The soft sound sent a chill over her spine, and slowly she turned to find its source. Her wide eyes slid slowly up the stairs until they encountered the woman descending them. "Who are you?" Why had she dropped the bow? Now she was defenceless unless she could reach the bow several feet before this woman reached the bottom steps.

"I understand now, you're a priestess aren't you? That's why you captivate them so easily, a pretty piece of fruit from the forbidden tree." She considered her calmly.

"You're one of Gorenchi's servants aren't you?"

"I am as much a prisoner as you. That is why it is fortunate I found you, though of course I did not know of your mate."

"My mate? What…he's not…I mean we aren't…"

"Then he takes advantage of you, or do you of him? I've seen all that transpired since his arrival, your demon lord was reluctant to fight Gorenchi before seeing you."

"He was not. Sesshomaru would never back down from a fight."

"How sweet. I suppose you wish to watch the battle, be at your lover's side. I cannot let you, I'm afraid."

"What?" She stared at her, sensing the power flowing from the woman, some strange currant of energy that passed through her and massed at the door, Kagome nearly gasped, a witch. "You're holding the doors closed aren't you?"

"I cannot let him escape."

-

The flames parted before him, the hot air lifting several strands of his hair as he started forward. Grim determination painted his normally perfectly controlled face, his eyes blazing more brilliantly than the flames around him. The stench of sulfur stung his nose, the hot air burned into his lungs. His calm exterior was fracturing. This beast had dared to steal from him, to harm the human he already considered his own. Her face appeared suddenly in front of his eyes, bruised and terrified. He could feel her shivering against him, frozen and abused, held captive in a room nearly made of ice.

Golden eyes flashed red, Tokijin shuddered, then steadied. He rushed forward, watching for his opening, preparing his strike. The flames reached for him, and recoiled upon touching him, none daring to burn him. A large green face appeared through the fire, its jaws opened to take him in, crush him between rows of teeth. His sword swung of its own will, cutting into the opening, breaking several teeth and cutting into the soft roof. The creature recoiled and Sesshomaru slashed at him again, cutting into the leg he had injured as an arm. A jet of flame shot at him. Sesshomaru dodged and came up sweeping Tokijin in a wide arc, causing yet another gash. More of the blood spilled, and the flames around him roared.

Calm still at some point in his mind, fueled by his rage, but not clouded or consumed by it Sesshomaru recognized a weakness in his opponent. Flame was a weapon of Gorenchi's, but it could also be turned against him. His plan began to form quickly. He would have to be patient in killing the beast, keep his anger under his control. He would have to act quickly at some point though, already the wounds he had inflicted were healing. This fight could not be allowed to stretch any longer.

Tokijin turned in his hand, held to the side as Sesshomaru threw himself forward, slicing deeply into Gorenchi's side.

-

"Break it, right now." Kagome ordered, her voice surprisingly strong.

Berena trembled for a moment, then laughed again, "You waited too long Priestess, the seal is complete, even you could not break it."

"You put it up, you can undo it."

"No, I cannot; the spell is its own being now. When Gorenchi is dead it will break, but not a moment before,"

"You're lying." The bowstring groaned its complaint as she pulled even harder on it. The bow in her hands was inexplicably steady, and the arrow's deadly aim was steady as well. "You open these doors right now."

"Kill me if you feel you must, it will not help you."

"You're lying." But she didn't really believe that. The arrow trembled momentarily, and her white knuckled hands loosened their grip slightly. The witch was sticking to the story, and she could no longer feel power escaping the woman to join the mass of it behind her. What if she was telling the truth, and there was no way to reach Sesshomaru and her captured friends? What if they were all consumed by the flames because they couldn't escape before Gorenchi's death, and judging by the look in Sesshomaru's eyes when she'd seen him moments before the demon would not be dying quickly. Would he care about the two humans slowly suffocating on smoke or being eaten by the fire? She liked to think he would, but knew it was likely too much to hope for.

"Then loose your arrow, strike me dead, either way you must hope your demon is the stronger."

"He is."

"Then you have nothing to fear. There is nothing to be gained from my death, surely you can tell that? Would you become a murderer for nothing?"

Kagome stared at her. 'You've killed for Sesshomaru before.' A voice whispered in her head. But this was different, the last time she had been trying to save his life, and her own from a direct threat, from a demon. 'Are demons worth less than humans? You place a high value on Sesshomaru's life.' The arrow trembled again. "If you're lying to me, I'll track you down." She threatened, but the bow fell to her side, the arrow removed, "Now go, before I decide I've made a mistake."

"You will not regret it."

Kagome could not help thinking that she would, but she did not want to kill someone for no reason. She was not a cold blooded murderer.

-

Turning he leapt over the spiked tail, nearly severing it as well. The head whipped around and Sesshomaru was forced to dodge another burst of flame. He slashed at the neck, barely catching it. Gorenchi turned away and he stabbed into the green scaled side, carving a slash to match the other side's wound. A large, leathery wing unfurled to block him and was cleaved from the monster. He shoved himself away, watching the demon writhe, wondering if he would transform back for only a moment. He soon realized it was out of the question, Gorenchi was wounded to badly to survive in a human form. Sesshomaru forced his mind back into action.

The length of his sword's blade was coated with the green tinged blood, already it began to dry in the heat. Carefully Sesshomaru shoved the sword into the wall of fire surrounding him. He waited only a moment for what he knew would happen. Fire danced on Tokijin's blade as he began moving again, aiming for the monster's exposed side. This strike would have to be exactly placed or all of his efforts would have been wasted.

Gorenchi attempted to dodge, but Sesshomaru anticipated the move. He stopped next to the creature's new position, laying Tokijin's blade partially in the wound. For less than a second he doubted his own plan, then the reaction took place, and he pulled his sword away from the small orange tongues lapping at the inside of the wound. The skin was healing so rapidly it had covered the fire before it had consumed all of the slowly oozing blood. Quickly he repeated his actions on what remained of the cut in Gorenchi's other side.

The enormous green monstrosity began jerking violently, falling to the ground to roll until his body collided with a wall. Large bumps appeared across the body, pushing the skin up as scales began to disintegrate. They swelled and expanded unto the skin burst with flames and blood that burned into nothing in the air. Pieces of flesh were thrown from the body, soaring across the room in sizzling chunks. Gorenchi squirmed on the floor, his face opened with silent screams of agony. Sesshomaru watched with merciless satisfaction as the red eyeballs were consumed by hungry flames. The pressure in the creatures head swelled it, until the skull burst, and the flaming balls of his eyes were shot from their sockets. Then at last Gorenchi was still.

"You could have finished him faster." Inuyasha snapped, struggling to his feet by pushing himself up a wall.

Sesshomaru considered him coldly for a moment and turned to the door, passing to it quickly. He pushed at the wood, watched them hesitate before swinging into the entry.

"Sesshomaru." She did not run to him. Instead she stared at him.

"He is dead."

"Yeah, I know." She paused, unsure of what to say. "I guess I should thank you."

"It is unnecessary." He looked at her, his eyes sharp, "Have you anything to say for your actions."

"What?" Was he demanding an apology, " Why should I? I didn't do anything wrong."

"You were told to remain upstairs."

"Well I hate to tell you, Lord Sesshomaru, but I'm not yours to order around." She glared at him, angered by his attitude. He had no right to treat her as he did those he thought he was superior to.

"Your obstinacy knows no bounds."

"If you plan on having anything to do with me in the future you better get used to it, because I'm not going to change."

"I have wasted my time with you." Why was his temperature rising? This human was infuriating, how could he have found her appealing, considered making her his…

"And what about my time? You think yours is so much more valuable, well guess what, you aren't anything that special." She said it to hurt him, because he had hurt her. She realized it had worked as his eyes widened. She expected him to shout or maybe kill her on the spot, instead he turned away from her, threw something into the darkest corner and began walking. He did not hesitate as he reached the door, "Sesshomaru come back here!"
"Your life is no longer my concern. I have finished with you."

"Sesshomaru…" The words stung, but she covered them with anger, "Fine then, run away from me, that's what you're good at." She turned into the still burning thrown room, and heard someone calling her, "Inuyasha…" How could she have forgotten they were in there?

The key slipped in her slippery fingers as she unlocked the cell listening to the fire roar upstairs. They ran in a column through the dungeon to the stairs and through the dying flames to the entry. Kagome hesitated behind everyone else under the guise of collecting the arrows she had lost earlier. Once they weren't watching she went to the corner to collect Sesshomaru's discarded treasure. It took her a moment to find it.

The small metal circle held many stones, seven small ones ringing a slightly larger amber stone shaped as a tear. It hung on a thin cord of woven strands that could only be his hair. She considered it for a moment, then tucked it into a pocket. She would return it the next time she saw him, if she ever saw him again. His words haunted her, "I have finished with you." He couldn't possibly mean it. But Kagome realized suddenly that Sesshomaru may have come on several occasions to save her, but he had never returned her feelings or admitted to having any for her. She had just assumed he did, and maybe she had made the biggest mistake of her life by snapping at him.