Nemesis: Forgotten Anathema

by Cheetara

[Complete] Some doors should never be opened. Some secrets should remain as they are, buried in the dark soil of the past. But the past always holds the key to the future and the children must bear the consequences of the sin of their forefathers.

32. Chapter 29

Chapter 28:

"I am assuming that you did not step inside the temple."Keeah addressed Taasha letting her torch cast some light on the dark doorway of the temple.

"I never claimed to be that brave "Taasha said quietly "Besides I was a little unnerved by the total absence of life in this place."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Haven't you noticed? Nature has a curious way of reclaiming her own land .She plants the seed of life in the harshest terrains .If animals could survive out there in the frozen wastelands, then why not here? And what about plants? And that lake .It has no fish .The lake is dead like the rest of the city. It just not natural."

Keeah stiffened .The knot in her stomach tightened a bit .The former capital of Kutou was also ruined. But they had encountered some life forms in it .She shuddered a little remembering the lizard like creatures. But the only thing she encountered in this city was the silent skeletons of the houses looking down upon them with their sightless eyes .The creepers she had torn to reveal the lamp stand was dry ...dead .In fact other than the dirt and dust of centuries that accumulated on the roads, it was almost ...clean.

She concentrated again .She could sense no hostile ki in the vicinity. But that did not prove anything.

"We'll just have to be careful."Keeah said quietly "Let's go."

"Just one more question."Sotisku licked his dry lips "The entrance to this temple is at the bottom of the structure .So what are all these stairs for?"

"In Ubasti all sacred rituals would be carried out at the topmost terrace of the temple so that the ceremony would be visible to everybody .I believe that this structure was built for similar purposes." Taasha explained.

"Can we move now?"Suraco said impatiently.

"Oh shut up."Sotisku snapped.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Keeah let the torches shine on the ancient walls of the temple .It was as Taasha had predicted .The walls were covered with murals. Most had become hazy but some were still in a tolerably good shape. It would seem that somehow the temple had escaped the wrath of the fire that engulfed the fair city of Tur .It was probably because a deep trench separated the Temple area from the main city. Keeah assumed once it might have been a canal as there were the remnants of several bridges that might have connected these two places.

A small squeak from Sotisku attracted her notice. "Look." His voice shook a little as he pointed to the object that had caught his attention.

It was a skeleton lying on its back teeth bared as if mocking the heavens, bony hands still curled over the rusty spear that he carried. Sotisku bend down over the yellow bones extending a hand to touch it. To their surprise the bones disintegrated into a pile of dust in front of their eyes.

Sotisku sighed "It would seem that the skeleton was preserved by some quirk of Nature in the cold and sterile environment of the cavern. However the presence of light seemed to overset that fragile balance causing it to disintegrate into dust."

"The main question is however what sort of conqueror would kill but not take the spoils of war." Suraco picked up a gold necklace from the dusty floor."Look at this, our freind wore gold manacles and his girdle was set with rubies."

"Fancy "Keeah snorted "Not very practical."

"But why take the belongings of the fallen."Taasha's voice was disapproving "Why desecrate the fallen foe? It is dishonorable."

"Greed naturally."Suraco said quietly "Besides there is a huge cost incurred in warfare. Gotta recover the losses somehow."

"That's disgusting."

"I know."Suraco's voice was bitter "But that's the truth. When a King returns victorious, the bards sing of his glory and his countrymen basks in the shine of the wealth he has brought back and get drunk in the power he radiates. Nobody bothers that the gold is stained with the blood of many and that their happiness is bought by the tears and enslavement of others."He gave a low mocking chuckle "War is so ugly that we dare not look her into her face, perhaps that is why we glorify her unnecessarily."

"Suraco shut up."Sotisku snapped irritatibly "I am bored."

"Can it Sotisku."

"The point here is..."Sotisku ignored Suraco "This city was attacked with the intention of laying it to waste, but not plundering it. Does that make sense?"

"Actually it does."Suraco said thoughtfully "They wanted to prove a point."

"They wanted to make an example of this city. They wanted to strike fear in the hearts of they who dared oppose them."Keeah said quietly."But why? "She pursed her mouth "It does not matter .We are not here to study the history of Tur. Lets keep moving."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"This might be the sanctum sanatorium of the temple."Taasha waved the torch around."Look there's the altar."He let the torch shine on an ornamented altar in the middle of the room.

They were standing in the middle of a hexagonal room with a beautiful circular altar in the middle .It was made of some black rock that seem to shine through the accumulated dust of centuries. Strange creatures and mythical beasts were carved on it. But it was badly chipped and bore deep gauge marks all over it.

"This is where they made their last stand."Suraco stated flashing the torch he carried around "One last very desperate stand."

When they had made their way here it was clear that the people of Tur had tried to make some sort of stand here but they were beaten back mercilessly .It was almost as if Death herself walked these halls with her scythe. They encountered more skeletons, which disintegrated when light shone on them or when they accidentally stepped on it. Golden goblets, saucers, chains, precious stones lay scattered on the ground like autumn leaves .The wealth of a thousand kings, yet no body had touched it. They encountered a few doors, everyone seemed to have been torn off its hinges. And there were the unmistakable marks of struggle. Every crack, every gauge, every mark on the wall seemed to tell the story of a terrible desperate and bloody struggle that were fought within these walls.

This room was no different.

"Did you notice something?"Suraco said solemnly studying the pictures on the walls "None of these pictures depict a peaceful activity. Even the murals outside this chamber... They always depict war or something similar."

"Perhaps that is why Tur was built underground."Taasha said quietly "Because it was always at a state of war."

"So are we. But even then once in a while the artist draws a different picture. Drawing pictures of war all the time is damn depressing. Once in a while the artist must feel the urge to draw a happy theme. It just does not make sense."

"But it does you see .The murals in temples like this always depict the ongoing situation .It has nothing to do with what the artist feels. When the pictures were drawn Tur must have been in a time of great crisis .It was at war, something that was threatening its own existence, a war they were not doing so good at." Taasha drew Suraco towards a mural on the wall "Look, it shows the army of Tur suffering heavy losses. Look, the soldiers are running away or defecting."

"How do you that those are the soldiers of Tur?"

"Look, it written."Taasha pointed at the strange script at the bottom of the picture "Its says so here."

"You understand that?"

"That is the script we use in Ubasti."

"I see."

Keeah sighed and moved to study another picture. This picture was incomplete or was it destroyed? She moved closer for a better look .It was the picture of a female warrior dressed in elaborate armour and a short linen skirt. Her arms were swathed with gauntlets and her legs were covered with chain mail leggings .She carried a huge scythe like sword in her hands and appeared to be commanding a huge army. Keeah raised the light to study her face. There were deep gauges on them, it was almost as if somebody had purposely raked long sharp nails over the warriors profile to deface it. Tentatively Keeah ran her fingers over the wounds in the wall.

All at once she became aware of people moving around her .She turned to look around .The room was lit with the soft yellow light from the ornamental braziers .A man was in front of the mural painting with almost a feverent need .It was almost as it he was obsessed with finishing the painting. A few other pale-faced men stood around the altar bending over something talking in hushed tones. Suddenly, there was a terrible knocking on the heavy door and a soldier rushed in .He was covered with blood and collapsed on the stone floor.

Keeah saw one of the men hold the soldier up .He gestured at the door; mouth parting into incomprehensible words as he pointed at the door .The huge door was clammed shut. The man laid the soldiers limp body on the ground and picked up a sword. There was a heavy thud on the door and it shuddered. Again and again the thuds came. Something was trying to break in .The door shuddered but held still...

And the artist painted on as if oblivious.

And then the door burst open with a tremendous noise sending splinters everywhere .The braziers were overturned and most of them extinguished.

The artist looked up, defiance in his blue orbs. There was a flash of light and his warm lifeblood anointed his precious painting.

Keeah shuddered stepping back.

"Princess, You dropped your torch."Suraco came up to her picking up her torch and relighting it with his own. Once again the picture was illuminated and Keeah noticed dark stains on the picture.

' Were they bloodstains?' She took a deep breath to calm her erratic heartbeat."Did we find the freaking map?" Her voice was tight.

"Actually we did."Suraco was a little surprised that Keeah swore.

"Good. Lets not waste anymore time."

"Umm .You should see this."Suraco led her to another painting.

It was a map .It showed several places with their names written in some ancient script. "Taasha, point out Fa Sang."Suraco said.

Taasha placed a clawed finger on an island. However just like the face of the warrior two deep gauge marks crossed the island out.

Keeah frowned. "So Fa Sang was attacked as well. "She turned "It does not change anything .We will still go to Fa Sang. And we will start now. We'll just have to be ...vigilant."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Keeah had to still step outside the door of the temple .She instinctively knew that something was amiss. Once again she concentrated .Yet again she found no hostile ki surrounding them. But the knot in her stomach tightened and all her senses screamed at her to be wary.

"Be careful."She whispered to Taasha who was leading the way.

She saw Taasha nod shakily .It was clear that he was feeling it as well...This smell of the coming danger. Their torches had burnt themselves out. Fortunately, Taasha had brought along an extra torch. Unfortunately, that was the only torch he carried .So, it was only his torch that lit the way for them. Keeah felt a sense of foreboding as Taasha stepped outside the doorway.

There was a swish and a dark shape jumped on Taasha and it hit Keeah like a tidal wave .All at once she felt herself to be surrounded by hostile ki on all sides and the smell of danger was almost asphyxiating.

Taasha gave a low growl before picking the shadow from his back and hurling it into a wall .He was panting heavily and Keeah could see the sluggish flow of blood through the ripped sleeve of his cloak. The torch he carried had fallen to the ground and died an untimely death plunging them once more into the land of perpetual twilight.

The shadow had fallen not far from them .It gave a strange mournful mewl before trying to crawl away dragging its bloody hind behind it. Suddenly a few other shadows jumped on it and all Keeah could make out was a flurry of teeth, claws and blood.

"That's enough my children. Desist yourself."The cold somewhat sensual voice made the hairs on the nape of her neck rise.

"It would seem that Tur isn't as deserted as we thought."Taasha said grimly licking the wound on his hand.

"Hmm." Keeah cast her eye around Tur .It suddenly seemed that all the shadows had come to life .As far as her eye went she could see dark shapes crouching on rooftops, on the broken archways, on the columns, on the ground, red eyes gleaming malevolently with a strange bloodlust.

"Hello strangers and welcome to Tur."

Keeah took awhile to study the owner of the voice. It belonged to the female form that stood on the broken column in front of the temple doorway .In the darkness Keeah could not make out her face properly. However, Keeah's eyes got stuck on her luminous yellow eyes.

' Those eyes ...But... how can it be?'

The female spoke again "I am Sairi. Could I have the pleasure of knowing your name?"Her eyes rested on Keeah's face.

Keeah raised her eyes to meet hers squarely "I am Keeah and this is..."

"I have no interest in them "Sairi purred crouching on the column, her long hair whipping slightly behind her."My pets will welcome them."

Keeah felt the shadows close in .She smiled, years of training keeping her voice emotionless and polite "That is not necessary Lady Sairi .We will be on our way now."

Sairi's lips widened into a lazy smile .For a while she observed the young human femalein front of her. The human was looking at her with calm unafraid eyes. She concentrated on the human's battle aura .It wasn't that impressive.

' This is the dragon? Old freind you have become senile .She is not that impressive .She is like any human female. Frail and weak. What a waste.'

She concentrated .She could almost hear the soft thudding of the human's heart and the gurgle of warm blood that flowed through her veins .She licked her lips .It was a long time since she had tasted blood that flowed like honey from the still thumping heart of a human .It would be a worthy compensation for the poor sport she was about to receive.

"Don't be silly my dear."Sairi purred "Stay and enjoy our hospitality."

Keeah let her hand rest on her sword .She could feel the shadows close in on them."You are too kind." She said quietly "However we do not wish to overstay our welcome."

Sairi landed on the ground noiselessly, crouching in the shadows."People come into Tur out of their own free will."She gave a low sinister laugh "But they leave by our will. And I do not want you to leave. Ever."

Keeah did not see Sairi move .She only felt a wind collide heavily with her throwing her hard onto the ground away from her friends .Her eyes widened a little. Tentatively she touched her ripped sleeve, feeling the deep gashes on her arm .She saw the shadows close in around her.

"Back you fools."Sairi's voice was sharp "This one is mine."She paused to lick her hands clean of the blood that stained her nails "You can have the others."

Suraco saw Keeah fall."Princess."He made a move to reach her only to be blocked by the shadows. "Shit."He swore falling back.

"Suraco."Sotisku's voice shook a little "This is not good .Not good at all."

"That much I can see."Suraco said between gritted teeth "But what do we do?"

"Fight "Taasha's hand closed over the hilt of the halberd he carried. With a roar he launched himself at the shadows.

"We could do t...that of course."Sotisku agreed "Its just that I suck when it comes to fighting."

Suraco uncoiled the whip he carried and let it swing through the air with a swishing sound .The shadows which were closing in around them to stop and move back warily."We are way over our heads in this one Sotisku .Try to stay alive."

"Yeah .You too."Sotisku was pale as he took out the short sword he carried.

Keeah was having trouble .She could not see Sairi. Hotohori was fast as well. But even was not this fast. Sometimes when they had fought he had appeared like a blur to her. But Sairi attacked her like a cursed wind .All she could sense was a hot wind rush past her before another gash appeared on her skin .Her cloak hung in tatters and her tunic was stained with her blood. Once again she tried to concentrate.

A fireball began to fizzle in her hand but before she could launch it she felt the hot wind rush past her back .She felt pain explode in her body as she fell on her knees. Gritting her teeth she kept in the cry of pain that rose to her mouth. Sairi was too fast .She had to complete the spell in order to hit her. But Sairi kept attacking her before she could complete the spell; effectively nullifying her attack .She also understood that at any point during this attack Sairi could have killed her .The wounds that she had inflicted were not critical. They were designed to give her pain, not death .Why?

Sairi studied Keeah from under hooded lashes .The human is strong, unafraid .She smiled running a small pink tongue over her bloody claws ' Perfect.' Her eyes almost closed with satisfaction and she squashed the desire to give a low happy purr. ' Her blood is so warm and full of life .So sweet...' Her eyes became hard ' But sweeter will be the smell of her fear when I break drown that resistance of hers .It has been soo long since I had some fun.'

Taasha could see that his alpha was not doing so well. And truth to be told, neither were they. They were trying to reach Keeah but the shadow creatures kept on attacking them with a kind of dogged savagery .The smell of blood seemed to drive them to a greater frenzy, whether it be their own or that of their enemy .He could hear the humans panting as they fought back to back, the red headed one was tired and would soon be overwhelmed.

"This stops now."He roared letting the edge of his halberd touch the ground with an earth shattering thud .A drop of fire seemed to emanate from the tip of his weapon and expand in a fiery circle around them burning the creatures closest to them.

Taasha panted. They had respite. But only for the moment.

Sairi's eyes narrowed a little as she saw Taasha's attack.' A berserker? Hmm ...It does not matter. They will be overcome.'

Keeah took a deep breath .She saw Sairi was distracted for a while. This allowed her to concentrate her ki. When Sairi turned towards she saw that her eyes were strangely luminous, almost fluorescent. She waited for the attack. Sairi crouched before jumping. Keeah's mouth curved into a smile.

There was a pained mewl and she felt something warm fall on her face. With a smile she touched it. Sairi was crouched at a distance from her and Keeah could see blood seep from the thin cuts on her entire body.

' It worked.' Keeah did not allow her triumph to show .It was too early .She had caused the air to revolve around her causing thin unseen blades of air to surround her. Sairi emphasized on speed based attacks .She could never match Sairi in speed .The only way to defeat her was to use her speed against her. That is what she did. Even if Sairi could sense it she would be too late to stop herself, as her momentum would hurl her into the trap she had laid out for her.

Her eyes widened a little as Sairi stood up licking her wounds much like Taasha "Umm...I always knew my blood would taste good."Her voice was amused.

Keeah stiffened ' This is not good.'

Sairi leaped again. This time Keeah heard no pained mewls but she was showered with blood. Sairi attacked her shield with such frenzy that she had a hard time keeping it up. Keeah felt her knees buckle under her .She felt the magic she wove around herself melt away .Sharp nails dug into her shoulders beforehurling her onto hard ground some distance away.

She felt something sticky course down her face. Sairi stood not far from her a strange look in her yellow eyes .It held the same demented look she had seen in her visions .Her face was covered with deep gashes and Keeah could see the blood that oozed from the many wounds that covered her body.

Sairi flung her head back and laughed. Keeah could not help shuddering a little.

"Human, I cannot remember the last time I had this much fun."

' Fun?' Keeah's expression was stunned ' Does she enjoy this pain?'

"That female is crazy."Sotisku gritted his teeth pushing another shadow away "We are outnumbered. Why the hell don 't you use an illusion?"

"Are these cats Taasha?" Suraco's whip made contact with flesh once more.

"I think so "Taasha's halberd rose and fell. But it was becoming evident that his strong hands were already tiring.

Suraco gritted his teeth ' I hope this works.'

There was a howl that filled the cavern .For a moment the shadows stopped, surprised .The earth trembled and the ground parted causing several of the shadows to fall screaming into the molten bowels of the earth. Slowly the lava rose to meet the ceiling of the cavern molding into the form of a great fiery dog. It bends down and snatched up twenty of the shadows in its fiery fangs ...There was chaos and the shadows panicked. Some even ran into the lake where they drowned emitting last desperate mewls of help.

"Well, they can't swim."Sotisku said smugly turning to a very pale Taasha who looked as if he had every intention of running away "Umm...Taasha?"

"Oh sorry. Instinct."

Suraco panted, his face pale before collapsing .The dog gave a last howl before melting away. Sotisku was at his side pressing a vial into his hands .The shadows were scattered, for now...

"Oh..."Taasha's voice was stricken "Look!"

Sairi saw the human's eyes widen in shock. Almost at once a smell seemed to fill her nose .She realized it was fear .She took a deep breath savoring the smell .The human was afraid.

She saw the human struggle up and try to run away .She jumped on the human once again throwing her hard .She heard her scream with pain as she landed heavily on the banks of the lake.

' Ah music.'

She landed in a crouching position in front of Keeah .She saw her black eyes wide with fear and the sluggish flow of blood that stained her face. Vaguely she was aware of the female's friends rush to help her .She smirked .Her pets thrust them in the middle.

' Human's are so frail and weak. Their skin is so soft, so easily cut. How positively delicious.'

She saw Keeah try to move away from her, crawling towards the lake .She jumped.

Taasha was enraged .His alpha was threatened and he could not help. Beside him Suraco and Sotisku fought with the same insane ferocity, yet they did not seem to make any progress .It was like picking ants of a sugar cube. Pluck one off and a thousand took its place.

"No "Sotisku let out a howl of rage seeing Sairi pin Keeah at the edge of the lake.

Sairi looked at the human's pale face .Her pupils were dilated with fear, her mouth parted in some wordless appeal of mercy. Sairi dug her claws cruelly into Keeah's forearm watching with great satisfaction as the girl screamed.

"Please .Let me go."Her voice was a broken sob.

Sairi bend down and licked the blood that seeped from the cut on her forehead.' Sweet '.

She raked a nail cruelly over her exposed neck making a shallow but painful cut .For awhile she watched the blood seep out like precious ambrosia before bending down to pass her pink tongue over the cut.

"I think not Keeah."She purred watching the pain in her eyes "Your blood tastes rather sweet .I believe your flesh might be even sweeter my dear."

"No. Please. Have mercy "Tears seeped out from her eyes like precious pearls.

Sairi wiped the salty water with a clawed finger, before turning at the figure she was straddling.

'"I wonder how much pain you can take before loosing your reason." Sairi wondered watching the figure she had pinned to the ground " I would like to see that and believe me I have a lot of time on my hands."

To her surprise the human smiled "I am sure you do."

All at once Sairi became aware of the sudden rise in Keeah's battle aura. Instinctively she looked up. For a moment she became aware looking into the face of a ferocious water dragon before being swept away in a rush of tidal wave.

Keeah stood up, her eyes aglow .She levitated, letting the rushing waters dance around her watching dispassionately as the water column pinned Sairi .She touched the water and it froze around her in an elaborate crystal structure encasing Sairi in its frozen bowel.

"Keep your eye on the birdie kitty cat."Keeah smiled a little before sinking to her knees.

They heard Keeah's scream of pain and renewed their struggle to get through. They saw that Sairi had pinned Keeah at the edge of the lake by straddling her and keeping her from moving with her own body weight. They saw Sairi rake her claws over Keeah's throat and the broken sob that rose from her throat.

"Move you fools."Taasha roared letting his halberd swing with lethal grace .His mind was in a whirl ' Damn it. We'll be late .Too late.'

Sotisku did not like fighting. But now he fought with a savage ferocity that surprised even himself .He fought as if in a trance, his hand rising and falling out of its own volition. Faces flashed in front of his eyes as if in a nightmare but he kept ploughing on desperately .He had to reach Keeah .The ground beneath his feet was slippery with blood as was his blade .He felt his balance slip.

"Don't fall Sotisku."He felt Suraco straighten him."We have to help Princess."

Sotisku chanced a look at Suraco .His face was set and pale and his eyes glittered with a dogged gleam that was rarely seen .His whip cracked and hissed like an angry serpent making contact with flesh with a satisfying crack.

' Dammit. This is so unlike Princess.' Suraco frowned ' She never gives up so easily.'

And then he felt it .The faint cackling of ki .His eyes turned towards the lake .The once calm waters seemed to be uneasy, a faint blue light seemed to emanate from under the waters. Slowly the waters started to move in a spiraling motion turning into a huge whirlpool.

Even the shadows had stopped attacking and started to cower back suddenly afraid. But Sairi did not seem to notice .She seemed to be entranced with the blood her long claws drew. Silently a huge water dragon rose from the black waters, droplets of water sparkling like dew drops on its lithe body, ice blue eyes surveying the scene dispassionately.

"What is that?" Taasha's voice was awed.

It was then that Sairi looked up. They saw her eyes widen in shock. And then everything happened as if in a blur .The dragon crashed on the shoreline with an earth shattering impact letting a huge wave sweep the shore. Taasha grabbed hold of Suraco and Sotisku and leaped to the top of a broken archway letting the roaring waters rush under them. The column shuddered but withstood the impact, the spray of water drenching them.

"That was quick thinking."Sotisku spluttered, precariously holding on to the narrow ledge where Taasha had deposited him.

Keeah was floating midway over the white waters surveying the carnage with a strange smile on her face. Slowly a white glow emanated from her hands freezing the waters and Sairi in an icy coffin.

"That was ...wow!"Taasha stared.

"She planned it."Suraco's voice was dazed."She planned it from the very beginning."

They were at Keeah's side at an instant .She was sitting with her head bowed. When they approached her she raised a bloody face to smile at them "Lets leave this place for a safer psycho cat free zone."

"It was a cat?"Taasha looked Sairi whose face could not be seen carefully through the layers of ice.

"Yes."Keeah gulped down the vial that Sotisku had handed her "I got a really close up look."She tried to get up, Sotisku supporting her "She appeared to belong to the same tribe as yours Taasha."

Taasha's eyes widened "What? That's ...I don't know her."

"I know."Keeah said quietly "Lets go."She limped towards the ship.

Taasha turned to see the frozen figure ' the elders say that no one has stepped outside Ubasti since the beginning of the new age .Did they lie? And if they did not lie then who is Sairi?'

"Taasha "

He turned towards Suraco who was waving wildly at him "Come on Taasha. Lets go already."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The tiny vessel rocked silently on the cold misty waters of the Ku-Youg Sea. Keeah sat in the tiny cabin of the ship letting Sotisku dress her wounds .Her grim expression was mirrored on Sotisku's face who had just finished meticulously wrapping a linen bandage on the deep gashes on her arm.

"That was a terribly risky move you pulled."He said at last breaking the thick silence between them.

"I know "Keeah said quietly.

"But what if you had failed?"

"Then I would have died a gruesome death "Keeah chuckled.

"How can you joke about it?"Sotisku snapped angrily "When I saw you fall, I swear my heart stopped."

Keeah leaned back into the lumpy cushion and drew the thick furs around her. Despite the small warming pan at the corner of the room it was quite chilly.

"The match between Sairi and me was lopsided."Keeah said quietly "With all the odds stacked against me .She was powerful, fast and believe it or not better skilled. Besides she was fighting for the sake of fighting .In the long run she would have overpowered me."Her mouth curved in a small smile "Now here's the interesting part .The way she acted made me think that she was addicted to blood. Blood and pain, they are like opium to her .So I offered her a little incentive..."

"Hmph. Some incentive."

"It was as I suspected .She was distracted .She was so absorbed with the blood that she did not even look up when Suraco conjured up that dog. And I knew that she was ripe for plucking..."

"Yes but if you had failed then it would leave you open for attack."

Keeah's eye became hard "Perhaps."She smiled again her eyes brooding "Now here is a question for you .Why did they not attack us immediately when we entered the city? More importantly why did they not attack Taasha? He was alone and could have been taken down much easily."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Taasha was not lying .He does not know her."Keeah spoke almost to herself "But there is a definite similarity between her and Taasha. Sotisku do you think that Sairi could have made those scratches on the murals?"

"Well, she could have..."Sotisku speculated on that for a while "But Tur is centuries old. And those murals were vandalized at the time Tur fell .If Sairi was indeed responsible for it, then ...No, no its impossible .No one can live for that long."

Keeah was silent .She remembered the baleful yellow eyes from her vision. They were similar to Sairi's .She instinctively knew that the figure she had seen in that vision was Sairi .Her heart urged her to believe that Sairi was the one that has laid Tur to waste, but her mind could not accept the logic that her heart provided.

"Sotisku, is it possible to live that long? Is there even a remote possibility that this state of near immortality can be achieved?"

"It is medically impossible, at least my meager knowledge says so."Sotisku said broodingly "However I don't claim to know everything. There might be ways that I am not aware of."

"Hmm."

He saw Keeah relapse into the brooding silence once more "If Sairi and her army of shadow cats were indeed responsible laying Tur to waste then she wasn't the brains of the operation."

Keeah raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I did not have any time to analyze Sairi like you did, but from what little that I can glean from you, she is one who kills for sport."

"Sotisku, Sairi is well versed in the art of war."

"I am not saying that she is not well versed in the art of war .To her killing brings pleasure .The better the warrior, the more the thrill of the chase .If she had her way then she would have attacked Tur when its best warriors were in the city."

"Wait a minute. What make you think that the main force was away?"

Sotisku smiled "The amours of the soldiers we found .I may not know much about war but even I know that their amours were impractical. Could it be that they were temple guards? After all there dresses were more fancy than practical."

Keeah sat up straight "Of course .The woman in the painting .She was commanding an army."She beamed at Sotisku "Sotisku, I do not appreciate you at all .You are so brilliant."

Sotisku blushed "I know."

"Tur was at war. Perhaps that is why it was built so cleverly under the ground. However, Tur was attacked when its main army was away at war. Naturally, the city did not offer much resistance .You are right Sotisku. Such planning is beyond Sairi. If she could plan that deviously then she should have attacked us while we were still in the temple."Keeah's mouth curved into a smirk "By Seiryuu, we would be trapped like mice. Instead, she chose to attack us in the open, where we could resist. That might explain why she didn't attack us initially."

"It does?"

"Of course .She thought we would be poor sport."

"Why the hell did she change her mind?"

"Here is a disturbing possibility. Because somebody told her too."

Sotisku paled "Is somebody trying to stop us from releasing Seiryuu?"

"Of course .Why do you think Hotohori is here?"Keeah leaned back into the makeshift backrest of fur cloaks. "However, the person who asked Sairi to attack us is not he."

"Oh .Who is he then?"

"Good question Sotisku. But more importantly why does he want us dead?"

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