Blood Of The Heart

By AriznGlori

A/N: A long update, but I've been busy attempting some other ideas, with little success. Guess God wants me to update. Anyways, you who have waited may be appeased or not. Oh, and I gave away my fung shei book, so the 11 mystery shall continue. Yay! Has anyone seen my salmon?

Disclaimer: After 11 chapters, this gets kinda old, don't you think? KITTY! ('-,-')

Chapter 12: The Castle of Horrors

Miroku looked down below him, watching the dull snow-covered trees go by. The vampire was swooning Kagome above, and the senselessness of it all made him want to let go, and plummet to the ground below, landing in soft snow. However, the sight of wolf-like creatures trailing below gave him more than enough incentive to hang on tight.

A brief pause in Kagome's flirty giggling allowed him to hear Naraku's words: "Behold! For Schloss Nachtigall's towers rise ahead. There is my home. It is beautiful, no?"

Miroku looked, and frowned upon the structure. It was decrepit, with rotting gardens, crumbling walls, and broken windows. But to Kagome, it was a spectacular structure of Norse and Gothic design, with a hint of Byzantine influence throughout the exterior. The windows were walls of shimmering rainbows, and the gardens were in full bloom, more spectacular than the gardens that Sango tended, just this past afternoon.

"It's beautiful," she breathed as the vampire swooped over a large balcony and landed, setting Kagome down in front of a pair of glass doors. He kissed her goodbye, and pulled away.

As he leapt off the balcony, Kagome saw a robed figure hanging onto Naraku's foot. "Miroku?" But then he was gone, away with the vampire. "Did I really see that?" She turned around, facing a line of French glass doors, all with curtains to prevent her from looking inside.

It seemed like she was just waking up from a fog; she felt the biting cold of the wind on her barely-clothed body, and felt the darkness around her escalating. She moved quickly to the doors, grasped the cold metal doorknobs and pulled them open before running inside. The doors slammed shut behind her, and she was plunged into darkness.

It was warmer in the room she was in, and she felt glad that her bare feet were touching a floor. Now she just had to find some light. Stumbling around in the darkness with her hands out in front of her, she found a wall on the far side of the room, and felt along it until she found what seemed to be a candle sconce. Her fingertips brushed over the wicks, and she felt that they hadn't been used in a while.

"Is there a match in here?" she murmured aloud, feeling the sconce's figure. Luckily, she found one, though seemed to have been burned already. She quickly struck the match against the wall and lit the candles; the light from the small flames dimly illuminated a bed, its fluffy blankets entangled around two figures engaged in acts best not described…. To say the least, Miroku would have turned pink at the sight.

The scary thing was that Kagome thought she recognized one them; the male one… She lifted one candle to illuminate the pair, and what she saw made her drop the candle onto the ground, where it cracked and went out. The male one could be heard getting up.

"Kagome," purred Kouga, walking closer to the girl, who backed up further, deeper into the darkness of the large room.

"Kagome, it's been barely thirteen hours… Already you come back?"

"Why are you here?" Kagome growled. "Why are you here with Naraku?"

The man smiled wolfishly. "A very long story, my pet."

"Since when was I your pet, you rapist?" the girl hissed back.

Kouga frowned slightly, his icy eyes, growing colder. "That's not very nice to say about the one who saved your life…."

"Huh?" Kagome blinked. Where did that come from?

"Didn't you get it? I was luring Inuyasha out so he wouldn't get the sword his brother possessed."

"That's the biggest load of bull shit I ever heard!" Kagome blurted angrily. "You were climbing on me like I was a fucking whore!"

"Ooh, big language…" Kouga purred again. "You're so feisty, Kagome… Do you realize how adorable that is?"

"Kouga, you're a real turn-off son-of-a-bitch."

"I love you too."

Kagome wrinkled her nose in disgust. "YOU-ARE-NOT-ATTRACTIVE!"

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not."

"Am too."

"Are not."

"Am too!"

"Are not!"

"AM TOO!"

"Prove it…"

"My mommy thinks I'm beautiful," Kouga said in a sad kiddy voice. "And so does yours." Suddenly the sconces along the walls caught flame, and the chandeliers that must have been in the ceiling burst into light, and Kagome was almost blinded. But she saw who was in the bed, still legs tangled in bloody sheets, bitten hands bound to the wrought-iron headboard, glassy eyes wide and dark, gazing fixedly at the ceiling: Lady Higurashi. Kagome screamed.

- - - - -

Inuyasha sighed as Sesshomaru spoke with him. "What I am about to tell you is not pleasant," his older brother said gravely, "but it will answer questions that I'm sure you have. Myoga has figured a way to get out of Heinrich."

Inuyasha's eyes brightened. "Really? How? Where is he?" Sesshomaru held out his hand, revealing a small flee, bouncing up and down in animated excitement.

"Lord Inuyasha!" squeaked Myoga's voice. "It's so wonderful to see you!" The flea leapt onto the tip of the man's nose, and bit into it. Inuyasha quickly smacked the flea, and he fell to the slushy street, diving eagerly into the carnage. "FOOD! I love FOOD!"

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha said in an angry daze, "tell me that's not my real estate partner." Sesshomaru shrugged.

"He is what he is."

"H-how on earth did he get that way?" Totosai the priest stepped forth to explain. "Why, I turned him into a flea!"

Inuyasha gaped. "You did….?"

"Yes," the old priest nodded. "See, after making him smaller than the prey of the vampire's wolves, I allowed him to get to the other side. He said he would meet up with Sesshomaru after he brought back evidence of being out of the village."

"What did he bring back?" Inuyasha muttered sarcastically. "An olive branch?"

"No," the priest shook his head. "He brought back a gold coin."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"There are no gold coins in Heinrich because they are too bright."

"Oh; I get it…I only brought copper and silver like Miroku told me in the letter."

The priest nodded in satisfaction. "Of course. Thus, I now know that I can get people out even in winter."

"B-but…isn't magic devilry?" Inuyasha asked worriedly. Surely the vampire would figure it out…"

"No, I do not practice wizardry or witchcraft. I am merely gifted with theurgical power."

"Theurgical powers?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" the priest bristled, annoyed. "I'll tell you more inside. Come; it is very cold out here, and you'll all catch your death."

The little old man led all the remaining nuns, Sango, Inuyasha, Sesshomaru, Rin, Jaken and Myoga back into the convent house. Some of the nuns were whispering about "leaving the bodies out to rot before burial." The priest ignored them, and led the group into the cathedral through the side doors. He pointed up at the shattered rose window.

"See that?" the priest bellowed. "They took her away. They took away Kagome Higurashi. Now she is in the grasp of the vampire!"

"WHAT?" Inuyasha bellowed. "NOOOOOO!"

"See, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru spoke up. "That's what Kouga wanted to say. He says he'll get what it his no matter what… He is a servant of the vampire."

"That bastard!" Inuyasha growled. "I'll rip out his throat! Kagome is MINE!"

Sango stared. "If Miroku ever referred to me as a piece of property…" Inuyasha didn't care. Understandably fuming, he went and started kicking a pew. Sango continued anyway. "I'd kill him. Wait; where is Miroku?"

Everyone paused, looking back and forth at each other, realization slowly dawning upon them. Their eyes, in one great sweep, went up to the gaping hole of shattered glass. Sango started to tremble. "Oh…no…"

- - - - -

Naraku sneered down at the theologian, who was leaning against a stone wall inside one of the castle's towers. "I don't take kindly to hitchhikers…"

"Demon," Miroku spat at the vampire, pulling a rosary out of a pocket. He held it out. "In the name of Jesus Christ, I order thee to stay away!"

The vampire flinched, eyes flashing redder, face contorting hideously. The great wings faded into shadow and disappeared. "It barely hurt me," Naraku hissed, stepping closer to the man.

"I condemn thee to be banished before my sights! Do not touch me!" Miroku roared, thrusting the cross flat against the forehead of the beast. A sickening moan along with black smoke floated through the air, and the vampire backed away, clutching his face.

"What in hell have you done!" Naraku yelled in pain. He pulled his hand from his face, revealing a blistering burn in the exact likeness of the rosary's cross. He tried to claw Miroku, but only managed to scrape at an invisible barrier. "Damn you! You're a friggin' theurgian!"

"Yes I am," Miroku stated smugly. "The spells I have learned from Totosai and Mushin have protected me from your armies every night. You'll never be able to hurt me as long as I have my radiance."

Naraku growled threateningly. "Eventually the sun must set, Miroku. And when it does, your radiance will fade, and I will have your head mounted in my throne room." With that, the vampire left the tiny tower-room.

Miroku exhaled a deep breath that he didn't know he was holding. He did the sign of the cross and slowly got up and went out the only door of the room, and began timidly wandering the terrifying halls of Schloss Nachtigall.

God, please help me find Kagome. The sooner I find her, the sooner we can leave. Help us.

- - - - -

"I have to go get her," Inuyasha murmured in a daze. He, Kaede, Sango and Sesshomaru returned to the convent house, and were in a rather cozy library with a great roaring fire in the fireplace.

"If you do, then I'm coming too," Sango said determinedly. "Miroku has saved many people, and now I must save him. It's up to me."

"No, Sango," Inuyasha spoke softly. "I'll get him too. You stay home. You stay in the village. It's safer here, much safer."

"No," Sango refused, jumping out of her overstuffed armchair. "I won't be sitting around here waiting to be told where they found his body! Miroku is in trouble that he can't get out of. They are NOT just your friends, they're mine too! My best friend! My husband!"

Inuyasha stood up from his chair, and he towered over Sango. "I can't have you there! If you come, it's just one more person to be worried about!"

"Well, if it's okay with you two idiots, I'm going no matter what," Sesshomaru interjected. "My wife is in that castle, and I now realize why."

"Don't keep the rest of us in the dark," Inuyasha snapped. "Spit it out already."

"I won't," Sesshomaru wrinkled his nose. "You bicker senselessly when action needs to be taken. You should be figuring it out yourself." In a flurry of silver he turned and left the room.

Inuyasha huffed in annoyance while Sango turned and gazed pleadingly at Kaede. "Mother Kaede, what do we do now?"

The nun sighed, and spoke in a regretful tone. "I know what to do," she murmured, "But I don't want to tell ye."

"Why?" Inuyasha asked.

"Its' far too dangerous…" the nun huffed. "There is very little chance that ye may live."

"Very little? Sounds higher than Kagome's chances," Inuyasha frowned. "Are you going to hold out on us too?"

The nun smiled wryly. "Of course not. Ye are the only ones who may be able to save them…"

"How do we do that?" Sango asked.

"Ye must kill Count Naraku."

- - - - -

"That isn't-it can't be…" Kagome gasped, pointing at the bed. "My mother…"

Kouga sneered at the girl. "Oh, it is," he grinned. "That's your mother." Kagome cried out, and sank to her knees, wailing. Sobbing, she rocked back and forth, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"B-but what about Souta? What happened to my brother?" she croaked out.

"Eh, he was killed; Too much of a trouble-maker."

Kagome stared hatefully at the man, eyes in a rage. "Why the hell did you do this? Why in hell have you--" She couldn't complete it; she vomited all over the floor.

"Hey," Kouga shrugged, "I can do anything to your family that I want… Are you okay? You look ill…"

Kagome threw up some more, on Kouga's bare feet, making the man howl angrily. "Why the hell don't you take some panacea, you bitch?"

"YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"

"Huh?" Kouga raised an eyebrow, an amused grin on his lips. "No I didn't. You're delusional."

"Screw you!" Kagome shrieked. She up shakily, and staggered over to the bed, only to see it empty, clean sheets and pillows neatly made.

"W-what the hell?" Kagome asked in horror. "What did you do with her? Where'd you take her?" Frantically the girl tore through the bed, examining each sheet, looking for some clue, some hint, of her mother. Kouga watched her, laughing.

"Silly girl!" he crowed. "She was never there!" Kagome was quick on the ball; a resounding slap split the stale air. Kouga pressed a hand over his red cheek, a look of shock on his face. "Kagome… I like it!"

Kagome made a retching noise, and Kouga leapt backwards, a light growl filling the room. "No more vomiting. I'll go get dressed." And then he walked out a door, shutting it behind him. The candles in the chandeliers faded and went out. One by one, the sconce-candles with snuffed. Kagome looked around timidly at the darkness that already hung from the ceiling and was deepening around her. She made a small squeaking sound, and ran towards the door. "Wait for me, Kouga!"

She opened the door and stepped into a dark, richly furnished hallway with windows at both ends that let in sallow moonlight. As the storm clouds outside disappeared, the many doors along the walls were revealed. They all looked alike, and they were all closed. And it was likely that they all led to different rooms.

"Kouga wait! Kouga!" Kagome called desperately. But she was alone. She leaned against the wood-paneled wall nauseously, finally realizing what she got herself into. "Why the hell did I jump?" she muttered angrily, pounding on the wall with a tight fist of anger. "Why the hell did this have to happen to me? Why, why, why!"

She grabbed a light chair and hit it against the opposite wall. It went right through it, knocking a hole in the wood and revealing a secret passage. Kagome covered her mouth with her hand in shock, eyes darting nervously as she surveyed the damage to the wall. Already the mental images were rolling: Naraku'sgonnakillmeKouga'sgonnakillmegottahideevidencegottahideevidenceNOW!

Kagome looked up and down the wall; she saw a large tapestry hanging on a decorative wooden rail that ran along the crown molding of the room. Quick as she could in her little nightgown, she got it and dragged it over to the hole. Standing precariously on the little chair she blamed for all her problems, she tied the tassels that suspended the tapestry to the rail, not realizing that the tapestry was already covering another secret passage.

Of course she saw nowhere else to go that would be safer, so she went blindly into the tunnel-like passage, and lost all sense of light as the tapestry blocked the moon's beams. Though groping along the wall, she moved quickly in the dark, until all she could hear was her own breath, and all she could see was the velvety blackness of shadows.

- - - - -

Miroku had been walking for what felt like forever. The darkness was so deep and terrifying that he was forced to used a light-spell to see his way around, though it cost him precious energy; he could feel that his defense shield wavering. However, he desperately needed it, as he saw many smaller passages breaking off from the one he was following.

But his primary concern was finding Kagome, wherever she was. But, the passage suddenly ended. Miroku frowned, and pushed on what he thought was a wall. In fact, it was the back of a bookcase; it rotated outward, spinning shut behind him. Now he was in a small reading nook that seemed to be adjacent to two bedrooms: he had two doors to select from to enter.

Taking the one on the right, he found a continuation of the secret passage, dim torches stretching on endlessly in this corridor. Miroku stopped his illumination spell, and continued running. It was a straight path; to where, he didn't know. A boring and endless hallway; what was he to do? Just keep running? While thanking God for the apparent easiness, he was rudely interrupted when he was forced to stop by a wolf that seemed to come out of the wall at him. Growling ferociously, black and gray fur bristling to the touch, the wolf leapt onto the theologian and began biting at his arm.

"W-what the hell!" cried Miroku. He hit the beast repeatedly on the head as it came at him, and also on the nose. The wolf whimpered, but renewed its growl all the more, and sank its teeth deeper into his forearm, drawing blood. Miroku hollered in pain as the warm crimson fluid gushed down to the floor in quick spurts. His theurgical shield was only able to shield him from Naraku himself, not a minion under Naraku's control.

This was a big inconvenience…

Focusing as much as he could, the theologian forced himself to whisper the words to an offensive spell, gritting his teeth in pain as he spoke. Sweat dripped off his brow as the urge to fight physically was overruled by willpower. Pain such as he had never felt before shot up his arm in raging spasms from his palm. He ordered himself not to think about what the wolf was doing to his hand.

And the words flew past his lips; and with them went a tremendous amount of holy power, as Miroku released a spell the both obliterated the wolf and closed many of the wounds on his arm.

But it was too much power to handle. The theologian passed out in the middle of the secret passage, body barely able to support his shield of radiance. So it weakened, to the point that Miroku, alone somewhere in the castle, was truly in the shadow of Death.

- - - - -

"I can do that," Inuyasha said without a second thought. He got up and walked to the door.

"Wait!" cried Kaede. "Do ye not know what that demands? To get to Naraku, ye must face every horror of Schloss Nachtigall. If ye thought Heinrich by night was bad, then ye shall be shocked by the demons that walk by day in that place. The entirety of the castle is deepened in terrifying monsters, the likes of which you have never seen. Within the castle keep are kept beasts beyond memory, ancient things that we can only see in our nightmares, if then even."

"Your point?" Inuyasha asked.

"My point is that ye need the right equipment to make it through alive. That is all."

"Give me, get out, get on with life," Inuyasha muttered. "Then I can get Kagome back." He came back into the room and sat down. "Kaede, I'm gonna need a hell of a lot of weapons if what you say is true."

"It is true. And I know what to get you to aid in your search." The nun stood up, and led the two outside. "Though it is night, I have a feeling that you will be safe out here." They walked past mounds of bodies, cold in the night. At last they wound up before the ashy remains of Miroku and Sango's mansion.

"Why are we here?" Sango asked warily, glancing suspiciously at the nun. Kaede walked up the wide, ash-covered steps that once lead to the porch and the great front doors. She pointed at an area among the ruins, where multiple piles of debris stood silently.

"Inuyasha, go in there and search among the ruins. You will know what is needed when you find it." Though looking questioningly at the old woman, Inuyasha walked among the ruins nonetheless, and knelt down before one of the piles. He began filtering through the rubble. What am I supposed to find?

"What is the meaning of this, Kaede?" Sango demanded. "I know that you know what he must find."

"Aye, it is so," Kaede sighed. "The thing that determines his abilities and yearning to sacrifice himself for the chance to save Kagome must be strong enough to overcome her thoughts, the way Naraku portrays her."

Sango frowned. "I don't understand…"

"When it is shown, then you will."

Sango pursed her lips in frustration. "Well, if you're going to be difficult about it…" This brought a light chuckle from the old nun.

"'Those who overcome their difficulties in a state of hopelessness might as well have not overcome them at all.' A thing my mother told me."

"I really don't understand now…"

- - - - -

Sesshomaru was walking up the long sloping road to the gates of Schloss Nachtigall, Tenseiga in hand. Cold as it was up here alone, he was colder. Golden eyes glared up the ruined cobblestone paving, the snowy road laden with the paw-prints of wolves. He was uncaring; he had no reason to fear. A quick smirk revealed lengthened canine teeth.

It was time for his revenge. Kagura's freedom was left to him to decide. The man frowned. The gates were shut. The tall, brown stone wall was silent, unrevealing. Decorative gargoyles grimaced down at him from the battlements. The wind blew softly through the bare branches of the trees; a hissing noise of whistling wood. The twin bartizans flanking the gate roughly thirty feet up the wall were empty; that is, empty of the living.

"Naraku!" yelled Sesshomaru. "I've come for my wife!" His angry voice echoed amid the jagged hills; but nothing happened. He had expected something for some reason; anything! Maybe a gargoyle would burst out laughing, or the bars on the gate would come alive and attack him, or a monkey would pop out of nowhere and throw poop at him!

Anything!

But there was just silence; plain, boring old silence. The tall castle towers were dark; no signs of anything. But as his gaze drifted up the topmost tower, a tiny light came on in its highest room. A figure moved past the tiny window, and then the light went out.

"Naraku, I know you can hear me!" Sesshomaru was angry now. Naraku was playing games. Sesshomaru doesn't play nice when Naraku tries to have fun. He ran at the gates, hacking at the iron portcullis with his sword.

"Open up, you bastard!" It wasn't working. He couldn't do a thing. He backed off, stalking sourly away, walking back down towards the village as the sky lightened in the east.

The sun was rising. A loud clank echoed, disturbing the quiet. Sesshomaru glanced back over his shoulder, and then paused in shock. The clanking continued as the portcullis rattled its way up into the wall. It stopped when its bottom-most row of metal teeth were barely visible.

He smirked. The gate was open.

End of Chapter 12

A/N: FINALLY CHAPTER 12! Aren't you excited? I'm glad I forced my way through writer's block; not to mention the fact that school ended today (6-16-05!) and I have officially made it through one year of high school. It felt so short for some reason.

Theurgy- the practice of using magic to manipulate the supernatural, or abilities that relate to the supernatural and magic, or seem to be such.

A nice little revelation, ne?

RATE THIS CHAPTER! One to ten, ten the best and one the worst. Okay? It took me long enough, right?