Disclaimer: I do not own any of the wonderful InuYasha characters created by Rumiko Takahashi, nor do I own any of the Greek gods listed within this story.
Sorcerer
Tenshi cautiously approached the barrier surrounding the sorcerer. Orthos' words rang in her mind. "The warlord has a sorcerer who brings the dead back to life. If I can kill him, the army will fall." Tenshi thought. Crawling low on the ground, she hid herself among the scattered bodies so she could observe the camp behind the barrier. Three supply carts were stationed to the left. A makeshift cooking area with several benches around a small fire was to the right. Tenshi could see half a dozen soldiers lounging around the fire, eating and sharpening their weapons. She could also see a large tent with two guards at the entrance near the back of the camp. "The sorcerer is in the tent. I can sense his evil aura." She determined after several minutes of observation. As she watched, two bloodied soldiers approached the barrier, barely missing stepping on her as they crossed through the sea of bodies. They both muttered words Tenshi couldn't hear and were able to pass through like there was nothing there. "I will not be able to pass through without the password." She thought as she crawled closer to the barrier to see the soldiers around the campfire better. The two who had just entered joined their comrades and began to boast about their conquests.
"I took out three of Athena's lap dogs with one swing. How'd you do, Pyrrhus?" Theron looked at a soldier with flame colored hair. "I killed a couple of them, and got in a shot at the leader, but I was stopped." He took a swig from the wine bag in his hands. "Stopped by what? Your cowardice?" Another soldier shot at him, causing all around to laugh at Pyrrhus. "No, Simos! Some female in a weird outfit showed up and blocked my sword before it could connect." They laughed at him more. "You? Bested by a mere woman! Unbelievable!" He stood up on the defensive. "Laugh all you want! I tell you, she wasn't human." His partner Theron spoke up again. "What do you mean, Pyrrhus?" Pyrrhus clenched and unclenched his fists as he tried to explain. "She was fast. I blinked and she was gone. And she was beautiful. Her dark hair had streaks of red and white in it, and it flew around her head like the wind was blowing, but there was no wind." The soldiers laughed at him again. "Are you sure you weren't dreaming while sleeping off the wine you drank earlier?" He ignored the jibe and continued. "The worst part was here eyes." He shivered at the memory. "Explain." Simos urged him to continue. "Her eyes were icy. I looked into her eyes for mere moments, and they chilled me to the core. I'll never forget those ice blue eyes." Tenshi had heard enough. She formulated a plan in her mind as she retreated.
Tenshi stood up and walked up to the barrier. "You there!" she pointed to Pyrrhus. The soldiers looked up. Pyrrhus shivered when he saw her icy blue eyes again. The other soldiers did not notice as they were too dumbstruck by the vision on the other side of the barrier. They saw a beautiful woman in a skimpy outfit with waist length dark hair streaked with red and white. "I told you!" he hissed at his companions as he rose from his seat. "What do you want, woman." He called as he drew his sword. Tenshi raised her hands to show they were empty. "I want to speak to the sorcerer." The other soldiers were now standing with the weapons ready. "You realize you have sealed you own fate by coming here." Tenshi shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. The eight soldiers came through the barrier and quickly surrounded Tenshi. Pyrrhus held his blade to her throat. "Simos, take her sword and check for hidden weapons." Simos grabbed Tenshi's katana from her obi and patted her down for other weapons. When his hands lingered on her breasts, Tenshi shot him an icy glare that made him stumble backwards in fear. "S-She's clean." He stuttered as he backed away. "Do not be deceived by her beauty, comrades. This one is a vicious fighter." He motioned to one of the men. "Theron, bind her hands behind her back." Pyrrhus ordered. Theron grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back, securing them tightly with a length of rope. Pyrrhus pushed Tenshi between the shoulder blades and forced her forward. "I don't know why you are here, woman" he sneered as she stumbled "but I am sure that the sorcerer Anicetus will figure out what to do with you." He led her to the tent and shoved her inside.
The inside of the tent was dim, only being lit by a small brazier near a table at the back. Tenshi stumbled and landed on her knees in the open area in front of the table. "I must let the sorcerer think I am weak if my plan is to succeed" she thought as she looked down at the ground before her. "My lord, this woman asked for an audience with you." Pyrrhus stated as he bowed to the man behind the table. The tall, thin man dressed in a flowing purple robe glared at the soldier with grey eyes filled with malice. He moved around the table to stand in front of Tenshi. "Thank you, Pyrrhus. I will take it from here." Pyrrhus nodded and left the tent.
Tenshi continued to look at the ground until Anicetus grabbed her by the hair and forced her to look up at him. She kept her eyes blank of emotion as the sorcerer looked her over. He shoved her to the ground, and Tenshi lay still. "You are either very foolish or very brave, woman." He snarled as he kicked her in the ribs. Tenshi kept quiet in spite of the pain in her side. "Get up!" He commanded. Tenshi rose slowly to stand before him. "Tell me why you are here, bitch!" He demanded. "I have come to destroy you, sorcerer." She calmly stated as he perused her body. "Did you now? And how do you expect to accomplish that feat?" He chuckled evilly. Tenshi did not reply. He grabbed her bound arms and pulled up hard, twisting her shoulders into a painful and unnatural position. "I am a powerful sorcerer. You are a mere woman who is currently bound and at my mercy." Tenshi still did not speak. "I will have my answer, bitch, even if I have to torture it out of you." He growled into her ear before shoving her to the ground again and stalking over to the tent entrance. "Guards! Take this woman to my personal tent and make her comfortable". Two guards came in and grabbed her by the arms, dragging her away to her fate.
Tenshi came to slowly. Her head was throbbing, and her body ached all over. Her arms were chained above her head and secured to the center pole of the tent. She took a quick mental inventory of her injuries. One eye was swollen shut, the other blurred by blood dripping from a large gash on her forehead. Her ribs hurt and at least two were possibly broken. Her back was a bloody mess from the whip that had been used before she passed out. What was left of her yukata hung in shreds from her body. "I must escape and destroy the sorcerer." She focused her mind and got to work while no one was in the tent. Carefully, she twisted her body so she was facing the pole. Using her powerful leg muscles, she wrapped around the pole and worked her body up until she could wrap her arms around the pole as well. She continued to move up the pole until the ring that secured the chain was at eye level. The ring was looped over a short metal hook. Tenshi lifted the ring off the hook and let go of the pole. She landed with a thud on the ground below, sending waves of pain through all of her injuries. She refocused her mind and got up. She found the manacle keys on a small table near the back of the tent. Tenshi removed the manacles and searched the tent to find anything she could use as a weapon. She slipped on a white tunic she found while searching and created a makeshift obi using torn strips of bedding. When she was done, she had the chain with the manacles, a small dagger, a length of rope, and the whip the sorcerer had left behind. Tenshi secured the weapons to her person, and used the dagger to cut a slit in the back of the tent so she could make a quiet escape.
"He will not expect me to escape, let alone attack" she thought as she slipped under the back flap of the main tent. She could sense the sorcerer's dark aura coming from a pile of pillows to the left. Tenshi did not make a sound as she slipped over to where Anicetus slept. The clang of the manacles snapping closed around his wrists roused the sorcerer. When his eyes opened, he saw Tenshi's bruised face in front of him and felt her hand over his mouth. "Do not move or cry out, sorcerer, or I will send you to Tartarus" she growled in a low voice as she pressed the cold metal of the dagger to the artery in his neck. He carefully nodded once to show he understood. "Tell me how to break the enchantment you have on the dead soldiers." She removed her hand so he could speak. "There is no way to break the spell, bitch." He spat out. "Let me go now and I will make you my concubine instead of killing you" he arrogantly offered. "You are in no position to negotiate" was Tenshi's icy response. "Oh no? We'll see about that." Anicetus flexed his fingers causing a bright light to flash and blind Tenshi. She fell back and retreated, listening carefully to sense where the sorcerer had gone. His voice rang out as if from everywhere. "Foolish wench! Manacles cannot hold me!" she heard the clang of the manacles as they were dropped to her left. "I will torture you long and slow for your insolence, until you beg me for death!" Tenshi heard the whisper of fabric to her right. As she felt the air pressure change she rolled to the left, grabbing the manacles along the way. The blade missed its intended target and sliced down the back of her left thigh instead. "Those manacles will not help you now, wench!" he sneered. "You are that weak that you must blind me to beat me?" she scoffed. "Not much of a sorcerer are you?" she heard him growl as she ducked the oncoming blade. The effects of the blinding spell were starting to wear off. She could see the sorcerer's outline in front of her as she continued to taunt him. "Can't even hit a blind woman? You are pathetic." She hissed as she moved to the left with the manacles held between her hands. "You bitch! You will die for your insolence!" Anicetus charged straight at her in a blind rage. Tenshi stood her ground as his blade penetrated her abdomen and continued straight through her body until the hilt of the sword stopped its progression. Before Anicetus could react, Tenshi had the manacle chain wrapped around his neck twice. She pulled with all her strength, cutting off his air. Both his hands flew to the chain, trying to loosen it, but Tenshi held tight. "Only one will die tonight, and it will not be me." She ground out coldly as she watched the light leave his eyes. Tenshi let the body drop to the ground. Grasping the hilt of the sword in both hands, she hissed in pain as she slowly slid the blade out of her body. She made a makeshift bandage from her tunic sleeves to try and slow the bleeding from her wound. To ensure the sorcerer would not rise, she used the blade to cut off his head with one blow. Whip in one hand and sword in the other, Tenshi gave a spine chilling battle cry and ran out of the tent to face the soldiers she knew were waiting just outside.
Orthos was about to collapse from exhaustion when he saw the undead soldiers stop moving and drop to the ground. "By the grace of Athena! The wench actually did it!" he thought in amazement. He called out to his remaining men. "The sorcerer is dead! Now forward men and crush the enemy!" The remaining warriors were energized by the news and made short work of the warlord's remaining army. "Men! Gather around!" Orthos commanded. The seven remaining men moved to listen to their commander. "The one who defeated the sorcerer has not returned from his camp. We must go and help her if she lives, or retrieve her body to return to her kin if she is gone." The men were surprised that a woman killed the sorcerer, however they did not question their leader as the eight of them crossed the battlefield to find the one who saved their lives.
When the Athenian warriors reached the sorcerer's camp, there was not a living being to be seen. "Spread out and find the woman" Orthos commanded as they moved into the camp. As he walked around the bodies in the cooking area, Orthos heard a noise. He looked over to the other side of the fire pit. A large, redheaded man's body was lying across an overturned bench. As he watched, the bench started to move. Before he could get over to the bench to help, he watched in amazement as both the body and the bench went flying, exposing the person beneath.
The last battle had been fierce. Tenshi had eliminated all the soldiers except the redhead known as Pyrrhus, who was now attacking her with all his might. He backed her up until she tripped over a bench and fell on her back. Pyrrhus lifted the bench straight up in the air with his powerful arms and ground out "You killed my friends! Die!" Before he could swing, Tenshi thrust her sword straight through his armor and pierced his heart. He stopped in his tracks, blood gushing from the wound as his heart beat for the last time. Tenshi saw him release the bench and instinctively curled her legs up to catch the weight on her feet. Before she could push it off, Pyrrhus came crashing down on top, effectively pinning her in place. Tenshi grunted as she worked to move the dead weight off her body. After several tries, she was finally able to thrust hard enough to get the weights to move before passing out.
Orthos rushed to Tenshi's side. She was unconscious and bleeding in numerous places. Her breathing was shallow and her skin was extremely pale. "Why did this woman risk all to help us?" he wondered as he called his men. "The woman is alive, but just barely." he told them. A blue flash of lightning behind them instantly put all the warriors on guard. They surrounded Tenshi to protect her from the new threat. "Ares! I should have known you were involved." Orthos glared at the god. "Did you figure that out on your own, or did your friends help you" Ares shot back as he strode forward. "You have no business here, war god. Leave." Orthos commanded. "Tenshi is my business. She is my student. Hand her over and I'll let you live." "She saved us from certain death and risked her life for us. You will not have her." Orthos replied as he pulled an amulet from under his armor. "Athena, I request your assistance." he intoned as he pressed the golden stone in the center of the amulet.
Within seconds, the goddess Athena appeared. She took in the scene with her green eyes and turned to Ares as she drew her sword. "You are not welcome here, brother." she held her sword to Ares' neck. "Give me Tenshi and I will go." He replied as he glared at her. "I will not surrender her to you without a fight." She replied coldly. "Then we have a problem" he growled as he drew his sword and began to fight Athena. As they fought, Athena mentally summoned help. "Zeus. Hephaestus. Tenshi is in trouble. I need your help." Within minutes both Zeus and Hephaestus appeared next to Athena. "Cease!" Zeus commanded as he sent a lightning bolt into Ares' chest, sending him flying 20 feet across the camp. "Ares, return to Olympus. We will talk later." Zeus threatened. Ares muttered under his breath as he disappeared. Zeus turned to Athena and Hephaestus, who had both rushed to Tenshi's side while he was taking care of Ares. "Athena, how is she?" he asked as he took in the battered appearance of the warrior. "She has three broken ribs, a punctured lung, a dislocated shoulder, and has lost a lot of blood from the puncture in her abdomen." she replied before continuing. "We must get Kagome immediately. If she does not heal Tenshi immediately, they both will die." Zeus nodded and motioned to the goddess. "Athena, take Tenshi to her chambers on Olympus. Guard her well." Athena gathered Tenshi in her arms and disappeared in a flash of gold. Zeus turned to Orthos and his soldiers. "Thank you for summoning Athena. Tenshi has a chance because of you. Now, return to your families and rest for you have earned it." "Thank you, mighty Zeus. Please keep us informed of Tenshi's condition. She saved us- we owe her our lives." Orthos received a nod in response. Next, Zeus turned to Hephaestus. "Hephaestus, go retrieve Kagome immediately." Hephaestus nodded and disappeared in a shower of golden sparks as Zeus returned to Olympus to deal with Ares...