InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Devil May Care ❯ The Trip Home ( Chapter 11 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Ssinurn Solen 
“I will decide when I ask for her hand. But, thank you for the advice. And here is a bit for you. Stay away from Compte Blackheart D'Angers. I know both of you have a past, but he is not trustworthy."
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.15.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.6K | Visits: 374 | Status: Completed
“I will decide when I ask for her hand. But, thank you for the advice. And here is a bit for you. Stay away from Compte Blackheart D'Angers. I know both of you have a past, but he is not trustworthy."
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Hentai | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 12.15.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 8.6K | Visits: 374 | Status: Completed
The Trip Home
Lady Johanna and her men walked down a winding path from the cliffs down to the beach and up again to a small island on the other side. On the island were the ruins of an ancient monastery.
It was one of the safest places to spirit away criminals, because the island could only be reached at low tide. The currents around the island prevented invasion of the tiny island by land, yet the side of the island that faced the English Channel was easily accessible by ships at high tide.
The monks who lived at the monastery found that to be a weakness when Norman raiders in their dragon ships plundered the abbey in the late 900's.
St. Stephan's isle was one of many such escape spots along the Normandy coast that Johanna, Monty and Monty's cousin, Percy had used in the past.
Now that the Bastille had fallen and the uprising was gaining momentum, the tiny island escape routes were more important.
Once their inspection of the grounds was through, Johanna bid Monty and the rest goodbye. "I am off to rescue a more worthy nobleman." Johanna said in disgust as she and Dudley prepared to depart with the carriage. "Be sure to wait for Percy. It was for him and his party that this arrangement was originally intended."
"Thank you, John."
Johanna softened slightly as she looked at her friend. "You are welcome, Monty. Percy should be here soon. I hope before the tide starts coming in too much. The Winged Pharaoh is already on it's way. I saw it's distinctive prow through my spyglass. It will dock in the morning when the tide is at it's highest. May your sword be swift and your journey light."
"Yours as well, Lady John."
Johanna hopped in the driver's seat beside Dudley and sped off.
"Damn it Percy! What is taking him so long?" Inuyasha scowled as he paced back and forth on the cliff on St. Stephan's isle. "If he takes too long, he will never make it across before the water is too deep!"
"Stop that, Inuyasha. You are making Nintashiro and your wife nervous."
"Why aren't you kissing up to my disgusting brother?"
"He is the only one who is asleep. The lack of sleep during his torture made him very weary. Truth be told, I seriously doubt he could lift his sword right now."
"I was not talking about sparring with him."
"Neither was I, Inuyasha."
"Oh." Inuyasha turned red, realizing, in his anger, he had mistook the reference.
"Now quit pacing, Kagome is having a hard enough time getting that boy to sleep. I can't sleep either with your stomping, Sesshomaru's snoring, Nintashiro's chattering and Kagome's shushing. How in the hell will I be able to take the next watch if I don't get any sleep?"
Inuyasha stopped for a moment and stared at Monty. "You would not seriously consider taking Sesshomaru as a lover would you? After all, you are cousins."
"The only relation to Sesshomaru I have is through you and that is several times removed. Alexander Barstow was related to your mother, not his."
"You did not answer my question."
"Now don't get your hackles up with me. If, and that is a big if, I take him as a lover is my business, not yours. Don't tell me you disapprove of my dalliances with married men now? You always though it humorous before. Especially since I seek no favors other than an occasional roll in the hay and they seek nothing more than ways to make their wives more wanton in bed."
"This is different and you know it. He took your virginity and left you alone and with child. You still have feelings for him, and making him your lover will not make them go away."
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Still it is my decision, not yours."
"Fine then, get in the ruins and try to get some of your precious sleep. "
Monty turned on her heel and stomped to the pallet that she laid out to sleep on. She watched Inuyasha pace some more before groaning and rolling over.
"Psst, Monty, are you asleep?"
Monty sighed, "No, Kagome, I am not."
"Can you talk to Ninta and try and persuade him to go to sleep? I don't have as much experience with ships as you do and he seems to be afraid of them. When I ask him why he just fusses and gets angry."
"Fine, as long as you go talk to that pig-headed husband of yours. His stomping and grumbling is echoing through the walls. Plus, he can not keep mind his own business when it is called for. Tell him that I said that I wanted you to tell him about when he first met Shazia or Choto-Bai. That will remind him to quit sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."
"I did not mean to offend you."
"No, Kagome, you didn't. I am just extremely sleepy and I need to be alert for next watch."
"I will take part of the watch for you if you can get Ninta asleep."
"Inuyasha will be furious."
"He is furious already over this whole trip. Besides, tide will be high soon, and you said yourself I am the inheritor of Robin Hood's bowmanship. Bows are loaded quicker than pistols. distance weapons are best when the tide comes in."
Monty gave a slight laugh "So true, so true. Go on ahead then. I will talk to Nintashiro."
"Kagome, are out here to lecture me now?"
"No. I just want to see your shining face in the moonlight."
"Did you get the brat asleep?"
"No. Poor thing is deathly afraid of ships. I hoped Monty could soothe him, seeing as she has traveled most of her life."
"Geez, and who will take the watch when she is snoring louder than Sesshomaru?"
"I will." Kagome raised her bow and arrows. "The tide will be up, and there is no one on the island but us. I can shoot this faster than pistol. And, with the steel tipped arrows that Lady John gave me, they are just as deadly as a lead ball, maybe more so."
"Well fine. Go rest. Just don't let Monty talk you into any more of her hair-brained ideas. I expect you to wear pretty dresses when we get home."
"I will. I see a carriage headed toward the cliffs."
"About bloody time. I hope he has a skiff. The water is too high to walk across now."
"What about the current?"
"It is not as bad at lower tides, but it is difficult to anchor a small boat. Go wake my stupid brother. I may need an extra pair of hands."
"Inuyasha!"
"I mean, another pair of hands, besides yours. I need you here too. I may need those bowmanship skills of yours to toss them a line."
& nbsp; "Are w.. we going to go on a ship?" Nintashiro stuttered nervously to Monty as they sat in the ruins of the old abbey and waited.
"Yes, we are going to England. That is where I live, at least most of the time. I also have property in Scotland, near Edinburgh. That is where some of your new master's estates are as well."
"I don't like ships or boats. They give me nightmares."
"Do you mean you get seasick?"
"No, I just have this nightmare. I am on a boat with a kind old man who says he is going to take me home with him. Then there is lots of screaming and fire. The old man grabed me and puts me into a longboat with some other people I don't know. He tells me to not worry that the people will keep me safe, no matter what. He told me that he loved me. I think he must have been a relative, because he was the one who fetched me when my mother died."
"Don't worry, Ninta. I will stay by you and not let anything happen to you. The ship that is coming to get us is one of the best on the waters. No pirate would dare try to burn his boat."
"Do you think it was pirates that burned the old man's boat?"
"Most likely."
"I would like to visit your estates. Especially those in Scotland. The ladies in the orphanage said that they think that is where I was from. I had an accent back then."
"I see. You would love Dalkeith Castle then. It is very beautiful."
Ninta wrinkled his brow and shook his head.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. That nam Dal, Dal"
"Dalkeith?"
"Yea. I have heard that name before. I just saw a rolling green hill and a cliff along the sea and a big fountain with a fish on top and lots of roses."
Monty furrowed her brow and blinked a couple of times. Most people knew of Castle Dalkeith On-the-Sea, but few knew of the large fountain within the inner gardens.
Monty's father had restored the fountain, years earlier when the King gave Monty's mother back her ancestral lands.
The most distinguishing feature was that in the center of the top of the fountain was a leaping dolphin.
The fountain could not be seen from outside the garden walls, or from around the myriad of tall rosebushes, sometimes called rose trees because of their tree-like trunks, that formed a maze in the gardens.
No one who had not been permitted within the castle grounds could see the rose trees or the fountain.
"Get some sleep. The ship can not dock until high tide, and that will some time yet."
"Are people still chasing us?"
"I hope not. See, no one can reach this island when high tide is up, that won't be until early morning. That is why these ruins are so safe. They are easy to defend. Duke Inuyasha has this watch. I have the next. So if you do not sleep, I can not watch very well."
"Alright."
Ninta lie down next to Sesshomaru and slowly drifted to sleep.
Monty tried to sleep, but her mind would not let her. She could not keep her heard from racing. "The boy was at Dalkeith."
"Hallo!" Percy yelled from the cliff and waved a lantern to signal those on the island.
He saw Inuyasha wave back a signal.
"Alright men, get the boat off the top and into the water. Don't dawdle. It is your heads as well as mine that Robepierre is after. Step lively."
Two men worked to get the small boat off of the top of the carriage while a young woman and a young girl watched. They used ropes to lower the small boat onto the water.
The men on the carriage held onto the mooring lines and a rope ladder as Percy and his disheveled group climbed down as swiftly as they could into the boat. Percy dropped the anchor in order to keep the small boat from being swept away.
Percy made a signal to Inuyasha as he pulled a crossbow out from under one of the seat-planks of the boat.
Percy signaled for his men to release one of the mooring lines. He quickly caught it and tied it to the bolt of the crossbow.
Percy tried to aim, but the constant motion of the skiff in the incoming tide made it difficult.
He finally let loose the bolt. It landed squarely near the edge of the cliff on St Stephan's Isle.
Percy and his people let loose a sigh of relief as they saw the two men grab onto the rope and tie it securely to a mooring ring on the island.
Percy turned the crank that cocked the crossbow and loaded it again. He signaled for the other mooring line from his men.
That bolt also landed successfully. Percy tossed the crossbow back under the seat.
"Alright chaps, time to start rowing. My fellows can not tow us in on their own. The crank wench turned to dust a long time ago."
The men in the boat rowed as best they could as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru pulled on the mooring lines.
"Hang on tight." Percy shouted to his passengers as he pulled the anchor and tossed it onto the path that lead to the top of the island cliff.
The anchor caught on a large boulder securely.
"Now you two row while me and my fellows pull us to the shore. The path is wider on the island side. We will be able to walk to the top. Now row!"
The small boat bobbed and weaved as it was finally pulled to shore.
"We are ashore!" Percy yelled as the last of the boat's occupants got out. He untied the mooring lines. "Now chaps, we need to get the boat to the top. Grab it while I release the anchor from the rocks."
The two noblemen grumbled, but did as Percy had asked.
"Inuyasha! Now this is a surprise!" Percy embraced his cousin. "Oh my, what did you do to your fabulous hair?"
"I am in disguise of course."
"Of course, sorry chap. " Percy said as he straightened his soaking wet cravat. Percy's eyes went straight to Kagome. "Ah I see Monty has a new acolyte. Sir Percival Blakeney, Baronet, at your service." He reached out and kissed Kagome's hand.
"Kagome Drake, Duchess of Wyvern."
"Zounds! Inuyasha! How dare you let dear Monty drag your new wife into our little games?"
"It was Kagome's idea. She is as stubborn as Monty."
"Well, we will have to find you a male sounding nickname as well. How about Cam?"
"Not bloody likely."
"Inuyasha, my dearest." Kagome purred, "Where is your sense of adventure?"
"It left right before this trip." Inuyasha growled.
"Zounds, Inuyasha. I see I have put you in a terribly foul mood."
"It is not you, Percy."
"Oh, who then?"
"The piece of offal Monty and I were forced to rescue."
"I see, the King has played one of his not so funny jokes. Well The Viscount Delacois and his family seem to be pleased to see your guest. He looks familiar. Have I met him?"
"No. You haven't Percy. It is my half brother, ."
"The Compte Blackheart! Why in the hell would His Majesty want to save that filthy dog?"
"Ask Monty. Come on Kagome. We should Wake Monty for her watch."
"I will go check on our ship's progress to this little island." Percy shot around the side of the ruins, not wanting another argument.
"He is a bit of a fop."
"It is an act. Lady John trained both him and Monty in the game of espionage. He is one of the best. He can be serious when he wants to be. He is just angry. He acts foppish when he tries to control his violent temper."
"Is it worse than yours?"
"Percy's temper makes mine look like a child's tantrum."
"Oh God! I hope Monty can keep her wits when he finds out."
"I hope Dhamendra has his healing salves ready. Sesshomaru, Monty, or both of them are going to need them when Percy finishes with those two."
"Enough. Lets find a secluded corner. It seems like forever since we made love."
The Winged Pharaoh docked lazily alongside St Stephan's Isle.
The captain ran into Monty's arms as soon as she boarded the ship. "My dear! Now this is a sight for sore eyes! How long has it been. A year?"
"At least, Robbie. How have you been?"
"Quite well. I hope you don't mind. My current cargo needs to get to Edinburgh. We will be making port there."
Sesshomaru looked at the exchange by the captain and clenched his fists. Over the years, Sesshomaru got bitterly jealous when he chanced to see Monty at a social event in the company of another man.
Sesshomaru looked at Nintashiro's sleeping face as he carried him aboard the ship. "She is nothing but a wanton now. I have no reason to be jealous."
Nintashiro stirred slightly as Sesshomaru carried him down into the hold and placed the boy onto the bed in his tiny cabin. He smiled slightly as he ran his fingers through the boy's soft white hair. "My sons have Rin's dark hair. I wish I had a son that resembled me more."
"Sesshomaru, get up here. I need to introduce everyone to the captain before we get underway!" Monty shouted down the hallway in the hold.
"I will be right back Nintashiro. Go ahead and sleep."
"Ah , there you are. Everyone, this is Robert Campbell, The Earl of Argyle. Since he is forced to go past London and stop in Edinburgh, he has invited us all to stay at his town residence for a week. He has quite a collection of Egyptian items well worth a peruse. Afterwards, I invite all who have not yet found transportation to their destinations to stay at Dalkeith for as long as you need to stay.
"Oh thank you so much, Baroness, " Countess Delecois grabbed Monty's hands, "My husband, brother and my child had nowhere to go in England as of yet. Everything happened so suddenly."
"There, there. Go below and find your cabin. Everything will be alright now."
"There are not gonna be any pirates are there?" The little girl squealed in fright.
"No, child. No pirate would dare. You go with your mother and rest."
"Ah, Monty, there you are. I must tell you of my current paramour, Marguerite St. Just. She is the most fabulous actress and beauty that there ever was to behold!"
"I am certain she is Percy, but have you the strength to court her and keep our faith a secret?"
"I am certain that she has the tenacity to join us. She sees the way this revolution hurts more than just the bourgeoisie."
"Then I encourage her membership. For your sake, Percy, do not keep it a secret for overlong to her. It can be very dangerous, being that she is common, for her to let things slip without meaning to."
"I will decide when I ask for her hand. But, thank you for the advice. And here is a bit for you. Stay away from Compte Blackheart D'Angers. I know both of you have a past, but he is not trustworthy. Monty, he played both sides of the fence. He paid off Louis' men as well as men known to work for Robepierre. Everyone was supposed to turn a blind eye to him. If it were not for some personal matter, his estates would still be intact. Remember that. He will betray you again, cousin."
"I will think on what you say, Percy, but you know how I am about following advice."
"Yes, quite."
In Edinburgh, both Monty and Robert were glad that the Viscount and his family had found other accommodations early among their stay.
The little girl, Georgette, teased and tortured Nintashiro endlessly. The Viscount was always quick to blame the boy for his daughter's distress. He did not understand that his title meant nothing anymore without the funds to back him.
"I am afraid it is this way every time Monty. They do not know what it is to be destitute. They don't know the meaning of land rich and money poor. That is why so many British noblemen have become merchants."
"Quite so. I am glad they are not accompanying us to Dalkeith. Percy had gone to his estates. I only have to deal with Sesshomaru."
"I see. He and his brother have never gotten along. He has his own estates in England, why did he just not go home?"
"It is because I insisted taking Nintashiro with me. I think he is the son of one of my servants. I am hoping to find his family. Although, getting him away from Sesshomaru will be a chore. He has decided to hire the boy as his new valet."
"And the boy has no objections?"
"He worships Sesshomaru. I think if Sesshomaru told him to jump into hells pits, the boy would smile as he did it."
"I remember a time when you would have done the same. You two were the talk of Paris and London during your courtship."
"True Robbie. But, I learned the hard way just how he was."
"And yet, you still love him."
"Unfortunately yes. The black-hearted devil still holds my soul. But his reason for visiting Dalkeith is just to keep Nintashiro from running off. that is all."
"I hope you know what you are getting yourself into this time. I can't help you out this time."
Inuyasha howled at the hairdresser as soon as he got a look at his newly cleaned hair. The black dye was gone, but his hair had lost it's sheen.
The color was more a dull gray rather than the lustrous silver it had been.
"Kagome! Stop your giggling!"
"If you will let her put the oil in it and put it in a turban as she suggested, she will be able to try and get the color back to normal in the morning."
"I will not walk around like one of Monty's bloody servants."
"She has no servants here, Inuyasha. Besides, you can cover it with a wig."
"I will not wear a wig to the damned dinner that Campbell has planned for that spoiled viscount and his family. If I had not caught the chit, she would have made off with your engagement ring."
"Georgette only thought it was pretty."
"Georgette has the fingers of a little thief. No doubt a talent learned from her uncle and mother. Delecois' brother-in-law tried to pinch my watch. The Viscount has no idea what kind of family he married into."
"I will be more careful with my things."
"You did remember to lock our room and take the key."
"Yes I did. Actually, Robert suggested it. He is only holding this dinner to make sure the Countess' cousins will take her in. You don't want them at Dalkeith, do you?"
"There is that."
"Your Grace, if you prefer, I can use a thicker oil and wash your hair again sooner. It does have an awful scent however."
"Is there anything you can cover the bad scent with when you wash it again, Janine?"
"Yes, but I will have to go to the shops to get it. The sandalwood soap does very well, but the earl does not have any here."
"Very well. Perhaps the Duchess will join you. You have not been to Edinburgh before, have you?"
"No Inuyasha."
"Go on and have a good time. I will sit here with the oil on my head and read while you are gone. What kind of oil are you putting into my hair anyway?"
"Castor oil, Your Grace."
"You are right about the smell. Get to the shops then. The smell is awful."
"Are you certain that their carriage will come this way?"
"This is the only road leading from Edinburgh to Dalkeith, Jakotsu. There is no way that Barstow is going to get away with all she and her brood have done. We would be rich men if not for her and the interference. Do you still have the papers that you took from Bankotsu's body in Tours?"
"Bankotsu said the brat was a pretty little thing. I might just use him a little myself."
"Not until our revenge is complete. Plus, we have our employer to contend with. We need to keep the devilish duke and the Compte Blackheart at bay as well."
"We will. Don't worry Sean, you and your men will be well paid for this."
"Now stay quiet. Knowing the bitch, she will have her darkies hunting the woods around here for a special dinner for her guests. Plus, the dammed devilish duke hates carriages. He will ride beside, well armed. We don't need to be caught."
An old man with a wooden leg, a patch over one eye and three fingers missing from his left hand stood in the middle of the road. A pistol held shakily in his right hand.
Inuyasha's horse reared as he nearly ran over the man. "Get out of the road! You are going to get yourself killed!"
"Stand and deliver!" The man shouted through the metal crowns in his mouth as the carriage came to a halt beside Inuyasha's horse.
Inuyasha laughed heartily. "It would take an effort by a whole man to hold me. You have no chance, now run along."
"I need to feeds my family somehow."
Inuyasha tossed the man a coin.
The man's pistol went off as he bent down for the coin.
The bullet whizzed by Monty, who was sitting next to the driver of the carriage.
"Ambush!" Monty yelled as another shot from the trees whizzed past her and landed in the seat next to her.
The driver of the carriage signaled for the footmen to pull his sword and protect the carriage as he cut loose the horses and rode for help.
Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga and began hacking into the bandits pouring onto the road and around the carriage.
"He has the treasure sword!" The man one-legged man yelled.
Monty pulled her sword and jumped down from the driver's seat and into the fray. "Ginkotsu, you do not fool me! You look no better than you did when you mutinied and stole one of my father's ships!"
"Your father was a villain! He promised us prosperity and turned us into servants!"
"Better than being buggered as a whoreson!"
"What would you know about buggering? You may act like a man but you do not have what it takes to do it!" Jakotsu shouted as he stepped out from behind the carriage. "I could bugger your cousin all day, I could. Now hand over the boy and the treasure swords before I get upset."
"How could you, Jakotsu. My father took you in when your mother cast you off and you betrayed him!"
"Monty, you are so blind. You never could see what was right in front of you. "
"Watch his sword, Monty!" Inuyasha yelled, "He has a snake-whip-sword!"
Kagome peeked out of the carriage. She fired at anyone who tried to force their way inside.
Sesshomaru forced Nintashiro into the compartment under his seat and pulled out a dagger and a pistol to guard the other side f the coach. "Don't worry. There is no way I will let this filth lay a hand on my little savior, Kagome."
"Why do they want Nintashiro?"
"Probably because he was in the service of Bankotsu. They want to tie up loose ends on any knowledge of their plans."
"How cruel! They would kill a little boy, who probably knows little to nothing about their villainy, just because he was Bankotsu's valet?"
"Exactly."
"I hope Monty and Inuyasha will be alright. Monty looks like a jester."
"What do you mean?"
Sesshomaru looked out the window and saw Monty weaving around the attacks of Jakotsu's whip-sword. "Amazing" He said to himself.
"Lord Sesshomaru, let me out, I can help reload the pistols."
"You stay put boy. They want to capture and kill you."
"I can shoot and I can use a dagger, Lord Sesshomaru. I can help."
"Very well, but stay in the bottom and the center of the coach. I do not want any of these pieces of offal laying a hand on you."
**********
Monty did cartwheels and flips that she was taught by a Sufi sword master during one of her trips to western India. "Admit it, Jakotsu! You could never best me in swordplay. You always slacked off and took the easy way out."
Jakotsu moved from side to side and brandished his whip-sword expertly. "I learned to use this sword when I was in China. You can not hop around like a fool forever. I will kill you with it."
"Your only advantage is distance. You are a rotten swordsman, you always were."
Jakotsu laughed as he signaled his men who were not busy with Inuyasha, the carriage driver, or the occupants of the carriage to fire on Monty.
Monty parried Jakotsu's whip-sword as she did cartwheels to avoid the bullets.
One bullet managed to graze Monty's shoulder. She cried out in pain, but did not let the wound affect her fighting. She knew to do so meant death.
"Oh, little Monty has herself a tiny little cut. Let my sword open it a bit wider. Come closer, Monty, just you try."
"Your ceaseless chatter will not make you any more victorious!" Monty did a flip near a large tree.
Jakotsu's sword whipped around her, but was unable to catch her before his whip-sword wrapped itself around the tree.
Jakotsu pulled on the whip-sword to try to free it, but his effort only proved to cause the sword to tighten around the trunk.
"Damn it!" Jakotsu yelled as he made one more heave, causing the whip-sword to break off down to there were only three connected blades.
"Now you are mine!" Monty rushed at Jakotsu. Her sword poised to thrust through his heart.
Jakotsu stepped aside and managed to hit Monty with the remainder of his sword.
The gash in Monty's side ran red with blood. She fell to the ground as the tip of her sword grazed Jakotsu.
"Damn bitch! You ruined my favorite shirt!" Jakotsu tossed his sword aside. "And this thing is useless to me now." He pulled a large knife from his boot. "But this will gut you well and good."
"Adeline!" Sesshomaru screamed as he shot Jakotsu in the arm.
"Leave off, Blackheart! You have no chance to save the whore."
Sesshomaru opened the carriage and sped towards Monty to protect her from Jakotsu's blow. He fired off another round from his second pistol, rolled to the ground and grabbed the broken whip-sword.
Sesshomaru was no stranger to a whip sword, even a broken one. He managed to knock the knife from Jakotsu's hand before he could plunge it into Monty's unconscious form.
Jakotsu turned to Sesshomaru. "No fair playing with a weapon that does not belong to you."
"You threw it away. It belongs to me now. You will see firsthand how black my heart really is."
Sesshomaru used the whip-sword to make several gashes in Jakotsu's chest and arms.
"Step away from Adeline, now!"
Jakotsu whistled for his horse. He jumped on it's back and sped off as Sesshomaru ran to see to Monty. Sesshomaru tossed the sword aside.
"This is far from over!" Jakotsu shouted as he rode off.
Sessomaru rolled Monty over and craddled her in his arms.
Monty was turning ghostly white as the blood flowed freely from the cut in her side.
"No! I will not loose you again!" He yelled to the sky as he rocked her in his arms.
"Inuyasha! Adeline is hurt! She is dying!"
Inuyasha was too busy fighting with Ginkotsu to listen to his brother.
Ginkotsu kept using other bandits as shields as he switched and reloaded the pistols he hid in his wooden leg..
Finally tired of fumbling with the guns, Ginkotsu pulled the falchion from his waistband. "Even with one leg and one eye, I will have that treasure sword and my reward."
"You deserve nothing but a trip to prison for theft and piracy!"
"Ginkotsu! Your brother is riding away!"
"Do you have the brat, Sean?"
"No the chit in the carriage keeps anyone from getting near!"
"You are supposed to kill them, you fool!"
Sean Nodded as he watched Ginkotsu keep Inuyasha occupied. Sean pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his jacket, pulled the cork and tossed it atop the carriage. He jumped on the wheel and tossed his powder horn on to the spilling alcohol.
"Kagome! Nintashiro! Get out of the carriage now!" Sesshomaru yelled as he tried to knock Sean off balance with the broken whip-sword.
Kagome shot at Sean, planting a bullet cleanly in the man's head. Unfortunately she also lit the trail of alcohol soaked powder.
The carriage quickly caught flame.
"Ninta! Come on!" Kagome shouted as she grabbed the boy and flung herself out of the carriage.
Kagome only managed to rip off the sleeve of Nintashiro's shirt.
"Ninta! Get out of there!"
"I have to save Lord Sesshomaru's treasure sword!"
"Forget the sword!" Kagome yelled as she tried to grab Nintashiro's feet, succeeding in only catching the boy's shoes.
The roof of the carriage fell in as Kagome finaly got hold of Nintashiro's feet.
Nintashiro fell atop Kagome with the sheathed Tensaiga in his hands.
He was on fire, but the flames did not burn the boy's skin.
Kagome quickly rolled over and used her skirts and petticoats to smother the flames.
"Give that sword to me!" Sesshomaru howled as he carefully lay Monty down and unsheathed Tensaiga.
"Hold on, my love." Sesshomaru kissed Monty's bluing lips as he placed the sword against the wound. "Please do not die. Not yet. Please God, don't let her die yet."
Kagome shouted as the guards from Dalkeith came riding in.
The riders made quick work of the remaining bandits.
The distraction was enough to allow Inuyasha to thrust Tetsusaiga through Ginkotsu's heart.
"You have not won. You will never find the traitor. You will not save His Ma..." Ginkotsu's eyes rolled back in his head as his mouth spouted blood.
Ginkotsu coughed once more before falling over dead.
"Your Grace! Where is the Baroness?" One of the guards shouted to Inuyasha .
Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga as he turned to point where he saw Monty fighting Jakotsu.
"Monty!" He ran to Sesshomaru's side. He pushed Tensaiga aside and tore open Monty's shirt to examine the wound.
"Damn! It is deep. She has lost a lot of blood. We may still loose her." Inuyasha quickly bound Monty's wound and lifted her into his arms.
"No! Please brother. Let my sword do it's work. It can save her! I know it can! I am begging you, Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru fell on his knees in front of Inuyasha.
Kagome and Nintashiro put their hands on Sesshomaru's shoulders as Sesshomaru sobbed bitterly.
"Let him use the sword first, Inuyasha. She will die on the way if you put her on the horse now."
"For you, wife, and for Monty. Not for this waste of flesh. Use your treasure sword, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru stood and placed the flat of the sword against Monty's wound as Inuyasha held Monty tightly. "Please, Tensaiga, if you must take the life from me to heal her. She must live."
Blue light erupted from the sword.
Kagome and Nintashiro jumped back.
Sesshomeru fell to the ground with Tensaiga still gripped tightly in his hands. His face grew gaunt. He looked the starved and weak. Sesshomaru looked the same as he had when Inuyasha first rescued him.
Monty started to breathe shallowly, but steadily. A bit of color came back into her face.
"Get her to Dalkeith. She should survive the trip now." Sesshomaru fell unconscious.
Nintashiro took the sword from his master's hands and sheathed it before accepting a ride from one of the guards.
Another of Monty's guards pulled Sesshomaru across his horse as the rest mounted horses and rode to Castle Dalkeith.
Please Review.
Lady Johanna and her men walked down a winding path from the cliffs down to the beach and up again to a small island on the other side. On the island were the ruins of an ancient monastery.
It was one of the safest places to spirit away criminals, because the island could only be reached at low tide. The currents around the island prevented invasion of the tiny island by land, yet the side of the island that faced the English Channel was easily accessible by ships at high tide.
The monks who lived at the monastery found that to be a weakness when Norman raiders in their dragon ships plundered the abbey in the late 900's.
St. Stephan's isle was one of many such escape spots along the Normandy coast that Johanna, Monty and Monty's cousin, Percy had used in the past.
Now that the Bastille had fallen and the uprising was gaining momentum, the tiny island escape routes were more important.
Once their inspection of the grounds was through, Johanna bid Monty and the rest goodbye. "I am off to rescue a more worthy nobleman." Johanna said in disgust as she and Dudley prepared to depart with the carriage. "Be sure to wait for Percy. It was for him and his party that this arrangement was originally intended."
"Thank you, John."
Johanna softened slightly as she looked at her friend. "You are welcome, Monty. Percy should be here soon. I hope before the tide starts coming in too much. The Winged Pharaoh is already on it's way. I saw it's distinctive prow through my spyglass. It will dock in the morning when the tide is at it's highest. May your sword be swift and your journey light."
"Yours as well, Lady John."
Johanna hopped in the driver's seat beside Dudley and sped off.
"Damn it Percy! What is taking him so long?" Inuyasha scowled as he paced back and forth on the cliff on St. Stephan's isle. "If he takes too long, he will never make it across before the water is too deep!"
"Stop that, Inuyasha. You are making Nintashiro and your wife nervous."
"Why aren't you kissing up to my disgusting brother?"
"He is the only one who is asleep. The lack of sleep during his torture made him very weary. Truth be told, I seriously doubt he could lift his sword right now."
"I was not talking about sparring with him."
"Neither was I, Inuyasha."
"Oh." Inuyasha turned red, realizing, in his anger, he had mistook the reference.
"Now quit pacing, Kagome is having a hard enough time getting that boy to sleep. I can't sleep either with your stomping, Sesshomaru's snoring, Nintashiro's chattering and Kagome's shushing. How in the hell will I be able to take the next watch if I don't get any sleep?"
Inuyasha stopped for a moment and stared at Monty. "You would not seriously consider taking Sesshomaru as a lover would you? After all, you are cousins."
"The only relation to Sesshomaru I have is through you and that is several times removed. Alexander Barstow was related to your mother, not his."
"You did not answer my question."
"Now don't get your hackles up with me. If, and that is a big if, I take him as a lover is my business, not yours. Don't tell me you disapprove of my dalliances with married men now? You always though it humorous before. Especially since I seek no favors other than an occasional roll in the hay and they seek nothing more than ways to make their wives more wanton in bed."
"This is different and you know it. He took your virginity and left you alone and with child. You still have feelings for him, and making him your lover will not make them go away."
"Perhaps, perhaps not. Still it is my decision, not yours."
"Fine then, get in the ruins and try to get some of your precious sleep. "
Monty turned on her heel and stomped to the pallet that she laid out to sleep on. She watched Inuyasha pace some more before groaning and rolling over.
"Psst, Monty, are you asleep?"
Monty sighed, "No, Kagome, I am not."
"Can you talk to Ninta and try and persuade him to go to sleep? I don't have as much experience with ships as you do and he seems to be afraid of them. When I ask him why he just fusses and gets angry."
"Fine, as long as you go talk to that pig-headed husband of yours. His stomping and grumbling is echoing through the walls. Plus, he can not keep mind his own business when it is called for. Tell him that I said that I wanted you to tell him about when he first met Shazia or Choto-Bai. That will remind him to quit sticking his nose where it doesn't belong."
"I did not mean to offend you."
"No, Kagome, you didn't. I am just extremely sleepy and I need to be alert for next watch."
"I will take part of the watch for you if you can get Ninta asleep."
"Inuyasha will be furious."
"He is furious already over this whole trip. Besides, tide will be high soon, and you said yourself I am the inheritor of Robin Hood's bowmanship. Bows are loaded quicker than pistols. distance weapons are best when the tide comes in."
Monty gave a slight laugh "So true, so true. Go on ahead then. I will talk to Nintashiro."
"Kagome, are out here to lecture me now?"
"No. I just want to see your shining face in the moonlight."
"Did you get the brat asleep?"
"No. Poor thing is deathly afraid of ships. I hoped Monty could soothe him, seeing as she has traveled most of her life."
"Geez, and who will take the watch when she is snoring louder than Sesshomaru?"
"I will." Kagome raised her bow and arrows. "The tide will be up, and there is no one on the island but us. I can shoot this faster than pistol. And, with the steel tipped arrows that Lady John gave me, they are just as deadly as a lead ball, maybe more so."
"Well fine. Go rest. Just don't let Monty talk you into any more of her hair-brained ideas. I expect you to wear pretty dresses when we get home."
"I will. I see a carriage headed toward the cliffs."
"About bloody time. I hope he has a skiff. The water is too high to walk across now."
"What about the current?"
"It is not as bad at lower tides, but it is difficult to anchor a small boat. Go wake my stupid brother. I may need an extra pair of hands."
"Inuyasha!"
"I mean, another pair of hands, besides yours. I need you here too. I may need those bowmanship skills of yours to toss them a line."
& nbsp; "Are w.. we going to go on a ship?" Nintashiro stuttered nervously to Monty as they sat in the ruins of the old abbey and waited.
"Yes, we are going to England. That is where I live, at least most of the time. I also have property in Scotland, near Edinburgh. That is where some of your new master's estates are as well."
"I don't like ships or boats. They give me nightmares."
"Do you mean you get seasick?"
"No, I just have this nightmare. I am on a boat with a kind old man who says he is going to take me home with him. Then there is lots of screaming and fire. The old man grabed me and puts me into a longboat with some other people I don't know. He tells me to not worry that the people will keep me safe, no matter what. He told me that he loved me. I think he must have been a relative, because he was the one who fetched me when my mother died."
"Don't worry, Ninta. I will stay by you and not let anything happen to you. The ship that is coming to get us is one of the best on the waters. No pirate would dare try to burn his boat."
"Do you think it was pirates that burned the old man's boat?"
"Most likely."
"I would like to visit your estates. Especially those in Scotland. The ladies in the orphanage said that they think that is where I was from. I had an accent back then."
"I see. You would love Dalkeith Castle then. It is very beautiful."
Ninta wrinkled his brow and shook his head.
"Are you alright?"
"Yes. That nam Dal, Dal"
"Dalkeith?"
"Yea. I have heard that name before. I just saw a rolling green hill and a cliff along the sea and a big fountain with a fish on top and lots of roses."
Monty furrowed her brow and blinked a couple of times. Most people knew of Castle Dalkeith On-the-Sea, but few knew of the large fountain within the inner gardens.
Monty's father had restored the fountain, years earlier when the King gave Monty's mother back her ancestral lands.
The most distinguishing feature was that in the center of the top of the fountain was a leaping dolphin.
The fountain could not be seen from outside the garden walls, or from around the myriad of tall rosebushes, sometimes called rose trees because of their tree-like trunks, that formed a maze in the gardens.
No one who had not been permitted within the castle grounds could see the rose trees or the fountain.
"Get some sleep. The ship can not dock until high tide, and that will some time yet."
"Are people still chasing us?"
"I hope not. See, no one can reach this island when high tide is up, that won't be until early morning. That is why these ruins are so safe. They are easy to defend. Duke Inuyasha has this watch. I have the next. So if you do not sleep, I can not watch very well."
"Alright."
Ninta lie down next to Sesshomaru and slowly drifted to sleep.
Monty tried to sleep, but her mind would not let her. She could not keep her heard from racing. "The boy was at Dalkeith."
"Hallo!" Percy yelled from the cliff and waved a lantern to signal those on the island.
He saw Inuyasha wave back a signal.
"Alright men, get the boat off the top and into the water. Don't dawdle. It is your heads as well as mine that Robepierre is after. Step lively."
Two men worked to get the small boat off of the top of the carriage while a young woman and a young girl watched. They used ropes to lower the small boat onto the water.
The men on the carriage held onto the mooring lines and a rope ladder as Percy and his disheveled group climbed down as swiftly as they could into the boat. Percy dropped the anchor in order to keep the small boat from being swept away.
Percy made a signal to Inuyasha as he pulled a crossbow out from under one of the seat-planks of the boat.
Percy signaled for his men to release one of the mooring lines. He quickly caught it and tied it to the bolt of the crossbow.
Percy tried to aim, but the constant motion of the skiff in the incoming tide made it difficult.
He finally let loose the bolt. It landed squarely near the edge of the cliff on St Stephan's Isle.
Percy and his people let loose a sigh of relief as they saw the two men grab onto the rope and tie it securely to a mooring ring on the island.
Percy turned the crank that cocked the crossbow and loaded it again. He signaled for the other mooring line from his men.
That bolt also landed successfully. Percy tossed the crossbow back under the seat.
"Alright chaps, time to start rowing. My fellows can not tow us in on their own. The crank wench turned to dust a long time ago."
The men in the boat rowed as best they could as Inuyasha and Sesshomaru pulled on the mooring lines.
"Hang on tight." Percy shouted to his passengers as he pulled the anchor and tossed it onto the path that lead to the top of the island cliff.
The anchor caught on a large boulder securely.
"Now you two row while me and my fellows pull us to the shore. The path is wider on the island side. We will be able to walk to the top. Now row!"
The small boat bobbed and weaved as it was finally pulled to shore.
"We are ashore!" Percy yelled as the last of the boat's occupants got out. He untied the mooring lines. "Now chaps, we need to get the boat to the top. Grab it while I release the anchor from the rocks."
The two noblemen grumbled, but did as Percy had asked.
"Inuyasha! Now this is a surprise!" Percy embraced his cousin. "Oh my, what did you do to your fabulous hair?"
"I am in disguise of course."
"Of course, sorry chap. " Percy said as he straightened his soaking wet cravat. Percy's eyes went straight to Kagome. "Ah I see Monty has a new acolyte. Sir Percival Blakeney, Baronet, at your service." He reached out and kissed Kagome's hand.
"Kagome Drake, Duchess of Wyvern."
"Zounds! Inuyasha! How dare you let dear Monty drag your new wife into our little games?"
"It was Kagome's idea. She is as stubborn as Monty."
"Well, we will have to find you a male sounding nickname as well. How about Cam?"
"Not bloody likely."
"Inuyasha, my dearest." Kagome purred, "Where is your sense of adventure?"
"It left right before this trip." Inuyasha growled.
"Zounds, Inuyasha. I see I have put you in a terribly foul mood."
"It is not you, Percy."
"Oh, who then?"
"The piece of offal Monty and I were forced to rescue."
"I see, the King has played one of his not so funny jokes. Well The Viscount Delacois and his family seem to be pleased to see your guest. He looks familiar. Have I met him?"
"No. You haven't Percy. It is my half brother, ."
"The Compte Blackheart! Why in the hell would His Majesty want to save that filthy dog?"
"Ask Monty. Come on Kagome. We should Wake Monty for her watch."
"I will go check on our ship's progress to this little island." Percy shot around the side of the ruins, not wanting another argument.
"He is a bit of a fop."
"It is an act. Lady John trained both him and Monty in the game of espionage. He is one of the best. He can be serious when he wants to be. He is just angry. He acts foppish when he tries to control his violent temper."
"Is it worse than yours?"
"Percy's temper makes mine look like a child's tantrum."
"Oh God! I hope Monty can keep her wits when he finds out."
"I hope Dhamendra has his healing salves ready. Sesshomaru, Monty, or both of them are going to need them when Percy finishes with those two."
"Enough. Lets find a secluded corner. It seems like forever since we made love."
The Winged Pharaoh docked lazily alongside St Stephan's Isle.
The captain ran into Monty's arms as soon as she boarded the ship. "My dear! Now this is a sight for sore eyes! How long has it been. A year?"
"At least, Robbie. How have you been?"
"Quite well. I hope you don't mind. My current cargo needs to get to Edinburgh. We will be making port there."
Sesshomaru looked at the exchange by the captain and clenched his fists. Over the years, Sesshomaru got bitterly jealous when he chanced to see Monty at a social event in the company of another man.
Sesshomaru looked at Nintashiro's sleeping face as he carried him aboard the ship. "She is nothing but a wanton now. I have no reason to be jealous."
Nintashiro stirred slightly as Sesshomaru carried him down into the hold and placed the boy onto the bed in his tiny cabin. He smiled slightly as he ran his fingers through the boy's soft white hair. "My sons have Rin's dark hair. I wish I had a son that resembled me more."
"Sesshomaru, get up here. I need to introduce everyone to the captain before we get underway!" Monty shouted down the hallway in the hold.
"I will be right back Nintashiro. Go ahead and sleep."
"Ah , there you are. Everyone, this is Robert Campbell, The Earl of Argyle. Since he is forced to go past London and stop in Edinburgh, he has invited us all to stay at his town residence for a week. He has quite a collection of Egyptian items well worth a peruse. Afterwards, I invite all who have not yet found transportation to their destinations to stay at Dalkeith for as long as you need to stay.
"Oh thank you so much, Baroness, " Countess Delecois grabbed Monty's hands, "My husband, brother and my child had nowhere to go in England as of yet. Everything happened so suddenly."
"There, there. Go below and find your cabin. Everything will be alright now."
"There are not gonna be any pirates are there?" The little girl squealed in fright.
"No, child. No pirate would dare. You go with your mother and rest."
"Ah, Monty, there you are. I must tell you of my current paramour, Marguerite St. Just. She is the most fabulous actress and beauty that there ever was to behold!"
"I am certain she is Percy, but have you the strength to court her and keep our faith a secret?"
"I am certain that she has the tenacity to join us. She sees the way this revolution hurts more than just the bourgeoisie."
"Then I encourage her membership. For your sake, Percy, do not keep it a secret for overlong to her. It can be very dangerous, being that she is common, for her to let things slip without meaning to."
"I will decide when I ask for her hand. But, thank you for the advice. And here is a bit for you. Stay away from Compte Blackheart D'Angers. I know both of you have a past, but he is not trustworthy. Monty, he played both sides of the fence. He paid off Louis' men as well as men known to work for Robepierre. Everyone was supposed to turn a blind eye to him. If it were not for some personal matter, his estates would still be intact. Remember that. He will betray you again, cousin."
"I will think on what you say, Percy, but you know how I am about following advice."
"Yes, quite."
In Edinburgh, both Monty and Robert were glad that the Viscount and his family had found other accommodations early among their stay.
The little girl, Georgette, teased and tortured Nintashiro endlessly. The Viscount was always quick to blame the boy for his daughter's distress. He did not understand that his title meant nothing anymore without the funds to back him.
"I am afraid it is this way every time Monty. They do not know what it is to be destitute. They don't know the meaning of land rich and money poor. That is why so many British noblemen have become merchants."
"Quite so. I am glad they are not accompanying us to Dalkeith. Percy had gone to his estates. I only have to deal with Sesshomaru."
"I see. He and his brother have never gotten along. He has his own estates in England, why did he just not go home?"
"It is because I insisted taking Nintashiro with me. I think he is the son of one of my servants. I am hoping to find his family. Although, getting him away from Sesshomaru will be a chore. He has decided to hire the boy as his new valet."
"And the boy has no objections?"
"He worships Sesshomaru. I think if Sesshomaru told him to jump into hells pits, the boy would smile as he did it."
"I remember a time when you would have done the same. You two were the talk of Paris and London during your courtship."
"True Robbie. But, I learned the hard way just how he was."
"And yet, you still love him."
"Unfortunately yes. The black-hearted devil still holds my soul. But his reason for visiting Dalkeith is just to keep Nintashiro from running off. that is all."
"I hope you know what you are getting yourself into this time. I can't help you out this time."
Inuyasha howled at the hairdresser as soon as he got a look at his newly cleaned hair. The black dye was gone, but his hair had lost it's sheen.
The color was more a dull gray rather than the lustrous silver it had been.
"Kagome! Stop your giggling!"
"If you will let her put the oil in it and put it in a turban as she suggested, she will be able to try and get the color back to normal in the morning."
"I will not walk around like one of Monty's bloody servants."
"She has no servants here, Inuyasha. Besides, you can cover it with a wig."
"I will not wear a wig to the damned dinner that Campbell has planned for that spoiled viscount and his family. If I had not caught the chit, she would have made off with your engagement ring."
"Georgette only thought it was pretty."
"Georgette has the fingers of a little thief. No doubt a talent learned from her uncle and mother. Delecois' brother-in-law tried to pinch my watch. The Viscount has no idea what kind of family he married into."
"I will be more careful with my things."
"You did remember to lock our room and take the key."
"Yes I did. Actually, Robert suggested it. He is only holding this dinner to make sure the Countess' cousins will take her in. You don't want them at Dalkeith, do you?"
"There is that."
"Your Grace, if you prefer, I can use a thicker oil and wash your hair again sooner. It does have an awful scent however."
"Is there anything you can cover the bad scent with when you wash it again, Janine?"
"Yes, but I will have to go to the shops to get it. The sandalwood soap does very well, but the earl does not have any here."
"Very well. Perhaps the Duchess will join you. You have not been to Edinburgh before, have you?"
"No Inuyasha."
"Go on and have a good time. I will sit here with the oil on my head and read while you are gone. What kind of oil are you putting into my hair anyway?"
"Castor oil, Your Grace."
"You are right about the smell. Get to the shops then. The smell is awful."
"Are you certain that their carriage will come this way?"
"This is the only road leading from Edinburgh to Dalkeith, Jakotsu. There is no way that Barstow is going to get away with all she and her brood have done. We would be rich men if not for her and the interference. Do you still have the papers that you took from Bankotsu's body in Tours?"
"Bankotsu said the brat was a pretty little thing. I might just use him a little myself."
"Not until our revenge is complete. Plus, we have our employer to contend with. We need to keep the devilish duke and the Compte Blackheart at bay as well."
"We will. Don't worry Sean, you and your men will be well paid for this."
"Now stay quiet. Knowing the bitch, she will have her darkies hunting the woods around here for a special dinner for her guests. Plus, the dammed devilish duke hates carriages. He will ride beside, well armed. We don't need to be caught."
An old man with a wooden leg, a patch over one eye and three fingers missing from his left hand stood in the middle of the road. A pistol held shakily in his right hand.
Inuyasha's horse reared as he nearly ran over the man. "Get out of the road! You are going to get yourself killed!"
"Stand and deliver!" The man shouted through the metal crowns in his mouth as the carriage came to a halt beside Inuyasha's horse.
Inuyasha laughed heartily. "It would take an effort by a whole man to hold me. You have no chance, now run along."
"I need to feeds my family somehow."
Inuyasha tossed the man a coin.
The man's pistol went off as he bent down for the coin.
The bullet whizzed by Monty, who was sitting next to the driver of the carriage.
"Ambush!" Monty yelled as another shot from the trees whizzed past her and landed in the seat next to her.
The driver of the carriage signaled for the footmen to pull his sword and protect the carriage as he cut loose the horses and rode for help.
Inuyasha pulled Tetsusaiga and began hacking into the bandits pouring onto the road and around the carriage.
"He has the treasure sword!" The man one-legged man yelled.
Monty pulled her sword and jumped down from the driver's seat and into the fray. "Ginkotsu, you do not fool me! You look no better than you did when you mutinied and stole one of my father's ships!"
"Your father was a villain! He promised us prosperity and turned us into servants!"
"Better than being buggered as a whoreson!"
"What would you know about buggering? You may act like a man but you do not have what it takes to do it!" Jakotsu shouted as he stepped out from behind the carriage. "I could bugger your cousin all day, I could. Now hand over the boy and the treasure swords before I get upset."
"How could you, Jakotsu. My father took you in when your mother cast you off and you betrayed him!"
"Monty, you are so blind. You never could see what was right in front of you. "
"Watch his sword, Monty!" Inuyasha yelled, "He has a snake-whip-sword!"
Kagome peeked out of the carriage. She fired at anyone who tried to force their way inside.
Sesshomaru forced Nintashiro into the compartment under his seat and pulled out a dagger and a pistol to guard the other side f the coach. "Don't worry. There is no way I will let this filth lay a hand on my little savior, Kagome."
"Why do they want Nintashiro?"
"Probably because he was in the service of Bankotsu. They want to tie up loose ends on any knowledge of their plans."
"How cruel! They would kill a little boy, who probably knows little to nothing about their villainy, just because he was Bankotsu's valet?"
"Exactly."
"I hope Monty and Inuyasha will be alright. Monty looks like a jester."
"What do you mean?"
Sesshomaru looked out the window and saw Monty weaving around the attacks of Jakotsu's whip-sword. "Amazing" He said to himself.
"Lord Sesshomaru, let me out, I can help reload the pistols."
"You stay put boy. They want to capture and kill you."
"I can shoot and I can use a dagger, Lord Sesshomaru. I can help."
"Very well, but stay in the bottom and the center of the coach. I do not want any of these pieces of offal laying a hand on you."
**********
Monty did cartwheels and flips that she was taught by a Sufi sword master during one of her trips to western India. "Admit it, Jakotsu! You could never best me in swordplay. You always slacked off and took the easy way out."
Jakotsu moved from side to side and brandished his whip-sword expertly. "I learned to use this sword when I was in China. You can not hop around like a fool forever. I will kill you with it."
"Your only advantage is distance. You are a rotten swordsman, you always were."
Jakotsu laughed as he signaled his men who were not busy with Inuyasha, the carriage driver, or the occupants of the carriage to fire on Monty.
Monty parried Jakotsu's whip-sword as she did cartwheels to avoid the bullets.
One bullet managed to graze Monty's shoulder. She cried out in pain, but did not let the wound affect her fighting. She knew to do so meant death.
"Oh, little Monty has herself a tiny little cut. Let my sword open it a bit wider. Come closer, Monty, just you try."
"Your ceaseless chatter will not make you any more victorious!" Monty did a flip near a large tree.
Jakotsu's sword whipped around her, but was unable to catch her before his whip-sword wrapped itself around the tree.
Jakotsu pulled on the whip-sword to try to free it, but his effort only proved to cause the sword to tighten around the trunk.
"Damn it!" Jakotsu yelled as he made one more heave, causing the whip-sword to break off down to there were only three connected blades.
"Now you are mine!" Monty rushed at Jakotsu. Her sword poised to thrust through his heart.
Jakotsu stepped aside and managed to hit Monty with the remainder of his sword.
The gash in Monty's side ran red with blood. She fell to the ground as the tip of her sword grazed Jakotsu.
"Damn bitch! You ruined my favorite shirt!" Jakotsu tossed his sword aside. "And this thing is useless to me now." He pulled a large knife from his boot. "But this will gut you well and good."
"Adeline!" Sesshomaru screamed as he shot Jakotsu in the arm.
"Leave off, Blackheart! You have no chance to save the whore."
Sesshomaru opened the carriage and sped towards Monty to protect her from Jakotsu's blow. He fired off another round from his second pistol, rolled to the ground and grabbed the broken whip-sword.
Sesshomaru was no stranger to a whip sword, even a broken one. He managed to knock the knife from Jakotsu's hand before he could plunge it into Monty's unconscious form.
Jakotsu turned to Sesshomaru. "No fair playing with a weapon that does not belong to you."
"You threw it away. It belongs to me now. You will see firsthand how black my heart really is."
Sesshomaru used the whip-sword to make several gashes in Jakotsu's chest and arms.
"Step away from Adeline, now!"
Jakotsu whistled for his horse. He jumped on it's back and sped off as Sesshomaru ran to see to Monty. Sesshomaru tossed the sword aside.
"This is far from over!" Jakotsu shouted as he rode off.
Sessomaru rolled Monty over and craddled her in his arms.
Monty was turning ghostly white as the blood flowed freely from the cut in her side.
"No! I will not loose you again!" He yelled to the sky as he rocked her in his arms.
"Inuyasha! Adeline is hurt! She is dying!"
Inuyasha was too busy fighting with Ginkotsu to listen to his brother.
Ginkotsu kept using other bandits as shields as he switched and reloaded the pistols he hid in his wooden leg..
Finally tired of fumbling with the guns, Ginkotsu pulled the falchion from his waistband. "Even with one leg and one eye, I will have that treasure sword and my reward."
"You deserve nothing but a trip to prison for theft and piracy!"
"Ginkotsu! Your brother is riding away!"
"Do you have the brat, Sean?"
"No the chit in the carriage keeps anyone from getting near!"
"You are supposed to kill them, you fool!"
Sean Nodded as he watched Ginkotsu keep Inuyasha occupied. Sean pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his jacket, pulled the cork and tossed it atop the carriage. He jumped on the wheel and tossed his powder horn on to the spilling alcohol.
"Kagome! Nintashiro! Get out of the carriage now!" Sesshomaru yelled as he tried to knock Sean off balance with the broken whip-sword.
Kagome shot at Sean, planting a bullet cleanly in the man's head. Unfortunately she also lit the trail of alcohol soaked powder.
The carriage quickly caught flame.
"Ninta! Come on!" Kagome shouted as she grabbed the boy and flung herself out of the carriage.
Kagome only managed to rip off the sleeve of Nintashiro's shirt.
"Ninta! Get out of there!"
"I have to save Lord Sesshomaru's treasure sword!"
"Forget the sword!" Kagome yelled as she tried to grab Nintashiro's feet, succeeding in only catching the boy's shoes.
The roof of the carriage fell in as Kagome finaly got hold of Nintashiro's feet.
Nintashiro fell atop Kagome with the sheathed Tensaiga in his hands.
He was on fire, but the flames did not burn the boy's skin.
Kagome quickly rolled over and used her skirts and petticoats to smother the flames.
"Give that sword to me!" Sesshomaru howled as he carefully lay Monty down and unsheathed Tensaiga.
"Hold on, my love." Sesshomaru kissed Monty's bluing lips as he placed the sword against the wound. "Please do not die. Not yet. Please God, don't let her die yet."
Kagome shouted as the guards from Dalkeith came riding in.
The riders made quick work of the remaining bandits.
The distraction was enough to allow Inuyasha to thrust Tetsusaiga through Ginkotsu's heart.
"You have not won. You will never find the traitor. You will not save His Ma..." Ginkotsu's eyes rolled back in his head as his mouth spouted blood.
Ginkotsu coughed once more before falling over dead.
"Your Grace! Where is the Baroness?" One of the guards shouted to Inuyasha .
Inuyasha sheathed Tetsusaiga as he turned to point where he saw Monty fighting Jakotsu.
"Monty!" He ran to Sesshomaru's side. He pushed Tensaiga aside and tore open Monty's shirt to examine the wound.
"Damn! It is deep. She has lost a lot of blood. We may still loose her." Inuyasha quickly bound Monty's wound and lifted her into his arms.
"No! Please brother. Let my sword do it's work. It can save her! I know it can! I am begging you, Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru fell on his knees in front of Inuyasha.
Kagome and Nintashiro put their hands on Sesshomaru's shoulders as Sesshomaru sobbed bitterly.
"Let him use the sword first, Inuyasha. She will die on the way if you put her on the horse now."
"For you, wife, and for Monty. Not for this waste of flesh. Use your treasure sword, Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru stood and placed the flat of the sword against Monty's wound as Inuyasha held Monty tightly. "Please, Tensaiga, if you must take the life from me to heal her. She must live."
Blue light erupted from the sword.
Kagome and Nintashiro jumped back.
Sesshomeru fell to the ground with Tensaiga still gripped tightly in his hands. His face grew gaunt. He looked the starved and weak. Sesshomaru looked the same as he had when Inuyasha first rescued him.
Monty started to breathe shallowly, but steadily. A bit of color came back into her face.
"Get her to Dalkeith. She should survive the trip now." Sesshomaru fell unconscious.
Nintashiro took the sword from his master's hands and sheathed it before accepting a ride from one of the guards.
Another of Monty's guards pulled Sesshomaru across his horse as the rest mounted horses and rode to Castle Dalkeith.
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