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Chapter Four: Demons

"AMBER!" She tried to kneel as close to the white flame as she could and grimaced as the heat crackled, forcing her curls to frizz out of their constraints. The lightning vanished a moment later and Solei clapped her hands softly, nodding slightly as thunder boomed a moment later.

"Amber? Are you alright?" A slight groan told her that her energetic friend was not at full health. "Tasuki." Solei's tones were clipped and business-like. "Take her back to the temple to the room three down from the kitchen." He hesitated. "NOW!" He hastened to obey.

"What WAS that?" Nuriko asked.

"A fantastical anomaly pertaining to the obscure and unusual meteorological conditions."

"What?"

"Freaky weather." Solei explained herself flippantly, grinning lightly until a shiver ran through her senses. "Oh, shit." At the astonished looks of the men she almost grinned anew. "What, don't think a girl can swear?"

"Why were you swearing?" Nuriko asked.

"The Girl felt it, but not you?" Nakago scoffed. "And you call yourself a warrior."

"What?"

"Chi, Nuriko. And in frantic amounts." Solei explained.

"Tasuki."

"No." Solei corrected, taking off at a run for the temple, glaive clasped in her hand. "Amber."

The demon had appeared in front of them, his six-inch fangs dripping some un-godly substance probably akin to blood. Amber froze. There was something familiar about the demon that she could not quite place, and frankly did not want to. It grinned, then began to speak. The harsh grunts and grows it produced were even more hideous than its body.

It took note of their confused faces and changed his speech. "Where is the one known as Kamai?" Amber's eyes went wide, and her lips began moving silently, her mind not fully comprehending.

Tasuki by this time had stood and was standing protectively before her motionless body. "Go away ya foul beastie!" he yelled, brandishing his tessen. Amber seemed to wake up at his voice, and her chi flared around them protectively. The creature growled something as equally incomprehensible as the first string, but there was no mistaking his intentions as he smiled suggestively at Amber. The demon started lumbering towards them and brushed against her barrier, raking it with serrated claws until it faltered and fell. Tasuki glared.

"REKKA SHINNEN!" flames sprouted forth from his tessen and struck the demon square in his chest. "Yeah!" Tasuki cried, punching a fist into the air. A grumble came from the other side of the smoke screen, and Tasuki and Amber's eyes went wide as the demon reappeared. He swatted Tasuki away impatiently, as one might a fly, and swept Amber up in one oversized claw. She summoned her chi, but it was quickly squashed by the brute force of the demon's claws digging into her sides.

"Can't leave you out of my sight for a minute, can I, Amber?" Solei's knuckles were white on the shaft of her glaive. Amber fell limp in the claw and Solei acted on instinct, racing towards the demon in a foolish attempt to do anything. In desperation she flung her glaive, hoping that her practice would pay off. Dark blue blood on her face confirmed that something worked, and a dull thud nearby told her that she had successfully lopped off the enemy's arm. However, she had also lost her glaive.

'Stupid, 'Lei!' she berated inwardly. 'ALWAYS have a spare weapon!'

The demon's harsh voice burst into her thoughts. "WHERE IS KAMAI?" A flare of silver blinded them as they attempted to gather their wits. When they could see again, a very angry, glowing angel with wings as dark as night was facing the demon, a glaive with a blade as white as snow in her hands. Amber opened her eyes and saw the figure, gasping as she caught a glimpse of the woman's scar-covered back as she swept her hair aside. Blue-black hair whipped around the woman's face in an unfelt wind, and Amber was amazed when she saw that the girl's eyes were pure, liquid silver.

When the dark angel spoke, her voice was cold, and yet contained more anger than the loudest shout. "You called, Underling?" a shiver ran up Amber's spine at the voice.

"You are summoned by the one of the rulers of the Underworld."

"For what purpose?" Before the demon could answer, Amiboshi began to play his flute softly, the pitch too high to hear and Amber crumple in pain. Unable to answer, the demon grabbed Kamai and vanished, leaving behind only traces of smoke.

"Welcome, Child mine."

"Hades." Kamai bowed low, her forehead touching the floor before the god signaled her to rise.

"You wonder why you are summoned."

"Yes, Uncle." She tried to hide her relief that it was not Caelestis who called upon her.

"Solei, be not bitter, the time comes closer."

"I know, but what must be done must be done. It is why the warriors are here, isn't it."

Hades nodded. "They must be there. The Daughter of the Goddess does not have your confidence."

"Nor does she have my curse, Uncle."

"And for that we should be thankful."

"What, that only I bear the burden?"

"Kamai, that is not true."

Solei forced a smile. "Granted. However, I have not seen HER in years," she held up a hand to prevent her uncle's interruption, "and while I have no doubt that she will show up when she is needed, it still does not forgive her for leaving me to His devices."

Hades sighed. "Very well. Be strong, Solei, Kamai, Sobrina."

She gave him a smile and let him send her away, wings gone.
Nuriko carefully removed Amber's shirt, blushing as he pulled off the blood-soaked fabric. Depositing the scrap of material in a bin that appeared to have other rubbish, he ran his eyes over her wounds, trying to assess the damage as the other three stared holes in his back.

"Tasuki…" Amber whispered.

"What is it?" he asked, gripping her hand tightly between his.

"Where's my shirt?" Amber rolled onto her stomach and began to snore. Tasuki blushed and released her hand.

"You are pathetic." Nakago walked over to her and placed his hands over her wound, summoning his own chi. A blue glow quickly infused her skin and the punctures began to close. When finished, he stepped back from her, glancing idly around the room. Amiboshi was nowhere to be found.

Solei opened her eyes to see fathomless black staring back at her and quickly snapped them shut. 'UNCLE!' she roared mentally. 'WHY HERE?' she got no response and a cold hand took hers, guiding her towards a stiff-backed chair. "Why am I here?"

A harsh male voice answered. "Because I called you."

Her eyes snapped open, angry. "You have no right to call me, Wyvern."

He leered at her, his eyes roaming over her now naked body freely. "Oh I have every right." He answered. "You belong to me."

"Oh, come off it, Wyvern. You know better."

Another voice answered after her. "Technically you DO belong to him, Kamai." She rolled her eyes to look at her uncle.

Wyvern spoke before she could give him a smart retort. "My lord, anything I can do for you-"

Her uncle cut him off. "Go." Wyvern left. Her uncle released the immobilizer on his niece and tossed a dress at her. "Put that on." She sighed, but quickly complied. She stared in disgust at the black dress: the plunging neckline, the low, gaping back and the high leg slits.

'At least it's a covering; unlike some of the stuff he's given me in the past three years.' She thought. "I repeat. Why am I here?"

Her uncle chucked a little, and then answered. "I have some things I need to tell you."

"Uncle, we just spoke."

"Be nice…"

"Fine. What?"

"You are, as you know, the Goddess Protector. Guardian to the Daughter of the God. What you don't know is that her father is the Demon God, making her half demon."

Solei raised an eyebrow. "Amber? Daughter of the Demon God? I never knew. I guess it makes sense though…" Events clicked into place in Solei's mind and she nodded again.

"Both of you play and important part in an ancient prophecy of another world."

"What world?"

"The universe of the four gods, Suzaku, Seiryu, Genbu and Byakko."

"Which is where the warriors come in again."

"You both play a major role in one of their prophecies. You two are supposedly going to bridge the gap between Seiryu and Suzaku."

"Okay. Now, what was this earlier about me belonging to Wyvern?"

Her uncle coughed uncomfortably. "Umm…he…I…umm…Bye!"

Black light engulfed her, and she began to disappear. "I'll get you for this, uncle. Just so long as you know." Then she disappeared.

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