InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Cain's Dilemma ( Chapter 8 )

~~Chapter 8~~

~Cain's Dilemma~

 

“We want answers, Zelig,” Jared Brantley demanded, settling back in his chair and shifting a glance around at his fellow generals.

 

Cain rubbed his eye and shrugged. “You know what I know, Jared. Bas has located her and is in the process of bringing her back for questioning.”

 

“You sound as if you doubt that she murdered Cal Richardson,” Martin Sanstrom, the general in charge of the west coast division of the North American faction, added.

 

“I never said that,” Cain countered, dark blue eyes shifting to meet Martin's stare. “I think that it wouldn't be a bad idea to check into it a little more. By all accounts, this girl is young. I just wonder if there isn't more to the situation than we know so far.”

 

Steve Vasquez—Mexico, and Marshall Billings—southern states—exchanged significant glances. Cain didn't miss it. “What?” he demanded, his tone sharper than he intended.

 

Marshall cleared his throat, steepling his fingertips together as he took a moment to figure out the best way to state his concerns. “Are you sure your . . . sense of fairness . . . isn't impaired by your own dislike for Cal Richardson?”

 

“Do you honestly believe that?” Cain challenged.

 

Steve leaned forward, holding out his hands to stave off the escalating argument. “Of course not, Zelig. No one in this room doubts your integrity.”

 

“The fact is, I've heard grumbling,” Marshall went on. “Cal Richardson was a powerful youkai—maybe the most powerful of those who aren't generals.”

 

“His power was illusory at best,” Cain cut in coldly. “Power over the weak isn't really power at all.”

 

“Be that as it may,” Ben Philips interrupted, “they have a point. Richardson was a bastard; we all knew that. He spent his lifetime saying that the reason he wasn't chosen as one of your generals was because you feared him. The faster we resolve this, the better.”

 

Cain shook his head. “I'll not issue a hunt for a girl who might not actually have done anything wrong at all.”

 

“She was the last one to see him alive,” Jared pointed out. “The hotel staff working that night said that she accompanied him to his room.”

 

“Which might account for why the girl ran, don't you think? I'd run like hell if I were the prime suspect in a murder case,” Cain growled. “Anyway, Bas is bringing her in.”

 

“When will she be here?” Steve demanded.

 

“She'll be here when she gets here,” Cain said.

 

“I have a few questions for her,” Jared added.

 

Cain shot him a dark look as he sat up straight and narrowed his eyes. “Yes, well, need I remind you? You're not the tai-youkai. I'll question her, and I'll tell you what she said. I am not asking your approval over my actions, because, to be quite honest, I don't need it. The office of the tai-youkai has never been a democracy, remember?”

 

Marshall shook his head and sighed. “The people deserve answers, Zelig. Mark my words: if this girl has killed once, she'll do it again.”

 

“I'm not saying that she won't. I am saying that I just want to talk to her before I make a decision, one way or the other. I might not have liked Cal Richardson, but that doesn't mean that I'll ignore a murderer. Then again, we all know what he was capable of. If this girl had just cause, I won't sentence her to death, either.”

 

The generals didn't respond to that. Whether they were satisfied with Cain's answers or if they simply didn't want to garner the wrath of the tai-youkai, Cain wasn't sure.

 

They filed out of the study, grumbling to each other without sparing Cain a second glance. He heard Gin's soft voice bidding the generals goodbye, and he heard the door close. Moments later, she poked her head into the room, offering him a compassionate smile. “Bad meeting?”

 

“Understatement,” he grumbled, letting his face fall into the cup formed by his raised hands. “Sometimes being tai-youkai sucks—really sucks.”

 

“Surely they can't blame you for wanting to make sure that what you decide is fair.”

 

Cain held out his hand and shook his head. “Oh, they can, and they do . . .”

 

She stepped into the room and skittered over to his side, slipping her hand into his and letting him pull her into his lap. Nuzzling her hair, letting her scent soothe the frayed edges of his nerves, he couldn't help but smile at the woman who still looked so young . . . his mate, his world, his life.

 

“You've put a lot of trust in Sebastian,” she mused, tangling her fingers in the long bronze ponytail that hung over Cain's shoulder.

 

“I know,” he admitted.

 

“He won't let you down.”

 

“I know that, too . . .” Cain scooped Gin up and stood, depositing her on her feet before stalking across the floor. “That's the thing, baby girl,” he said. “It doesn't matter if he brings her back or not. If he succeeds in his hunt or even if he fails . . . Bas . . . Bas won't ever let me down. He's my son.”

 

Gin's smile was bright though her lips trembled, her eyes filled with tears. “You're a good man, Cain Zelig, and your son is a good man, too.”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Sydnie's claws were literally embedded in the armrest mounted to the passenger side car door, and for once, the cat-youkai was completely silent. She'd been like that the entire time since early this morning when he'd finally managed to get her out of Los Angeles. She'd tried cajoling him into getting a room when they'd stopped for lunch just after they'd crossed the border between California and Arizona.

 

“You okay, Sydnie?” he asked without taking his eyes off the road.

 

She didn't answer.

 

“Haven't you ever ridden in a car before?”

 

Her head jerked once: no.

 

“Really?”

 

He could feel her eyes penetrating her skull. “No.”

 

“Not . . . ever?”

 

“A few times, when I was little,” she replied. “Does it matter? I just don't like cars.”

 

Bas flicked his wrist, glancing at his watch with a sigh. `Only four in the afternoon . . . damn it . . .' He shot her a quick glance. She was staring out the window, her golden skin pale under the California tan. He could only see a sliver of her face, but he couldn't mistake the absolute panic in her youki, either. “We can't stop yet,” he told her, his tone almost apologetic. “We need to put in a few more hours of driving time.”

 

She nodded slightly. Bas grimaced. They were closing in on gas station, and while they didn't need fuel, he knew that Sydnie desperately needed the break. He pulled up beside the only empty pump and killed the engine. “Need anything?”

 

Her hands were shaking as she fumbled with the handle. “No,” she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

 

He reached across her and grasped the latch. “No running?”

 

“I'll think about it,” she replied though her tone lacked much of her usual candor.

 

Bas nodded, figuring that was probably as good as he was likely to get, and pulled the lever to open the door. Sydnie stumbled out of the car, taking a moment to draw a deep breath before she squared her shoulders and slowly, deliberately, walked toward the gas station doors.

 

`How can she not have traveled in a car?'

 

`Is it really so hard to believe, Bas? She lived in LA, for God's sake, and she's youkai. She's probably never had to ride in one before.'

 

He frowned, drumming his claws against the steering wheel for a moment before opening his door and stepping onto the asphalt. Carefully standing so that the gas fumes were carried away from him, he started refueling and turned his face to the side.

 

The trill of his cell phone cut through him like a knife. Grimacing as he dug into the inner pocket of his black leather duster, he frowned as he flipped it open and hit the `connect' button. “Hello?”

 

“Bas. Can you talk?”

 

Bas peered over his shoulder. He could see Sydnie through the window. She was looking at a shelf of generic truck stop knickknacks. “For a minute.”

 

Cain Zelig's sigh was audible. “How's it going?”

 

“All right. We're on Interstate 10 . . . I'm hoping to reach New Mexico before we stop for the night, but I'm not so sure that'll happen . . .”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Sydnie . . . hates cars.”

 

“Does she?”

 

Bas managed to unhook the nozzle and recap the gas tank one-handed. “Yeah, she does. Says she never rode in one before.”

 

Cain digested that for a moment before speaking again. “Have you gotten any information out of her? Anything at all?”

 

“Not yet.”

 

“Damn it.”

 

“Why?”

 

“The generals are demanding answers. They want to know why nothing's been done as yet.”

 

“Last I heard, the generals took orders from you; not the other way around,” Bas remarked as he strode toward the station.

 

“Yeah, I reminded them of that. Anyway, I'm counting on you, Bas. You've told me that she isn't a murderer, and I trust your judgment. The only way to save her is to get her to talk.”

 

“I'd love to, Dad,” Bas grumbled. “It's not that easy. Getting straight answers out of her . . . well, it's damn near impossible.”

 

“Trade stories with her. Maybe if you told her a little about yourself, you could get her to open up a little.”

 

“What? You said not to tell anyone who I am.”

 

“And I'm not telling you to tell her that, either. Just . . . you know . . . little things so she feels like she can trust you.”

 

Bas sighed and rolled his eyes as he jerked the door open and strode inside. Sydnie had moved on to a small section of the store with an array of travel size toiletries and some other grooming items that travelers were notorious for forgetting. She pulled a hairbrush off the rack and stared at it for a moment before replacing the item and sauntering toward the check out counter. He frowned. She didn't appear to have anything to pay for . . .

 

“I don't know . . .”

 

“Just try, Bas. That's all I'm asking. I'd hate to order a hunt for someone who might have had just cause.”

 

Bas rubbed his temple and nodded. Sydnie said something to the boy behind the counter and dug some money out of her purse as the boy retrieved a pack of cigarettes. She smiled sweetly and dropped the change into her purse before sauntering out of the store once more. Standing beside the car, she tapped the cigarette pack against the heel of her hand and dug one out of the pack, pausing to wave at him before lighting the end and exhaling a puff of smoke.

 

“All right,” he agreed, wondering why such a simple gesture could make him want to smile. “I'll see what I can do.”

 

“Keep me posted.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Cain sighed again. “Thanks.”

 

The line went dead, and Bas snapped the device closed. Striding over to grab a soda out of the glass cooler, he stopped and stared at the single serving sized bottles of milk lined up in a plastic rack in a cooler further down. He grabbed one and let the door slide closed with a dull thump before heading for the check out to pay for the drinks and the fuel, stopping along the way to nab the brush Sydnie had been eyeing and deliberately trying to keep from analyzing why he wanted to buy it for her. On impulse, he picked up two tacky little silver spoons with an enameled picture of a cactus and the word `Arizona' emblazoned over it—one for his mother, who collected the cheesy keepsakes, and one for Sydnie—before heaving a sigh and hurrying over to the checkout before he could impulse-buy anything else for the crazy feline.

 

Sydnie ground out the butt of her cigarette under the spiked heel of the black stiletto shoe as Bas drew nearer. Tucking his soda under the arm that held her milk, he quickly shoved the other items into his pocket. “Here, cat,” he said, tossing the milk bottle to her.

 

She caught it and turned it over in her hands. “What's this, puppy?”

 

“Let me move the car, and we can go for a short walk.”

 

Emerald eyes narrowing in suspicion, she nodded slowly as he ran around to the driver's side and got into the car. She stayed put while he moved the vehicle into one of the parking spaces beside the station. He climbed out of the car and waited as she wandered over. “Where are we going?” she asked, one deep auburn brow disappearing under her thick fringe of bangs.

 

“Just for a walk,” he told her, twisting the cap off his soda and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. “Unless I'm mistaken, and you want to get right back into the car . . .”

 

“I didn't say that,” she said as she glided toward him, a lazy grin twitching on her lips, her voice low, husky . . . almost a purr.

 

Bas stared at her for a moment before stuffing his hands into his pockets and jerking his head to indicate that she should follow him.

 

“Where are we?” she asked, falling into step beside him as she broke the seal on the milk container.

 

“Arizona.”

 

She digested that as she tipped the drink to her lips. “Well, I knew that much, pretty boy . . . where, exactly, in Arizona are we?”

 

He snorted. “Pfft! Then you should reconsider the way you word things,” he informed her but chuckled. “We're about sixty miles from Tucson.”

 

“How much further do you want to go today?”

 

“New Mexico.” He pulled the brush out of his pocket and handed it to her. “Here.”

 

“Why'd you buy this?”

 

“You were looking at it, weren't you?” he grumbled.

 

Sydnie made a face. “So?”

 

“So that's why I bought it.”

 

“I don't want it.”

 

“Then throw it away.”

 

“But it's brand new.”

 

“And I have one. Do you?”

 

Sydnie didn't reply right away. “I make do.”

 

“Oh, for the love of—”

 

“I could have bought my own,” she pointed out.

 

“Yeah, you could have, but now you don't need to.”

 

“Does money just grow on the trees for you?”

 

“What?”

 

She walked faster. “You toss it around like there's no tomorrow. I'm not jealous, mind you. I simply think you're incredibly wasteful.”

 

“Oh, that's rich . . . Sydnie, I'm not your enemy.”

 

She stopped, her chin dropping as she drew a deep breath. “That's where you're wrong.”

 

“Fine, fine . . . I swear I'll never buy you another brush again.”

 

Her head snapped up, and Bas grimaced. “How much do I owe you for the milk?” she demanded.

 

Bas shot her a disbelieving look. “Nothing, Sydnie.”

 

He could sense the return of her legendary pride. It blew in on the crisp autumn air. “But—”

 

Rounding on her, glowering at her misplaced show of stubborn pride, Bas shook his head, held up his hand to silence her. “Why do you have to be so damn stubborn? It's just milk; that's all.”

 

“I refuse to owe you, Bas the Hunter. I refuse to owe a single soul.”

 

“Look,” he said, raking his hand through his hair. “The tai-youkai gave explicit instructions that I was to bring you back. He didn't say a single thing about making you go without.”

 

Her eyes flared wide, nostrils quivering, and he could sense the rage that spiked in her aura. “The tai-youkai? Fuck him. Fuck you both . . . I don't need a damn thing from either of you; not your pity, not your sympathy, and certainly not your milk.”

 

“What is your problem with him? What did he ever do to you?”

 

“Nothing,” she spat as indignant color blossomed in her cheeks. “Nothing at all.”

 

“Really,” he challenged, crossing his arms over his chest as he met her defiant glare with one of his own. “You sound like you hate the man.”

 

“I do.”

 

“Have you met him before?”

 

“Of course not!” she scoffed.

 

“Hmm, well, you can't very well hate someone you've never actually met.”

 

“I can, and I do. Get over it, puppy.”

 

She started to stomp away. Bas caught her arm and pulled her back. “Tell me why.”

 

He didn't think she was going to answer. Eyes narrowing dangerously in an entirely feline way, she pursed her lips and shifted her gaze to the side. He loosened his grip but didn't let go. The sound of her voice—soft, silky—startled him. “I told you. He did nothing.”

 

Bas shook his head, stifling the urge to growl at her incessant riddles. “How could you hate him if he didn't do anything?”

 

She finally looked back at him. Every line of her face was etched in fury. The wind whipped her hair into her face, her eyes, and she didn't blink. “It's easy. It's simple. I never said he didn't do anything. I said he did nothing. There's a huge difference.”

 

“Hide behind your riddles, Sydnie, if they help you sleep at night, but then, you don't sleep at night, do you?”

 

“What?”

 

Bas snorted. “Your nightmares. I've heard them. Tell me why I found you in the closet.”

 

She snapped her mouth closed, eyes darting away as a furious blush rose in her cheeks. “Was I?”

 

“Yeah, you were. Why?”

 

Sydnie shrugged, a thin smile backed by bravado and little else gracing her lips. “Maybe I was sleepwalking.”

 

“Maybe,” he agreed. “I don't think you were. What were you hiding from?”

 

She rolled her eyes, uttered a terse laugh. “I don't hide, Bas the Hunter.”

 

“God, you have got to be the most infuriating creature on earth!” he fumed, letting go of her arm and squeezing a fistful of air in his empty hand.

 

“Puppy . . .”

 

“What?” he snarled.

 

“Your shoe is untied.”

 

Bas erupted in a low growl. “If you think I'm going to fall for that line of shit again—”

 

“Whatever. You were warned.”

 

Careening around, she darted down the road. “Damn it!” he ground out. He started to sprint after her but stumbled, catching himself before he ended up face-first in the dirt. Glancing down as he gave chase, he ground his teeth together as his face exploded in a painful blush.

 

`So they really are untied,' his youkai commented, obviously amused by the predicament.

 

`Shut up.'

 

`That's what you get for wearing sneakers today.'

 

Bas forced himself to run faster, stifling a groan as Sydnie veered off the road and neatly vaulted over a short wire fence. He followed suite, thankful that there was nowhere for the infuriating cat to hide. Launching himself at her, he tackled her, arms locking around her as he turned just before impact so that he took the brunt of the fall.

 

“Let go, you stupid dog!” she hollered, squirming for her freedom as she pushed against his chest.

 

“Oh, I will,” he growled. Securing her with one arm, he dug the handcuffs from his pocket with his free hand, deftly flicking his wrist to open the gadget before slapping it around one of her slender wrists.

 

“No!”

 

“Yes,” he countered, easily catching her other wrist and securing the cuff before shoving her off and sitting up to tie his shoe.

 

“I hate you!”

 

“Feeling's mutual!”

 

“Take these off me!”

 

Bas stood up and grabbed the short chain between her wrists, jerking her to her feet and dragging her back toward the road.

 

“Ouch!”

 

“Save it, Sydnie.”

 

“You're an ass—a complete ass. I don't think I've ever met anyone who quite measures up to your level of assitude.”

 

He kept walking, ignoring her tirade.

 

She stumbled. He yanked on the chain to keep her moving. “Tell me, Bas,” she ground out.

 

“Tell you what, Sydnie?”

 

“Is Bas short for `bastard'?”

 

He snorted but didn't stop. “Is Sydnie short for `bitch'?”

 

“I swear, I'm never talking to you again, you mutt!”

 

Bas hefted her over his shoulder and jumped over the fence. He could only hope that she was being serious for once. . .

 

 

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A/N:

All right, so I just spent a really crappy day rearranging my house JUST to put up Ye Ole Tannenbaum. I'm tired, I'm sore, I'm sniffly from random flying dust … so just to make my day a little brighter, here's a chapter of Phantasm. Enjoy!

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Reviewers

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MMorg

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Final Thought fromSydnie:

I hate that dog!

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~