A.N. Sorry this took so long. I've had a lot of work to do lately and it looks like it's only going to get worse from here. Ah well. Anyhow, here's what was supposed to be part of the previous chapter but didn't make it there. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: POT Characters not mine, world and other related things are.

Chapter 15

The room was a small one adorned with little more than a ratty rug and a chest of drawers that had had all the paint stripped from it by time. Some of the wooden boards revealed by the loss of coating appeared to have been gouged at by some animal's claws, but Inui didn't have time to ponder the markings. He had dragged Oishi into the room and out of the corridor from an instinctual sense that it would be better not to be out in the more open spaces with his friend in this condition. The healer had yet to regain consciousness and his breathing was quick and shallow. He honestly looked ill but when Inui checked his temperature everything appeared to be normal.

Frowning, he paced restlessly from one end of the room o the other and back again. It was a very limited space though and with his long legs it didn't take him long to cross in either direction and he eventually had to stop for fear of making himself dizzy.

Turning, he stared down into his companion's milk white face. Oishi's eyes were sealed tightly shut and a slight crease had appeared between his eyebrows. He had also acquired an alarming sheen of cold sweat.

What was the cause? The Observer chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip. He had never heard of healers keeling over for no apparent reason when they had been perfectly fine only moments before. If anything healers tended to live long and healthy lives if they didn't make too many trips onto the battlefield. Their innate powers saw to that, keeping most diseases at bay and allowing them to recover from injuries and sickness much faster than would any other living creature.

But even if he couldn't think of one off the top of his head there still had to be a reason for this…

The only logical conclusion was that it was something in this house.

Striding to the door he peered out into the halls in a vain hope that he would see Kaidoh coming down it. He didn't. A small sigh escaped his lips and he pulled back into the room. He had to find the others and get Oishi out of there… It was a big house.

He hesitated for a moment, his fingers hovering near the bridge of his nose, then he gripped one arm of his glasses between right forefinger and thumb and inched it down, his mouth pressed into a decisive line. He didn't remove them completely, no, that was not necessary. He only needed to slide them down a little, just enough to peer over the top.

And there he stood in the darkened room with his glasses partially off and an unconscious companion lying near his feet for several long minutes in which nothing but the shadows seemed to stir. Then his hand jerked a little and he blinked as his glasses were jostled half accidentally back into place.

Things were apparently worse than he had first anticipated.

He hurried back to the healer's side, Pulling one limp arm over his shoulder, he hoisted the unconscious man up off of the floor and proceeded to half drag half carry him back out into the halls. Kaidoh was three corridors down to the right and one hall to the left from there.

X

For a moment Ryoma stood frozen amidst the rising flames, his ears ringing with the girl's terrified cries. He could sense it all around them—some presence heavier than the darkness and cold as the winter snow despite the steadily growing flames. He had never felt anything like it before. It had caught Momo and through the sheeting, orange and yellow tongues he could see that some invisible force had crushed his friend up against the wall, but his mind had gone oddly blank. There had to be a spell that could help—but what?

He had never learned how one was supposed to deal with something that wasn't there. Its powers were present, but he could sense no core.

Momo's eyes had rolled back and his head lolled to the side, apparently—hopefully—unconscious.

Gritting his teeth, Ryoma raised both hands and closed his eyes, murmuring under his breath the first spell that came to mind. It was neither offensive nor defensive and it was a moment before he realized that it was a call for revelation. Half surprised at himself but too trapped in the moment to think more about it he completed the spell by tracing the rune of sight in the air with his left hand. There was a flash of gold light as the rune became visible for an instant, then the image shattered, spraying sparks in all directions and making everything from the fire to the shadows and the wooden panels of the room shiver.

And it was standing in the corner to the right of the door.

It stood almost as tall as he did, or it would if it wasn't crouched low, its heavy paws splayed across the floor like pools of darkness. Its form shifted from moment to moment like the shadows that appeared to have coalesced to form it but it still gave him the impression of being wolf like. No flames licked about the wood around it as though the fire itself could not bear its presence.

But there were flames—dark, crimson flames, twin stars in a starless sky set into a massive head above a set of knife-edged teeth that were the only truly solid pieces of its body. Looking into them was like gazing through a hole in space—

Shadows, thick—suffocating. They were burning, tearing across he fields and open lands with outstretched claws and agonized shrieks. Screams resounded through smoke filled air, pleading against silver edged steel—against fate, against death. But there was no escape for all that lay in the future of any being was that same endless darkness beyond which no eyes could see. And in their despair they cried and they fought before they each succumbed to fate.

Jerking backwards and away from the overwhelming visions, the young sorcerer staggered, catching his balance just before he could fall into the midst of the grasping flames. The girl was crying now, a quiet, desperate sobbing, and Momo's unconscious form had slid to the ground to lay there in a boneless heap. His own vision swam but he could feel that something had snapped with he vision. The pressure of the thing's presence had gone, but it was gathering again even as his ears filled with a low, growling hiss.

Spinning on his heels, Ryoma leapt over the spreading flames and seized Momoshiro's collar. His hands were pale even to his own eyes but he refused to let them shake. Instead he haulted the larger youth into a sitting position.

"Momo!" he shouted directly into the swordsman's ear. "Momo, get up! We have to get out of here now!" He wasn't used to shouting and his own voice sounded foreign to his ears, but dignity suddenly seemed like a pale, useless thing with that suffocating presence growing stronger by the moment.

Momo let out a low groan, blinking dazed eyes at him. "Wha…?"

Relief flooded through the sorcerer's veins and he stood quickly, turning to the girl, partially to check on her but mostly to hide the sudden moisture in his eyes. She didn't look like she was going to be doing anything he said. He turned back to Momo who had clambered to his feet and was starting to get that panicked look reminiscent of those who remembered something bad had been happening just before he blacked out.

"Ryoma, what was—"

"It's still here," he snapped, making a beeline for the open door. "Get the girl!"

It was watching him, he could feel it. It seemed warier now. It was drawing in its strength from the rest of the mansion through which it had been spread before.

Momo stared for a moment at Ryoma's stiff back but he bit back the questions and hurried to scoop the girl off of the floor. She struggled and struck out at him but he ignored her and sprinted after his rapidly departing friend. His throat felt dry with smoke and his lungs as though he had been sleeping under a ton of rocks, but though he could see nothing alarming other than the fire his pounding heart was telling him his eyes were not to be trusted.

X

He was lost. It was the fist coherent thought that had surfaced in his mind since he had started running and it was not a pleasant greeting. Footsteps slowing gradually, he chanced a quick glance over his shoulder. Only empty expanses of hallway met his searching gaze. His muscles relaxed slightly. He must have lost it.

Or had he? For a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye. Tensing again, fighting the urge to just start running, he turned to face the direction of the disturbance. To his surprise he found himself looking at Inui. The man was walking steadily towards him with purposeful steps that suggested he knew exactly where he was going and he appeared to be supporting Oishi. Was it an illusion? But he could hear Inui's footsteps and the drag of Oishi's feet.

"Kaidoh," the Observer said as he approached, his voice brisk and not at all surprised at this sudden reunion. "We need to get down to the entrance hall. Can you please help me with Syuichiroh?"

Kaidoh stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded, but his desire to get out of the mansion had his head nodding despite his confusion and he slid the healer's other arm over his shoulder. "Fshuuu," he started, caught himself, and tried again. "What—what happened to him?"

Inui shot him a sidelong, considering look. Coming to some kind of decision he began to speak, indicating with his free hand that they should keep walking in the meantime. "The world is composed of a balance of forces, both those within and without of ourselves, those released by the actions of the living, and those that are yet to come into existence. It is the interaction between these forces that forms the world we live in."

The serpent-eyed speaker blinked up at him, brows furrowed. "But…how does that explain why Oishi is unconscious?""Simple." The Observer's voice was far too calm for the words coming out of his mouth here in the silent, breathing expanses of the mansion. It was unsettling. "There is something dwelling here in this house. Whatever entity it is embodies some kind of force that is incongruent or in direct conflict with that possessed by a healer. Normally such forces would balance each other out, but this particular entity must be extremely powerful. Add that to the fact that this is its domain and a place where it has been accepting sacrifices for years…well, simply put, the balance no longer functions as it should in this house. Thus Syuichiroh is unconscious because his own powers are trying to remedy this lapse—a healer's powers in particular is of a type that seeks to right—but he alone is unable to accomplish that great a task."

Kaidoh's footsteps had faltered at the mention of dark entities and he hadn't really heard anything after that—other than perhaps the word 'sacrifice' which didn't help his mood in the slightest. All he could think about was the creature in the bathroom. Had that been…?

"B—but what about the others?"

Inui's steps quickened. "We will meet them in the entrance hall." He did not explain how exactly he knew this but the absolute certainty of his tone was reassuring.

X

They had almost reached the top of the stairs when he felt it make its move. Casting a hurried glance over his shoulder Ryoma stumbled, caught himself, and sped up. The wolf creature was loping up the corridor behind them, growing larger and larger by the moment as its great bounds devoured the distance between them. It was far faster than any of them were.

Cursing inwardly, he skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs. Confused, Momo started to ask him what was wrong but he ignored the question. Instead he closed his eyes, bringing o mind a series of three runes. They glowed blue in the darkness behind his eyelids and he opened his eyes again, their names leaving his mouth with the crackle of freezing water. Beside him Momo's mouth fell open as a sheet of glistening ice glided down over the stairs, turning it into a smooth, translucent path.

"Whoa, why—" He cut himself off with a yelp of surprise as Ryoma gave him a hard shove from behind. He twisted as he fell to avoid landing on the girl he had been instructed to carry and he landed with a thud on the slick, freezing surface. Before he could complain about the unexpected assault he was sliding down the stairs, spinning uncontrollably as his back screamed against the biting cold.

Giving the monster one last glance Ryoma jumped onto the icy slide after his companions. His boots slipped on the ice but he fought to say upright. It wasn't until he had almost caught up to Momo that he dared look back again.

His heartbeat quickened. The thing was still running towards them but its paws touched only air. And yet it was gaining.

Raising his hands, Ryoma shouted a command and a lash of power flew from his fingers, catching the beast head on. It didn't cry out but black blood sprayed over the ice beneath it and for a moment he was sure he had gotten it. Then he realized with a shrill of bone-chilling horror that it was still coming—or at least, its head was.

TBC

Notes:

Inui's Glasses: This will be explained later but you might be able to guess most of it if you remember some things he says in earlier chapters whenever people mention his glasses. On similar notes, for anyone who's actually interested, the magic will also be explained more thoroughly later.

A.N: Not much on anyone outside the mansion this time, but it seemed appropriate. Anyhow, if you're still confused things should clear up some next chapter. Happy late Thanksgiving and very, very early Christmas! It's probably too early to be saying that. Thanks for reading.