Chapter 16


Rido grinned, "And if there is a conspiracy, what will you do?" He leaned his head forward and gently ran his fangs over her pulse. Kagome shuddered in revulsion and jerked her head to the side.

"I will stop you both!" She growled with conviction. Her eyes angry and appalled. Kagome grit her teeth as Rido slowly ran his hand up her stomach and across her chest before finally stopping at her throat. His claws tapped softly at her jugular.

"We can't have that, now can we, Kagome? You are after all, our most valuable player."

Kagome kept still and scowled, she need to know more. What would they do with the jewel? Did they know about the wish it could grant? She shivered at the thought of what it could do in the hands of this Rido man. She could just tell he was another Naraku.

"How am I your most valuable player?"

Rido tsked, "Don't be daft, you know where the jewel is located. You will lead us to it and give me the power to revive myself and finally kill Kaname. It will be a new age for vampires, one where we can take what we want and not have to pretend to be human."

The miko hummed, "And what about you President? How does it help you, what do you get out of it?" She watched the president while slowly building power. It was tightly leashed so as not to reveal her attack. Kagome hoped she could stun the bastard enough for her to make an escape.

"I get eternal youth."

She snorted and an almost hysterical laughter bubbled out of her lips, "Eternal youth!?" Kagome was laughing at the irony, "You want eternal youth? You must not comprehend the consequences then, do you? And even if you did, do you really believe he'd give it to you? Or could it be that you want to become a vampire? Is that what your 'eternal youth' is?"

"It's what I am promised. He must fulfill his end of the bargain." The President said tightly.

"You're a fool," she sneered, "and I'm done here." Kagome let go of the tight reign on her powers and blasted Rido. An enraged scream left him as he ripped away from her. She quickly stumbled and rushed from the room, but she was growing light-headed from the blood loss and Rido had managed to get a chunk out of her too when she crisped him. Well, she hoped she'd done some real damage, but he was a pureblood, and they were known to be quite resilient against purification. And damn it all, she was leaving a blood trail… not like she could help it.

A growing sense of dread built up inside her and she knew she wouldn't escape, not with this much blood loss. Kagome was already seeing spots and black was creeping into her vision. She rounded a corner and Rido stood ten feet from her. The priestess stopped, staggering into the wall and cursed. She blinked several times to focus, but she couldn't, the black was taking over her sight. She could only vaguely think that the bastard was going to have a long healing process, his entire left side from the waist up was covered in burns and blisters. With the last vestiges of consciousness, Kagome realized he was missing a forearm. Well, serves that arrogant ass right.

Rido glared menacingly at the little bitch. He was going to kill her, the jewel be damned. However before he could react, she was falling forward, and right before his eyes her body was encased in crystal. He stared dumbly through his vessels eyes, and a moment later a thunderous expression fell over his features. A furious snarl echoed down the hall and he attacked the stone, not even a scratch. He slashed at it again and again, and finally he stopped. Rido let an irritated growl rippled through his chest before fetched the President.

"What is this!?" The pale haired man cried in outrage, "What have you done?"

"You pathetic, useless man! I did not do this!"

"Then how?"

"I. Do not. Know." Rido's eyes were mere slits and he gouged his claws into the wall. "We must hide her, wait for her to awaken…" Suddenly his mood wasn't so bad anymore, "This will work to my advantage. Now that she is temporarily removed from the board, there will be no one to question me."

Rido smiled, all fang. The President cowered, but spoke, "We will place her in a chamber underneath the Association."

The vampire dragged the crystal and the president led the way. Down in the deepest level, at the furthest end, they placed Kagome in the center of the bare room. Slowly the crystal encasing lifted off the ground and started to glow a soft blue. Where was it coming from? But Rido suspected. They left and the door slowly closed on its own. Had they stayed just a moment longer, they would have seen a soft pink glow shining from her chest.


A/N: WHOA! Has it been a long time or what? I forgot how much I love this story and how much I love all of you! I'm truly sorry for not updating in seven months. The truth is (and you all deserve nothing but the truth) I hit a road block. So many things were happening and I was getting help, and stressing over colleges and wondering what life is. Not to mention, there have been a lot of deaths this year in my family (I'm going to a funeral this weekend), not that any of you have to feel sorry. Anyway, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things, and hopefully I'll be back more often! Lastly, a BIG thank you to whoever is still reading this! I love you, and you're a gem for reading and reviewing! My gratitude knows no bounds!