The stronghold's inner courtyard stank of sweat and piss and blood.

Beneath the sweltering sun, the hard-packed earth was baked like clay, but loose clouds of dust still puffed around Masaru's shoes as he stalked through the rows of puppets. Her chin tucked toward her chest, Kalanie followed in his wake.

She kept her expression carefully blank, hoping to convince an unobservant eye that she was as vacant and mindless as the puppets standing all around her, but in truth, whenever Masaru's attention focused elsewhere, she studied the courtyard. Tucked in the back of her mind, Hiei catalogued every facet she uncovered, half-formed thoughts flickering between them as he committed it all to memory.

For three days now, she had fought the fog, holding tight to her identity in the face of Masaru's careless commands. The detectives' surprise victory in Tourin had set the fortress on high alert, and Masaru had been too caught up in readying the gathered army for potential war to spare her undue attention.

The reprieve was much needed.

Not only had it given her a chance to fortify her mind against his compulsions, but it had also allowed her to adjust to Hiei's smoldering presence, to the way his thoughts and emotions danced at the edge of hers. He felt so strongly—anger, annoyance, frustration, all blazing together within him, always a moment away from bursting into scorching flame. It left her breathless, and if she weren't careful, if she forgot the line where she ended and he began, the unbridled pulse of his feelings could consume her, burning her up until nothing remained but ash.

–Hn. Not likely.–

What exactly he was protesting, she didn't try to work out.

Instead, as Masaru stopped beside a puppet and studied the demon's power readings, she snuck a surreptitious glance toward the courtyard's arched exit thirty yards to her left. Welded from gleaming steel, the arch stood at least twenty feet tall and wide enough across for five men to pass through at once.

A large exit, certainly, but not enough for the entirety of Taku's forces to move out at once. If the fortress were to come under attack, its defenders would hit a bottleneck beneath that arch.

–Well spotted.–

She gave no answer as she peeked back toward Masaru. He remained engrossed in the puppet's readouts, paying her no mind.

More staging ground than true courtyard, this enclosure seemed to serve as the gathering point for Taku's primary army. Here, his most trusted puppeteers—those like Masaru—had amassed their puppets over the weeks since her recapture, preparing for some great attack Kalanie had not yet unearthed in full.

Nor had she made sense of where the puppeteers were coming from. But she would. It was only a matter of time until Masaru revealed it to her. After all, just one day of mindfulness had been enough for her to realize he wasn't hiding his secrets from her.

It seemed he'd grown confident. When he'd first enslaved her, he'd guarded his secrets at every turn, but this time, he played no such games. After his victory at the shrine, he thought she was his. Forever.

It made him sloppy.

"Kal?"

"Yes."

Masaru tossed her one of his lazy smiles. Something about this morning had him in a decidedly cheerful mode.

It unnerved her.

"This brute here is one of our newest. Quite the find, isn't he?" He turned the energy reader's screen her way. On the display, a number flashed in bright lettering.

–Upper B class.– A growl accompanied the thought, sending an inescapable tremor down her spine.

His lips twisting sidewise, Masaru tutted softly. "Answer when you're spoken to, Kal."

The compulsion claimed her tongue. "He's impressive."

"Reckon you could beat him?"

"I wouldn't think so."

Masaru cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes as he appraised her from head to toe. The only clothes he provided her were flimsy, girlish dresses, and her exposed skin crawled as he stepped closer. He trailed a long finger down her bare forearm. "I know the detectives ruined you, but why no more iron, Kal?"

The command he'd given kept her talking, but she fought to keep the truth hidden, at least in part. "I don't need to wear it when I'm so thoroughly surrounded."

And she hadn't wanted it touching her.

That had been a choice—feeble and cowardly though it was.

Before Hiei had dragged her back from the darkness, she'd run from her iron as surely as she ran from him. Without steel coating her skin, feeding her power and granting her strength, her mind became a frail thing. Stripped of iron, it had become all the more simple to lose herself, to retreat into her deepest corners, never intending to return.

Then Hiei had come, and it had all changed. Yet even still, she avoided iron.

–Why?–

Because she didn't deserve it. Not anymore. Iron gave her joy. It completed her, made her whole. But as long as Nomi remained in their clutches, she didn't warrant the happiness iron brought with it.

–Stubborn.–

So what if she was?

Masaru was still studying her. Drumming his fingers against his chin, he mused, "Iron fits you. Never thought I'd say this, but I rather miss it." With a flick of his wrist, he gestured for her to follow him. As they climbed the stairs and stepped into the stronghold's cool halls, he added, "Take some iron. From the walls, the floor, I don't care. Just take it, and wear it as you used to."

A swell of panic rose in her chest, bringing with it the smothering fog, but heat blazed in her bones, steadying her as she trailed her right hand along the wall—Hiei at work, no doubt.

Beneath her touch, the wall's iron paneling turned molten. It flowed up her hand, encasing first her fingers then her wrist and continuing higher stiller. Unlike the gloves she'd worn for months to hide the Binds, this iron roved past her forearm and encircled her upper arm, coating her bicep in a flexible carapace. Instantly, her power murmured to life.

As she'd told Masaru, the steel built into every inch of the fortress had been enough to keep the worst of her body's need for iron at bay over the last weeks, but now that it was touching her once more, she recognized the emptiness that had echoed within her, crying out for iron she refused to give it.

Only the lingering traces of Hiei's assistance against the fog enabled her to bottle up the sob caught in her throat.

"Much better. With that iron, you look the part." Chuckling, Masaru extended an arm to her. "Come now. Stay on your best behavior. We've a meeting with Taku."

Her heart skipped.

Taku.

–Hn. I heard.–

She'd never met the demon up close. Her only contact with him were those blurry, half-forgotten feasts Masaru had dragged her to, when she had sat at the long tables and stared up at Nomi's tormenter, barely seeing him at all.

Masaru's arm through hers suddenly felt like a shackle. "I'm to accompany you?"

"He thinks he might have use for you."

For once, she was thankful for her groggy inability to connect with her own feelings while the Binds were at work. If not for the compulsions dampening her emotions, she'd never have kept her voice steady as she asked, "A use?"

He steered her into a corridor she'd never seen before then drew to a halt before the closed doors of an elevator. As they waited for the lift to arrive, he dipped his head toward hers. "You'll see, Kal. Oh so very soon."

Fear wracked through her, near painful in the intensity with which it turned her stomach, and not even a flare of Hiei's warmth was enough to fight it back.

The elevator dinged open.

"I hope you're ready, Kal. Greatness awaits."

The elevator deposited them in a carpeted hallway. Two quick left turns later, Masaru keyed a code into a sensor pad and watched the door before him slide into the wall.

Beyond waited a massive room, its elevated ceilings arching overhead. An entire wall was nothing but glass, overlooking the sprawl of the Woods of War. Somewhere out there, Hiei was hidden amongst the leaves, but somehow that knowledge didn't provide the comfort Kalanie imagined it was meant to.

–Steady. Watch everything. No panicking.–

Easy for him to say.

Banks of monitors ran along the wall to her right, all their screens displaying footage of the fortress's many corridors and rooms. A screen hung from the ceiling. On it, a map of Demon World was illuminated in golden light. Much like the one hung in Hiei's room at the shrine, dots marked encampments, though here it seemed black had been used for Taku's forces, green for the detectives'.

"You took too long, Masaru." Taku's voice boomed like thunder. The massive demon stood before the windows, staring out over the trees, but as Masaru guided Kalanie inside and the door whooshed closed, he turned.

At nearly seven feet tall, he dwarfed Kalanie easily, and his shoulders were broader than seemed proportionally possible, his frame thickly muscled, yet it wasn't brutish power that emanated from him. Rather he struck her as keenly intelligent—cunning and quick-witted.

"Sorry. I found a gem in our new puppets." Masaru swept a neat little bow, bending the slightest degree at the waist. The pressure of his arm forced Kalanie to dip in turn.

Taku's black gaze swept over her. "This is the one?"

"The very same."

Taku nodded, just once. A firm confirmation. "I see the Shell in her."

"The sibling resemblance is striking, isn't it?" Unwinding his arm from hers, Masaru pulled out a chair at a table set before the wall of monitors. As he settled into the seat, he smoothed a wrinkle from his sleeve and righted the watch he wore on his left wrist. Without waiting for Taku to answer his question, Masaru asked, "Are we on track?"

Taku took his time answering. "What I'm to tell you cannot leave this room."

"Of course." Masaru laced his hands atop the table. "Kal, you'll never speak a word of what you're about to hear."

More secrets. More compulsions ruling her tongue.

Except he'd miscalculated.

The low burn of Hiei's laughter echoing in her thoughts raised the hair on her arms.

"Understood," she said.

Taku strolled closer, circling her as he spoke. "Our next class of puppeteers will finish their training in two weeks. Lito swears this bunch could rival even yours in their ability. Once they're ready for the field, we can increase our host by three hundred." Taku stopped before her and seized her chin in one large hand. "But you know all this. It's your plan after all."

A half-smile tilted Masaru's lips. "So it is."

"You're sure this one's strong enough? She seems nothing but her brother's shadow."

"She'll be enough." Masaru tossed her a wink. "Remember, Taku, we don't need the Shell's full strength. Just a piece of it will be enough."

What the hell were they talking about?

She couldn't make sense of it. The pieces seemed there, but she couldn't find the way they fit together no matter how hard she tried.

–They're dancing around it. Patience.–

Hell, that was rich coming from him.

"Where was Lito teaching this crew?"

The question drew her attention back to the men, and as Taku vanquished his grip on her chin, she followed his gaze to the map displayed overhead. "Back where it all began. The Forest of Fools. We've kept the detectives distracted in the north. They've left the west of the woods untouched. Lito is there."

Masaru pursed his lips. "So they'll need how long to reach us? A week?"

Wordlessly, Taku inclined his head. His thick crop of black curls bobbed with the motion.

"Then we have a month. Two weeks for their final training. One for travel. And another to harness their puppets. Will it be ready?"

Taku's gaze cut to her. "I intend to see if finished within the fortnight. Which leaves us two weeks to confirm its compatibility."

The way he studied her set her heart racing, her pulse bleating in her veins like a terrified creature. What was the it they spoke of? Something to do with her. That much was clear. Why else compare her to Nomi? Why worry about her power?

But then…

No.

That couldn't be it.

Hiei's presence sharpened. –Stop obscuring your thoughts. What have you realized?–

No.

They couldn't possibly be planning what she thought they were suggesting. There was no need. They had Nomi. They had the Shell. They didn't need her.

Taku's eyes narrowed. "You're sure you have her controlled?"

In a heartbeat, Masaru rose, his slacks whispering as he paced to his commander's side. "Certainly. To be frank, she's broken a bit too thoroughly. Haven't you, Kal?" Not expecting an answer, he dismissed her with a disappointed shake of his head. "She always used to fight, struggling at every turn, but I haven't seen that spark in her for weeks."

"Good. That's how they should be."

"Oh, but it's far more fun when they try to fight."

Hiei's growing irritation coursed through her. –Ignore them. Tell me what you suspect. No more hiding it.–

Frowning at Masaru, Taku snapped a hand toward Kalanie. "Prove she's capable of what you say. I won't have this attempt botched, not over your obsession with her. We've one shot at this, Masaru. I'd hope I don't need to clarify what happens if you're recklessness induces our failure."

Any trace of amusement drained from Masaru's narrow features. His tongue flicked out to wet his lips, but before he spoke, he returned to his seat at the table and motioned for Taku to join him. Only once the demon had settled did Masaru return his attention to Kalanie.

"All right, Kal. Show us what you can do. Drain that iron on your arm."

No.

Please no.

But her energy didn't listen. As with the rest of her, it was trapped beneath the Sovereign Binds, ruled by Masaru, not by her.

No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't pull it back as her power surged through the iron wrapped around her bicep. Fresh energy gathered in her chest, bolstered by metal. Rust fissured across the steel until bit by bit it flaked to the floor, and all the while, her power levels rose, spiking higher and higher until she couldn't contain it any longer and it crackled across her skin.

As the last flakes of rust drifted to the floor, Masaru pointed to the iron panels beneath her feet. "Keep going."

She sank to her knees and splayed her hands against the steel. More energy leeched from the iron. It joined the net of power flickering around her, electrifying the air.

–What is this to prove? Kalanie, what is he hoping to achieve?–

She couldn't answer. The pulse of this newfound strength was too much. It flooded her thoughts with heady pleasure, overwhelming her senses with the sheer wealth of power she'd denied herself for weeks. She lived and died within the crush of all that energy.

In the end, only Masaru's voice was enough to pull her free.

"Seen enough?"

"For now."

A single laugh followed, cold as ice. Then, "Stop, Kal. No more."

She tore her hands from the floor panel. At her feet, a circle of rust extended in all directions, the iron corroded beneath her ravenous energy. The power she'd collected still writhed over her skin, so thick it warped and distorted her vision.

Her heart beat like a drum.

–You swore not to wall me out. Talk to me, damn it.–

But the world was spinning. This was too much power. She wasn't trained to handle it, and as she crumbled beneath it, the fog rushed back. It smothered her on all sides, dampening Hiei's ever-present fire.

He blazed back against it, hotter than she'd ever felt before. –Fight, Kalanie. This power is yours. You're capable of it. Masaru commanded you to draw on that iron, but he can't make your body do something impossible.–

True.

Her breath rattled past her lips, as ragged as her heartbeat, but she braced a steadying hand against the floor and pushed herself upright. Carefully, uncertain if she could even store it all, she called back the energy dancing across her skin. It slid within her, flooding hollow spaces she hadn't realized existed and purging away the lingering fog.

Hiei fell back before it, making space, and a thrum of satisfaction rippled through the tether that bound them together.

She was too flustered to make sense of what it meant.

All the while, Taku studied her, his elbow braced against the tabletop and his chin propped atop his knuckles. The dark void of his gaze sucked her in like a bottomless abyss. "She'll be enough for what we need. The detectives won't anticipate this."

Hiei's contentedness gave way to unease. –Tell me what they're planning.–

But she didn't need to.

Taku informed Hiei himself.

Seizing a remote from the table, the demon swapped the channel of a monitor that had been playing surveillance of the fortress. Gone was the corridor leading to Masaru's room. In its stead, they saw flickering footage of a laboratory. The place was sterile, nearly featureless but for a singular piece of equipment set in the room's center.

It was smaller than the one they'd put her in years ago, during the experiment's first test run. Smaller than the cage that held Nomi, leeching him of all his power. Smaller yet undeniably recognizable.

Another Project Shell.

Another machine meant to siphon energy. Combined with Taku's references to the detectives, it could mean only one thing.

He intended to destroy the barrier around the mountain shrine.

And Kalanie was his means to do it.

AN: Well, this is later than I intended, but today was amazing, and I'm so glad I participated. I hope you enjoy the chapter! Every time Kalanie thinks she has things under control, they tend to go awry, huh?

Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! You guys rock!