Chapter 24: Time's Running Out

Tessa woke from her meditative trance with a start. She wasn't entirely sure what it was that had broken into her awareness, but something was off. Were her security wards still in place? Yes. They didn't seem to have been breached, but she still couldn't help but feel that something was wrong with them.

She traced a mental finger down the intricate web of magic she'd infused around her den, a spider web design that fanned out several blocks worth of space. Such a large field would give her more time to plan any counter assault, not that she exactly expected trouble, but she also couldn't be too careful. After all, she'd sensed the energies of a demon in the general area, not to mention that strange thread of energy she'd found at the Sohma's house.

There it was again, like the faintest of breezes brushing against spider silk, not actually touching it, but causing it to vibrate ever so slightly despite that non-contact. Where was it coming from? She closed her eyes to hone in more closely to the source of the vibration. What was causing it? Could it be a human with a bit more spiritual energy than the usual? Always a possibility. Or was it something much more pressing on her plans?

She couldn't leave it to chance. There was too much at stake. After all, she had all but won over this strange cat boy's soul. A couple more hours would see the deed irreparably done and his life tied to hers until she chose to cut him off like dead wood. The only loose ends, as far as she could see, were cutting out those who would remember him, those who would know something was amiss by his absence. She either had to alter their minds to forget him, or get rid of them.

The invisible threads thrummed again and she smiled a bit in triumph. She'd pinpointed the location, near one of the further warehouses. She could sense several souls in the area. Some were walking in twos, probably early morning joggers. There were also a few solo individuals, but they didn't seem to be anything more than a few street thugs like she'd encounters when she'd first chosen this location. That kind was easy to get rid of, easy to feed on, with no one to really wonder what had happened to them, though they had been staying more clear of the area as of late.

Tessa's smile turned to a frown. She couldn't discern any souls that could have caused the alarm. And none of those she had sensed were quite close enough to set the thread vibrating. Something was definitely wrong.

She strode towards the storage room she'd stashed her little pet, throwing the door open with a spell. "Get up."

Kyo's eyes were instantly open, his body moving to stand, waiting for the next order.

She was tempted to take another little nibble of his energies, but refrained. She needed to concentrate. "Your eyes are my eyes," she said. "I have sensed something out of place and you will investigate. Let this be a test of your abilities to see if I'm right about you."

Kyo didn't so much as make a sign that he acknowledged her orders, his glazed over eyes staring blankly. She had not yet issued the order, though, deep down, where his consciousness still struggled to not be snuffed out, he balked, not sure if he should try to exert hold over his own body or not. It was more than maddening to realize that he had no control over his body.

She pointed a finger towards the open door. "Go. Observe. But don't be seen. I want to know what is going on out there without tipping our hand."

He marched forward, crouching down low as he passed under the doorframe, and then bounded out like a jungle cat after its prey.

Tessa closed here eyes, melding her sight with his, watching his dizzying progress into the night. Perhaps now would be a good time to delve a bit deeper into his memories, to see what else she could learn.

Hana nodded in satisfaction. They had barely made it past the mental barriers she had sensed around the parameter. Thankfully, with the combined skills of both the demon and her own ability, they had managed to sidestep, or pass right through, the majority of the threads around them. It took a great deal of concentration, but since she was the one focusing mostly on that task, it left Sebastian to focus on picking up the trail they'd followed.

Sebastian pointed towards a group of warehouses. "They went that way," he said as he moved in the new direction, sniffing for the telltale scent of Kyo's soul. The closer they got, the more he sensed other things that he didn't like. "I am most definitely now convinced of our quarry's nature. This will be no easy task."

Hana stared impassively ahead. "I do not expect it to be." She sensed more threads of soul energy intertwining around the various buildings and structures, getting thicker and thicker the further they moved in. She stopped suddenly.

Sebastian turned inquiringly towards her, taking a step closer, but stopped when she gave him the mental command to wait, staring pointedly into his red demon eyes. He closed his eyes and stretched out his senses, searching for whatever it was that had caused his companion to halt. It took a bit of doing, but he caught a faint glimmer of a soul, twisted and black, but still discernible, despite the carefully crafted cocoon around it. He opened his eyes and stared back into Hana's, conveying where he sensed the presence by moving his gaze ever so slightly to one side.

She nodded almost imperceptibly, then continued forward. "If she is indeed what you suspect her to be, it might be better if we let the hand play out as is, instead of forcing it," she admitted. The soul felt vaguely familiar somehow, a very twisted version of the Sohma's, mutilated almost beyond recognition. But, at the same time, it felt nothing like that at all. Perhaps an echo? "Do you wish to continue?"

Sebastian looked thoughtfully ahead of them. He felt that he'd pinpointed the location of their adversary, though he couldn't be perfectly sure. There was a lot of energy tied up in the intricate webbing, and that caused some difficulty. "Perhaps," and he looked at his pocket watch to check the time, "we had better retire for the moment. I may be needed elsewhere quite soon and it would not do to be absent should such be the case."

Hana nodded in agreement. Even though she did not feel a need for sleep, she knew that it would be better to be found in her own bedroom when her parents woke up, even if they often didn't bother to check, or even wonder, where she was. She owed that much to them, that, and it would give her time to think things through, to plan, and hopefully come up with something. "Shall we leave a calling card before we leave?"

Sebastian smiled in amusement. Judging by the fact they had an unsuspecting spy watching their current actions, chances were that they'd already somehow managed to trigger an alarm to the witch within, making it a bit less important to hide that they'd been there, though it would be a good idea to at least keep the human's soul signature shrouded as much as possible, at least for now. "I'll leave the appropriate greeting," he assured. "Close your eyes and protect yourself."

Hana acknowledged, drawing her spiritual energies towards her, wrapping them around her soul like an insulating blanket. Even with her eyes closed, and such protective measures taken, she could still feel the sudden chaotic intense energy the demon released, flaring up like a sudden wind spout turning into a miniature tornado with devastating effects to any in the area of several miles of their location. Any humans nearby suddenly covered their ears and fell to their knees as if in physical pain, which suddenly stopped as the butler assumed his more human form and gently touched Hana's hand to indicate that it was time to go.

Hana opened her eyes. "No point hiding now," she commented dryly. "Let's go. Before they decide to answer the door."

Tohru yawned hugely as she stretched. The night had not been anywhere long enough and she could already feel the effects of not having enough sleep. But she had things to take care of, guests to see to, and a myriad of other things to worry about. She managed to make her way to the kitchen without mishap and was in the act of putting some rice to steam when she noticed a shadow in the doorway. She gasped in surprised.

Ran Mau moved out of the shadows. "No fear, little sister," she admonished. "Only Ran Mau." She walked further into the kitchen, noting the young girl's activities. "Help?" She put her hands out to indicate she was willing to fill whatever need there was in preparing breakfast.

Tohru put a hand to her beating heart. "Sorry! You startled me!" She made an effort to control her breathing, then looked around to see what the Chinese woman could do to help out, indicating that she could slice the vegetables already laid out.

The lithe woman moved towards the cutting board, flipping the knife in her fingers like a master chef, before beginning to chop the vegetables like someone who had done nothing else in life. "Little sister sad," she observed. "Cat missing."

Tohru turned to her, almost dropping the bowl she'd been carrying. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and she ran towards the older woman, grabbing onto her thin frame, bowl safely set on the counter. She sobbed, explaining in broken words what had happened since the day that new transfer student had arrived, instinctively knowing that she had something to do with all of this, even though she had no idea how or why. The details all seemed important.

Ran Mau listened with good attention, offering a comforting embrace as the girl unburdened on her. She glanced occasionally towards the front room, noting that Lau was no longer on his futon, but was now leaning casually against the doorframe, much as she had earlier. She nodded towards the man, who, once the explanation had been given, slipped out of the room.

Tohru continued to sob quietly, letting out all of the pent up fear and frustration of feeling so helpless. "Mr. Sebastian and Ciel were trying to help, but then Ciel had the asthma attack and now I don't know what we'll do!"

Ran Mau patted her on the back. "Poor little sister. Poor kitty." Everything that the younger girl had told her fit perfectly into place with what she'd observed before coming over to this time period. The earl and his demon butler had to have been chasing after this girl who had suddenly appeared in this time, were still chasing her. And somehow, this unearthly visitor had to have come into contact with the cat boy and taken him, though she had no idea why. "We help," she said suddenly, firm in her declaration. After all, wasn't that what Lau was planning on doing?

Tohru dashed the tears from her eyes. "You will?" She looked up hopefully, not sure if she could believe the offer of help was being given.

Ran Mau knew this child had no idea about her and her lover's true talents, but that could be put aside for now. Any help was better than no help, and if they could track down the butler, they could coerce his help, though that one was less likely necessary. She nodded firmly. "Yes. We help."

Tohru gave her a big hug, squeezing tightly before letting go. "Thank you!" she said, with a hint of her usual smile.

Hatsuharu had felt antsy all night, like things were fast coming to some kind of head, and he didn't like it. Somehow, time was running out for them and they needed to find Kyo fast or it would be too late. He finished lacing up his combat boots and pulled on his leather gloves, his long white coat trailing behind him as he strode out of Kazuma's dojo.

The older man watched him go from behind a half open door, slight wrinkles showing on his face. "I hope you find him," he half said to himself, well aware of the boy's intentions. Something would happen today. He could feel it in his bones.

Tessa mused over the last few hours, reviewing the mental images shared with her through Kyo's eyes. She'd seen those two intruders before, she was sure, though she couldn't place them. Who were they? The girl's face was clouded, and the man's face was also obscured, though why, she didn't know. Surely they had not felt the presence of their observer and done something to cloud his senses. That wasn't possible. And yet….

The man was for sure a demon. She spat at that. There was no mistaking it. His "calling card" was unmistakable. And he was an old one at that, not one of those new, impatient types. No, he was calculated. Had he sensed her spy? No. It had to be that he'd sensed her presence and thought to send a warning. Perhaps this was his feeding ground. After all, why would a demon ally himself to a human like that, if that girl had been human. She had felt no hint of a contract between them, something she might have been able to use to her advantage later on.

But the mere fact that they knew the general vicinity of her hideout was more than unsettling. Who was that girl, anyway? Why could she not place her spiritual energy? It was maddening. She paced restlessly around the main room of her enclosure. The demon's manifestation could only be construed as a challenge, and as one often hunted and made sport by them, allowed to suffer but never be consumed, she was more than willing to take him up on the offer, with the added advantage of this new tool by her side.

She savagely grabbed for his mind, finding it silent, as it should be. But she could not be completely sure without the literal contact necessary to ensure her completely victory of him, mind, body, and soul.

Tessa cast aside the childish clothing of the school student she had prepared to portray once more, and slipped back into her green tinged black robes, fingers trailing green light as she moved towards her creature's cell. She thrust the door aside with a burst of energy, sending it into the wall, partially bent. "Wake up," she demanded as she paced the small room.

Kyo's limp body sat up from the hard bench where she'd left him, eyes open and staring blankly. Inside, he growled in frustration, the smallest vestige of his true self fighting to not sink into the inky blackness of the snake's caress. He could not let that happen, no matter what. He could not abandon hope; give up everything, knowing that if he did, he would be forced to hurt the people he loved.

Tessa prowled around him. "It would seem that our hand is being forced." She didn't expect a reply. There shouldn't be one to expect. "The events of this early morning have tipped the balance and we must act now or never." She stopped pacing and placed an almost gentle hand to cup his chin, fingers sliding across his cheek, tilting his head upwards so that she could stare into his eyes, the same green energy flowing between them as she made the direct connection that would soon not be necessary.

Kyo balked inside, knowing that if she looked too closely, too deeply, she'd find him. His time was running out, and he had yet to make so much as a dent against her binding spells, feeling weaker and weaker the longer he was trapped.

Tessa smiled, caressing his cheek as she looked deeply into his unflinching eyes, feeling the black snake as it tightened its hold on his soul, squeezing out all the light. "Yes! Yes! I can see it! It is all but complete! And that but a minor portion that surely won't last more than another hour."

She reached behind the boy's shoulders, fingers inching down to the mark of the cobra imprinted on his skin. Finding it, she pressed firmly with her fingers, eyes closing momentarily as she shot several needles of dark energy into the open mouth, feeling them course through the various twists of the snake's body, acting like reinforcing threads to seal the creature's essence with his own.

Kyo's soul tried not to scream as it was pricked by thousands of tiny needles so ice cold it felt like they were molten hot. His limited vision swirled dark red and he felt himself falling into the vortex. He couldn't help but let out a mental scream as he tried to find something, anything to hold onto.

Tessa's smile widened as she opened her eyes, pulling the boy into a standing position, one hand still on his back, now holding it firmly with the palm of her hand as she stared hungrily into his lifeless eyes, feeling the faintest echo of Kyo's inner screams with a cruel delight. She laughed, knowing her guess was correct, and that he would not last much longer. "Now, to find out who this girl is who was traveling with the demon. I somehow get the feeling that you know her." She laughed more menacingly as she delved into his memories.

Hana woke with a start, heart pounding, the echo of a scream rattling around in her mind. "No." She stared with shock. "No." She reached out with all of her senses, but couldn't find the voice again, Kyo's voice.

She quickly got out of bed and dressed, for once skipping breakfast in her haste as she headed out, towards the hospital. She didn't even need to send out any feelers to know that was where Sebastian would be, with his master. Not even bothering to call a cab, which surely would have taken less time, she ran for all she was worth, well aware that she usually pretended not to be able to manifest such exertions.

After an immeasurable amount of time, she'd broken down and used the public transportation services available to her, arriving at the hospital out of breath and slightly disheveled. She combed fingers through her hair before entering the building and heading to the appropriate room.

Lau Tau had not waited after hearing the general story of Kyo's disappearance, slipping out of Shigure's home to seek out the one person who would know more about what was going on than any other in present company, Sebastian. And, he knew he would find this man, this demon, at the hospital. Casting aside his usual daydreaming demeanor, he managed to find one of those cabs and dispelled the current passengers with an offer of a rare gem to the driver. They made it to the hospital in record time.