed feeling hung high around them. The streets themselves seemed empty of anyone ---it was almost like a ghost town. Paved, brick roads sat before them with rows of town houses on either side. The place almost had a sixteenth century, English town feel about it.
Ignoring the unnerving stillness of the place, Tadin set out ahead of the large group. He had his sights set on the towering temple in front of them with its brick walls set around it and wrought iron fence. That was where he was almost positive he was going to find Rylea. The lingering crowd behind him quickly caught up pace with him as they all made their way down the desolate streets and towards their destination ahead of them.
Rylea awoke to find herself lying on a cold cement floor of a cell. Groggily she scanned her surroundings and found herself back in the same area that she had been in before, minus the shackles. Groaning, she closed her eyes against the pain that rampaged its way through her head. A churning, fiery ache spread through out her body ---consuming her in its painful grasp. Grating her teeth together against the pain, she forced herself to sit up from the floor on her folded knees. A cold shiver ran down her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself against it. The pounding in her head intensified as Rylea's vision began to blur. Closing her eyes against it she slowly and gently lay back down upon the cold cement of the floor beneath her.
The cold feeling of the floor brought her some comfort against the raging, throbbing sensation that ran through her head. The pain that shot through her body grew, extinguishing any thoughts she may have had to try and escape again. Slowly the dark haired girl slipped into an unconscious state on the cold cement floor of her cell as memories weaved in and out of her mind uncontrollably.
"Mommy, what are you doing?"
The brown haired woman looked down at her daughter; her brown eyes twinkled as she smiled warmly down at her. "I'm making cookies for us, Lea angel. Do you wanna help mommy?" she asked her daughter sweetly.
"Yeah!"
The woman laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm while helping the girl stand up on the kitchen chair beside her where the girl could get a better view of what she was doing. Then, she took some of the cookie dough she had and patted it between her hands until it was flat and round before placing it on the cookie sheet in front of her. Taking some more of the dough she handed it to the dark haired, wide eyed girl beside her, "Now you try, Lea."
Taking the dough from her Mother's outstretched hand, the girl copied to her best ability what she had seen her mom do. When she was done she held it up triumphantly with a bright smile on her face and exclaimed, "Lookie! I dids it mommy!"
The woman smiled warmly back and took the now flattened dough to place it on the cookie sheet along with the others. "Yep, you sure did angel," she said back to her, pleasing the little girl.
After putting a few more on the cookie sheet the woman took it and walked towards the awaiting oven. The little girl hopped down from the chair she had been standing on to follow after her Mother, "Mommy? What are you doing?"
Opening the oven door, the woman placed the cookie sheet on one of the baking racks before closing the oven door again. She smiled down at the little girl who now was fixed on staring into the oven through the glass on the door. "They have to cook silly," she said to her, tapping the little girl lightly on the end of her nose with a smile.
"Oh, otay mommy,"
The brown haired woman smiled more as she flipped her long braid over her shoulder and picked her daughter up, setting the girl on her hip with arms wrapped around her body. "You know what?" she said to her, her warm brown eyes twinkling.
"What?"
Grinning, she kissed her daughter's cheek and then laid her forehead against hers, rubbing there noses together as she proclaimed to her, "I love you Rylea Marie."
Giggling at what her mom had done, the little girl replied with, "I love you too mommy." The words seemed to echo as the picture of the little girl and her mother began to become fuzzy and out of focus, fading back deep into the subconscious mind of its owner.
"I love you too mommy," Rylea mumbled incoherently in her half conscious state of mind. The pain had ceased momentarily now and she quietly dozed on the floor of her cell, reliving memories in her mind. Someone shaking her brought her back from her unconscious state and she groaned in protest, batting at the person with her arm.
"On your feet hybrid," a voice ordered of her from somewhere above her.
Rylea's eyes snapped open as she glanced around her surroundings, realizing that she wasn't at home. Remembrance of what had happened leading up to that point came flooding back to her as she figured out where she was exactly. "Get up I said," the voice said again, anger now creeping into it.
Choosing to ignore the voice, Rylea laid where she was, hoping that whoever it was would take the hint that she didn't want to get up and leave. That's not what happened though. The voice above her only growled more in annoyance and grabbed a hold of her arms, pulling her to her feet whether she wanted to be up or not. Pain surged through the dark haired girl's body at being yanked to her feet so hard and she let out a cry from it.
The person the voice belonged to glared at her with a mock of amusement at her suffering. He seemed to enjoy hearing her wail in pain. "Lord Sirous has requested your presence in the main chamber," he snarled out to her.
A smirk curled around Rylea's lips at the person who stood before. This person looked to be a human in some aspects but wasn't a human at all. Fox ears sat on top of the man's head while a brown, bushy tail swished behind him. He had emerald green eyes that were almond shaped and long, sharp nails like a cat's. He looked to be in his early twenty's but could have been much older than that. "Has he now?" she said as a coy smile spread across her face and she chuckled before adding, "Well you can tell Sirous for me that I don't care what he 'requests' of me. I'm not going."
The fox demon growled, baring two of his pointy sharp teeth as he grabbed Rylea roughly by the arm and retorted, "Yes you are now get moving."
Rage surged through Rylea at being jerked around by him and her eyes narrowed dangerously at him. Without thinking she wrapped her left arm around his own that was still holding on to her and thrust it up ---causing the bone to break at the joint with a sickening crack. The fox demon howled in pain and Rylea took that moment to take her right fist and slam it into his jaw, laying him out onto the cement floor of the cell unconscious. Still glaring down at his now still form she sneered out to him, "Maybe that will teach you to keep your hands off me next time."
Before she could even make a try at escaping from the cell that she still stood in, then the door swung open as more fox demons scurried into the small chamber. Quickly they all leaped onto Rylea before she could either kill them or end up escaping again. Trying to subdue the girl turned out to be more than they could handle as she kicked, punched and thrashed her way through the new demons who had come in ---soon they too found themselves much like the other fallen fox demon. An army, it seemed like, of fox demons swarmed into the cell. Over powering the smaller girl they quickly subdued her.
Angered screaming coming up the hall caused Sirous' attention to be drawn to the large double doors that lead into the main chamber he now stood in as they were opened and four fox demons came in half dragging, half carrying a very not so happy looking Rylea. An amused smile came to the silver haired man's lips as he turned and began to walk to them with hands clasped behind his back. The fox demons stopped when they neared Sirous and then tossed the still squirming girl onto the floor in front of him, as one they stepped back as far away from her as they could ---not wanting to be around her if she decided to turn on them again.
A chuckle from above her made the dark haired girl glance up sharply and be met by Sirous' face who held a look there that she didn't like at all. Her eyes were drawn away from him to her new surroundings, glancing around quickly as she took in everything. Torches and candles lined the walls of the large chamber, casting eerie shadows that seemed to be alive almost over everything. Stone pillars that held up the balcony on opposite sides of the walls stood before her. Intricate pictures of different things had been chiseled into the stone bases. A roaring fire at the front of the chamber caught her eye next. Its burning flames flickered and danced around inside the large stone hearth, almost calling to her in a sense. Above the stone fireplace, almost engraved into the stone wall was a large Roman numeral clock. The large minute hand clicked up one notch to stop at half past eleven.
"Welcome Rylea," Sirous' chilling and yet mocking voice said over her. "Please, make yourself at home."
I don't think so. She thought to herself while slowly climbing back to her feet, wincing at the sore muscles that protested to her movements. Out of the corner of her eye she caught all four of the fox demons who had drug her in there take one giant step back as one, almost seeming to cower in fear. "Don't worry guys," Rylea said over her shoulder to them. "I'm not going to hurt any of you..... As long as you stay out my way that is."
Sirous' chuckling brought her attention back on him. Watching him smile at her only infuriated the young girl more. "Well I can see that the demon in you is already coming out," he stated with a coy smile in her direction. "Maybe I won't have to use too much energy in turning you after all."
Growling at his words she balled a hand into a fist at her side, seriously considering slamming one into him like she had the fox demon in her cell. Deciding against it, she resigned her self to play along in his little game. "Ah huh and..... Just how would you know that might I ask?" she asked him sweetly, but her words dripped with sarcasm and venom.
"I can sense it," he replied and unclasped his hands from behind his back where they had been. "You should start to notice here soon."
Crossing her arms over her chest, Rylea eyed the man in front of her curiously. Something about him seemed very familiar to her but she couldn't put her finger on why exactly. "How do you know all of this?" she asked of him cautiously.
"How do I know?" Sirous repeated and let a soft, almost chilling chuckle escape him before replying, "Are you sure you want to know the answer to that?"
Rylea considered his question for a moment. Did she really? Something about the way he asked it made her think twice about it. Maybe it wasn't that important after all to know what he kept babbling on about, what he kept hinting at but wouldn't come right out and say. "Hai," she answered him finally as she mustered up any strength she could and prepared herself for what he was about to tell her. "I want to know how you seem to know so much about what's going on with me and why you keep mentioning me not remembering something."
Cold gray eyes silently laughed at her as the purebred took a few slow and easy steps towards her to close in the gap between them. He wanted to be as close to her as he could when he finally told her. He wanted to be up close so that he could relish in her shocked and probably enraged face. "You want to know? Well, I'll tell you," he said as he continued to walk towards her. A mad gleam had started to shine in his gray eyes now, a gleam that twinkled at her mockingly.
Uneasiness and uncertainly shown on Rylea's face now. She wasn't so sure that she had made the right decision after all. Her eyes stayed glued on Sirous as he finally stopped just in front of her small form that he seemed to almost loom over. "I of all people should know what's going on with you Rylea," he started and that mocking smile of his began to tug at the corners of his mouth. "I was the one who made you what you are now."
"Nani?" came the startled and confused reaction from Rylea as she took one tentative step back from the menacing looking man.
The silver haired man be for her smiled more at her shocked expression, soaking up every ounce of confusion and almost fear that he could from her. "Yes, eleven years ago this whole thing began," he started and his expression hardened as he continued, "The only problem is you were supposed to turn that night. Instead of doing so though, your demonic half went into hibernation..... Until now that is."
Rylea's gaping, wide eyes stared back at him in stark disbelief while her hand automatically came up to grab her Mother's pendant, wanting to feel the smooth and consoling metal in her hand, but found nothing there. "Looking for this?" Sirous' mocking voice asked of her.
Darting her eyes over to where his voice had come from she gasped when she found the pendant she had been looking for dangling from his fingers. "My Mother's pendant," Rylea whispered out while staring at it.
Sirous smiled mockingly back at her astonished expression while he played with necklace in his fingers. "You know," he started thoughtfully, "At first I had thought that maybe you weren't the one I had thought you were. Then I thought, nah, you had to be. You were the next in line to bare the Wildfire armor after all. Then I had to ask myself why you hadn't turned like you were supposed. I never could really understand it ....Up til now anyway."
His gray eyes glanced up from the necklace he was holding as he clenched his fingers around it and onto the frowning face of Rylea. "You see, I have this theory that the reason why your demon powers were suppressed and made go into hibernation, is all because of this little necklace here," he told her while the beginnings of a twisted smile came across his face. "This is the same necklace that woman was wearing. The same one she took off and placed around your neck. Foolish woman. She was hell bent on protecting you, you know? To the point of dying to save you."
Vivid blue eyes narrowed onto the purebred now as an angry voice replied, "What are you talking about?"
"It was very humorous to watch her pitifully try to protect you. Even though she knew she couldn't," he continued on without missing a beat. "What a shame it was to kill someone as beautiful as she was though."
Confusion and disbelief curled its self around every inch of Rylea's still half comprehending mind. She shook her head stubbornly, not wanting to listen or believe anything he was saying to her. He had to be lying. He had to be making this up to get her mad. He just had to be, right? Without realizing it, the dark haired girl took a small, almost faltering step back from him. She didn't want to hear what he had to say anymore. No longer did she want to know the answers to her questions.
Sirous wasn't done with her though. He'd just begun to torment her and now the final blow was about to be dealt. His smile grew as he leaned in close to her ear, his breath against her face making her shiver in disgust as he whispered, "I killed your Mother Rylea. I'm the one who made you the demon you are now."
Bright blue eyes went wide as his words set in and registered in her thoroughly confused brain. He had killed her mom? She staggered back from the purebred, wanting to put as much space between them as she could. "No," Rylea stubbornly whispered out in protest but a part of her knew what he said was true. "You're lying!"
"I watched as she put something around your neck and told you run away," Sirous continued as he closed in on her. His cold gray eyes stared mockingly into her own as he moved in for the kill. "Watched as you obediently ran for the forest like she had said as I killed her without a second thought."
Rylea stopped moving back from the looming, silver haired man. Her eyes were wide and unbelieving as memories flashed across her mind's eye. Glimpses of things popped in and out of her thoughts at first before becoming full fledge scenes in time. A memory of something that had happened so long ago danced across her eyes. A memory of something that for so long she had refused to remember ran without mercy across her mind.
There was a crash as the front door banged loudly against the side of the house and Luna ran outside with her daughter in arms. Fear gripped at the woman's features and her eyes searched silently for a way to get away from whomever was chasing her. Rylea clung to her Mother as two more people appeared in front of them, stopping them from heading towards the awaiting car and escape. Luna growled in aggravation as she held her daughter closer to her. "What do you want?" she demanded of the two be for her, fear etched around the edges of her voice.
A silver haired man walked up behind the two already in front of the woman, smiling at the sight before him. The sight of his smile sent shivers down both the woman and little girls' spines. "All I want is the girl. Hand her over and I might spare your life, woman," the menacing looking man told her, but his eyes said other wise.
Luna glared defiantly back at the man and cradled her daughter closer in her arms. Already she was searching for another way out and away from these people. They wouldn't get her child, no matter what she had to do. "Never! I'd rather die than hand my baby over to you," she spat at him angrily, her brown eyes showing she meant what she had said.
The man grinned and something very evil seemed to gleam in his eyes at her proposal as he replied coldly with, "That can be arranged." A wicked grin spread over his face as the silver haired man produced a dagger from the inside of his black trench coat.
Luna eyed the dagger with wide, terrified eyes before then setting her daughter down on the ground next to her. Quickly the brown haired woman pulled the necklace she wore around her neck off and placed it around the little girl's neck. Her heart wrenched at how scared and panicked looking her daughter's eyes looked. "Lea angel, this will protect you. Never take it off no matter what," she stated to her and her voice trembled along with her fingers that worked to latch the necklace in the back. Finally accomplishing what she had started to, Luna stared at her daughter with determined, stern eyes and said, "Now I want you to run Lea. Run as fast as you can and get away from here baby."
"But mommy I dons wan to leaf you!" the little girl retorted and her eyes began to shake, tears welling up in them at the thought of being alone.
"Lea angel," the woman cooed to her reassuringly as she took her daughter's face gently into her hands. Her brown eyes captured her daughter's tiger blue ones and held them as she told her as sternly as she could without yelling at her, "Run, get as far away from here as you can. Just do it, Rylea!"
Letting go of her face, Luna pushed her daughter back sharply from herself. Trying to get her started in the direction away from herself and these people who wanted her. The girl stumbled back and lingered a moment or two. She didn't want to leave her mom alone with these people. "Go!" Luna shouted again and the girl turned and ran as fast as she could away from her Mother. A soft smile spread across the woman's face as she watched her daughter run bravely from them. "Run Lea, run and be safe sweetie," she muttered to herself as tears came to her eyes.
Rylea ran for the forest that surrounded her house, not even daring to look back at her mom and the bad people who were there. Reaching the edge of the forest the sounds of her Mother's voice scream out in pain rang in her ears and without thinking, the dark haired girl turned around to look back. Tears came to her eyes when she saw her mother lying on the ground with one of the two men standing over her. "Mommy!" she shouted and was going to run back to her when one of the men looked up and started in her direction.
Turning around quickly the little girl darted into the forest and away from the approaching man. Rylea ran, stumbling over fallen branches and her own feet at times ---climbing back to her feet she continued on her way, not really knowing where she was going. She wanted her father right then. She wanted him to come home and make all the bad people go away. Rylea wanted to run back to her Mother and make sure she was ok but knew she couldn't.
Finally out of breath and shaking from fear, the dark haired girl stopped and found herself in some kind of a clearing. Glancing nervously around her surroundings she found out that she didn't know where she was. Everything looked the same to her ---nothing looked familiar at all. Tears fell down her face as she latched her tiny fingers around the pendant that hung from her neck, her eyes still searching for a way to go.
"Now, now, is that anyway to treat company?" a deep, chilling voice said from behind her. "Didn't your Mother teach you that it's not polite to run away like that? Bad girl Rylea."
Darting her eyes over to where the voice had come from, the little girl glanced up and gasped when she caught the face of the silver haired man looming over her. She let out a scream and tried to run away from the man, but he grabbed her around the waist before she could even get two steps in. "Lemme go!" Rylea shouted helplessly and fought the man, twisting and squirming around in his grasp.
"Feisty little kid aren't you? You'll do well on our side," the man chuckled out manically while lifting his hand to her face. "Now hold still and it'll all be over in just a minute," he told her as a black light, almost like a dark mist, emitted from his hand and engulfed the little girl in its grasp.
The dark haired girl screamed as a searing pain racked her body. The mist covered her sight, blocking everything out, as it seemed to choke the very life out of her. Her hands clawed at the man's clothes as she fought to breathe. Gleaming black eyes stared back at her, silently welcoming her to his side. Lack of oxygen began to take its toll on the child as her world began to spin and everything finally just went black.
Rylea blinked several times while coming out of her trip back in time, a tear slipped down her cheek as she looked up sharply into Sirous' smiling face. Hatred for him swirled around her every thought, consumed her entire mind in its grasp. He had killed her Mother. He had ruined her life. He, Sirous, was the reason for her suffering and he was going to pay. Sadistic laughing from the silver haired man in front of her only fueled Rylea's anger more. All rational thinking was brought to a halt as one, coherent thought raced across her mind with savage feeling. Kill Sirous. Make him pay for what he did. She thought as her eyes narrowed dangerously at the purebred who still laughed manically; evilly at her anguish.
A/N: gasp and the truth is finally out! Oh, what will Rylea do to Sirous? Will the other's reach her in time? Will Rona's prediction come true? I guess you'll have to wait and see won't you. lol Another chap soon to come. Special thanks go out to: Sifirela, Two-BitGortez, BB289 and Rogue.