InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Embracing Ice ❯ The Taste of Fear ( Chapter 21 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

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Embracing Ice

Written By: Yabou

Character of Wepwawet and Chapter Co-Written By: Rinseternalsoul

Chapter Twenty-One: The Taste of Fear

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“It is time to return home.” Lord Konton announced to those dining at the breakfast table. “I have received word from our legions in Nara, and the repairs have been completed. There is some unrest in the capital now, and I fear future problems may arise soon.”


Bishou nodded in agreement. “I will have the household prepare at once. We can be ready to depart very soon.”


“Good,” he responded. “See that it is done.”


Lady Bishou smiled at Kagome. “It will be good to see my gardens again before the winter frost begins.”


“There are more appropriate training shrines available in Nara.” Ikris’s eyes shined with a light that made Kagome cringe.


“Does that mean more work?”


The older women laughed.


“In that case, I think we should stay here.” Kagome stuck her tongue out a them and pushed some of the food around on her plate. “I don’t think I’ll make it if I have to live through a more intense version of ‘Ikris Miko Hell’.”


“Speaking of training,” it was Ikris’s turn to smile at the young woman. “We will need to stay behind and finish our morning routines. It is imparative to your development that you complete your tasks every day.”


Lord Konton nodded in response. “Very well. We will leave a few guards behind to-.”


“That will not be necessary, my Lord. We are quite capable of fending off any of the smaller youkai who might wish to attack two helpless women.”

Lord Konton frowned. “I do not believe it wise-.”


This time it was Lady Bishou who interrupted him. “They will be fine, Konton.”


Konton turned his attention toward his son. “Sesshoumaru, I hope you will take heed in your future exploits because of the troubles you see that I go through because of these females. Sometimes I wonder if it is worth the agony.”


Bishou placed her hand over his. “Do you smell agony, my Lord? Perhaps, it is the agony of defeat.”


“I will stay.” Sesshoumaru interjected.


“I believe that also unwise, Lord Sesshoumaru.”


Sesshoumaru gave Ikris a meaningful look.


“You would only provide further...distraction to Kagome, and she does not need that at this point in time. Nor can she handle it appropriately.”


Sesshoumaru moved to argue the point further but was overcome by Lord Konton. “Leave them be, Sesshoumaru. All will be well.”


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Kagome paused for a minute to catch her breath - going through all of their morning exercises, followed by a long trek down an abandoned road wasn’t exactly her idea of a dream come true. “Ikris, where are we?” She turned to question the older woman. Ikris had been strangely quiet for the past hour or so, and it was beginning to unnerve her. “Hey,” Kagome gave her a slight nudge in the shoulder. “What’s wrong with-?”


“Something is following us.” Ikris replied, her hands tightening around her staff.


“Wha-?” Kagome whipped around to search for some sign of disturbance.


Ikris frowned and began to walk faster. “I do not believe that it is friendly.”

A streak of orange ripped through the air and stopped twenty paces on the road in front of them. “Friendly?” A male youkai sneered, crossing his hands over his hips and giving them a dangerous smirk. “I am quite...friendly.”


Kagome stuttered and stumbled back a few steps. “Who are you?”


The youkai gave her a quick once over before seeming to dismiss her as unimportant. “All I want to do is play, Lady Ikris. Won’t you be my friend?”


“State your business.” Ikris’s voice became cold and hard.


“Ah, must business always come before pleasure?” His voice rumbled through her bones as he stalked toward her.

“Do not come any closer.” Ikris demanded, raising her staff in front of her body.


He laughed and took another step, quickly drawing back with a hiss when the air around his body began to crackle. “You bitch.” His hands pulled a set of twin scimitars out of the sheaths on his back. “I only asked you to be nice.” The sword in his left hand crashed into the large crystal that adorned the top of Ikris’s staff. “Don’t you want to play with me? I can be a very, very good boy.” His eyes lustfully roamed her body. “And you must be a very good fuck to be taken in by him.” A small growl passed through his lips when his sword acted as a conductor - relaying the purifying powers that she directed through her weapon.


A fine sheen of sweat broke out on Ikris’s forehead as she and the demon began to fight. “Why are you here?”


He laughed. “You...Why would I travel all this way for a whore like you? Really. You humans can be so full of yourselves.” The blade in his right hand managed to land a blow on her left shoulder, and he gave her a menacing smile as the red blood began to seep from the wound. “I only deal with objects of power, you inferior mortal.”


“Power...?” A shred of confusion passed over her face.


“Yes, though your child may only be part of a whole. It is still the child of Wepwawet, and won’t it be just devastating when it dies so tragically because its mother was unable to protect it.”


Ikris grunted as his sword sliced across her thigh. “You will never harm my child.”

“Really?” he turned to look at Kagome. “And, who will stop me?”


“Kagome, stay back.” Ikris warned. “This is not your battle.”

Kagome didn’t move.


“Kagome?” Ikris called out to her. “Kagome? What’s wrong with you?”


“She can’t hear you now, Priestess. No one can.” He moved again, draping his arm around Kagome’s waist. “Or, can’t you see this?”


Her eyes widened at the ice beginning to form on the younger woman’s lips. “What have you done to her?”


“She is merely frozen...for the moment, but how long do you think she can last like this?” He looked up at the position of the sun in the sky and frowned. “You talk far too much.” This time his blade slammed against a vibrant green barrier.


“I am not helpless.” Ikris closed her eyes and began to chant. A slow stream of words wrapped themselves around her body and caused a bright green light to pulse within the head of the staff.


The light grew so bright that the fiend was forced to shield his eyes from the blinding pulse of holy power. He stepped back, pulling his swords up just in time to thwart the attack from the powerful priestess. The force of green energy hit the twin blades hard, and were it not for their otherworldly power, he would have been eliminated from the blast.

"Ah... I see. You are not as weak as you appear. Perhaps you have 'other' secrets, which you will share with me before I am finished with you?" His leer was enough to make her shiver. While he was a handsome male, his eyes betrayed his beauty. There, in those black depths, she found evil. Pure evil.

"But we get ahead of ourselves, my lady. Let me introduce myself. I am the one who will take your life, and eat the power of your child. I am called Bomani, for I am the warrior of my God, Methaphis of Kalabsha."

Ikris eyes grew wide, but just as quickly narrowed in fury. Methaphis destroyed her home. He took away her life, her temple, and her family. His war and greed was a plague upon her homeland, and this... assassin, was his right-hand man. The youkai, Bomani was well-known, and most feared among the lands of Egypt, and now he was here, in Japan, sent to murder her child.

She couldn't stop the shiver of fear that crept up her spine. Bomani possessed a pair of tainted scimitar, gifted to him by his god, who poured his evil into the blades through an offering of blue flame. She wasn't sure if she could beat him. In fact, she was less than sure, and for the first time Ikris began to truly fear for the life of her babe.

Bomani could see the growing terror in her eyes and grinned. Even his very name struck horror in his enemies. She was a beauty, this whore of Wepwawet. The dog had fine taste in his bitches, he would give him that. Still her outward appearance paled in comparison to the power growing within her. It was the power of the Gods, and he would devour it and rule. He would be unstoppable, and with Methaphis as his guide, they would decimate the Earth and enjoy her fruits until their hearts were filled.

Without a second thought, he pushed off, spinning once, and reaching out to slice neatly through her thigh. She fought well, for a mortal, but she was no match for him. In fluid motion, he rolled his left sword out to lay another strike, but Ikris blocked with her damnable staff. Bomani laughed, and continued the game.

Ikris could feel the sweat pouring down her brow, as she sent blast after blast of decimating light toward her attacker. Each turn, each block, each thrust she poured her very soul into it. She could not lose to this pretentious youkai with an ego the size of Egypt herself. Her life and the life of her unborn child was dependant upon her success.

With a clang of metal, Ikris went to her knee, before pushing off with all of her might. In a spin of desperation, she formed a purifying shield that she used to block the blows while attempting to power the staff with one hand. He was just too fast, and too strong. She couldn't hold out much longer.

He smirked and said, "Feeling cornered, priestess? Wouldn't you prefer to lay down your weapons and giver yourself to me? Perhaps you will find that I am not such a cold lover? Why, if you are a good little bitch, I may even keep you, once I have devoured the powers of that brat you carry in your belly."

Ikris spat in his face, sending him back, as he wiped the mucus away. "Humph. Not very grateful, are you wench? I dare say, that I grow bored with this game. Make your peace, for I shall end it now."

With her shield in hand, her powers flared, and she prepared to go down fighting. He would not take her alive, and she refused to give her baby over to this monster to consume. She raised her staff, and her eyes grew bright with glowing green light. A stream of ancient chant poured from her lips, as she called on the power of the land to save her.

With a blast of energy strong enough to dissolve an army of men, Ikris poured every ounce of her remaining strength into the attack. The light erupted from the sacred crystal with searing intent, but Bomani was far too experienced in battle to fall prey to her light. His swords were unique, a gift from his god, and together, the blades crossed, blocking her blast, while he struggled to maintain his footing against the force.

His maniacal laughter echoed through the forest and Ikris fell to her knees. "You are mine now, Bitch!" His swords came apart in a magnificent sweep that ended with them pointing at the woman on her knees. A squall of blue flame erupted from the swords, burning an incinerating path towards the priestess.

Ikris prepared to meet her death, but at the last minute, a pink glowing barrier erupted around her, blocking the blast. The strength of his swords, however, was devastating, and the barrier wavered, barely holding strong.

"What the...?" Bomani's brows came together curiously, wondering from where the barrier came. Ikris was panting, on her knees, and looking up with tired eyes toward... her apprentice?

Bomani turned to the frozen girl and walked up close. He sniffed her, searching for signs of movement, but found nothing. Yet her eyes were open, and in their depths, he was sure that she was somewhat aware. This mortal child had placed that barrier. Through the freezing of her body, she still managed to protect Ikris from his attack. "So, it appears that your young apprentice holds some semblance of power herself. Interesting. But not enough."

Another blast from his blades, decimated the barrier, and left his prey open to him. He stepped up, crossing his blades and placing them upon the throat of the favored whore of Wepwawet. "Die."

Ikris held her breath, accepting her fate, yet mourning for the loss of her child. It never had the chance to grow. To play, and to love.

The ground began to shake.

Bomani stumbled under the trembling force of the ground beneath his feet. "What's happening?" He mumbled, as boulders began to explode through the Earth's surface, while great chasms ripped open all around them. Power so thick as to become suffocating enveloped him, throwing him off balance, and rendering him powerless to stand.

Suddenly a storm of sand, spinning so fast, that the very grains could strip the flesh of a man, appeared. Bomani pushed himself backward, realizing now, what was coming for him.

Ikris could barely hold her body up. She was so drained and weak. Death was coming to claim her, and she accepting it bravely, but just when the final blow was to be given, her savior came.

The swirling sands, fell to the ground in a circular heap, revealing one very pissed off warrior god.

Wepwawet spared a glance for his lady, and found her injured, and frightened, but alive. He then turned his attention back on his adversary, the vermin assassin, Bomani. "I see Methaphis is too cowardly to face me, so he sends a rat to attack an innocent mortal woman, instead. So like him. Tell me, Bomani, assassin of Methaphis, what will you do now? Will you fight me, or are you as cowardly as your king?"

Bomani was on his feet and moving before Ikris could blink her eyes. His skill was obvious in the way he moved, gliding over the land with sweeping swords of blue flame. She looked to her lover, and found him smirking. He seemed none too concerned over the oncoming attack.

Bomani was close, but instead of pulling his weapon, Wepwawet only lifted his hand.

Bomani felt the ground beneath his feet vibrating and breaking apart, but he continued in his attempt to fight the Usher of the Dead. Unfortunately the vibrating grew to such a magnitude that his teeth began to chatter from the trembling force. He prepared to lunge, hoping to escape and simultaneously land a strike, but he found that impossible when the earth exploded sending him flying through the air.

He landed in a heap of boiling dust, hitting hard, and knocking the breath from his lungs. This wasn't what he signed up for. He was supposed to take the woman, not fight a god. Considering his options, things were looking pretty slim for accomplishing his task. He would be fortunate to live beyond this day.

Wepwawet could sense the defeat from his enemy, but it did nothing to calm the storm from within. He was furious, and vengeance through death would be his only path. The assassin came to take the life of his beloved, as well as his unborn child. That was a mistake that Bomani would not live to regret.

He held out his hands, palm up, and felt the pull of the earth around his fingertips. He gloried in the power and watched as his enemy floundered helplessly about. Every rise, and every move, was crushed before its fruition by the very ground beneath the assassin's feet. Rock and sand pelted his frame and Wepwawet smiled. "Your reign of terror ends today, foul leech. You are nothing now, but a gift to sate Ammit's eternal hunger."

Bomani raised both swords, prepared to die, accepting his fate, but not willing to go alone. He turned his blades upon the pathetic mortal woman and released one final blast. "Die, bitch!"

The blast rolled toward her with waves of flaming power, and Ikris feared it would be her end, but just as suddenly a wall of Earth arose in front of her, blocking the blast at the very last moment. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the dirt fell into a pile of scattered earth, and her eyes flew to the battle still under way.

Wepwawet barely had time to protect his woman from the blast, and it left him feeling more shaken than he liked. This whole affair was unsettling, at best, and it was time to end it before his lovely Ikris suffered even more.

He reached behind his back, and released the strap holding his weapon in place. He pulled his battle-ax up and swung it effortlessly in wide sweeping circles, enjoying the feel of it once more in his hand. The blade was forged from the molten rivers of ore from deep within the sacred mountain of Thera, and the handle whittled from the Tamarisk tree. It was a cherished gift from his Lord, Osiris, and used to protect his underworld kingdom.

Wepwawet could see the terror in Bomani's eyes as he realized his end was near. Wepwawet held the ax up high, before spinning it in his hand, then bringing it down in a long sweep of his powerful arm. The ax cut through the fabric of time and space, ripping open a portal to Duat, which encircled his enemy in a searing, painful, coil of death. Through screams of soul shattering torment, the battle-ax of Wepwawet tore through Bomani's flesh, pulling him apart, and sucking him piece by piece into the underworld.

Bomani was no more.

Three giant white dogs leaped into the area moments later, quickly descending into their humanoid forms revealing the royal family of the Western Lands. “Kagome,” Sesshoumaru was at her side in an instant. “What is wrong with her?” He pulled her into his chest, willing heat into her body.

“It is a stun technique used by arctic cat youkai.” Wepwawet responded. “She will be fine. The draining effect on her ki was neutralized the moment that Bomani was destroyed. Now, you must only wait for the physical attributes to subside.”


Sesshoumaru let lose a low growl in his throat and held her tighter. He was shaken to his core. ‘I could have lost her here. She could have died, and there is nothing that I could have done to prevent it.’


Bishou’s hand grasped his shoulder and spoke to the group. “I believe that it is time that we have a very important discussion. Let us continue quickly to Nara for there is much to speak of.”
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A/N: Okay, so this kind of breaks in the middle. Join us again for Chapter 22! (With guest author Rinseternalsoul!)