InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Freedom ❯ Nine ( Chapter 9 )

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

A shadowy figure moved with a sense of urgency as he descended to the depths of the mountain. He felt a disturbance earlier and was too close to fulfilling his mission to let anything ruin it.

Something had virtually passed through his field of awareness, and it took him a great deal of effort to notice that something was moving about his lair.  The demon lord clenched his fist, as a spark of unease caused him to flatter, yet he could not help but feel a sense of curiosity as a strange hunger rippled through him. Hyoga was not known to be a very patient lord, but he was cautious, relied on his intuition, and was rarely wrong about his suspicions.

When he had taken over the human village, he had connected every living being to the web of his own awareness. The demon lord felt their comings and goings, and knew when they died off from illness or natural causes. If he circled long enough in their psyches, he could even pick up on their deepest, and most private desires.

The sickly humans had been rounded up, their souls harvested, and after his taxing experiments of trial and error, they were ready for consumption. The plague had been the perfect cover to conduct his affairs as the naïve doctor still tried in vain to find a cure, and the fearful monks were too busy looking for an outside enemy to prosecute for their epidemic rather than looking within.

In the darkest recess of his mind, the demon lord could hear the souls of his victims cry out for release, as their pain gave him great pleasure. They would serve a far greater purpose than their puny human lives could ever amount to, their lifeforce would not go to waste. Deep down, the demon lord knew that he was doing the world a favor by ridding the earth of such vermin.

He walked a great distance before coming to a rugged archway where a collapsed statue of the fabled bodhisattva stood, and he stared into the solemn eyes of the sanctimonious monk before rage consumed him. Foolish vermin, I detest these puppets masquerading as demagogues.  He kicked the rubble away with no amount of satisfaction as a family of bats fluttered restlessly, unsettled by the noise.

He moved towards the soft din of a waterfall and came to a standstill. Hyoga carefully stretched his awareness and found that no one had come to this place. Slowly, his eyes travelled over the shimmering pools of water, slabs of mossy rocks, to rest on a pair of stone pillars that stood like sentinels. In between the pillars stood an ornate gateway that was still sealed shut.

The demon lord’s eyes closed in relief, internally chastising himself for being paranoid. Everything was as it should be and there was no reason to be wasting energy acting like a spooked guard dog.

Soon, my children, soon. The hell gates will open, and you will walk the realm of the living once more. He smiled darkly to himself as he imagined his kin rising from the ashes. And I will rewrite history.

By a stroke of luck, Hyoga had stumbled on a means to devise a full proof way to gain the power he sought without bending to the will of a human lord, who was busy chasing after a bauble like a crazed fool.

When the moon reached its peak over the boulder plains, he would use the magic harvested from those wretched humans to wrench open the hell gates, and his children would live once again. He dreamed of an empire and nothing but an army from the hellfire’s could stop him now. Hyoga could already hear is blood singing in his veins as he tasted victory.

The demon lord was interrupted, when he heard heavy footfalls approaching swiftly and his human glamor rippled in place reflexively. For a second, the demon lord thought that it was the clannish monks who had come to know him as their beloved head priest. A spike of disdain caused his lip to curl in a half sneer. When Hyoga sensed that it was just his lumbering servant seeking him without invitation, the demon lord turned a menacing eye on the bull demon cloaked in shadows.

“What do you want, oaf?” Hyoga spat, irritated at having his private moment interrupted. His human glamor disintegrated, as he appeared more moth-like than humanoid now that he knew he was safe from discovery. The demon lord had become increasingly withdrawn as phase two of their plans approached swiftly.

 “My lord.” The bull demon bowed and began to shift nervously as it sensed its masters uneasiness. It had learned to stay out of the ill-tempered lord’s way as much as possible. “I just went to check on the new batch, when I discovered that something terrible has happened. We have an intruder in our midst and one of the humans we’ve captured has escaped. Forgive me for my carelessness master.” The bull demon finished with trepidation as it watched its masters face for a reaction.

Hyoga worked very hard to keep his expression neutral, as he focused on his breath. Rage swept through him like an inferno. He had to turn his back on the bull demon, so he wouldn’t follow the urge to lash out. After painstakingly calculating the amount of energy that he needed, Hyoga had given his servant special instructions to handle the recent captures with care.

“How long ago was this?” Hyoga asked in a deathly quiet tone of voice, as the fool seemed to flatter, while trying to dredge up an answer that would please the demon lord. If the bull demon was honest, it had the sense to know that it was at fault. Privately, the demon did not see the point of keeping watch over the humans when it could not freely indulge its appetite. It knew that if it told its master the truth that it would risk losing its head.

“It could’ve been after sunset my lord.”

“I see... Do you understand what this means? The ceremony must take place tonight, otherwise those pests we’ve troubled ourselves with will go to complete waste. I trusted you with one simple task, and look how you handled it.” Hyoga spoke in a flat, measured monotone.

Something began to dawn on him as his eyes flickered over his servant, and noticed for the first time the changes in the bull demon’s physique. Understanding made him stop in the middle of his rising tirade.

“You’ve been eating them again, haven’t you?” The demon lord accused coldly, and the bull demon began to tremble, as a panicked look replaced its growing nervousness, and fear nearly made it trip over its feet as it tried to back away.

“No master, you have it all wrong. I can get new humans to replace the one who escaped.”

“No, don’t trouble yourself, your blood will do.” Hyoga bit out as his servant began to plea in vain. The foolish brute tried to run from him, and the demon lord unfurled his wings and flew over his servant’s head, landing calmly in front of the beast.

“Master, please!” The bull demon cried out as it collapsed to its knees. Hyoga’s eyes glinted with cold apathy, as he regarded the pathetic sight before him.

“You have failed me. You are defective in both mind and spirit, but fear not. You are still of use to me.” The demon lord wasted no more breath, and with one quick motion he unfurled his tongue that struck like lightening and he sucked the life from his servant until nothing was left but a dry husk.

The bull demon proved to be a satisfying meal, he felt his irritation fade and stepped over the remains of his servant to stand by a pool of water.

“Show me the intruder.” He commanded the waters, and slowly a picture began to form in waves. Hyoga saw two figures retreating down the tunnels and he recognized the male as one of the captives, he vaguely remembered the band of prisoners the monks had rounded up. The demon lord knew that the half breed would cause trouble, and he narrowed his eyes. The second intruder was a woman who was not from the village. He recognized that from her tattered garb, that she was a priestess. So that is the wretch who has breached my defenses.

Hyoga’s eyes roved over the human woman’s face with interest. There was something familiar about her, and he felt a nameless hunger stir inside of him. It was different from the normal hunger he felt towards humans who were nothing more than cattle to him. A primitive darkness rose up inside of him, possessing him easily as he felt his unease return. A half breed and a priestess, they will more than make up for my loss.

“That woman, there is a glow about her…but such darkness in her heart.” He would use that to his advantage. Hyoga felt a small spike of trepidation rise the longer he watched them, and his instincts warned him that the woman was dangerous.

“No matter. They will both be sacrificed to a greater cause, and my kin will be revived.” He reasoned lightly with his instincts and with the wave of his hand the images faded.

Hyoga took his time as he went in search of his prey.

 

 

“Inuyasha did you feel that?” Kagome looked behind them and froze. Something was watching them. Her skin began to crawl, and she got the strange impression that something was reaching for her. She imagined that they were caught in a disgusting web, and whatever sprung the web became aware of its next meal. On reflex, a barrier crackled around them, and Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow.

“What’s that for? I didn’t feel anything.” But his senses had been stripped from him, so he couldn’t really know for sure if Kagome was just being paranoid. He tried to keep his worry under wrap for the sake of Kagome and hoped that they could hightail it out of this creepy mountain as fast as possible.

“Something is…something is trying to track us, and I have a really bad feeling.” She whispered, furrowing her brows as she tried to communicate what she was feeling. He reached for her and squeezed her hand. She squeezed back in reassurance and lowered her guard.

“Don’t think about it. I think that we’re close to the surface. It’s faint, but I can feel a draft of wind up that way.” Inuyasha said with confidence as he tried his best to comfort her. She nodded, and they continued their trek back to the temple as fast as they could. Kagome tried her best not to worry as her mind flashed back to the human captives. Inuyasha had promised to come back and investigate, once his strength returned.

 Between Inuyasha’s dulled strength and her weakened condition, she wasn’t sure if they would make it out okay if whatever was tracking them caught up to the pair. That bull demon couldn’t have been the only demon down here, could it? And those people, god! What kind of monster could cook that up? Somehow, I feel like this is all my fault because they were looking for that wretched jewel and if it wasn’t for that Inuyasha and all those people wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess.

Kagome worried her bottom lip with her teeth, as she cast a look behind her shoulder to peer into the darkness as Inuyasha tugged her along. This is all my fault.  She couldn’t stop the self-destructive thought from worming itself inside of her heart. They turned a sharp corner before the first miserable tear squeezed past her defenses and trailed down her cheek.

“Hey, what’s that look for?” Inuyasha flattered and turned to look down at her, and she was unsure how to respond to his concern as she tried to discreetly dab at her eyes.  Internally she cursed herself for being so weak, there was no time for self-pity or guilt. Her eyes slid away from his intense violet eyes to stare at the ground between them. Several more moments passed before she mustered the courage to speak.

“It’s hard not to think about how crazy this all is. It seems like its always one thing after the next, you know? Sometimes it just feels like I’m a magnet for bad news.” Kagome spoke quietly, as she secretly confessed one of the burdens that had been weighing on her heart. She felt her voice flatter as she lifted her head to stare into his eyes. “What if…I’m the reason for all of the demon attacks that’s been happening?”

She felt another tear slip on its own violation and she tried to turn away so that he wouldn’t see them. Inuyasha sighed as he gently turned her head back to him and regarded her fatalistic eyes glittering with unshed tears.

Inuyasha used his thumb to pull her bottom lip out of her teeth. He had his own suspicions and theories about the strange priestess, but for now he brushed them aside.

“Lighten up, would you? This world ain’t exactly the easiest to live in and what we saw back there is in no way the tip of the iceberg. We’ll get these bastards, I promise Kagome. But we can’t do anything about it now. Besides, now that I’m here nothing will harm you. When are you going to stop worrying about the future so that I can protect you?” He said seriously, and she felt a familiar fluttering in her chest as her eyes widened a fraction.

She wondered if this was the same brash half demon lord who she had met a little less than a fortnight ago. Her cheeks flushed with color when she thought back to the kiss that they shared, and when he reached for her again to gently grasp her hand, she felt a thrill of electricity that made goosebumps rise on her arms.

 A tiny part of her recoiled in fear. He couldn’t possibly mean that. If he knew me, the real me… Kagome couldn’t let herself finish that thought, she had been putting off addressing what was on her heart, and she didn’t want to get caught up in the vortex of her feelings. She felt a compulsion to tell him about the jewel, but when she opened her mouth she felt a wall of resistance pulling her back.

“Inuyasha I...” She began to respond, but without warning, the earth began to rumble beneath them and water began gushing from the mouth of an unnerving bodhisattva statue at an alarming rate. By some unknown force of magic, the walls began drawing closer and closer together, threatening to crush the pair.

“Shit!” She heard Inuyasha grunt, as he grabbed her hand more firmly and they raced deeper into the tunnels.

“Inuyasha, make a left here, now!” Kagome listened to her instincts, and he sharply turned the corner and behind them the walls hissed closed.  They were surrounded by a turquoise spring and a beam of moonlight shone down in the rocky grotto confirming Inuyasha’s suspicion that they were close to the surface.

“Damn that was close, how’d you know to turn left?”

“Lucky guess.” She shrugged and quickly averted her eyes as she tried to look for another exit, but he rested an arm on her shoulder to stop her. Her body language said otherwise, and Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

“Kagome…is there something that you’re not telling me?”

“Do you really want to have this conversation now? We nearly got crushed to death less than two seconds ago.” She didn’t mean for anger to seep into her voice, and when she saw that there was only concern in his eyes, Kagome felt the fight leave her. “I’m sorry, you didn’t deserve that.” She corrected herself and took a deep breath. When she opened her mouth, Kagome felt a barrage of whispers assault her psyche as something lurched in her chest.

Without wanting too, she heard them. The disembodied voices of the captured villagers sliced tersely into her consciousness, their chaotic desires possessing her and becoming her own. She let out a wordless cry as she was overwhelmed by the barrage of images that assailed her. She saw their dirt streaked faces, a flash of their tensed terrified expressions.

 The mothers, childrem, elderly—some crying, some shouting horrible curses at the shadow moving over them ...She saw them, alive. Moving about their mundane lives, their faces puffed up from fatigue and stress ...then growing exceedingly pale and cold. They were plunged into an icy darkness as an ornate gate slowly creaked open and red, hot light bloomed.

Her eyes had glazed over, as she felt something inside of her answer to the chaotic vortex of their deepest yearning. Freedom.

Kagome slowly came back to herself, crushed in Inuyasha’s arms. His face swam in her vision, and she suddenly felt spiritually and physically drained. Inuyasha was speaking to her, but she was having difficulty hearing him. She shook her head, as if trying to dislodge the voices in her head which had faded, and their faces floated away.

 “Shh… I’m here.” Inuyasha whispered as he tried to get over his own shock and fear over the woman’s wellbeing. He wrapped his arms tighter around her trembling body and simply held her as his mind began racing. Inuyasha knew that she was keeping secrets from him. He could see the darkness clouding her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking. Why won’t she just trust me god damnit.  He gritted his teeth and felt helpless and wished that he could stop whatever invisible forces were assaulting her.

 “Inuyasha?” She began to move, and he lessened his hold helping her sit up. An unreadable expression crossed her face as she weakly gripped the front of his robes and he was haunted by her eyes that glowed with an eerie light.

“What is it?” He asked cautiously as he supported her getting back on her feet in one fluid motion.

 “We have to go back and save those villagers. We can’t just leave them and come back like we planned. They won’t survive if we leave them now.” Kagome uttered with conviction, and he looked down at her like she just sprouted a second head. Inuyasha was already convinced that the wench was half crazy.

“Have you finally lost it, woman?” He exploded as his fear receded.

Kagome didn’t get to warn him about her vision because suddenly the pool of water began steadily gurgling and then intensified as a whirlpool began to grow. Inuyasha instinctively pushed her behind him as a thrill of dread shot through her.

 Hyoga emerged from the watery depths and unfurled his wings, the shimmering pearl and blues catching the moonlight. Inuyasha let out a human growl as Kagome stared in disbelief at the moth demon hovering in the air as he looked down at the pair with contempt.

“Who the hell are you?” Inuyasha demanded as his hackles rose.

“I am Hyoga, and I’m so glad I found you.” Hyoga smiled without humor.  “I have to give you some credit for getting this far, but the games are over. I’m afraid that I can’t let either of you leave.” The demon lord said in a syrupy voice devoid of genuine concern.