Chapter 23

April's New Moon

The attack had come swift, and without warning.

One minute they had all been enjoying a large dinner and then the next Daemon and Inuyasha were hustling, or in Kagome's case, carrying, the two women down the spiral stairs to the chamber that held the Dark Throne...and Lorn.

Nervous, and unable to stand still, Kagome and Jaenelle had paced the floor as they listened to the rumbles from above while Lorn snarled at them to sit down.

Kagome, tired and in discomfort, eased herself down onto the stone steps surrounding the Dark Throne and rubbed her face in fear.

"It's the new moon...How could they have known to attack on the new moon?" Tears lit her eyes. "Inuyasha's going to get hurt...He can't fight in his human form...not the way he needs to..."

Jaenelle, sensing the impending panic attack that was about to take hold of the younger woman, knelt down and tried to sooth her, tried to calm her down.

"Everything is going to be fine. They're going to take care of this."

Kagome nodded, slowing her breathing, leaning against Jaenelle for the comfort the older woman offered. She had so many what if questions running through her mind that all lead to the worst case scenario that if she began to speak them, she'd drive herself insane. Out of nowhere, Naraku had attacked...it was as if...as if it were well planned. Like they knew for certain what would happen. As if they already had who they wanted.

Kagome's head snapped up as she remembered her thoughts of two months earlier, the realization hitting her like a brick to the chest. "Oh god...no..."

"Kagome?" Alarmed, Jaenelle watched her rise to her feet and look around the room fearfully. "Kagome? What is it? Are you in labor?"

"This can't be...All of this time we thought..." She faced Jaenelle and swallowed hard. "They're not after you..."

"What do you mean?" Jaenelle rose, studying her intensely. "Kagome, you need to sit down."

"No!" Kagome took a step back, her brown eyes shining with tears and realization. "He wasn't looking at you and me that night at the ball. He was looking at me...and he was looking at Daemon,"

"What?"

"He's not after you...he's after Daemon!" Kagome turned and ran for the stairs before Jaenelle could even blink. But she couldn't breathe, couldn't bring her legs to move yet.

Daemon? No response, not even a flicker of his black strength to let him know that he was there. DAEMON!

Go, Witch-child!

She didn't need convincing from Lorn. His tone alone confirmed everything. They had been wrong all along. And now Kagome was running into the fray with no way to protect herself. If Inuyasha saw her he would be distracted in a time when he couldn't afford it. Jaenelle, as she raced up the stairs, did the last desperate thing she could do.

SESSHOUMARU!

He could see Naraku's chaotic attack, and almost laughed. She's trustworthy after all.

"Lord Sesshoumaru?" Rin, breathless, stared at him. "You...you have to do something."

"No,"

"No?" She stared at him, stunned. "But-"

"Not yet," He reassured, though she didn't relax.

"What are you waiting for?"

"That," He lifted his right hand and pointed at Kagome.

"But...What are you going to do?"

"Save your life and your future," He turned and climbed down the hill, a fierce determination in his amber eyes.

"Lord Sesshoumaru..."

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha cried out the second he saw her, but one of Naraku's icky tentacle arms was threatening to squeeze him until he popped and he couldn't get to her.

"Lady Kagome-" Daemon stopped as she shoved him over and rounded on the arm that Naraku threw towards them.

"You can't have him!" She screamed, throwing her hands out, feeling the miko strength in her building up, up, up until she could feel it surging towards her fingertips. "YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM!" She felt that slimey arm come around her, felt it lifting her off the ground, but she was blinded by the power surging towards her hands. Daemon, stunned, watched it happen, unable to move, unable to breathe.

But then those arms came towards him and he lashed out with his black jewel, destroying it before it reached him, and when he turned to do the same with the arm that clutched at Kagome it was too late.

The tingling power in her fingers had failed her when that gut-wrenching howl of agony slipped from Inuyasha's throat, bringing her attention to her mate. "Inuyasha! INUYASHA!"

Daemon reached for her but was thrown back from her, tumbling uncontrolled towards the stairs to the Keep. The arm came at him but was slashed to pieces as Sesshoumaru's shadow loomed over him.

"K-Kagome!" Inuyasha braced against the pain that flared throughout his body. "KAGOME!"

She watched as Naraku tossed Inuyasha from himself, laughing as the hanyou slammed into the brick wall of the Keep's front entrance and fell pathetically to the gravel drive.

"INUYASHA!"

"K-Kagome..." He pushed himself up from the gravel, his vision blurred, feeling the world of unconsciousness pulling him down towards the darkness. "Kagome..."

And then that darkness surrounded him completely. The last thing he heard was Kagome's scream of fear.

The room was freezing and she could see her breath puffing out in front of her, but the only person that would be able to get near him and talk him down was her, so she wasn't going anywhere.

"Daemon..."

"She was right there! I just stared at her! I could have saved her!" The chair near the fire exploded, but he'd created that same bubble to contain the debris as he had all those years ago in Amdarh when those rumors had spread about him. But Jaenelle didn't flinch when it happened, didn't even blink. This was the Sadist. This was the man that slept just under Daemon's flesh.

"She reacted and so did you, Daemon, there was nothing you could have done,"

"Don't say that to me!" He rounded on her, his golden eyes wild rather than glazed. "I WAS RIGHT THERE!"

"You would have been taken in the process, Daemon, had you done anything else."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?"

"Shut up and let me finish!" Jaenelle shouted, glaring at him. "Damnit, Sadi! She figured it out that they were after you! So she did the one thing she knew to do that would stop them. Kagome is a terribly smart woman, Daemon. Don't you understand? It bought us time."

"She's pregnant! She could give birth at any time!" Daemon didn't fell better. If anything, he felt worse, and he was riding the Killing Edge so hard it was threatening his sanity.

"Inuyasha will find her before that happens,"

He faced Witch, unsure as to how he would react to her now. He would submit to her, but it wouldn't subdue his guilt. Inuyasha would blame him, he knew that, but what difference would that make when he blamed himself?

But she didn't blame him. And she wasn't making excuses for him, she was trying to make him see the truth. So he shut up and let her talk.

"Remember the ball? Remember what happened when Inuyasha saw that Surreal had her stiletto to Kagome's throat?" Jaenelle waited until he nodded before she continued. "Something in him snapped. He lost control of himself until all he knew, all he could see was that Kagome was in danger and that the person who put her in danger was Surreal. Kagome knew when she ran out there tonight that when the sun rose this morning and Inuyasha woke up, it would happen again. They won't hurt her while she's still pregnant, and because she's carried the pup full term, she can use her Miko powers against them. If they come after her, she can stop them and give herself enough time to recover from that so that when Inuyasha does reach her, she can bring their pup into the world and finally relax. Look at me, Sadi!" She grabbed him, thankful that his skin was warming, rather than cooling. "Kagome will be ok. He will bring her home. She will be ok,"

His eyes closed and he melted into the embrace she gave him. "I...if they...Jaenelle..."

"Hush, Daemon. I promise you, Inuyasha will bring her home. She's going to be ok,"

"Where is she!" Inuyasha wanted to tear Lucivar to shreds rather than wait for an explanation.

"They got her," Lucivar said carefully, wary of the hanyou's wild eyes.

"What?" Inuyasha growled, his breathing becoming labored. His hands shook, his fangs were bared. "Kagome...you stupid...stubborn..." He could feel it coming, and he didn't fight it, wouldn't fight it, because he needed that wild, untamed demon in him to get to Kagome. His mate and his unborn pup were in mortal danger. And he knew exactly who had them. "Naraku...!" He was outside before he'd even realized that he'd left the room. Lucivar was behind him, as well as Sango and Miroku who had been sent from the Hall to help. They'd stayed behind to offer protection to those who had remained behind.

"Inuyasha," Miroku approached him cautiously. "Inuyasha, please, see reason,"

"DAMN REASON TO THE BOWELS OF HELL!" Inuyasha screamed, grief, rage, anger, all of it taking him over. When that wild side called to him, he answered, and in the blink of an eye, a grunt turned into a growl, amber turned to red, his claws extended, and jagged purple marks appeared on his cheeks. Miroku slid in front of Sango as the hanyou howled.

"Inuyasha..."

He heard them, but the only thing he could focus on was Kagome's fading scent. He leapt from the drive and in seconds he'd found her scent again. Naraku's was faint because he was hiding it, but in Inuyasha's current state, he could almost scent it as if the spider demon were not hiding it.

"He's gone?" Jaenelle asked from behind them.

Lucivar turned to face his sister and nodded slowly.

"You have to find them," Jaenelle murmured. "Daemon won't get any rest until she is brought back here, safe and sound. Lucivar, in twelve hours, start a search for them in the north."

"You've seen this?"

"My tangled web eluded to something in the north being of the utmost importance in bringing them all home safe and sound. I need you to do this. If Daemon slips into the Twisted Kingdom again...Lucivar, I don't think I can bring him back this time."

"Then in twelve hours, I'm going to go north and find them,"

"We're going with you," Sango said sternly. "We can help,"

"Agreed,"

"What happened?" Hakuuyo seethed as he looked down upon the unconscious woman on the cot in the hut.

"Sesshoumaru," Naraku snarled, nursing an injury. "Sesshoumaru helped Inuyasha,"

Surreal looked towards Kagome and snorted. "So much for that confidence you had. Now you've only got one,"

"And one will do...for now," Hakuuyo was pissed, but for some reason, he wasn't willing to punish Naraku for his failure. Why was that?

He's too weak. Even with his red jewel, he's still too weak. Surreal watched him as he snarled something to Naraku and left again, screaming impurities about something she didn't care about.

"So what happens to her?"

"We wait," Naraku snarled as he sat by the fire, glancing pointedly at Kagome. "I want so much to rip the life from her stomach and destroy her, but Hakuuyo needs her power to finalize his victory. And well...Inuyasha isn't here yet to see her die,"

Surreal studied him. "He'll come," It wasn't a question, she already knew he was coming, she could almost feel the hot rage rolling over the land well to the south. A few hours, perhaps even a day, and he'd be here. She glanced at Kagome again and saw the woman's hand flex, heard her groan as she regained consciousness.

"So she's awake," Naraku snarled. Startled, Kagome snapped to attention and scrambled off the cot to get away from him, but he was blocking the only escape. She spotted Surreal and wanted to scream...until she saw the look in the woman's eyes. She knows! Dear god, she knows that he was controlling her...!

"So nice of you to rejoin us," Naraku murmured, watching her with narrowed eyes. "I suspect that your mate will be joining us shortly. And when that happens..." He gave her nine month pregnant stomach a fleeting glance before a nasty, malicious smile came to his lips. "He'll have to watch helplessly as I tear the pup from your womb and destroy him. And then he'll watch as Hakuuyo takes your powers from you. Then he'll watch me kill you. And then I'll kill him. But I'll do it slowly. I want him to suffer." He laughed. "Yes, Inuyasha...suffer..."

"You're insane! Do you hear me? You're fucking insane!" Kagome screamed, wanting out of this place.

"Such language," Naraku scolded, still smiling. "Surreal,"

"What?" A damn good liar.

"Go out and get our food for the night,"

"Whatever," She left the hut and the second she stepped into the dew covered gras, she felt it. He's coming. Mother night, Inuyasha is coming... He was a long way off, probably a good day away, but she could feel him. And he was pissed. Utterly pissed.

It made her smile. You had better hope I gut you first, you nasty son of a bitch, because if Inuyasha gets a hold of you...well...you'll see, I guess...

Surreal paused in the doorway of the hut, seeing how Naraku was so obviously overcoming the urge to kill Kagome. He had her pinned to the wall by her neck, looking as if his free hand was about to surge through her flesh until he could curl those fingers of his around her heart and rip it out of her. But Kagome seemed fine. Perfectly fine.

As a matter of fact, she was practically goading him into killing her.

She knows the game...

"Won't your boss be upset, Naraku, if you kill me before he takes my powers? After all, he needs me, remember?" He growled at this, his hands shaking in the effort to kill her for just talking to him about this. "He's controlling you, Naraku, yet you just let him."

Oh no, he wasn't falling for that one. "No one controls me!"

"Of course not. But you're doing a damn good job of controlling everyone else. Even I know that you don't have complete control over Surreal. What will she think when she finds out that you're just using her to warm your bed? To entertain you until Hakuuyo decides to break her and take her strength for himself?"

He seemed stunned by her knowledge of how Hakuuyo gained his additional strength.

"The walls remember," Kagome said flatly as his fingers tightened around her neck. One hand was pressed against the wall and he knew she was reading the memories in them. Her miko powers granted her that much.

Surreal realized then what the patch of fresh witchblood at the foot of the stairs meant. Hakuuyo hadn't found this hut randomly. He'd found the witch who had inhabited it, raped her, stole her power and then drained her of life completely. And he planned to do the same thing to Kagome here. But what had startled her more when Hakuuyo had arrived to celebrate his victory, was that he'd demanded to know why Daemon wasn't present, and she'd realized that Jaenelle wasn't the target at all. Hakuuyo wanted Daemon's black strength to sustain him, and that strength coupled with Kagome's miko powers would sustain the bastard for centuries more than anyone could probably count.

They would all be in serious trouble if Hakuuyo succeeded. But he wasn't going to because she damn sure wasn't going to let him.

"Surreal won't think anything of it because she's not going to find out,"

"Isn't she?" Now Kagome's eyes flickered towards the doorway, and when Naraku turned to investigate, Surreal had already driven her stiletto into his back and had begun to weave a death spell so subtle that he didn't even feel the brush against his inner barriers as she did it. But it wasn't going to do any good without that last push.

Kagome knew it, too. She felt her power building, felt it flood her hands again and when Naraku finally felt it, he whirled around to face her, and got it full blast. Surreal leapt away and covered herself as the blinding white and purple light engulfed the spider demon and sent him flying out of the hut until he disappeared. When the light died and she could see again, Surreal pushed herself upright and caught Kagome as the woman fell.

"Are you all right?"

"He's not...he's not dead..."

"No, he's not, but he's on the run," Surreal murmured as she eased Kagome back onto the cot. "Don't you worry about Naraku. When Inuyasha gets here I'll go after him. I don't like being used, sugar, and I'm not going to let him get away with this."

"You shouldn't...you shouldn't go alone..."

"I won't be alone," She reassured. "I won't be alone when I go on the hunt for that bastard."

"Inuyasha..."

"He'll be here,"

"He promised me he would be here," Kagome whispered, feeling the first contraction starting to surface. It wasn't bad, but she knew better than to let that effect her. It was going to get bad, she knew that. And because she'd used her miko strength, it would probably be a lot worse than it should have been. "He promised..."

Surreal wrapped a blanket around the woman's shoulders and nodded, sitting down beside her. "A few more hours, Kagome,"

"I'll be ok..." She murmured as that first contraction finally passed and she was able to relax. Her hands ran over her stomach, feeling her pup squirming in discomfort. "We both will,"

Surreal, after being sure that Kagome was comfortable, moved to sit just beside the entrance of the hut, listening for anything at all. She looked into the fire and watched the flames flicker for a moment before she did what she hoped wouldn't get her killed.

Kaelas, Since she hadn't expected him to answer, when he did, she couldn't reply to him for a moment. I need you and Graysfang tonight, Kaelas. We're going hunting...for Naraku,

We come,

Thank you,

His demon instincts pushed him, his rage fueled him. He'd made a two day trek in nearly twelve hours alone. And he was close, he could smell it. But something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

That feeling kept him going, and the storm that was about to start raging ahead just added to the need to find his mate. He could almost taste her distress in the air.

If you've harmed her in anyway, once I get through with you, there won't be anything left to rejuvenate, Naraku!

Two hours later, as the clouds finally began to release the rain they held, he stopped in the brush and ducked low, his red eyes gleaming as he stared at the hut. She was there, he could smell her. But Naraku and Hakuuyo were nowhere to be found, though he caught their scents, too. Naraku wasn't far away, but Hakuuyo...he was closer.

But Kagome wasn't alone. Surreal was with her. Which was fine with him. He owed that bitch for the injury he'd sustained nine months ago at the hands of Naraku because of what she'd done to Kagome. I'm coming for you, Kagome...!

Surreal's gray-green eyes snapped open as she felt him pass through the gray shield she'd put up around the hut and rose, filling the doorway. Kagome was asleep, though she knew that wouldn't last long at all. Surreal scanned her surroundings, feeling as if she were being hunted...and knowing that she, in a way, was being hunted.

She took the steps out of the hut carefully, calling her stiletto and wrapping it in a sight shield just in case this wasn't Inuyasha. She didn't get two feet from the foot of the stairs before she whirled to strike and got her arm caught in a very sharp set of claws. The red eyes that stared back at her scared her.

"Inuyasha," She hissed, pulling back to try and free her arm from his grasp, but his fingers tightened, a growl escaped his lips, and he poised his free hand to drive it through her.

"No, Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted as she filled the doorway, looking ragged and uncomfortable. "Please, Inuyasha, don't hurt her! She saved me...both of us, just please, Inuyasha! Please..."

He barely heard her at all because of the red haze that clouded his mind. His enemy was right in front of him and he need only to kill her and Kagome would be safe. That's all that mattered.

When he moved to strike anyway, Kagome did the only thing she could do. "Sit boy!" He stumbled, fighting the jewels, still grasping Surreal's arm too tightly for her to free herself. "Inuyasha, sit!"

He slipped to his knees but he still didn't let go.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome stared at him, unable to decide on what to do next. "Please...Inuyasha..."

Surreal remained quiet and still, knowing that if she moved or spoke she was dead.

"Inuyasha," Kagome repeated as she watched them, gripping the doorway for support. "Inuyasha, I need you, please...Snap out of it!"

Kagome needs me...? He turned his head and looked at her, and in that instant the red haze left him. She relaxed as his eyes returned to normal and he released Surreal, leaping for her. "Kagome!"

"I'm ok!" She insisted as her arms came around him. "I'm ok...just a little...uncomfortable..." He pulled back from her and his hands instantly found her stomach, shuddering when he realized what was wrong. "You used your miko powers...Kagome..."

"I had to, Inuyasha. But it's ok, the pup is full term..." She sucked in a breath and howled, falling against him, startling Surreal into action as well, but the hanyou snarled at her when she tried to get close, and until Kagome's hands loosened on his robes, he didn't stop growling.

"That was harder?" Surreal asked cautiously as Kagome lifted her head from Inuyasha's chest and nodded.

"Closer," She murmured. "Only an hour and a half from the last one..."

"Get her out of here, Inuyasha," Surreal growled as the rain began to beat down on her neck. "If you leave now you can get far enough away that Hakuuyo won't catch up to you. He's not far from here, probably only a few miles away, but you have to go."

"What about Naraku?"

"I'll handle him,"

"Surreal..." Kagome murmured, looking concerned.

"Hey, I promised that I wouldn't be hunting him alone and I won't be," Kagome nodded as Surreal turned back to Inuyasha who looked as if he was about to ignore her warnings. "Naraku is dying, Kagome insured that with her miko strength, and I can handle him. Right now Kagome needs you. You take care of her and don't worry about Naraku."

"Why should I trust you after what you've done?"

Surreal shrugged. "You're just going to have to decide for yourself. But either way, you need to get her out of here," She turned her head slightly as she felt something pass through her shield. "Hurry and go!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome pulled his attention to her and cupped his face in her hands. "We can trust her. We can, I promise. Please..."

He took off the top half of his red haori and wrapped it around her snugly, turning. "Get on my back, Kagome, hurry."

"Kagome," Surreal bit her lip. "Will you...will you tell Daemon and Jaenelle that..."

"I will," Kagome said as Inuyasha leapt away towards the brush and in the direction of the Hall. She watched them for a moment before she looked towards the north.

Surreal,

She looked down at Graysfang and Kaelas and gave the wolf a soft pat. Let's go hunting, boyos.

End Chapter...ah hell, why not? another chapter in a few minutes! LOVE!