Kalanie woke to the door creaking open.
"Hiei?"
"Hn."
"Where are you going?"
The door clattered back shut. "To take your watch."
Rubbing at her bleary eyes, she sat up. "I'm more than capable of sentry duty, thank you very much."
He leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest. "Are you? And what if Masaru shows up? Will you be able to fight him on your own?"
"I can't leave the barrier." Surprise registered on Hiei's face, and she added, "Yes, I thought you all might have forgotten that. It doesn't matter. I don't plan to leave anyway. And as long as I can't pass through the shield, then he can't get to me. Simple."
Not true.
If he ordered her to come to him, she'd be compelled to. At any cost. She'd throw herself at the barrier until it killed her. Without hesitation.
But the false confidence steadied her. It was something to cling to, even when the world was crumbling around her.
"Liar."
"Hiei—"
In a blur, he crossed to the bed and seized her chin in one flaming hand. "I'm not an idiot. The buffoon's shield wall won't block his commands. He'd be able to control you however he pleased. Don't lie to me."
She tore free of his hold and surged to her feet. "Then what do you want from me, Hiei? You order me to break my chains, but you block me at every turn. You interfered in my fight with Kuwabara because you didn't trust me. Fine. I asked that of you. For days, I've been trying to be normal, to contribute to this damn resistance like everyone else, but I can feel you watching me. Every moment of every day. Always waiting for the moment when I'll fail."
Viciously, she slammed her palm against his chest. "And now he's back. He's here. For me—whether you bastards will believe it or not—and you want me to say his name, to break those stupid chains, but you won't let me try. Not in the ways that matter to me."
He grabbed her wrist, but she shook him off and stalked past him. "Back off, Hiei. I've had enough. You want someone to boss around? Good for fucking you, but it won't be me. I already have a master. I don't need another."
In the hallway, she nearly ran into Yukina.
"Good morning, Kalanie," the ice apparition said, a startled smile beginning to curl her lips, but the expression faltered, half-formed, as her focus slid to Kalanie's bedroom. "Oh, Hiei. I didn't realize… I mean, I didn't see you there."
Kalanie ignored the weight of Hiei's gaze boring between her shoulder blades. "Not your fault. He shouldn't be there to begin with." Raising her chin, she slipped past the small demon. "Have a nice day, Yukina."
"You have watch duty?" Yukina called after her. "You may want a coat. A storm's coming. Jin can sense it."
Kalanie raised a hand in acknowledgement, but didn't turn back. A storm?
Good.
Let it come.
The wind howled, whipping the rain into slanting lines. Far beyond the barrier's bubble, lightning forked through the sky, rolling booms of thunder echoing in its wake.
Kalanie stood in the midst of the gale, her hands balled into fists against the barrier's hard surface. The energy crackled and sparked against her, but the rain fell through it unimpeded, drenching her hair and soaking through her clothes.
She didn't care.
They were out there. The puppets. Roving. Tottering through the trees.
A taunt.
That much was clear as day.
She wanted to hunt them down, to kill them with her bare hands. It'd be a mercy—an end to their miserable, ruined lives. More than that, she wanted to find him.
It was time he died. It was time she was free of him at last.
He'd destroyed her life for six damn years. Even now, seemingly free, she was still ruled by him. She was as much a puppet dancing on his strings as the mindless beasts roaming the forest. And she was sick of it.
Because whatever had begun between her and Hiei… He didn't get to muck it up. She didn't understand it. Not yet. And maybe nothing would come of it. But if they could rescue Nomi, if there was some future after all this, then maybe Hiei stood on a path she wanted to explore. If that were the case, it was for her to decide, not him.
The way she'd lashed out at Hiei this morning—she wasn't supposed to be like that. She wasn't meant to be so broken that the only way she could feel things was if they sparked her heart with fear and terror and rage.
Snarling, she pounded a fist into the barrier. Iron sprouted from her knuckles, her glove fissuring into knife-sharp blades. Sparks flew as she lashed out, but they hissed out of existence instantly beneath the rain's onslaught.
"I know you're out there," she screamed. Her voice roared with the thunder, so loud the detectives might very well hear it back at the shrine. "I know you're there, asshole, so come and get me. I'm waiting. I've been waiting since Maz. Stop playing. If you want to win, show your damn face. Do you hear me, Masaru? Come here. I'm waiting!"
He didn't appear.
Not yet.
But he would. She knew he would.
"Chu will take your watch tonight."
"What?"
Movement in the kitchen stilled. At the sink, a bowl clattered from Botan's hands, and the ferry girl gasped into the sudden quiet.
Kurama set his dishes on the counter and turned to Kalanie, his expression perfectly placid. Unruffled. "I asked Chu to fill in for you tonight. It's already been settled."
Every damn eye in the room had fallen on her. She fought for calm. "I don't see why that's necessary. I'm more than capable—"
He held up a hand. "It's necessary because it's been two weeks since the first puppets appeared in the forest. I don't think you've slept properly since." He clasped her shoulder and squeezed gently. The smile on his lips claimed he was doing her a favor, but the steel in his eyes told a different story. It enraged her. "You'll serve us all better if you get some quality rest, so Chu will assume your shift."
"Kurama—"
"This isn't a discussion, Kalanie."
Her room was sweltering.
The walls felt as though they were closing in, threatening to crush her between them, and every circle she paced seemed smaller, shrinking and shrinking until she might as well have been spinning in place. Anger flickered like a flame within her, a torch that wouldn't go out.
He still hadn't come, and she was unraveling at the seams, falling apart quicker than she could put her pieces back together.
It was as though some fanatical god had set a countdown on her future. She could hear it ticking away, every beat of her heart counting down the seconds until he stalked back into her life, but the god hadn't told her when he'd set his timer for. Today? Tomorrow? A month from now? A year?
She couldn't live like this. No one could. She was losing control—
Her door cracked open.
Hiei stood in the gap.
"What?" she growled. Her anger wasn't meant for him, but now that he'd appeared, all she could think was how much she hated the way he toyed with her. Condemning her for her Binds. Touching her with an intimacy she'd never expect from him. Swearing his false promises. Baffling her at every turn. "Come to control me?"
He remained in the doorway. Down the hallway, the others still milled about in the kitchen. The chatter of their voices drifted to her, too soft to be intelligible.
"Don't," Hiei said, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"Don't what?"
"Make me the enemy."
She scoffed. "I know who my enemies are. Him. The people holding my brother. The puppeteers. Trust me, you don't make the list."
His lips parted, though whether he'd intended to argue or insult her or something else entirely, she would never know, because a sudden flare of Chu's aura froze him where he stood. The demon's energy blazed like a beacon, hitting her like a physical thing despite emanating from the opposite end of the barrier's dome.
The signal.
For intruders.
Without a word, Hiei darted to her window, threw it open, and leapt into the gathering night. She followed half a step behind, trailing him as he sprinted across the compound, darting into the woods and cutting a path toward Chu.
The others weren't far. They closed on all sides. The rest of the detectives streaking out of the shrine. Touya and Rinku running from the east, returning from a trip into the forest to gather fresh herbs Genkai needed for medicine. Shishiwakamaru bolting in from a night spent answering questions in the tent camp.
They reached Chu in seconds.
He'd gone beyond the barrier. Puppets besieged him from all sides, throwing themselves against his might without a care for the ease with which he hurled them aside. His energy billowed around him, infused into every twisting kick and bone-shattering punch.
"Oy, Hiei, sheila, about time you showed up. Get out here and help a man fight—"
But Kalanie stopped listening. Her blood ran cold. Panic surged into her throat, so violently the dinner she'd eaten not an hour before nearly came back up.
No.
Not now.
Not like this.
She stumbled backward even as Hiei drew his katana and leapt into the fray, the blade an arcing silver blur. At her back, Yusuke skid to a halt. The thwack of flesh on flesh echoed in her ears as he pounded a fist into an open palm. "About damn time these bastards showed their faces. Let's do this!"
In a rush, they streamed past her, Yusuke's fists gleaming with energy, Kuwabara's spirit sword erupting in his hands, Kurama's rose whip unfurling. Combined with Chu and Hiei, they formed a veritable army—an unstoppable force—but they'd focused on the wrong enemy.
The wrong threat.
The puppets instead of him.
When he called to her, the old fog rose in a heartbeat, muddying her thoughts, sliding into place so thoroughly she wondered if it had ever left at all.
"Knife to your throat, Kal."
Her right hand rose, her iron glove coalescing into a dagger. It settled beneath her chin, directly over the drumming beat of her pulse.
She didn't resist it.
Some distant, pitiful part of her wanted to. It bucked against the insidious tendrils that seized her muscles, clawing and fighting, desperate to stay in control, but the Binds batted its efforts aside as if they were nothing.
Her left glove melted from her hand, dripping into the rotting leaves beneath her boots. Across her skin, the Sovereign Binds seemed somehow blacker than they had in months. Their darkness was so complete, so all encompassing, black as the abyss that was drawing her in, smothering her within its void.
"Say hello, Kal."
"Hello."
He stood beyond the edge of the fight, leaning against the barrier, watching her through its shimmering surface. As always, he was dressed as if for an elegant party. Charcoal slacks. A collared shirt in imperial purple. His brown hair was neatly tousled, gelled so finely into place one might not even realize gel had been used at all, but his face itself was plain. Narrow jaw. Overly sharp nose. Muddy irises.
He was no one important.
And yet, he was everything.
Masaru.
"Stop fighting!"
The barked command rolled through the trees. Meant not for her, but for the puppets falling before the detectives like dominoes. As one, they went still.
It took a moment for reality to register with her allies. Yusuke struck another blow, knocking a puppet to its knees, but without so much as a grunt of pain, the demon rose and stood at ease, staring at the half-breed with unseeing eyes. "The hell?" Yusuke muttered, his hands falling to his sides.
One by one, the others faltered, too.
Kuwabara spotted Masaru first. He jabbed at finger toward him. "Puppeteer!"
It was Hiei who noticed her, still as a statue, the knife pressed to her jugular. His energy flared, a black shroud crackling across his arms. "Run, Kalanie!"
With a soft grin, Masaru shook his head. "Ah, I don't think so, Kal. Stay put."
She didn't move.
Yusuke crackled his knuckles. "So this is the asshole, huh? You're about to be a dead man, you bastard!"
"I don't believe I am. Kal, if any of them so much as take a step, kill yourself." His focus shifted to Kurama as the fox slipped a hand into his hair. Masaru rolled his eyes. "Pardon me, an amendment. If they make any attempt to attack me, even if they do so without moving, kill yourself. Immediately."
Yusuke hesitated. When he spoke, it was more question than declaration. "She'd never kill herself."
Masaru's chuckles tumbled through the silent clearing. "Would you like to test that theory?"
No. Don't test it.
Don't.
They didn't. Not Yusuke or Kuwabara, standing back-to-back in a knot of puppets. Not Hiei, crouched in the branches of a tree. Not Kurama or Chu. Not Jin or Touya, still within the barrier's arc.
Thank you.
But she couldn't say the words.
The fog was enveloping her, dulling her thoughts, smothering her emotions.
The knife…
Why had she put a knife to her throat? Why couldn't she move it? Why—
"Kalanie, don't listen to him!" Kuwabara's spirit sword flickered out. He shifted, preparing to walk, to cross the barrier and come for her.
The dagger sliced her skin. Blood ran hot and sticky down her throat.
"Stop, Kuwabara," Kurama warned. "Don't move."
The human froze.
He was upset. She could see it—the panic pinching around his eyes, the rapid rise and fall of his chest—but she couldn't work out why. Not properly.
"Come here."
She went. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath her boots as she ducked a branch and crossed to the barrier. There she halted, a mere foot from him.
"Through the barrier, Kal. Come on now."
"I can't."
He titled his head, a bemused smile lighting his features. Tossing her a wink, he turned to the detectives. "Have you been keeping her trapped here? Rather cruel of you, don't you think? Demons aren't meant to be caged. That's why the Fall happened to begin with."
"Listen, asshole," Yusuke said, "whatever game you're playing needs to stop. She's not going with you. If you run real fast, maybe you'll get away, but I'd get running if I were you. You'll need the head start. Hiei looks like he's planning to cut off your head."
Hiei.
The fire demon's entire body seethed beneath a layer of energy. It licked across his skin like black fire, and where it touched the bark under his feet, the tree smoldered. His Jagan glowed purple on his forehead.
Don't use it, Hiei. Not on him.
Please.
"You really are the violent brute they say you are, hmm?" Masaru mused. Sighing softly, he straightened and rapped a knuckle against the barrier. "Right then, let her through this. Wouldn't want her to hurt herself trying, would you?"
"Not happening."
Masaru's jaw tightened. His smile dimmed. "Annoying lot, aren't they, Kal? We'll give them a moment to think it through, yeah? And catch up in the meantime."
She didn't answer.
He trailed a finger down the shield as if tracing the curve of her cheek. "I missed you, Kal. You missed me, too."
"I did."
"Then you won't leave me again."
"No."
"Smile, Kal." Not even looking at her, he smoothed a crease out of his sleeve. "You've never been happier."
Her lips curled of their own accord as a bubbling joy sparked in her veins. It brought a laugh tumbling from her mouth, though why she was happy escaped her, dancing away on an unknowable wind.
A flaming aura seared across her consciousness, so unrelenting it knocked her breath away. For a moment, the fog faded. Her smile faltered.
Not this easily.
She clawed free of her muddled thoughts, fighting toward the surface, struggling to come up for a breath of air. Anger broke through the veil of happiness.
Nomi. Masaru would know where they'd moved him. He'd know why Nomi hadn't been on the Plains of Peril. He had answers, and even if she couldn't escape him, she could pry those answers from him. Give them to the detectives.
For their sakes.
But more than that, for Nomi's.
"Where is he, Masaru?"
The demon's brow creased. "Come again?"
"Where is he? What did they do to him?"
"Who, Kal? I'd love to help you, but I'm afraid I'll need a name. Some specifics."
"You know who."
He rubbed his chin and leaned in close, all but pressing his forehead to the energy that divided them. "Do I?"
"My brother. The Shell. Where is he?" She slammed her free hand against the barrier. If not for its protection, she might have shattered his nose. "If you've killed him—"
"Now, don't be illogical. Of course, we haven't killed him. We need him. But I feared little Mazou had heard of our plans, so we moved up the time of his transfer. You see, we'd stored some of his power, like a backup generator of sorts. He was miles from the Plains of Peril when the barrier rose, though your friends here never could have known that. But he's safe. Of course, he's safe." With a self-satisfied bob of his head, he snapped his fingers at the detectives. "All right, let her out. Now. I'm growing bored."
"Do you have a hearing problem?" Yusuke asked, his fists white-knuckled with tension. "I said no."
"Do it or I tell Kal to kill herself."
"Not this again. Don't listen to him, Kalanie. Fight it off. We just need a second and he'll be dead. You'll be free in no time—"
"Urameshi, stop." She tracked the voice to Kuwabara. He stared back at her, his eyes bleak, his cheeks drained of color. "He told her immediately. She doesn't get to wait. Don't you see that? You're not blind. She'd holding a knife to her own throat. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what does."
"Ah, Kazuma Kuwabara. The hero of humanity." Masaru pursed his lips. "Should have known you'd be the one to reason with. You've a heart of gold—or so all the human slaves are always saying. You know, originally, I thought you'd all be eager to give her up. I imagined you'd realize Kal is more trouble than she's worth. But I've been watching you all, and I see she's wormed her way in here. Odd, that." He cast her a wry smile, his eyes flashing with a mirth that turned her stomach. "But no matter. You control this barrier, so let her through."
"No way!" Yusuke ordered. "No fucking way."
In the branch above him, Hiei snarled, his energy whipping into a vortex, but it was Kurama who said, "Don't listen, Kuwabara. We can work this out. With time—"
She recognized the moment Masaru's patience snapped. The tether that held his temper in check split like a frayed rope, and he flicked his wrist at the puppet Yusuke had punched last. "You there, slit your throat."
The demon's eyes widened. Fear flashed across his face in the splintered moment before he raked a claw across his jugular. Blood burst forth in a torrent. A heartbeat later, the puppet crumpled and went still.
"Now, unless you want Kal to suffer the same fate, let her through this idiotic barrier. I won't ask again."
Kalanie hardly dared breathe.
When no one moved, Masaru swore. "Tell him to let you through."
"Kuwabara, please," she whispered. Not because of him. But because of Nomi. Because he was still out there, and he needed her. If she died here, who would save him? Who would fight for him?
Fear twisted within her as she raised her hand, her fingers curled in, and angled it toward Kuwabara, pressing it to the barrier. She prayed he understood—that he recognized the offered fist for what it was.
A fist bump. A promise that this was the right thing.
And a request to trust her. One more time.
"Sorry, guys," Kuwabara murmured, and as Yusuke began to curse, he added, "I've got to."
In the wake of his words, her hand passed through the shield, and a moment later, she stepped beyond it. Then he was there, chuckling, pressing a long finger beneath her chin.
"The knife is awfully macabre. Soon as we're out of here, you'll need to drop it. Human World iron is so weak. But don't worry, I've got Demon World steel waiting for you."
She gritted her teeth. He was so close. One extension of her arm, one flick of her wrist, and she could bury the knife in his heart, but compulsions held her hand. The first ones he'd ever instilled in her. No harming him. Not in any capacity.
Still, she wouldn't go with him without a fight.
If she were quick, she might be able to act before the fog returned. She needed to lull him into complacency, just as the day she'd escaped.
"My arm is tired."
He snorted derisively. "Don't lie."
Her jaw clicked shut on her next words. An unsteady breath caught in her lungs. Instantly, the fog descended. Thoughts of resistance slipped away.
"All right, detectives, I need one more thing from you. Mazou. Where is she?"
"Not going to happen—"
"Perhaps it's you who's hard of hearing, Yusuke." Frowning, Masaru leveled his gaze on Kuwabara. "You've made the right choice once now. Do it again. Give me Mazou."
Kuwabara glared. "How? I'm not allowed to move, remember?"
Masaru threw back his head and laughed. The sound pealed into the trees, echoing back from the forest canopy. "Such wit. Right you are though. Send him instead." Kalanie didn't turn to track his finger, but when Kuwabara nodded, she felt Jin's energy flit away.
Minutes passed. No one spoke. The only disturbance in the stillness came from Masaru's foot, tapping an inane beat against a tree root.
When Jin returned, Mazou was with him.
No.
No.
Not her, too.
Beaming, Masaru clapped his hands. "I hope I don't need to tell you what happens if she can't get through your foolish barrier."
"No."
"Good. Come on then, Mazou. Get over here."
The demon's cheeks were ashen with terror, but she did as bidden, passing through the shield without a hitch. Still grinning, Masaru looped an arm through Kalanie's, then stuck out a hand for Mazou to hold.
Through the muddled haze, Kalanie felt Hiei. His tree had caught true fire now, but he paid the licking flames no mind, all his focus honed on her. She found his gaze—tried to call out to him. Tried to say she was sorry. Because of the chains. Or the collar? Or... something.
"Mazou, teleport us home."
His voice rang in her ears as the world flickered. The forest disappeared. Then returned. And again. It was fading, falling away, replaced with austere walls, bright lights. A fortress.
She caught one last glimpse of them, the heroes she'd thought might save her. They'd broken ranks, rushing through the trees. Hiei was a blur of black, a flash of red eyes, a streaking silver blade.
Then he was gone.
Too late.
AN: Don't kill me!
This chapter was planned from the very beginning. The moment Kalanie stepped into my head, so did this scene. I've never written a story as dark as Kalanie's, where at every turn the shadows just seem to grow darker. It's proven rather fun and all too addicting. But I hope it's not too dark to be enjoyable!
We got some answers here. Like why the barrier fell even though Nomi wasn't still present at the Plains of Peril. Also, I forgot to mention it last chapter, but now we know why Kalanie hates being called Kal—it's Masaru's petname for her.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys are a delight!